Galilee by Clive Barker

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• Published 1998 (Harper hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on April 26, 2000
• I got through reading this entire book before I realized something that should have been obvious. On the title page, the novel is called GALILEE: A ROMANCE. And Barker's story definitely fits that mold. While there are mystical events occurring, they are all extremely subtle and not very often. Additionally the stories reads as one big fantastic voyage, it is grounded very much in reality and everyday common occurrences. All of which combine to explain why I felt like I was missing something in the story. I kept waiting for something more magical to occur, something strange yet wonderful as like most of Barker's books. And was it didn't occur, I was disappointed. Oh, it did tell the love story between Galilee and Rachel and it did a wonderful job of it. But I was expecting just a little bit more in the way of amazements and it just wasn't there.

Gallery of Horror edited by Charles L. Grant

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• 20 short stories by such authors as Stephen King, Eric Van Lustbader and Ramsey Campbell
• Published June 1997 (Roc paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on April 15, 1999
• Maybe it's just me but this is the second collection of short stories that I've read in the last month which hasn't done much for me. OK, yeah, some of the stories were pretty good but at times it seemed to be really dragging and I didn't feel like finishing the book. That's pretty weird to have happen since I generally like to read the entire book. Plus a lot of collections save the best stories for last. This time I wasn't too impressed over all, except for the ones below.

  "The Conqueror Worm" by Stephen R. Donaldson - A bug helps to destroy a marriage

  "Out of Sorts" by Bernard Taylor - A wife helps her husband to end an affair

  "The Typewriter" by David Morrell - A writer gets helped and hurt by a unique typewriter

  "Talent" by Theodore Sturgeon - A gifted child meets Precious

Garden of Fiends: Tales of Addiction Horror edited by Mark Matthews

• Purchase it here
• 8 short stories
• Published April 2017 (Wicked Run Press ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on July 6, 2023
• I haven't had a great time lately with anthologies. For whatever reason, they haven't been overly positive for me. It might just be that I want a longer story. Something with more impact than a quick intro, problem, and conclusion. At the same time, I did like two stories in this collection. Considering it is only eight stories in total, 25% is not that bad. Anyway, here's my two favorites.

  "A Wicked Thirst" by Kealan Patrick Burke - A couple on a date that becomes a night and more

  "Returns" by Jack Ketchum - A man returns as a ghost. I'm not saying more because it will ruin the story and this one wrenches at the heart hard!!

Gateways by F. Paul Wilson

• Purchase it here
• Published February 2006 (Tor Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 30, 2007
• This is yet another solidly entertaining Repairman Jack novel. This time Jack leaves New York for Florida after his father is hospitalized from a hit and run accident. While Jack is being there for his father and helping out, he gets pulled into more Otherness that he must deal with. On the plus side though, he gets some additional help from yet another woman and her dog. And happily enough she is a major character this time instead of making only a brief appearance. That means Jack, and us, get some real answers to what is going on and Jack's role in everything. We don't find out everything but considering that we already know the outcome as laid out in NIGHTWORLD, it is actually more background and filling in the blanks which we receive. As the Repairman Jack novels continue, I keep thinking I should reread NIGHTWORLD to remind myself of some of the details to come. Regardless, I eagerly look forward to the next chapter in Jack's life.

A Gathering of Crows by Brian Keene

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• Published August 2010 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on January 18, 2020
• One of the nice things about long plane rides is plenty of time to read a book. I was on a flight back from London when I was able to speed through this book. To be honest though, I think that this would have been a "stay up late, can't put down" type of book even if I was reading it at home. The story grasps you quickly and pulls you into the chaos. Brinkley Springs is a small town that is slowly dying. There are no industries or major companies there and people are gradually leaving. One night, five mysterious and powerful entities come to Brinkley Springs to speed up the process by slaughtering every living creature and feasting on their soul. Fortunately, Levi Stoltzfus is within the town when the creatures arrive. What follows is mayhem, death, and tons of Keene's Labyrinth mythos. The story itself is not overly complex: supernatural being comes to a small town to destroy it and must face someone who has the power to stop them. At the same time though, Keene has woven so many different elements into the story that it becomes so much more. The amount of research completed for the book is obvious: tons. I was able to recognize much of the mythology and religions and supernatural events that were described but there was also a lot I didn't know. Was that real stuff I didn't know? Was it made up by Keene for the book? It would take hours for me to figure out. In the end it doesn't matter because it makes the story more real. Then there are the usual characters that you would expect in a small-town horror story, made richer by Keene's constantly well-written prose. By the time I was finished, I was well pleased and satisfied. It makes me yearn even harder for more of the Labyrinth mythos.

The Gemini Contenders by Robert Ludlum

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• Published January 1976 (Bantam Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it October 31, 1983
• unreviewed

The Getaway Man by Andrew Vachss

• Purchase it here
• Published February 2003 (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on February 14, 2004
• Vachss is one of those authors that can do no wrong. Everything that he writes is fantastic. His books are lean, sharp, fast and intense. It is always very difficult to put one of his books down once I start it. And this one was no exception. Here Vachss takes a break from his Burke series to tell a tale about Eddie. Eddie is a getaway man, the ultimate driver for any type of heist. Someone who is loyal, professional and excellent at what he does. Fortunately we get to see Eddie's life from a young child all the way through the twists and turns to adulthood and his membership in an ultra-professional crew. As I mentioned above, Vachss is fantastic in his writing and everything that he writes deserves accolades. Don't miss out on anything of his!

Gerald's Game by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published July 1993 (Signet paperback edition)
• Finished reading it July 1995
• unreviewed

Ghost Monster by Simon Clark

• Purchase it here
• Published December 2009 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 8, 2018
• I wanted to give this book a higher score, but I really couldn't justify it to myself. I would have given it 3.5 stars, but Amazon, Goodreads, and others force me to round up or down; I chose down. To a degree, there is nothing wrong with the book but then again, it's a tad predictable, the characters are a little bland, and the main idea of a ghost getting revenge on humans is not overly unique. At the same time, I finished the book in just a few days, so I had to enjoy it to some degree. Pel Minton is a young American, working various jobs as she travels across Europe. She's helping on an archeology dig at a graveyard that is quickly falling into the ocean due to erosion on the nearby cliffs. This graveyard though contains a mausoleum that serves as a prison for an evil soul and his equally dead team of Battle Men. And as the graveyard falls into the ocean so too do the safeguards holding that ghosts prisoner. At that point, mayhem ensues. So in addition to the issues that I mentioned above, one additional thing that frustrated me was the dumb decisions the character kept making. Something where characters make the stupid choice that normally would never be taken but is made this time solely because it advances the story. For example, the evil soul announces that he's going to possess a main character then take Pel as his wife. Since the plan is now announced to everyone, Pel can simply run away and the evil plan is thwarted; instead she stays behind and ends up in danger. The frustrating thing was that almost every stupid decision made had an easy solution to avoid the stupidity. In total, it came across to me as lazy writing. Now I don't want to rip on the book too much because I still did enjoy it. I finished the book in a few days which lately has been a good pace for me. Plus, I still have another four books by Clark in my to-be-read stack. I guess I'll just have to say that you shouldn't start reading Simon Clark's books with GHOST MONSTER.

Ghost Story by Peter Straub

• Purchase it here
• Published April 1980 (Pocket Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on April 1, 1983
• unreviewed

Ghost Walk by Brian Keene

• Purchase it here
• Published August 2008 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 10, 2011
• In case you weren't aware, GHOST WALK is kind of a sequel to DARK HOLLOW. Not really a traditional sequel but one involved in the same city and with the same characters. Keene has actually gone on record of saying that all his books are connected; to that degree, GHOST WALK becomes required reading to help explain how they are connected. Unfortunately as a standalone book, it is not that strong. The story involves a hunter disturbing a circle of stones in a forest, a disturbance that in turn opens a gateway to another world. The world is now at risk and needs to be saved by an ex-Amish named Levi who is a user of powwow. On the one hand, Keene's writing is incredible and enjoyable and this book continues to demonstrate his ability. It's a fun read and it's extra fun to see his novels be connected. On the other hand, I've had Keene's book engage and involve me much more than this one was able to; it's a bit disappointing to want a bit more and not quite get it. I would still recommend the book because a) we get introduced to Levi Stoltfuz, the protagonist of A GATHERING OF CROWS and a recurring character in Keene's stories, b) we have the connections across the books and worlds drawn clearer for us and c) even disappointing Keene stories are better than 90% of the stuff out there.

Ghosts of Sleath by James Herbert

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• Published 1995 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on July 24, 1998
• I am convinced that James Herbert is one of the most talented yet still relatively unknown author around. I've read almost all of his books and they have all been excellent. And this one is no exception. It's a relatively simple tale of some hauntings occurring in a small town and the psychic investigator who tries to understand what is going on. Naturally enough things become more intense and interesting as there are more and more ghosts appearing and the ghosts start to haunt the other ghosts. Throw in the mysterious stranger, mix with Herbert's no-holds approach to doing whatever he wants to any and all characters and you end up with a deliciously scary novel which should not be missed. I wish that Herbert got a little more of the recognition that he deserves.

Ghostwritten by Ronald Malfi

• Purchase it here
• October 2022 (Tantor Audio audiobook edition)
• Finished reading it on May 28, 2025
• A collection of four novellas by Ronald Malfi. Each of these stories were pretty solid. I've found some of Malfi's works to be slow moving but these all had perfect pacing. I was pleasantly pleased with the collection. Not that I was expecting bad, but each story was hitting the right points and creeping me out when they were supposed to. Mentally I was telling the characters to leave it alone and don't touch and run. The final story in the collection, "The Story", was a perfect end to the book.

  "The Skin of Her Teeth" - A book wants to stay untouched.

  "The Dark Brothers' Last Ride" - Brothers takes a hidden path across the United States to deliver a book.

  "This Book Belongs to Olo" - A story that is reminiscent of Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life" but at the same time, not really. This one has less power and less awareness of what he's doing.

  "The Story" - My favorite of the bunch. The choose-your-own-adventure aspect resonated with me. Then it was gritty and creepy in all the right spots. It just hit all those right marks internally.

Ghoul by Brian Keene

• Purchase it here
• Published February 2007 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on August 23, 2008
• It has been a while since I've read one but it does seem like most horror authors have to put out at least one. I'm talking about the "coming of age" horror story. GHOUL is Keene's addition to that specific sub-genre. Timmy, Barry and Doug all live in a small town and are looking forward to enjoying their summer vacation. Unfortunately though there is a ghoul imprisoned in the cemetery and he is accidentally released. I'll admit that it does sound kind of cheesy but it does not read that way. Their summer's imaginative adventures slowly becomes a true life challenge. In addition to the horror of a ghoul, each child's personal family life of hardship is revealed to each other. And through that the novel's theme of family life is illustrated, maybe a bit heavy-handed. My only real negative was sort of along the same lines; the story is a bit to by-the-numbers. The details around the three main characters are different and more intense than what you would expect but the general direction of the story is a tad predictable. Keene is still great and a wonderful read but I would look elsewhere if you want to see him at his best.

The Ghoul Archipelago by Stephen Kozeniewski

• Purchase it here
• Published July 2018 (French Press ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on June 29, 2019
• While I've really enjoyed Kozeniewski's novels so far, this one was a little harder for me to get into. I'm not exactly sure why because the world was fully developed and the characters were pretty three dimensional. By process of elimination, that kind of leaves the story but I also don't really want to point my finger there. Well, let me try to sum up the story and then see if I can figure out where I had issues. One of the main characters is Captain Martigan; he commands his own freighter in the South Pacific. He's in the Curien islands, making deliveries for a criminal overlord when he gets a distress call. Then there's Reverend Sonntag, a religious zealot who uses the zombie apocalypse to gain more followers and more power. Then add Rand Bergeron to the list; he's a genius and immoral businessman who made his fortune by inventing a virtual reality box focused on sex. These characters, plus more, are vying for control: controlling the world, controlling people, or even just controlling their little corner of the world. And while there might be a common theme, the storylines connecting the characters was disjointed. To start, each chapter is from a different character's point of view. Not a problem except that it took me a few chapters to figure out where each character intersected with the other characters. Another early problem that I had was I couldn't figure out when or how severe the zombie apocalypse was. Was it the recent past? Far past? Localized or global? The different point of views in each chapter made it more difficult since I thought maybe this character is in the past but this other character is in the future. Eventually I figured out it was all the same timeline and the characters' lives would cross over with each other. But then I had another dilemma, every character that I started liking and connecting with would get killed. Normally I like when a character's death is unexpected and I'm saddened when it happens. Unfortunately it happened frequently enough that didn't want to like anyone else because it meant that they would die. I don't want to sound too negative because the book really is good. I wouldn't have felt sad if I didn't care about the characters. The horrors visited upon everyone were pretty vile. I could picture the world around the characters even when I had problems connecting the dots. And maybe that is what it comes down to: I thought it was too fractured. Or maybe I should have realized sooner that it was all set in the same time and the characters would intercept with each other. I don't know. I suppose I would have to say be prepared for a crazy story that takes you in a lot of directions. If you find this book daunting, I would instead recommend a different Kozeniewski book: BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS. A crazy title but a more straight-forward, touching and impactful story.

The Girl in the Basement by Ray Garton

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• Published April 2014 (Open Road Media ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on March 12, 2021
• I was a tad hesitant to start this book strictly based on its title. The title is similar to Jack Ketchum's THE GIRL NEXT DOOR and I wasn't sure that I wanted something that intense. After reading just a little of the book though, I knew it was going to be nothing like it. This time the girl held a different secret. The story follows 15-year-old Ryan Kettering who has just moved to a new foster home. He gets along with all the other kids except for 9-year-old Maddy who is left alone by all the kids. That is until Ryan goes to talk with her and uncovers her secret inside. Maddy knows things she shouldn't know and can make people do things they don't want to do. And now Ryan must figure out what to do. This book shows a different side of Garton's writing that I'm not sure I've seen before. Usually his books are extreme and involve a lot of sex and violence. This time the actions are much more subdued and subtle. The story follows the basic trope of its genre but at the same time, it throws a few twists into it. Some threats and controls which are more impactful due to being subdued but deadly. I also didn't see the ending coming; it left me both hopeful and depressed. The book was a quick read that I found very entertaining.

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

• Purchase it here
• Published July 2003 (Overlook Connection Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 02, 2006
• This is one of the most intense, horrifying and moving book that I've ever read. Honestly, this is not going to be for most people. The whole second half of the book had me wound up in a weird emotional state. I was horrified at what was taking place. I was constantly near tears for what was happening to the characters. And as much as I wanted things to stop, for the characters to snap out of it and do the right thing, I couldn't put the book down because I had to know what was going to happen. The basic premise, as told by our protagonist, is that a young girl and her sister move in next door with their mom's sister when their parents die. Unfortunately the aunt is slowly losing her marbles. Part of what makes the story so gripping is not the events that unfold but that everything is so real. The horrors inflected are done by real people, not crazed psychos or weirdos. Everyone is easy to identify with and remember from your own childhood that when things go bad, it's not just the characters world that goes spinning, it's your own as well. There is no way around it; if you read this book, you will end up feeling a swirl of emotions and thoughts. You will definitely be moved and affected, and it's going to be a heavy move.

The Girl on the Glider by Brian Keene

• Purchase it here
• Published 2010 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed, numbered and limited to 537 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on December 25, 2016
• I really like Brian Keene. Both the products of his writing and the person he presents to the public. I feel a connection to and affiliation with him. To a degree, I shouldn't really since from what I know of his life, we don't have that much in common from our younger lives. However, it's his ruminations over the last few years that has built my man crush for him. His concerns about life and friends and the world and death have struck a chord within me. They are all things about which I find myself thinking. He's only one year younger than me and I suppose it's a natural thing to ponder at this stage of life. Death is on my mind a lot more now than 20 years ago. Anyway, THE GIRL ON THE GLIDER ends up addressing exactly these points. Keene has said that the story is semi-autobiographical; I remember him saying "completely true up to a specific point." The book reads that way too. He continually mentions real life friends and authors by name and discusses his life as he also describes it on his podcast. The story itself is a straight-forward ghost story: a girl dies in a horrible accident near Keene's house and then spooky things start happening. What keeps it gripping and creates the emotional impact is how real life surrounds the event. The readers aren't in some isolated small town or ancient castle or haunted house. We're sharing a bourbon and cigar with a friend as he tells about what happened to him. It's real. While it's probably due in part to the events actually happening to Keene (to a point) but it's also due to his power as a writer. Looking back, the story follows all the markings of the ghost stories of 100 years ago: a person, almost always a man, is sitting with another person, also almost always a man, drinking a bourbon and recanting a story that was told to him and which is difficult to believe. However, instead of feeling old, the story feels new. It's a modern version of that same ghost story. Instead of ending with an old-school, 100-year old hook, Keene's denouement is thoughtful and powerful and evokes thoughts on life and death. It left me wistful and hopeful.

The Girl Who Loved Animals and Other Stories by Bruce McAllister

• Purchase it here
• Published originally in September 2012 (Cemetery Dance Publications ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on February 15, 2021
• I haven't read anything by McAllister before so I wasn't really sure what to expect. To tell the truth, I don't remember the circumstances as to why I picked up the book. Not a dig on McAllister; he's just not an author that pops up on my usual watchlist of horror authors. Considering that most of the stories in the book were science fiction, it's not hard to figure out why. I do remember skipping this book a couple of times to read something else instead. The combination of an unknown author and a title that didn't grab me kept me from being eager to start the collection. I should have known better because the collection is pretty solid. Plus each story had some author notes on how the story came into existence. I always enjoy that bit of "behind the scenes". Those biographical moments also revealed that McAllister taught for a while at UC Irvine, where I graduated. Zot! I think he was gone before I got there but still pretty cool. Anyway, considering the size of my To Be Read pile, I'm probably not going to hunt down other novels by McAllister. At the same time, if something is conveniently there, I'm going to read and enjoy it. As usual, my favorites are below.

  "Dream Baby" - A war-time nurse discovers she can see who is going to die.

  "Kin" - A boy hires a killer to protect his unborn sister.

  "World of the Wars" - Mars aliens or just the normal aliens next door.

  "The Boy in Zaquitos" - The sub-title is a perfect description. The Retired Operative Speaks to a Class.

  "Stu" - A scientist helps a boy to see more of the world.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published February 2000 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on September 02, 2001
• This is one of those novels that proves that King can write more than just horror. And that he can do it well. The story is about a girl who goes on what is supposed to be a day hike with her mom and brother and instead turns into days when she gets lost. The bulk of the story follows Trisha McFarland as she proceeds on her lost journey. And rather than being a pretty boring enactment of what happens, the story actually moves along quite nicely and kept me involved the whole time. I really did begin to feel what it would have been like to be lost in the woods. The talking to one's self and day dreams helped make it all the more real. Not being a baseball fan in the slightest, I was kind of afraid that the story would involve too much sports and would put me off. This turned out to not be the case; I'm sure that if I was a fan, it would have meant more but I can live without that extra since the novel was still good.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2006 (Scribner paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on July 17, 2022
• This book does not fit into the normal genre or category of what I read. I had a friend recommend this book to me and based off our conversation, I vowed to try it. And it was a hard read. Before I get into some of my thoughts and details, the book is a memoir of Jeannette's life. Her memories and experiences growing up. Her parents. And how all of it formed the person she is. As far as I know, Jeannette is not famous for anything other than this and her other books. Meaning, the book was much more about someone's life growing up than "look at how this person became famous". Going back to the book being a hard read, some of that was me but much of it was Jeannette's life. Her life was outright scary at times and borderline weird enough that I kept thinking it fit with my typical reading of horror and suspense. Fending for herself at 3-years-old while her parents were too busy with other stuff. How disconnected her parents were from the normal aspects of life felt like many horror stories I've read of disjointed and demented families. One of the hardest aspects to understand and internalize was how much the parents loved their kids but at the same time how disconnected they were from the kids. A combination of selfish and single focused mixed with a family connection. Having grown up in what I would consider a normal nearly-nuclear family, the family here was a loving chaos that was hard to understand but, thanks to good writing, easy to picture. As a book, I would recommend it for the different insights that it will provide. There was a movie adaption which I may track down and watch but which I may ignore. I'm not sure I want to spoil my mind's images from the book with what Hollywood wants to represent. I probably won't read Jeannette's other books but I am glad to have read this one. It's given me some insights that I wouldn't have had previously.

Gleefully Macabre Tales by Jeff Strand

• Purchase it here
• Published originally in November 2009 (Dark Regions Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 19, 2015
• At just under 300 pages, you would not think that Strand would be able to include that many short stories in this collection. And you would be wrong. He has an amazing thirty-three stories in the book. Plus story notes at the end on how and why the stories were written. I always love that extra insight. Strand reaches that number of stories by making some of them are extremely short, like under a page. However, the impact and humor in those stories are just as great as some of the other stories. "Common Sense" is a brief two paragraphs but I laughed out loud at the ending. On the other end of the spectrum, I shared that story with a friend and he thought it was dumb. Obviously I need to change my friends. Or stop sharing my perverted sense of humor with them. If you already like Strand or your sense of humor is off, you'll love this book. And if you do, let me know because I might need another friend or two. My favorites are below.

  "Really, Really Ferocious" - An awesome way to start the collection! An old man sics his watch dog on a solicitor.

  "Sex Potion #147" - A gypsy helps a young woman improve her sex life but not without a difficult lesson to be learned first.

  "Everything Has A Purpose" - You will use what you have been taught.

  "Glimpses" - One of the more serious stories with little humor. Select scenes of a couple's life.

  "I Hold The Stick" - A man enjoys his job of denying others. I also had this happen recently with my two-year-old. Grrr.

  "Howard, the Tenth Reindeer" - A fun addition to Santa and his reindeer.

  "Disposal" - An attempt to kill a man goes wrong again and again. See my review from when I read the limited edition.

Glimpses: The Best Short Stories of Rick Hautala by Rick Hautala

• Purchase it here
• Published December 2013 (Dark Regions Press ebook edition)
• Finished reading it October 17, 2021
• unreviewed

The God Gene by F. Paul Wilson

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2018 (Forge Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 28, 2019
• I should probably start off with a brief explanation of my review of PANACEA. I had mentioned that it was good to have Wilson writing more suspense novels. I wasn't trying to imply that he stopped. It was more a factor of Repairman Jack was finished (excluding the young Jack stories) and, at least to me, it was unclear what Wilson would be writing next. Done-in-Ones that were outside of everything else he's written? More Repairman Jack stories post almost the end of the world? So I was happy to see another novel that was in the vein of Repairman Jack but at the same time different. I am happy being a voyeur into the worlds and imagination of F. Paul Wilson. Anyway, on to THE GOD GENE. In this, the second of the ICE Sequence books, Wilson does another excellent job of weaving a fantastic tale full of mystery and suspense. The mystery this time isn't as immediately impressive as the all-powerful ichor from PANACEA but it is actually more impactful. But I get ahead of myself. First, the story. Rick and Laura end up on another chase but this time it is for Rick's missing brother instead. Rick's brother has liquidated his funds and transferred them to an offshore account and then disappeared. When informed of this by his mother, Rick commits to finding his brother. Laura insists on being his rational angle to Rick's not necessarily logical approach. The two of them follow the money and the uncovered clues to an amazing discovery. I didn't have as much of a problem with the follow-the-clues approach as I did with PANACEA; it was possibly because the search was more direct with less country hopping. Or maybe it just made more sense to me. I will admit that I was a little underwhelmed by the response to their genetic discovery. In my mind, it was huge. And while the characters addressed and discussed it, they also didn't do much about it. To be honest though, I'm not sure what else they could have done; they had evidence of ICE but in the big picture, it wasn't anything they could do something with. It was a good way to end an enjoyable book and leave the readers wondering what mystery was next. Oh, I will admit that I geeked out when the town of Monroe was mentioned. A solid entry into the world of Repairman Jack, but without Jack.

The God Project by John Saul

• Published May 1983 (Bantam Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it May 31, 1986
• unreviewed

Gone South by Robert R. McCammon

• Purchase it here
• Published August 1993 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 21, 1995
• This is much different than most of the previous books that I read by Robert McCammon. I knew that he was veering away from horror and moving on to something else; I just hadn't gotten to any of his new stuff yet. Let me tell you though, this book is definitely worth it. It's part quest, part chase, part crime, part detective. Basically there is no category to throw it in other than fiction, but his writing is great. The characters come alive and it's interesting to follow their lives. I'm not sure when but my feelings for most of the characters, especially Flint Murtaugh, changed over the course of the book. And that is always a good sign that you are dragged into and enjoying the novel. I will definitely miss other horror novels that McCammon could do, stuff like WOLF'S HOUR or SWAN SONG but this stuff is worth it also.

Got To Kill Them All and Other Stories by Dennis Etchison

• Purchase it here
• 18 short stories all by Dennis Etchison
• Published April 2009 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed, numbered and limited to 750 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on December 31, 2010
• I was kind of disappointed with this collection of stories by Etchison. I remember reading more of his books and stories when I was younger and really liking them. This made me really look forward to reading this book. However, it didn't live up to my expectations. The stories were a tad too predictable. Plus I didn't end up feeling much for any of the characters; they were kind of just there and I didn't feel anything for them. His prose was dead on perfect though. And he did great scenes for the characters to interact; I could easily picture where things were happening. I didn't care though what happened to the people. The stories span forty years of writing which meant that some of them felt a little dated. To that degree, it reminded me of reading a Richard Matheson collection. Overall it wasn't bad but it wasn't the good I wanted. Some favorites from the collection are below.

  "You Can Go Know" - A man travels home to his wife.

  "Call Home" - A little girl looks for help from her daddy.

Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) by Jeff Strand

• Purchase it here
• Published March 2005 (Mundania Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 21, 2008
• unreviewed

The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker

• Purchase it here
• Published November 1990 (Harper paperback edition)
• Finished reading it November 1, 1993
• unreviewed

Green Mile by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published September 1996 (collected set, paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on April 25, 1998
• I will admit that I did not buy the monthly editions that came out over the period of six months. Instead I waited and got the collected version as a present. I am much happier that I had all of them available to me, especially since I went through almost all six books in one cross-country plane trip. The story is very moving and I ended up feeling strongly for several of the characters. I was pulled completely in to the story and by the ending I was upset that it was over so soon. The story of John Coffey, convicted murderer of two little girls and sentenced to death by electrocution, will absolutely grab you and make you feel for him as a real person and not as a character in a novel.

Grendel: Past Prime by Greg Rucka

• Purchase it here
• Published July 2000 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 27, 2001
• While a big fan of the Grendel comic books, I can't say that I would really recommend this novel. Don't mistake me; if you too are a fan of the comic especially the Grendel Prime series, then pick this book up. Otherwise chances are you'll have a very rough time figuring out what is going on. You'll get the basic actions but there is so many little things that are referenced or part of the Grendel series that newcomers would find this very hard to follow. The novel continues the story of what happened to Grendel Prime and to Susan, the other protagonist from that series. Susan ends up searching out Grendel Prime in an attempt to gain meaning in her life. Along the way, she is tested only as a Grendel can be tested. Overall it is a good novel but nothing for people who are brand new to Matt Wagner's Grendel mythology.

Ground Zero by F. Paul Wilson

• Purchase it here
• Published September 2009 (Tor paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 31, 2016
• GROUND ZERO breaks away from the pattern of the normal Repairman Jack novel. Wilson has already been working on tying up the series and bringing it to an end. Something that has been noticeable in the last few books due to their subplots that are both accelerating and not resolving completely. This time though Wilson takes it one step further and just builds on the mythos. The usual pattern for the Repairman Jack books is to have a primary plot that is related to the Adversary Cycle but at the same time it is a separate plot that can be resolved. This time though the primary plot starts with the introduction of a character to help fight the Otherness and the plot doesn't move off from the One and the plans made by the Otherness the entire time. Weezy is Jack's friend from his childhood days. While I haven't read the Secret Histories or the Young Jack stories yet, I would imagine that Weezy is a recurring character in those novels. Weezy is a conspiracy theorist of the extreme type; combined with her ability to remember everything she's read and seen, she sees connections that show the Order's plans. It is these connections that put Weezy's life is at risk when she links the Order to the 9-11 attacks. Fortunately Jack came back into her life shortly before things hit the fan for her and saves her life. Since she knows so many of the pieces but not the bigger picture, Jack lets her in on the secret history and even gives to her the Compendium. Jack hopes her ability to remember everything will make sense of the Compendium. The story continues with the development and culmination of one of the side plans of The One, something that has a huge impact on Jack and his team of helpers. Unfortunately I would have to say that if you are not current with your Repairman Jack reading, this is not the book to start. We're pretty much at the tail end of the series. GROUND ZERO is exactly the book that long-time readers will love because it moves so many things forward and is creating a bigger impact. New readers will be lost. Trust me, go back to THE TOMB and read all of the books in order. I would also recommend reading them back-to-back. Just binge read them all. You'll catch many of the nuances that I've missed over the years.

The Gruesome Book edited by Ramsey Campbell

• Purchase it here
• 9 short stories by such authors as Robert Bloch, August Derleth, Brian Lumley and Richard Matheson
• Published 1983 (Piccolo Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 24, 2005
• I was actually cleaning out a closet at my dad's house when I found this book from my childhood days. Well, more teen days than childhood but that's besides the point. I brought it back to read and relive some good horror memories. Unfortunately this wasn't the book to do that with. I'm not sure if it is because I read the stories before or if it was because the book is over 20 years old but most of the stories were not scary. Most of them were pretty predictable too. The only one that freaked me out is listed below and even that was predictable but still spooky. The rest of the stories were like bad Twilight Zone episodes where you know what is going to happen but it doesn't matter because you don't care for the characters anyway. The biggest saving grace for the book is that it is only 109 pages.

  "The Graveyard Rats" by Henry Kuttner - Rats prove that they are not to be trifled with while in small spaces, even by idiot caretakers.

Guardian by John Saul

• Purchase it here
• Published August 1994 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 30, 1996
• Once more John Saul has written another book which I can wholeheartedly recommend. It is an intriguing mystery focused, as are most of Saul's novels, around a child. Strange things occur, people die, and a small town gets shaken to the core. And Saul continues his pattern of having a surprise ending which is not predictable. This is one of the things I like most about his novels. You do not usually get a happy ending. It's true that Saul follows this same pattern in a good number of his books but I do not find it has become a boring pattern. He continues to grab my attention and keep it, without becoming boring or tiresome.

Gun Machine by Warren Ellis

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2013 (Mulholland Books ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on May 12, 2018
• I loved how this book weaved in so many different elements and themes. At its heart, it is modern crime noir, but it also contains a deep understanding of the Native American culture, historical and modern New York City, criminal history, and Crime Scene Unit methods. All the angles come together into one wonderful and exciting story. During another crime, Detective John Tallow stumbles upon an apartment filled with guns. A collection of gun that spans twenty years. And each gun is tied to an unsolved homicide. With hundreds of unclosed cases brought back into the spotlight, Tallow gets assigned the task of figuring out the what, the why, and most importantly the who. The characters in the book are quirky, fun, and realistic as they behave in a manner that is consistent with real people. The CSU team is eccentric and extra fun. And even though she gets only a little "screen time", I loved First Deputy Commissioner; she's a total hard ass but fits the role perfectly. While I loved the book and I look forward to reading more from Ellis, I did have a small issue. When Tallow met the wife of one of his suspects. It was a coincidental meeting and not planned by the characters, but it was also something that was a tad convenient. Coincidence happens and it was handled with subtlety, lines converging from multiple angles to make a big picture, but it was still a tad convenient. As I mentioned though, I look forward to reading more novels by Ellis.

Guns, Drugs, and Monsters by Steve Niles

• Purchase it here
• Published April 2004 (IDW Publishing paperback edition)
• Finished reading it June 20, 2024
• unreviewed

Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar

• Purchase it here
• Published May 2017 (Cemetery Dance Publications ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on August 23, 2017
• It's always enjoyable to read a Stephen King book and this one was no exception. I also need to credit Richard Chizmar because without him, this story would not have been published. Chizmar revealed on The Horror Show With Brian Keene podcast that King started writing the story but got stuck. Then he asked Chizmar to take a look and then told Chizmar to work on the story. And before they knew it, the story was finished and the book was done. It really doesn't matter who wrote what because overall the story is enjoyable and spooky, nostalgic and uneasy. It's 1974. Gwendy Peterson is twelve-years-old and out running. During a break, a man in a black coat introduces himself as Richard Farris and they start to talk. He ends up leaving her a box with a set of buttons on it, not saying what the buttons will do but hinting at disaster. Gwendy's life is not the same from that point on. She must deal with the positive effects of the box as well as the stress and sickness it causes her. At the heart of the story, it is about growing up. Or maybe about the choices you make while growing up. It's about the choices made and the positive and negative results they have in life. Making your life better and becoming popular is good but what does that mean for your old friends that get left behind? Does an easy life really mean a better life? As Gwendy grows from elementary school to college, we see how she changes and wonder how much the box changed her. At novella length, the book is quick and concise. Gwendy is provided depth and dimensions but others characters are not. While doubling the length of the book might have been nice, it would have also changed the story to be about the button box rather than being about Gwendy. I was perfectly happy with it as is. And while a lot was mentioned about how Castle Rock was revisited, the town only plays a minor part in the story. It's totally possible and even probable that if I mapped out the story into the timeline of Castle Rock, that I would find some Easter Eggs or connections to the rest of the King mythos. But it's not necessary. I very much enjoyed the story without that extra level of research. However ... maybe I'll geek out and do so at some point in the future.

Gwendy's Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar

• Purchase it here
• Published January 2020 (Gallery Books ebook edition)
• Finished reading it May 12, 2024
• unreviewed

Send comments or your opinions on these books to mike@kazba.com.

Last modified on June 22, 2025