Mad Dog Summer and Other Stories by Joe R. Lansdale

• Purchase it here
• Published September 2006 (Golden Gryphon Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 5, 2008
• Lansdale is a great story teller and this book is but one more piece of evidence to support that truth. This collection of eight stories is not very long and chances are that you've read one or more of them previously. I read at least four of them from other collections. It doesn't matter though because they are all still great stories and well worth reading again and again. And if you are new to Lansdale, then this is a great starting point. A few selections of my favorites from the book are below.

  "The Big Blow" - A turn of the century story of a Black boxer in Galveston, Texas.

  "Veil's Visit" co-written with Andrew Vachss - Two master hard-hitting story tellers doing what they do best. It makes me yearn for more Hap and Leonard stories.

  "Mad Dog Summer" - You can probably skip this one and read the novel length version instead. It had a title change to THE BOTTOMS.

Mad Dogs by Brian Hodge

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2007 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed and limited to 1,000 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on August 2, 2009
• Hodge surprised me with this book. Not because of the quality of the book (it was great!) but because he took it in directions I didn't expect. It started off as semi-whimsical or more a comedy of errors. Then at some point it became more heartfelt and real. It was no longer about the chaos that was happening but about the people and how they were changing. Jamey Sheppard is driving from Los Angeles to Arizona to meet up with his fiancée. While stopped for gas, he gets mistaken for someone else by a cop and one thing leads to another and suddenly the cop is dead and Jamey is running for his life. Then just as things settle down a little, Jamey finds himself in another strange situation. I won't say what so the surprise is not ruined but suffice to say he goes through a couple more awkward but logical situations. By the time everything starts tying up and the climax of all the bad shit comes together, you really feel and care about all the characters. It's more than finding out what happens; it's wanting to see them come out on top. As I said, it was a surprise to me. I thought I knew the general tone of the book after the first fifty pages or so but I didn't. Very highly recommended!

Madman Stan and Other Stories by Richard Laymon

• Purchase it here
• Published May 2004 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on October 31, 2005
• If you like Richard Laymon, then you should definitely pick up this collection of short stories. It's like pumped with a compressed version of many novels in a brief time. You could see how any one of these stories could be flushed out into a full novel, and in the hand of Laymon, it wouldn't suffer at all. You would be dealt with more story and more characterization. And of course more sex. The only regret that I had was that many of the stories did seem too brief. Almost like they were over before they really began. It almost was as if they were crying out to be made a full novel instead of left as a short story. It just made me realize how much more I'm going to miss new novels by him. Some favorites from the collection are below.

  "Eats" - A private detective is hired to protect a wealthy women from food poisoning and in the process finds the killer.

  "Desert Pickup" - A ride given to a hitchhiker turns out to be a bad idea, for everyone.

  "The Maiden" - A high school prank involving two guys, a girl and a crush turns bad.

Magic Terror: 7 Tales by Peter Straub

• Purchase it here
• Published September 2001 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on September 23, 2002
• The sub-title on this book is 7 Tales which naturally points out that this book is a collection of seven short stories by Peter Straub. All seven of the tales had been published before and I read three of them prior to this book. Now usually I love Straub and think that he does a great job with regards to characterization and setting. He's a bit long in the explanations at times but mostly this can be forgiven since it flushes out the setting or people, adding depth to everything he touches. Unfortunately in short stories, there is a little more need for action or something happening than there is for extended character depth. If not, then the reader gets bored because nothing is really happening. Or maybe there was just too little happening in these tales because I thought that only have of them worked. "Isn't it romantic?", "The Ghost Village" and "Porkpie Hat" shone through as the best stories here. The combination of events happening and back-story were weaved into a single flowing arc that grasped and held on to my interest without letting go. The other stories all reached for me but fell far short, leaving me dissatisfied and disappointed. Luckily though, I know that Straub is much better at full length novels and I eagerly await his next.

The Magic Wagon by Joe R. Lansdale

• Purchase it here
• Published September 2001 (Subterranean Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on January 09, 2004
• Going off the title and not looking at the author, one might think this was some kind of children book. After reading the back cover though and seeing that Lansdale wrote, there's no mistaking that this is definitely not going to be for children. And it lives up to that expectation. After surviving a twister that wipes out the rest of his family and the farm they live on, Buster Fogg joins a traveling side show run by Billy Bob Daniels, a trick gun shooter; Albert, a former slave; and Rot Toe, a wrestling chimpanzee. From there things continue to get strange as they pick up the dead body of Wild Bill Hickok and add him to their show. In usual Lansdale fashion, the story is beautifully told with colorful colloquialisms and imagery. And again as usual, the story is not so much about the final resolution but about the adventures taken to get there. If you are any sort of Lansdale fan or just like to read about weird westerns, then this book is not to be missed.

Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way by Bruce Campbell

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2005 (St. Martin's Press hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on April 14, 2007
• Bruce Campbell is one of those actors that I love to watch and I try seeing most of what he does. (There are some movies or shows that I've missed.) His "every guy" approach makes him appear as a great guy, someone to hang with and have a beer or two. Fortunately for us readers, that comes through in his writing and books. This time around he tells us the story behind the Mike Nichols romantic comedy Let's Make Love, starring Richard Gere and Renee Zellweger. Not quite "the making of," the book is more like "an actor's preparation for a role." And since it's Bruce Campbell you can throw in a healthy chunk of "the impact of a B-movie actor on an A-movie." Unfortunately for Bruce's career, Let's Make Love turned out to be a bad movie. You can see hints of why that might have been the case in the book, but Bruce takes liberties with the events as they unfold. As a good storyteller, he moves the events from a factual start into a more entertaining tale. And then the exaggerations start. As with all good stories, the reader/listener doesn't really care so long as they are entertained. And I was highly entertained. I look forward to whatever tale, autobiographical or not, that Bruce decides to tell next.

Making Love by Melanie Tem and Nancy Holder

• Purchase it here
• Published August 1993 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on February 15, 1999
• This novel is largely a modern variation of Frankenstein, but without the mad scientist part. Instead it plays off the good old "What if..." clause. This time it is "What if I could create my perfect lover out of thin air?" And this is exactly what the main character, an almost spindly woman of forty, does. At first her lover is everything that she expected; the problem starts when he becomes more so. Now throw in to the mix a semi-crazy brother who has the same power except he creates children rather than lovers. However the brother keeps creating and de-creating the children at a much faster pace in a vain attempt to become the father that his father never was. Overall, it is a very interesting and fun story which raises many questions to ponder and points to consider. By the way, the authors know that they are basing it heavily on Frankenstein as their initial Acknowledgments acknowledge and as they pay homage to Mary Shelley though out their novel.

Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 7 edited by Stephen Jones

• Purchase it here
• 27 short stories by such authors as Ramsey Campbell, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Gallagher, Graham Masterton, Paul J. McAuley and Michael Marshall Smith
• Published 1996 (Carroll & Graf Publishers paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 20, 1999
• This was a really enjoyable collection of stories. Most of them were extremely well done and turned out to be quite thrilling. OK, there were a couple that I got half way through and skipped. And I did skim the very last story because it got really long and repetitive. But most of the others rocked!! My favorites from them are ...

  "Tirkiluk" by Ian R. McLeod - A man seeking solitude saves an eskimo and her baby.

  "More Tomorrow" by Michael Marshall Smith - A computer geek discovers the source of some on-line content.

  "Survivor" by David Smeds - A soldier gets a good luck charm.

  "The Finger of Halugra" by Manly Wade Wellman - A statue has healing powers.

  "Cradle" by Alan Brennert - Vampires try to procreate in a different manner.

  "Queen of Knives" by Neil Gaiman - A boy's grandmother volunteers.

  "The Grey Madonna" by Graham Masteron - A mysterious death is solved.

Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 11 edited by Stephen Jones

• Purchase it here
• 21 short stories by such authors as Ramsey Campbell, Neil Gaiman, James Herbert, Peter Straub, F. Paul Wilson, and Gene Wolfe.
• Published 2000 (Carroll & Graf Publishers paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 10, 2006
• Unfortunately I didn't get to reading this compilation of 1999's best horror stories until six years later. The book was on my "Books To Get" list for years before I finally ordered it. Reading it so much later wasn't a problem with the quality because the stories are still excellent. The problem becomes that the chances increase that you've read the stories before. There were a good number of stories that I know that I read. And there were also a good number of stories that felt familiar, like I read them but couldn't quite remember them. Either way though these Mammoth books by Jones are excellent for summarizing the year. And for compiling great stories. And for pointing some of the best material from a snapshot in time. You'll find my favorites below.

  "Harlequin Valentine" by Neil Gaiman - A tale of love, romance, hearts and a Harlequin.

  "The Ballyhooly Boy" by Graham Masteron - An inheritance from a stranger makes a man face his childhood mistakes.

  "Aftershock" by F. Paul Wilson - A doctor discovers that lightning can do more than deliver a jolt.

  "White" by Tim Lebbon - A changed world traps a group of people in a cabin, snowed in and stalked by something.

Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 12 edited by Stephen Jones

• Purchase it here
• Published December 2001 (Carroll & Graf Publishers paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 2, 2006
• unreviewed

Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 17 edited by Stephen Jones

• Purchase it here
• Published December 2006 (Carroll & Graf Publishers paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 3, 2009
• unreviewed

Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 20 edited by Stephen Jones

• Purchase it here
• Published September 2009 (Running Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 27, 2017
• unreviewed

Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 21 edited by Stephen Jones

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2010 (Running Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 1, 2016
• unreviewed

Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 22 edited by Stephen Jones

• Purchase it here
• Published November 2011 (Running Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 8, 2012
• There are a few things you can count on when you read one of the Mammoth Books of Best New Horror. The first is some very solid writing; after all, the title of the book does promise it to you. The second is a nice summary of the year's events in horror; movie releases, new books, and anything else related to the genre. And the final is a necrology of people related to the genre who have passed that year; a fitting way to end the book. Volume 22, a summary for 2010, is no exception. Unlike previous years, I actually read it relatively recent to the summary year as opposed to four or more years afterwards. This made no difference to the stories but it made the year's summary a bit more relevant to me. Anyway, on to the stories. I had an unusually large selection of favorites but that is also kind of normal for these collections. Most of them were poignant and had some depth to them with only an occasional light hearted romp. And as opposed to some public perception, the whole collection was not only zombies. My favorites are below.

  "What Will Come After" by Scott Edelman - A zombie love story that strikes the heart and leaves one sad.

  "Just Outside Our Windows, Deep Inside Our Walls" by Brian Hodge - Across the yard and through their bedroom windows, two children make their worlds better and escape the hardness of reality.

  "Featherweight" by Robert Shearman - A husband must deal with his wife and angels after a car accident.

  "Christmas with the Dead" by Joe R. Lansdale - A man celebrates Christmas with some zombies.

  "We All Fall Down" by Kirstyn McDermott - A couple must learn to let go. This one stuck with me for a while.

  "As Red as Red" by Caitlin R. Kiernan - A woman hunts the libraries and folklore for vampires.

  "City of the Dog" by John Langan - A man learns more about his girlfriend through betrayal and sacrifice. The story is also set in the Albany area where I have relatives and thus felt extra connected to the story.

The Man Behind the Mask by Richard Chizmar

• Published December 2021 (Cemetery Dance Publications chapbook edition)
• Finished reading it on July 24, 2022
• unreviewed

Man of Wax by Robert Swartwood

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2018 (RMS Press ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on November 1, 2025
• unreviewed

The Man With the Barbed Wire Fists by Norman Partridge

• Purchase it here
• 24 short stories
• Published May 2001 (Night Shade Books hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on July 2, 2007
• Norman Partridge keeps writing stuff that can't miss. I continue to highly enjoy the collections of short stories that he writes and has pulled together. This is another one where it's hard to find a bad story. The worst I can say is that some of them were simply OK and not real good or great. Enjoyable but not packing in that punch. I was also kind of spoiled with his collection MR. FOX AND OTHER FERAL TALES in that he wrote a biographical blurb before each story. Here we only get an Introduction and then a bibliography of his completed works. I suppose it allows us to focus on the stories but they were missed. It was nice to go through a streak of stories; we had three or four desert stories followed by some Las Vegas stories, all preceded by some soldier stories. My favorites are below minus some stories which I've already called out as favorites in other collections.

  "Do Not Hasten To Bid Me Adieu" - A western story about a romantic cowboy marrying his vampire girlfriend.

  "The Pack" - A werewolf is jailed in a small western town.

  "Blackbirds" - A young boy discovers the souls of everyone in town is being sucked into hell to feed a demon and decides to stop it.

  "Wrong Turn" - An actor's son tries to live off his father's coattails.

  "Carne Muerta" - A drug lord gets revenge on the man sleeping with his wife. There is a twist at the end of this story that I should have seen coming but didn't.

Mandibles by Jeff Strand

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2003 Mundania Press paperback edition
• Finished reading it on July 14, 2012
• Strand's books might not be the scariest out there but they are always fun. And for creepiness, this one did involve enough ants to provide you with a large degree of it. Taking a page from the radiation movies and the monster bug movies of the 50s and 60s, Tampa, Florida finds itself overrun with fire ants that measure two inches long. It starts off as a minor enough problem when it is only a few ants. However, their numbers continue to grow into thousands, making the problem much more significant. Rather than following a small set of characters, the story involves a dozen of characters if not more. This means more people to die from the ants. It pleasantly leaves you never too sure of who is going to make it or who won't. Will Trevor the awkward accountant make it? What about Roberta the dental hygienist? Or Dustin the ant expert who finds himself caught in a convenience store robbery? Anyone and everyone is a possible victim. The book was a very fun read and should be enjoyed by any Strand fan. Plus by anyone else smart enough to pick up the book and give it a try. Plus it includes the usual Strand sense of humor by more than one character. Comments that give you a big smile. Oh, don't skip over the Introduction; his comments on the characters was awesome!

Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

• Purchase it here
• Published Jone 2017 (Tor.com paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 16, 2023
• This was a haunting story with a fair amount of depth to the story. At the same time, some of that depth and symbolism and psychology was too much. I don't want to say it went over my head but I know I missed it. At the same time, the emotion and the impact on me were there. The story is about a Native American young man who sees the ghost of his father and who tries to determine why. Woven into that discovery is his culture and superstitions, his family's success and failures. As with all ghost stories, the story is about loss, about the past revisiting the present, about seeing the truth of what was in order to move forward. Intertwined with that story is the feelings and emotions and symbolism of the events. Sort of like how a song can stir up feelings independent of the lyrics. On one level all of that worked perfectly and impacted me. On another level, I feel like I missed significant parts, that there was more I should have seen and felt. I'm giving the story 4 stars but it's a round-up from 3.5. I'm still loving Jones and look forward to reading whatever book he writes next.

The Mask by Owen West (Dean Koontz's pseudonym)

• Purchase it here
• Published November 1981 (Jove paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 1, 1984
• unreviewed

Mask Market by Andrew Vachss

• Purchase it here
• Published August 2008 (Vintage Crime paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 29, 2008
• Book 16 of the Burke novels
  As I pointed out with DOWN HERE, it's hard to come up with new things to say about Vachss' Burke novels. They are solidly written. Very gripping and intense. Since it is Burke, it means a hardcore topic with a lack of trust and numerous potential double crosses. And then mixed in to all of that is the theme or message that Vachss wants to get across. This time it's about masks and how everyone wears a mask and how they present that mask to society. What's behind it can't always be known. The only negative thing that I can say was that as I was reading this book, ANOTHER LIFE by Vachss was being released and is being called the final Burke novel. That means there are only two more chapters in Burke's life before the end. It's been a wonderful run and while I'm eager to read those next two books, I also dread it because then it means the end. We will all have to hope that Vachss comes up with another series to avidly follow.

The Master Sniper by Stephen Hunter

• Purchase it here
• Published July 1996 (Island Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on April 06, 2000
• This is the second book by Stephen Hunter that I've read which is based in the past. Luckily unlike the other one, TAPESTRY OF SPIES, this one is readable. It's based during the final days of WWII and an act of revenge by the SS due to the pending loss of the war. It's part mystery as a British and American counter intelligence squad tries to hunt down the operative performing the revenge. And part military as we see how the operative is going to perform the military action. It's not as thrilling or suspenseful as some of his other books but it is still an enjoyable book. I found the most interesting characters to be Shmuel, a Jewish prisoner intended as target practice who inadvertently becomes a significant character and Repp, the master sniper referred to by the title. Unfortunately he is countered by Susan, an extremely boring and whiny character who's main purpose seems to be to give some depth to Leets. She's successful in that regards so I suppose her presence is tolerable and worthwhile. While this is not a book that I would highly recommend, it is one that would be enjoyed.

The Matarese Circle by Robert Ludlum

• Purchase it here
• Published March 1979 (Bantam Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 31, 1982
• unreviewed

The Matarese Countdown by Robert Ludlum

• Purchase it here
• Published November 1997 (Bantam Books hardcover edition)
• Gave up reading it on December 13, 1999
• I almost hate to give this review since Ludlum has written so many books that I really like, but I'm not going to lie or avoid it. I'm not sure if it is me or this novel but I just hated it. All the characters were boring and spoke exactly the same; it was impossible for me to tell who was who from their speech. Plus everyone would interrupt themselves with useless comments; the following is a quick example. "Let me ask you something - not that you have to answer but I do deserve it since I was being shot at also even though you were the only one hit." And this would be in the middle of a gun fight! Plus every situation is over explained to the point of nausea, especially if it means that the characters get to explain how rich and brilliant and powerful they are. I tried and I tried to get in to it but I just couldn't. So after 150 pages, I gave up; something that I don't like doing but I couldn't make myself go any further. It was too painful.

The Matlock Paper by Robert Ludlum

• Purchase it here
• Published April 1973 (Dell paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on April 30, 1982
• unreviewed

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

• Purchase it here
• Published July 2017 (Random House Audio audiobook edition)
• Finished reading it on August 18, 2021
• I was a huge fan of Scooby-Doo as a kid, so naturally this book would be a good match for me. And for the most part it was. There were a few things that kept puling me out and distracting me from the story. And what was that story? Just as with Scooby-Doo, there are four kids (two girls, two boys) and a dog. As teenagers, they were the Blyton Summer Detective Club, solving mysteries and catching inept crooks who (repeat along with me) would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids. Now it's thirteen years later and the kids are adults in their late 20s; adults who are still suffering and haunted by their last mystery. One that was more disturbing than it should have been. And now, the adults are teaming up again to go back to Blyton Hills and to finally end their nightmares. And maybe save the world. Initially I had a problem that was my own doing. I was trying to map the characters in the book to the ones in Scooby-Doo. Which was Daphne? Who was Velma? As one might expect, the mapping wasn't 100%. Sure, Kerri mapped to Daphne with the red hair but she was the smart one of the group, not Andy a.k.a. Velma. After I told myself to stop comparing to the cartoon and accept them as their own, I was good. However, the other problem that I had occurred through the whole book. I think it was always with Andy but at random times, she would break the fourth wall to point out something "as I mentioned three paragraphs ago" or something similar. Rather than finding those moments as fun or inclusive, I found them off-putting. I was instantly pulled out of the story and back to simply reading a book. A tad disappointing since I found the story and characters quite fun and enjoyable all by themselves without the need for some sort of "trick" to make it more fun. I do recommend the book and think that every fan of the cartoon will enjoy it.

Messenger by Edward Lee

• Purchase it here
• Published August 2004 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 29, 2005
• Lee has done another great novel. Not directly a sequel to CITY INFERNAL or INFERNAL ANGEL is does exist in the same universe. And while not a requirement, it does help to have read one of those books before reading this one. The story involves the devil's messenger. Gabriel is God's messenger; Aldezhor is the devil's messenger. Essentially the Messenger is trying to herald in a new era ruled by the devil and appropriately the humans used to bring this message are mailmen. The idea behind the story is pretty clever and there are lots of points that I really enjoyed. About two-thirds of the way through, when the murders kept occurring again and again, I began to wonder exactly how some simple humans without a clue were going to stop such a supernatural source. It was pulled off nicely though without too much of a hitch. It still qualifies high on the list of recommended books.

MetaHorror edited by Dennis Etchison

• Purchase it here
• 21 short stories by such authors as Peter Straub, David Morrell, Whitley Strieber, Ramsey Campbell, Chelsea Quinn Yarbo, Thomas Tessier
• Published July 1992 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 24, 1995
• This collection was not as scary as other collections that I've read in the past: YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES, SHADOWS, HOT BLOOD series. For the most part, the stories tried appealing as meta-physical and/or new age horror instead of a traditional scary horror. It didn't work very much for me at all. However, there are a few stories worth mentioning:

  "Did They Get You To Trade?" by Karl Edward Wagner - A more traditional horror stories about an ex-rock star and his current fans.

  "Nothing Will Hurt You" by David Morrell - A story about a father's grief for not being able to protect his daughter.

  "Bucky Goes To Church" by Robert Devereaux - A teenager gets his revenge on a church full of people.

  "The Ghost Village" by Peter Straub - By far the best story in this collection. It is further adventures of Tim Underhill while in Vietnam. Several of Straub's novels and short stories involve intricate and extremely interesting stories of weird happenings to a bunch of Vietnam veterans. Give this story a try and if you like it, track down KOKO, THE THROAT, and HOUSES WITHOUT DOORS, a collection of short stories.

Midnight by Dean R. Koontz

• Purchase it here
• Published November 1989 (Berkley Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 31, 1992
• unreviewed

The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike

• Purchase it here
• Published September 2022 (Simon Pulse paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 18, 2025
• unreviewed

Midnight Graffiti edited by Jessica Horsting and James Van Hise

• Purchase it here
• 19 short stories by such authors as Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Dan Simmons, David J. Schow, Neil Gaiman, Joe Lansdale and Nancy Collins
• Published October 1992 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 3, 1995
• This collection is pretty good; there are a bunch of stories that really are intense and scary. They are broken down into five sections: It Came From Beyond, Apocalypse, Graffiti, Psychos, and Hell You Say. Some of my most favorite stories are below:

  "Rainy Season" by Stephen King - A normal Stephen King story that is well written, slightly offbeat and very enjoyable.

  "Murder Mysteries" by Neil Gaiman - A story about the first murder, an angel detective, the formulation of the universe and, of course, God.

  "Bad Guy Hats" by David J. Schow - A fast-paced, intense, death-filled story about two bounty hunters.

  "Emerald City Blues" by Steven R. Boyett - An interesting twist on the world and a massive reality-slam for the Emerald City from "The Wizard Of Oz."

  "Bob the Dinosaur Goes to Disneyland" by Joe Lansdale - Awesomely titled story that could have been better but is still a cool story. Great ending!

Midnight Grinding and Other Twilight Terrors by Ronald Kelly

• Purchase it here
• Published December 2008 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed and limited to 1,250 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on January 7, 2011
• I wasn't too sure of what to expect with this book. I was part of the Book Club with Cemetery Dance and this book came as one of the monthly options. I hadn't heard of the author before and wasn't too sure of what to expect. I was very surprised though. Kelly stopped publishing about ten years ago when the bottom fell out in the horror market and was just beginning his comeback. This was a reprint of his short stories and then he had a new novel published in 2010. Most of the stories in the collection were previously published in the 80s and 90s but since I hadn't read them previously, they were all new to me. And I found them very well done. Whether it was done on purpose or not, I don't know but the stories kind of read like speed-soccer at time. The introduction, setup and then finale came out you pretty quick. It was wham, bam, next; the longest story was only 20 pages. It kept me reading though because I would think "just one more" and then read another four or five. I'm keeping my eyes open for more stories or novels by Kelly so that I can give him a try. You'll find a few of my favorites below.

  "Yea, Though I Drive" - A hitchhiker and the Roadside Butcher meet up, finally.

  "Consumption" - A man walking through the woods accidentally discovers a little something that is mighty hungry.

  "Old Hacker" - A man discovers the reason for a disgusting habit.

  "Depravity Road" - A kowtowed man finds his strength in an old house.

Midnight Mass by F. Paul Wilson

• Purchase it here
• Published November 2005 (Tor Book paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 29, 2006
• Considering that I loved Wilson's "Midnight Mass", the short story, it was pretty much a no brainer that I was going to love the novel. And in case you weren't aware, this is a violent, bloody, non-romantic vampire novel. He goes into it in the Author's Note preceding the story but basically he was tired of the romantic, upper class type of vampires and wanted a gritty version instead. I never really got into Anne Rice's writing and the one book by Laurell K. Hamilton that I read wasn't sufficient enough to get me reading more of her stuff. As a result, the likeliness of me liking this novel increased even more. And finally with Wilson being one of my favorite authors, it was a sure thing. The story focuses on Father Joe Cahill, Sister Carole and their resistance to the vampires who have taken over most of the world. Like more apocalyptic stories, humanity is scattered and only small pockets of resistance exist. Once Father Cahill returns to the small town which he considers home, he creates one of these pockets, giving hope to the citizens there. One of the great things about this story is the intelligence that the vampires have in taking over the world while still being blood sucking villains worthy of the reader's despise. All told, Wilson does a wonderful job and this is a book that should not be missed.

The Midnight Road by Tom Piccirilli

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2007 (Bantam Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on November 9, 2010
• unreviewed

Midnight Symphony (10 Novellas of Horror & Suspense) edited by Robert Swartwood

• Published December 2013 (RMS Press ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on August 24, 2025
• This is a collection of novellas by ten different authors. No common theme, although three of the stories do contain satanic cults. I think that was purely coincidental though. Similar to how three of the stories are about saving a child. Though I could argue that another three are about saving family. It is still themes that strike at the fear of loss. No shared stories. Just good stories by good authors. Some of these stories I read before; some not. Even the ones that I read before, I read them all again.

  "The Tent" by Kealan Patrick Burke - Camping families encounter a mysterious tent.

  "Samson and Denial" by Robert Ford - One of my favories of the collection. A man uses an unexpected tool to help his brother with some difficulties.

  "The Painted Darkness" by Brian James Freeman - An artist is born and must face demons.

  "Do Unto Others" by J.F. Gonzalez - A man is given an offer to save his crumbling life.

  "In Perpetuity" by Tim Lebbon - I said it when I read this previously and it's still true. A heart wrenching tale of a father's love for his son and what he would do to prove it.

  "Waiting Out Winter" by Kelli Owen - An infestation occurs while three husbands are out campinging and hunting.

  "For Emmy" by Mary SanGiovanni - A young girl disappears, only to return again changed.

  "The Diabolical Conspiracy" by Bryan Smith - One of my top three for the book. Satanists enter into a young man's life.

  "The Man on the Bench" by Robert Swartwood - Local youths find a man on a bench who can't be seen and who is both protecting and threatening their world.

  "Midnight Mass" by F. Paul Wilson - A priest visits his church which had been taken over and desecrated by vampires.

The Midnight Tour by Richard Laymon

• Purchase it here
• Published June 1999 (Headline Book Publishing paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 14, 2006
• Unlike some authors who set many of their stories in the same universe, Laymon does not do very much of that. This is one of his few exceptions. There are actually four stories revolving around Beast House. In order they are THE CELLAR, THE BEAST HOUSE, THE MIDNIGHT TOUR and FRIDAY NIGHT IN BEAST HOUSE which I'm not sure where it fits chronologically. With THE MIDNIGHT TOUR, the story of the beast picks up some years after the last round of killings and the Beast House is now a tourist attraction. This story follows several people as they learn more about the beast and have their own personal experiences. There are Tuck and Dana, two young, attractive women who are working as tour guides at the house. There is Owen who has dreamed of visiting Beast House for years and who is accompanied by his scary, psychotic girlfriend. There is Sandy whose story from seventeen years previous is unrolled, providing us with additional background. And as is usual for Laymon a cast of supporting characters who all reach beyond their two dimensional need and flush the story out nicely. Laymon does an excellent job of leading all the events and suspense into one evening when the shit hits the fan. And no one ends up with quite the happy ending they were hoping for. I think this is one of Laymon's better books and should not be missed at all.

Mind The Gap by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2009 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed and limited to 1,000 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on October 5, 2012
• While I have enjoyed novels by both Golden and Lebbon, I'm not too sure that I would say that I enjoyed this one. Maybe that's too harsh. I didn't not enjoy it but then I didn't love it either. It was more along the lines of a solid "there," existing and potentially fun but not really. The story follows a teenage Jasmine "Jazz" Towne who comes home from school one day to find her mom killed by her "Uncles." Her Uncles, also called BMW men, came by at irregular intervals while Jazz was growing up; they would talk with her mom for a while and then leave. My first thought was that her mom was turning tricks but there was actually a conspiracy that was happening instead. A conspiracy that made her mom raise Jazz to be very paranoid about everything. This is what gets Jazz to run before she can be caught. She ends up in the Underground and hiding out at old, unused subway stations. Down there she meets up with another outcast group led by someone who has ties to her past. As you can see from my summary attempt, there is a lot happening and some thought put into the characters. My problem ended up being that the novel had too many parts that weren't pursued. There was a mystical and supernatural element that was part of the whole story but it wasn't really used. It was more like a ghost that screams out and then goes away. There were some psychic elements that in hind sight seemed to be introduced to make things easier. And there was a conspiracy that left just as many questions at the end of the book as in the middle. Maybe those questions are addressed in the other Hidden Cities novels but considering those are based in other cities (New Orleans, Venice, Boston) I'm not sure if they do. One other thing that I wasn't aware of when starting the book was that it seems to be a Young Adult novel. Nothing wrong with that but I wasn't quite expecting it. If I had known, then I would have set my expectations differently from the start. Overall I'm glad that I read it because you never find new things to like if you stick with the same old thing all the time. However, I won't be buying or reading any of the follow up novels.

Mine by Robert McCammon

• Purchase it here
• Published May 1991 (Pocket Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 31, 1994
• unreviewed

Misery by Stephen King

• Purchase it here
• Published June 1987 (Viking hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on February 28, 1990
• unreviewed

Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker

• Purchase it here
• Published October 2007 (Harper hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on February 7, 2010
• While I consider myself a huge fan of Clive Barker and his creations (novels and art), I can't say that this book ranks too highly on that list. It was missing a lot of the magic usually found in his worlds. The story is about a demon named Jakabok Botch who is trapped in the book being read. He is somehow stuck and wants you to burn the book to set him free. While a cool way to start and catch me as the reader, I did get tired of being asked to burn the book. It quickly became repetitive and lost it's cleverness. The demon's story of how he was pulled out of Hell, complete with Dante's vision of multiple circles, and then how the outside world viewed the demon were both cool ideas. But they weren't carried through in a way that kept me past the idea. No fantastical visions or world descriptions as in Imajica or WEAVEWORLD. No strong characterizations to pull me in and make me care about what happens next. About the only thing that kept me reading was the curiosity of how Jakabok was trapped in the book. The how was good but the journey to get there wasn't. The novel wasn't horrible and will still be read by most existing Barker fans. I'm afraid though that he won't be creating too many new fans based on this book.

Mr. Fox and Other Feral Tales by Norman Partridge

• Purchase it here
• 20 short stories with a brief biographical segment beforehand
• Published September 2005 (Subterranean Press hardcover signed, numbered and limited to 750 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on October 5, 2006
• I'm not sure if this is an insult to the short stories or a compliment to his biographical snippets but I almost enjoyed the parts in between the stories more than the stories. And considering that many of the stories here are really good, it means that the snippets are really, really good. I enjoy finding out about some of the hassles and troubles and good times that Partridge went through in writing these stories. It adds to the total value of what is being read. I was also thrown by the title of the book. I thought there would be at least one story about animals or other furry creatures. Nope, none at all. Just a cool title. Fans of short stories and the steps needed to create them should pick up this book. They won't be sorry. My favorite stories are below.

  "Mr. Fox" - A retired war hero becomes part of the most famous political family.

  "In Beauty, Like the Night" - What it is like to be stuck on a deserted island with a dozen beautiful women zombies.

  "The Entourage" - A boxer's entourage feeds off more than the adrenaline of a fight.

  "Velvet Fangs" - Not all vampires take human form.

  "Cuidado!" - A stagecoach driver faces off more than the normal bandits.

Mr. Hands by Gary A. Braunbeck

• Purchase it here
• Published July 2007 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 28, 2009
• unreviewed

Mr. Murder by Dean R. Koontz

• Purchase it here
• Published December 1994 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on June 14, 1997
• This is a very fast paced novel that keeps you reading from excitement. Koontz draws us into the world of a killer and the world of an author. Then he mixes in a conspiracy theory, modern technology used for diabolical reasons, and fantastical events. When combined with Koontz's characterization and quickly paced happenings, the end result is a novel exceeding his usual good job and being one to remember. Then as an extra bonus there is the start of a poem entitled "Santa's Evil Twin" which was pulled out, expanded upon, illustrated and sells as a separate children's book. Unfortunately I have only seen ads for "Santa's Evil Twin" and have not been able to find a copy for myself. Though I will continue looking! (P.S. In December '97, I finally found a copy for a low discounted price of $4.97. Plus mom got me a copy for Christmas so I now have two copies of it.)

Mr. X by Peter Straub

• Purchase it here
• Published July 2000 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on March 11, 2002
• Straub has converted himself in to a master of the mystery novels. Rather than the expected murder mystery though, his novels focus more on someone finding out about the secrets of their past. This can be seen in his previous novels THE THROAT, MYSTERY, KOKO and now MR. X. Note though that this book is not part of the Blue Rose murder series. The story focuses on Ned Dunstan who returns to his home town and his dying mother. Once there he finds out who the name of his previously unknown father and he starts to investigate his past. The novel quickly leads Ned, and you, through a winding and exciting history of the people in Ned's family. It is during this investigation that Straub proves his expertise at providing in depth and interesting characters. My only problem was that I kept getting a few of the characters mixed up; this was only happening with the historical characters, the ones that were described and talked about but were never alive during the timeline of the story. Aside from that, the book is an excellent read and should not be missed.

Mondo Zombie edited by John Skipp

• Purchase it here
• 27 short stories by such authors as Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, Douglas E. Winter, Brian Hodge, Robert Bloch and others
• Published June 2006 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover edition)
• Finished reading it on October 30, 2007
• This collection was a long time in arriving. Over ten years. I'm not sure if I eagerly awaited it for the whole ten years or only most of them. It was all worth it though. The stories here are excellent with hardly any duds. The stories will pull you in and thrill, gross, charm and horrify you. I know that is what they did to me. Not too much more to say other than track down this book, read it and make sure not to miss any of my favorites below.

  "The Living Dead" by Richard Laymon - A couple tries too hard to hide from zombies in the woods.

  "The Visitor" by Jack Ketchum - A man returns again and again to his sick wife in the hospital.

  "From Hell It Came" by Adam-Troy Castro - A zombie's body parts continue on to wreck havoc.

  "Feeding The Dead Inside" by Yvonne Navarro - A mall security guard surpasses her usual authority.

  "You'll Never Be Lunch In This Town Again" by Dana Fredsti - A movie director tries to successfully complete his film despite the zombie outbreak.

  "Twins" by Jack Ketchum - Fraternal twins living in NYC deal with the zombie outbreak as best as they can.

  "Dead Like Me" by Adam-Troy Castro - A man lives a lonely life as he figures out how to avoid being eaten by zombies.

Monster Island by David Wellington

• Purchase it here
• Published April 2006 (Thunder's Mouth Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on April 23, 2008
• I didn't get the pleasure of reading this book when it was a regular blog but that makes no difference. In fact, I was probably better off because when I reached the end of a chapter and wanted to keep reading, I could do so. I pity everyone who was reading it "live" and had to wait until the next section was posted. Any way that you read it though, the novel was excellent. A slightly different approach to the zombie story and one that really worked. Dekalb is on a mission to New York City for drugs, specifically some drugs to help stave off the AIDS infection for Mama Halima, a crime warlord in Africa. With a less dense population, the zombie epidemic was a bit more manageable there. However, shelter and protection still had its cost and for Dekalb and his daughter, it was these drugs. While trying to procure the drugs, he runs into Gary, a zombie that can speak and think. The rest of the story focuses on these two as they both try to determine their new positions in this new world and resolve it with who they were. I didn't realize it while I was reading it but I was becoming more and more emotionally involved with the characters; at the end the price that was paid by them was enough to leave me really sad and hurting. This book should be high on everyone's read list and shouldn't be missed. And for additional positive news, there are two more books based in the same world so some sort of continuation is there. I'm not sure what quite yet but I'm going to read MONSTER NATION and find out.

Monster Nation by David Wellington

• Purchase it here
• Published 2004 (Thunder's Mouth Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on May 2, 2008
• Wellington continues his zombie adventure by going back in time to the start of the outbreak that sweeps across the world. We get to experience things as the wave of dead returning to life sweeps across the world. I really enjoyed this part of the novel. It seemed to me to be exactly like what would happen if this happened for real. A mixture of confusion, unbelief and the delayed reactions that would follow it. Throw into this unfolding chaos our two primary characters: Nilla and Captain Bannerman Clark. It's by experiencing the changes through them that we get the emotional impact of what happens. Unfortunately in this regard, MONSTER NATION suffers from what all stories from the past must deal with: the predestination of what will happen. We already know the world is going to be overrun by the undead. There's a degree where you can't get past that. Sure, the question of "Will Nilla and Clark survive to that point?" keeps you actively reading the book. That plus the twist of the supernatural elements added. But in the end it still left me a tad let down. I think most of that was wanting to be pulled into the book more than what I actually was. I guess this is also the hard part of having a great start to the trilogy; if the second book isn't equally great, then you feel kind of let down.

Monster Planet by David Wellington

• Purchase it here
• Published July 2007 (Thunder's Mouth Press paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 8, 2009
• While I really enjoyed MONSTER PLANET, I realized afterwards that I should have really read the three books back-to-back. It would have reinforced many of the details and personalities of the characters into a better story experience for me. Instead when we were re-introduced to Gary and Sarah and Delkab and Nilla and others, I had to deal with the deja vu of knowing the characters but not exactly sure of all the details of what I should know. Even being in this catch up state, I more than enjoyed the book. It starts off with Ayaan being kidnapped by some zombies who are more powerful than they should be. The liches, undead with supernatural powers, are controlling an army and following the command of the Tzarevich who has a master plan. That plan is to visit the source and to reform the world. Ayaan and the Tzarevich's army are followed by Sarah who wants to rescue Ayaan or if necessary sanitize her from being undead. A lot happens in this third book. Many characters from the previous books are reintroduced while events roll quickly forward to the final confrontation of all parties. If anything, this was really the only flaw I saw. Not the number of things happening but that some of them seemed a tad convenient for the characters. Nothing was easy nor did it not make sense, but looking back it seems a bit opportune. I would still highly recommend the books though to anyone who enjoys zombies. However, read them all together and don't wait months between books like I did.

Monstrosity by Edward Lee

• Purchase it here
• Published November 2002 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed and limited to 1,000 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on August 19, 2003
• While Lee seems to be better known for CITY INFERNAL, I found MONSTROSITY a better book and thus, more enjoyable. The story and logic flowed much smoother. The characters were more believable and interesting. And it just grabbed me more. Being a human guinea pig for deodorants and getting her arm pits sniffed just to make some money is apparently a low point for Clare Prentiss. Her life suddenly undergoes a rapid change as air force experience helps her get a job as head of security at a secret laboratory. Unfortunately not all the experiments there are quite on the up-and-up and Clare gets to deal with the results, literally. During all this activity Lee keeps our interest with full characters, an interesting plot and more than a healthy dose of sex. The only fault that I could state would be an ending that is predictable and not quite the surprise that it seemed to be. Don't let that deter you though because the rest of the book more than makes up for it.

Moon by James Herbert

• Purchase it here
• Published December 1987 (Onyx Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on December 1, 1990
• unreviewed

Moon Dance by S.P. Somtow

• Purchase it here
• Published April 1991 (Tor Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on January 30, 1997
• At first I was pretty hesitant to start this book. A blurb on the cover from Ed Bryant, Locus, states "A historical romance, a Dickensian chronicle of the American West, and a brutally violent werewolf epic..." And while it all turned out to be quite true, the first two items are what made me hesitate. Neither of those genres are ones that I prefer. However this book is above everything else, a werewolf novel. It focus on werewolves, it involves werewolves and it is about, in part, werewolves. But like all good stories, you must learn details about the characters before you can start caring. And that is carried across wonderfully. From the beautiful yet tortured Speranza to the splintered Johnny Kindred to the slimy Cordwainer Claggart, each person is portrayed as completely realistic. They have their faults and their advantages. And they are a collection of characters who keep finding their lives entwined again and again. That was something that I liked. When I thought that I would no longer see character so-and-so, Boom!, they would appear again. This is one of the best werewolves stories that I have read. Well, ANIMALS still strikes me in the heart just so, but don't ignore this moving and gripping horror novel.

Moonbane by Al Sarrantonio

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2009 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed and limited to 1,500 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on October 8, 2011
• One of the things that I love about Sarrantonio's work is that he quickly jumps into the action and gets you hooked. This directly leads to his novels being a fast and exciting read. They seem to be over so quick. This time we follow Jason Blake, a poet, and Ritchie, his son. Events start with the two of them watching a meteor shower which turns into an unexpected surprise when the meteors start landing on Earth in huge numbers. Then to make the surprise worse, the meteors turn out to be pods that contain a werewolf-like beast that is intent on destroying or converting all humans with which they come in contact. Jason's wife is killed, his son is converted and he is in a fight for his life. A fight that involves multiple characters and culminates at NASA. While I did enjoy the book and found it very entertaining, the ending was a bit too Hollywood. One of those things where the protagonist is doing things not because he has the ability or knowledge but because he is the protagonist and to have someone else do it would be "wrong". It is one of the hard things to do with end of the world books though; how do you end it without betraying the bleak mood that has been set by having an easy happy ending and without making the whole book more depressive? Sarrantonio does a good job and produces something I would recommend.

More Phobias edited by Wendy Webb, Richard Gilliam, Edward E. Kramer, and Martin Greenberg

• Purchase it here
• 27 short stories by such authors as Robert Bloch, Ed Gorman, Harold Schechter, Kathryn Ptacek, Nancy Kilpatrick and Lucretia W. Grindle
• Published July 1995 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on July 27, 1999
• An excellent collection of stories based upon people's fears. Few of the stories are duds and those that are can be found in the middle. The compilation starts with a bunch of heavy hitting stories and ends with a totally fabulous story on relationships. This definitely is a collection to pick up. Without listing the majority of the book, my favorites are:

  "The Moving Coffin" by Ed Gorman - A man gets revenge on his ex-wife's lover.

  "Down In The Hole" by Nancy A. Collins - A traumatic and unanswered childhood event torments a man.

  "The Laying of Hands" by Shawn Ryan - A powerful gift is given to someone who's afraid to use it.

  "The Mysteries of Paris" by Douglas Clegg - Nothing is worse than someone inadvertently playing upon your fears and what you do as a result.

  "The Fear of Fear Itself" by Del Stone Jr. - Another story of someone playing against someone else's fears.

  "Imposter Syndrome" by Lawrence Watt-Evans - Not all attempts to help someone are really for the best.

More Than Midnight by Brian James Freeman

• Purchase it here
• Published December 2012 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed and limited to 750 copies edition)
• Finished reading it on August 28, 2025
• unreviewed

Mucho Mojo by Joe R. Lansdale

• Purchase it here
• Published September 1995 (paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on September 06, 1999
• This is another story in what I found out was a series. Well, not so much a series as the continued story of two characters: Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. And it is a continued story because Pine is still recovering from the injuries sustained in SAVAGE SEASON. This time the story involves going to Pine's uncle's house since his uncle has just died. In typical Lansdale action, one thing leads to another and pretty soon the protagonists are in the middle of an investigation and a serious crime. This is an exciting and thrilling story that kept me enthralled throughout the entire story. At times, I just couldn't put it down despite the hour. Don't miss it! And there is no foolish ending like last time.

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

• Purchase it here
• Published May 2016 (Blackstone Audio audiobook edition)
• Finished reading it on July 23, 2022
• unreviewed

My Pretties by Jeff Strand

• Purchase it here
• Published June 2019 (Gleefully Macabre Press ebook edition)
• Finished reading it on September 26, 2024
• unreviewed

Mystery Walk by Robert McCammon

• Purchase it here
• Published October 1989 (Ballantine Books paperback edition)
• Finished reading it on October 1, 1992
• unreviewed

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

Last modified on August 19, 2023