Tales Too Extreme For Cemetery Dance by Ray Garton, J.A. Konrath, Edward Lee, Graham Masterton, and Robert Steven Rhine
- Published December 2010 (Cemetery Dance chapbook, signed, and limited to 750 copies edition)
- Finished reading it on June 25, 2019
- As the title suggests, this book, technically a chapbook but you know what I mean, is a collection of five short stories that were considered too extreme to publish in the Cemetery Dance magazine. My immediate question was Really? Were they really too extreme? For the most part, yes. Three of the stories definitely qualify; the other two could maybe have been acceptable to publish but that also might have been a comparative maybe. By that I mean, when comparing Lee's and Rhine's and Masterton's stories to the other three, they are nowhere near as extreme and thus feel semi-tame. The better question though is Were the stories entertaining? That answer is a happy yes.
"Active Member" by Ray Garton - This story was the most normal of the bunch. The kicker of the final scene has a supernatural element but overall it was the least chaotic and crazy. I've read enough short stories and seen enough Twilight Zone episodes that I was able to predict where the story was going and the ending, especially after re-reading the title of the story. However, that did not detract from the story at all.
"The Trailer Sucks" by J.A. Konrath - This story is where the weirdness kicked in. I'm not sure if I've ever read a story about rednecks and vampires before but I have now. And it was a very original spin. Sexy, but at the same time, not sexy. Intense but funny. And another Twilight Zone ending that fits the tale.
"The Characters" by Edward Lee - My favorite of the collection. The story starts normally enough for a Lee story: buxom blonde is naked on an altar, about to be sacrificed to a monster. The story then takes a meta spin on itself as the two primary characters realize that they are characters in an Edward Lee story. And they are not happy about it. The female rants and complains about it quite vehemently, ridiculing Lee's books and stories in the process. And since it is Lee making fun of himself, he's pretty accurate about the points that the character raises. The story continues in a vein that makes sense for a weird meta-story and left me happy. The element that I thought was really cool was how much there was to Google within the story. For example, Lee goes into significant details on describing the room where most of the story occurs, at one point having a hole punched in a Gustav Dore print. I had never heard of Gustav before but the name sounded too specific to be a random name so I looked him up. A real-life artist who does pretty cool art. I ended up looking up a lot of items and people he mentions. If something he mentions sounds real, look it up; it probably is.
"Eric the Pie" by Graham Masterton - Here was the most gruesome of the collection. It started off mostly mild but there were parts that had me cringing and grossed out. The story follows Eric as he grows from a young boy to an older man. Throughout his life, Eric tries to collect as much life as he can. A little weirding on the wording but considering that Eric took the saying "you are what you eat" to heart, it makes more sense.
"Propeller Boy" by Robert Steven Rhine - I'm not exactly sure where I would qualify this story in the collection. It was gory and had some gross visuals. Images that would really be cringeworthy in real life, if the characters could live in the real world. At the same time though, I didn't really feel involved in the story. It is a short story and I wasn't expecting to be drawn completely into the events but at the same time, I did expect to feel something more than a casual interest as to how gross the character ended up. Maybe though I was more disappointed with the revelation at the end because I did enjoy the banter between the two main characters. I'm not sure. For some reason, it left me feeling off.
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
- Purchase it here
- Published October 1986 (Berkley Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on September 1, 1989
- unreviewed
Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
- Purchase it here
- Published 1983 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on June 15, 1997
- Being both a Pooh fan and also interested in Taoism (though I barely know anything about it), I found this book to be quite good. I gives a very concise description of Taoism which I can only assume is accurate. Then the descriptions come to life by comparing them with the stories from Winnie the Pooh. Actually the descriptions and stories sort of unfold and fold together so that it seems to more of an adventure and a conversation then a heavy handed book. In fact, it is quite light reading and easy to speed through. But at the same time a lot of the thoughts and ideas expressed are complex enough to spend time pondering if you so desired. Personally I believe that this is the way that most "self-help" or spiritual books should be written. So that you can easily understand them and be entertained enough to want to incorporate the procedures described into your life.
Tap, Tap by David Martin
- Purchase it here
- Published September 1996 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on December 20, 1998
- I was kind of dreading starting this book. It was one that I borrowed from Mom and wasn't too sure about how it would be. However I was very pleasantly surprised. It was very thrilling and on the edge with a lot of scenes. Plus it had more than a touch of the supernatural which is something that Mom tends not to read. And although the story did not hold any major surprises in plot development, the novel surprised me with how well it was written and held my suspense. I ended up staying up until 2:30am one night reading and finishing the bulk of it. I am now compelled to search out and give other novels by David Martin a try. Which is, I suppose, the ultimate compliment.
Tapestry of Spies by Stephen Hunter
- Formerly titled: The Spanish Gambit
- Purchase it here
- Published February 1997 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on March 12, 2000
- What a disappointment! Here I was expecting another thrilling novel full of great characters from Stephen Hunter and instead I got this. The characters were flat, the story only semi-interesting and it was based in the 1936. OK, so the last one is not necessarily that bad of a story point for most people, but I'm not a big fan of old fashioned type stories. It wouldn't have been that bad except the style of the writing was done in the old fashioned style also. I suppose that you could look at that and say that the writing is consistent and realistically matches the mood and setting of the story, but I still lost patience with it. In fact there was not enough about the book to keep me reading it; I only got 130 pages in to it before I gave up and stopped reading. And that is rare for me to do.
Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff
- Purchase it here
- Published September 1992 (hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on July 15, 1997
- Since the first one was enjoyed and liked, the second was a natural. Both for Hoff to write and for me to want to read. However, maybe it was because the it was no longer a novelty or because Hoff seemed to ramble a bit more in this one, but I didn't enjoy this book as much as his last, THE TAO OF POOH. Near the end it seemed to devolve into more of a litany of the sins of mankind against nature than anything else. I still enjoyed it and there was still a lot of teachings and information that I learned. Plus there is a natural growth and extension from the first book that he is not necessarily repeating himself nor the ideas. But for whatever reason, it just didn't strike me as much.
Tek Power by William Shatner
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- Published November 1995 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on November 30, 1998
- The sixth Tek novel in the series. Although still not overly spectacular, the Tek series is still quite fun to read. Shatner keeps the series evolving and the characters changing while introducing new ones all the time. Plus the readers get to enjoy more and more facets for the ones that we are already familiar. This time the action takes place around Richard Bascom, the son of Jake's and Sid's boss. Richard's wife has been killed and it is up to our favorite two investigators to come in and find out what has happened. It's the usual twist and turns with all roads leading back to Tek Lords, but it is still a fun ride. Enjoy it!
Tek Secret by William Shatner
- Purchase it here
- Published December 1994 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on February 2, 1997
- This is another of Shatner's Tek novels and like his previous ones, it too is enjoyable. We continue the adventures of Jake Cardigan and Sid Gomez and the rest of the continuing characters. Since this novel takes place after TEK VENGEANCE, we have Jake dealing with the death of his lover. This was handled quite nicely and was not dwelled upon. New readers will understand what has happened and longtime readers will see the continued natural progression and growth of the character. In fact, all readers will be able to see the growth of all the characters, including a few new ones that are added to the array. Shatner has built up a world that is believable, interesting and populated with a wide array of characters. This is the fifth novel in the series.
Tek Vengeance by William Shatner
- Purchase it here
- Published December 1993 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on July 18, 1996
- I'll give this to William Shatner, he does pull a surprise or two out of his hat at times. This started out as another normal Tek novel and I thought that it was going to be another semi-predictable yet still enjoyable story. But then he pulls a major event about a quarter of the way through the book that was hard to believe: he kills a major recurring character. For the rest of the book, I kept waiting for him to explain how what was done was not really the truth. I expected him to undo the death. In fact I expected it so much that I never really believed the death was real until I finished the novel. At that point, I believed it and was shocked. I was also pleased, pleased that he did not cheapen his plot nor did he patronize the readers. Good job! This is the fourth novel in the series.
Teklab by William Shatner
- Purchase it here
- Published January 1993 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on March 21, 1996
- Yes, I bought the first Tek book, TEKWAR because it was written by William "Captain Kirk" Shatner. But I've continued buying the rest of the series because I actually enjoy the novels. They are fun to read, interesting characters, enough plot twists to keep interest but also simplistic enough to not lose you. They are also very quick reads which are always nice. I always feel like I'm sucked in quickly, experience the book at high speed, and then finish it off feeling resolved and pleased to have enjoyed it so quickly. Some people might feel ripped off for going through it so quickly, but not me. I enjoy it and will continue to buy all of Shatner's future Tek books. This is the third novel in the series.
Teratologist by Edward Lee and Wrath James White
- Purchase it here
- Published April 2009 (Overlook Connection Press paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on April 29, 2018
- When I first started reading TERATOLOGIST, I thought it was a made-up word. After a few pages though, I thought I would look it up anyway. It's a real word after all. Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development. As you would expect with a title like that and with Lee and White as the authors, this is an extreme book. Very hardcore in its subject, in the steps taken by the protagonists, and in the characters. The first two paragraphs should be an indication of the type of story; it only gets more extreme from there. The story. Westmore (a photographer) and Bryant (a writer) work for a finance magazine and have been dispatched to do a story on Farrington (a reclusive billionaire). However, Farrington is also insane; his goal is to offend God so violently that He will come down to confront Farrington. As with any story, the pleasure or pain is in the details. Overall, I'd say this was a good B-movie type of book. I could easily see where the three acts of the story came into play. The plot had enough story to get to the third act comfortably. I wasn't enthralled but I also didn't want to stop reading. Then the final act surprised me and was much better than I thought. It was a simple, direct ending that worked around the conflicts in the story but also closed all the plot elements. I was very satisfied with the second half of the book. I did have two minor issues with the book though. The billionaire kept changing names throughout the book; at some points he was Farrington while at others he was Farringworth. It probably corresponded to when Lee and White switched the writing; if I could figure out which author liked Farrington, then I could identify their sections of the book. My other minor complaint was that many of the abnormalities were described in complex medical terms: "..unilateral hemihypertropy with congenital asymmetry, not to mention acute hyperpituitaryism." Translating that to something I understood was necessary. To paraphrase Bones from Star Trek, I'm a Sales Engineer, not a Doctor. Theoretically I should have been looking up the terms but it wasn't really necessary because a simpler definition was always provided. The medical terms kept throwing me though. In the end, I found the book enjoyable but not the best work of either author.
The Terminal by Amber Fallon
- Purchase it here
- Published June 2016 (Amazon Digital Services ebook edition)
- Finished reading it on May 27, 2018
- This story was a great burst of fun and excitement in a short, condensed book. Dirk Bradley is traveling for Christmas. He's bringing his boyfriend back to the home that he was kicked out of when he was younger. He's wants to reconnect with his family. However, fate is working against him because while he is waiting at the airport for his plane, aliens attack and start slaughtering people. It might sound like the start of a bad SyFy movie but it's no worse than visiting your father's grave when you are suddenly attacked by zombies. (Night of the Living Dead if you missed that.) The story then follows Dirk as he tries to survive and possibly even fight back. I loved how the main character was constantly snarky and coming up with caustic sarcastic comments against himself. Even as he found himself becoming a leader, he was amazed because he didn't know what he was doing. If that zombie or alien apocalypse ever did come around, that's exactly how I hope I would act. I was a bit dissatisfied about halfway through the book when Dirk got separated from the group he was helping. They weren't mentioned in the rest of the book and seemed kind of forgotten: out of sight, out of mind. But at the same time, the story was following Dirk and since Dirk was separated from the group, then it makes sense that the story no longer follows the group. Still I would have hoped that Dirk had had a passing though of "I hope they are OK." A minor criticism. If Fallon wanted to expand on the story and create a series of books on what happened, I would buy and read every one.
Terminal by Brian Keene
- Purchase it here
- Published June 2005 (Bantam Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on January 20, 2008
- TERMINAL is a very different book than Keene's zombie books. Those should be considered pure fun, very well written but still mostly fun. This one has much more emotion in it. I forgot what Keene calls it in his blog but it amounts to the same: a different caliber of novel. TERMINAL falls into a dark crime novel with a touch of the supernatural. Tommy O'Brien has been diagnosed with cancer: advanced stage and terminal. Living a white trash life that he doesn't like and stuck with bills that he can't pay, Tommy avoids stressing his wife and doesn't immediately tell her. While commiserating more bad news with his friends, he tells them. Before he knows it, a plan has been put in place to provide for his family in the best way he can with the little time he has left. His luck does not change though and his plan quickly goes to hell. Tommy and all of the characters in the book are extremely real; it takes next to nothing to become involved and coring of their lives. While stupid decisions are made, they also are done with best intentions. The end of the book is gut wrenching on several different levels. Here's this good character who keeps making bad decisions and hurting his family. The book is highly recommended and should not be missed.
Terminal by Andrew Vachss
- Purchase it here
- Published December 2008 (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on June 17, 2010
- unreviewed
The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton
- Purchase it here
- Published August 1991 (Ballantine Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on September 29, 2004
- With an original copyright of 1972, this is one of Crichton's older books. And unlike A CASE OF NEED, this one reads as an outdated book. The story is a relatively simple one: Harry Benson is implanted with a computer chip to help him recover from seizures due to his epilepsy. Once implanted, the chip gets stuck in a feedback loop and ends up causing Benson to become a homicidal maniac. The problem becomes that in a modern world where computers are already super small and nanotechnology is very real, the technology discussed here is archaic. And when I tried to ignore that aspect, the affects upon Benson of the feedback loop weren't that exciting; we've seen much more interesting and scary personality traits in people unaffected by computers that this was a letdown. If you are a big fan of Crichton, then nothing I say here will stop you from reading all Crichton's books anyway. If you're just trying some of his books here and there, don't bother with this one. Get something more current by him.
Terminator Salvation: From The Ashes by Timothy Zahn
- Purchase it here
- Published October 2010 (Titan Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on July 22, 2011
- I suppose that I should throw out a couple things before we get into the crux of this review. First, in case you somehow missed it, this novel is actually a prequel to the Terminator Salvation movie. And second, I read the book after I saw the movie; so any extra benefit of knowing what little things led into the bigger movie were kind of lost on me. Why did I read the book then? I've read Timothy Zahn's Star Wars novels and thought here was a chance for him to build upon existing characters in a Science Fiction movie and make them better, to give them grand adventures. Alas, that didn't really happen. Zahn does a perfectly adequate job within the Terminator universe. A story is told. Characters are present. People and machines die. All the normal things you expect in a Terminator movie are there. What was missing was some of the action and excitement; the suspense leading to things blowing up is difficult when you don't really care about the characters. One of the hard things to do when working with characters in an established, and licensed, universe is to make the characters develop and change over the course of the story but to then leave things pretty much the same at the end as the beginning. John Connor can't lose an arm unless it happens in a movie; the books fill in gaps and provide off-screen character development but don't evolve too much. Zahn is good with following that rule and yet making it feel like he isn't. Zahn's Thrawn saga for Star Wars is awesome! But he didn't bring the magic to this book. Instead you have a story that you'll get through and go "OK" and move on. Maybe it will be better if you immediately watch the movie afterwards.
Terribly Twisted Tales edited by Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg
- Purchase it here
- Published May 2009 (DAW paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on April 7, 2017
- unreviewed
The Terror by Dan Simmons
- Purchase it here
- Published January 2007 (Little, Brown and Company hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on June 21, 2008
- I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction. While I would love to say that Simmons pulled this off masterly and had me engrossed from the start, I can't. He did do a great job. And when I finished and researched it a little, I found out that the basis for the story was true fact. In an attempt to find a north-west passage, Sir John Franklin went on an expedition from England to the Canadian Arctic but was never seen again after his departure. Considering that information, Simmons did a great job. And considering the amount of research that he put into the writing and the detail that comes through, I was very impressed. From a point of view though of getting wrapped up in the story and pulled into the events occurring, I wasn't quite there. It might have been the historical factor. It might have been the large number of characters. I wasn't too crazy about some of the time jumping back and forth at the beginning. Whatever it was, I know that I wasn't pulled into this book as much as other books by Simmons. I definitely appreciated the last third of the book more than the first two-thirds. It seemed much better written and more interesting. That could have simply been because I knew all the remaining characters that were alive and was interested in what happened to them.
They by J. F. Gonzalez
- Purchase it here
- Published September 2012 (Midnight Library ebook edition)
- Finished reading it on December 1, 2017
- While THEY was a good book, it wasn't a great book. There were aspects that I enjoyed but there were also a few things that detracted from that enjoyment. The story follows Vince Walters. It has been a year since his wife died in a car accident and Vince is starting to get back to a normal life. However, his mother is killed in a vicious manner and Vince must go back to his childhood home to handle her affairs. Vince stopped talking to his mother years ago due in part to her religious fanaticism and Vince's repressed upbringing. Shortly after his return, Vince is approached by Frank Black, a childhood friend who awakens odd memories from Vince's past. And this is where the mysteries and conspiracies about Frank's and Vince's past begins. I suppose I should start with the good. The book was well written with believable characters who mostly reacted as you would think. There was a ton of research performed to cover the various topics and religions; that research and depth of knowledge was very obvious. It was also nice to see Corporate Financial as a unifying thread within the mythos created by Gonzalez; the corporation was the source of problems in other books so its return was welcome. And as a total side, I enjoyed that parts of the book were based in Orange County in California. I lived in that area for years and it was cool to know all the areas the characters visited. My biggest problem with THEY was the conspiracy, specifically following the conspiracy and the depth of it. There was a large chunk of the middle of the book where dozens of characters were introduced along with all of their ties to each other and to the conspiracy. I had a hard time remembering who was who and why they were important. I suppose it was necessary to show the complexity of the conspiracy but I got lost during this part. And considering the heart of the book is the conspiracy and They who are part of the conspiracy, it meant that I was lost during key parts of the book. I also wasn't completely happy with the epilogue. The character that was included there was changed from the rest of the book and not acting like himself. And it didn't seem like a change that was part of his character growth. All told, I still enjoyed the book but I would not classify it as Gonzalez's best work. For that, I would point to SURVIVOR. I look forward to continuing through the rest of Gonzalez's books.
They Thirst by Robert R. McCammon
- Purchase it here
- Published October 1988 (Pocket Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on September 1, 1991
- unreviewed
The Thief of Always by Clive Barker
- Purchase it here
- Published October 1993 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on February 18, 1996
- I love Clive Barker's works: his books, his art, his movies. OK, now with that said let me try to give an unbiased review of this book. I loved it!! Once started I could not put it down. The whole story was interesting and fun and very exciting to read. The book is meant to appeal to all ages and for the most part it does. It is a tale involving magic, fantasy, fun, and children. Harvey, our ten year old hero, finds himself whisked away to the Holiday House where all the solutions to a bored afternoon are given to him. He later discovers the price he is paying and bravely proceeds to battle with the House. A good tale told in the vein of a fairy tale but in modern, magical times. It also comes with illustrations as done by Clive himself which perfectly match the story. They add to the wonder of discovery as you read. In case you are worried, the illustrations are pretty tame compared to a lot of his other work. The illustrations from THE THIEF OF ALWAYS do not come close to the graphic nature of the pictures found in CLIVE BARKER ILLUSTRATOR. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, including young children.
The Thief of Broken Toys by Tim Lebbon
- Purchase it here
- Published May 2010 (ChiZine Publications paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on May 5, 2022
- I usually enjoy Lebbon's books but this one is on my not-so-much list. As a book, it wasn't long; as a story, it went on for too much. I didn't feel much for the characters. I'm not sure if shorter and tighter would have helped more or if longer with more "stuff" would have helped. Ray is dealing with the death of his son and the separation from his wife. He's grieving big time. While trying to accept it a little bit, he ends up bringing out a broken toy left behind by his son. A toy Ray was supposed to fix and never did. A mysterious man fixes the toy and alleviates some of the grief, allowing Ray to move on just a little. But what price is Ray going to feel for this relief? As I mentioned, I had a hard time feeling for Ray. I think it's in part because his grief defines him so much that he is more a sad character than relatable. We the readers want him to find comfort but more so that we don't have to suffer his depression. At that point where things could get better, that's when the quiet horror occurs and the story ends. The story about grief twisted suddenly to a horror story. It didn't quite work for me. Maybe the story was about loss though. It would be the persistent theme. The loss was still expressed as grief which overpowered things. Big picture, I'm still going to read more Lebbon but I didn't find this to be his best.
Thinner by Stephen King
- Purchase it here
- Published September 1985 (Signet paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on September 1, 1988
- unreviewed
The Third Black Book of Horror selected by Charles Black
- Purchase it here
- Published June 2008 (Mortbury Press paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on September 26, 2010
- I picked up this book as a recommendation from an article I read somewhere. I wish that I remembered where because I would go back and discourage others from doing the same. The book was very disappointing. I knew that I was getting a collection of short stories. And only recognizing one name on the list (Joel Lane) did not worry me; I was actually excited to read some new authors and maybe find someone new to follow. Instead I found a bunch of stories that were over-the-top or tried too hard or were just uninteresting. There was one gem that I marked off below but the rest of them were better off skipped. A couple were really close to being good but they lost it before making the marks.
13 Bullets by David Wellington
- Purchase it here
- Published May 2007 (Three Rivers Press paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on September 6, 2008
- The action in 13 BULLETS starts from the very beginning and only lets up long enough for you to catch your breathe. It then starts again and sucks you into all the excitement and suspense. This pace keeps up until the very end where it ends a little suddenly. Despite the build up and satisfying climax, I still wanted more. Through the entire book, Wellington keeps you highly engaged and interested in what is happening. A routine drunk checkpoint starts events on a roll with Trooper Laura Caxton as she quickly becomes involved in hunting down vampires with Special Agent Jameson Arkeley. With barely time to ponder what is happening, Caxton finds out the hard way how to fight vampires and the half-dead they can animate. While the book might sound like it is pure action and no plot, it does have a true story and interesting characters that are driving that story. There was even an unexpected twist at the end; you can half-see it coming but not to the level of depth that unfolds. As I mentioned above, I was left wanting more and fortunately there is a sequel in the form of 99 COFFINS. Luckily, it's already on my list of books to read.
32 Fangs by David Wellington
- Purchase it here
- Published April 2012 (Broadway Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on April 25, 2021
- unreviewed
Thrall by Mary SanGiovanni
- Purchase it here
- Published December 2013 (Amazon Digital Services ebook edition)
- Finished reading it on July 10, 2017
- I wasn't too sure about what to expect with this book. I've known about Mary SanGiovanni for years, both from her books being sold (Amazon recommendations, Thunderstorm Books emails) and from her regular contributions to the podcast "The Horror Show with Brian Keene." For whatever reason though, I've only read a single chapbook by her. I think that I found her novel covers off-putting: THRALL and The Hollower trilogy had covers with monsters on them which for some reason made me think "I don't want a monster book." I know, a really stupid reason but at the same time a reason that kept me from reading her books. Also I had seen her writing frequently compared to H.P. Lovecraft and I'm not really a Lovecraft fan. I don't hate him but I don't remember being seriously spooked by anything of his that I read. Anyway, THRALL. The book was interesting, enjoyable, gripping at times, frequently weird, and unfortunately a little off. First a summary and then I'll see if I can explain. Jesse Coaglan escaped from his hometown Thrall, New Jersey and was living in Ohio; he planned to never return. That all changed when Mia, his ex-girlfriend, called saying that she needed help to escape along with her young daughter. So Jesse returns, bringing his best friend Nadia, and finds the town much stranger than before. And before included black holes opening up in a grocery store and bleeding nuns and blood flooding down Main Street. Once in town, he gets help from his boyhood best friend and a few others as they hunt for Mia and a way to escape. In general, I found a lot of positive about the book. The characters all had personalities that were easy to identify and remember; they were also just like people I knew growing up. The events that happened in the story were also easy to follow and picture. There were a couple events that seemed convenient but nothing more so than any other horror book. And I did figure out how to defeat the "big bad" before they came on the scene but that was more luck than anything. I think though that the reason I found the book a bit off is the same reason that I'm not crazy about Lovecraft: even despite all the monsters and spookiness, I wasn't really afraid. I didn't get that chill down my spine, that sense of fear or dread. Sure, if I was a character in the book I would be totally scared but as a reader, that emotion was just missing. Don't get me wrong though; the book is very well-written and enjoyable. I was just left wanting. I think I need a quiet horror novel right now as opposed to monsters or short stories or the inbred hillbilly mutant novel that was next in my "to-read" pile. If you are a Lovecraft fan, you'll probably find THRALL to be excellent! I do plan on reading another book by SanGiovanni and seeing if I can find that missing fear, maybe THE FADING PLACE.
Thriller: Stories To Keep Up All Night edited by James Patterson
- Purchase it here
- Published June 2006 (Mira hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on September 6, 2008
- This book was given to me by my mom who tends to read more mystery and suspense than the horror that I read. I have nothing against the thriller genre and in fact after my first love of horror, it battles with science fiction for second place. With all the well-known author names on the cover, I was looking forward to reading the collection. Unfortunately I wasn't too pleased with it. While I thought the "gimmick" behind the book was simply a bunch of good thriller authors, there turned out to be another one: the stories involved a recurring character from each author. Every author provided a story that involved a character from one of their past books or series. The idea behind the collection was not something that was bad by itself because a good story is still a good story. However, the stories turned out to be more introductions than anything else. To me, that made the book a self-promotion piece rather a good story collection. Each story also ended up being pretty short in length which only reinforced my view of them as promotional pieces instead of stories. There were a few that I found entertaining and I've listed them below but I wouldn't recommend this collection in general. You can easily find better short story collections elsewhere.
"Interlude at Duane's" by F. Paul Wilson - Repairman Jack goes shopping at a drugstore.
"Epitaph" by J.A. Konrath - Phineas Troutt takes a vicious revenge job through to the end.
"Gone Fishing" by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child - The first short story about Vincent D'Agosta and the first time without Pendergast.
The Throat by Peter Straub
- Purchase it here
- Published March 1994 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on October 5, 1996
- This one took a while to finish but it wasn't because of the book. I ended up with a lot of other things happening and just didn't have time. THE THROAT is another book in the same world as KOKO and MYSTERY which is great because I really enjoyed Tom Passmore from the later book and wanted to see more of him. In order to keep the book accessible for new readers and those who have forgotten, parts of the first couple of chapters go over stuff from other sources. I think that they include a couple of short stories also. But the book quickly picks up speed as Tim Underhill starts probing and trying to find out who killed his friend's wife and why it is part of the Blue Rose murders. It is a very good book and at times I wanted to keep reading, but my body would be too tired and I would fall asleep. A lot of stuff was revealed about Underhill's time in Vietnam and of his past. If you read any of the other books in the same vein, then consider THE THROAT another must read.
Ticktock by Dean R. Koontz
- Purchase it here
- Published April 1997 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on February 25, 1999
- I told myself about three Koontz books ago "No More." And now I have finished my last Koontz book and it was actually a good book to end with. I can't say that I hate it as much as some of his others (DARK RIVERS OF THE HEART) and I only skipped pages at the beginning. The rest of it, I'm almost ashamed to say, I actually enjoyed. The dialog was very quick and witty. You find out enough about Deliverance Payne to know that there was a mystery and to be curious about her and you only find out a little bit at a time. OK, the realism of the story was pure crap but the characters were interesting, at least until the end. <SPOILER ALERT - The story and ending are discussed below. If you want to be surprised, then stop here!> I was willing to suspend belief and believe in a doll creature chasing the main character and having him run in to the typical Dean Koontz strong woman character. But when the woman turns out to be a stunt car driver, has enough weapons to help out, can start fires and hot-wire cars in seconds, filthy rich, at that point I stopped believing in her despite the fun dialog. And get this!! The reason given for her being able to do all that was that she was conceived by some good aliens who abducted her parents and she now has magical powers! Disappointing as a final reason.
Time to Hunt by Stephen Hunter
- Purchase it here
- Published April 1999 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on January 02, 2001
- For Bob Swagger's sake, I hope that Stephen Hunter is finished with him. Now before you start getting some weird thoughts in your head, Bob Swagger is the main character in TIME TO HUNT and two other novels by Stephen Hunter: POINT OF IMPACT and BLACK LIGHT. And once again Hunter makes Swagger's life hellish by making the past slice in to the present. For those who don't know, Swagger is a Marine's Marine, a true hero though he would deny it completely; he is also a master sniper with skills putting him in the top ten people in the world. This time the story focuses on Swagger's experience in Vietnam but from Donny Crowe's point of view. Donny was Swagger's spotter. Now for those of us familiar with the previous two novels, we know what happens there so there is nothing new there for us. Nothing that is except for learning about both of them, getting a lot of character development and facts that flush out the characters. Then we fast forward to the present and Swagger is forced in to dealing with the past. While this novel is equally strong and interesting as the other two, there were a few holes in the story that took away from the story. Events that happened to Swagger that are then downplayed to the point of being ignored for the rest of the book. Specifically I'm thinking of an injury. (I'm trying hard to not give anything away while also telling you how I felt while reading it.) Overall though, it is still a good book and a solid, enjoyable read.
Titanic 2012 by Bill Walker
- Purchase it here
- Published November 1998 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on May 17, 2010
- While you don't have to be a fan of James Cameron's Titanic movie to read this book, it would certainly help. The novel is a loving tribute or thank you to the film. Unfortunately I was never that impressed with the movie, preferring to have a little more story and characters that have a bit more depth. And in that regard I lucked out because the book has more of that. TITANIC 2012 takes place around the 100 year anniversary of the original Titanic. Harlan Astor, a super rich billionaire and great-grandson of original Titanic victim John Jacob Astor, has a new Titanic secretly built using the exact same design as the original. He invites the story's protagonist, novelist Trevor Hughes, to join him on the maiden voyage and tell the tales of the ship and the people onboard. Coming off a relationship break-up, Trevor agrees. And then in a similar vein to the movie, Trevor falls in love with one of the other passengers who keeps saying that the relationship won't work. In between their moments together, Trevor interviews the passengers who all talk about Cameron's film, "the greatest movie of all time," and why they are on the ship. Unfortunately the second half of the novel becomes quickly predictable to the readers and loses all sense of surprise. At the same time, much of the emotional attachment is sacrificed. Almost everyone devolves to a hook trying to pull on the reader's heart and not someone that I really cared about. Harlan was the most interesting to me but he's also not around very much in the second half. Overall I would say that the book was enjoyable but not great. I would have liked to see more from the book but it was still entertaining.
To Bury The Dead by Craig Spector
- Purchase it here
- Published January 2001 (Stealth Press hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on June 7, 2007
- This is the first book that I've read by Spector in a while and it was extremely enjoyable. The story follows Paul Kelly: firefighter, paramedic, happy husband and devoted father. Things are going pretty good for him until one night when a call takes him to his teenage daughter who has been attacked and strangled. Unable to save her, she dies on the ride to the hospital. Paul's life slowly unwinds as the death affects him more and more until he finds his life wrapped up in revenge as a means to cope with the death. The story builds nicely and evolves as the tragedy causes ripples in many lives. These are lives for which we believe and feel sorry. And while the revenge and steps taken getting there seem a tad out of character, it's also something where we can see the stress of coping eat away at Paul. A stress that causes bad decisions and further disaster. A stress we can understand and sympathize for him while hoping that it never happens to us. One more minor point, the ending left me with more questions of what was going to happen next and I would have loved to get an epilogue that tied up at least a couple of the major questions outstanding.
To The Stars by George Takei
- Purchase it here
- Published October 1994 (hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on January 3, 1998
- As would be predictable in an autobiography, this book tells a lot about George Takei that was previously unknown. Or at least was previously unknown to some of us. For example, the fact that he was sent to the Japanese-American detainment camps when he was a young boy, one in Oklahoma and one in northern California. Or that he was involved in politics as he got older and became a good friend of Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley. Or that he was not extremely fond of William Shatner, to put it mildly. All of it was quite interesting and very revealing. Quite an entertaining read and also uplifting in several parts. If Hikaru Sulu is one of your favorite characters or at least one you are interested in and you want to gain some background information on the person behind the helm, read this book.
To Wake The Dead by Richard Laymon
- Purchase it here
- Published September 2003 (Leisure Books hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on January 24, 2005
- This is one of Laymon's books that combines so many different and weird elements that the story is unbelievable but at the same time so much fun to read. It has a dead mummy that gets revived, some prisoners being held as sex slaves, the mummy's caretaker who has his own demons to wrestle with, and a museum curator who is the most normal of them all. Mix all of these together, sprinkling in a healthy dose of sex and violence and you get a Laymon novel. Is it one of his best? Not really. Is it one that you will enjoy and barely be able to put down? Most definitely. And when it comes down to it, that is exactly what I want in book. Something that pulls me in, grabs my interest despite how weird it gets, and then won't let me go until I finish it.
Tombs edited by Peter Crowther and Edward E. Kramer
- Purchase it here
- 22 short stories by such authors as Ben Bova, Larry Bond, William F. Buckley Jr, Nancy A. Collins, Michael Moorcock and Lisa Tuttle
- Published 1994 (White Wolf Publishing paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on October 13, 2000
- I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this but it took me about a third of the book before I realized that all the stories dealt with a tomb of some sort. There was a submarine, a grave, life and tons of others. You would think that I would realize this since the collection is titled TOMBS. Despite my being dense, I didn't find this book very enjoyable. Most of the stories were pure work to slug through and not enjoyable. Only a couple of stories appealed to me enough to like but not enough to change my opinion of the book.
"Burial at Sea" by Larry Bond and Chris Carlson - A submarine's death that is scary in itself but especially since it still happens today, i.e. the Russian sub that recently sank
"But None I Think Do There Embrace" by S.P. Somtow - An actor makes a deal with the devil
The Tommyknockers by Stephen King
- Purchase it here
- Published November 1988 (Signet paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on July 31, 1991
- unreviewed
The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce
- Purchase it here
- Published February 1999 (Tor Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on November 27, 2000
- While a very enjoyable novel, I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. It's a coming of age story about a boy who also discovers the tooth fairy. Unfortunately the tooth fairy is not quite the friendly magical creature that we think. In fact, the relationship that develops between Sam, the main character and the tooth fairy is often antagonistic and brutal, but also loving and seductive. Obviously this has many profound effects on Sam and in turn on his friends. And we stay with them all from a young age of five or six to their late teens, experiencing along with them things like a first kiss, lost toes, a genius and death. Joyce's character development throughout the book is wonderful and very involving. I know that I'm not getting it across here but I found myself not wanting it to end. If you want an off beat tale about kids growing up, then this is definitely a book for you.
The Touch by F. Paul Wilson
- Purchase it here
- Published October 1986 (Jove Book paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on October 1, 1989
- unreviewed
The Town by Bentley Little
- Purchase it here
- Published May 2000 (Signet paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on January 13, 2002
- This is another novel by Little that I really like. It was a bit more scary than the last couple of his that I read and that probably helped me to like it even more. The novel centers around Gregory Tomasov and his family as they move back to the small town in which Tomasov grew up. This move being made possible after Tomasov won the lottery. But what they don't realize is that the house they move in to is haunted, and pretty soon it becomes the whole town that is haunted. The spooky events and frights slowly build up and become quite chilly especially when major characters start getting killed. I'm always a sucker for having a major character that we have grown to know and like suddenly getting killed; it's so much more shocking and thrilling than a minor, nearly nameless nobody biting it. One of the other things that I liked about this novel was how the Molokan religion was a key part of the story but at the same time it wasn't thrust on us. The religion was just part of the story and not the "moral" that so many other authors make it instead.
Toxic Love by Kristopher Triana
- Purchase it here
- Published February 2019 (Blood Bound Books audiobook edition)
- Finished reading it on January 9, 2022
- Within the space of two novels, Triana has become one of my new favorite authors. I am very much enjoying his books. However, TOXIC LOVE is probably not the place to start with him. Go for THE RUIN SEASON instead. The reason is that this book is extremely and incredibly graphic. Seriously. Most people will hate and be disgusted by this book within the first chapter. There is a lot of sex and blood and dead bodies and more. This is not the book for most people. The cover blurb "Jesus! And I thought I was sick." by Edward Lee really does sum it up. If you don't know Edward Lee (Splatterpunk J.F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award recipient), look him up and then consider his blurb. Let me give a short summary of the start of the book to illustrate. Mike Ashbrook works for a cleaning agency that cleans and sanitizes crime scenes after the bodies are removed. He gets a new partner Sage who is a gorgeous blonde and who, we quickly find out, gets turned on by blood. Sage's sexual kink of blood started with her first boyfriend who was a cutter. Before we know it, Mike and Sage are moving from one extreme depravity to another. My short description might sum up the basics but it doesn't truly do the story justice. There really is a story within the book; it's not torture-porn or just a gross-out. Mike is going through a divorce and life changes and the attraction of younger woman helps him to rediscover himself. The degree and amount of change is not what he expects but how many of us in real life expect the changes that fate throws us. The unexpected layoff or car accident or death. Or even in today's world, global pandemic. Adjusting and dealing with changes and coming out of it with a better sense of identity or stability is what we all try to do. And fiction takes those changes to the extreme. And in this case, the very extreme. I'm not sure what type of book Triana will provide me next but I am looking forward to it.
Trailer Park Noir by Ray Garton
- Purchase it here
- Published January 2011 (eReads paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on December 12, 2019
- I enjoy reading Ray Garton's books. He does a good job of blending tense, violent situations with well-built characters, then adding a healthy dash of sex to spice things up. Some might say a dollop of sex. In TRAILER PARK NOIR, Garton nicely combines trailer park trash with pulp noir. Oxford Dictionary defines noir as "a genre of crime film or fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity." Apply that definition to a trailer park environment and it perfectly sums up the mood of the book. Marc Reznick is a private investigator getting over his girlfriend's suicide; he lives in unit nine. Right next door is Anna Dunfy and her teenage daughter Kendra; Anna is a single mom, working temp jobs and stripping at night to take care of her beautiful and mentally handicapped daughter. Mix in a pornographer in unit five and a drug dealer in unit seventeen and you know some significant drama is going to happen. Each of these characters and more exhibit the cynicism, fatalism, and/or moral ambiguity mentioned in the definition above. The biggest problem that I had with the book was the character change that Reznick went through in the last third of the book. The pieces were there for the shift but at the same time, it was pretty sudden. For most of the book, he was a decent guy; he had problems and demons to deal with but he mostly had them under control. Then he takes care of a problem for Anna and suddenly flips as if a switch in him went off; his personality significantly changes from before. At that point, he was an arse and deserved the fate he received. As the title suggests, the book is not deep literature. What the book is though is fun and enjoyable and very satisfying.
Translation by Stephen Marlowe
- Purchase it here
- Published January 1977 (Ballantine paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on January 1, 1980
- unreviewed
The Traveling Vampire Show by Richard Laymon
- Purchase it here
- Published March 2001 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on March 19, 2001
- Wow! After reading THE STAKE by Laymon, I was anxious to read another book and see if they are all as good as that one. They are! This is another fantastic story that involves real characters living life with all its little problems. The adventure begins in the early 1960s when three teenagers decide to try to see a traveling vampire show. The story starts off slow enough but quickly builds in to a suspenseful page turner. Without giving anything away, I can safely say that Laymon is a master at making a tense and scary moment out of nothing. Both of these novels hold off on any "true" supernatural causes until the last scene of the book. Definitely don't miss this novel!
Trevayne by Robert Ludlum
- Purchase it here
- Published February 1973 (Bantam Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on February 29, 1984
- unreviewed
Triage edited by Matt Johnson
- Purchase it here
- 3 novellas by Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon and Edward Lee
- Published November 2001 (Cemetery Dance Publications hardcover signed and limited to 1,500 copies edition)
- Finished reading it on May 10, 2005
- This was a fun book based on a fun idea. Each of the three novellas are based on the same idea: a mystery person comes to a workplace bent on destroying someone who had no idea why they were being targeted or even who the psycho was. Originally it was going to be a collaboration but due to circumstances and killer ideas, it morphed into a collection by the three authors instead. And as would be expected, the three novellas are awesome. And while similar, they are very different too. It was cool to flip back and forth between the stories and see exactly where and how they are different; that is until that major diverting point where nothing is similar anymore. "Triage" by Richard Laymon takes the concept and runs with it: basic office workers, set in today and go! "In The Year of Our Lord: 2202" by Edward Lee moves the action into the future (I'll let you figure out what year). He builds an interesting future (not one that I would want to live in) and the story culminates in a point that I didn't really see coming. Not sure if it exactly fit but it was enjoyable. "Sheep Meadow Story" by Jack Ketchum sort of cheats a bit because the required idea occurs in a dream and not the reality of the story but it sets the tone for the story which becomes more hard boiled noir than anything else. This book is highly recommended!
Troll's Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
- Purchase it here
- Published April 2009 (Viking Books hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on June 14, 2020
- Oh, I didn't realize this was a Young Adult (YA) book. Totally my bad and something that I probably would not have bought if I had realized that. However, since I had and since it came up in my To Be Read stack, there was no reason not to read it. Unfortunately, I found the stories to only so-so. The concept is that most of the fairy tales are told from the perspective of the hero or the damsel, that the antagonist hasn't had a chance to tell their side of what happened. These stories reveal that truth behind their bad reputation. The problem that I had was that the bulk of the stories were not very interesting. Plus there were multiple stories where I had no idea to which fairy tale it was referring. Combine that with YA stories that, to me, are not as gritty and I was left disappointed. There were two stories that I found interesting but the rest would have been better to skip.
"'Skin" by Michael Cadnum - Rumplestiltskin tries to help a spoiled princess but is tricked.
"A Delicate Architecture" by Catherynne M. Valente - Hansel and Gretel's witch really had father issues.
The Troop by Nick Cutter
- Purchase it here
- Published February 2014 (Simon & Schuster Audio audiobook edition)
- Finished reading it on October 15, 2023
- unreviewed
True Crime by Samantha Kolesnik
- Purchase it here
- Published January 2020 (Grindhouse Press ebook edition)
- Finished reading it on September 4, 2022
- unreviewed
Try Again by Wesley Southard
- Purchase it here
- Published July 2022 (Wesley Southard audiobook edition)
- Finished reading it on July 1, 2023
- A quick note as I try to catch up at the end of the year. This is a totally fun and exciting book. It's not quite a "repeat the same day" stories but similar. In this case, the main character cannot get into her own house. It's ok though because the house is saving her from the people inside. But at the same time, her father is inside and in danger. It heightens the suspense since time is still moving and deadlines approaching but she keeps getting reset. Anyway, very fun and I would say an original take on the Groundhog's Day sub-genre.
The Turtle Boy by Kealan Patrick Burke
- Purchase it here
- Published 2010 (Elderlemon Press ebook edition)
- Finished reading it on December 5, 2018
- I like Burke's writing. He portrays a real world and believable characters. Plus, his stories are often uniquely scary; SOUR CANDY is a perfect example of this. And while THE TURTLE BOY was good, it also felt slightly splintered. Timmy Quinn is eleven years old and home from school for the summer. He is excited to spend it with his best friend Pete. However, a dark discovery at the beginning of summer leaves Timmy alone for most of the summer. Until his mom intervenes and forces Pete to be friends with a girl, Kim Barnes. Together they discover the darker secret behind the dark discovery. The story is solid and enjoyable. The characters are interesting and believable. The disjointed part was that the novella was part Young Adult and part adult. It seemed that Burke was creating his own YA character that teens and pre-teens could follow. The novella had all the characteristics of a YA novel. However, at the same time, the story seemed a bit intense and graphic for a YA story. Personally, I liked the extra intensity but then as the parent of a pre-teen, I'm not really part of the YA audience. There are five books in the Timmy Quinn series by Burke, so I imagine that it has resonated with people fairly well. Hopefully Burke is finding and pulling in the next wave of new readers who love horror and who like that extra-gore instead. I'm kind of digressing. I found the story fun to read, it kept me engaged all the way to the end, and I wasn't disappointed at the end. I probably won't pick up other Timmy Quinn stories, but I will be picking up other Kealan Patrick Burke stories.
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
- Purchase it here
- Published 2008 (Harper paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on July 27, 2010
- unreviewed
23 Hours by David Wellington
- Purchase it here
- Published June 2009 (Three Rivers Press paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on February 28, 2021
- Unfortunately on my side, it's been ten years since I finished VAMPIRE ZERO. Needless to say, I pretty much lost all momentum and thrill from the previous books before I started reading 23 HOURS. On the plus side, I was able to pick it up again pretty quickly. As best as I can remember and as revealed in the book opening, the story continues not long after the last book. Laura Caxton is in prison for her actions from before and is now peacefully serving her time with the hopes of getting out quickly. However, Justina Malvern, the world's oldest living and last surviving vampire, wants revenge on Laura. Through careful planning, Justina is set to get it. While Laura is still in the prison. The story is fast paced and vicious. I was engrossed the whole way through. I constantly had questions of how was an unarmed Laura going to start killing the undead and vampires? Or how was Justina planning on getting away? What's going to happen after the climax of the story? Of course all was revealed while reading and I was not displeased! The story seemed compact but I'm sure that since the setting of most of the book was the prison, that helped. It made things more confining and limiting. At the same time though, it sped the pace up; every action was a room away from more guards, undead, and/or vampires. I've already learned from my previous mistake and have started the final book in the Laura Caxton series.
Twists of the Tale edited by Ellen Datlow
- Purchase it here
- 23 short stories by such authors as William Burroughs, Douglas Clegg, Stephen King, Kathe Koja and Barry N. Malzberg, Joyce Carol Oates, Tanith Lee and Gahan Wilson
- Published November 1996 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on November 04, 1999
- Unfortunately this collection of stories didn't turn out to be as enjoyable as I thought that it was going to. With all the big names contributing and with Datlow usually picking out a good collection of stories, I hoped to find most of them good. Only the beginning stories were; the rest came across as mediocre. The gems amongst the stones were ...
"White Rook, Black Pawn" by Susan Wade - As Datlow put it, the story "is a tour de force about firefighting, physics, chess, and divorcing parents."
"The Five" by Douglas Clegg - A young girl's life becomes wrapped up in the lives of five kittens.
"Not Waving" by Michael Marshall Smith - A love story involving someone trapped in their own choices.
"Incidental Cats" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - A day of change for some cats.
The Two-Bear Mambo by Joe R. Lansdale
- Purchase it here
- Published September 1996 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on February 01, 2001
- I was caught reading this book while on a bus ride back to my hotel on a recent business trip. When asked what the book was about and if it was good, I was kind of perplexed. Not on the good part, that was a quick affirmative answer and upgrade to excellent. It was the "how do I explain this book without throwing this stranger into a quandary on some of the more eccentric characteristics of the book" thing. I ended up answering that it was about two men and their journey to stay true to the qualities that make them who they are. And on the way they run in to a bunch of backward redneck hicks who are out to kill them. And it was then that I realized part of why I love the Hap Collins and Leonard Pine books; it's because they are about two men who constantly find themselves in some weird ass situations and yet they always stay true to keeping their honor. It's a very Japanese thing but it fits for them. I think that I kind of end up viewing it as role model for myself to live up to. Granted I'm not almost killed as much as these two and I do have a bit more ambition but it is still a lesson that can be learned while enjoying some good old backwoods fun.
Two Trains Running by Andrew Vachss
- Purchase it here
- Published June 2006 (Vintage Crime paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on January 12, 2008
- Vachss proves once again that he is great at writing a good old-fashioned, crime noir story. However while I did enjoy the book, there were still some flaws and issues that I had which took away from the overall novel. The story, based in late 1959, involves Royal Beaumont, a self-professed hillbilly, who rules the town of Locke City with an iron fist. When the mafia start trying to muscle in on his business, Beaumont hires an outside enforcer who turns out to also be a great strategist. Throw into the mix some racial discord along with an Irish mob and corrupt FBI agents and you'll have all the pieces. The problem was that the final picture included a little too much. The social and business interactions of the various groups were already a bit stretched. Then when Vachss threw in a bunch of political positioning too, it became too much and things didn't seem to gel together. Motives of the different groups were never clear. I don't think they were too complex for me to understand; I never saw them as being clear. And then to make matters worse, too many of the characters all read the same. At least four characters could be described as criminals with a strong moral or sense of honor. The source of their morals differed (racial pride or tortured soul being the two major ones) but their dialogue was interchangeable. It made the story difficult and not ring out as true. All in all, Vachss has done a much better job.
Twilight Eyes by Dean R. Koontz
- Purchase it here
- Published September 1987 (Berkley Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on December 31, 1990
- unreviewed
Two Twisted Nuts by Jeff Strand and Nick Cato
- Purchase it here
- Published 2005 (Novello Publishers chapbook numbered and limited to 500 copies edition)
- Finished reading it on February 11, 2009
- unreviewed
Send comments or your opinions on these books to mike@kazba.com.