Thought experiment: George R. R. Martin is The Beatles. R. Scott Bakker is The Velvet Underground. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: The Great Ordeal (The Aspect Emperor: Book Three), by R. Scott Bakker
This week I review the short stories of Orrin Grey, collected in “Painted Monsters and Other Beasts,” where he plumbs the depths of human experience similar to Clive Barker and Jim Thompson. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Painted Monsters and Other Beasts: Stories, by Orrin Grey
The saga of Xanther and her cat continue in “The Familiar, Volume 2: Into the Woods,” by Mark Z. Danielewski. But questions arise when her father Anwar takes them to the vet. The vet tells Xanther that her puff of white fur isn’t a cat at all, but a dog. It isn’t just born, but very old. It also belongs to someone else. Continue reading The Familiar, Volume 2: Into the Forest, by Mark Z. Danielewski @NYJB
Is there poetry after Auschwitz? Is there horror after the massacre in Orlando? “Peel Back the Skin: Anthology of Horror Stories,” edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson, reveals why horror is necessary today. Continue reading Peel Back the Skin, edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson @NYJB
Earlier this month over at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, I reviewed “Mr. Suicide,” by Nicole Cushing. As my review went online, I found out Cushing’s book won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Debut Horror Novel. In this interview, Nicole and I discuss cons, “likeable characters,” Louisville, Kentucky, and the definition of evil. Continue reading An Interview with Nicole Cushing
“Mr. Suicide” by Nicole Cushing is a dark novel of dysfunction, abuse, and violence. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Mr. Suicide by Nicole Cushing
Eldon Fochs is a Provost in the Corporation of the Blood of the Lamb, also known as “Bloodites.” The fictional Bloodite religion bears outward features to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, with recommendation cards for entry into temple ceremonies and a hierarchy of leadership. Fochs visits Alexander Feshtig, a devout Bloodite psychiatrist, in order to curtail his disturbing thoughts and bad dreams. This visit sets off a chain of events that lay bare unspeakable evils in Father of Lies by Brian Evenson’s. Originally written in 1998, Father of Lies was reprinted by Coffee House Press along … Continue reading Father of Lies, by Brian Evenson @ NYJB
The small town of Arvida, Quebec, becomes the focal point for Samuel Archibald’s haunting short story collection. Continue reading Translation Tuesdays: Arvida, by Samuel Archibald @ NYJB
Eerie Archives Volume 20 is “a delightful sampler of the grotesque and absurd.” Continue reading Eerie Archives Volume 20 @ NYJB
When I wrote “On Being Human,” I wrote an essay on Mike Mignola’s “Hellboy.” “Frankenstein Underground” expands on Mignola’s pulpy universe, giving us a fun graphic novel about Frankenstein’s monster. Continue reading On Being Human Redux: Frankenstein Underground, by Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck
The Driftless Area Review 