mpontiff

   As a kid, I was fascinated with cryptozoology. Limited to books in the times before the internet, I'd page through, reading and studying the illustrations and now, so many years later, I can perfectly visualize the Jersey Devil again thanks to Mr. Shea. If you've never heard of it before, you're in for a treat as Mr. Shea brings it to life!

   Because of my childhood fascination, I was pretty stoked to read Mr. Shea's book and it was a blast! The story has a large cast of characters, some that appear long enough to serve their purpose before moving on, but the main characters are the Willet family. Driven to search for answers after a mysterious mark appears on them, the family teams up with crypto hunter Norm Cranston after Jersey Devil sightings start surfacing. Along the way, the family engages in epic battles as they fight to learn the truth behind their marks and struggle to put an end to it once and for all.

   This novel is a wonderful retake on the old tale and is one that any horror fan should NOT miss! The plot moves smoothly and it seemed like there was action on every other page, making this one a fast read that was hard to put down while never getting bogged down. While the likable family characters were great, I especially loved all the minor characters that appeared and disappeared throughout the book; you'll have to read it to see why!

   
   If you're into monsters, cryptozoology, action or losing your fear of things that go bump in the night, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. You will not regret it.

   Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review!

Wow, this novel had a lot going on! A "haunted" house (I use the term haunted lightly here as the house was so much more), animated body parts, good vs evil, forest creatures, dead beings that are alive (no, not more of that tired zombie genre; totally different) and of course, a rocking horse which really creeped me out and I'd bet it'll creep you out too.
I haven't read much horror from the 80s but if it's anything like this, I certainly will read more! The story starts out innocently enough but the creepy vibe kicks off quickly and escalates into goosebumps and chills down the spine. A few times, I even had to set down my kindle, take a breath and process what I just read. Of course, I HAD to see what happened next so the breaks didn't last long (who needs sleep when you're reading a quality story anyway?!).

Johnstone has a unique premise here and a wonderful main cast of characters that make you feel like you're right there with them, listening to that creepy horse do its thing, seeing the inexplicable terrors and feeling the adrenaline rush.

If you've never read anything by Johnstone, this is a good place to start!

Many thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for this excellent, and recommended, book!

Originally published in 1971, there's probably nothing new that I can say about this one. Instead, I want to point out that I absolutely love how Matheson accomplishes so much with so little. For example, take the following sentence, "There was something in there, without a doubt, something terribly malignant." It wouldn't cause most to blink an eye but when Matheson writes it, it becomes sinister, the imagination runs wild and I breathed a sigh of relief when the story moved on.

Hell House definitely isn't for the squeamish or easily offended due to all of the perversions but it's definitely worth your time.

This will be an ongoing thing as I work through the stories in this book. 

Parasitic Embrace by Adam Millard

Solid 4.5 stars on this story!

This one starts out with a sudden volcanic eruption; no warning of any kind, destroying anything nearby immediately. An enormous ash cloud is released that's creeping outward, blocking out the sun, causing panic as it moves. One would think that dealing with an ash cloud would be preferable to the instant death that some people near the volcano experienced but that is totally false; those people were the lucky ones. There's something in the ash cloud, something that will infect you and use you as a host.

Wow! This collection started out with a BANG! Millard ramped the tension up quickly as the plight of one lady unfurls as the catastrophe happens. Her character was extremely well done and I found myself engrossed in the story. My only not would be the action of two characters at the very end, based against the action of others but I can see it working like it did based on their history together. I feel like I need to go hug a kitten now and stay far away from volcanoes. Well done!

An Amazon reviewer nailed it when they called this "Jurassic Park meets The Running Man".  

Creature features are a favorite of mine with ones that feature dinosaurs being a guilty pleasure. This one had enough dinosaurs and gore to satisfy me but it could use another round of editing as some things didn't add up - characters nodding their heads to indicate disagreement (a nod is still a yes motion, isn't it?), lack of an apostrophe here and there and so on. 

Character development was next to nil but who is going to read a book about man-eating monsters and want character development?  I sure don't want to get too attached to a character only to read about them sliding down a Tyrannosaurous Rex's throat!  Even so, I couldn't help but care for a few of the characters. 

Most of the characters and their actions were plausible enough but two did something at he of the book which really felt unbelievable (yes, a book about dinosaurs and I'm finding some of the character's actions unbelievable). 

Overall, a very fun read that fans of Jurassic Park will probably enjoy. 

Coming June 1st, 2015!

Cruelty:The Complete Serial Novel collects all ten episodes in one signed limited edition hardcover.

Only fifty of these books will be printed. Each book will be signed and numbered.

The hardcover is 689 pages and will come with a special surprise for collectors, as well as new custom images for each episode and a signature page.

Example:

Books will be personalized to each individual. If you would like a certain message written inside the book, please add that to your note when checking out.

The book is $60 with free shipping to the United States. $75 for all international customers.

Customers in the US, click HERE

International customers click HERE

NOTE: This pre-order is for the trade paperback version of Episodes Six – Ten.

Click on link below to pre-order A Final Act of Cruelty (Signed Limited Edition)

Only 25 copies of this book will be printed. Each book comes with a custom signature page that will be signed and numbered.

If you would like a personal message from the author, please add it to the comments of your purchase. Thank you.

A Final Act of Cruelty (Signed Limited Edition) ships May 1st, 2015!

The book is $25.00 with free shipping to anywhere in the United States, and $40.00 for international customers.

Customers in the US, click HERE

International customers, click HERE

Thank you for your continued support!

We've all heard others say it - a book was gripping, emotional and stayed with them. I've heard it so much, I don't pay much attention to that anymore. However, this book is one that deserves that praise and so much more. I cried when I read it and start tearing up every time I even think about it. It deals with a family man's worst nightmare and the sad insanity he goes through after the fact. My friend Charlene summed it up perfectly when she said it was like a punch in the face. Seriously people, even if you've never read Lee Thompson or read him and don't care for his work. Do not pass this one up. It will get to you and stay with you the rest of your life. 

Currently 99 cents on Amazon, do not miss it. 

When We Join Jesus In Hell

The fans have spoken and I have listened. Not everyone was a hundred percent thrilled with the cover reveal I did last week. Because of that, I have another option for you. If you pre-ordered the Signed Limited Edition Hardcover of Bay's End (featuring Fog Warning), you can now decide between Option A and Option B. Please email your choice to edwardlorn@gmail.com. Also, there are still copies left for sale. If you would like one, please pick one of the following links:

Customers in the US , click HERE

All other countries, click HERE

If you're a new customer, please put your cover choice in the notes section of your payment. Thank you for your support!

Option A:

Option B:

Weeds

When I first started reading this book, I didn't expect the King story to be the very first one. Since it is first, it certainly set the tone for the book and takes off with a blast!  King can take the most innocent object and turn it into something to be feared. This was my first time to read this story and parts of it made me very uneasy!  While this is a short story, it's very easy to connect with the main character and feel sympathy for his plight. I can't begin to imagine how horrible what he went through was...

The Price You Pay

I've read a few enjoyable short stories by Armstrong before so I was looking forward to this one. It had a good twist on the plot but I didn't connect with some of the characters too well.  It is still very worthwhile reading!

Magic Eyes

Set in a mental institution, this one maintained a creepy vibe throughout the whole story as we see the main character's thoughts and inner struggles as he writes in his private journal.  The tension (and horror) revs up continually as the story goes on until the end. 

Murder in Chains

This is the first time I've ever read anything by Clark and I must read more of his work!  I can't say much without giving away the plot but the plight of the characters was riveting and the ending was perfect!

The Watched

I found this story a little weird and it didn't resonate very well with me as I often struggled to find the point of some things that occurred in the story. 

Overall, this collection is well worth the price and is sure to provide enjoyment to anyone who picks it up and reads it. I certainly enjoyed finding two authors that were new to me through their wonderful stories. Recommended!

Black Bubbles by Kelli Owen (author of Deceiver) is on sale for 99 cents the next three days!

Black Bubbles

Andy Weir's excellent novel The Martian is currently $3 at Amazon. This won't last long so grab it while you can! 

The Martian

2.5 stars

When I read the summary of this one on Dark Region's website, I got excited because it sounded great!  As soon as I got the ebook from them, I dug in for what I expected to be a great time. 

Unfortunately, no. The book started out slowly, fleshing out the few main characters it contains before moving the antagonist into the picture. Once it appeared, things picked up a little but the conversation between the characters was very flat, especially for people that are supposed to be terrified and nearly dying every few pages. Given the total lack of emotion from them, they could have been discussing the weather, politics or what they had for supper. I certainly felt NONE of the terror and tension that they should have been experiencing. 

There were some beautiful illustrations in this advance copy but instead of adding to the story, they retracted from it. Comparing the illustrations to the story, there were several inconsistencies such as size of the creature, articles of clothing and placement of restraints. I loved the illustrations but I feel that the text should have matched them. 

Lastly, there were several mistakes in punctuation and one case of sloppy editing where a piece of equipment that was gone from the story magically reappeared. Maybe it's just me but that sort of thing yanks me right out of a story. 

All in all, I was very disappointed in this book and felt that it could have been so much better with better dialogue and another pass at editing. 

After reading the hype that was building up to Revival's publication, I was pretty stoked to read this. Who wouldn't be?  It was stated to be "the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written"!  Well, not exactly, for me at least but your mileage may vary. 

Don't get me wrong, the book was fantastic. I just finished reading King's 'Salem's Lot a week ago and he has progressed tremendously as an author. Revival contains none of the bloated sentences and word filler that previous novels had; its text is clean and concise. The storyline was captivating and had a slow build of creepy tension but some of that was lost around midway through the book, never to be fully regained. 

I loved the characters (Charlie at first, not so much later on) and I was thrilled to see how Jamie progresses from a child to an older man and the struggles he faced. 

My only complaint with the book is the ending. We have this fairly steady build throughout most of the book and the reader knows SOMETHING is going to happen. When we get there, it was disappointing for me. The concept was good but the execution felt rushed, much like King was ready to be done with it. 

E's book Life After Dane is a kindle countdown deal for the next two days and is only 99 cents!  

Life After Dane

Or you could buy the whole group; it's well worth the price!  -Matt

Now you can be.

Click the pic to pick-n-choose!

The wait is over.

Click on the pic to get your copy today.

Please share, if you're so inclined. 

Thank you for your support, and I hope you enjoy.