This is the third and final book I read as part of the Horror Writer’s Association Summer Scares reading list. Simply put, this story earns 5 stars from me because of the number of levels it works on. It’s a coming-of-age story told from the perspective of a burgeoning werewolf. The coming-of-age story and the horror story contained within work on their own and Stephen Graham Jones arguably could have written two separate books, and they both would’ve drawn me in.

With werewolf elements temporarily withdrawn, this is the story of a young teenage boy living with his aunt and uncle. This cobbled-together family is trying make their way in the world, scraping by on a day-to-day basis. All the while, our unnamed narrator is trying to figure out how he fits into this family as well as the world at large. This works so beautifully because although the members of our family are so rough and tumble, there is genuine love and care throughout, as well as a willingness on the part of the characters to do just about anything for each other.

Mongrels also serves as a necessary entry into werewolf literature and lore. I’m a sucker for stories that acknowledge lore and mythology, but are bold enough to say okay, here’s what’s right, here’s what’s dead wrong, and here’s what’s just a little bit different. SGJ is clearly a student/fan of the genre and explores the different tropes to make it his own. One of the most interesting, or disturbing, being how werewolves have to choose their clothing carefully to avoid the posited pantyhose disaster.

SGJ said in the notes at the end of Mongrels that one of his main goals was to write a werewolf story from the perspective of every day people, and round of applause, because that’s precisely what we get. Flawed, but extremely likable characters, and a story that takes us on their collective and individual journeys. If you’re a fan of werewolf or monster literature or just like a tale with heart and a bit of gore, Mongrels should absolutely make it to your to-be-read list.

I don’t care to fly. It’s not that I’m terrified, it’s just that I like where I am. I didn’t seek out an anthology of stories to act as a checklist of all the things that could go wrong on an airplane that you never thought about, but here we have arrived and you are now free to move about the cabin.

This anthology was partially compiled by, and mainly introduced by, Stephen King, which is, of course, the primary selling point. The beauty is you get a new King story, some big names like Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, Dan Simmons, and Joe Hill, and some authors/stories you may gave missed otherwise.
Although pitched as a horror anthology we see a pretty wide variety of stories from ghost stories (Cargo) to supernatural monsters (Zombies on a Plane) to monstrous people (Lucifer!). Non-horror stories that dwell on war time (War Birds, They Shall Not Grow Old), science-fiction (Air Raid) and even a murder mystery with an on-board detective (Murder in the Air).

You Are Released by Joe Hill is the stand out story in this collection, as far as I’m concerned. I would even go so far as to say it’s the best short story I’ve read in recent memory. It’s very current and real, and I was more than a little choked-up by the last page.
Other favorites were the King story; the Turbulence Expert, The Horror of the Heights by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Murder in the Air by Peter Tremayne. Some notable skips include The Fifth Category, Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds(I haven’t found Dan Simmons’ short works as compelling as his longer ones), War Birds, and They Shall Not Grow Old.

One last note on the compilation; I found that the best stories were spread throughout the book, and reading it front-to-back, there were never days on end where I kept hitting clunkers. Bev Vincent and King did a really great job of putting an order to stories that transitioned between genres (or sub-genres) as well as classic versus modern. For the time being, I will continue to pick up any book with King’s name on the front, as long as the collections compiled, books that he blurbs, and books that he writes continue to be as consistently good as they have been.

I loved this book. I devoured this book. I have a lot of thoughts about this book. I have a lot of questions about this book.

Aspects of this story almost reminded me of the original Scream, as this becomes a mainstay of possession, demon, exorcist type horror while also acting as an extremely well-done send-up of the genre. We end up viewing the events of the story via three different sources - first person account, a re-telling of events from the narrator to a second source years later, and also a third person outsider’s perspective (well...) through a blog. The reader is left to sort out what to take as gospel and what to leave, and then to form their own thoughts on the true account. It’s hard to say much more without entering spoiler territory, but Paul Tremblay uses it to turn a good story into an unforgettable story.

Perhaps what worked best for me in Head Full of Ghosts was how real the family was, with particular emphasis on Marjorie and Merry, and their interactions throughout. The reader is left feeling that yes, in these extreme situations, this is the exact type of dialogue two younger sisters would engage in. Buying into the girls’ relationship left me reading the second to last chapter in a state where I was simultaneously horrified and enraptured. If you have ever hit a certain part in a story like that, you know that the trumpets could sound, and the stars could begin to fall from the sky, and I’d have no choice but to finish the chapter.

Any true horror fan probably read this book years ago, and has likely reread it since (I know I’m looking forward to a reread, knowing now what I do), but if you have deprived yourself of A Head Full of Ghosts for whatever reason, do so no longer.

This is another book I read as part of the Horror Writer’s Association Summer Scares reading list. Truth be told, this is probably the book I was looking forward to most because the title, cover, and description are off-the-wall bonkers. Simply put, this looked like the literary version of the straight-to-DVD horror I frequently sampled during my tenure working at Hollywood Video (RIP).

Diving in, I was a little surprised that the pacing was a bit slow at the start. At 272 pages, I expected to jump right into the action. It was only later in the book I realized how much I benefitted from getting to know Teddy and Carl. In the afterword, Brian Keene says he didn’t want another 30 year action hero playing protagonist, so we are treated to two older gentlemen whose back-and-forth interactions make for compelling characterization.

My favorite part was the second act, spent in a flooded Baltimore, with a group of survivors battling an “evil” group of survivors a la the walking dead (pre-walking dead). This storyline transitions to avid monster mayhem, with some surprises that the reader, expecting giant carnivorous worms and giant carnivorous worms only, will not see coming.
If you see the title and cover and think “hey, this might be fun”, it will be. I ended up reading the final 2/3’s of the book in one sitting because I was completely and utterly unable to put it down. I hope if this sounds like your thing, you’ll check it out, and I hope you’ll have as much fun as I did.

Okay, I’m late to the party on this one, but I kept seeing Dan Simmons, and namely Carrion Comfort show up on every must-read list where horror was concerned - epic novels, vampire stories, monster tomes, you name it. Beginning at the beginning, this book had one of the longer introductions I’ve come across but understanding Simmons’ trek through the perils of the publication industry and helped me understand that was I was about to read would be the author’s unedited, untouched vision.

The root of this novel is about power. The monsters or vampires exert a power over their victims, which helps them to survive. The victim is left powerless and without the ability to control their choices, their actions, and even their own bodies. This relatively simple premise stirs such relatable feelings of empathy and terror in the reader. What could be more horrifying than being physically forced, against your will, to participate in sexual and violent acts while being a passenger in your own mind. The monsters display an extreme callousness and lack of regard toward human life.

Arguably, the overarching storyline is bigger than the characters. Overall, the main characters are pretty one dimensional, and even Saul, the main protagonist is pretty one-note. The most likable character is surprisingly dispatched pretty quickly, leaving us with a third act that is pretty black and white, good versus evil storytelling.

Following the many who came before me, I certainly put this book in the category of required reading, if only for its’ unique take on the vampire novel. I also found the insertion of these monstrous, vampiric individuals into horrific events in history very interesting and a great addition to the story. I look forward to more books by Simmons, including Summer of Night and Hyperion.

I picked up this book as part the Summer Scares reading list put together by the Horror Writer’s Association and United for Libraries. I had also heard good things about the author’s short stories. Admittedly, I made a terrible mistake and read a bit of background on what this book was supposed to be about. I found a fair few comparisons with Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, which I did not care for at all.

I found the main characters considerably more compelling here, and even had trouble deciding who I would tout as the main character; David or Jessica. Tananarive Due does an incredible job painting David as a character with absolutely irredeemable flaws that the reader cannot seem to fully condemn. I found myself halfway through the book and unable to decide whether or not I was rooting for him. Jessica, on the other hand, primarily presents as a strong female lead, and it’s only after-the-fact that we realize how her naivety has led all our characters to their present state.

Without spoilers, the events at the end are simultaneously beautiful and heartbreaking. I can not think of any alteration to the outcome, however small, that could have improved it.

I found the story enthralling and had a great deal of difficulty stopping at chapters breaks, and the four large portions the book is broken up into. I likely would not have stumbled across this book if it were not presented under the horror label, but it almost seems more accurate to classify as a thriller with supernatural elements. If that sounds like something up your alley, I have no issues recommending this book.

I’ve read a few books by Chuck Wendig, but I’ve never considered him a get-it-the-day-it-comes-out author. Word of mouth for Wanderers quickly took me from I should check that out to I should check that out now, and I can’t wait for prime shipping. The comparisons between this book, King’s The Stand and McCammon’s Swan Song are inevitable and, to a degree, justified, but this one is a bit smaller.
Don’t get me wrong, it checks all the boxes for sprawling end-of-the-world epic and travels across the US of A but we do not meet quite as many characters over the almost 800 page spread, and as a result we get to know the ones we do meet a bit better.

The main area of complaint I heard prior to reading this book was that it leaned into the current political landscape in a manner that could be considered a little too heavy-handed. It does. But, why does that have to be a negative? Some of the best fiction, movies, television, etc. base their merit on commenting on current events and their effects on main characters and society at large. Taking the current climate and adding a few relatively minor tweaks gives the world of Wanderers a lived-in feel the reader can relate to from page 1.

My only minor complaints, without giving anything away, revolve around parts of the ending being a bit muddled. Namely technological components. That being said, I immensely enjoyed this read, I will be revisiting the story in the not-too-distant future, and given Mr. Wendig’s social media comments, anxiously awaiting more story from the same world.

It’s been awhile since I watched Pan’s Labyrinth, but Guillermo Del Toro’s vivid imagination, use of practical effects, and attempts to create a mythos have stuck with me. When I saw this book being released, picking it up from the local bookstore was a no-brainer.

Before you even get to the story, the dust jacket and book cover make this worth owning. The art is stunning. The story itself is divided into short chapters, usually 2-5 pages on average, and even though the prose is terrific and the characters and settings are fantastically painted, a lot happens in each section. This set up was very reminiscent of a collection of fairy tales. Set up as interludes every few chapters are dark fairy tales within the world of Pan’s Labyrinth that end up tying into the greater narrative.

I ended up reading this book over the course of about a week, savoring if you will, but this is a story you could knock out in a weekend. It’s being marketed as young adult, but there’s a lot to like for readers of all ages. Especially those who remember the movie fondly and want to read an expansion on the constructed mythos. My greatest hope, feeding off the subtitle “The Labyrinth of the Faun” is that Del Toro and Funke have more stories to share with us.