MonsterLibrarian.com is a site dedicated to helping librarians with horror genre collection development and readers advisory as well as helping readers of horror find another good book. This blog will track site updates.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Reviews of American Vampire, The Changed, Monster Town, and Vampireology
In this update:
In the adult horror Graphic Novel section: The Monster Librarian reviews American Vampire #1 by Scott Snyder and Stephen King with art by Rafael Albuquerque.
In the adult Zombie section: Michele Lee reviews The Changed by BJ Burrow.
In the young adult Vampire section: The Monster Librarian reviews Vampireology by Nick Holt.
We are also hosting a Vampireology giveaway contest sponsored by Candlewick Press. To enter e-mail your name and mailing address to MonsterLibrarian@MonsterLibrarian.com with the subject of Vampireology Giveaway Contest.
Spring into Terror is our annual spring collaborative horror book review project. This year we are partnering with HorrorWorld, Horror Fiction Review, and Dark Scribe Magazine in reviewing various horror titles for spring time reading.
I would like to thank Darlene Wanglund for this year's delightfully creepy bunny to bring us into a frightfully fun spring.
For our contribution to Spring into Terror we have:
March 17th reviews of books with zombies, terrors from the sea, and other horrors.
In this update we have:
In the adult Killer Animal section: Erik Smith reviews Dead Bait by David Dunwooody et al.
In the adult Apocalyptic/Post Apocalyptic horror section: Colleen Wanglund reviews A Catch in Time by Dalia Roddy. Jim Cobb reviews Empty World by John Christopher
In the adult Supernatural horror section: David Agranoff reviews The Girl in the Woods by David Jack Bell. Michele Lee reviews Donny's Day by Brandon Bertson Colleen Wanglund reviews On the Third Day by David Naill Wilson.
In the young adult Killer Animals, Kaiju, and Creatures of Legend section: Colleen Wanglund and Jim Cobb both review Raiju: A Kaiju Hunter Novel by K.H. Koehler.
Finally, in the Scary Books for Kids section: Kirsten Kowalewski reviews Ghosts of Fox River Valley by Donna Latham.
3/8/10 Reviews of Hex Hall and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, an interview with Rachel Hawkins, and a new contest.
A short update this time. In our young adult Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy section: Michele Lee reviews Rachel Hawkins' Hex Hall and also gets an opportunity to interview her. We are hosting a Hex Hall t-shirt giveaway contest so head on over to the review to the Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Section to enter.
March 2nd: New reviews, new author interviews, and more
In this update we have:
In the adult Zombie section: The Monster Librarian reviewing Pallid Light: The Walking Dead by William Jones Colleen Wanglund reviews Resurrection by Tim Curran Michele Lee reviews U.S. Army Zombie Combat Skills edited by Cole Louison In honor of the upcoming release of the movie Alice in Wonderland, Rhonda Wilson reviews Alice in Zombieland by Lewis Carroll and Nicholas Cook!
In the adult Supernatural horror section: In a take two review both Jennifer Lawrence and Colin Leslie review Brian Keene's latest Darkness on the Edge of Town Erik Smith reviews Skin Medicine by Tim Curran Rhonda Wilson reviews The Gray Zone by John R Little
In the adult Vampire section: Rhonda Wilson reviews Blood Bar by Norm Applegate
In the adult Human horror section: Rhonda Wilson reviews Scissors by Ray Garton and also interviews Ray Garton as well.
In the adult horror Non-Fiction section: Michele Lee reviews Writers Workshop of Horror edited by Michael Knost
In the adult Apocalyptic horror section: David Agranoff reviews The Day Before by John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow
In the adult horror Graphic Novels section: David Agranoff reviews Dark Entries by Ian Rankin
In the young adult Vampires section: The Monster Librarian reviews Blood Ninja by Nick Lake We are still running our Blood Ninja giveaway contest. Michele Lee interviews P.C. Cast co-author of the House of Night series
In the young adult Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy section: Rhonda Wilson reviews My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent Jennifer Lawerence reviews The Iron King by Julie Kagawa We are still running our The Iron King giveaway contest.
In the Scary Books for Kids section: Kirsten Kowalewski reviews The Nose by Nikolai Gogol
We have started a new feature this month,book recommendations based upon horror movies that have just come out. It is a new effort to help librarians to take advantage of current horror movies to promote their horror books.
Keep reading! The MonsterLibrarian Back to the Main page
One non paranormal romance item with this update, the good folks at Simon & Schuster are sponsoring a contest for a copy of their latest book Blood Ninja, the debut book of author Nick Lake combining vampires, ninja, and destiny in feudal Japan. For a chance to win a copy head on over to the Contest page. Keep reading,
Mid December update new reviews for adults, teens, and children
In this update we have:
In the adult Horror Anthologies section: Erik Smith reviews Harlan County Horrors edited by Mari Adkins
In the adult Werewolves section: Rhonda Wilson reviews Lorne Dixon's Snarl
In the adult Human Horror section: Rhonda Wilson reviews Bryan Smith's Depraved and gets a chance to interview Bryan Smith about his latest projects.
In the adult Supernatural horror section: Both Erik Smith and Rhonda Wilson review Wrath James White's The Resurrectionist. In addition Erik Smith interviews Wrath James White about the book.
We are launching our new Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy page for teens with Rhonda Wilson reviewing Rachel Vincent's My Soul to Take and My Soul to Lose. We are also having a My Soul to Take t-shirt contest . In addition, Rhonda gets a chance to interview Rachel Vincent about her new series.
In our Scary Books for Kids section: KDP reviews John Connolly's The Gates.
We would also like to congratulate Michele Lee who has taken on our position of Zombie Review Editor. With the explosion of zombie titles that have recently come out for both adult and young adults, we felt it was it time for someone to wrangle up these undead titles. For any zombie title review requests or inquiries she can be reached at zombiemichele at gmail dot com.
Happy Holidays from the Monster Librarian staff!!! Back to the Main Page
12/6/2009 New reviews of horror fiction for adults and teens.
We hope that all our visitors are having a happy holidays. In this update we have:
In the Vampire section for adults: David Agranoff reviews Once a Samurai...by D.C. Rhind.
In the CthulhuMythos section for adults: David Agranoff reviews Queen of K'n-Yan by Asamatsu Ken
In the Horror Anthologies section for adults: Erik Smith reviews Smells like Fish by Trever Palmer
In the Human Horror section for adults: Rhonda Wilson reviews The Lucid Dreaming by Lisa Morton
In the Supernatural Horror section for adults Colleen Wanglund reviews Found You by Mary SanGiovanni
In the Graphic Novels section for adults: The Monster Librarian reviews Victorian Undead by Ian Edginton
In the Supernatural Horror section for young adults Kirsten Kowalewski reviews A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
In the Dark Fantasy section for young adults: Kirsten Kowalewski reviews The Wall and the Wing by Laura Ruby Bret Jordan reviews The Shadowmask by R.A. and Geno Salvatore
In the adult Werewolf section: Kelly Fann reviews C. Fern Cook's Wild Evolution.
In our Apocalyptic Horror section Erik Smith reviews William Ollies' The Damned
In our young adult Vampires section in preparation for the latest Twilight movie New Moon Rhonda Wilson reviews Stephenie Meyers's New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. Bret Jordan reviews Hybrid by Angie L Reed
Final Halloween update more reviews and more author interviews
In this our final Halloween update we have:
Rhonda Wilson reviewing Wolf's Trap and Wolf's Gambitby W.D. Gagliani for our adult werewolf section. Rhonda also had a chance to interview W.D. Gagliani.
Bret Jordan reviews R.I.P by Terry Lamsley for the adult supernatural section.
In our adult horror anthologies and collected works section, Rhonda Wilson reviews Dark Jesters edited by Nick Cato and L.L. Soares and Magick & Misery by Lincoln Crisler. Erik Smith reviews Creeping Shadows by Alan Draven, Brandon Ford, and Jessica Lynne Gardner.
For fans of Bizarro fiction, Rhonda reviews Cannibals of Candyland by Carlton Mellick III.
A reminder that our good friends over at Spook House Dave! are having a Halloween Special which I am told is humbly considered to be the best online Halloween special for kids and cool parents to come along since somebody uploaded "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" to the Internets.
I would also like to remind everyone to check out our partner sites who are part of Halloween Horrors! book review project. Go to the Monster Librarian's Halloween Page to check it out.
Happy Halloween! The Monster Librarian Back to the main page
Our Halloween update: New reviews, author interviews, and a contest
Happy Halloween everyone!
Just a reminder that our Halloween Horrors! book review project is still going on with some of the best horror review sites on the web collaborating to bring you reviews of horror books for this Halloween. Visit our Halloween page to learn more.
In this update:
For adults: For those librarians who might be looking for a zombie book to take advantage of the popularity of the movie Zombieland that is in theaters now, The Monster Librarian reviews Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead edited by John Skipp and Season of Rot by Eric S. Brown.
Also for those that enjoy young adult vampire titles Kirsten Kowalewski interviews Kimberly Pauley author of Sucks to be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire(maybe) and we are running a giveawaycontest for her book. Also The Monster Librarian reviews the latest in Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods series The Van Alen Legacy.
For kids:
KDP reviews David Siden'sBang goes a Troll. Also in case you missed in Where the Wild Things Are is coming out as a live action movie and Kirsten Kowalewski takes a look at the book by Maurice Sendak.
In case you have missed it, the folks over at Spook House Dave! show are running a 31 days of Halloween with a new show each day this month. Stop on over and take a look!
Keep reading and share a scare this Halloween! The Monster Librarian Back to the main page
We have launched our Halloween Page tonight with items for both children and adults
We have launch our "Share a Scare" reading initiative with a promotional video thanks to the wonderful folks at the Spook House Dave! show. We have included in our Halloween page some suggestions on how you can share a scare with a friend or family member.
We have started a new feature where we will suggest titles of horror books that go along with well known horror movies.
In addition, we here at MonsterLibrarian.com are pleased to announce the third annual “Halloween Horrors!” horror book review event.
“Halloween Horrors!” is an excellent way for librarians to get acquainted with horror genre titles both mainstream and small press. The event provides a tool to help librarians with reader’s advisory and collection development as well as become familiar with online review resources for what can be a challenging genre.
Each participating review site will have a project page dedicated to reviews of horror genre books that links to the other participating sites’ review pages.
Participating sites in this year’s project include MonsterLibrarian.com, Horrorworld, Hellnotes, Fearzone, Horror Fiction Review, Dark Scribe Magazine, Dread Central, and The Black Glove.
Head on over to our Halloween page to get started.
For our part of the Halloween Horrors! project we offer the following reviews.
In the adult Human Horror/Slasher section Rhonda Wilson and Erik Smith both review The 13th by John Everson Erik Smith reviews Hacks by Brian Knight Rhonda Wilson adds her take on Personal Demons by Gregory Lamberson
In the adult Zombie section Rhonda Wilson reviews Don of the Dead by Nick Cato
In the adult Horror Adventure/Urban Fantasy section Rhonda Wilson reviews Charlaine Harris' Dead and Gone David Agranoff reviews John Shirley's Bleak History
In the adult Horror Graphic Novel section The Monster Librarian reviews High Moon by David Gallaher and Trick'r Treat by Marc Andreyko. Bob Freeman reviews North 40 by Aaron Williams
In the adult Horror Anthologies section The Monster Librarian reviews Hellbound Hearts edited by Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan Rhonda Wilson takes a second look at Taste of Tenderloin by Gene O'Neill
In the young adult Supernatural section Kirsten Kowalewski reviews Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.
In the young adult Werewolf section Kakari reviews Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
In our Scary Books for Kids section Kirsten Kowalewski reviews A Practical Guide to Vampires by Treval Vorgard Dhegdeer: A Scary Somali Folktale retold by Marian A. Hassan Halloween Night by Marjorie Dennis Murray Halloween Day by Anne Rockwell Sarah’s Little Ghosts by Thierry Robberecht
Finally, Rhonda Wilson interviews both Don of the Dead author Nick Cato and Personal Demons author Gregory Lamberson.
Keep reading! The Monster Librarian Back to the main page
9/2/09 Reviewing zombie titles, a slasher story, and a tale of the supernatural.
In this update we give you a double dose of zombie mayhem with Bob Freeman reviewing Derek Gunn'sThe Estuary and the Monster Librarian reviews Anthony Giangregorio'sRoad Kill.
We are still running our two contests. The first is for a copy of the latest y/a vampire title Night Runner by Max Turner and the other is for a copy of Rick Yancey's Gothic horror Monstrumologist at our Contest page.
Keep reading! The Monster Librarian Back to the main page
For young adults we have Kirsten Kowalewski reviewing Richard Lewis 's Monster’s Proof and Stacey L. Wilson reviews Katie Alender's Bad Girls Don’t Die.
For adult readers Michele Lee reviews Paul Kane's Red as part of Werewolf month, Bret Jordan reviews Alexander Zelenyi's Experiments at 3 Billion A.M., and David Agranoff reviews Midnight Walk edited by Lisa Morton.
Keep reading! The MonsterLibrarian Back to the main page
Finally, Michele Lee reviews Tales from the Crypt #4 Crypt-Keeping it Realby Stefan Petrucha, Alex Simmons, Scott Lobdel, Joe R. Lansdale, John R. Lansdale, Aries Kaplan, Jim Salicrup.
Keep reading! The MonsterLibrarian Back to the main page
We would like to welcome our newest reviewer, Rhonda Wilson. We have a packed update for you:
In the adult horror Graphic Novel section: Bob Freeman reviews The Fall of Cthulhu written by Michael Alan Nelson, illustrated by Jean-Jacques Dzialowski
K.D. Payne reviews The Chair written by Peter Simeti, illustrated by Kevin Christensen, edited Erin Kohut
In the adult Horror Anthologies and Collected Works section: Bret Jordan reviews Mama’s Boy and Other Dark Tales by Fran Friel K.D. Payne reviews Traumatized by Alexander S. Brown Rhonda Wilson reviews Hot Blood by Jeff Gelb and Lonn Friend David Agranoff takes a second look at Sheep and Wolves By Jeremy C. Shipp
In the adult Werewolves section: Rhonda Wilson reviews Pride by Rachel Vincent
In the adult Human Monsters and Psychological Horror section: The Angry Princess reviews Splattered Beauty by Brandon Ford
With this update we are launching our Winter Chills seasonal horror book review project. Horror fiction review sites such as HorrorWorld, Dark Scribe Magazine, and Horror Fiction Review are reviewing horror titles for your winter reading leisure. As reviews are posted, we are providing links to each other's reviews. As each site posts further reviews, new links willl be provided. For this project, MonsterLibrarian.com is going graphical, with all reviews of graphic novels, including reviews of Hybrid by Peter Kwong art by Pablo Churin and Mary Cataioa and Zombie Tales Vol. 1 by Andrew Cosby, John Rogers, Keith Giffen, Michael Alan Nelson, and Johanna Stokes in the adult graphic novel section and Death Valley by Andrew Cosby, Johanna Stokes, and illustrated by Rhoald Marcellus and Agnes Quill: an anthology of mystery by Dave Roman, illustrated by Jason Ho, Raina Telgemeier, Jeff Zornow, and Dave Roman in the young adult Graphic Novels section. We encourage you to check out the reviews at all of the participating sites and read a little horror under the covers this winter. Visit our Winter Chills page to learn more.
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8/19/08 New reviews, a new horror ficiton list, and a little remodeling
In this update: Bret Jordan reviews Simon Clark's Vampyrrhic and Vampyrrhic Rites in the adult Vampire section. Bret also reviews Whitney Lakin'sMutiny in Heaven in the adult Supernatural section. The Angry Princess reviews Charles Matthew Saur'sDeus ex Machina Logos in the adult Supernatural section. Bob Freeman reviews Lydia Roberson's Fright House in the Anthologies and Collected Works section. The Horror Master reviews Scott Smith's The Ruins in the adult Killer Animal section.The Monster Librarian reviews A.M. Jenkins' Night Road in the young adult Vampire section.
In this update we send off Werewolf Month with two additional adult werewolf reviews. Bob Freeman reviews Nic Brown's Blood Curse / Werewolf for Hire Book One and Michele Lee reviews Nancy Collins' Wild Blood. The Monster Librarian reviews Neal Shusterman'sRed Rider’s Hood in the young adult Werewolf section.
For our non-werewolf reviews Bret Jordan reviews Adele Hartley's Read by Dawn 3 and M.F. Korn'sAliens, Minibikes and Other Staples of Suburbia, and David Agranoff reviews Dark Distortionsedited by Molly Fesse and C.D. Allen in the Adult Horror Anthologies section. The Monster Librarian reviews Life Sucks by Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, and Warren Pleece in the young adult Vampire and Graphic Novel sections. The Coming Horror Fiction Releases page has been updated for August and September. Rio Youers, author of Everdeadis interviewed by Bret Jordan in our Author Interviews section. Keep Reading! The Monster Librarian Back to the Main Page
MonsterLibrarian.com has a new look to make it easier to read and navigate the site. In addition to the changes to the site, we have new reviews with Bob Freeman reviewing Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths edited by Colleen Morris and Joel A. Sutherland in the adult horror Anthologies section. The Angry Princess reviews The Possessed by Ronald Dondeigo in the adult Supernatural section. We have revisited our review of Pod of Horror since its move to Horrorworld.org In the Scary Books for Kids section Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, ill. Christopher Myers.
We are excited to announce the Spring into Terror horror book review project. Spring into Terror is a collaborative effort presenting reviews of horror fiction that will be available for your reading pleasure this Spring. In addition to providing reviews of horror titles you might be interested in adding to your collection, “Spring into Terror” will highlight participating horror fiction review sites that cover both small press and mainstream horror. Collaborating review sites include: Horrorworld.org, Horror-Web.com, Hellnotes.com, DreadCentral.com, Fearzone.com, HorrorDrive-in.com, MonsterLibrarian.com, and Dark Scribe Magazine. Visit the Spring into Terror to see a list of the titles reviewed at participating sites.
Michele Lee also reviews J.W. Coffy'sA Wager of Blood in the adult Supernatural section. The Monster Librarian reviews Peadar O Guilin'sThe Inferior in the young adult Dark Fantasy section. Finally, for the kids there is a review of Damien Graves's The Midnight Library: The Cat Lady in the Scary Books for Kids section. Keep reading! The Monster Librarian Back to the Main Page
12/16/07 reviews of tales of Vampires, Zombies, and Deep Ones.
In this update I take a look at James A. Moore's Deeper from Necessary Evil Press in the CthulhuMythos section. J.L. Bourne 's re-edited/re-packaged Day by Day Armageddon from Permuted Press is reviewed in the adult Zombie section. Scott T. Goudsward'sTrailer Trash from Dark Hart Press is reviewed in the adult Vampire section. Francesca the Librarian reviews Paul Bibeau'sSundays with Vlad from Three Rivers Press, also in the adult Vampire section. Finally, Michele Lee reviews Horror Classics: Graphic Classicsedited by Tom Pomplun from Eureka Productions in the young adult Graphic Novels section. Happy Holidays from all of us at MonsterLibrarian.com and keep reading! The Monster Librarian Back to the Main Page
11/16/07 New reviews of The Desert, Mister B Gone, and The Blackburn & Scarletti Mysteries, Vol II
I am happy to report that we presented a session at the Indiana Library Federation Annual Conference titled Letting the Monsters Out to Play: Collection Development and Readers Advisory in Horror Fiction. If anyone was looking for the handouts from the conference they are available at the The ILF Presentation page. We had a great crowd and had lots of fun.
In this update Bob Freeman reviews Byron Morrigan's military horror story The Desert and the Monster Librarian reviews Karen Koehler'sThe Blackburn & Scarletti Mysteries, Vol IIboth in the Horror Adventure section. Bret Jordan reviews Clive Barker's Mister B Gone in the adult Supernatural section. .
Keep reading! The Monster Librarian Back to the Main Page
9/19/07 New reviews of a zombie book, a new Cthulhu title, and y/a vampire titles
In this update, Bret Jordan reviews Gregory Solis's zombie tale Rise and Walk in the adult Zombie section. Bob Freeman reviews Fireworks by James A. Moore in the adult Human Horror section. David AgranoffreviewsChemical Gardens by Gina Ranalli in the new adult Bizarro fiction section. The Monster Librarian reviews High Seas Cthulhu edited by William Jones in the adult CthulhuMythos section. A review was sent in for The Grandmaster by Peter A Balaskas from Stella in the Human Horror section. Havoc reviews by Rags and Old Iron by Lorelie Shannon in the Human Horror section. Havoc also reviews two young adult vampire books Glass Houses: The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine and Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. The Coming Horror Fiction Releases page has been updated for September and October. Remember to check out our Contests page for the latest contests. Keep reading! The Monster Librarian Back to the Main Page
New reviews for zombie fiction, horror anthologies, and one for a Cthulhu collection
Bret Jordan reviews David Moody's Autumn: Purification in the adult Zombie section. David Agranoff reviews Tattered Souls edited by Frank J. Hutton and The Monster Librarian reviews A Dark and Deadly Valley edited by Mike Heffernan in the adult Horror Anthologies section. We would like to welcome a new reviewer to MonsterLibrarian.com Bob Freeman, who reviews Horrors Beyond (Tales of Terrifying Realities) edited by William Jones in the adult CthulhuMythos section. There is another specialty horror fiction list now posted the Western Horror Fiction List lists horror titles set in the Old West. To go with the list David Agranoff reviews Richard Matheson's horror western novel, Shadow on the Sun in the adult Something Different Section. There are new links added to the Links page including a new section for young adult fiction links starting with the great YA book site YA Fresh. Finally, this month Monster Librarian's Spotlight shines on Permuted Press, publisher of zombie and apocalyptic titles. Keep reading, The Monster Librarian Back to the Main Page