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Book Review: Attack From the ’80s edited by Eugene Johnson

cover art for Attack from the '80s edited by Eugene Johnson

Attack From the ’80s edited by Eugene Johnson

Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2021

ISBN-13: 978-1735664446

Available: Hardcover  ( Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com )

 

Eugene Johnson brings together 22 incredible short stories and poems as a fitting tribute to the horror of the 1980s. There is something for everyone in this collection. “Top Guns of the Frontier” by Weston Ochse, a strong open to this anthology, tells the story of friends coming face to face with an ancient evil. In “Snapshot” by Joe R. Lansdale and Kasey Lansdale, Gracie and Trevor, the famous Snapshot Burglars, rob the wrong house. Jess Landry’s “Catastrophe Queens” takes place on the movie set of an ’80s SS werewolf horror film. Pink fake blood starts to take over people…and anything it touches. In “Your Picture Here” by John Skipp, a couple decides to take in a double feature of horror movies only to discover one of the films is closer to the truth. Lee Murray’s “Permanent Damage” invites us to a bridal party at a salon that turns into a bloodbath. “Munchies” by Lucy A. Snyder is a great story about a group of drag queens and the terror that was Nancy Reagan who has come to deliver a check to the local high school’s antidrug drive.

 

No ’80s horror anthology would be complete without the topic of D&D. In “Demonic Denizens” by Cullen Bunn, friends at summer camp discover a new game to play after the counselors forbid them to play any more of that “satanic” Dungeons & Dragons. “Ghetto Blaster”, by Jeff Strand, presents Clyde, who is cursed to carry a rather heavy ghetto blaster until he learns his lesson about loud music in public spaces. Everyone, check your candy before reading “Stranger Danger” by Grady Hendrix. A group of boys, hell-bent on taking revenge on the Judge, discover an army of Yoda-costumed children who have their own havoc to create, with apples containing razor blades the treat of the night. In Lisa Morton’s “The Garden of Dr. Moreau”, a biology experiment on corn plants is a success, but it could be at a deadly cost for life on Earth.

 

Other authors in the anthology include Ben Monroe, Linda Addison, Thomas F. Monteleone, Tim Waggoner, Stephen Graham Jones, Vince A. Liaguno, Rena Mason, Cindy O’Quinn, F. Paul Wilson, Christina Sng, Mort Castle, and Stephanie M. Wytovich. Pick this up if you need a good dose of 80s horror reading. Highly recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on November 28, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Wardenclyffe by F. Paul Wilson

Wardenclyffe by F. Paul Wilson

Journalstone. 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1947654594

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, Audiobook

It’s time for F. Paul Wilson to return to the Secret History of the World. That should be enough reason to pick up this short novel about the plant where eccentric genius Nikola Tesla conducted some of his most dangerous experiments. This should serve as an appetizer to the return of Repairman Jack sometime in the very near future (yes, it’s actually happening). For the many fans of both Jack and the Adversary Cycle, Easter eggs abound everywhere, adding to what is a thrilling story on its own.

On Wardenclyffe, Long Island, Charles Atkinson begins an internship working for the enigmatic inventor, choosing to forgo a lucrative job at General Electric for a shot at making history. Charles carries a secret from England that is kept hidden from society, one that changes the dynamic of a character who could have been a mere bystander in this story to one with great depth.

Tesla has plans for a worldwide wireless energy source, but unfortunately has run out of funding. He has trudged onward, hoping for a savior to help him after the criminal acts of Thomas Edison against him. Tesla’s attempts have some strange and dangerous results, such as fish jumping out of the river to their deaths, and the disappearance of other animals, while succeeding in lighting up bulbs several miles away.

For those familiar with the otherworldly forces in the Adversary series can sense that the experiments just might open up something much more dangerous than corrupt businessmen.  Beneath a tower, something has come forth, something that threatens to alter fate of humanity.

Enter the mysterious Rudolf Drexler, representative of the Septimus Order, an ancient organization that has its tendrils in the mechanisms of major events in the scope of human history. He offers Tesla everything he needs to succeed… for a price. When the inventor accepts, the experiments lurch forward in dark steps, and Charles finds how devastating the efforts are. Something has crept forth from beyond: something that is changing everyone who ventures beneath the tower.

What results is a thriller that is a welcome addition to the canon of F. Paul Wilson, a tale that will enthrall  fans of The Keep and Nightworld, whetting the appetites of those jonesing for the return of readers’ favorite Jack.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

 

 

Posted on June 20, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Panacea by F. Paul Wilson

Panacea by F. Paul Wilson

Tor Books, 2016

ISBN-13: 978-0765385161

Availability: Hardcover, Kindle edition

 

What would the world do with a panacea, a drug which cured every illness, no matter how severe? Would it bring peace and prosperity to all, or send humanity into chaos and war? Could the drug cure the painful longing readers have felt since F. Paul Wilson wrapped up his final Repairman Jack tale? Withdrawal has been painful for the countless fans of the Repairman Jack series, but, as the first book in a new series, Panacea might hook them all over again, enticing them with wonder, awe, and, yes, annoyance that another year or so might have to pass before the next installment materializes.

 

Medical examiner Laura Fanning lives an ordinary life. Then she receives a subject who is physically perfect, except for the odd tattoo on his back; a numeral connecting him to an ancient, secret order. When another body with the mysterious tattoo crosses her table, her sense of reality is shaken. Then billionaire Clayton Stahlman enlists Laura to find an elixir that will cure his cancer.  However, she is not alone on this quest. Stahlman’s bodyguard, Rick Hayden, is assigned to travel with her to the rainforest to procure the panacea. He claims to have once been an ex-SEAL, but Laura discovers there is much more to the man beyond what he reveals. While they seek this elusive treasure, Nelson Fife, a CIA agent and member of the enigmatic order, tracks them, determined to prevent their discovery of the life-giving substance.

 

Fanning is one of the most intriguing female characters Wilson has created, and the mysterious characters, particularly Hayden and Fife, keep the pages As one expects in Wilson’s work, the story twists and turns without an inch of wasted space. Dialogue is crisp and natural and the action scenes are absolutely gripping.

 

Of course, it wouldn’t be an F. Paul Wilson novel without something extra brewing beneath the surface; his story is never just a story. Readers are encouraged to think beyond the obvious and ponder the philosophical implications of what is going on between the lines. What is the connection to the ancient Adversary Cycle? This reviewer will never tell. Highly recommended

Reviewed by David Simms


Posted on July 16, 2016 by , Reply
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