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Book Review: Halloween Carnival, Volume 1 edited by Brian James Freeman

Halloween Carnival, Volume 1 edited by Brian James Freeman

Hydra, 2017

ISBN: 9780399182037

Available: Kindle edition

Halloween Carnival, Volume 1 is the first of five collections of five Halloween-themed stories, with each story by a different writer in the horror genre. Curated by Brian James Freeman, the short collections were published as individual ebooks in a series, with one releasing in consecutive order on each Tuesday in October of 2017.

Robert McCammon’s “Strange Candy” is a bittersweet ghost story. A father finds an odd piece of unwrapped candy is found in the bottom of his child’s candy bag, and when he doesn’t heed the kidding chides of his wife about eating tampered candy. and consumes it, he is visited by a spirit for each of the gnarled peppermint shaped fingers. Each one brings him urgent messages to deliver to the living. When he receives his own visit from a very human messenger, he knows what he must do.

Kevin Lucia’s “The Rage of Achilles, or When Mockingbirds Sing,” returns readers of his previous books to Clifton Heights. Father Ward volunteers to hear confessions on All Hallow’s Eve. The father of a dead boy apologizes for what he is about to do after delivering his story. Will Father Ward be too late to stop the distraught father, or is there something more to the events of this strange night?

In John R. Little’s “Demon Air”, Halle is headed to Australia on the cheapest flight possible. When the stewards and pilot get in on the Halloween fun, it seems like all fun and games, until the danger becomes too real on the long flight.

In Lisa Morton’s “La Hacienda de lost Muertos,” Trick McGrew, an old-time cowboy star of the silver screen, is thrown into a real ghost story when he walks onto the set of his new film in Mexico. He discovers the sad La Llorona, searching endlessly for her lost children, is more than just a legend. He also discovers the truth behind her death, and what became of her babies.

Everyone is using hashtags these days. What happens when someone takes it too far? That’s the question Mark Allen Gunnells poses in “#MakeHalloweenScaryAgain.” Dustin, an author working on his next novel, starts the infamous hashtag that will change the town he lives in forever. When journalist Shawn befriends the author, and the major suspect in a grisly chain of events, things get even stranger. The use of social media in this story adds to the intrigue the author sets. Who is using the author’s hashtag to drive his push to make Halloween scary again?

I enjoyed this short anthology very much. The stories are short, entertaining reads, especially appropriate for the most wonderful time of the year for those of us who love Halloween. “The Rage of Achilles” is a particular favourite. The story is subtle in its horror, and the author’s treatment of a child with autism is very real, well-written, and sensitive to the fact that not every person with autism has every single marker of the spectrum. Recommended.

Contains: some violence

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on November 13, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: Goblin by Josh Malerman

Goblin

 

Goblin by Josh Malerman
Earthling Publications, October 2017
ISBN: Not available
Available: Limited edition numbered hardcover copies, direct from publisher only

 

It’s the time of year when horror is in the air, a celebrated author is called up, and Earthling Publications turns out another Halloween masterpiece. This year, the newest superstar in the genre, Josh Malerman, takes the helm and delivers one of the best offerings in the history of the series. Malerman, fresh off the success of his second novel, Black Mad Wheel,  and the news that his novel Bird Box will soon be a major motion picture, displays consummate skill in Goblin, a book comprised of six novellas all taking place in the small town of Goblin, Michigan.

 

Goblin, Michigan is Derry. It’s Oxrun Station. It’s Cedar Hills. It’s Green Town. It’s all of us in our hometowns, and yet, it’s something brand new.. Think of Goblin as Derry’s disturbed little brother, filling the reader with uneasy pleasure from cover to cover.

 

“A Man In Slices” shows that friendship can be a tricky concept, as a boy does whatever he can to help his lonely friend, at any cost. “Kamp” is a lighter tale, about a man petrified of a seeing a ghost. Everyone in Walter’s family has, and he knows his time is coming. How he copes with the expectation will make many readers feel a bit better about their own issues with  things that go bump in the night.”Happy Birthday, Hunter” displays the heart and obsession of a man who cannot give up the hunt. Nash’s addiction comes to a boiling point during his 60th birthday party, when he decides to kill Goblin’s most prized game in the north woods, a place from which no one ever returns.”Presto” is a love affair with magic, the oldest and darkest kind, where a young boy seeks to learn the secrets behind his favorite performer in a story that channels classic Bradbury.”A Mix-Up At The Zoo” details the inner struggle of Dirk, a man who switches jobs to become a tour guide in a zoo, a far cry from his other employment in the slaughterhouse. He finds a talent for understanding the mighty beasts within the cages but feels a certain darkness brewing when he drifts off in thought. In “The Hedges,” mazes, both ones built out of corn and the famed topiary in the film version of “The Shining,” emerge. Young Margot claims to have solved the unsolvable creation by Wayne Sherman.  What she finds at the end causes her to alert the Goblin police.

 

The mythology about Goblin’s history is richly drawn within these stories and connects them effectively, with a style that keeps the pages turning. Malerman has created a town that may even be darker than something that King, Grant, and Bradbury have created. Goblin should be listed on every horror reader’s itinerary, with the lights turned low and the night breeze creeping into the room. An incredible Halloween find for all. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on November 1, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: The Halloween Children by Brian James Freeman and Norman Prentiss

The Halloween Children by Brian James Freeman and Norman Prentiss

Hydra, 2017

ISBN: 9780399180972

Available: Used hardcover, Kindle edition

 

The Halloween Children, a novel of suburban and familial horror from Bram Stoker Award winner Norman Prentiss and Brian James Freeman of Cemetery Dance Publications, takes place at the Stillbrook Apartments. There, the grounds and property are well maintained, the tenants are diverse, and the problems of the day seem to slip away once they get home. On the surface, everything is perfect. However, things start to happen when the annual Halloween party is cancelled…bad things.

We see the trouble unfold through three different characters’ narratives. Harrison Naylor, the maintenance man lives on site with his wife Lynn and their two children Mattie and Amber, reveals his story in a type of confessional. Harrison is aggressive toward everyone. He resents his wife and complains of the way she neglects their son, instead giving her attention to their daughter. There are clearly some marital issues going on here. His story is delivered as a type of confessional, Then there is his job. Harrison’s work life is mostly satisfying, but his boss has been  making things difficult recently. Harrison is instructed by management to deliver fliers to tenants cancelling the annual Halloween party, under the guise of keeping them safe. When Harrison receives a call one night from a tenant he’s particularly annoyed by, he reluctantly goes to investigate noises in the vacant apartment above her, and finds the first of the grisly events to come.

Lynn’s narrative is laid out in a sort of diary she is writing at the recommendation of her marriage counselor, who she sees without her husband. Lynn is suspicious and passive-aggressive toward her husband, and resents her role as caretaker of the children and household. She works from home, so she always knows what’s going on in the neighborhood, but the only contact she has with the outside world is as a troubleshooter of tech problems for disgruntled people. Could her isolation from the world, her marital issues, and the fact she has started spying on Mattie and Amber be affecting her mind? One thing is certain: she fears her children.

Tenant Jessica Shephard’s story is told through disturbing and cryptic emails that she sends to a friend, asking bizarre questions about the human body, and making reference to the other tenants of the complex, and the Halloween Children. Who are they, and why are they always watching?

The author creates a lot of tension from the first page. Much of what happened caused me to question the accuracy of Harrison’s and Lynn’s narrations as they are clearly at odds with themselves, their relationship, and the children. However, as things unravel, it is clear there is more going on than just paranoia, guilt, and familial problems. The question is, what is going on at Stillbrook Apartments? Recommended.

Contains: Gore

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

 

Posted on July 10, 2017 by , Reply
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