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Book Review: Big Lizard by Joe R. Lansdale and Keith Lansdale

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We are midway through November and Monster Librarian still needs to raise the funds to pay for our hosting fees and postage in 2021. If you like what we’re doing, please take a moment to click on that red “Contribute” button in the sidebar to the right, to help us keep going!  Even five dollars will get us closer to the $45 we need to keep going at the most basic level. We have never accepted paid advertising so you can be guaranteed that our reviews are objective. We’ve been reviewing and supporting the horror community for 15 years now, help us make it another year! Thank you! And now our review of Big Lizard by Joe R. Lansdale and Keith Lansdale, illustrated by Jok.

 

cover art for Big Lizard by Joe R. Lansdale and Keith Lansdale

Big Lizard by Joe R. Lansdale and Keith Lansdale, illustrations by Jok (Short, Scary Tales Publications)

Short, Scary Tales Publications, 2020

ISBN-13: 9781788580274

Available:  Signed & numbered limited hardcover

 

Thanks to his Aunt June, Buster Nix lands a new job as a security guard at the headquarters of a chain of fast food restaurants called Pick-A-Chicken. It’s not the best job in the world, but it’s something. The company’s owner, Elroy Cuzzins, gives Buster a tour of the facilities, making sure to tell him that he can never, never, ever enter the red storage building out back. Ever. His tour also includes the slaughter area. Customers can pick a live chicken for slaughter, and, for an extra fee, they can kill it themselves with a hatchet supplied by the company. Some of the Pick-A-Chicken customers dole out the extra money to gleefully slaughter their chosen fowl, but Buster is repulsed by the process. The restaurant is thriving, raking in the dough. Buster can’t figure out why or how this is possible. One night when he is making his rounds, he wanders too close to the forbidden building and hears mysterious chanting behind the closed doors. Upon entering, he discovers an unholy ritual taking place with Cuzzins as the leader who is sacrificing chickens over a large pentagram. Now Buster knows how Pick-A-Chicken has been so successful over the decades. As all of those present continue their chanting to something called the Lizard God, Buster accidently runs into a lit brazier containing actual hellfire and disrupts the ceremony, engulfing everything and everyone, including Buster, Cuzzins, and Socks the chicken, who Buster made friends with during his time as security guard.

 

 

The next thing Buster knows he is waking up in the hospital burn unit, covered head to toe in bandages. He discovers that, because of his disruption of the ritual, he can transform into a giant lizard with enhanced physical abilities. The only downsides are that he doesn’t know how to control it, and his clothes are torn to shreds when he transforms. Buster teams up with Socks, the now eyepatch wearing talking chicken who survived the conflagration, and teenage tech wizard Isaac to face off with the nefarious Elroy. He’s hard to miss since he was transformed into a giant chicken driving a flashy red sports car and commits murder, gathering body parts to complete the ceremony. Can Big Lizard and his friends stop…Big Chicken before he can complete the ritual?

 

I loved this book from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down. Both Lansdales are great storytellers. The characters, especially Socks and Buster, are unique. Socks, short for Socrates, wanders around wearing an eyepatch. When electric shocks are administered to his tiny chicken body, he releases his bowels, and can see the future. He’s also a little smart ass. Buster means well, and he is one to help anyone in need, even if he can’t seem to get his own life in order. When he gains his lizard abilities, he uses them for noble pursuits. He just has a good heart.

 

I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys Joe R. Lansdale’s work. The fact that his son has also taken to writing and collaborates with his father on this one just adds to the reasons to pick up Big Lizard. Unfortunately, the ARC didn’t include Jok’s illustrations, but if they are anything like the cover, the interior art will be fantastic

Highly recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on November 18, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Indigo by Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Jonathan Maberry, et al.

Indigo by Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Jonathan Maberry, Kelley Armstrong, Tim Lebbon, Kat Richardson, Seanan McGuire, Cherie Priest, Mark Morris, and James A. Moore

St. Martin’s Press, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1250076786

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

The authors of this book all have produced amazing dark fantasy and horror fiction, both novels and short stories.  In this shared world anthology, they collaborated to tell a novel-length story, with each writer taking a turn to continue the narrative to its end. These talented storytellers have come up with an entertaining tale that can be enjoyed both by casual readers and by fans of the individual authors, although identifying which author has written which section is not as simple as it seems.

Nora Hesper works as an investigative reporter. She’s an intriguing character, with a curious backstory, and considerable personality. When she was a teen, Nora’s parents died, and to cope, she studied the occult at a monastery to deal with the pain and solitude. That plot summary suggests a tired retread of superhero origin stories, but then the story diverts.

Nora learns to harness the powers of the night.When the light is pulled away by the shadows, she becomes Indigo in the slivers of the moonlight. Indigo can use the shadows to manipulate the darkness into weapons and slip into the passing shadows to transport herself in and out of trouble across the globe.

Nora’s opponents are the Children of Phonos, a sadistic group who hold a darkness inside that rivals that of Indigo. The Children of Phonos are murdering children across New York City, and Nora realizes that she must eliminate all of them to protect the children. Then an event occurs that sheds light on her origin and family that throws her into chaos, a mess that she must solve to find the peace again in her life.

Combining all of these voices in one novel is tough. It’s not perfect, but it is entertaining. Go into it with that mindset, and you may find an enjoyable tale.

Contains: violence, child sacrifice

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on November 8, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: The Heart Does Not Grow Back by Fred Venturini

The Heart Does Not Grow Back, by Fred Venturini

Picador, 2014

ISBN: 978-1250052216

Available: Print (new and used) and e-book form

 

Venturini has explained in interviews that he wanted the wrong guy to get the superpowers. In this darkly comedic tale, Dale Sampson is definitely the wrong guy. We meet Dale as a lonely, nerdy, sixth grader. Unexpectedly, he is befriended by Mack Tucker, the most popular boy in the school, and they begin a close “bro” relationship that lasts through the next decades. Over the years, Dale realizes that he heals much faster than other people. Then, tragedy strikes at a high school graduation party when a sociopathic student goes berserk, killing Dale’s dream girl, Regina, and badly injuring Dale and Mack. Although Dale loses an ear and some fingers, they miraculously grow back within days. Dale’s mom views this as a miracle from God, but Dale isn’t so sure.

After graduation, Dale continues his lonely existence until he runs into Regina’s twin sister, Raeanna, and immediately falls for her, even though she has an abusive husband. Just as with Regina, Dale’s “love affair” is all in his head. He never discusses his feelings or his plans with Rae and is soon faced not only with her rejection, but with her husband’s violent vengeance. Dale tries to sell his organs for as much cash as possible, but once again, his plans backfire, and when the government gets wind of his regeneration abilities, Dale flees to California.

Dale is soon the star of his own reality show on which he donates limbs and organs to needy people. Even as he becomes famous, he realizes that he is still the same social misfit he always has been. Usually, a superhero heals instantly, with seemingly little pain or discomfort, but not Dale. Venturini forces us to watch as Dale suffers through excruciating pain as limbs and organs regenerate, emphasizing the fact that Dale isn’t your ordinary superhero.

When Rae unexpectedly shows up at his door, Dale falls back into his pattern of unrequited love. There are several twists at the end, and the finale leaves Dale with a new opportunity to regenerate his life—his inner life, if he can just pull get out of his head and in touch with reality—true reality, not TV reality.

This is a fascinating novel with an inventive take on the superhero persona. Dale is a fully realized character, as is Mack, and their close relationship is a highlight of the book. Unfortunately, the women in Dale’s life are stereotypical figures who serve primarily as catalysts for Dale’s worst decisions, and they suffer the most from the destructive aftermath of his attentions. Venturini’s plot construction is masterful, except for an out-of-nowhere scene involving a gun battle and a car crash. But even with these characterization problems and minor plot issues, Venturini’s fast-paced story kept me engrossed all the way to the very end. Dale Sampson is a fresh and welcome addition to superhero fiction.

 

Recommended for all libraries.

Contains: profanity and moderate physical violence

Reviewed by Patricia O. Mathews

Posted on December 15, 2014 by , Reply
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