Category Archives: Uncategorized

In the next few days, I’ll be posting my review of the highly-anticipated High Moor 2: Moonstruck. But before I do, I wanted to refresh your memory of my feelings about High Moor.  Here’s the review.

So what do you think? Does High Moor 2 live up to the hype? Or is it a huge disappointment? Stay tuned for the answer…

If you follow my blog, you know that I like to post some of my favorite music on here. I had The Lumineers before they were famous, for instance. And one of the best is Lera Lynn. In case you have forgotten her, here’s here brilliant cover of Wolf Like Me.

Now she is putting the finishing touches on her new album, and you can help. Check out Pledge Music.com. Think Kickstarter for indie music artists. Just like Kickstarter, if you give money, you get something in return. Check it out here.

The publication date for Limbus, Inc. is approaching my friends, and I want you to have a copy of the special edition. If you don’t know about the special edition, here are the details.

The Limbus, Inc. limited edition is a sewn, case-bound hardcover, that includes 60lb Creekside natural interior paper, a Corona leather-stamped case, and a 100 lb Litho Label Gloss slip cover.  It includes interior artwork from Alan M. Clark that is not a part of the regular hard cover or paperback editions.  An additional novella from Jonathan Maberry (over 8,000 bonus words) is added as well, to go along with some insights from author Anne C. Petty on the world of Limbus, Inc.

This is a numbered limited edition with approximately 250 being produced.  It will be autographed by all five authors (Jonathan Maberry, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, Brett J. Talley, Joseph Nassise and Anne C. Petty) along with the artist, Alan M. Clark.  The approximate page count is 344 pages.

Added to all that, you get an electronic copy of Limbus, Inc. for free! Now, I know a lot of you are probably pretty tempted by that offer, but I also know that it’s a tough economy out there. Times are tough, and maybe you can’t shell out fifty bucks for a single book, no matter how awesome it is.

That’s where this deal comes in.

If you buy a copy of the special edition of Limbus, Inc., simply send me a copy of the receipt you receive from Journalstone and I will kick in a copy of That Which Should Not Be or The Void–signed paperback or e-copy, your choice–for free. All I ask is for you to post an honest review of Limbus, Inc. and your free book on Goodreads or Amazon (or both). I’m limiting the print copies of the books I’ll give away to ten (I am, after all, a starving artist). But there’s no such limit on e-copies.

So what are you waiting on?

And I gotta tell you, if you liked the first one, you are going to love this one too. Put it on your to read books of 2013, folks.

So I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to check out Douglas Wynne’s rockin’ horror metal masterpiece, The Devil of Echo Lake (and seriously, if not, why not?), but this is pretty cool. It seems that Wynne has created a soundcloud page where you can listen to the music referenced in the book. Now, if that ain’t cool, I don’t know what is. Buy the  book here. Listen to the music here.

Seriously, if you haven’t pre-ordered, what are you waiting on?

Read the review here. Order here.

Here I sit, in a tavern in the Czech town of Cesky Krumlov, in front of a roaring fire on a snowy evening, writing Chapter 19 of the sequel to That Which Should Not Be, listening to some tunes. Here’s one of them.

So I’m very busy these days. I’m wrapping up a foreign trip more or less around the world. I’ll be posting pictures from the spookier places on the itinerary, including a more detailed post on Chernobyl. At the same time, my reading list is expanding more every day. Lee Thompson, one of my favorite new authors, just sent me an advanced copy of his new book, Gossamer: A Story of Love and Tragedy. And I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy (hey, being an author has its perks) of Graeme Reynold’s High Moor 2: Moonstruck, the sequel to High Moor, one of my favorite books of the last few years and the best werewolf book I’ve ever read. And I am reading The Immortal Body by William Holloway, a book I’ve only not finished because I have no time these days. It’s a great addition to Lovecraftian fiction (and I am only half-finished). If you are a fan of that kind of book, you need to pick this one up immediately. It’s great.

Oh yeah, and I am working on the sequel to That Which Should Not Be. Like I said, busy time.

More reviews to come. In the meantime, pick up some of these books and support Indie horror authors. You’ll only regret it at night when you lay your head down and try to go to sleep…

I am really excited about this book, and I think you are going to like it. The review is here. Check it out.

Whether you’re a fan of the paranormal, the unknown, simply appreciate a good solid collection of short stories or wish to expand your horizons on further works of any of these authors, I encourage you whole heartedly to apply to one, Limbus Inc.

Ronald Malfi’s Floating Staircase was nominated for a 2012 Bram Stoker Award in the Best Novel category and for good reason. Ghost stories can be hard to pull off (I mean, they’ve all been told, right?). But somehow, Malfi manages to infuse his story with a tension and air of horror that is all too often missing in lesser novels.

Travis Glasgow is a writer (stories about writers are a sub-genre in themselves it seems) who’s seeking a new start with his wife, Jodie. What better place than Westlake, across the cul-de-sac from his brother? But Glasgow carries a secret—years before, he was responsible for his younger brother’s death. Perhaps it’s appropriate, then, that the home he has bought also has a dark story to tell—that of the son of the previous owners, a young boy who mysteriously disappeared in the lake, never to be found. And now, Glasgow is convinced that the same boy’s spirit haunts the house, seeking justice for his death.

Malfi is a genius when it comes to characterization. There’s really no other way to put it. The man doesn’t write his characters, he somehow brings them into the world. They are as real as you or I, and we live their struggles through Malfi’s books. And that is where the horror comes in. I’ve had more chill bumps from Malfi’s writing than every horror movie I’ve ever seen combined.

Malfi’s “Mourning House” was one of the best pieces of writing I have come across in years. With Floating Staircase, Malfi has officially become my favorite horror writer. I can’t wait to read more.

5 Stars

I like Benjamin Kane Ethridge. He’s a fantastic writer, and a nice guy to boot. When I found out I’d be working with him on Limbus, Inc., I decided that I would do a little research on the guy, and what better way than to read his latest, Bottled Abyss. I was not only impressed—I was surprised as well.

Here’s the book’s description.

Herman and Janet Erikson are going through a crisis of grief and suffering after losing their daughter in a hit and run. They’ve given up on each other, they’ve given up on themselves. They are living day by day. One afternoon, to make a horrible situation worse, their dog goes missing in the coyote-infested badlands behind their property. Herman, resolved in preventing another tragedy, goes to find the dog, completely unaware he’s on a hike to the River Styx, which according to Greek myth was the border between the Living World and the world of the Dead. Long ago the gods died and the River dried up, but a bottle containing its waters still remains in the badlands. What Herman discovers about the dark power contained in those waters will change his life forever…

Bottled Abyss is different from your average horror novel. Somehow, both the protagonist and the antagonist turn out not to be who you think they are, and nobody really does what you expect. In fact, there’s not really a bad guy at all. And then, about three-quarters of the way into the story, things get weird on a cosmological scale. What does that add up to? Not only an incredible read, but one that will leave you pondering it for weeks to come—the sign of something like literary genius.

Bottled Abyss is a book I would recommend to anyone who is willing to break out of the ordinary mold and enjoy something truly extraordinary. I don’t know that it is for everyone, but as with most things, that’s the ultimate compliment. 

5 Stars

http://bibliorex.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/book-review-that-which-should-not-be-by-brett-j-talley/

My previous point still stands.

Over at The Bookworm’s Lair. Interestingly, he wasn’t a huge fan of That Which Should Not Be, something that I have found to be quite common. People who love TWSNB are disappointed in The Void. People who didn’t like it love The Void. I wonder why? Any theories? An excerpt from the review:

It’s no exaggeration to say that THE VOID is one of the best horror novels I read in 2012 (yes, I’m a bit late in writing this review in February 2013). I had previously read Brett Talley’s previous novel, THAT WHICH SHOULD NOT BE, a fun contribution to the Cthulhu Mythos that ties a few other horror tropes to Lovecraft’s world in interesting ways, but it in no way prepared me for what I could expect from his latest. THE VOID is, in my experience, a rare beast: a science fiction novel that successfully blends the genre with strong horror elements.

This is Pripyat.

It was built in 1970 as the model Russian town, meant to show the success of Soviet Communism to the world. Its residents were well-off, well-educated, and young (the average age was only 26). They never faced the supply-shortages that other subjects of the Soviet Empire often encountered, and in fact, their greatest challenge was getting their kids into the best Kindergarten.

On the 26th of April, 1986, Pripyat had a population of nearly 50,000 people. On April 27, 1986, the Soviet Union ordered every one of them to evacuate. They were told to take money, their identity papers, and enough food and clothes to last them three days. They were told the evacuation would be a temporary measure. They were told that they would be able to go home by the end of the week. They never returned, and the name of Pripyat has faded into obscurity. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that you have never heard of Pripyat.

You know it by a different name.

Chernobyl.

To be continued…

1. Take nothing with you.

2. Leave nothing behind.

3. Do not eat or drink outdoors.

4. Do not smoke.

5. Do not touch the vegetation.

6. Do not sit or place any items on the ground.

7. Avoid low-lying areas.

8. Stay on the path and do exactly what your guide tells you.

9. All visitors must wear clothes with maximum coverage; i.e., no shorts, skirts, short-sleeved shirts, or open-toed shoes.

10. Upon leaving the zone, wash all clothes and exposed surfaces thoroughly.