SORCERER by Greg F. Gifune

I feel like I’ve read enough to know that Greg Gifune is a master of horror in any form, so obviously I went into this novella with high expectations and the book did not disappoint! 

After losing his job, a salesman named Jeff is desperate to find work to keep him and his wife Eden afloat. And then a beautiful stranger offers him the job of a lifetime. I don’t want to say more because the book doesn’t fully reveal itself until its climax and until then it’s tense and mysterious as the walls begin to close in around Jeff, and it gets more and more disturbing as Jeff slowly discovers what’s going on right up until its great ending. 

And if you thought that that weird Iron Maiden song couldn’t get any creepier, wait until you see Gifune get a hold of it. Another winner by a horror expert. 

GRADE: A-

SUNBLIND by Michael McBride

There are tried-and-true, heavily-used conventions in horror fiction, elements like darkness and the cold and snow. They've become things that we equate with atmospheric creepiness, trembling, and goosebumps. But here, Michael McBride skillfully uses bright sunlight and intense heat to instill more terror than most of the horror fiction I've read. Here, it's all about sunburn blisters, and not being able to blink because your eyelids are too dry,
The novel opens with an ace Border Patrol agent discovering the body of a Mexican woman in the middle of the Sonoran desert, a woman that's carved a cryptic message onto her chest. Along with a couple of his fellow agents, he sets out into the desert night to find out what happened to her and her fellow companions trying to cross the border. In a parallel story, the book follows what happened to the travelers from the woman's point of view and we discover the true horror of what happened.

It's a totally ingenious concept, that not only tackles the topical subject of illegal immigration but shows the absolute horror of walking across the hot desert with limited resources. Intense heat from which there's no escape or relief, dehydration to the point where you can't even sweat or cry anymore, snakes, hunger, the cartels and their narcos, and the truth about what you would really be willing to do if you were thirsty enough; just these elements alone and the way that McBride uses them are enough to make a pretty effective scary book. But as if that wasn't enough already, he takes it a step further and ups the ante considerably by introducing a terrifying creature that hunts the group in the middle of all this as they try to make their way through the desert.

The day was not even half over and already I was no longer praying for the sun to set, but for my death, when it came, to be swift and merciful. 

I also really loved the novel's structure, cutting back and forth between the border agents' nighttime search and the first-hand account of what happened. The parallel stories work in tandem, each informing the other and raising the tension in each section even more. And McBride doesn't pussy out and hold back on the horror. There were many times here that my skin crawled and my mouth dropped open because I couldn't believe that this was all happening! And McBride does a great job with detailing the characters as well, especially our main heroine, but also all of the supporting cast as well, even though most of them remain nameless. I noticed a few editing mistakes, but it was a great read for October, one of the best written horror novels I've come across, and definitely the best book I've read from DarkFuse.

Wow.

It was the smell of death, a death for which I had far too recently prayed, but one I now knew I wanted no part of, an abstraction made far too real. I refused to die in this place. Not down here where my soul would forever remain outside of the reach of God, destined to wander the darkness, holding the hand of La Santa Muerte.

GRADE: A

THE WINTER BOX by Tim Waggoner

A winter storm that has trapped everyone in their homes for the night. An unhappily married couple struggling to keep up appearances to each other even though they both know it's been a futile effort for years. Biting cold that seems to get worse by the minute. And an unassuming box that might hold more than just relationship memorabilia.

The stage is well set as the book begins; the atmosphere quickly and effectively developed. I loved the idea of telling what is essentially a simple story of a couple trying to save their marriage, and wrapping it in the trappings of a creepy horror tale. And I think it fits well in the DarkFuse line-up, with much of the book reminiscent of some of Greg F. Gifune's atmospheric work. But, the plot development here just didn't feel fully-conceived. I didn't get the sense that there was anything special about this anniversary night in particular that makes the time right for these events to happen, and I also didn't really understand what the importance of the winter box was as a plot point, although I understood it's thematic significance. All of the good ideas and concepts are there but it seemed like the second half of the book needed to be revisited to make it tighter, stronger, and more fully realized. And with that, this book's solid ending would have even more of an emotional pay-off. There's some good stuff in this one, enough for me to enjoy it, but it didn't feel fully accomplished.

GRADE: B-

COLD AS HELL by David Searls

Here I go again, reading another tale of cheerful holiday spirit this Christmas! This time, it's a quick-read novella from DarkFuse that feeds into every parent's nightmare, following a man who he loses track of his twin children after letting them ride on a kiddie train for an 18-minute ride around the fancy outdoor mall on a cold and snowy night. Time seems to stop, people seem to not have seen the train or know that one even exists, and as his Uncle Buster and Santa Claus tell him: "Things Are Not What They Seem."

It's a moody, well-written tale where the author blurs the lines of reality and has you questioning everything your read. His use of the increasing biting cold and snow adds a strong, creepy atmosphere over the story, with the jovial Christmas spirit of the mall providing an unnerving contrast. This book is best read in one sitting and packs a lot in it's small page count.

GRADE: B

THE UNDERDWELLING by Tim Curran

Setting and atmosphere is so important in many horror stories and this book has that in spades! This novella by cult favorite horror author Tim Curran is about a young miner who is excited for his new post on a graveyard shift team to work the bottom levels of the Hobart mine, because it means extra dough that'll help with his new baby on the way. But on his first night, a new, deeper section of the mine is revealed and because he's all macho and shit, he volunteers with a group to explore it. And what they find is a horror that's been hidden for thousands of years. 

This one is actually even better than the previous novella I've read by Curran, Blackout, mostly due to his skillful rendering of the environment: the absolute, claustrophobic darkness deep beneath the earth and the way it can break the mind, the smells, the sounds that shouldn't be there, and the hopelessness of being trapped. Curran is great at setting a scene and maintaining mood.And points for a chilling ending that's even more fucked up than I expected...

If you enjoyed The Descent, that tense, heart attack of a movie about a group of badass women discovering horrors underground and directed by my buddy Neil Marshall, you should give this novella a spin!

GRADE: B+

SNOWBLIND by Michael McBride

When Snowblind begins, it wastes absolutely no time and throws you right into the terror; drops you right in the middle of three college buddies helping their friend who's been injured on their annual elk hunting trip in the Colorado Rockies. They end up off the usual trail and soon they are fighting for their lives while being hunted by an unseen force in the raging blizzard.

I really wanted a fast-moving, exciting creature feature and I got that and more with this novella. What I wasn't expecting was how well-written it was. I was impressed by the skill Michael McBride showed at setting up a potent atmosphere almost immediately through his prose. The never-ending snow, the biting cold, the deep dark, I felt it all. And the tension is maintained almost throughout the book entirely, never letting up. The creatures stalking our characters are wisely kept unseen for most of the book, adding to the suspense and the experience. Although I felt that the climax section of the book got a bit repetitive, I still felt like I needed a box of popcorn and a bag of Sour Patch Kids for this exciting horror matinee! A good early start to my Halloween scary reading!

GRADE: B+

DEADLIFT by Craig Saunders

This little DarkFuse novella starts out with the most attention-grabbing of premises. A man stands for 1 minute and 36 seconds braced in the door of an elevator shaft high up in a fancy hotel, holding up

an elevator car with his bare hands by its severed cable; an elevator holding his beloved wife inside. He's hired a hitman to kill her but now is having second thoughts. We're allowed to have those every now and then, no? But I don't want to say much more than that because it will spoil readers to what happens next.

It's a simple story but very original and I love the way it's told, in a matter of fact voice like a nature show narrator, and with great efficiency at only 70 pages. It's a story about love that can withstand all obstacles, including nerdy arsonists, gunshot wounds, explosions, masked murderers, and the British legal system. There's a horror element introduced in the novel that, while creepy, distracted a bit from the real heart of the story: the main character David Lowe, an endearing and sympathetic man that's impressively rendered for such a short tale. There's plenty of action and dark(fuse) happenings, but the book is surprisingly emotional and moving by the end.

GRADE: B

SKINNER by David Bernstein

GRADE: D

I don't think I've ever given a book an F. Sometimes I feel like I'm fairly generous with my reviews and if I'm able to actually finish a book that means that there's something there that kept me reading until the end. And I've enjoyed all of the DarkFuse titles I've read so far to some extent. But this one stretched the limits for me and there was really not much there to like.

It involves a group of old friends and their ladies as they make the usual trip to a mountain bungalow for a nice weekend. They get caught in the usual freak snowstorm, get stranded, and are of course subsequently terrorized by the usual monster. The book is so derivative and unimaginatively conceived, it seems to be done on purpose. And defenders may say that that's the point: a homage, but I call bullshit. There are times when homages work or being derivative leads to great work. You can be overly faithful to genre conventions as long as you add SOMETHING new to the usual story, which Skinner did not do. The movie The Cabin in the Woods is a great example. An example from fiction that really works is Scott Smith's The Ruins, which started out pretty much with the same B-movie, friends-on-vacation-premise, and turned it into something really fresh, unsettling, and actually scary.

This book on the other hand felt like it was written by a beginning writer desperate for a movie adaptation deal. It actually felt as if a bare-bones screenplay was written first, and then sections were filled in in order to churn out a mediocre novel. It's filled with clunky exposition, laughable dialogue, story beats that are pulled straight out of a high school soap opera, cringe-inducing, rookie-level metaphors and similes, and a monster/villain that's so uninteresting it actually became funny. Yea, I guess he was frightening on the surface, but it was all superficially scary, as if the author was just pushing the necessary buttons to tell me that I'm supposed to be scared by the bad guy, rather than instilling true terror. I also didn't care much about the main characters to the point where I wanted the monster to hurry up and kill them so the book would move faster. 

I received an Advanced Copy of this from the homies at DarkFuse via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and that's what this is. I could go on and on some more about all the things about this book that didn't work. But it always makes me sad when I don't enjoy a book. So I want to just move on to a better novel.

WITH FURY IN HAND by Lee Thompson

GRADE: A-

Author Lee Thompson once again writes a simple tale that's dark but compelling, and perfect for the novella format. The cover with the hard looking dude sporting an assault rifle is a little misleading. It's not a shoot em up story but instead a melancholy tale about a group of different people surviving in the inner city. Each of them damaged and dispirited in some way, but each trying to make a change for what they feel is for the better. It's a sort of slice of life story as we follow these characters as they make these choices for themselves and watch in both horror and anticipation as these actions cause them to interconnect and collide on one fateful night. It's a sympathetic and compassionate look at flawed individuals that is still unflinching in the belief that sometimes you can't stop what's coming, no matter how much you try.

"You climb too high in that opinion of yourself and the fall going to kill you."

Thompson sets the novella in Flint, Michigan, considered one of the most dangerous and unfortunately neglected cities in the country. This choice doesn't seem arbitrary. If you are familiar with anything about the city, it will add an extra mood of sadness and gloom that supports the book's atmosphere. A tale of broken people in a broken city. And another solid story by Lee Thompson.

"I like you just the way you be now. You smell real good. You smile and it makes me want to kiss you. You open your mouth and say something and it's like I'm hearing the voice of God. It gives me hope, and that's something, since there is so little of that to go around these days."

THE RAIN DANCERS by Greg F. Gifune

GRADE: A-

This is a disturbing, atmospheric, entirely creepy novella that is best read in one sitting late at night. On a rainy, stormy night, married couple Will and Betty Colby are visited by an old man that neither of them recognize, but who knows details about both of their pasts. Before the night is over, they will have to face old demons and confront painful memories. A sense of foreboding permeates through the entire story and you can literally feel the oppressive rain falling throughout. Gifune is one of those writers that make it seem easy. He doesn't write with fancy, flowery prose but he seems to choose just the right words that sneak up on you with sadness and pensive mystery, as the details of the plot are slowly revealed. I really enjoyed it.

BLACKOUT by Tim Curran

GRADE: B-

These DarkFuse novellas are like tasty little gummi bears that I munch on in between the bigger meals. So far, they've all been fun, quick and easy reads that I can get through in a day or two. This latest one is by horror writer Tim Curran and in it, a science teacher wakes up to an immense blackout and his wife missing. He groups up with his fellow neighbors on what is usually a quiet neighborhood street and try to figure out what's happening. Then the shiny, black tentacles start dropping from the sky...

The story is fast-paced and told from the point of view of an everyday guy that could be any one of us, trying to make sense of the chaos. Even though I got the sense that the author was making up the story as he went along (with a bungled third act and the rules of the creatures not being entirely consistent), it's still an enjoyable book and reads like an homage to H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds laced with Stephen King's incredible The Mist.

IT'S ONLY DEATH by Lee Thompson

GRADE: B+

"They clubbed me and tossed me into the truck of a new pink Cadillac shortly after midnight. I knew the car and couldn't figure out at first why it had to be her car. But the last three days, since I blew back into Miami, had been building up to this. I'd had old enemies who were just waiting for my mother to die so they could kill me, and I had made new enemies while trying to forge a bond with my sister that I had irrevocably broken when I killed our father ten years ago."

I know that it's preferred that reviewers not quote from an Advanced Copy of a book but I couldn't resist showing potential readers how skilled a writer Lee Thompson can be! He includes more story in this book's first paragraph than most authors have in the first half of their work! Here, he not only sets up time and setting, but also introduces the important characters, their relationships , and provides key details in an intriguing way that serves as an awesome taste of things to come! And he does all of this with impressive economy!

Elmore James Jackson has been on the lam for a decade, after killing his father in a spur-of-the-moment bank robbery, shattering his family. He finally rolls back into his small Florida hometown after he's contacted by his younger sister and finds out that his mother is dying of cancer. Naturally, he has a plethora of enemies that would love to snuff him out as soon as possible. But he hopes that before that happens he can make peace with his Mom and reconnect with his estranged sister. 

It's Only Death is a gripping story, well-written in James's engrossing POV. It's a smooth read, and at times, I lost track of time as the story sucked me in and moved at a great pace. Thompson creates an interesting character in James, a man difficult to empathize with at first, but the author succeeds in making me engaged in his decisions and obstacles, and his desire to reconnect to the loved ones he hurt before it's too late. But probably even more interesting, when you learn more about James's relationship with his parents and what might have caused his violence, you realize that there's a strong possibility that James might be a sociopath. I wish Thompson delved into this a bit more, as I think that's the most fascinating part of the story. It's Only Death is a solid piece of crime writing and I can't wait to delve into more of Thompson's work.

*I received this Advanced Copy from publisher DarkFuse through NetGalley for an honest review*

WHEN WE JOIN JESUS IN HELL by Lee Thompson

GRADE: A-

A ex-boxer comes home from his dead end job to find that his wife is not alone in their bedroom. What happens after that is what you need to read the book to find out.

For such a little novelette, this book has a pretty high body count. And no one is safe: not children, little old ladies, or even small animals. The story is bloody and violent, but the book wears its heart on its sleeve and manages to somehow also be a heartbreaking, tragic, and deeply emotional tale of loss, regret, and whether or not vengeance actually solves anything. The writing really left me unnerved throughout, my eyes constantly bugging out as the story moved to darker places with every page and nervous to find out what happened next. The most recent Kindle edition also includes a great little short story called "Beneath The Weeping Willow," about a broken family seen through the eyes of an autistic young boy, that is just as powerful and packs a wallop of an ending.

OASIS OF THE DAMNED by Greg F. Gifune

GRADE: B

"'Realistically, how many more of these things could there be?'

'No idea', he muttered. 'But I'm pretty sure realistically has nothing to do with it.'"

In this fast-paced horror novella I read on a plane ride, two soldiers find themselves stranded at a mysterious and abandoned WWII outpost in the middle of an unforgiving desert. They struggle to save their skins and their sanity when, every night, bloodthirsty creatures emerge from the dunes, hungry and ready to eat the flesh from their bodies.

Author Greg F. Gifune infuses the story with both excitement and a creepy atmosphere (even the desert is foreboding) while still finding time to develop the main character and allow her backstory to be essential to the story. And the more I learned about the ferocious predators, they're unnerving abilities, and what they will do to a person BEFORE they kill them, the more worried I got for our heroes. I started hoping that, on the next page, I wouldn't have to read about them falling into the hands of these creatures. While not a game-changer, this shorter horror tale is still entertaining and chilling all the way through to it's unsettling ending.

*I received an Advanced Copy of this novella from publisher DarkFuse through Netgalley for review. The book will be released on December 9th*

FACIAL by Jeff Strand

GRADE: B

This screwed up little novella begins like an everyday noir story and then transforms into something vastly different. Impotent resume writer Greg has hired a hitman to kill the boldest of his wife's many lovers, but he doesn't want any loose ends and murders him in his office. Of course, the problem arises of how to dispose of the body. Conveniently, Greg's brother Carlton has a need for a dead body and a great way of disposing of it. It has something  to do with the terrifying thing that he just found in his basement.

This was a pretty entertaining, quick read. It's not life-changing literature by any means, but I wouldn't have been able to stop reading even if I wanted to. My eyes were glued to my Kindle by the sheer audacity of the story, thinking: "I can't believe I'm actually reading this!," but also anxious to read more because it was cool to see how the story evolved and I had a desire to see how far the author would take the craziness. And I'm here to tell you, he took it pretty far!

*I generously received an Advanced Reader Copy from DarkFuse via NetGalley for an honest review*

RESTORATION (short story) by Greg F. Gifune

GRADE: A-

A beat cop is chasing a drugged up robbery suspect when he accidentally shoots and kills a child bystander. He subsequently loses his job, wife, and self-respect, landing a minimum wage job guarding a used car lot. But, things might start to get a lot worse now that he begins to see the little boy again.

I was first introduced to the publisher DarkFuse recently through reviews on Goodreads. Since then, I've been doing more research on them and they seem to be a fun little company that puts out cool titles with awesome cover art and affordable price. I signed up for membership and received this short story as an ebook gift. I couldn't sleep last night and decided to crack it open and give it a read. 

I was completely unfamiliar with the author Greg F. Gifune, but not anymore. "Restoration" is an extremely well written story with loads of atmosphere. It's a moody noir/horror hybrid with a creepy tone all throughout, while maintaining a level of sadness as well. It's a very quick read at only a tight 20 pages. I really enjoyed it and would like to read more by Gifune and more by DarkFuse in the future.