JUDAS GOAT by Greg Gifune

I really need to stop waiting so long between Gifune books! His work scratches a horror itch for me that most writers fail to hit. The books dive to emotional depths that others never dare to, while still providing the terror and thrills. 

This novella feels like an eerie dream from the very first paragraph and it never once lets up on the atmosphere, especially as our main character Lenny gets to the small town where his ex-girlfriend has died and mysteriously left him her house. As he struggles to understand what happened to Sheena, we the reader discover a tragic story of love squandered and two people filled with pain and regret. I almost always leave a Gifune book satisfied and impressed and this is another great one. 

GRADE: A-

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-

SAYING UNCLE by Greg Gifune

"The truth. Everybody wants the truth. Problem is nobody ever knows what to do with it once they get it."

I don’t mean to presume to know anything about author Greg Gifune personally, but out of the work that I’ve read from him, this full-length novel feels the most personal. Maybe it’s not autobiographical per se, but the writing heat has a tragic familiarity that really struck me. Maybe that’s simply just a testament to how talented the guy truly is. 

Telling parallel stories of a man returning to his childhood home after the death of an estranged uncle as well as the summer that changed his family forever in a wave of violence and tragedy, the book slowly reveals not only its secrets but also the heart on its sleeve, culminating in a resolution so mournful you can almost feel the tears on the page. 

I am her child, her baby, and she is my mother, and yet, in this odd territory between reality and dreams, we're the same. The blind mice reaching desperately through darkness for some sense of the divine and all the promises such a destination surely holds.

GRADE: B+

HERETICS by Greg F. Gifune

Told in alternating chapters detailing the events of the past and present, Gifune paints a picture of three outcast friends involved in a terrible tragedy in high school who must confront those events again as adults. The novella is told in Gifune's trademark atmospheric style and is exciting in the way it evolves. Not only does the book maintain a creepy but strangely romantic tone, but Gifune also skillfully doles out backstory slowly so that the feeling of dread grows and grows as we get closer to discovering what happened to these teenagers on that fateful night. I was worried about finding out the details but couldn't look away once it all started to go down. So far, Gifune's work has been pretty consistent in it's quality!

Harry wondered if someone without eyes still produced tears.

GRADE: B+

LORDS OF TWILIGHT by Greg F. Gifune

I really enjoy reading Greg Gifune's work. I enjoy his effortless way with words and his knack for injecting compelling emotional drama into his horror tales. I loved The Rain Dancers and really enjoyed the suspenseful Oasis of the Damned, and this novella, Lords of Twilight, falls in the same vein. Lane Boyce is a newcomer to a middle-of-nowhere town in Maine looking to start over and forget his past. But the past isn't easily forgotten when strange things start happening around town, leading up to a terrible snowstorm that traps Lane in his tiny cabin, with just his dog, and the memories that he is trying so hard to forget.

One thing that Gifune proves to be great at again and again is the building of atmospheric tension and mood, especially with his use of weather. And oppressive snow is always a tried and true element in memorable horror and naturally, Gifune uses it here to great effect. And as usual, the book is filled with smooth, gorgeous passages that's always a pleasure to read in his work. But the strongest element here is how the real horror lies not with the snow, nor the strange things happening in town, but in a man not only trapped with the terrible memories of his past but also forced to confront the consequences of that past.

He thought he knew what it was to be alone, but now understands what it truly means. Hope is an illusion, a memory of something once possible that has been relegated to the realm of myth and broken promises whispered in the dark. 

Although it wasn't as strong as some of the other work I've read by Gifune, it's definitely a solid example of why he's probably one of the most underrated horror writers out there today.

GRADE: B+

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.

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*

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.