THE ODDS by Jeff Strand

I wonder what Jeff Strand thinks of Squid Game? 

This book by Strand, released a year before the popular Netflix show, is a cautionary tale following a gambling addict who is presented with a game with odds so good that it would be silly to turn it down. But then as the rounds to the game go on, the stakes become a lot higher! I‘m starting to think that Strand is incapable of writing a bad story. At the very least they’re all very entertaining and this one is no different. As a matter of fact, this one might be one of his most entertaining as our hero digs himself deeper into the game until we ask ourselves if it’s even possible to win. On paper, it works as a great thriller but it’s really all Jeff Strand in all his audacity. All the background and characters behind the game are so ridiculous but done with such conviction that only Strand is capable of. I finished the book wanting to know more and wishing that it was a hundred pages longer. 

GRADE: A-

THE SUMMER I DIED by Ryan C. Thomas

Recently I read a novella that was labeled as “extreme horror” on the cover, and I went into it bracing myself to read something uncomfortable and unbearable. That book was a bit of a letdown but its graphic content also didn’t really affect me much. I went into The Summer I Died aware of the great reviews and that it also had graphic content. But holy shit, I didn’t expect what I experienced here. It caught me with my guard down, maybe because it wasn’t billed as “extreme horror” like the other book, which was a children’s Sunday cartoon compared to The Summer I Died.

The book takes a second to spend time with the two protagonists and build their characters and their relationships and this probably lulled me into a sense of comfort. But when the story takes a turn for the worse and the two friends investigate the screaming of a woman in the woods, I was horrified by its brutal violence and left reeling by its suspenseful tension. At first, I thought I would be tempted to call it torture porn but it’s so damn well-done that it’s hard to deny the artistry here. The countless close calls, the rolling of the dice, the unseen actions in another room left to the imagination, and the missed escape opportunities built the suspense to such a fever pitch that there were times I had to take a breath after reading a passage. 

I’m still thinking about this book and it will probably be on my mind long after. That’s all a reader can ask for.

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-

WOOM by Duncan Ralston

You won’t like this book. 

It’s extreme horror for mature readers and is structured as a series of interconnected tales about a cursed room at the sleazy Lonely Motel, and all the fucked up shit that goes on there. If graphic violence, sexual content, or my cursing in this review is a turn-off for you, then stay away from this one. 

Now I don’t quite know what it says about me, but I didn’t find the content that hard to read. I mean, of course the situations are all terrible, but it ultimately wasn’t as difficult to stomach as I expected. IT might be because the writing isn't as compelling as it should be, but all the graphic sexual violence didn't have the same emotional punch as it aspires to have. And worse, story-wise, it wasn’t as effective and engaging as it should be. 

I did like the way that all the stories finally connected, but it just wasn’t enough to sustain itself. Even with its short page count, I felt like it was too long. If you’re looking for extreme horror, it’s okay. If you’re looking for a compelling story, you probably will be a bit let down. Others will just be repulsed by the graphic effort. So yep, if I was a betting man, I would guess:

You won’t like this book. 

GRADE: C-

PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir

With this latest novel, Andy Weir has created another entertaining love letter to the power of science, technology, and nerds. The story opens with a man waking up on a spaceship with no memories of how he got there and why he's there. But as he begins to regain his memories, and armed with just his knowledge and instincts, he realizes that the most impossible mission has been placed on his shoulders, and the fate of the entire world is at stake. 

One of the big critiques that some people had about Weir's smash debut, The Martian, was that it read like a science textbook at times, with its repetitive focus on the protagonist sciencing the hell out of one problem after another. I partially disagreed with that but if you felt that way about The Martian, then stay away from Project Hail Mary, as it beefs up the sciencing to 100! There were times when it felt a bit tedious detailing every step in Ryland Grace's problem-solving, sort of like a science computer game. But dammit if Weir has a real knack for making this stuff pretty entertaining! There are great, clever twists that I didn't see coming and one of the things that really worked was how we discover bits of the past as Ryland begins to regain his memories, and we piece together the entire backstory, with surprises throughout. A very effective way to deal with exposition.

It's best to go into the book knowing as little as possible about the plot, so I'll just leave it here. If you can make it through all of the science, you'll find an effective, escapist read, and just might learn something new along the way!

GRADE: B+

OUTLAWED INK: Stories by Jason Starr

It should be no surprise that the short stories in Jason Starr’s new collection are a lot like his novels. They’re all contemporary crime noir focused on losers and degenerates of all kinds, ranging from degenerate gamblers, stock market assholes, sleazy old misogynists, and heartless serial daters. 

The first half of stories are pretty good: short, efficient, and filled with Starr’s tragic sense of humor. But it’s strange how the last half of stories sort of fell off the cliff. All of these stories felt incomplete and lazily written, with less than compelling resolutions. But my favorites were: “The Graveyard of Jimmy Fontaine,” about gambler with the most terrible luck, and “Last Pick,” about a bullied kid finally getting the revenge he deserves. 

GRADE: B-

RAZORBLADE TEARS by S.A. Cosby

One of the best novels I've read this year. Coming off of his impactful sophomore novel, Blacktop Wasteland, S.A. Cosby outdoes himself with this soulful crime tale of two fathers who must overcome their prejudice, regrets, and self-pity and take action to avenge the brutal murder of their married gay sons.

There is something so pitch-perfect about the execution here, it's really a sight to behold. Every scene is integral and well-done, and each character is built with elegance, with every flaw and strength on display in equal measure. The book is also touching and funny, with brutal action, but not without moments of reflection. There's really not much else to say. I feel like this silly, inadequate review doesn't do the book justice it all, and it should speak for itself. I haven't read a book this well-balanced and this well-orchestrated in a while. 

There was no turning back. There was no path that lead anywhere except down a long road, as dark as your first night in hell, and paved all along the way with bad intentions.

GRADE: A 

THE FISHERMAN by John Langan

I was really looking forward to this because so many of my Goodreads friends that I respect greatly raved in their glowing reviews about this book. And while the first half of the book was great, I found my attention truly drifting more and more as it went on. I loved most of the character work done in the beginning to introduce us to widowers Abe and Dan, and even the first part of the creepy tale-within-a-tale that becomes the centerpiece of the book does a decent job at invoking unease, but the second half of the novel started to drift for me. In my opinion, cosmic horror is one of the most difficult genres to pull off effectively and I really get excited when it's done well. But sometimes the horror and the threat becomes so vague, subdued, and indefinable that it sort of disappears and loses all urgency. I feel like that's what happened here. 

GRADE: C-

KIN by Kealan Patrick Burke

We all have seen those horror movies. The ones where a crazy hillbilly family in the middle of nowhere terrorize and torture visitors until one or two of them manage to escape? This book focuses on the aftermath, on the survivor: that “final girl,” and others affected in different ways by the trauma. It also focuses on the relatives of the deceased (including a former soldier with PTSD) and the young kid that helps to bring the girl to safety. It also looks at the killers themselves: a family of cannibals that are all the more scary because they feel like they’re doing God’s work. 

The book is a violent and compelling examination of retribution, vengeance, and survivor's guilt. It questions whether there's even a possibility of "moving on" for all those involved and whether or not more violence is really the answer to that question. I could tell that Kealan Patrick Burke got a lot more polished as a writer since this earlier novel because there are many times in the book where the prose felt pretty long-winded and overwritten; not as efficient as his later work. But this work is pretty brave, going places that I never thought the story would go without ever feeling forced.

GRADE: B

BENEATH A PALE SKY by Philip Fracassi

Just like with the previous collection, Behold the Void, Philip Fracassi gives us a curious collection of horror stories that find a great balance between the cerebral and the emotional, where even if you don’t fully grasp the totality of what transpired, the evocative feeling that the stories give you will be wholly satisfying. 

The book is a collection that combines some of his latest short stories and novellas, ones that were both published previously and ones that were written for this book. Fracassi is great at detailing horrific but believable disastrous events and taking them to places that hint that they go beyond everyday tragedies and into the realm of the supernatural. This is on full display in many of these stories, such as with the horrifying Ferris Wheel tragedy in “The Wheel,” the deadly tornado in “Harvest,” or the earthquake in my favorite story in the collection: the novella Fragile Dreams (which I read previously as a stand-alone and reviewed it here). Each of these stories takes everyday horror and transform them into something much more cosmic and extraordinary. 

Along with Fragile Dreams, my other favorite stories are “Death, My Old Friend,” a stunning story that I also read previously and I still think is the best of Fracassi’s shorter tales, and “ID,” a sly, playful, and unreliable look at a friendship born in a mental hospital that will make you question your own sanity. 

This author is always consistent with his engaging stories and I’m really looking forward to reading his upcoming debut novel later this year!

Thanks to the publisher for the Advanced Reader’s Copy. 

GRADE: B+