A Human Stain by Kelly Robson

September 28, 2018 By Leave a Comment


A Human Stain by Kelly Robson
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Historical
Length: Short Story (40 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“A Human Stain” by Kelly Robson is a disturbing horror novelette about a British expatriate at loose ends who is hired by her friend to temporarily care for his young, orphaned nephew in a remote castle-like structure in Germany.

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This was one of the creepiest things I’ve read in ages. It was creepy to think of Helen, the protagonist, living in a crumbling mansion with a child who kept doing alarming things and other staff members who refused to confirm or deny anything about why the boy behaved that way or whether his actions were a sign of something even more horrifying from his past.

What this story needed more than anything was a much more detailed description of the secrets that Herr Lambrecht and the people he employed at the mansion were keeping from Helen. This was by far the most important part of the plot, so I was surprised by how it was handled once she realized there was something very odd about her young charge. I was intrigued by what was shared, but I had enough trouble putting all of the pieces together that I didn’t feel justified in giving this book the higher score I’d originally thought it deserved.

Helen was a likeable main character whom I desperately hoped would be okay once she realized exactly how much danger she was in. I marvelled at all of the hints about her past that poked through as she adjusted to her strange new home and job. It was the sort of position that wouldn’t appeal to most tutors or nannies, so it was nice to know why she was so in need of a job that she overlooked red flags more observant and less desperate employees would have picked up on early on.

If you love the horror genre, give A Human Stain a try.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Paths to the Stars by Edward Willett

September 21, 2018 By 1 Comment


Paths to the Stars: Twenty-Two Fantastical Tales of Imagination by Edward Willett
Publisher: Shadowpaw Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (327 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

From Edward Willett, Aurora Award-winning author of Marseguro, The Cityborn, and Worldshaper (DAW Books), among many others, comes twenty-two tales of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, drawn from a long career of telling fantastic tales.

A young musician dreams of playing his songs among the stars…A Broadway performer on the lam is forced to direct aliens in The Sound of Music…Strange vegetables with dangerous properties crop up in small-town Saskatchewan…A man with a dark secret gets his comeuppance on a windy night on the prairie…An elderly caretaker on the Moon preserves the memory of the millions who died on Earth’s darkest day…A woman and a bat-like alien must overcome their own prejudices to prevent an interstellar war…

By doing so it manages to widen the sildenafil cheap blood vessels in the head. Consuming 2 to 3 cloves of garlic can help you maintain weight cheap generic viagra loss. If you pay attention properly, after they buy cheapest viagra discuss the item assisting your sex lifestyle they go onto to bring up the adverse reactions. Sports injuries in professional athletes can greatly affect the performance purchase generic cialis of any man on the bed. From the far future and the farthest reaches of space to the Canadian prairie, from our world to worlds that have never existed to world’s that might some day, rich realms of imagination and the fascinating characters and creatures that populate them await within these stories, some previously published, some seeing print for the first time.

Time to go exploring…

From dusty, old-fashioned farmhouses from generations ago to gleaming space ships who will fly around in the distant future, there’s something in this collection for a wide variety of tastes.

“Strange Harvest” showed what happened to the community of Drinkwell, Saskatchewan when the farmers and gardeners there began noticing that their crops didn’t look, taste, or behave like anything they’d ever seen before. I was fascinated by the thought of something as ordinary as a potato becoming dangerous for humans to be around. It made me think about farmer’s markets in an entirely different way, although I can’t say much more else about it without giving away spoilers. While I was satisfied with how this one ended, I also would have loved to know what happened to the characters after the final scene.

All of the stories in this anthology had attention-grabbing premises and were a pleasure to read. With that being said, there were a few of them that I thought could have used a little extra development. For example, it took me a while to understand what was happening in ““The Mother’s Keepers.” The protagonist, Praella, didn’t have a good understanding of how her society functioned at all. While I wouldn’t expect a drone like her to know everything, I was surprised by the gaps in her memory, especially once I got to know more about her insect-like race and began to make my own assumptions about how their society was structured and how they reproduced. This tale would have been one of my favorites if I’d had a better understanding of what her species was like and why she knew so little about the practical details of their lives.

Carl, the main character in “The Wind,” was haunted by his memories of his dead wife. Little did he know that a metaphorical haunting might not be the only thing he had to worry about. The plot twists in this tale were as clever as they were fun to read. While I did see them coming in advance, I was still quite curious to know if I’d made the correct assumptions about what the clues in the beginning were hinting at. It was rewarding to find out if I was right and see what happened to this character next.

Paths to the Stars: Twenty-Two Fantastical Tales of Imagination was a creative collection that I’d highly recommend to anyone who appreciates the occasionally humorous side of this genre.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Excerpts from a Film (1942-1987) by A. C. Wise

September 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Excerpts from a Film (1942-1987) by A.C. Wise
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Historical
Length: Short Story (37 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“Excerpts from a Film (1942-1987)” by A.C. Wise is a disturbing horror novelette about a young woman, who like many others, goes to Hollywood to become a star and is haunted by the murders of several other aspiring actresses. And of her influence, rippling up through the years, on the man who “discovered” her and on film itself.

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Not every ghost has the same agenda, and not every ghost story unfolds the same way. One of the most interesting parts of this tale for me was figuring out what the dead wanted and how they decided they were going to try to accomplish their mission. At times I wasn’t even sure that they knew what they wanted, but that was a good thing. There was a lot of room for interpretation here, and that was a great choice for this particular storyline.

I figured out the plot twist for this story almost immediately. There were quite a few clues about what was really going on, and they popped up pretty early in the storyline. It would have been helpful to hold off on some of them for a few scenes so that I would have needed to work harder to figure out what the author was trying to hint at. I was disappointed at how easy it was to piece everything together right away.

Switching between two different narrators who were living in eras set a few decades apart was a smart decision for this tale. Both of them were well developed and revealed portions of the plot to the audience that the other narrator couldn’t possibly have known. I enjoyed reading about their interpretations of the same events, especially later on once they began to experience or remember the darker scenes.

Excerpts from a Film (1942-1987) should be read by anyone who has ever been haunted by their past or wondered what such an experience would be like.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Alphaland by Cristina Jurado

September 17, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Alphaland by Cristina Jurado
Publisher: Nevsky Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (126 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Award-winning short story writer Cristina Jurado’s first collection in English is filled with the idea of the other: different lives that take place at the corners of our eyes, just out of sight. The boundaries between the real and the unreal have never before been so porous, or so fragile. Alien sex-goddesses feed off venal politicians; people have their memories wiped and their personalities changed – for a fee; a vision of the champing jaws of hell accompanies a death in the family. These six stories are six different worlds, and introduce into the English-speaking market a fascinating new author of speculative fiction.

Not everything is as simple as it might appear to be at first glance.

The main character in “Vanth” asked his campaign manager to hire a prostitute for him. When she arrived at his hotel room, he had no idea what was about to happen to him. I found the plot hard to follow due to how often it shifted from one scene to the next and how few details there were about who the characters were. Even their names weren’t mentioned. There was also a scene about a young boy in the woods included very early on that I had trouble connecting to everything that happened after it. While I did come up with a theory about how all of those sections fit together, I would have liked to have a few more clues about what was going on and if my guess was correct.
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After a sudden accident in “Inchworm,” an astronaut woke up to discover that his body was connected to many different tubes and other devices that were keeping him alive. He needed to figure out what had happened to him while also attempting to achieve the goals he’d been sent out into space to pursue. I adored the plot twists in this tale. Not only were there several great ones, the clues for all of them were released so gradually that I was able to spend plenty of time coming up with theories about what had happened to the astronaut and how someone who had been so healthy could suddenly be barely clinging to life.

“Alice” showed what happened to a woman named Alice after she woke up from a medical procedure designed to erase all of her memories of her past. She was determined to find out what she’d decided to forget but had no idea where to begin. I was fascinated by the thought of someone trying to remember a life they’d purposefully chosen to leave behind in such a dramatic fashion, but I did wonder why the clinic would allow a patient to wake up with such an unquenchable desire for this information. It seemed counter-productive, and it was never clear to me why this side effect would be allowed to persist by medical professionals that had the amazing ability to delete specific memories from someone’s mind without harming other ones.

Death was an unavoidable topic in “Second Death of the Father.” The protagonist stood vigil at her father’s deathbed and then had to deal with her conflicting feelings about the turbulent relationship she’d had with him when he was alive. I appreciated all of the details the narrator shared about her father’s absence from her life. Her anger and disappointment at being created by someone who was so uninterested in parenting his own child or getting to know who she was as an adult felt incredibly realistic. It also gave her some pretty understandable reasons for reacting to the later plot developments the way she did.

It took me a little while to get into “The Shepherd” because of how vague the narrator was about what was happening in their lives and what sort of creatures they were hunting. As soon as I figured out these details, though, I couldn’t wait to find out if their hunt would be successful. The world building was handled nicely, especially when it came to gradually revealing more and more information about how this society worked and why the audience wasn’t told certain things about it right away.

The protagonist in “Alphaland” was someone whose dreams were capable of coming back as hallucinations during the day when they were awake. As intrigued as I was by the premise, so little time was spent describing how such an ability could negatively affect someone’s life that I had trouble connecting with the main character. It would have been nice to see more examples of what happened to them when a nightmare they’d experienced one night returned again the next day when they least expected it.

Alphaland was a well-written and thought-provoking collection of short stories that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys modern science fiction.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Cotton Tale by E.C. Fisher

August 31, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Cotton Tale by E.C. Fisher
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Horror, Contempoaray
Length: Short story (60 pages)
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

A private jet violently crash-lands on a deserted island. Captain Newton and his stewardess Rebecca are reluctantly forced to band together with the Vanderbach family as a means of survival.

They soon discover the island holds a dark secret the mainland has kept hidden since the 70s. Something monstrous was genetically engineered nearly forty years ago that even nature couldn’t destroy. Now it stalks the group as they venture further into the jungle in search of rescue and escape.
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Can the group of misfit survivors manage to work together to find a way off the island? As the tension, suspense, and horror rise, they realize time is not on their side … the ravenous creations are drawing closer, and their appetite is insatiable.

For a zippy little, fast-moving tale that will keep one hoping against hope, Cotton Tale does not disappoint. It is labeled as a horror story, and rightfully so. There is enough violence and blood to justify the genre’s label. However, with the gory parts and being interwoven with creepy aspects, this story often feels like a thriller as readers go along with the characters, hoping they find a way out of their terrible situation.

A plane crashes on an island, bringing out the best and worst in the characters as we see them under pressure and how they try to remain calm. Some of the characters readers can like right away, and some of them readers may not like so much. It’s an interesting group. The story starts right in the middle of the action.

The mood grows in intensity as they deal with the aftermath of the crash. Trouble isn’t over; it just started. There’s an eerie atmosphere on the too quiet island. It’s dark, and they’re in great peril.

Short chapters keep it snappy. When the group finds the building and see its condition, it’s obvious that something had escaped it. Scary thought. They find a secret passageway. The suspense escalates and creates goosebumps. There’s something out there, but what could it be?

For those who like well-paced scary stories that one can enjoy in a reading or two, this is a good one to check out. The ending is somewhat unexpected.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Tantalizing Tales of the Horrific and Fantastic by Marie Krepps

August 2, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Tantalizing Tales of the Horrific and Fantastic by Marie Krepps
Publisher: Hollow Hills
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Short Story (130 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sink your teeth into this book of fantastical short stories that will leave you wanting more. This collection mixes fantasy, science fiction, horror, and more into one big boiling pot of tastiness. Stories may include princesses, talking birds, alien species, magical items, terrifying creatures, cyborgs, or assassins. You’ll get your fill of thrills and chills.

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In “The Last Goodbye,” Cam and Merrick had to battle a village filled with trolls in order to win the right to bring home a golden scroll that would make them wealthy. The plot twists in this tale were a lot of fun. I surprisingly didn’t see any of them coming in advance, so I relished the chance to be surprised by what was going on in these characters’ lives before more details were revealed about who they were as individuals.

Most of the stories in this anthology were quite short. While I enjoyed diving into the different worlds for such brief periods of time, there were multiple instances where it would have been helpful to have more information about who the characters were. Something that is only a few pages long simply doesn’t have a lot of room to explore someone’s backstory or conflicts in life. There were times when this was an issue for me as a reader. For example, “Date Night” was about a woman preparing to go on a first date. Her entire story was finished in less than two pages, so there wasn’t time to explore her backstory or explain why she was being so meticulous about making sure she had everything she needed for the evening. I enjoyed the twist at the end, but it would have been nice to know more about who she really was and why she had such an unusual approach to dating.

“Taking It Back” began with a bang when an ordinary stretch of road was suddenly transformed into a lush, green field of grass. As many more manmade structures began to also disappear into thin air and be replaced by living things like trees and vines, I couldn’t help but to wonder what was causing all of this and if it would be permanent. The descriptions of the transformations were so vivid that I felt as though I were watching them happen right in front of me. I was also fascinated by how humans were affected by all of these drastic changes in their lives.

If you like flash fiction and similar short pieces of work, I’d recommend checking out Tantalizing Tales of the Horrific and Fantastic.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Dark Warm Heart by Rich Larson

July 19, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Dark Warm Heart by Rich Larson
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (28 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“Dark Warm Heart” by Rich Larson is a horror story about a woman whose husband returns from the frozen Canadian North Territories, obsessed with texts he discovered there.

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This was one of the scariest things I’ve read in a long time. Mr. Larson did a wonderful job at setting the mood while slowly giving hints that something had gone terribly wrong while Noel, the main character’s husband, was conducting his research in northern Canada. I especially enjoyed the fact that Kristine needed some time to realize that Noel wasn’t acting like his normal self. As her excitement transitioned into fear, I only became more interested in finding out what had really happened to him while he was away.

It would have been helpful to have a more detailed explanation of what was going on in the final scene. The clues that were provided weren’t quite enough for me put all of the pieces together. Even now I’m not entirely sure that my understanding of the end was what the author meant to say. Had this section been clearer to me, I would have felt comfortable choosing a higher rating for this book.

The description of Kristine and Noel’s marriage was well written. They’d been together for so long that they were obviously quite comfortable around each other. Seeing such a settled and stable couple go through a horrifying experience that defied explanation made it impossible for me to stop reading. I simply had to know what would happen to them next.

Dark Warm Heart made me shudder. It should be read by anyone who finds joy in being frightened.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Undertaker’s Revenge: A Love Story by A. Davis

July 2, 2018 By Leave a Comment


The Undertaker’s Revenge: A Love Story by A. Davis
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery, Paranormal, Horror, Historical
Length: Short Story (85 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Two-headed dogs and the re-animated dead? What is going on in the little village of Krakenshire?

It was a land and time far, far away, or so the story goes. Hear the offbeat narrator tell the tale of the undertaker and his quest for revenge and retaliation. Meet the whimsical and bizarre characters that occupy the quaint town along the way.

This strange tale follows the forlorn undertaker through the tiny hamlet of Krakenshire as he attempts to avenge his wife’s death. The village residents, on the other hand, never seemed to question her death. In fact, aside from the light gossip pertaining to the mental health of the undertaker, they nearly forgot all about the once-happy couple. Almost oblivious, they were. One might even say they were mysteriously distracted.
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The undertaker, however, saw the secretive spell the resident had succumbed to- and it all emanated from from the factory on the hill. The evil empire, as he referred to it, was a chemical company contaminating the very village they resided in. And he was most resolute on reaping revenge on such a nefarious neighbor!
Oh sure, there were others who were not sickened by the spell, other villagers who indeed did perceive the poisoning being perpetrated. But they were, well, let’s just say, they were otherwise occupied with their own oddities. And most peculiar oddities they were! Now I won’t go into the particulars here, but suffice it to say, the town was rather teaming with the twisted type, a loony lot for certain! And our poor undertaker has to endure the endless eccentricities as he tries to exact his revenge.

Will the undertaker find justice, or will he just go mad? More importantly, will you be brave enough to make to the end?

Suspend your disbelief and prepare for something delightfully surreal before diving into this book.

The plot twists were fabulous. Many of them completely surprised me, and even the ones that I predicted ahead of time were still a ton of fun to see actually unfold for the characters. I was especially impressed with how Ms. Davis played around with some of the most common tropes in the horror, mystery, and science fiction genres in order to suit her purposes. There was so much creativity in her writing that I’m going to be keeping a close lookout to see what she publishes next.

I would have liked to see a little more time spent on character development. As intrigued as I was by the undertaker’s bizarre theories about what was happening to his community, I didn’t feel like I got to know him as an individual as well as I would have liked to. His personality was well-described when it came to his obsessions and fears, but the rest of who he was didn’t get the same amount of attention.

This was such an amusing mystery to solve. I’ll admit to being a little confused about what was going on in the beginning, but that was mostly due to the fact that the main character was just as puzzled as I was. As soon as things became clearer, I was hooked on the plot and couldn’t wait to find out what was really going on in this sleepy and disturbingly happy town.

I’d heartily recommend The Undertaker’s Revenge: A Love Story to anyone who loves the thought of mixing multiple genres together in the same tale.

Filed Under: Horror, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Tucson Time Traveler and Other Stories by Claus Holm

June 14, 2018 By Leave a Comment


The Tucson Time Traveler and Other Stories by Claus Holm
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (175 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“I’d be shooting someone who hasn’t done anything yet.” Professor Wells put his hand on my shoulder. “Such is the dilemma of time travel, Ted. A world where reaction comes before action. Where you as the chrononaut knows what the future will be like because you’ve lived it, even if it hasn’t happened yet.” If you could go back in time and change the course of history, would you do it? Even if you could never be sure what the change would lead to? Can any of us really foresee the impact our actions have on history and the future? Through ten independent stories, Claus Holm explores the world of time travel, dimensional changes, and new technology. He shows us a world where Germany won World War II, introduces us to people who can cast minds from the future to the past, and takes us to a future where an earthquake has destroyed our civilization beyond repair. Each story treats the question of how people deal with challenges that change their view of life. If you are a fan of Stephen King, the show Black Mirror, or if you’ve read Dreams and Awakenings, this is the book for you.

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One of the highlights of this anthology for me was “I Love Her From the Mirror.” In it, a lonely and socially awkward man named Mick realized that he could see the bedroom of one of his neighbors when he looked into the new mirror in his own bedroom. While I was a little taken aback by this premise at first, I quickly grew to like Mick quite a bit. He was an honorable man who always had the best of intentions. I also adored how this one ended. There was a twist in the final sentence that was as heartwarming as it was satisfactory.

“The Phone People” was one of the few stories that I thought could have used more development. It followed a mysterious man named Dave who travelled around the country under the instructions of The Phone People, individuals he received telephone calls and packages from but never actually saw in person. This character didn’t remember his past, and he often lost large chunks of time from his present as well. As intrigued as I was by the possible causes of this memory loss and what he might be doing when his mind decided to stop remembering his actions, there simply weren’t enough details to help me figure any of this stuff out. I would have really appreciated it if there had been a little more guidance from the narrator about what was really going on in Dave’s life.

Many different emotions mixed together in “The Last Haunted House.” Warren, the main character, was still grieving over the loss of his wife when he decided to go all out decorating his house for the trick-or-treaters who were about to start wandering around his neighborhood in search of candy and frights. This tale had a dark edge that I wasn’t expecting to stumble across. With that being said, the horror elements of it worked incredibly well, and I was glad I read it while there was still daylight in the sky.

I’d recommend The Tucson Time Traveler and Other Stories to anyone who loves creative science fiction in all its forms.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Azreal by J.S. Frankel

May 29, 2018 By 2 Comments


The Undernet 2: Azreal by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Devine Destinies
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Horror, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (238 pages)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Milt Edwards, survivor of an incident that almost took his life six months previously, is back. He and his girlfriend, Roberta (Robbie) Jones, both suffer from PTSD as a result of their ordeal, and they attend counseling sessions in order to help them work through their mental anguish.

Nothing helps, but then a friend of Milt’s is killed, ostensibly by the same person who designed the Undernet—Azrael. Galvanized into action, Milt once again joins forces with the FBI in order to find out who Azrael truly is, and he is paired with a rookie agent, Nasraana Shaksy, an American Muslim who has her own battles to fight.

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Some monsters have become very good at hiding their true selves.

Milt’s character development was well done. I’d mentioned wanting to see more of it in my review of The Undernet, so it was nice to see how much this character changed in his second adventure. He had been pretty badly traumatized from being kidnapped and tortured back then, and he was still dealing with the repercussions of that when this case began. It was neat to see so much continuity for him there as he continued to heal.

The cast of characters was really large. Milt and the FBI agents he was working with kept finding more and more people on the Darkweb who were involved in child trafficking as the story progressed. While Mr. Frankel’s descriptions of everyone were thorough, I sure would have liked to have a list of all of the characters to reference when someone who hadn’t been seen in a while popped back up again. There were a few times when I had trouble remembering certain people who played small roles in the plot because of how many other folks there were to keep track of as well.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this story was trying to figure out who Azrael really was and how he’d evaded the authorities for so long. This wasn’t an easy mystery to unravel. There were a sufficient number of clues to work with, but they didn’t appear right away and all of them required the readers to think critically about what we’d just read.

The first book in this series was in the young adult genre, but this standalone sequel took a much darker and adult-oriented turn. While the many references to child trafficking and pedophilia did not include any scenes of a child being sexually abused, such disturbing subject matter is really only appropriate for an adult audience.

The Undernet 2: Azrael should be read by anyone who is in the mood for a dark mystery.

Filed Under: Horror, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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