Book Review: THIS WAY LIES MADNESS This Way Lies Madness Dave Jeffery & Lee Murray, eds. Flame Tree Collections (October 14, 2025) 416 pgs. Reviewed by Carson Buckingham It’s a crying shame that there isn’t an Academy Award for anthologies, because This Way Lies Madness surely deserves one, but I…

Book Review: SCARING AND DARING Scaring and Daring: A Horror Writers Association Anthology Eric J. Guignard, ed. Harper Collins Children’s Books (August 12, 2025) 297 pgs. Reviewed by Carson Buckingham Anthologist extraordinaire, Eric J. Guignard, has done it again with this exemplary compilation…

Advance Review: THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR, Vol. 17 The Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 17 Edited by Ellen Datlow Night Shade Books (late 2025) Reviewed by Mario Guslandi Legendary horror editor Ellen Datlow is back with yet another “year’s best,” an annual treat for any horror lover. As customary,…

Book Review: DARKNESS 102 Darkness 102:  Advanced Lessons Were Learned Jonathan Reddoch, Elizabeth Suggs (eds.) Collective Tales Publishing (August 30, 2025), 102 pages Reviewed by Carson Buckingham Darkness 102 is an anthology of one hundred two 102-word tales on the theme of “lessons learned.”…

Book Review: 13 GHASTLY TALES 13 Ghastly Tales B.D. Prince Ghastly Press (October 7, 2025), 313 pgs. Reviewed by Carson Buckingham One of the things I love about 13 Ghastly Tales is the versatility. In this book, we have sci-fi, horror, paranormal, Native American mythos, and serial killer…

Advance Review: SuperNOIRtural Tales SuperNOIRtural Tales Ian Rogers Burning Effigy Press (October 2025) Reviewed by Carson Buckingham First, I must say that I am always delighted to read anything by Ian Rogers. His writing is nothing short of brilliant, and I never feel anything but honored to…

The Starving Queen – Book Review The Starving Queen Dean Italiano 2017 P.I.C. Publishing Reviewed by Rick Hipson The Starving Queen, Dean Italiano's most recent novel, is every bit as terrifying as it is true for far too many of us. The insidious force of Dean's villain burrows into those she…

Advance Review: THE SECRET OF THE SAPPHIRE SENTINEL The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel J. Dianne Dotson Android Press (October 21, 2025) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy In the second book in the series, The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel,  J. Dianne Dotson brings back the beloved Gen Lightworth and…

Book Review: DEAD SCALP Dead Scalp Jasper Bark Crystal Lake Publishing (July 29, 2025) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy Looking for your next splatterpunk western? Look no further. Jasper Bark has done it again with another Dead Scalp tale. The only rule in Dead Scalp is: Don’t cut your hair. And for…

Advance Review: PRETEND YOU DON’T SEE HER Pretend You Don’t See Her: The Invisible Woman Jill Girardi and Lydia Prime, eds. Kandisha Press (September 30, 2025) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy False eyelashes; lip plumper; dewy sprays to make our skin look younger; contouring makeup; photo ready…

Book Review: 1,000 FOR A G-JOB 1,000 for a G-Job: A Horrotica Novella Jeffrey Caston Independently published (August 2, 2025) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy What is John to do when he can’t find a fulfilling sexual relationship with any of the women he’s taken out on dates? There’s nothing wrong with…

Book Review: JUST GARY Just Gary Rob Gabriele The Evil Cookie Publishing (July 11, 2025) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy It’s just Gary and he’s dying, but then he wins the lottery. With his new machine controlling his REM sleep he can act out all the most depraved dreams he can imagine, but soon it’s…

Book Review: WETBONES Wetbones John Shirley Open Road Media (October 6, 2015) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy Disgusting wet husks of what used to be humans are showing up in Hollywood and Tom Prentice has no idea what has happened to his wife. It’s probably better he doesn’t. She’s become controlled by…

Book Review: 80S DEATH MIXTAPE 80s Death Mixtape: A Horror Anthology The Butchered Writers TBW Press (August 4, 2025) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy Neon colors, leg warmers, windbreakers, jelly bracelets, and the era of big hair and New Wave and heavy metal that ushered in the all the artists we know…

Book Review: THREADS OF SHADOW Threads of Shadow P. A. Sheldon Independently published (April 26, 2024) Reviewed by Carson Buckingham Threads of Shadow is Paul Sheldon’s second book in his Wendlelow Mysteries trilogy, and it was well worth waiting for. Though you certainly can read them out of…

Book Review: EXTINCTION DREAM Extinction Dream Andrew Najberg Wicked House Publishing (August 1, 2025) Reviewed by Andrew Byers Andrew Najberg’s Extinction Dream is a gripping work of science fiction-horror that thrusts readers straight into an unrelenting psychic battlefield. As with Gollitok,…

Book Review: THE SOLSTICE The Solstice Elaine Pascale Trepidatio Publishing (April 11, 2025) Reviewed by Andrew Byers Elaine Pascale’s The Solstice is a ferocious and uncompromising dystopian horror novel that imagines a near-future America ruled by the old who unhesitatingly prey…

Book Review: ECHOES AND EMBERS Echoes and Embers: Speculative Stories Pedro Iniguez Stars and Sabers Publishing (July 15, 2025) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy It’s rare that I find myself in awe of an entire collection, but Pedro Iniguez has done this with Echoes and Embers. He’s tugged at my…

Book Review: RABBIT FACE AND FURTHER AWFUL ENCOUNTERS Rabbit Face and Further Awful Encounters Thomas C. Mavroudis JournalStone Publishing (April 25, 2025) Reviewed by Andrew Byers In Rabbit Face and Further Awful Encounters, Thomas C. Mavroudis offers readers a compelling collection of thirteen…

Book Review: THE WORLD TURNS RED The World Turns Red Tim Waggoner Cemetery Dance Publications (June 26, 2025) Reviewed by Carson Buckingham Well, all I can say is that The World Turns Red is another in a long line of brilliant horror work by Tim Waggoner. There was never anyone who could blend the…

ADVANCE REVIEW: Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Black Pharaoh Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Black Pharaoh JM Reinbold MX Publishing (September 20, 2025) Reviewed by Carson Buckingham In Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Black Pharaoh, Holmes and Watson have been retained…

Book Review: THE NIGHTMARE FRONTIER The Nightmare Frontier Stephen Mark Rainey Crossroad Press (May 16, 2010) Reviewed by Carson Buckingham In The Nightmare Frontier, Rainey’s most surreal, dreamlike book yet, we find ourselves in Silver Ridge, West Virginia, and by the time Russell Copeland…

Book Review: DREADFUL THINGS

Book Review: THE WAGES OF BELIEF The Wages of Belief and Other Stories from the Dark Side Elizabeth Massie Macabre Ink (February 4, 2025) Reviewed by Carson Buckingham Elizabeth Massie is a Bram Stoker Award-winning author, and it isn’t hard to see why. She had a knack for seeing right through the…

Book Review: OLD MONSTERS NEVER DIE Old Monsters Never Die By Tim Waggoner Winding Road Stories (May 28, 2024) Reviewed by Carson Buckingham There’s a good reason that Tim Waggoner has won the Bram Stoker Award four times, and if you are discerning enough to purchase a copy of his latest, Old…

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Book Review: HYPERION BY DAN SIMMONS  

Book Review: THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK The Girl the Sea Gave Back Adrienne Young Wednesday Books (September 3, 2019) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy I thought the first book, Sky in the Deep, was fabulous, but this one almost made me cry. I identified with the main character Tova so much, lost,…

Book Review: SKIN Skin Kathe Koja Meerkat Press (April 22, 2025) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy When I sat down to read this book I had no idea the ride I was in for. The only thing I knew was that it was a book from Meerkat Press, it was originally published thirty years ago, and it was body horror.…

Book Review: SKY IN THE DEEP Sky in the Deep Adrienne Young Wednesday Books (April 24, 2018) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy After having read several books on the religion of Asatru lately, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some Viking literature. Even better, two of the characters were shield…

Poetry Review: TRAPPED VERSE Trapped Verse Lindsey Goddard Independently published (February 16, 2025) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy Trigger warning: This poetry book deals with sensitive female issues. I’m pretty sure the cover is a clue, but just in case, I’m warning the reader. Lindsey Goddard’s…

Book Review: MOOD SWINGS Mood Swings (Black Shuck Shadows #36) Dave Jeffrey Black Shuck Books (July 25, 2024) Reviewed by Carson Buckingham In an effort to introduce readers to horror and speculative fiction, Black Shuck Shadows has released a series of micro-collections of which Dave Jeffery’s…

Book Review: FIFTYoneFIFTY

Nonfiction Review: A PRACTICAL HEATHEN’S GUIDE TO ASATRU A Practical Heathen’s Guide to Asatru Patricia M. Lafayllve Llewellyn Publications (November 8, 2013) Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy I’ve been reading a lot of Nordic heathen practitioner guides and fiction in the past few months. This is the…

Book Review: ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES Atmospheric Disturbances Helen Grant Swan River Press (2024) Reviewed by Mario Guslandi I won’t conceal the fact that Helen Grant is one of my favourite authors of dark fiction, so much so that in the past I even read (and reviewed) one of her novels, which…