Friday, November 29, 2013

My Top 10 Favorite Books from the Last 12 Months

A Brief Explanation

Here's my top 10 list of favorite books read in the last 12 months. This isn't a Best of 2013 list, really. Only two of the books on this list were published in 2013, and my list covers books read from December 2012 through November 2013. I only tried to rank them because people really seem to enjoy numbered lists.

10. Clown Tear Junkies by Douglas Hackle

Published: September 2013
Read: September 2013


I listened to the never-to-be-produced audiobook version of Clown Tear Junkies (the one read by Smokey Robinson) and I must say it was excellent. These stories have something to satisfy everyone in your family. There are many, many huge cocks and bodies being smashed to a bloody pulp, copious amounts of semen and chyme, gay ice road truckers and polyhedral dice, blank pages, and pages filled with random letters, numbers and symbols. There’s even a story that features an elderly man being pulled down the street in a little red wagon!

Readers who enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and the works of Deepak Chopra need to read this collection right away.




9. Some Kind Of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

Published: July 2012
Read: December 2012


I've yet to be even mildly disappointed by a Graham Joyce book. Fine work.

Note: I must have had a lot going on when I wrote this ridiculously brief "review."














8. Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky, Olena Bormashenko (Translator)

Published: 1977 (first English edition) 
Read: February 2013


Exactly the sort of SF I like (light on the science, long on the human impact of a changed world). This had so many great and horrible things jammed into it. It was tragic and funny, and the humor grew naturally from the tragic elements. It had a noir feel, too, which I generally am fond of. Excellent writing, unusual structure, brilliant characterizations.












7. Grudge Punk by John McNee

Published: December 2012
Read: November 2013


This is easily one of the best books I've read this year. It's labeled as Bizarro fiction, but I wouldn't categorize it that way. In my mind, this falls more in line with what folks a few years back were calling New Weird. It's the perfect blend of science fiction, fantasy and horror that manages to be none of those things. It's like the film Sin City set in some town in Mieville's Bas-Lag, where the citizens are all comprised of meat, metal, fiberglass, and random junkyard scraps. It's a work of gritty noir fiction. Not the hard-boiled detective variety, but rather the type concerned with the criminals, the scammers, the low-lifes, and the creeps. It's like Pulp Fiction as directed by David Cronenberg. Speaking of Cronenberg, if you like his nastier works (especially Naked Lunch and eXistenZ) and like your noir with some extra grit, then you'll like this book.




6. Midnight Picnic by Nick Antosca

Published: December 2008
Read: July 2013


Quite possibly the best ghost story I've ever read. The writing was excellent and engaging from the first page onward. It’s a lengthy novella and I read it pretty much in one sitting. It’s dark, imaginative, very sad, and darkly funny at times. Here’s the basic premise, quoted from the book synopsis:

In the morning, Bram finds the bones of a murdered child. At noon, the murdered child begs for his help. And by nightfall, they have killed a man together…

Great premise, great execution.







5. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami, Donald Last (Translator)

Published: April 2002
Read: November 2013


Murakami's books are very hard for me to review/write about. Before I sat down to write this, I went back to look at my reviews for the other works I've read by him. They weren't helpful in the least. Two of the reviews were extremely brief and for the other book, it appears that I just left a star rating and went on with my life.

So, I guess I'll start by saying that Murakami has moved into my list of favorite authors. His writing style is so smooth, so idiosyncratic, and his subject matter is such an odd mix of the mundane and the otherworldly, that I'm consistently impressed and mystified. I can never figure out how he's achieving any of his effects, and, more importantly, as I'm reading, I simply don't care. I don't know how he makes scenes about getting dressed or making dinner fascinating. I don't know how he makes me care about his oddball characters and their ridiculous, obtuse conversations. I don't know how he keeps me interested in a story about people being possessed by a sheep.


But he does. And I guess that's what's important.


4. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

Published: April 2013
Read: June 2013


It really showed that the author had a hell of a good time writing this book. And the fun was contagious. I had a great time reading it. I thought the villains were hilarious (and somehow that isn't a negative for this horror novel). The set pieces were highly inventive and cinematic. The names for the characters and places were perfect, catchy, the kinds of names that will stick in the memory for years to come. The whole thing was filled with a kind of macabre and gleeful mischievousness that I really enjoyed. Many have cited the length of the book as an issue. I didn't feel that way. The main weakness of the book (which is also tied into one of it's strengths) is the obvious cinematic influence on the storytelling. Many of the action sequences were way over-the-top and pretty unbelievable, and characters survive injuries that no human could possibly withstand. But, really, I could say the same about almost any piece of popular entertainment nowadays.

If you like a little humor, a little nudge-nudge, wink-wink, mixed in with your horror, then you'll like this book. If you loved the nostalgic, creepy playfulness of films like Creepshow or Trick r' Treat, then you'll like this book.


3. The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle

Published: August 2012
Read: February/March 2013


Victor LaValle has a real gift for describing authentic "stage business," character gestures, ticks, and body language. These aspects of his writing seem to be drawn directly, and relayed expertly, from observation. This book is frightening and sad and very funny, too. The humor works so well because it's organic to the story, the characters, the situations. I had a few minor quibbles with this book (but they are things that are like personal pet peeves more than anything), but not enough to detract from the overall impact of what the author has accomplished here. This is an excellent piece of work, something I will be recommending to folks.







2. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Published: 1992
Read: April 2013

This was really quite excellent. The character portrait this novel paints of Bunny (this mystery's murder victim) is particularly extraordinary. His behavior and mannerisms are so real that I kept trying to figure out exactly who it is that I know that the author was describing. This book won't be for everyone. It's populated with less-than-likable characters. For example, (and it won't be spoiling anything to tell you) the narrator is an accessory to murder. You find that out in the first few pages. If you're looking for a story with a hero, read something else. This reminded me of early Ira Levin, but with a more sophisticated writing style. I found the author's technical and storytelling skills quite humbling.







1. The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian

Published: August 2006
Read: August/September 2013

This is a literary novel with science fictional, fantastical, and horrific elements. It’s a novel with overt religious themes that’s filled with black humor, curse words, sexual situations, bleakness, and just a sprinkle of hope. It is dark and funny. The writing is top notch. Some characters are chillingly true-to-life while others are wonderfully over-the-top. The author creates a true microcosm of the world in his children’s hospital afloat on God’s second great flood. He’s smashed a little bit of everything inside and let everything loose to wreak havoc. Is it a bit much? A bit overlong? Perhaps. But the more I think on it, I can’t think of anything that I’d cut. I liked every scene, and especially those featuring Jemma’s big brother, the young psychopath who wants to be undone. This character is so well drawn that his chapters alone are worth the read. Folks seem to be evenly divided on this work. I’m on the side that thinks this is one hell of a literary accomplishment.


Wednesday, November 27, 2013

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

Murakami's books are very hard for me to review/write about. Before I sat down to write this, I went back to look at my reviews for the other works I've read by him. They weren't helpful in the least. Two of the reviews were extremely brief and for the other book, it appears that I just left a star rating and went on with my life.

So, I guess I'll start by saying that Murakami has moved into my list of favorite authors. His writing style is so smooth, so idiosyncratic, and his subject matter is such an odd mix of the mundane and the otherworldly, that I'm consistently impressed and mystified. I can never figure out how he's achieving any of his effects, and, more importantly, as I'm reading, I simply don't care. I don't know how he makes scenes about getting dressed or making dinner fascinating. I don't know how he makes me care about his oddball characters and their ridiculous, obtuse conversations. I don't know how he keeps me interested in a story about people being possessed by a sheep.

But he does. And I guess that's what's important.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Six Dead Spots Released! (Kindle & EPUB Editions)

My horror novella, Six Dead Spots, was just released. It's available in both Kindle and EPUB formats. There's a paperback edition on the way, too.

Here's what it's about:

Frank makes a startling discovery in the shower. He finds six strange circles of skin gone completely numb—three neatly spaced down the center of his chest and abdomen, and three more down his spine. His doctor takes sadistic pleasure in carving out bits of Frank's flesh and a perverse childlike glee flipping through hundreds of pictures of his interior. But when the tests come back, he's unable to make a diagnosis and refers Frank to a psychiatrist. Under guided hypnosis, Frank uncovers clues in a repressed dream, but his sessions on the couch are soon cut short when he loses his job and his health insurance. Now Frank is forced to solve the mystery of his six dead spots on his own. Armed with nicotine patches, pornography, sleeping pills, and a stack of books on lucid dreaming, Frank delves into a world of nightmares to do battle with the monsters lurking inside his head.

Six Dead Spots is currently available at these online bookstores:




Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Jeffrey Ford Story "Relic" at SchlockMagazine.net

If you've not yet read anything by Jeffrey Ford, here's your risk-free chance to give him a go. "Relic" is a fine entrance point into his short fiction.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Grudge Punk by John McNee

This is easily one of the best books I've read this year. It's labeled as Bizarro fiction, but I wouldn't categorize it that way. In my mind, this falls more in line with what folks a few years back were calling New Weird. It's the perfect blend of science fiction, fantasy and horror that manages to be none of those things. It's like the film Sin City set in some town in Mieville's Bas-Lag, where the citizens are all comprised of meat, metal, fiberglass, and random junkyard scraps. It's a work of gritty noir fiction. Not the hard-boiled detective variety, but rather the type concerned with the criminals, the scammers, the low-lifes, and the creeps. It's like Pulp Fiction as directed by David Cronenberg. Speaking of Cronenberg, if you like his nastier works (especially Naked Lunch and eXistenZ) and like your noir with some extra grit, then you'll like this book.

Highly recommended.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez

This book was kind of cute, kind of funny, kind of clever. It had a lot of good comic-booky, pulpy gags and settings. It had battle mechs controlled by disembodied brains, lizard people from Venus, a lost world-type island with ridiculous dinosaurs, the lost city of Atlantis, etc, etc.. You get the idea.

It moved along at a fast enough clip, but it wasn't a page-turner really. Because it was a farce, and all of the characters were cartoonish, and because you never got the sense that the villain/hero would ultimately do anything but triumph, there was little, if any, real suspense or emotional investment to keep you compulsively flipping the pages.

I can certainly respect this writer for the quality of the writing and for what he was trying to do here, but it was pretty clear that he wasn't doing it for me. I'm just not the target audience.

Why did I pick this up, if this isn't my cup of tea?

Well, I've heard a lot of good things about this author and he dedicates the book (in part) to Victor von Doom.

I do love Doctor Doom. 

AllHailDoom!

Friday, November 8, 2013

TWO: The 2nd Annual Stupefying Stories Horror Special (Anthology)

Yes, I do have a story in this anthology. So take this post for whatever you think it's worth. And, incidentally, I don't personally know the editor or any of the contributors. I've not interacted with any of the other authors electronically or otherwise. My reading of their works, and this work as a whole, I would say, is relatively unbiased. I don't know. Maybe not. Either way, it's not going to stop me from typing out my overall impressions and pointing out which stories were, to me, the stand-outs.

This is a varied collection of horror stories. There is a fairly wide range of styles and supernatural beasties represented here. It's a digital-only publication and the eBook formatting is clean and professional.

I found every story in this volume entertaining, but the ones I liked the best were (not ranked):

"Second to Last Stop" by Evan Dicken

(This was a perfect story to open this book. It focuses on a character archetype common in horror films, one that rarely gets a chance to take center stage.)

"Gris-Gris for a Mal Pris" by Rebecca Roland

(The handling of folk magic in this story was idiosyncratic and very believable.)

"A is for Android" by Holly A. Cave

(The sense of dread in this one was there on page one and never went away. Plus, robots! Well, androids.)

"Offworld" by Anton Sim

(Short and sinister with lots of really good little creatures.)

"An Incident in Cain's Mark" by L. Joseph Shosty

(Lovecraftian Steampunk! And a robot! Er, automaton?)

"Professor Pandemonium's Train of Terror" by Simon Kewin

(This wry little piece was clever and quick and had all the monsters.)

"The Revenge of Oscar Wilde" by Sean Eads

(I'm not much for zombies. And I really don't care for the "historical figure versus supernatural creature" sub-genre. But these prejudices didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying this piece. Good writing can make almost anything good, I suppose. And the ending was just fantastic.)

I'm sure others will disagree with my selections above and have their own favorites. And I wouldn't be surprised if they did. As mentioned above, I was entertained by every story here. It's all good stuff.

And, of course, I recommend this anthology to fans of short horror fiction, especially those who like their horror with a bit of a retro feel.

TWO: The 2nd Annual Stupefying Stories Horror Special is available now!

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

*For direct links to Amazon product pages outside the US click here.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Wheel-Mouse vs All The Crazy Robots by Celyn Lawrence

Why are these robots pooing everywhere? GOD, WHY!?

Because...because...they are CRAZY ROBOTS! (Sane robots most certainly do not poo everywhere.)

Who can save the town when these crazy robots retreat to their flying city in the sky and begin dropping poo on picnics and teachers and everything else?

Why, only a magical wheelchair-bound little mouse, of course!

This book is truly great. I'm hoping for a sequel, wherein it is explained in excruciating detail what exactly constitutes robot poo.

Three (3) reasons why I'd suggest you grab this book right away:

1. All profits go to the Children's Hospice Charity for terminally ill and life-limited children (chsw.org.uk)

2. CRAZY ROBOTS POO ON EVERYTHING! (I mean, COME ON!)

3. It's only flippin' 99 cents, people!


Monday, November 4, 2013

TWO: The 2nd Annual Stupefying Stories Horror Special

I am much, much more than pleased to report that TWO: The 2nd Annual Stupefying Stories Horror Special is now available and that I've got a story contained therein.

Check out this line-up of stories editor Bruce Bethke's put together:

"Second to Last Stop" by Evan Dicken
"Cabrón" by Jóse Iriarte
"Blood and Water" by Rose Blackthorn
"Gris-Gris for a Mal Pris" by Rebecca Roland
"Zombie Angst, or How to Pair Human Brains With a Good Chianti" by Stone Showers
"Wall" by Yukimi Ogawa
"A is for Android" by Holly A. Cave
"The Things That Perish Along The Way" by Keith Rosson
"Choice" by Shona Snowden
"Offworld" by Anton Sim
"An Incident in Cain's Mark" by L. Joseph Shosty
"Professor Pandemonium's Train of Terror" by Simon Kewin
"It Came From Hell And Smashed The Angels" by Gregor Xane
"The Waiting Line (Many Elbows)" by Leah Thomas
"The Revenge of Oscar Wilde" by Sean Eads
"Eulogy to be Given by Whoever's Still Sober" by Nicole Cushing

I can't wait to read the stories by the other contributors. I've done a little research, and I'm already humbled to be included in a volume with so many accomplished authors.

Digital editions of TWO: The 2nd Annual Stupefying Stories Horror Special are available now!

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

*For direct links to Amazon product pages outside the US click here.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Graham Joyce Wins 2013 British Fantasy Award

Graham Joyce has won the 2013 British Fantasy Award for his novel Some Kind of Fairy Tale. Joyce is a fine author (one of my favorites) and this book is a fine read.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

This book was like watching someone setting up a chess board very, very slowly and methodically. And for most of its length, that's what it was, getting all the characters where they needed to be so that their journey could begin. It wasn't until late in the narrative, when all of the pieces were in place, when the opening moves finally happened, that it truly became an exciting read. The stakes weren't known early enough to really drive the book forward. A true sense of the mysteries of this universe didn't emerge until the final third; pretty late to get the hooks in. The characters were all well-drawn and interesting. However, the young aristocrat/swordsman was a bit overdone. I didn't need to be reminded that he was an arrogant, insufferable, naive, and conceited little shit in every single chapter in which he appears (and in many in which he did not). It just made it so much more obvious that this character will be learning the hard way in the next couple of books and will, by the end, have transformed into a truly heroic and sympathetic character. I could be wrong. Perhaps this wasn't a woefully unbalanced approach to character growth and transformation, as I haven't read the next two books in the series. I'd be more than happy to eat crow if this guy gets an arrow through the throat in the first chapter of book two.

Will I read book two? Yes, I will. This really wasn't as bad all of the above seems to indicate. Once the story got going, it really was gripping. And if book two picks up immediately where one left off, and the action and the mysteries continue to be doled out at the rate they were in the final third of this book, then book two should be fucking great.