Finished 6 in May.
The Storm by Paul Kane comes across as a combination of The Mist & Clickers, with a smattering of Danny Torrence from The Shining. Yet the story itself just comes off as bland. At less than 200 pages this one was a struggle to get through. This is the second short novel I've read by Kane, and I haven't cared for either one. 1 / 5
Flesh for Punktown is the third book in the Jeffrey Thomas chapbook series. It includes three stories set in the Punktown universe involving some sort of body modification. Highlighted by 'Transformation', were a woman's desire to become a werewolf has dire consequences. 4 / 5
Chiral Mad 4 ed. by Lucy Snyder & Michael Bailey was an anthology were all of the stories were the product of a collaboration, either co-written (most of the stories) or author & illustrator. My favorites were 'Golden Sun', a genuinely creepy story about a family on vacation that loses its youngest daughter. The story was authored by Kristi Demeester, Richard Thomas, Damien Angelica Walters & Michael Wehunt. The other standout was 'In Her Flightless Wings, A Fire', about twin sisters that work in a ballet, one as the star dancer, the other as a costume designer, who are harassed by a low level Russian bureaucrat to perform magic (witchcraft??) that they swore off as young girls. It was written by Emily Cataneo & Gwendolyn Kiste. This is the second story I've ready by Kiste, (the other being her novel The Rust Maidens) and I was very impressed by both pieces. There were also good stories by Brackeon Macleod & Paul Michael Anderson ('How We Broke'), Elizabeth Massie & Marge Simon ('The Substance of Belief'), and P. Gardner Goldsmith & Valerie Marcley ('Detritus Girl'). Some of the other stories were good, but had endings I just found to be unsatisfying. I didn't care for any of the illustrated pieces. 3 / 5
The Darkest Lullaby by Jonathan Janz starts out as a demonic possession story that ends up a vampire tale. As with everything I've read by Janz so far, the story was fast paced and liberally dosed with a good bit of gore & sex. Certain parts of the story strongly reminded me of other books I'd read by Janz, namely House of Skin & The Siren and the Specter. It will be interesting to see if he revisits this story arc, as he certainly left enough of the story dangling for a sequel. 3.5 / 5
I found The Wide Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies by John Langan to be a mixed bag. Mostly I've liked what I've read by Langan over the last few years, though there are times I find his fiction to be down right obtuse. High points: 'Mother of Stone' - the longest piece in the collection and IMO the best, about an unearthed statue & an age old curse, 'The Wide Carnivorous Sky' in which Langan does something completely different with the vampire tale, and 'City of the Dog', which harkens back to HP Lovecraft's 'Pickman's Model'. The obtuse; 'The Shallows', The Revel' & 'A Partial List of Monsters, Scenes, & Adverbs That Will Not Appear in My Nest Story'. 3.5 / 5
Later by Stephen King tells the story of a boy who learns at a young age that he can see & talk dead people. Not a bad story, and I found it entertaining enough, but it seemed to lack the strong characterization found in King's best fiction. All of the main characters (Jamie, his mother & the crooked cop / mother's girlfriend) just kind of came off as flat. Hoping for more from Billy Summer later this year. 3 / 5
B
The Storm by Paul Kane comes across as a combination of The Mist & Clickers, with a smattering of Danny Torrence from The Shining. Yet the story itself just comes off as bland. At less than 200 pages this one was a struggle to get through. This is the second short novel I've read by Kane, and I haven't cared for either one. 1 / 5
Flesh for Punktown is the third book in the Jeffrey Thomas chapbook series. It includes three stories set in the Punktown universe involving some sort of body modification. Highlighted by 'Transformation', were a woman's desire to become a werewolf has dire consequences. 4 / 5
Chiral Mad 4 ed. by Lucy Snyder & Michael Bailey was an anthology were all of the stories were the product of a collaboration, either co-written (most of the stories) or author & illustrator. My favorites were 'Golden Sun', a genuinely creepy story about a family on vacation that loses its youngest daughter. The story was authored by Kristi Demeester, Richard Thomas, Damien Angelica Walters & Michael Wehunt. The other standout was 'In Her Flightless Wings, A Fire', about twin sisters that work in a ballet, one as the star dancer, the other as a costume designer, who are harassed by a low level Russian bureaucrat to perform magic (witchcraft??) that they swore off as young girls. It was written by Emily Cataneo & Gwendolyn Kiste. This is the second story I've ready by Kiste, (the other being her novel The Rust Maidens) and I was very impressed by both pieces. There were also good stories by Brackeon Macleod & Paul Michael Anderson ('How We Broke'), Elizabeth Massie & Marge Simon ('The Substance of Belief'), and P. Gardner Goldsmith & Valerie Marcley ('Detritus Girl'). Some of the other stories were good, but had endings I just found to be unsatisfying. I didn't care for any of the illustrated pieces. 3 / 5
The Darkest Lullaby by Jonathan Janz starts out as a demonic possession story that ends up a vampire tale. As with everything I've read by Janz so far, the story was fast paced and liberally dosed with a good bit of gore & sex. Certain parts of the story strongly reminded me of other books I'd read by Janz, namely House of Skin & The Siren and the Specter. It will be interesting to see if he revisits this story arc, as he certainly left enough of the story dangling for a sequel. 3.5 / 5
I found The Wide Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies by John Langan to be a mixed bag. Mostly I've liked what I've read by Langan over the last few years, though there are times I find his fiction to be down right obtuse. High points: 'Mother of Stone' - the longest piece in the collection and IMO the best, about an unearthed statue & an age old curse, 'The Wide Carnivorous Sky' in which Langan does something completely different with the vampire tale, and 'City of the Dog', which harkens back to HP Lovecraft's 'Pickman's Model'. The obtuse; 'The Shallows', The Revel' & 'A Partial List of Monsters, Scenes, & Adverbs That Will Not Appear in My Nest Story'. 3.5 / 5
Later by Stephen King tells the story of a boy who learns at a young age that he can see & talk dead people. Not a bad story, and I found it entertaining enough, but it seemed to lack the strong characterization found in King's best fiction. All of the main characters (Jamie, his mother & the crooked cop / mother's girlfriend) just kind of came off as flat. Hoping for more from Billy Summer later this year. 3 / 5
B
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