Six in June, though one of these I didn't finish.
The Hatching by Ezikiele Boone - an ancient species of spiders wrecks havoc on the world. An OK read. Didn't like it enough to read the rest of the trilogy.
2.5 / 5
Without Purpose Without Pity by Brian Hodge - its post apocalyptic Las Vegas and the masses still want their entertainment & everybody still wants to see a good fight. An unknown force isolates LV from the rest of the world; a boxer on a training run becomes infected with some sort of otherness; a former boxing commentator is there to serve as witness to it all. This is one of the weirder stories by Hodge, but typical of Hodge, always interesting. Felt like the first part of a longer story. 4 / 5
The Buzzard Zone by Ronald Kelly - I still have Burnt Magnolia on my TBR pile from the Essential Kelly Collection, but at this point I don't see me ever picking up another Kelly novel. I still like Kelly's short fiction, but his novel length work, other than for a few exceptions (Fear & Hindsight come to mind), I find ranges from just OK to nearly unreadable. I found BZ to be toward the latter end the scale. DNF
Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - the first thing I've read by Tremblay, and I have to say it lived up to the hype. Was she possessed? Was she mentally ill? And the revelation at the end!! Within the story Tremblay also provides a scathing commentary on so-called reality TV and organized religion. I will definitely be picking up more Tremblay in the future. Highly recommended. 5 / 5
Borderlands 6 - I've always found the Borderlands anthologies to be a mixed bag. Some of the stories I like, some I don't, and it usually runs around fifty-fifty. Perhaps the stories in the series tend to be too challenging for my tastes as a reader?? I found the 6th installment pretty much holds to that same 50-50 split. My favorite stories where the closing novella by David Morrell ('The Architecture of Snow') and 'Those Rockports Won't get you in to Heaven' by Jack Ketchum. I also liked the stories by John McIlveen, Peter Saloman, Steve Rasnic Tem, and David Annandale. 3 / 5
Black Helicopters by Caitlin Kiernan - I'm a big fan of Kiernan's fiction, but at times I find her storytelling to be maddeningly convoluted. Black Helicopters falls into that category. After reading 200 pages I couldn't begin to tell you what this story was about. 2.5 / 5
B
The Hatching by Ezikiele Boone - an ancient species of spiders wrecks havoc on the world. An OK read. Didn't like it enough to read the rest of the trilogy.
2.5 / 5
Without Purpose Without Pity by Brian Hodge - its post apocalyptic Las Vegas and the masses still want their entertainment & everybody still wants to see a good fight. An unknown force isolates LV from the rest of the world; a boxer on a training run becomes infected with some sort of otherness; a former boxing commentator is there to serve as witness to it all. This is one of the weirder stories by Hodge, but typical of Hodge, always interesting. Felt like the first part of a longer story. 4 / 5
The Buzzard Zone by Ronald Kelly - I still have Burnt Magnolia on my TBR pile from the Essential Kelly Collection, but at this point I don't see me ever picking up another Kelly novel. I still like Kelly's short fiction, but his novel length work, other than for a few exceptions (Fear & Hindsight come to mind), I find ranges from just OK to nearly unreadable. I found BZ to be toward the latter end the scale. DNF
Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - the first thing I've read by Tremblay, and I have to say it lived up to the hype. Was she possessed? Was she mentally ill? And the revelation at the end!! Within the story Tremblay also provides a scathing commentary on so-called reality TV and organized religion. I will definitely be picking up more Tremblay in the future. Highly recommended. 5 / 5
Borderlands 6 - I've always found the Borderlands anthologies to be a mixed bag. Some of the stories I like, some I don't, and it usually runs around fifty-fifty. Perhaps the stories in the series tend to be too challenging for my tastes as a reader?? I found the 6th installment pretty much holds to that same 50-50 split. My favorite stories where the closing novella by David Morrell ('The Architecture of Snow') and 'Those Rockports Won't get you in to Heaven' by Jack Ketchum. I also liked the stories by John McIlveen, Peter Saloman, Steve Rasnic Tem, and David Annandale. 3 / 5
Black Helicopters by Caitlin Kiernan - I'm a big fan of Kiernan's fiction, but at times I find her storytelling to be maddeningly convoluted. Black Helicopters falls into that category. After reading 200 pages I couldn't begin to tell you what this story was about. 2.5 / 5
B
I kinda kick myself for not stepping up for those when Thunderstorm offered them... yeah, they may not be the best horror ever written, but they hold a lot of sentimental value for me, having read and enjoyed them a great deal back in the day.
LOL
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