​William Meikle has the uncanny ability to turn out high quality horror and speculative fiction on a pretty rapid schedule. I realize that sounds like a back-handed compliment but I don’t mean it to be. He’s very prolific and manages to produce original stories every time without rehashing old plot lines. I wish I could do that.
My latest Meilke read was The Dunfield Terror, which concerns a deadly fog that mysteriously descends on a remote coastline of Newfoundland. This fog is unlike any other, causing massive death and mayhem to whatever it touches. The body count is high (and characters are dispatched in gruesome fashion) and there are especially menacing creatures to further contribute to the pandemonium.
Mr. Meilke uses two alternating narratives, present day and the 1950’s, to tell the story. The present-day action involves a return of the fog during a brutal blizzard, while the flashbacks recount the origins of the fog. Both stories are captivating and instill constant peril and suspense, but I liked the present day account better. I felt the characters in the flashback were not quite drawn as well. However, I’m only talking a small degree of difference. For some reason, a third narrative (and another series of flashbacks) is incorporated towards the end. These seemed unnecessary to me in terms of plot development. Ironically, though, I enjoyed that sequence better than the 50’s storyline. Go figure.
Overall, a strong hair-raising tale and a solid 4.5 read – rounded up to 5.

​December Park by Ronald Malfi is a coming of age story in the tradition of Boy’s Life and The Body. Readers going into expecting a traditional Malfi horror tale may be disappointed. This isn’t a supernatural novel. Oh, there is the running narrative about a sinister individual who abducts teenagers, but this plot provides the backdrop for the adventure story of five teenage boys who try to solve the mystery. The missing kids are never heard from again, and suspense builds as the boys gradually gather clues as to the identity of the perpetrator. You know they are going to come face-to-face with the creep at some point, and there are enough red herrings to keep the reader on edge. This novel is over 700 pages, so there are numerous story lines beyond the child abduction mystery. And these stories, believe it or not, are where Malfi’s writing really shines. The interaction between the five boys is clever and realistic. Malfi captures the banter and exchanges between the kids—and they feel “right” for guys in their mid-teens. Then there are the other real-life issues the kids face: bullies, personal grief, girls, parent relationship problems, and summer school. They add a sense of normalcy to the story. All of them cleverly portrayed. At times, the coming-of-age detail is excessive and threatens to derail the action. I think the editors could have pruned at least ten percent which would have resulted in a tighter flow. Nonetheless, the final denouement is riveting (although a tad unbelievable), and ultimately satisfying. The final pages address adolescent relationship issues, and the ending is bittersweet. A solid 4-star read. 

The Eye That Blinds by S.E. Scully is a novella published by speculative fiction publisher DarkFuse. The story involves three young adults in their twenties who have been close friends since college. Two have actually been romantically involved in the past. While the basic plot centers around the destructive impact of social media on their lives—and their subsequent lack of trust of one another—the unfolding events are chilling and creepy. Scully is a fine writer and the interaction among the characters is convincingly portrayed. A final page count of around 80 pages means the story blazes along. The author smartly keeps the action and narrative superficial, and you hardly notice the reliance on unlikely psychotic breaks by some characters, simultaneous dumb decisions by other characters, and unbelievable coincidences to propel the story along. Still, a fun 3-star read.

​Flesh and Coin by Craig Saunders is about a hospice where the dying are being haunted and, in some cases, killed by something called the Shadowman. The main characters include two nurses (one kind and caring, the other sadistic and insensitive), a patient near death who is trying to make sense of the goings-on while barely surviving in a morphine daze, the hospice director, and a police detective. The characters are well-developed for such a short novella and the atmosphere is alive in detail. You experience the sights and smells of elderly patients in their last days. There are a number of interrelated subplots including the origins of the ghostly Shadowman, a patient’s violent and criminal past, an illicit affair between a nasty nurse and the hospice director, and a curse administered by an ancient gypsy woman. The latter was an enjoyable character and her appearance really pushed the story along. While the disparate subplots don’t quite hold together in a seamless narrative, the story was creepy and the plot clever enough to maintain interest – and the pages flowed. 

​Don’t you hate it when the previous owners of your new house trashed the place moving out before you moved in? That’s what happens to Jim Greenwood who moves into a small house on an island off the Scottish coast. The house, centuries old, begins showing signs of mysterious soot marks, as if unseeing visitors wander the interior leaving grimy streaks like young children who haven’t washed their hands after playing outside. When the soot marks start taking the shape of stick figures, often with missing appendages and heads, Jim starts feeling a tad anxious. The islands inhabitants won’t talk about the history of the place in any detail, but do let slip a few hints of something supernatural going on.
William Meikle is a prolific writer who manages to turn out original pieces of fiction that never seem stale or overused.  Tormentor would fall under the category of a haunted house story, but there is no rehashing of old plot lines. His writing always feels unique (at least to me), and Tormentor is filled with creepy images and foreboding events that are cleverly concocted. One minor exception is the supernatural entity’s use of email which stretched the bounds of believability. But, hey, this is a ghost story after all, so I could let this silliness go by without complaint. The Tormentor was a great read, both original and spooky, much of what you’d expect from Mr. Meikle. 4.5 stars.

​James is kind of a loser. He’s a college dropout, works a dead-end menial job, and more or less spends free time getting drunk or high. Things begin to take on a sinister feel when he notices a young woman at a bus stop while driving home after work. His brief glimpse suggests she is behaving strangely and the image of her behavior is unsettling. He hasn’t seen anything yet, though, until he and his roommate come home one evening and find the young woman sitting silently in their living room. Upon their arrival, she gets up and goes into James’ room. Much to the young men’s dismay, the woman dies shortly afterwards. Things then get even crazier with mysterious objects and writings appearing on the street, James’ girlfriend vanishing during the week only to reappear on weekends, pieces of a dog showing up in a garden, and crowds were disappearing from public areas. None of these odd events are helped by James’ regular indulgence of narcotics. Soon the entire episode takes on the trappings of a drug-fueled hallucination. But is it all a hallucination? Is something supernatural occurring or are the events the disturbed ramblings of a drug dependent individual.
The Hallow by Keith Deininger is a short novella with a riveting story line. There are no neat conclusions, and the reader is left with trying to make sense of the plot and the outcome. There are multiple interpretations and I spent a fair amount of time over the next few days trying to tie things up depending on the theory I was entertaining. I enjoyed this process, for it kept the book alive. For those of you who cannot stand ambiguity in your books, this may not be the best selection for you. However, if a complex—and unnerving—plot is your thing, then The Hallow is a good bet.

​A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash is a compelling story about extreme religious fundamentalism and family secrets set in Appalachia in the 1980’s. Twelve year old Christopher (“Stump”) is mysteriously killed during a healing service at a fundamentalist church where snake handling and drinking poison are the norm. The story is told from the point of view of three characters: a woman in her 80’s, the sheriff in his 50’s who is investigating the death, and Stump’s 9-year-old brother Jess. The voices of the narrators are gripping as their experiences with the shady con-artist of a preacher are explored from different perspectives. Adelaide, the elderly woman who served as the town’s midwife and Sunday school teacher, sees the preacher for the sociopath that he truly is. The sheriff uncovers the preacher’s real past but he suffers from the impact of his own personal tragedy which colors his judgment. The boy, Jess, is a fabulous narrator. His level of development limits his understanding of the subtle adult actions, but this viewpoint makes the revelations all the more heartbreaking. Wiley Cash is a fine writer; he captures the cadence and the feeling of a rural North Carolina mountain community without resorting to stereotype. The setting is beautifully portrayed and the language at times is breathtaking. There are moments when his idyllic descriptions get away from him and he goes on for paragraphs about some mundane activity, but his love for his characters and setting is obvious. Portions of this story are disturbing and unnerving, and these do jolt the reader. The authenticity of emotion is nicely portrayed, though, and the narrative arc is extremely satisfying. I strongly recommend the book.

​I have thoroughly enjoined some of David Mitchell’s previous work (e.g., Bone Clocks, Black Swan Green), so I couldn’t wait to start his latest, Slade House. In many ways, this is a spin-off of his highly successful and very unique Bone Clocks. The latter kind of jolted the literary upper crust when Mitchell embarked on a journey with extensive fantasy, horror, and supernatural themes. This was fine with me—which is why I loved Bone Clocks—but for those expecting a literary effort akin to Cloud Atlas, well, let’s just say they didn’t know what to make of it.
Mitchell’s Slade is about a haunted house that mysteriously “appears” within a labyrinth of back alleys once every nine years. The inhabitants, fraternal twins Norah and Jonah Grayer, are soul “vampires” who must partake in the digestion of souls from unwitting victims in order to maintain their immortality – and the feasting must occur on a nine-year basis. Five different accounts spanning five decades comprise Slade House, with the last in 2015. The tales, while interrelated for the plot line, are strikingly different in terms of content. The targets of the haunted house include a young teenager, a detective, a college student and her older sister, and a psychiatrist. The forays of these characters into the house are riveting, and I found the narratives deliciously spooky. The stories are beautifully told in chilling detail. The impact is frequently creepy and often startling.

​I’ll admit something up front … I tend not to be a fan of Fantasy novels. I suppose “Dark Fantasy” is okay, although I am not entirely sure what that is. If it has horror components, then I’m in. Horror, to those who keep score on these things, is my favorite genre. But, if I find myself reading about cute elves or dragons, my interest wanes rather quickly (Harry Potter being an exception.)
With a little apprehension, I began reading the dark fantasy novel The Godgame by Keith Deininger not knowing what to expect. I’ve read multiple novels and novellas by Keith and thoroughly enjoyed them. He is a true rising star in speculative fiction. When I picked up The Godgame (figuratively speaking, that is-it was on my Kindle), I noticed the F-word and thought, “oh no, Keith has gone over to the dark side.”
I didn’t need to worry. The Godgame is no tiresome fantasy with elves. Granted the story takes place in an alternative world. But the world was the same one Keith wrote about in two of his previous works that I’ve read: Shadow Animals and Marrow’s Pit. Both were chilling and gripping reads (I liked Shadow Animals a tad better), so I settled in for a great read knowing I was in safe territory.
The action takes in two neighboring communities: the city of Talos and a small village in Nova. Talos is depicted as a decadent, depraved, and narcissistic community. Nova, however, contains multiple small idyllic villages that somehow have escaped the cynicism of the larger city. The leader of Talos (who is called the Archon) is readying his city and army for an attack on the small village of Fallowvane.
There are a number of subplots which are too difficult to describe here, but within the course of the narrative the strands become tied together quite well. There are also a ton of characters, and Keith manages to juggle them all well – giving them independent lives and characteristics which help the reader not only tell them apart but also imbue them with three-dimension personalities.  For instance, a chief aid/assistant for the Archon named Trevor is a standout. This conniving character has disturbing intentions, and his maneuverings for power and privilege keep the action rolling. The hero of the tale (at this stage at least) is a 12-year old boy named Ash who evidently has supernatural skills and abilities. He is unaware of these skills – as is the reader - but the scheming Talosians are certainly knowledgeable of them and want to capture him for exploitation. Ash is nicely rendered by Keith – his actions, thoughts, and dialog ring true for a 12 year old. Ash’s mother, Lena, is deathly ill for the first 70% of the novel and does not get much screen time. But when she comes to the forefront in the later sections, she establishes herself as a fascinating character in a manner that I didn’t see happening.  Others like Embra, (Lena’s sister), the Anchon (a distasteful character – think of a human sized bag of pus), and Ash’s little sister (who has a bright future in episodes to come) are also dazzling when the reader experiences their point of view.
When the invasion of Nova by the army of Talos occurs, the portrayal is riveting and ghastly. The tension is relentless and the grip of the narrative is unyielding. This was one of my favorite sections of the book.
My one relatively minor criticism occurs sporadically in roughly the first 30% of the novel. Since Keith is creating his own world, he has to help his readers catch up on whatever is going on by providing brief summaries of history and back story. The result is an occasional slippage into “telling” the story as opposed to Keith’s typically skillful “showing” the story. While this slows things down a bit and can overwhelm the reader, it occurs infrequently so is not a major flaw.
Overall, The Godgame is another dynamic piece of dark fantasy from Keith Deininger. This book is part of a larger series and represents an exciting entry into the land of Talos. Highly recommended.

​I recently watched two stunning European horror movies: Goodnight Mommy and When Animals Dream. Both have a genuinely subtle and creepy air about them. They are not examples of the rapidly edited scenes and tired scares of American films. Even though I found When Animals Dream increasingly conventional as the movie progressed and I was able to see the plot twist of Goodnight Mommy almost immediately, I still enjoyed the chilling atmosphere and character details. Both are nicely done. Fans of gore and cheap thrills will probably be disappointed, though. These are cerebral horror films.