The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Then go over to Freda’s Voice and leave your link so we can visit your 56!
My 56 for this week is from:
Curse Of The Boggin
The Library #1
by D. J. MacHale
Genre: Children’s Horror / Paranormal / Fantasy
I couldn’t find anything good to share on page 56, so I’m sharing something from pages 5 and 6 in the hardcover .
Page 5
His hand slowly dropped lower, growing closer to the mysterious message. As his fingertips were about to touch the odd markings, an ominous growl came from under the bed.
Page 6
…the blanket came to life. It flew across the floor to the center of the room, stopped suddenly, and fell to the floor, revealing the culprit.
~~~~~
Read on if you want to know more.
Synopsis
Enter the Library, where no one knows how the stories end . . . and finding out will be terrifying.
There’s a place beyond this world, beyond the land of the living, where ghosts go to write their unfinished stories—stories that ended too soon. It’s a place for unexplained phenomena: mysteries that have never been solved, spirits that have never been laid to rest. And there’s only one way in or out.
It’s called the Library, and you can get there with a special key. But beware! Don’t start a story you can’t finish. Because in this library, the stories you can’t finish just might finish you.
Marcus O’Mara is a 13 year old guy at a crossroads. He constantly finds himself in trouble at school, with his friends, and with his adoptive parents. Marcus doesn’t believe things can get any worse for him…until they get worse.
Much worse.
He begins seeing strange and impossible visions; gets thrown into paranormal danger and is haunted by a mysterious ghost with a singular goal: to give him a key.
It’s a key that opens the door to a mysterious library. When that door opens, the incredible adventure for Marcus and his friends begins as they learn the truth about Marcus’ past and uncover the strange world of unfinished stories that are found on the shelves of the Library.
Title: Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island Author: Michael Phillip Cash Publisher: Chelshire, Inc. Pages: 192 Genre: Paranormal/Horror
My Review
I’m always in for a haunting tale. This was really good.
You have a man who has lost his wife to illness. He’s coping with grief and struggling to take care of his children.
Finally, he goes back to work, taking a listing for a mansion that’s purported to be haunted. He quickly discovers it is. And also finds out an evil entity is holding his wife’s spirit captive.
There’s also something strange happening with one of his children. The young one is being haunted in his dreams and awakens many nights terrified by horrific nightmares.
It’s all he can do to keep it together. So many demons to battle, real and otherwise, past and present.
Michael’s characters are always genuine. They could easily be someone you know. In Stillwell, I feel he dug real deep for these characters. You can’t help but empathize with some of them. Loath others. And hope you never meet some in a dark alley.
The author gives you a solid mystery, some eerie interludes, and enough creepy atmosphere to make your hairs stand on end and keep you looking over your shoulder at every tiny noise.
If you’re a fan of hauntings, this is one for you.
4 Stars
~~~~~
Synopsis
Paul Russo’s wife just died. While trying to get his family’s life back in order, Paul is being tormented by a demon who is holding his wife’s spirit hostage on the other side. His fate is intertwined with an old haunted mansion on the north shore of Long Island called Stillwell Manor. Paul must find clues dating back hundreds of years to set his wife’s soul free.
For More Information
Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island is available at Amazon.
Paul turned from the dark window, twitching the drapes back in place. It was cold in the house; it had the dank feel of being unused. It had only been empty for a week, and yet it held a stale feeling of overripe food and decaying garbage.
The kids would be coming home tomorrow. He had sent them to his sister’s place for the past week. It was too hard to have to worry about their schedules when he was sitting by Allison’s side. The funeral was yesterday, and he asked his sister to keep them one more day. He needed to have some time to collect himself. He’d spent the last twenty-four hours sitting in the dark, staring at nothing, his mind too numb to think.
Lisa had taken over with the brisk efficiency of the nurse that she was trained to be. Stella was eating once again and Jesse and his twin, Veronica, were able to sleep at night. His sister’s was the safe house, and while he desperately missed his children, he couldn’t deal with their everyday drama while he stayed with Allison for her final weeks.
He played with the chain around his neck then placed the gold band that hung from it on his lips. He closed his eyes, feeling alone. It was his wife’s wedding band and it had never left her finger from the time he had placed it there almost fifteen years ago.
Everything happened so fast. Too fast. His mind replayed the last six months in a montage of colors flashing like an out-of-control merry-go-round. Only it wasn’t a happy ride. Well, he sighed, he had to admit that he did feel relief. It felt wrong to have this burden taken off his shoulders, but his wife didn’t have to suffer anymore. He admitted to himself that he was weary too. She had gone from bad to worse in such a short time. She had slipped into a coma. He held her skeletal hand for a solid week, watching hope die alongside his wife. His family had brought in food, but he felt no hunger. As he stayed by her side, nothing seemed important. Paul stared at her face, memorizing every curve, her deep dimple, the mole she hated above her upper lip. Every second counted, and he wouldn’t waste a minute on himself. His future yawned ahead in a great vastness of nothing that stretched endlessly before him. Alone, mute, and his thoughts jumbled in his head, he couldn’t find words to say what he needed. Did she know how happy she had made him? Did Allison understand how much she meant to him? Could she know that his heart was so numb, he felt as though he were a corpse? Though he sat caressing her hand, could his wife sense the man next to her was spent, empty? It was that burnt-out feeling like after drinking so much that the liquor loses its taste and cigarettes burn with dying fire.
The irony was that he was the smoker, even though he had stopped when the twins were born, thirteen years ago. Allison wouldn’t have it in the house. He cheated at work, chewing gum to disguise the smell on his breath. It had always been a huge fight, and while she painted all kinds of devastating scenarios if he continued to smoke, they never expected her to be the one to fall victim to cancer.
The twins were a rare handful for them. Married for just over a year, they were unprepared for the incessant work. He was building his reputation as a go-to guy for the McMansions that dotted Long Island’s North Shore. The pull of work and two newborns tested their marriage. Allison breast-fed until utter exhaustion—or as he liked to call it “udder” exhaustion—made her stop. She always laughed at that.
Jesse, his son, was all brooding intensity, while Veronica, the elder twin by six minutes, was sweet, faithful, and resilient. They were golden children, kissed by sunlight, with blond hair, freckles, and odd silver eyes, like their mother. They communicated in a strange language that worked only for the two of them. A silent collusion between the twins created a special insight, and they knew exactly what the other was thinking. When words finally arrived, they could finish each other’s sentences.
While he was happy with his family, Allison had wanted another child. Reluctantly, he agreed and was shocked at his devastation when she miscarried. His despair turned to relentless hope, and although they faced a period of secondary infertility, he pushed for seven years, and they became pregnant once again. He called her “Stella Luna,” because she was the stars and moon to him.
With Stella, he had time to play. She was a fey child, filled with whimsy and a touch of an old soul.
Brown-haired and brown-eyed, she was the image of his older sister. Shut out of the twin’s world, he made sure she never felt alone. When she turned two, her soulful brown eyes induced him to give up smoking once and for all. God, he wished he had a cigarette. Right now.
The house screamed with silence, its heavy pall smothering any sense of light. It closed over him. The acid ache in his gut he’d been experiencing since she got sick made its presence known. Padding to the kitchen, he went in search of milk to put out the fire. After he opened the refrigerator door, he stood for a minute staring at the empty shelves. He smelled the open carton of milk and recoiled at the odor. He never remembered buying it and could only guess how old it was. Well, the milk was plainly spoiled, as was the cheese. They had to be at least a month old. Maybe he should just eat the yogurt, let it kill him, and the kids would be done with mourning. Two for the price of one, he thought as he slammed the door. He’d have to go food shopping at some point. Yep, the kids were coming home tomorrow.
~~~~~
Author Michael Phillip Cash
Michael Phillip Cash is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter. His novels are best-sellers on Amazon under their genres – Young Adult, Thriller, Suspense, Ghost, Action Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Horror.
Michael writes full-time and lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wonderful wife and screaming children. You can follow him @michaelpcash.
After a vicious fight with her boyfriend followed by a night of heavy partying, college freshman Amanda Greene wakes up in her dorm room to find things are not the same as they were yesterday. She can’t quite put her finger on it. She’s sharing her room with a peculiar stranger. Amanda discovers she’s registered for classes she would never choose with people that are oddly familiar. An ominous shadow is stalking her. Uncomfortable memories are bubbling dangerously close to her fracturing world, propelling her to an inevitable collision between fantasy and reality. Is this the mother of all hangovers or is something bigger happening?
.
My Review
I tell ya, the author sure did a good job of putting me in his character’s shoes. I felt just as lost and confused as Amanda, right up until just before the very end. Got a feeling Michael planned it that way.
Ever had one of those mornings where you wake up after drinking too much the night before and a lot of those hours are missing or fuzzy? Or had one of those dreams where you are running and running, and the point you are running to keeps getting farther away, and you know you’re dreaming but can’t wake up?
That’s how Amanda felt after waking up to a roommate who wasn’t her roommate and college classes she didn’t sign up for. And that’s how I felt too as I followed her experiences. I mentioned feeling that way right up until before the end. I finally grasped some pieces of the story, and the author directed me to the rest.
I’ve read many of this author’s books, yet this felt so different from those others. More philosophical perhaps. Certainly a dark tale.
3 Stars
~~~~~
Excerpt
She walked slowly to the window and rested her hands on the filthy sill, her face pressed against the glass. It was so familiar, yet it had a strangeness, as if she’d never seen it before. It was different. Amanda let her eyes roam over the vista before her, trying to put her finger on the change. It seemed like yesterday that the landscape had been filled with lush, verdant leaves. The Indian summer refused to move on, the maples, hickories, and birches filling branches abundantly in varied shades of restful green, so that the school looked crisp, fresh, and inviting. Overnight, autumn painted a new picture, fading the landscape, ushering in the next season; the leaves withering, curling, setting the branches on fire with vivid oranges, yellows, and reds; the bases covered with the remains of dead leaves, shriveled and brown. It was too early; Amanda was puzzled by the change. A dark shape raced across the lawn, too fast for her to discern, but the feeling of unease returned. The shadow disappeared quickly behind one of the great gnarled tree trunks that Patrick had told her were the entrances for the goblins that terrorized the campus. She smiled, wishing Patrick were there so she could point it out to him. She squinted hard, trying to figure out what exactly had caught her attention, but the bleak landscape offered nothing. She laughed for the first time, her ribs protesting, missing Patrick so hard that it hurt more than her bones.
Amanda’s brow furrowed, and the hammer clanging behind her eyes filled her skull, but the memory of how she had gotten there eluded her.
Michael Phillip Cash is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter. His novels are best-sellers on Amazon under their genres – Young Adult, Thriller, Suspense, Ghost, Action Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Horror.
Michael writes full-time and lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wonderful wife and screaming children. You can follow him @michaelpcash.
It’s almost fall and that means you’ll be seeing a lot of zombies roaming around on my blog.
Got a good one to share with ya today.
Check it out.
Enjoy the author ‘s video Q&A and my review.
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
Zombie Uprising
Voodoo Child
Book One
William Burke
Genre: Horror/Paranormal with Action/Adventure
Publisher: William Burke
Date of Publication: June 17th 2016
ASIN: B01H9E4HDA
Number of pages: 333 / Word Count: 96,000
Cover Artist: Deranged Doctor
My Review
You’ll be taken from the hot, arid sands of Iraq to the lush, tropical beauty of the Lesser Antilles Island of Fantamos, in this thrilling adventure.
There be demons and zombies, voodoo and the supernatural, and more evil character’s with their own agendas than you can shake a stick at.
Maggie’s blown up, shot, bitten, and literally stomped on, but like the Energizer Rabbit, she keeps on keeping on. Tough, snarky, and with no time for romance, forces enter her life that change everything.
I really liked Maggie. She’s a survivor and always quick with some sarcasm and humor. I’d say that’s a must when the plot is filled with danger, suspense, and death. Having those lighter moments and witty dialogue lighten the mood, bringing the character’s to life and give you someone to connect to. And she’s not the only one you’ll enjoy meeting.
This is a busy story. So much is happening. You travel across the world. And the blend of voodoo, demons, and zombies make it a super fast read. Lots to keep you on the edge and eager to reach the end.
It doesn’t end here, as it’s a series and leaves you with some questions, but this part of the story gets wrapped up and hints at things to come. And there’s a zinger at the end which connects to the beginning that, with all of the action, you might have forgot about. I should have seen it coming. It does explain what I thought was a plot hole. Nicely done.
4 Stars
~~~~~
Book Description
The forces of darkness are out to destroy mankind… Too bad they never reckoned on facing Maggie Child!
Army chopper pilot Maggie Child has a reputation for being fearless, professional and, above all, rational. But when she’s shot down over Iraq her well-ordered life spirals into a paranormal nightmare. Alone, wounded and surrounded by hostile forces, Maggie is rescued from certain death by a demon straight out of Dante’s Inferno. Then, barely alive, she’s abducted by a private military corporation conducting insidious medical experiments. Her escape from their covert hellhole lands her on a Caribbean island where an evil voodoo spirit and a psychotic female dictator are conspiring to unleash an apocalyptic zombie plague. Then she uncovers the most terrifying secret of all—her own destiny. It seems a Voodoo oracle has ordained her the only warrior capable of saving humanity from a supernatural Armageddon … whether she wants the job or not!
But saving the world isn’t a one-woman job, so she teams up with a trio of unlikely heroes—a conspiracy obsessed marijuana smuggler, a Voodoo priestess with an appetite for reality television, and a burnt out ex-mercenary. Together, they’ll take on an army of the walking dead, with the fate of humanity resting in their eccentric hands.
Voodoo Child, Book One: Zombie Uprising is the first novel in a new horror series packed with supernatural thrills, rousing adventure, dark humor, Voodoo lore and plenty of zombie stomping action. But a word of warning; don’t shoot these zombies in the head … because that just makes them mad!
It’s the legions of hell versus Maggie Child … and hell doesn’t have a prayer!
After two years of ghostwriting, William Burke has released his first novel VOODOO CHILD, Book One: Zombie Uprising. It’s the first installment of a new horror series chronicling the exploits of Maggie Child and her Voodoo priestess partner Sarafina as they battle to save the island of Fantomas from the wrath of evil Voodoo spirits.
The author was raised on a diet of late night creature features, comic books, Mad magazines and horror stories. As a result every volume will be packed with eccentric characters, dark humor, chills, zombies, ghosts, monsters, military hardware and plenty of stuff blowing up.
Prior to writing Voodoo Child he was the creator and director of the Destination America television series Hauntings and Horrors. He has also written scripts for two Cinemax television series, Forbidden Science and Lingerie, which he also produced. He has also written magazine pieces for Fangoria and the Phantom of the Movies Videoscope among others.
William began his film and television career as a perfectly respectable video engineer at the venerable United Nations. Budget cuts shifted him to becoming a production manager and assistant director on an array of New York based indie films. With that experience under his belt he relocated to Los Angeles where he eventually produced sixteen feature films and two television series for the Playboy Entertainment Group. After years of producing T&A extravaganzas, kickboxing epics and gangster rap videos, he created a self financed television pilot entitled American Mystery Tour. Canada’s CTV picked up the series under the title Creepy Canada, which was then re-titled Hauntings and Horrors in the USA. Since then he has successfully produced three series for HBO/Cinemax as well as documentaries and other … stuff.
After hundreds of hours of film and television production he is basking in the freedom of the written word, where small budgets and giant egos are only memories. He lives in Toronto.
If you enjoyed the first adventure please visit www.williamburkeauthor.com where you’ll find lots of interesting information about Voodoo and military hardware, along with excerpts from Sarafina’s personal diary AND, as a gift to readers, the author will be serializing a prequel novella.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB at Books And A Beat.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page.
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
My Teaser for this week is from
Diary Of A Haunting
by M. Verano
Genre: Horror
My teaser from page 74 in the hardcover.
Where do I come up with this stuff? It’s like I’m actively trying to freak myself out. If I can get the Internet to work, I’m going to watch a bunch of kitten videos and try to get this horrible thought out of my head.
When Paige moves from LA to Idaho with her mom and little brother after her parents’ high-profile divorce, she expects to completely hate her new life, and the small town doesn’t disappoint. Worse yet, the drafty old mansion they’ve rented is infested with flies, spiders, and other pests Paige doesn’t want to think about.
She chalks it up to her rural surroundings, but it’s harder to ignore the strange things happening around the house, from one can of ravioli becoming a dozen, to unreadable words appearing in the walls. Soon Paige’s little brother begins roaming the house at all hours of the night, and there’s something not right about the downstairs neighbor, who knows a lot more than he’s letting on.
Things only get creepier when she learns about the sinister cult that conducted experimental rituals in the house almost a hundred years earlier.
The more Paige investigates, and the deeper she digs, the clearer it all becomes: whatever is in the house, whatever is causing all the strange occurrences, has no intention of backing down without a fight.
Found in the aftermath, Diary of a Haunting collects the journal entries, letters, and photographs Paige left behind.
Welcome to my Saturday Screams where I share reviews of all things scary. Recently I did a post asking for help in choosing the next book I should review.
You chose Pale Rider: Zombies Versus Dinosaurs. After doing my review, I got kind of busy with other things and didn’t get right back to the other books. I did read some more creepy ones and will be sharing them today, along with your next choice, Turning Grace.
Pale Rider: Zombies Versus Dinosaurs #1
This is free on Amazon. Just click on the cover to grab your copy!
This book is free right now. Click on the cover to grab your copy!
My Review
I love a good zombie story. This isn’t a zombie apocalypse. It’s the story of one teenage girl, struggling with odd cravings and an escalating urge to commit violence.
I found some scenes disturbing on so many levels. And I loved it. I know, I’m twisted. But what’s a good zombie story without some truly ghastly scenes. Like when she eats the neighbor’s cat. Yuck.
I liked Grace. Felt sorry for her. And she scared the bejesus out of me. This made me wonder if I’d stand by her, best friend or not.
There’s a sweet romance beginning, but it doesn’t take over the whole story. It does add an important character to the mix and some lighter moments in between the gnashing and blood.
I was into this book from the opening to the finish. While there is an ending, there’s more to come. And I plan to see where this series goes.
A good one for zombie fans who want a more personal story, not an apocalypse.
4 Stars
Synopsis
**Medal Winner of the 2014 New Apple Book Awards in the E-Book Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Category**
Life or death?
It all seems to be the same for Grace…
Some of us have been there before — falling for the hot, popular jock who just so happens to be dating the hot, popular girl in school.
Your snarky-but-always-right bestie insists you make a move, but you’re not so much into putting yourself out there.
Then it happens, and suddenly you find yourself eating a cat on your neighbor’s porch.
No? Never happened to you?
Well, Grace Watkins can’t say the same. Her hunger is growing with each day that passes and her urges are getting harder to control.
No one can explain why her body is changing, except one man.
I must be a glutton for punishment. I just can’t resist when someone mentions man eating creatures. Especially the creepy crawling ones.
Imagine a bug that kind of looks like a cockroach. One of the big Palmetto ones. It is longer than your middle finger. Now imagine it’s not like any known insect. And it’s adapted. Changed. And we are now on it’s menu.
Then imagine you don’t know all this. Just that it’s a new species. You gather a team, go into the rain forest. And you find the insect.
And that’s where it gets ugly. Relentless. Kind of gory.
The forest works against you. The weather works against you. Your own fear works against you. And the bugs just keep on coming.
I had a scary good read with this book. And I’ve learned there are a couple more books in the series. Going to have to go see what happens next.
3 Stars
~~~~~
Synopsis
A deadly carnivorous insect.
A group of scientists trapped in the remote rainforest.
One horror filled night.
Entomologist Howard Duncan has a generous grant and a wealthy lover. Now he’s on the verge of a find in the Brazilian rainforest that will reenergize his career: the rarely sighted reptilus blaberus, an insect like no other.
But something has changed – nature has started producing an antidote to the fungal infection that previously held the insect population in check. Skeletons provide Duncan and his team with an ominous first clue about the potential consequences.
And as the hunters become the hunted, the team must fight for their lives if they want to survive the terror-filled night.
I love zombie stories and anything that has killer sharks is alright in my book too. So, of course, I had to read Death Catch.
Zombie Sharks!
The saying, “No good deed goes unpunished,” sure fits this tale. After seeing fishermen slaughter countless sharks just for their fins, throwing the still living creatures back into the ocean to sink and die a slow, horrible death, one man does something to honor them. Thus the zombie sharks are born.
It’s a no holds barred fight to the finish as the sharks grow in numbers, bent on our destruction. And boy do they go at it. Flesh rips. Bodies are dismembered and crushed. The dead pile up. The sharks keep on keeping on.
A smorgasbord of characters carry the story to it’s end. A lot of them don’t make it. Some become unwilling heroes. And some just want some payback.
Death Catch is gruesomely fun. The suspense is intense. The writing is good. The plot is well thought out and researched. And the horror is top notch.
Here’s one for all of you who love your beasties mean and hungry.
4 Stars
Synopsis
Ex-Navy SEAL Alex Moss has settled comfortably into a life at sea, far removed from the wars of his past. He commands Fearless, one of the world’s premier science vessels. Along with his crew of special operations forces veterans, Moss now assists in the advancement of marine science, but the life he loves is about to be threatened in ways neither he nor his crew could ever imagine.
Dr. Thomas Falcon is a highly respected and widely published shark biologist with a powerful and ancient family history he knows almost nothing about. When Falcon’s best friend and colleague, the gifted shark researcher Dr. Peter Marsh, invites him to join his scientific expedition aboard the privately funded research vessel Fearless, Falcon jumps at the chance. Once Dr. Falcon arrives on board, however, history catches up with him when he unwittingly triggers violent events that will threaten all of their lives. Death Catch is a ripping action adventure that moves like a high speed chase, a wild ride that will send your pulse racing.
Stay tuned. Next Saturday I’ll be sharing my review of Hell’s Gate along with a couple of others I recently finished.
Hell’s Gate: A Victorian Monster Novel
Synopsis
Uncle Howard went looking for Hell. No-one imagined he might find it.
The locals say he sacrifices girls to demons at his estate on the remote coast of Victorian Ireland. But no-one has seen him for weeks before Hope and her family arrive to visit.
Did he leave on another quixotic quest, or does he have something more dangerous than fairies living at the bottom of his garden?
Welcome to My Monday Minis Reviews where I share short reviews of books I’ve read. For today I’ll be sharing three books.
Johnny and Jamaal
My Review
With all of the tragic recent events we’ve seen and heard on the news, this book had a timely release.
Exploring issues occurring today with interracial relationships, coping with racial injustice, and addressing the controversy of punishment fitting the crime, this book will in turn have you cheering characters on, crying out at the inequality doled out, and hoping for a happy ending.
I became quite fond of the characters. They each had a lot of emotional baggage and much to overcome, yet all of them touched me. And I wanted to mention, it’s not all seriousness . There are the fun moments too. And sports. Got a little bit of everything for you.
Having read other books by this author, I knew I’d enjoy his writing, but was a bit worried about this story. Not my normal reading, but it’s trying something new that reveals hidden gems like Johnny and Jamaal. The strong writing of K.M. Beakey captivates you, pulling you along until you reach the end. I very much enjoyed this and recommend you give it a go.
4 Stars
Synopsis
Two athletes from different planets are on the verge of greatness. Johnny’s a carefree Canadian making his mark in the NHL. Jamaal’s set to follow LeBron and Kyrie out of the ghetto. When their worlds collide, the catastrophic clash ignites racial conflict not seen since Ferguson. The incident tests the fledgling love of Johnny’s best friend Lucas and his African-American girlfriend Chantal, and sets them on a quest for truth and justice in the perverse racial landscape of 2016.
As chaos escalates across American cities, an MLK-like voice rises from the ashes. Wilbur Rufus Holmes may be salvation for Luke and Chantal, but can he stop society’s relentless descent into racial discord?
Johnny and Jamaal is awash with sports, violence and political taboo, as America’s seething dysfunction is laid bare.
Many of my friends wondered why I read this book. I have an irrational fear of spiders. Even the teeniest ones creep me out.
So, while reading The Hatching, and all the way to the end, I swear I felt something tickling the hairs on my arms, tiptoeing up the nape of my neck, and parting the hairs on my head.
A creepy crawly tale of spiders and how humanity panics and does it’s darnedest to destroy itself while trying to stop the onslaught of spiders.
One part that particularly creeped me out was when the spiders did something called kiting. They attached a strand of silk to something and let out more and more as they flung themselves into the air. Can you picture that. Looking up and thousands of the nasty beasts are falling from the sky to devour you from the inside out. Or perhaps they’ll cocoon you and drink you slowly. Yuck and yuck.
I’m surprised I didn’t suffer from nightmares after reading this book. For all of you fans of horror and monsters, I dare ya to read this one.
4 Stars
Synopsis
Deep in the jungle of Peru, a black, skittering mass devours an American tourist party whole. FBI agent Mike Rich investigates a fatal plane crash in Minneapolis and makes a gruesome discovery. Unusual seismic patterns register in a Indian earthquake lab, confounding the scientists there. The Chinese government “accidentally” drops a nuclear bomb in an isolated region of its own country. The first female president of the United States is summoned to an emergency briefing. And all of these events are connected.
As panic begins to sweep the globe, a mysterious package from South America arrives at Melanie Guyer’s Washington laboratory. The unusual egg inside begins to crack. Something is spreading…
The world is on the brink of an apocalyptic disaster. An virulent ancient species, long dormant, is now very much awake. But this is only the beginning of our end…
Here’s the alternate cover. Which one do you like best?
Yep. This would be a good movie. The first thing I though of was some of those old black and white ones. Or maybe something along the lines of Eight Legged Freaks, which was actually scary fun.
It figures that the government caused the end of the world. They act first, never ask questions, and bang! There goes everything and everyone we know and love.
Now, a town struggles to survive as hungry mutant spiders cocoon it.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? I sure had fun, even though spiders are a phobia of mine. Perhaps it’s good for me to read about them. Maybe it’ll help me to face down those evil little monsters. Maybe not. I do know it was a thrilling read. And my heart goes out to those that didn’t survive.
Grab this book. It’s a fast thrill ride to a messy ending. Caused by the spiders, of course, not the author’s writing. That was good too.
4 Stars
Synopsis
Brian O’Gorman’s international best seller returns uncut and extended. A virus designed to control the burgeoning spider population causes them to mutate into overgrown, venomous killers. A large hoard of the spiders take over the small village of Newtown, killing all but two of its residents. Laurence Johnson and Chloe Jones have only been together one night after Laurence parted ways with his wife. They find themselves trapped in the house with no way of escaping. Their only hope is to try and stay alive long enough for the army to intervene. Lorna Johnson is on the outskirts of town with nowhere to go and the spider invasion taking control. Her only hope of survival lies with a team headed up by Doctor Michael Briggs. He has a plan to stop the invasion before it gets out of hand. But he is running out of time and he is running out of allies. If he doesn’t move quickly then mankind will face the darkest day it has ever known.
~~~~~
Here’s the alternate cover. Which one do you like best?
Welcome to my Saturday Screams where I share reviews of all things scary. Recently I did a post asking for help in choosing the next book I should review.
You chose Pale Rider: Zombies Versus Dinosaurs. So I’ll be sharing my review today and asking you which book I should review next.
And now, without further adieu….
Pale Rider: Zombies Versus Dinosaurs #1
This is free on Amazon. Just click on the cover to grab your copy!
My Review
I like a good post-apocalyptic story. How could I resist one with zombies and dinosaurs in it.
Mind you, this takes place in modern times. No cavemen here. Civilization has ground to a halt. Humans are no longer at the top of the food chain. Instead, zombies roam freely while humanity cowers, struggling to survive.
Pockets of survivors are trying to change things. They engineer these creatures, similar to dinosaurs, to help with clearing land and planting crops. Others think it’s foolish. So, of course, they fight amongst themselves.
You get the picture. Read it before. But with dinos and zombies? Don’t think so.
Gory, funny, and over the top. This may not be one that wowed me, but it kept me entertained and I read it in one sitting. Plus, the ending was left open for more and I’ll be watching to see if another chapter is released.
3 Stars
Synopsis
“I am often left to wonder why a zombie, walking around in the sun, smells better than a pooping dinosaur.”
Two worlds collide in this action novelette. Zombies have destroyed civilization. Gasoline fuel is no longer an option, but humanity must find a way to survive. In response to trying to restore our way of life, we engineer franken-monsters. Because of their small brains and massive sizes, these beasts make quick work of farming and clearing land. These large creatures are immune to the zombie virus and perform excellently in loud conditions. They are easy to train. They behave like war horses, prone to help charge in and defend our livelihood.
In honor of the past, and to help build our future, we named these creatures dinosaurs.
***
So, which book should I review next?
Turning Grace
Synopsis
**Medal Winner of the 2014 New Apple Book Awards in the E-Book Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Category**
Life or death?
It all seems to be the same for Grace…
Some of us have been there before — falling for the hot, popular jock who just so happens to be dating the hot, popular girl in school.
Your snarky-but-always-right bestie insists you make a move, but you’re not so much into putting yourself out there.
Then it happens, and suddenly you find yourself eating a cat on your neighbor’s porch.
No? Never happened to you?
Well, Grace Watkins can’t say the same. Her hunger is growing with each day that passes and her urges are getting harder to control.
No one can explain why her body is changing, except one man.
***
Hell’s Gate: A Victorian Monster Novel
Synopsis
Uncle Howard went looking for Hell. No-one imagined he might find it.
The locals say he sacrifices girls to demons at his estate on the remote coast of Victorian Ireland. But no-one has seen him for weeks before Hope and her family arrive to visit.
Did he leave on another quixotic quest, or does he have something more dangerous than fairies living at the bottom of his garden?
It’s been a very quiet week for me and I couldn’t think of what to post today. So, I pulled together a short review and am asking for your help on which book to review next.
I’ve read a bunch of books and really need to get some reviews written before I forget the stories. You can choose from the ones I’ll be showing below or I’m open to suggestion!
The Army Of The Night
Review
The great thing about short stories is they aren’t that expensive and you get a sample of the author’s writing to see if they are a good fit for you.
And now and then you find that little gem that just wows you.
This is tagged as a historical horror and that’s what you get. But when Napoleon needs to find a safe passage to retreat through the mountains, the author gives you a supernatural solution. You can bet the solution comes with strings. Some horrific ones.
The writing pulls you right in and the historical setting comes through as the anticipation builds. Once the secret hidden in the mountains is revealed, the action really gets going and the horror comes out.
So glad I tried this story and would love it if the author chose to write more about the characters and beings that haunt these pages.
4 Stars
Synopsis
It’s 1813. Napoleon’s army needs to retreat from Spain and return to France, but the main pass across the jagged peaks of the Pyrenees is within easy reach of the British forces.
In his search for an alternative escape route, Alaine Bellanger discovers more than just an ancient mountain trail. High up, in a cleft between two peaks, he finds something very strange indeed — and someone even stranger.
But who can he tell?
And who would believe him?
(A long short story: 17,000 words.)
If you want to read this one, it’s free right now on Amazon. Just click on the cover to grab a copy!
***
And now for some I’ve read and need to review. Let me know which you want to read next or suggest something else!
Pale Rider: Zombies Versus Dinosaurs #1
This is also free on Amazon. Just click on the cover to grab your copy!
Synopsis
“I am often left to wonder why a zombie, walking around in the sun, smells better than a pooping dinosaur.”
Two worlds collide in this action novelette. Zombies have destroyed civilization. Gasoline fuel is no longer an option, but humanity must find a way to survive. In response to trying to restore our way of life, we engineer franken-monsters. Because of their small brains and massive sizes, these beasts make quick work of farming and clearing land. These large creatures are immune to the zombie virus and perform excellently in loud conditions. They are easy to train. They behave like war horses, prone to help charge in and defend our livelihood.
In honor of the past, and to help build our future, we named these creatures dinosaurs.
***
Turning Grace
Synopsis
**Medal Winner of the 2014 New Apple Book Awards in the E-Book Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Category**
Life or death?
It all seems to be the same for Grace…
Some of us have been there before — falling for the hot, popular jock who just so happens to be dating the hot, popular girl in school.
Your snarky-but-always-right bestie insists you make a move, but you’re not so much into putting yourself out there.
Then it happens, and suddenly you find yourself eating a cat on your neighbor’s porch.
No? Never happened to you?
Well, Grace Watkins can’t say the same. Her hunger is growing with each day that passes and her urges are getting harder to control.
No one can explain why her body is changing, except one man.
***
Hell’s Gate: A Victorian Monster Novel
Synopsis
Uncle Howard went looking for Hell. No-one imagined he might find it.
The locals say he sacrifices girls to demons at his estate on the remote coast of Victorian Ireland. But no-one has seen him for weeks before Hope and her family arrive to visit.
Did he leave on another quixotic quest, or does he have something more dangerous than fairies living at the bottom of his garden?
I enjoy short stories and collections, especially creepy ones. And I take into account that they are just nibbles, not complete stories.
Some of these were great. They gave me the shivers and I truly thought the characters got what they deserved. And a couple had me a bit confused. Perhaps because the dead were too.
The dead speak from their graves in Golden Stone Cemetery. They have some ghastly tales to tell. Just how wicked were they to be buried and forgotten?. Would they repent if they could? Do they lust for revenge? Are their souls worth saving?
The answers lie in these pages. It takes talent to spin good tales using so little words, and this author passed my test. While the stories are short, they leave a lasting impression.
This is one that I couldn’t stop reading until I read the last word. Several of the stories had me thinking long afterwards. That’s why I’ll be reading more from this author.
To quote R.L. Stine: “Beware, you’re in for a scare!”
4 Stars
~~~~~
Synopsis
Each story in this series teaches a lesson the person behind the stone should have learned before committing crime, hurting someone else, or generally failing at life.
We’re about to enter Golden Stone Cemetery, where these unfortunate people are buried so deep you can barely find their markers. Their crimes are so heinous and their deeds so cruel that family members buried them here because they want to forget they ever existed.
Enter at your own risk.
Genre: Horror; Paranormal Suspense Published by: Fideli Publishing Inc. Publication Date: April 7th 2016 Number of Pages: 98 ISBN: 1604149124 (ISBN13: 9781604149128) Series: Hidden Truths and Lies is the 4th book in Fran Lewis’s FACES BEHIND THE STONES series of stand alone novellas. Purchase Links:
More Reviews:
“The stories in this collection by Fran Lewis are gripping in suspense and demonstrate a vivid imagination. I picked them up planning to read for a few minutes and couldn’t stop until I had finished the last story. Fran understands well and expresses the dark side that many people have. Motivated by greed or self-interest, some in these stories who seem like people we encounter every day are willing to undertake terrifying actions. It makes for an excellent read.” — Allan Topol, author of !e Italian Divide and The Washington Lawyer
“Hidden Truths and Lies is a compilation of stories told from beyond the grave each one filled with terror as the character faces his or her own fate. The final two stories are pure science fiction and will hopefully allow readers to see the magnitude of this talented writer.” — Susan Ross, Board Of Education, NYC
Read an excerpt:
Introduction
Each story in this series teaches a lesson the person behind the stone should have learned before committing crime, hurting someone else, or generally failing at life. We’re about to enter Golden Stone Cemetery, where these unfortunate people are buried so deep you can barely find their markers. Their crimes are so heinous and their deeds so cruel that family members buried them here because they want to forget they ever existed.
Welcome to Golden Stone Cemetery, where the voices of these unfortunates can be heard loud and clear. Learning what they did and what their fates became will make you shudder. When you find out just how cruel they were in life, you’ll be glad they’re gone. You’ll be relieved that their families made sure the spirits of each of these nefarious characters will never rise again.
Who lies behind these unmarked stones? Let their stories unfold…
Fran Lewis: Fran worked in the NYC Public Schools as the Reading and Writing Staff Developer for over 36 years. She has three masters Degrees and a PD in Supervision and Administration. Currently, she is a member of Who’s Who of America’s Teachers and Who’s Who of America’s Executives from Cambridge. In addition, she is the author of three children’s books and a fourth that has just been published on Alzheimer’s disease in order to honor her mom and help create more awareness for a cure. The title of my new Alzheimer’s book is Memories are Precious: Alzheimer’s Journey; Ruth’s story and Sharp as a Tack and Scrambled Eggs Which Describes Your Brain? Fran is the author of 13 titles.
Fran Lewis: Fran worked in the NYC Public Schools as the Reading and Writing Staff Developer for over 36 years. She has three masters Degrees and a PD in Supervision and Administration. Currently, she is a member of Who’s Who of America’s Teachers and Who’s Who of America’s Executives from Cambridge. In addition, she is the author of three children’s books and a fourth that has just been published on Alzheimer’s disease in order to honor her mom and help create more awareness for a cure. The title of my new Alzheimer’s book is Memories are Precious: Alzheimer’s Journey; Ruth’s story and Sharp as a Tack and Scrambled Eggs Which Describes Your Brain? Fran is the author of 13 titles.
