Posts Tagged ‘Chad P.Brown’

Monday Minis #21 ~ Drop Dead Tavern

Posted: January 14, 2014 in apocalypse, horror, Monday's Minis, reviews, Zombies
Tags: , ,
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Welcome to My Monday Minis.

This is where I review short stories and flash fiction.

For today I’ll be telling you about Drop Dead Tavern

by Chad P. Brown

15833313

1771e-addtogoodreadsblack

My Review

You’d think after watching Walking Dead nothing would shock me.

This short story should have come with a warning. “Brace yourself.”

All Kent wants is a bottle to swill away his grief. To forget about the loss of his brother, the zombies gnashing around, and his loneliness.

He pulls his bike up to the tavern and after making sure the coast is clear, he enters.

Aah, right there amid the broken bottles stands one survivor. Looks like he’ll sleep good tonight. Maybe there’ll be no dreams.

Suddenly, he’s confronted by a boy. He looks like a street urchin, filthy and haggard.

Once Kent establishes the boys trust, he gets his story.

Any zombie fans would love this short tale.

It didn’t take me long to read it, but by the end it felt like forever. Like those dreams you have where you are running and running and never seem to get anywhere.

I must have been lulled somehow, because what happened in that tavern really tore me up.

Without fluff or wasted words, Chad got right to the matter, dragging me in.

You have to remember, this is a zombie apocalypse. It ended leaving me torn and wishing there was more. I really liked Kent and wondered what would become of him.

4 Stars

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About Chad P. Brown

Chad P. Brown was born in Huntington, WV. Once he outgrew his childhood fears of haunted houses, clowns, and toy monkeys with cymbals (although those still creep him out a little bit), he discovered a dark love for writing and an affinity for macabre and eldritch matters. He holds a Master’s in Latin from Marshall University and is an Affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association. In October 2011, he released his first horror novel, The Jack-in-the-box. He has appeared in the anthologies SPIDERS (August 2012 by May December Publications) and Gothic Blue Book Vol. 2 – Revenge Edition (October 2012 by Burial Day Books). His current projects include a recently released zombie novella, Messiah of the Zombie Apocalypse, and various short stories, as well as a dark fiction novella, The Pumpkin House, which is in submission.

Monday Minis #20 ~ The Basement ~ Don’t ever say I’ll be right back!

Posted: January 6, 2014 in horror, Monday's Minis, reviews, Short stories and collections
Tags: , , ,
6

magnifying glass photo: Magnifying Glass magnifying-glass.jpg

Welcome to My Monday Minis.

This is where I review short stories and flash fiction.

For today I’ll be telling you about The Basement

by Chad P. Brown

15828409

1771e-addtogoodreadsblack

My Review

I’ve seen the movies. I’ve read the books. But, I just can’t say it enough. Don’t go in the basement! There’s always something bad just waiting to make you dead.

So the story goes, Heather takes a dare and enters the Blackwell House. Everyone knows it’s haunted, and really bad things happened. But, like the foolish girl she is, I guess she figures it can’t happen to her. She’ll show her friends there’s nothing to be afraid of and that’ll be the end of it.

Not quite. Heather doesn’t run into the Blackwell family ghosts. Instead, she’s confronted by her dead mother.

What the author did really well was hook me in right from the beginning. This isn’t a new scenario. I’ve read many similar stories, but the author made it different. The ghost Heather thought she should be worried about isn’t the one that appeared.

The atmosphere is set, from the door slamming shut after she enters, to the creaking and moaning of the old house settling.

Another thing that I liked was how the author let me into Heather’s head as she tried to dispel her own fears and find logical explanations for what was occurring. It enabled me to feel her fear, her disbelief, and finally her terror.

Kudos to Chad for his surprising ending. After I read the last sentence I said to myself, “Got ya!”

3 Stars

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About Chad P. Brown

Chad P. Brown was born in Huntington, WV. Once he outgrew his childhood fears of haunted houses, clowns, and toy monkeys with cymbals (although those still creep him out a little bit), he discovered a dark love for writing and an affinity for macabre and eldritch matters. He holds a Master’s in Latin from Marshall University and is an Affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association. In October 2011, he released his first horror novel, The Jack-in-the-box. He has appeared in the anthologies SPIDERS (August 2012 by May December Publications) and Gothic Blue Book Vol. 2 – Revenge Edition (October 2012 by Burial Day Books). His current projects include a recently released zombie novella, Messiah of the Zombie Apocalypse, and various short stories, as well as a dark fiction novella, The Pumpkin House, which is in submission.