Back in business!

I'm back, miss me?

So I haven't spent much time on Bookcrossing lately, both because of time constraints, and because I primarily use a mobile phone and the Bookcrossing site is not mobile optimized. Frustrating.  So lately, I have been primarily reading books on my Kindle, and all new book purchases are digital. That doesn't change the fact that I still have hundreds of paper books. One thing I've been working towards is replacing my paper collection with digital books. I thought I had been pulling and releasing books as I went along, but alas, today I discovered 20 plus books that I had missed! What to do? Why, release them, of course.  So I thought it would be great tonvisit this blog as I work through the releases, and start spending more time on Bookcrossing!

BOOK REVIEW: Dark Screams: Volume Two

Another stellar collection in this series! I enjoyed the first volume, and found myself liking the stories in the second volume even more! 

We start out with "The Deep End" by Robert R. McCammon. To read a horror short by him was great, especially with recent news of his return to the genre! This was a chilling story about a father seeking revenge against a an unknown nemesis. Norman Prentiss' "Interval" was a great modern take on a common theme: beings who hang around to feed off of sorrow and loss. Next up was "If These Walls Could Talk" by Shawntelle Madison. The author is new to me, and I'm curious to read more of her work now, this story was a chilling tale of stalker madness! My favorite story in this collection was "The Night Hider" by Graham Masterton. Masterton never disappoints! In this tale, we have a haunted wardrobe linked to C.S. Lewis, the evil within consumed him and inspired Narnia, and how a woman decades later works with her lover to defeat the evil within! Finally, we have "Whatever" by Richard Christian Matheson: my least favorite of the bunch. I found the story tedious and until the very end, had no clue what was going on or where he was going. 

All in all, this is a fantastic collection, and I cannot wait to read the third volume in the series!

I originally read this about 5 years ago, and loved it then just as much as I do now!  I rarely revisit books, but this was well worth it!  This book gave the Zombie genre a much needed boost which started a huge tidal wave of new books and movies that have not slowed down yet! 

Keene steps outside of the typical mindless flesh eating zombie shtick, and takes it beyond! I love his Lovecraftian influence in his work, and it is very much present in this book. Scientists are experimenting with anti-matter and end up opening a portal to another world, one inhabited by demonic beings who were expelled from our world long ago, and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to return. They inhabit the bodies of the dead, be it human or animal, and are working together under the leadership of Ob, to take over the planet! Our central story revolves around Jim, who is on a mission to reach his son Danny several states away. With a great B+ movie feel and a cliffhanger that will make you rush out to buy the sequel, The Rising is a treat for horror fans the world over!

BOOK REVIEW: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

This classic was amazing!  We take for granted the all too familiar doomsday scenario of every zombie story, novel, movie, and tv show out there today:  Chaos ensues, survivors band together and hunker down, taking refuge in abandoned homes, stores, farms, eventually fortifying their surroundings from the enemies.  Common theme right?  How common was this when Wyndham wrote Triffids in 1951?  Not very.  This was definitely a trailblazer, aside from the fact that it was a great story of survival, surviving a plant species with a killer instinct!  Not sure why it took me so long to finally read this book, but I'm sure glad I spent the time I did with it!

BOOK REVIEW: Chainfire by Terry Goodkind

I have started to struggle with this series. Mostly with Goodkind's heavy handed Tea Party like rhetoric. It has been getting increasingly heavier throughout the series, to the point that I have wondered if I can continue. So I was pleasantly surprised with Chainfire in that there was a lot more storytelling than rhetoric. My hope is that we get back to the storytelling as the series goes on. This was a great story, and of course, gave us one hell of a cliffhanger!

BOOK REVIEW: Upon A Midnight Clear: Queer Christmas Tales, edited by Greg Herren

This was a fun collection of gay themed Christmas stories. The cover is misleading in that it brings to mind a collection of erotic stories, but these are not erotica. It is a typical short story collection in that some stories are far better than others. Overall, I enjoyed everything and am glad to have spent time with the stories.

BOOK REVIEW: Dark Screams, Volume 1edited by Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar

Dark Dreams: Volume 1 edited by Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar

This is one top notch collection of horror shorts! There are only 5 stories in this collection, but the editors definitely chose quality over quantity here. We start off with "Weeds" by Stephen King, a story which I had never actually read, but LOVED the short in the movie Creepshow! Next up was Kelly Armstrong's "The Price You Pay", a spooky tale about vengeance and the price you pay for having it enacted. Bill Pronzi's "Magic Eyes" was a fun, although a bit predictable tale about madness (or is it). My favorite in the bunch was "Murder in Chains" by Simon Clark, a gruesome little story that felt like an homage to Saw and perhaps a little bit of Hostel thrown in for good measure! The collection is rounded off by "The Watched" by Ramsey Campbell, which was a typical Campbell tale full of atmosphere and just the right amount of chills! I'm glad to have read this, and can't wait to read the next volume!