Book Review- Vortex: A Moffett & Keoph Investigation by Ray Garton

Vortex is one of those books that has consistently avoided my vicarious attempts to read. Originally published as a limited edition hardcover, it quickly became a collectible and all of my attempts to acquire a reasonably priced copy on eBay were always met by some jerk sniping me at the last moment.

Of course, it was only natural that I jump at the chance to read a review copy of the ebook that Ray has now released as his first self-published title. I know... many of you hate ebooks; and there is a special place in my heart for real books too, but until I can throw around money on books like Donald Trump's son at a strip club, I've got to read 'em when I can. To be honest, I would read Ray Garton's work if he hand wrote it on a roll of toilet paper if I had too.

Vortex continues the adventures of Garton's weird detective duo, Karren Moffett and Gavin Keoph who have been hired by the same guy who brought them together in the first place, Martin Burgess. The type of guy who can afford a copy of all of Garton's rare books, and the type who can afford to impress his new girlfriend by hiring these investigators to look into the strange things going on at Mt. Shasta, a spiritual and New Age retreat where something isn't as it should be.

Fans of Garton's Night Life and Beastial will love to see a return of familiar, well-loved characters who jump to life with Garton's high energy and engaging dialogue. Garton moves the story along with his simple mastery of adding all kinds of action, humor, and enough weird science fiction paranormal goodies to make the writers of season ten of The X-Files feel ashamed of themselves.

This is a novelette, so expect to want more when you're done with this one. You don't need to read Night Life or Beastial in order to enjoy Vortex, but, fair warning, you may seek them out when you're done if you happen to be one of the neglected souls who have yet to read either of those classics.

Ray Garton may be one of the architects of Splatter Punk, but he doesn't always make things Splatter. Sometimes he just gives us what we need... Thrills, spills, and smiles. I wish Mr. Garton all the best with his stroll into self-publishing, he just raised the bar... Like a boss.

-Cory Cline

Get your own copy here...

Check out all of Ray Garton's work here. Once you start, you won't stop!

Sleep Deprived- By Dawn Cano

Sleep deprivation is a terrible thing. It is not healthy for the mind or the body and Dawn Cano tells a perfect little story about those dangers. Sleep Deprived is a short read and the author does not sugarcoat her story with niceties at all, the reader will know where this story is headed right from the get-go and I never turn down a good dare set forth by an author who writes a "spoiler" right into the first page.

Sleep Deprived introduces us to Anna, who is suffering from sleep deprivation and beginning to allow the madness to affect her reality. When the voices kick in, she tries to ignore them, but a broken mind can only ignore so much and the baby she is watching for two days won't let her get any sleep...

Dawn Cano comes out swinging and there were never any gloves to take off. She expertly guides us through this show of a woman's unraveling descent into madness and while it gets messy and deranged at times, it's no different than a motorist passing by a horrific accident and sneaking a peak at the gory remains. Only there isn't a traffic cop here to tell you to keep it moving... there's nothing to see here. 

There is plenty to "see" here. Images you won't get out of your head while you're reading it, and possibly even after you've read it. Dawn Cano backs you up to the edge and then pushes you over it with glee so do not take the warning on the cover of this story lightly. This is an extreme horror short. If you suffer from triggers of any kind, this book is not for you. You will be shocked and disturbed. If you like to be shocked and disturbed, then what are you waiting for... you've got a dinner date with Anna!

-Cory Cline

Pick up Sleep Deprived for your Kindle here...

Chantal Noordeloos- Even Hell Has Standards- Wrath

Fatima Oni, forced into marriage at a young age by her parents, is helpless against her husband's abuse. It doesn't help that he is her Uncle, but she does her best with what she is given. Her time spent on Earth is more wicked than any version of Hell in any bible and when her children are taken from her, she will face her biggest struggle yet... the wrath bubbling under her scarred human shell.

I did not read the first book of this series prior to Wrath and did not feel the need to, though, I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity after reading this gem of a glimpse into Chantal's version of Hell. Anyone who says girls can't do horror has not witnessed the darkness that seeps from this girl's fingertips.

While Fatima is on Earth, Chantal will show us how dark this world is. It isn't easy to write about things that really happen. She allows us to see what it's like to live in a third world country that does not frown against abuse, child brides, incest, and rape. The last book I read that made me feel this dirty after reading it was Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door, a brilliantly dark thriller that doesn't hold back on showing us what was going on in the 1960's behind closed doors.

Some books don't scare you because of the monsters and gore you laugh at while reading. Everyone knows that Vampires don't exist. Zombies aren't going to force us to barricade ourselves in our farmhouses anytime soon. The only place evil truly exists is in mankind, and Chantal forces herself to explore those dark crevices as she weaves her way through the craziness that is our reality. I am sure she felt it as she was writing this story; I don't know any writer who enjoys exploring the pain of losing a loved one or watching helplessly as something bad happens to that loved one.

As dark as this story gets, Chantal finds a way to put a leash on her reader. Her voice is strong, confident,  and yet strangely beautiful. This girl is a writer; powerful and full of emotion, and if this is the kind of horror that girls are able to produce... well, damn... I'd be perfectly fine being told I write "like a girl".

What are you waiting for? Go support Chantal and buy this book!

-Cory Cline

The Void- Albert Kivak & Michael Bray

There are very few books that I read in just over a day. I have a day job, 4 kids, an Ebay bookstore, and I write. I picked this one up on a promotional post so it was free, and after reading a couple of chapters, I was hooked. This is a busy book that has a big story to tell, but you won't notice that until the end.

I was not familiar with Bray or Kivak's work prior to reading this, so I have no idea who wrote what in this book. To be honest, they are both competent writers who can move a story and bounce it back and forth to each other and I couldn't tell that two authors worked on this. It is seamless and so tightly woven that you never get taken out of the story and will keep turning pages as each chapter gets darker and crazier.

Morgan Brewster can feel what the things in the sinkhole outside his home really are. He senses them and knows what it is. When he crosses paths with a man destroyed by cancer, a man who now has a reason to live even though his body tells him he's done, and the two form a bond as they try to stop the evil that is trying to escape from the sinkhole.

Lots of fucked up shit happens in this book as the people start acting strange, and spiders, political people acting like assholes, spiders, humans doing horrible things to each other, things they would have never done before that sinkhole opened, and spiders.  One of my favorite scenes is when Meredith and her neighbor are having a discussion about Morgan, and Meredith finds herself defending her life as her neighbors anger escalades into murderous rage. Meredith is shocked by the lengths she must go in order to protect herself, and her reactions are more than justified.

This is a fantastic ride into a horrible apocalyptic vision that these two authors paint with their words. The landscape is full of evil and depravity, we all know it... Be glad you don't have a sinkhole outside of your home... things can always be worse.

Original, gripping, shocking, and well written. I had fun reading this story and look forward to what they come up with for the sequel. I will be checking out more work from both authors, we all should be.

Head over to Amazon and get The Void now!

Meet the authors on Facebook-
Michael Bray
Albert Kivak

-Cory Cline

Book Review- Thee Order Ov Unholy Flesh- By Alex S. Johnson

Remember the good old days when The Davinci Code blew everyone's minds? If you are a fan of the popular Robert Langdon series, then read no further. This book is not for you. It will make you a horrible person and we don't want that.

If, on the other hand, you are into the bizarre and demented; I believe I saw this referred to as Illuminati Bizarro Porn, which is mind blowing that there is even a genre for, then please go forth... explore the dark world that Alex Johnson created with maniacal glee.

This book is not for the casual horror or bizarro fan. If you have to get up and put down the book, just to get away from the horrific displays of anal contamination, you may find yourself outside of your comfort zone. Professor Johnson knows how to lay down a twisted wasteland, but he also knows satire. It doesn't matter if he's going after the Illuminati, or Dick Cheney, or the many other highly recognizable pseudo-celebrities that he roasts with the eloquence of a cannibal tribes eldest chef, he spits venom with a wicked tongue.

There is so much wrong with this book, but it has nothing to do with Alex's writing. The content is where some may find issues. Some will be shocked at the graphic displays of horror, and sex. Others will laugh at the absurdity of it all. This is a textbook example of a Bizarro collection doing exactly what it set out... to mind-fuck you into an intoxicated stupor.

Now, if you want a book that will make you a wear poncho while you're reading it, you've found it. All of the stories in this collection are dementedly good in one way or another. But there are a few where the writing really stands out....

The Vile Jelly- WTF did I just read? Anal. Bunny. Hybrids. I can't believe I just put those words next to each other. I can never play Scrabble again. There is a lot of anal play in this book, this one will make you feel like there's a hair in your teeth.

Amphantomine- I love revenge tales. Even this one. The Bizarro Noir feel to this one is perfectly sprinkled across the scope of this tale. Plenty of murder and drugs, don't bring this one to your AA meeting.

Blood Ties- The fact that one can write a touching mother/daughter bonding moment in the middle of a story full of cannibalism and vampirism means that there is much more beneath the glaze of gore and depravity that Alex has committed to paper. There are real stories under there if you have the stomach to look for them.

5 stars for this tome of depravity. I think fans of Bizarro, Illuminati fetishists, and extreme satirists will fall in love with this original work of sinfulness.

Fulfill your destiny and learn the ways of the Illuminati here...

-Cory Cline

Book Review- Flowers In A Dumpster by Mark Allan Gunnells

Flowers In A Dumpster is my first experience with Mark Allan Gunnells. Since Crystal Lake Publishing has proven itself to be a pretty reliable source of new and original horror, and with that cover looking all posterific, I could not resist.

Mr. Gunnells exceeds expectations with his tales of disturbing menaces cohabitating with a sense of humanity that compels you to keep reading. His characters seem real; some are quite likable. Others... not so much. His stories will take you down dark paths where you will encounter post-apocalyptic madness, dark humor in a support group you'll need therapy for after reading, a house too bad to be true, and a bit of pregnancy horror.

Not to mention all of the other stories that will surprise and shock. Mark leads the reader through a bit of familiar territory but still manages to captivate as you realize that Rod Serling could be narrating these very stories in a perfect alternate universe where the Twilight Zone is still being produced. If that is a bad thing, I don't know what to tell you. You can't account for taste all the time, and I don't want to argue with someone who could be anti-TZ.

If I have to pick a favorite story in this addictive collection, I would say The Locked Tower. Don't you know you always want to go where you're not allowed...

If you like some weirdness and fun, the hype is real. If you don't want to take my word for it, go see what Clive Barker has to say.

Find Flowers In A Dumpster and other books from Mark Allan Gunnells here...

Book Review- Ugly As Sin by James Newman

James Newman impresses me every time I pick up one of his books. His ability to tell a story that captures the reader and pulls them in for the long haul is uncanny and Ugly As Sin will not only pull you in, it will choke you out and leave you on the mat for the count.

When Nick Bullman, AKA: The Widowmaker, gets his face ripped off by a couple of overzealous fans who can't recognize reality, he looses the one thing that was most important to him. His rock star life has spoiled him, and after fame and fortune have left  he is quick to go to his daughters aid even though he has never been a part of her life when she needed him.

Nick Bullman grows as the book go ons, his intentions, while just, were merely a way to stop the sudden boredom of a life interupted. Now he must face the consequences of his past, and while he is busy learning how to be a father, he finds himself on a mission to save his kidnapped granddaughter.

When a former pro wrestler becomes an unlicensed private eye of sorts, it doesn't take him long to start gathering clues, getting names, and make a few enemies along the way. The more Nick learns, the more dangerous this all becomes for everyone involved, and the more twisted the mystery becomes.

This is noir, crime fiction at it's best. A flawed but likeable character who isn't afraid to walk side by side with his demons in order to get the job done, a thrilling plot with plenty of thrills, and a slick sense of movement with no brakes proves that James Newman is a master storyteller who takes no prisoners. If you're gonna read this one, make sure your "honey-do" list is done first.

Check out James' Amazon author page for this book and other titles!