Dark Jesters is a compilation of ten hilariously funny horror tales by ten different authors. The stories range from cavemen zombies to possessions by James Brown to a horror author getting kidnapped and tossed in a shed with a bunch of other hacks. Each turn of the page of Dark Jesters will bring a thrill to readers. What one person may not laugh at, I believe another will. There wasn't a single story in this collection that I did not enjoy, but there were a few that specifically stuck out in my mind as highlights in this book.
“Deadneck Woman” by Mark Justice is one of those. It's a follow-up story to Deadneck Hootenanny, also by Justice, published by Novello. Readers are taken back to Possum Hollow to visit some of their old redneck zombie "friends" again and also get to meet a new gal that comes to town. Readers that missed out on Justice's previous “Deadneck” stories will still enjoy this, however, as it can be read as a standalone.
Jerrod Balzer's “Wolf Plugs” is yet another story that stands out as a classic bit of humor within this book. A small town has gathered in a courthouse and is trying to figure out what to do about the werewolves that are attacking their town. A werewolf hunter shows up at the door bearing the solution to all their problems. I don't want to tell you what that solution is though as that will ruin the surprise!
The last story I'm going to mention literally had me in tears while reading. The story is “Curse of the Blind Eel” by James Roy Daley. It is the story of two brothers who are on a mission to stake a vampire before he rises from his casket. Unfortunately, one brother's got a bit of a problem and is in major need of a bathroom. Let me just say... I never realized there were as many ways of saying "poop" and "taking a dump" as Daley put into this one short story! I don't know what it is about bathroom humor that is so funny, but this story had me in stitches!
Every story within Dark Jesters is a masterpiece in some way. Nick Cato and L.L. Soares did a fantastic job pulling together a variety of humorous stories from across the board. This book is a must for anyone who enjoys comic horror. Highly recommended!
Collection Includes:
- FOSSILIZED BRAAAINS by William A. Veselik
- THE PLAGUE OF GENTLEMEN by Matthew Fryer
- TONGS AND THE ROACH by David T. Wilbanks
- BLESS THE BEASTLY CHILDREN by Laura Cooney
- WOLF PLUGS by Jerrod Balzer
- HACKS by Sam Battrick
- PAPA'S GOT A BRAND NEW BAG by Robert Guffey
- CURSE OF THE BLIND EEL by James Roy Daley
- RETIREMENT by Rob Brooks
- DEADNECK WOMAN by Mark Justice
Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Bathroom Humor
Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com
No comments:
Post a Comment