Book 80 of 2009: Rot by Michele Lee

Book 79 of 2009: Strange Magic by Gord Rollo

Gord Rollo's latest release, Strange Magic, tells the story of former magician Wilson Kemp. Wilson has been trying for years to escape his past, going as far as changing his name, moving, and giving up his career as a magician. His wife and daughter know nothing of his past life, but unfortunately, his past has finally caught up with him and he may not be able to keep it hidden any longer. Someone in town known as "the Stranger" is killing both humans and animals, leaving messages at the scene of each crime for "The Iceman", which happens to be Wilson's old stage name. Wilson is now scared for the life of himself and his family. He is not sure who "the Stranger" really is, but fears it may be his old partner, "The Heatseeker". The problem with that scenario is that "The Heatseeker" has been dead for twenty-two years!

Intense, imaginative, well-balanced, fast-paced... you name it and Rollo has accomplished it in Strange Magic! Ever since Leisure started putting out Rollo's work I've been grabbing them up off the shelf immediately and I haven't been disappointed yet. Strange Magic may very well be my favorite so far. A couple of the characters' actual identities are kept secret through a good chunk of the book. Usually it is hard to keep up such a "front" that well without the reader figuring it out prior to the big "reveal", but Rollo managed to accomplish this without a hitch! I was ultimately pleasantly surprised, and a bit disturbed, with both of the characters once I found out who they really were. In addition, the death scenes within the book aren't overly gruesome, yet still cringe-worthy enough that both gore lovers and those of the weak stomach should be able to enjoy them. It is truly a well-rounded book and I feel that Rollo has definitely written something that all horror fans will love.

In addition to reading the Leisure addition of Strange Magic, I also had the pleasure of reading Rollo's short story, "Peeler", a tie-in story to Strange Magic. This story can currently be found in the limited edition of Strange Magic published by Bad Moon Books. Peeler is the name of one of the side characters from Strange Magic who happens to have what you might call a weird "fetish" for peeling off his own skin. In this short story, we get to learn what causes Peeler to mutilate himself and where he was at prior to the time-frame of Strange Magic. The story is a bit gross, yet definitely ties into the whole magical element playing throughout the novel. It's a must-read for die-hard Rollo fans, and it's a shame that Leisure couldn't have included it in their edition of the release. Hopefully, this story will be released in a short story collection from Rollo, for those that are unable to get their hands on a copy of the limited edition of Strange Magic. I highly recommend reading both Strange Magic and the tie-in story, "Peeler"!

Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Mutilation

Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com

Book 78 of 2009: Rotten Little Animals by Kevin Shamel

Kevin Shamel's debut release from Eraserhead Press, Rotten Little Animals, is a bit like Animal Farm on crack. The animals in Shamel's novel, however, are trying to keep their presence unknown to humans. While filming their latest masterpiece, the animals are spotted by a young boy that lived across the street. When the boy comes to investigate what he has seen (it's not every day you see a zombie cat fight!) the film crew of animals decides to kidnap him and re-write the movie that were working on to include the boy as their newest cast member. They figure staging an abduction will be more realistic-looking than their previous project, and it might help their chances in the Animal Academy Awards. What the crew doesn't count on is some of the animals turning against each other... and when that happens, you never know what Rotten Little Animals might do next! These animals are crude, rude, and usually drunk and/or high. They aren't your typical, cuddly pets that you'd want to take home, but this is definitely a novel that you want in your collection! Shamel has created a tale that is disturbingly rude, laugh-out-loud funny, and at times, just so bizarre that you can't even wrap your head around the fact that these are animals doing these things. Of course, some scenes I couldn't even fathom humans doing to other humans! In particular, there is a scene in the book where the animals put the human boy, Cage, in a room that he had to share with Filthy Pig (obviously a pig) that is known as the "Toilet Room". As you can guess, there is a grating above the room that all of the other animals stand above and let their urine and feces come down through... right onto poor Cage. It's a powerful scene, but greatly disturbing at the same time. It makes the reader feel for Cage though and want him to pull through somehow and escape. That scene, as well as numerous others, kept me reading Rotten Little Animals, fast and furious, as I wanted to see what was going to happen at the end. As this was part of Eraserhead Press' New Bizarro Author Series, I am hoping that Shamel will have more releases in the future because I am greatly anticipating reading more by this author. Highly Recommended!

Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations

Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com

Book 77 of 2009: Wolf Tales 9 by Kate Douglas

Wolf Tales 9, the latest release in Douglas' Chanku series brings all of the Chanku together in Montana. Tia is getting ready to give birth to the twins that she and Luc have conceived and everyone has gathered to support her. The labor is a long process and Luc is very concerned for her. In order to help pass the time and relax the nervous couple, the rest of the Chanku family decides to tell stories about various stories about their past lives. When the time of birth grows closer, Logan realizes that one of the babies is under some distress and takes Tia on back to the birthing room to monitor her while the others continue their stories to keep Luc calm.

This was probably my favorite book of Douglas' series so far. The way the Chanku all came together as one united family to help at Tia and Luc's time of need showed just how strong the Chanku love truly is. The stories that were told from the various members of the pack helped fill in some of the gaps that I had been wondering about through the story thus far... especially the bits about Mik and Aj... talk about hot!!! This book did lack the mystery/adventure aspects that most of the other Wolf Tales books had in them, but this was a special book and didn't need that. This series is like following the adventures of a family that you have watched grow together and Wolf Tales 9 really brought everyone closer together, especially at the exciting conclusion when the babies were born. Highly Recommended!

Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Sex

Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com

Book 76 of 2009: Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

Book 75 of 2009: Santa Claus Conquers the Homophobes

Book two of the Santa Claus Chronicles by Robert Devereaux starts off where Santa Steps Out leaves off. Santa's new stepdaughter, Wendy, has a mission every Christmas Eve alongside of Santa where she visits one hundred children. Upon each visitation she shows the children a glimpse into their future. On one particular visit, one of the boys she visits, Jamie Stratton, leaves her disturbed, and she glimpses suicide in his future due to torment he has dealt with because of the fact that he is gay. She discusses this with Santa and asks for his help in order to save Jamie's life. Together, Santa and Wendy go on a special journey to "fix" all the people that affect Jamie's life and make them less prone to homophobia. Of course, the Tooth Fairy isn't going to make this task easy for them and intervenes where she can. But when all is said and done... if they can expunge the homophobia of just a few people... will that be enough to appease Santa and Wendy or will they want to do even bigger and better things?

Santa Claus strikes again in this second round of adventures from Robert Devereaux. This novel is a lot different from the first release as it's lacking all of the sex that was included in the first, but it still could be considered offensive to some as it focuses heavily on bigotry and religion. I had hoped to read more about the Tooth Fairy in this book, but after the way Santa Steps Out ended I knew that was something not to expect. I did enjoy the addition of some of the new characters though (in particular, the imps) and also the fact that the elves got a bit more time in this book than the previous release. I am curious to see what Devereaux will have up his sleeves for a third release down the road! Highly Recommended!

Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Minor Sex, Violence

Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com

Also available at MonsterLibrarian.com is a review I did with Robert Devereaux.

Book 74 of 2009: Santa Steps Out by Robert Devereaux

Santa Claus spends every Christmas Eve delivering presents to boys and girls and spreading Christmas joy, but have you ever wondered what else goes on at the North Pole with good ol' Santa? Robert Devereaux tells us just that with his tales of wonderment in Santa Steps Out. We learn about the trials and tribulations that Mr. and Mrs. Claus suffer within their marriage and how Santa turns to the seductive Tooth Fairy, yes, I did say the Tooth Fairy, in order to get his jollies off. And lurking not far from all the sexual adventures, is the voyeuristic Easter Bunny. What? You didn't know that about the Easter Bunny? Well... now you do! That poor bunny though... he's a bit jealous, and when he runs off and tattles on dear old Santa, you should see what happens when the missus finds out...

Robert Devereaux has created the ultimate fairy tale for adults with Santa Steps Out. I never would have thought ever such a book could have existed before this landed in my hands. Every chapter I was amazed at what naughty things he had my old "fairy tale friends" doing. Deveraux stretches the limits as far as possible with this book and I commend him for that, as some authors wouldn't go to such extremes. This novel is one-of-a-kind and couldn't have been written by anyone else half as well as Devereaux. Some people re-read A Christmas Carol every holiday season, me... I think I'll be reading Santa Steps Out! Highly Recommended!

Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Graphic Sex, Violence, Rape

Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com

Also available at MonsterLibrarian.com is a review I did with Robert Devereaux.

Book 73 of 2009: Sausagey Santa by Carlton Mellick III

Sausagey Santa is the story of the Fry family and what happens to them one Christmas season. The Fry family is made of Matthew Fry, with "the sly guy" hairstyle, his wife Decapitron, who thinks she is a Transformer, and their four children. Matthew would love to not be married to Decapitron, but he knows that anything he does against her wishes will cause her to annihilate him, so he is stuck where he is. On Christmas Eve Decapitron allows sits around telling the kids Santa stories. One in particular is about Sausagey Santa and Matthew doesn't approve of his children hearing the story. The tale describes Santa as being made out of meat goo and linked together in order to form the shape of a man. However, this particular Christmas, Santa made quite a ruckus showing up at the Fry household and when Matthew and Decapitron go downstairs to investigate, Matthew is shocked to find that it is Sausagey Santa rather than Santa Claus that is in their house and instead of drinking milk he prefers beer. Santa enjoys a short visit with the Frys and is about to head off when he hears a lot of noise stirring up outside. He informs the Fry family that they are all in danger. They later discover that it is an anti-Christmas spirit that is after Santa and trying to ruin Christmas. Now, with the help of the Fry family and his elves, Sausagey Santa is attempting to salvage Christmas this year!

Readers like to get in the spirit of the season by reading a holiday novel or two, but some don't like those feel good, mushy, happy-go-lucky romance books and such that are easy to find on the shelves during the holiday season. Sausagey Santa is the answer for that are looking for those hard to find books! Also, if not familiar with Carlton Mellick III and/or the greatness of the horror sub-genre, Bizarro, this is a great introduction to both! I can only imagine what possibly inspired the ideas for some of the scenes that are depicted in this novel. In particular, I would one day like discuss with Carlton Mellick III exactly where he came up with the idea for "Television Cake" and that's something you read about in just the first chapter of this treasure of a book. There is much more hidden within the pages of Sausagey Santa and every chapter contains something to make your jaw drop and you're mind to ask "What the f---?!?!" So buy up a copy, make some hot cocoa, and snuggle up in the blankets and read this book! And afterward, I guarantee you'll be hoping that it's the "Original Santa Claus" coming to visit you Christmas Eve rather than Sausagey Santa... unless, of course, you are REALLY twisted!

Contains: Adult Language, Adult Situations, Violence, Sex

Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com

Book 72 of 2009: Under the Dome by Stephen King

Not going to bother writing up a review for this one after all. I honestly wasn't all that impressed in the end. Kinda wish I hadn't wasted my time. At least I only spent $9 on the hardback edition and not $20+ like some people...