Review: The Boatman

The Boatman by Alex Grecian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For the first and only time in his life, Billy Prescott had an epiphany. He understood instinctively what was happening. With the last of his strength, he fell against the ship's conn, and the Maria Calypso began to pick up speed.
-- Alex Grecian, The Boatman

The Boatman is the first book I've read by Alex Grecian. I expect to be reading more. I would NOT describe it as a "slasher" or a "thriller"... nor would I call it a traditional "horror" story. What I WOULD say is that The Boatman is a compelling, and at times heart-breaking ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ story with supernatural vibes. Young newlyweds, June and Walt Dennison, are taking a cruise on the Maria Calypso for their honeymoon. They haven't spent a lot of time thinking about death and dying, but that's about to change as they, and the rest of the passengers and crew aboard the ship lay eyes on the Boatman, inexorably keeping pace with the ship in his small rowboat.

Death comes for everyone... But what if you could outrun it? That's the challenge, and opportunity, for everyone on board the Maria Calypso. But is keeping ahead of the Boatman possible, and is it worth the cost?

Thanks to Bad Hand Books for providing me with an eBook ARC to review.


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Review: Friction: Dark Tales of Suspense

Friction: Dark Tales of Suspense by Paul Michael Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Friction: Dark Tales of Suspense is a fantastic collection of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ dark tales by Paul Michael Kane. While each of the 9 stories are quite different from each other, they share common threads of fascinating characters, dark humor and suspenseful plots that will leave you thinking of them long after you've turned the final page.

Available directly from the author at https://lightbox-photography-cards.my...

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Kane has described CASK as "a futuristic take on Poe's tale of revenge" and it is absolutely all of that... a wonderful homage without being a copy. Taking place on a space station orbiting Neptune, CASK goes beyond Poe's work by providing more depth to the main character's motivation and in the detailed setting, which almost becomes a character itself. This story will draw you in and grab hold of you in all the right ways.

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REST ASSURED
"And the living, as always, were looking for someone to make a promise they could afford."

Who knows how to deal with death better than an underworld boss and his men? But Don Angelo Moretti knows it's going to be bad for business if the dead won't stay dead...

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THE DEVIL'S MARTINI
"The first bargain is always the easiest. No paper, no witnesses. Just desperation.”

With THE DEVIL'S MARTINI you'll learn that the deals made with whispered promises in the night count... and when payment is due, payment IS due. You'll feel like you've walked right into a local bar and pulled up a seat alongside a mysterious stranger as he gives the bartender a choice - make the perfect martini, or lose his soul.

This story serves up a fantastic blend of confusion, fear and desperation as Eddie Carver attempts to meet his guest's demands, knowing what is at stake if he fails.

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THE PURPLE DOOR
"...they were two unfortunate souls plagued by relentless bad luck, volatile tempers, and an uncanny ability to stumble into chaos."

Kane delivers a short, but eerie tale of two would-be thieves who decide to break into a decrepit house in search of anything valuable to steal, and find far more than they bargained for.

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IN TENT CITY
"Death is a loud guest."

In most places, the homeless population is often ignored, and usually invisible... unless there's a problem. In King's Alley, there's a problem: the homeless are being targeted in what appear to be ritual killings, and the police aren't motivated to investigate the cause.

Stephen King Constant Readers should keep an eye out for some subtle nods to the master.

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THE FORGIVEN is a fantastic tale, told from an interesting and unusual point of view. The characters may seem familiar at first, but are surprising in unexpected ways. The accompanying illustrations are not only beautiful but they fit the story well.

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THE HOLLOW CHOIR is a superb, atmospheric tale that delivers tension, dread and hope as private investigator Vic Everstone tries to free a client's sister from the grip of a horrific cult. Echoes of THE HOLLOW CHOIR will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

There is a connection to another story in this collection which makes this all the more fun to read.

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FOLLOW, SHARE, SUMMON
"Blood was honest. Blood was a signature nobody could forge."

In the internet era, keeping your audience engaged demands commitment. Passion. Sacrifice. And sometimes, when you pour yourself into your work, you get more out of it than you expected ... much more.

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19 WAYS TO MURDER YOUR HUSBAND
"Because leaving required hope, and hope felt like a language she no longer spoke."

For years Mara struggled with insomnia as her husband Grant slept peacefully beside her. Some people count clouds or sheep to try to relax... she found something darker.

Who knew the simple act of trying to go to sleep could be filled with so much ... possibility?

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Review: Steel Machines

Steel Machines by Dan Franklin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Steel Machines by Dan Franklin, 8 year-old Otto Braum and his parents are a Jewish family hiding from the Nazis in the attic of their home in Prague, 1945. When the unthinkable happens, Otto must find a way to survive alone, and fills his time scrounging what food he can while trying to finish the steel Golem that has father had been creating as a protector for the family. As the empty, quiet and lonely days pass for Otto, he is haunted by his memories of what had happened and disturbing new visions... then a new family... a German family... moves in.

With STEEL MACHINES Franklin has crafted a riveting and heart-wrenching ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ tale of fear and survival, where even the smallest sound risks discovery, and the noise of the war outside is a constant background hum to the horrors and the ghosts of Otto's past.

Highly recommended.

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Review: Captains Courageous

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling is a classic, coming-of-age story that wouldn't stand a chance of being published today, due to the way it depicts people of color and women among other things.

That said, it's a wonderful tale of a spoiled rich boy who finds himself washed overboard from a luxury liner and picked up by a fishing boat in an age before two-way radios were available. In spite of his demands that he be returned to land immediately and promises of a large reward for doing so, he quickly learns he will be "trapped" on the vessel until the end of the fishing season. He learns to respect the work the fishermen do, the dangers involved and the value of hard work and honesty as he works alongside the captain's son.

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Review: The Clearing of Travis Coble

The Clearing of Travis Coble by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Clearing of Travis Coble is a suspenseful ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ short horror story from what I can only assume is the very twisted 😁 mind of Jonathan Janz.

Twenty years ago Travis Coble was acquitted at trial of murdering his family, but there are still many who question his innocence. Struggling university professor Dick Myers sees an opportunity to help both Travis and himself by finding a way to clear his name and publishing an article about the case. He arranges to meet Travis at his remote Tennessee cabin for an interview... where things go sideways in a hurry!

Coming in at about 40 pages, The Clearing of Travis Coble is not a long tale, but Janz does a marvelous job of establishing an uncomfortable setting with his descriptions of the cabin and surrounding environment, and with the increasing tensions evident in the interactions between Myers and Coble. His excellent pacing carries us along as Myers and we realize that there is something very wrong here.

Very enjoyable!

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Review: Pyres

Pyres by Kev Harrison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With Pyres author Kev Harrison delivers a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ supernatural horror story, centering around sisters Angela and Becky and a series of deaths by spontaneous combustion.

Older sister Angela lives in a somewhat remote English countryside cottage. She is a "spirit painter", enabling spirits who inhabit her temporarily to create paintings of people, animals and places that were important to them in life . Younger sister Becky, newly returned from Italy, is staying with her for a short while waiting to start her new job assisting immigrants.

Angela becomes concerned when she notices similarities between some of her recent paintings and the inexplicable burning death of a polarizing conservative figure. When a new painting depicts yet another horrific death that mirrors events in reality, she and Becky begin to suspect that some spirit or being is using her talents to predict... or perhaps cause... these deaths.

Some readers may be put off by the reflection of current events that serve as one of the pillars of the story, but this only makes the story more relatable. With PYRES Harrison delivers a chilling, fast-paced tale with a surprising twist, enhanced by alternating the narration of the story between Angela's and Becky's viewpoints.


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Review: Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers

Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My name is Will Burgess, and if you don’t believe what I’m about to tell you, congratulations, you’re in the majority.
-- Jonathan Janz, Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers

Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers is another ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ action-packed horror/thriller by Jonathan Janz. This sequel to Children of the Dark continues the tale of Will Burgess, picking up a little more than a year after the murderous rampage of the monstrous Children, an ancient evil long rumored to inhabit the woods around his hometown of Shadeland.

For the last 13 months 16-year old Will has been confined to The Sunny Woods Rehabilitation Center, separated from his young sister Sophia (who prefers to be called Peach), and those few of his Shadeland friends who survived the original attacks. Locked away from all he knows and loves, he wants nothing more than to be reunited with Peach and to be able to live a normal life - but his government captors want to keep him imprisoned so that he can't cast doubt on their fabricated cover story of the previous summer's events... or on more recent attacks. The only problem with their plans is that the Children haven't gone away, and now winged creatures - the Night Flyers - are also on the hunt for Will.

in Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers Janz brings back some familiar characters and introduces some wonderful, and some wonderfully hateful, new ones as well. As this high-intensity, tension-packed tale story unfolds, Will and his allies find that The Children and the Night Flyers aren't the only monsters they have to contend with.

I found myself completely wrapped up in the story, racing through the book and reluctant to put it down. Janz's writing brings to life the love, fear, desperation, courage and determination of Will and his friends; the horrific terror and ravening violence of the Children and the Night Flyers; and the betrayal and hypocrisy of those who believe the ends always justify the means.

Highly recommended.

I recommend reading Janz's first book in this series, Children of the Dark, before beginning this sequel.My spoiler-free review of that book is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...).

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