C. J. Daley

Huge thanks to Shortwave Media for the physical arc!

Holy cow. This book was freaking awesome, and so compulsively readable. I know the blurb likens it to Goosebumps already, but it really felt like an amped up, adult version to me. The chapters that flashed forward, featuring different sets of people, all read like Goosebump-infused interludes. And with some pretty horrific outcomes.

When bong hits and spliffs aren’t enough, best friends, Barry, Lars, Frankie, and Snaps, take a fateful trip to Lars’ sleazy uncle’s house. All for the promise of a great high… through teleportation. Some clearly explained, and rather scientific reasonings linking the story to The Philadelphia Experiment, make the reader buy in immediately. The rest is history. Some dangerous, mutilating, and deadly history.

The four best friends convince Lars’ uncle to give them a copy of this killer VHS, the ultimate teleportation device, which leads them to make their own copies. The years that follow are different for each of them, but no less gruesome across the four.

Millican does a great job of creating some unique and awfully gross body horror. And I really enjoyed the evolving and differing scenes he painted in each instance the teleportation goes wrong. Some of them brought to mind the multi-zombie from The Walking Dead: Dead City, and the murderous blob from the end of Evil Dead Rise.

The single human world, the differing dimensions, infiltration, as well as the ending, really introduced some intriguing and really unique thoughts on how teleportation could possibly work, and how it could go wrong. So while this story was an absolute blast for me, it also introduced some things that I’ll be thinking through for some time.

Thanks to Cemetery Gates Media for the physical arc!

This is a rereleased story, that has been updated and elongated along the way from the original. The release also features two forewords, an afterword, as well as extra stories. The additional content from the author was cool as it kind of felt like being included in the know.

This story has all the makings of something right up my alley. Someone running from a shady past, a small town, one that’s filled with old traditions and dark secrets, and it’s a cop crime story. The opening is eerie and has all the makings of a creepy atmosphere that could have kept the reader guessing. The witness testimony, as well as the evidence tape, could have grown into something really mysterious.

Unfortunately, this story is quite short, and doesn’t really have the legs to get that atmospheric feeling out there. It relies heavily on the plot, and kind of barrels ahead full throttle until it eventually comes to its short end, petering out. Charlie, while being an interesting character, doesn’t actually have that much to lose, and with it being so short, it kind of feels as if his backstory is just thrown in.

The ending is rather straight forward, with little to surprise the reader. And while that isn’t always a problem for me, I did feel like it happens just to happen, to have an end. Most of my enjoyment was saved by some of the characters, so while it was short, I didn’t entirely dislike it.

The short stories that accompany, according to the afterword, all connect in a singular way, or a theme, but for me they still felt kind of just tacked on. Especially with the longer story being the actual release. Again, not always bad, but in this case, unnecessary. I'm not sure if this will be a hit with folks, but if you're looking for a quick crime story this could be it.

This is a debut epic fantasy from a new voice in the indie community. I saw the cover and was intrigued, and the author offered me a copy to give it a read.

This novel has the tone and scope of a classic fantasy. The reader can feel the world is large, rich in history, and that each place fits into the world for a different reason. There is culture, intrigue, and mystery, as well as one hell of an epic opening.

Lorian, an inquisitor and servant of the aristoi, travels the world seeking out those who break the rules and use forbidden magics. He is a formidable character who, while not entirely likable, sees his way into multiple situations where he is outnumbered our out-powered just to ensure others are safe.

There is definitely some notes of Martin within the story, where the undead, especially in the winter cold, bring to mind the whitewalkers, however there are some fouler beasts at play here too. And just like with Martin, I do wish the undead being included would have come to more of a head. Especially because I was so interested in them.

While the opening is huge, the climax of the story is much more about the culmination of threads from earlier and the alleviation of the mystery, than any set of action beats. With that there is additional mystery, as well as room for so much more. This reads like a story spanning weeks/months within a series that could span even years.

In intriguing debut with an awesome cover, and so much lore that you’re going to need book two immediately.

Cassandra Campbell did a great job with the audio, giving life to each character and the horrors that follow.

A lottery pick they never thought they’d win, Ana and Reid just won a spot at the Deptford. The affordable apartment seems too good to be true, and even after the birth of their first child left Ana paralyzed from the waist down, they decide to accept, regardless of the single elevator and high floor. Moving isn’t easy on anyone, but harbored resentments, a nearly one year old, and perhaps some evilness, all culminate into one wicked transition.

For me, with the old building, the famous, richer inhabitants, and the down-on-their-luck newbies, this had reminiscent notes of Sager’s Lock Every Door. And while I have not read Salem’s Lot or Rosemary’s Baby (yet), I can tell that those comparison titles are where Cassidy imbues his horror elements over Sager’s thriller feels. And I really enjoyed how the author bleeds anxiety and paranoia into his characters differently. Ana takes on the more literal approach, with her suspecting something is wrong and trying to get away. And then Reid is the slower, irritability that permeates over time. His job, his wife, his friends, the littlest things start to tip him over, and I feel like the author handles that very well.

This sort of slow burn infestation of fear works really well for this novel. Reid just wants to provide and do what’s best for his family. A few things going terrible wrong? Well that can just be chalked up to the moving stress, can’t it?

While trying to stay as spoiler free as possible, the twist in the end with how each parent differed, did surprise me in the best way and I’m glad I rooted for who I did. I enjoyed this take on the Jewish ‘vampire’ and the inclusion definitely made it something unique.

Old buildings and history are the heart of NYC, just make sure the ones you move to don’t have a literal heart…

Received this one from NetGalley, so thanks to them and Tordotcom! The narration done by Helen McAlpine was awesome. Good accents, differing tones and variations. Nice and quick.

This has all the feel of an old school classic fantasy, without any of the additional background world building or lore. As a novella, it gets to the point awfully quick, while some of the additional bits that the author dropped did make the world feel whole to me, like maybe they knew it much deeper than they wrote it out. For me, that works quite well. There’s certainly a line where a lack of information can feel like it’s genuinely missing, but this toed that line just enough with its epitaph-esque interlude chapters, bringing a historical background to why they are on the hunt. IE., a complete and somewhat linear story that doesn’t stray from the plot, while appearing to take place in a whole, fleshed out world/universe.

This novella feels like it spawned from the single line of, “I am no man” and went on from there to become its own thing. A feminist, sapphic dragon hunting novella that packs a punch against toxic masculinity and gender roles. And Knight Maddileh is knocking down those barriers and putting mouthy squires in their places.

This was quick, enjoyable, and features quite a twist that I was not ready for. I do wish the actual situation with the dragon was longer, as it appeared like it would be the focal point, and with such a beautiful cover, I was imagining Smaug or GoT level battles in my mind, but there is certainly room for more…and an already announced sequel.

Received this one from NetGalley, so thanks to them and Tordotcom! The narration done by Helen McAlpine was awesome. Good accents, differing tones and variations. Nice and quick.

This has all the feel of an old school classic fantasy, without any of the additional background world building or lore. As a novella, it gets to the point awfully quick, while some of the additional bits that the author dropped did make the world feel whole to me, like maybe they knew it much deeper than they wrote it out. For me, that works quite well. There’s certainly a line where a lack of information can feel like it’s genuinely missing, but this toed that line just enough with its epitaph-esque interlude chapters, bringing a historical background to why they are on the hunt. IE., a complete and somewhat linear story that doesn’t stray from the plot, while appearing to take place in a whole, fleshed out world/universe.

This novella feels like it spawned from the single line of, “I am no man” and went on from there to become its own thing. A feminist, sapphic dragon hunting novella that packs a punch with its toxic masculinity and gender roles. And Knight Maddileh is knocking down those barriers and putting mouthy squires in their places.

This was quick, enjoyable, and features quite a twist that I was not ready for. I do wish the actual situation with the dragon was longer, as it appeared like it would be the focal point, and with such a beautiful cover, I was imagining Smaug or GoT level battles in my mind, but there is certainly room for more…and an already announced sequel.