This is not my first walk on the dark side with Calvin Demmer. This short story collection brought horrible surprises to light and the evil stalking the pages never let up. Definitely cringe worthy. I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Through The Ravenous Night by Calvin Demmer.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Secret societies, serial killers, malevolent criminals, and other evils stalk these pages.
A short story collection.
Genre: Anthology, Horror, Short Stories, Thrillers
117 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2024
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Calvin Demmer is a dark fiction author. His debut collection, The Sea Was a Fair Master, was released in June 2018. When not writing, he is intrigued by that which goes bump in the night and the sciences of our universe.
OMG, I sure didn’t see where this was going. Each book of the Lair series by D V Sullivan has been filled with action and I have loved every minute with Arie and Adrian. Each book drew me deeper and deeper into their world. I didn’t see a way for them to survive, let alone have a happy every after.
They are on a mission. A mission to take out Adrian’s maker, the cruelest vampire of them all. They will find out if he can become human again.
Arie was able to lure people to her side, risking life and limb. She had never considered herself a leader, but there are those that are willing to follow. Unfortunately, not all will survive. I do love an author that is so confident his story can stand after killing off a character or two or three or…
Wow, just wow. There were so many things I loved about Lair Reckoning. The whole premise, a ‘Below Deck’ world was a novel approach. Why would vampires want to live on yachts? Because D V Sullivan wanted them to. He was a deckhand in the Mediterranean, so he has first hand experience of what the workers go through. Then you just need to add vampires to the mix.
My thanks go out to D V Sullivan for passing along the first three books in the series. The ending of Lair Reckoning wrapped up one story, but I see more adventures on the horizon.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Will Arie finally free Adrian so they can be together? Things have not gone as planned. Aurora Strand has run away from an abusive past and fallen in love with billionaire yacht owner Adrian Voper—a vampire. In order to turn him back into a human so they can be together, she must hunt down and destroy his maker, the Commodore, leader of all seafaring vampires. But now that the Commodore is aware of their plan, Aurora must take matters into her own hands—by infiltrating the Commodore’s yacht as a stewardess so she can take him out herself. Little does she know that this boat is a horror show where women are hunted for sport, and that in facing the Commodore she will have to face her abuse. How? She must offer herself up as concubine in order to get close enough to assassinate the Commodore, and to do so she must first be tasted by his blood son, who may or may not be an ally. Will she be exposed? Or will she be tempted by possibilities that may just cost her Adrian?
D.V. Sullivan has been a deckhand in the Mediterranean, a bartender in New York and an English teacher in China. Now that he’s no longer hosing salt off yachts during high-wind gales, he writes from his lair in the Pacific Northwest.
Well, now she’s gone and done it. Fell in love with a vampire…but, she doesn’t want to become one. The thought of living in the dark doesn’t appeal to her. How can she have it all? Is it true what ‘they’ say? If they kill his maker, he will become human? She is determined to find out, but it won’t be that easy. In fact, it is deadly.
I love the whole ‘Below Deck’ vibe of working on a yacht, especially considering the owner, Adrian Voper, is a vampire. Seems there is a whole colony of vampires owning yachts and they need the help to clean up the messes they make. I can only imagine what that entails, until I read about it.
I love the blood, guts and gore. There was one scene that blew me away. I know it was so wrong of me, but I found myself smiling as I read along. It has that B movie vibe going on.
Arie sure has come a long way, from a cowering young girl to a kickass woman and she will take names and she will not take any prisoners.
I want to thank D V Sulllivan for the opportunity to read Lair Rising.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Now that they’re together, Arie and Adrian must do everything they can to stay that way in the second book in the Lair series.
Working on yachts has not turned out as Aurora Strand expected. Despite her abusive past, she has managed to fall in love with a vampire—the mysterious and controlling billionaire, Adrian Voper—and in order to free him of his “abusiveness” she must now hunt down and destroy his maker.
But finding this fiend in this world of yachts-as-vampire lairs is easier said than done. There will be tests and horrors alike, and one surprise from the past that may just tear Aurora and Adrian apart . . .
D.V. Sullivan has been a deckhand in the Mediterranean, a bartender in New York and an English teacher in China. Now that he’s no longer hosing salt off yachts during high-wind gales, he writes from his lair in the Pacific Northwest.
I am loving Ryan Lockwood’s books, Below and now, What Lurks Beneath. They are a couple of fabulous creature features that gripped me and never let me go. I was on pins and needles, the suspense and anticipation off the charts. Action and adventure were on every page.
It’s not all creature, but I love that it was always on my mind. Even when Valerie was trying to figure out her love life with Will. He has fallen off the wagon and she’s not having it. I hope Will gets his shit together because I think they will make a great couple and I do like happy ever afters. I hope that means that you are hard at work writing more novels, Ryan.
If you are a fan of creature features, I can’t recommend Ryan Lockwood enough. His books are filled with danger and intrigue, dysfunctional characters and a hint of the paranormal. The writing is easy to read and flows smoothly. I think you have to walk outside the line to live the life Ryan’s characters do. So, come on. Let’s walk on the wild side together.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From the acclaimed author of Below comes a new breed of terror that rises from the depths of the ocean. To hunt. To devour. To kill.
The first attack occurrs in the underwater caverns of the Bahamas. Two professional divers exploring the unknown. A monstrous flesh-ripping predator they never see coming.
Now the attacks are coming closer and closer to shore. A sun-soaked playground for sea-loving tourists. A human feasting ground for whatever lurks beneath.
Now, in a desperate race against time, Eric Watson, an expert on remote control underwater vehicles, and marine biologist Valerie Martell, must identify a savage new species of killer—and piece together one of nature’s most horrific mysteries. But the most terrifying discovery of all waits for Val and her team at the bottom of the sea. A discovery too shocking, to comprehend.
Because up till now, this creature existed only in mankind’s darkest nightmares. Not anymore.
Genre: Action and Advenure, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
Format: 385 pages, Kindle Edition
Published: May 26, 2015 by Pinnacle Books
ABOUT RYAN LOCKWOOD
Ryan Lockwood experienced many interesting outdoor jobs before writing his first novel, requiring him to assist with mountain lion capture, scrape barnacles off submerged boat hulls, fight Western wildfires, and measure storm runoff in the middle of the night. He holds degrees in technical journalism and environmental science, and has been employed as a biological research assistant, professional editor and public relations coordinator. When not writing, Lockwood scuba dives, climbs mountains, hunts to fill the freezer, and strives to become a better sailor. He currently lives in Colorado with his family and assorted four-legged friends.
I love anything to do with seas, oceans, and lakes…add to that a creature feature and I am all in. Below will take us to the depth of the oceans, facing a creature that compares to Jaws. Once they figure we are a good meal, there is no stopping them…or is there? There will be a trail of blood and guts and I love a gory adventure filled with danger and death. What I don’t like is being trapped under water…
Below is Ryan Lockwood’s debut novel and I want to congratulate him on a job well done. I look forward to what comes next.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
In all his years as a professional diver, Will Sturman has never encountered a killing machine more ferocious than the great white shark or as deadly as the piranha. Now, off the coast of California, something is rising from the deep–and multiplying. Voracious, unstoppable, and migrating north, an ungodly life form trailed by a gruesome wake of corpses. With the help of the brilliant and beautiful oceanographer Valerie Martell, Will finds himself in a race against time to stop the slaughter–by a predator capable of devastating the world’s oceans.
Ryan Lockwood experienced many interesting outdoor jobs before writing his first novel, requiring him to assist with mountain lion capture, scrape barnacles off submerged boat hulls, fight Western wildfires, and measure storm runoff in the middle of the night. He holds degrees in technical journalism and environmental science, and has been employed as a biological research assistant, professional editor and public relations coordinator. When not writing, Lockwood scuba dives, climbs mountains, hunts to fill the freezer, and strives to become a better sailor. He currently lives in Colorado with his family and assorted four-legged friends.
The gorgeous, eye catching cover is only the beginning of the deliciousness of Golden Blood: A Vampire Story by Tim Vee. I grab any vampire books that come my way and Golden Blood is a fresh take of a familiar tale. It’s pretty hard to come up with a new slant, seeing there are thousands of books out there. Good job ,Tim.
Balthazar Jiménez de Quesada’s greed has him transformed into a vampire, one of the most grotesque I have ever come across. He’s definitely not sparkly. He turns the wrong person when he slaughtered Yvette’s family and left her for dead. She plots her revenge.
She devotes her vampiric life to finding Golden Blood, the rarest type of blood. It can break the vampire curse, turning her back into a human. There are some bloods that can give a vampire the human feeling for a short period of time, but she wants Golden Blood. So does Balthazar, after he gets his first taste. He wants to kill her and take over her ‘company’.
I love what Tim Vee has done with Golden Blood. I would not change anything. These are not your Twilight vampires. Tim has some of the most vivid descriptions and I can see the flies buzzing, skin sloughing off…
We have a bit of a history lesson with our horror and I was all in. The more I read, the more engrossed I was in the story. I would have read it in one sitting, if I could have, but I did read until the wee hours of the morning.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
In 1540, conquistador Balthazar Jiménez de Quesada embarks on a quest for gold but encounters an ancient evil in the jungles of Colombia, La Pastola, transforming him into an immortal vampire. Centuries later, as Napoleon’s army clashes with the British in 1815, a brutal massacre near Walloon births a new vampire desperate to break her curse. In present-day Los Angeles, a man with the rarest blood type—Golden Blood—enters a dangerous world where the line between predator and prey blurs, as a secret society of vampires hunts for the key to their salvation…or their destruction. Golden Blood is a gripping tale of horror, history, and the eternal struggle for redemption, spanning from the New World’s blood-soaked jungles to the underbelly of modern L.A.
Golden Blood is the story about one vampire’s search for Golden Blood that can reverse the vampiric curse and her need for revenge against the vampire that slaughtered her family and turned her into a vampire centuries before. Set in the jungles of Colombia in the 1500s, the Caribbean in the 1700s, Europe in the 1800s and 1900s, and present-day Los Angeles, Golden Blood is a dark, bleak, and gothic story.
Tim works in digital marketing in Toronto and is well-traveled, having visited over 80 countries. When he is not working or writing he likes to spend time with his family and German Shepherd – and to go cycling.
Tim has written ten books; The Secret Policemen and The Secret Service – both dystopian dark comedies; as well as seven science fiction novels – Extinction, Annabelle, Fission, The Children of the Third Reich, The Child of Mars, and The Children of Andaalwaald.
Tim has also written Magpie – a dark and intense journey into the world of international espionage and terrorism.
Tim mostly enjoys writing transgressive fiction – mainly about aliens and psychopaths.
I have seen a lot of recommendations for Blake Crouch novels, but Run is my first one. I want to thank NetGalley and Random House/ Ballantine Books.
Jack Colclough hears his name called over the radio and knows that ‘they’ are coming to kill him and his family. He has no other option than to run.
They run through deserts and mountains, searching for gas, food and water. All the things necessary when an apocalypse hits. They do their best to avoid anyone else, not knowing who can be trusted…no one. Blake definitely puts his characters through hell.
Riveting. Engrossing. Suspenseful. Unputdownable. I’ll definitely be checking out more of his work.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
5 D A Y S A G O A rash of bizarre murders swept the country… Senseless. Brutal. Seemingly unconnected. A cop walked into a nursing home and unloaded his weapons on elderly and staff alike. A mass of school shootings. Prison riots of unprecedented brutality. Mind-boggling acts of violence in every state.
4 D A Y S A G O The murders increased ten-fold…
3 D A Y S A G O The President addressed the nation and begged for calm and peace…
2 D A Y S A G O The killers began to mobilize…
Y E S T E R D A Y All the power went out…
T O N I G H T They’re reading the names of those to be killed on the Emergency Broadcast System. You are listening over the battery-powered radio on your kitchen table, and they’ve just read yours.
Your name is Jack Colclough. You have a wife, a daughter, and a young son. You live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. People are coming to your house to kill you and your family. You don’t know why, but you don’t have time to think about that any more.
You only have time to….
R U N
This 80,000-word novel also contains a bonus interview with Blake, and excerpts from his other work.
Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the forthcoming novel, Dark Matter, for which he is writing the screenplay for Sony Pictures. His international-bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for FOX, executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, that was Summer 2015’s #1 show. With Chad Hodge, Crouch also created Good Behavior, the TNT television show starring Michelle Dockery based on his Letty Dobesh novellas. He has written more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over thirty languages and his short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Crouch lives in Colorado with his family.
N J Gallegos’ real life medical knowledge comes in handy in The Fatal Mind.
Shawn Gilbert’s NBA career ended when he suffered a head injury. The constant migraine headaches are relentless, ruining any semblance of a normal life…until…
Dr Absinthe has created an experimental chip that inhibits migraines and as soon as Shawn learns of it, he’s on board, FDA approval or not. I have headaches, but Tylenol does the trick for me. Would I want an experimental chip implanted into my brain? I don’t think so.
Some of Dr Absinthe patients don’t react so well to the implant. I figured her patients couldn’t all survive, otherwise we wouldn’t have a story. I am just along for the ride, letting the author take me where they want, instead of trying to anticipate the characters’ every move.
I was shocked, yet I smiled, at the brutal conclusion of Shawn and Rachel’s story. I never saw that coming, and I love it. N J Gallegos kept the pacing at a steady rate, keeping me reading page after page. I had to know how she would end the story.
That last sentence…well…
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Fatal Mind by N J Gallegos.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Dr. Aldea Absinthe’s experimental chip-implant procedure inhibits the migraine pain of her patients, releasing them from debilitating chronic pain. When she performs her new procedure on Shawn Gilbert, a former NBA superstar whose career was cut short by headaches, Gilbert becomes her biggest advocate, launching the brilliant and beautiful neurologist to national stardom. But when Gilbert’s wife Rachel sees Gilbert’s personality become darker by the day, it becomes a race against time to uncover the deadly secret behind Dr. Absinthe’s miracle cure in this Black Mirror meets Frankenstein medical horror thriller.
Genre: Fiction, Horror
Format: 236 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication: October 15, 2024 by Winding Road Stories
ABOUT N J GALLEGOS
N.J. Gallegos is an Emergency Medicine Physician who enjoys horror, medicine, and wicked women looking for revenge. Put all three together? Now we’re talking! She lives in Illinois with her wife and two cats. In her spare time, she enjoys binging reality trash tv, brewing beer, and running while listening to EDM so she can drink said brewed beer.
I want to thank Timber Ghost Press for the opportunity to read The Space Person by Catherine Kuo. As soon as I saw the cover, I had to have it. It’s a quick read, at 77 pages.
Human civilization had immigrated to Mars after using up all the resources on Earth and the Moon. Now they are in search of resources that can keep civilization going. They think they are in luck when they discover a moon that has the life sustaining fuel they so desperately need. Sometimes things are too good to be true.
It’s not long before the crew begins suffering affects from The Space Person. No one is safe.
Horror runs rampant before the story is over and I love when an author is not afraid to kill off their characters. Will anyone survive? You’ll have to read it to see.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Deep in the waters of uncharted space, Captain Annie Chou and First Officer Jasmine Donnelly pilot the exploration ship Shiro Oni in search of resources to sustain the remnants of human civilization back on Mars. Humanity has already been driven from Earth by its own hubris, and now it faces the threat of extinction. By an enormous stroke of luck, the Shiro Oni crew discovers a moon they can mine containing life-saving fuel, and it almost seems too good to be true. Not long after they begin drilling, anxiety, restlessness, and agitation plagues the crew with no discernible cause. The only thing they have in common is a recurring dream involving a mysterious and unsettling “space person.” Driven by Captain Chou’s ambition for fame and glory, and Donnelly’s desperate bid for her people’s salvation, the crew presses on even as the afflicted begin turning to violence. As blood flows through the corridors of the ship, the survivors must ask Is it worth it?
Genre: Horror, Novella, Science Fiction
77 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication December 10, 2024 by Timber Ghost Press
The Crone by Kevin Bachar is one of the best horror novels I have read in a while. It’s part of his stand alone Houses Of Horror series. Most people think of their home as places of comfort and safety. Not so, Kevin Bachar’s homes. They are filled with horror and terror.
The fabulous cover hints at the horror awaiting new homeowners Paul and Tina Nimos. They are house flippers. Buying homes, fixing them up, and then selling them. This time, the house is in good shape and they are going to make it their forever home…Or so they think. The Crone will have something to say about that.
A sharp piece of wood, a drop of blood, and The Crone is released. What started out as hope for their forever home quickly feels like a curse. But the Crone never faced anyone like Tina before. Tina had served in Afghanistan, and she will put up one hell of a fight to protect her family and claim the house as their own.
I had moments of familiarity, like when she goes to the grocery store and has to put items back because she didn’t have enough money. I’m happy those days are over for me, I just hope it’s over for Tina too. It is small moments like this, that make the characters relatable and realistic…even The Crone…if you believe in that sort of thing.
I found myself smiling at the cute dialogue between Tina and her daughter, Katie.
“How about the Daddy doll? Does he listen to the Mommy?”
“No, he never does…..”He’s always in time out. Not very good at listening.”
Thrills and chills abound in The Crone by Keven Bachar. Sometimes the horror is subtle and anticipatory, other times it’s in your face. To add to the ambience, cozy up in your favorite reading place, turn out the lights, and read The Crone.
The Crone was unpudownable and has a great ending. I was soon flying through the pages, I read The Crone in one sitting, so take note, once you start you may not be able to stop.
5 Star
GOOREADS BLURB
Paul and Tina Nimos are like a lot of young married couples, they’re madly in love but finances are putting a strain on their relationship. Their home renovation business is struggling, and with a new baby in the house, bills are piling up. When Paul finds a cheap house to buy and flip, he thinks their problems are solved. It’s an older New England home, with plenty of history and once it’s repaired it should command a great price.
But as Paul and Tina begin the daunting task of restoring the new house, they struggle with the reconstruction. It seems the home doesn’t want to be repaired. As they fall behind in their renovation they realize that unexplained forces are conspiring against them and that helpful friends might not be who they seem.
Soon the couple realizes that a Crone could be the source of their troubles. But it might be too late, as the house and the Crone prepare to extract a horrific toll from Paul, Tina, and their baby. Will they be able to fight back against a centuries-old evil? The Crone, don’t ever let her in.
Genre: Fiction, Horror
266 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication October 30, 2024
ABOUT KEVIN BACHAR
Kevin Bachar is a national EMMY award-winning natural history documentary filmmaker and WGA writer. The elevated horror film he wrote – The Inhabitant – https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/the-inh… – was released through Lionsgate and is available on most streaming services.
If you’ve watched National Geographic, PBS, or The Discovery Channel over the years you’ve seen his work. He’s the idiot in the water filming sharks or crawling into caves to photograph vampire bats. You can see Kevin at work filming sharks here – https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2703407897/…
The natural world has always captured his imagination and the supernatural world inspires his stories. Through his journeys, he’s interviewed scientists who’ve enlightened him, heard folk tales that have frightened him, and seen quite a few things that have challenged his skeptical mind.
His collection of short stories that weaves together the natural world and the supernatural world entitled, DREAD, is available on Amazon. He’s currently working on his second collection entitled – CREEP.
