Blogcritics Category: Books: Horror

Book Review: The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas

Vyrdolak — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 07:42:31 EST

One of the most innovative and unusual vampire novels, this cult classic has been revived in an attractive new edition.
The Vampire Tapestry was first published in 1980, at the end of the Carter recession and the cusp of the Reagan era. Americans were bored with vampires. Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (1976) and Stephen King's Dracula Americana, Salem's Lot (1975), had both been best-sellers. But Rice wouldn’t publish her second book,...

Book Review: Shimmer by Dallas Reed

Mel Odom — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 19:04:24 EST

A mysterious box unleashes a maelstrom of terror on a town already besieged by a blizzard.
Shimmer is Dallas Reed’s first novel, and is a horror tale aimed at the young adult market. But here’s a caveat: the book is definitely written more for high schoolers and for aggressive junior high school students. The language and casual mention of drug paraphernalia and usage could be offensive to some readers and parents. ...

Book Review: Poe, edited by Ellen Datlow (stories inspired by Edgar Allan Poe)

Richard Marcus — Sun, 4 Jan 2009 07:20:17 EST

Works of mystery and imagination that not only do justice to the author they celebrate, but are fine stories in their own right.
Anthologies of short stories are usually put together to honour the best of a particular genre for the past year. It's not uncommon therefore in January to see collections titled The Best Fantasy, or The Best Science Fiction being released by various publishers. In those instances the editor's job isn't really that difficult as they...

Book Review: Soulless by Christopher Golden

Mel Odom — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:23:11 EST

Christopher Golden has penned a down-and-dirty zombie novel that offers thrills and a definite creep factor.
Zombies are experiencing a resurgence of public interest. Check out the latest movies, comics, novels, and video games and you’ll discover that the undead have staked out a distinct and larger terrain of their own. Worm-riddled and decaying, they claw up from the grave and set out searching for the nearest brain buffet. For whatever reason,...

Book Review: Gray Apocalypse by James Murdoch

Georganna Hancock — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:10:38 EST

Only three days are left before Earth is theirs!
Calling all X-Philes, Zonies, Peaks Freaks, conspiracy theorists and science fiction lovers. This heart-pounding extra-exciting thriller offers the best of the weirdness tossed about in the Twilight Zone, Tales from the Darkside, X-Files and all the other books, movies, and TV series of the paranormal and the really "out there" offerings....

Graphic Fiction Review: The Soddyssey and Other Tales of Supernatural Law by Batton Lash

Bill Sherman — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:45:03 EST

A reissued collection of comic stories blends monsters and legal dramedy to humorous and satiric effect.
Now that Boston Legal has officially closed its offices, where can the lover of ludicrous legal dramedy go for their fix of outrageous cases and sophistic arguments? Allow me to recommend Batton Lash's Supernatural Law. A long-running indy humor comic and current webcomic, Lash's series centers on an unlikely pair of lawyers, Alanna Wolff...

Book Review: Shock Festival by Stephen Romano

The Masked Movie Snobs — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 02:04:16 EST

�101 of the strangest, sleaziest, most outrageous movies you�ve never seen.�
Written by Fantasma el Rey B-movie nut/screenwriter Stephen Romano has put together a nifty 356-page color book salute to “101 of the strangest, sleaziest, most outrageous movies you’ve never seen” of the late 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s from an alternative universe. He along with comic artist/film designer Tim Bradstreet...

Graphic Novel Review: The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror: Dead Man's Jest

Alyse Wax — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 08:42:03 EST

An unimpressive collection of a dozen Simpsons Halloween tales
Say what you will about The Simpsons: while it may not live up to its former glory, I still love the show, and have since day one. I have also been wise enough to stay away from comic books that capitalize on The Simpsons but woefully miss the mark. I thought I would give The Simpsons Tree House of Horror: Dead Man's Jest a shot - after all, I...

Graphic Fiction Review: Graphic Classics: Ambrose Bierce - edited by Tom Pomplun

Bill Sherman — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 06:35:19 EST

A new edition of comic adaptations of the great American cynic's writings proves as entertainingly bleak as any alt comic.
If ever there was a writer more aligned with the sensitivities of today's young cartoonists, it's Ambrose Bierce. The journalist and author, a master of the darkly cynical, provides plenty of good material for the grim at heart, and the newly revised and reissued Graphic Classics (Eureka Productions) devoted to his works ably makes this...

Book Review: Zombie Movies - The Ultimate Guide by Glenn Kay

Alyse Wax — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:09:14 EST

A phenomenal resource of all things zombie, on the big screen and small.
Zombie movies are the most excellent sub-genre of horror movie. Now they have their own book. Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide by Glenn Kay is an obsessively complete guide to zombie movies. At its core, the book is a movie guide, with synopses of every major zombie film. Rather than just offer an alphabetical list of zombie movies, Kay has...