Mother Nature's Mad as Hell

 

Did a search on line for eco-horror, and Gina Ranalli's Unearthed was high on the list in my search results. Having never read anything by her, and since FB says this month is Women in Horror Month (I thought it was next month), I figured I'd give it a shot.

First off, before I continue, Unearthed in a novella, not a novel, so I'm going to keep the summary brief.

Our story opens with Rebecca Robinson making like Little Rabbit Foo-Foo and running through the forest, but she's not batting field mice over the head. No, instead she's looking for her dog, Lou. As she's returning home with the hopes that the dog beat her there, a sink hole opens up and she almost falls in. She's able to save herself, but once she's safe inside, another sink hole opens, this one beneath her house, causing the building's foundation to sag dangerously. Knowing she's no longer safe, she decides to strike out for the nearest neighbor, who is a ways down the road.

Meanwhile, in town, as a local cafe, a stranger bursts through the door claiming to barely have escaped being swallowed by the Devil, and before too long, they see something that shouldn't be but is -- a giant Digger Bee, has alighted on the cafe's window.

What follows is like a scene out of H.G. Wells's Food of the Gods: as more and more sink holes open up, more and more giant bees are unleashed. And the question becomes: Who will survive to see another day?

Ranalli keeps the readers on the edge of their seats, wondering what's going to happen to Rebecca and Lou, cafe owner Joe, and pregnant waitress Stacy. John, the man who escaped being swallowed by a sink hole, is a dick, so we don't care about him. And granted, given that this is a novella, there's not much in the way of character development, but we're given enough of a background for the players so that you find yourself rooting for them. The frustrating part of the story, as it is for many apocalyptic tales where the characters are cut off from the surrounding areas, is that we don't know if this is a localized occurrence or something that is happening across the United States (or globally?). We also don't know what sparked the growth of the bees. Is Mother Nature getting her revenge on those who have destroyed what she so graciously allowed us to us? Is it nuclear? Chemical? Given the isolative nature of the story, we have questions that aren't answered. Had this been a novel, we might have gotten those answers. But given the structure of the story, these unanswered questions, while annoying and frustrating to the reader, are acceptable.

My only real criticism is the ending. It feels unfinished, but that's what happens with cliffhanger endings, which is why I'm not a fan. I also don't like abrupt endings that leaving your hanging. You can assume the story is going to go one way, but it can easily go another, and nothing is resolved, and you wish the author had given you a definitive ending so you're not turning the page looking for what happens next. This particular detail aside, if you're a fan of those giant bug movies of the 40s and 50s, or some of the more recent offerings from the SyFy Network, this is one worth checking out.

Clip Their Wings

When the other half is watching a movie you have no interest in watching, what do you do? Why, scroll through the horror novel selections on Amazon, of course. And that's how I stumbled across Jack Morse's Giant Killer Bats of Alamogordo. Being a big fan of the eco-horror of the 40s and 50s, movies like THEM!, The Deadly Mantis, Tarantula, etc., I was so excited for this one and I went into it with high expectations. Sadly, those expectations to a swan dive off a cliff to crash on the rocks below.

Anyone familiar with those movies I listed above will know the premise of this book -- big, bad government is performing nuclear experiments in the New Mexico desert, and the result is giant killer bats. And that's where the problems with this particular work begin. The prologue tells us that the experiment occurred on August 5th, 1957, and from the sounds of it, this is the first of such tests. However, a little research will reveal the first nuclear testing in New Mexico occurred in 1945, and if the author had used that as a starting point, the initial problem could have been avoided. Chapter 1, you see, is dated September 8, 1957. So we're expected to believe all these bats grew to mammoth size over the course of a month. Insert eye roll. I should have bailed here, but remember...High expectations. Sigh.

The second problem encountered in the book are the characters. They're just not believable. As a result, you're praying for the bats to eat them so the reader can be put out of their misery. The central character is Ray Riggs, a newly married insurance salesman from Florida, who is traveling to California with his new bride, Sally. Their car overheats in the middle of the desert, and they're just fortunate enough to make it to a service station just in the nick of time. They're forced to spend the night in a local hotel. That night, they hear a strange noise coming from the desert and they go to investigate. They find nothing, but as they prepare to return to the hotel, a partially eaten carcass falls from the sky to land right in front of them. They call the sheriff, who has no business being in law enforcement. The sheriff arrives and accompanies Ray out to the desert, where they find...nothing. There's not even any blood soaked into the sand to indicate that a bloody half of a bull had ever been there. Not bloody likely. So the sheriff leaves, and that's when Ray finds a little morsel of bloody meat. How does he even know it's from the same animal?

The following day, Ray takes his evidence into town to show the sheriff. While Ray plays with the sheriff, Sally goes off on her own. The mayor shows up to complain about a missing bull and suggests the sheriff talk to Denis Avery, a man who is probably being attacked by a giant bat as they speak. (And yes, he is, because we're a witness to it -- a bat attack in broad daylight.) So the sheriff goes off to question Denis, and allows Ray to come along for the ride. Not very professional, running the risk of putting a civilian's life in jeopardy. And Ray runs off without telling his new bride where he's going? Not bloody likely. While Ray is off playing junior deputy, enter the Big, Bad Government agent, who really needs to have a handlebar moustache to twirl, who proceeds to kidnap Sally, tie her up, and then question her all because he saw her and her husband take a walk into the desert. He knows something is going on, but he's totally clueless as to what. He has no idea that the nuclear testing he was responsible for overseeing gave birth to giant killer bats. In a month's time. And while he's questioning her, the bats attack. In broad daylight. So why is it no one else has seen these giant bats if they keep attacking during daylight hours? We learn that people and animals are missing, but nobody has seen a thing.

Later on, when the sheriff goes to investigate a cave, with trust Deputy Ray in tow, he pulls out a handy dandy Geiger counter because... well, just because. How does he know there's been some Top Secret nuclear testing going on in his own backyard? Is this standard equipment for sheriffs back in the 50s? And they just so happen to discover the bats in question. On their first try. Makes it sounds like this is the only cave in the area. And being a cave, you know what they have to do. Seal it. But nobody has admitted to having explored the cave in depth, so they really don't know if there's another entrance, but they seem certain there aren't any, and they just know blowing the entrance is going to take care of all their problems. Hell, they don't even need any poisonous gas to pump into the cave before they blow it. And Mr. Government agent, who gets "kidnapped" by a bat, falls hundreds of feet from a bat that can't manage to gain any height because of the weight it's carrying and only screws up his knee and MAYBE busted a couple ribs, manages to make it through the desert and into town, hurt, bleeding, and with no water. And he must be part bat, because nobody sees him. No. Sorry. Just... no.

As promising as the story idea is, it just fails on all levels. I could go on and on, but I'm gonna stop here. No character development. Plot holes big enough to swallow a semi. And totally unrealistic characters. As much as I would love to be able to recommend this one, I can't. If you need a giant creature feature to feed your addiction, you're be better off reading The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth by H.G. Wells.

Night of the Living Dead Bigfoot

 

I don't know what prompted me to buy this one. Was it Bigfoot? Zombies? 99 cents? Maybe it was free. It certainly wasn't the author, as I've never read anything by Nick Sullivan. It was way back in 2017 (yes, and I'm just now getting around to reading it), so I don't remember, but having finished it, I'm kinda bummed that I waited so long to get around to it. Possibly because I'd read one zombie/Bigfoot mash-up that was god-awful and I was to afraid to risk diving into this one. All I can say is, this is what a zombie/Bigfoot mash-up should be.

When the book starts out, you might think you're in for a run-of-the-mill zombie novel, as we're introduced to two survivalist/reality TV stars who are quickly dispatched by a couple of zombies. The attack is witness by a young Sasquatch, who senses something isn't right. The humans are moving around, yet they smell dead. The creature, known as Bright Eyes, retreats and rushes back to warn his troop and urges the alpha to pack up the family and leave. Silverback, the alpha, won't be told what to do by a young upstart, and, thinking it's just the youngster's wild imagination, he insists Bright Eyes take him to where these Dead-Alive creatures are. Right away Silverback knows something isn't right, but his pride won't let him back off. He's the alpha, after all, so he attacks the Dead-Alive humans, and while he kills them permanently, he's also bitten in the process.

Meanwhile, another reality TV star (Survivor Guy Russ) is planning his latest episode when his agent proposes a Sasquatch hunt. Russ is at first hesitant, thinking it will derail his serious show about surviving in the wilds, but he learns that the expedition will be fully funded and he'll have reknowned primatologist Sarah Bishop to accompany him. The primatologist's father had spent time with a Bigfoot, who we later learn to be Bright Eyes, but alas, there was no evidence and he was ridiculed and drummed out of academia for fabricating the entire thing.

Soon, the reality TV cast ventures into the forest where the late Dr. Bishop had had his Bigfoot encounter with the hopes of encountering Bright Eyes, not knowing the terror they are about to face. Will man and beast be able to work together to eliminate a mutual threat or will man's fear of the unknown be their downfall?

I have to admit, I almost put this one aside early on because of the Bigfoot POV. Normally something like that wouldn't be an issue, but when there are curse words sprinkled through the cryptid's thoughts, it just didn't sit right with me. Suspended disbelief is one thing, but a cursing Bigfoot was just a little too much. Thankfully, Sullivan found his footing where the creatures were concerned, and I was thankful I pushed past this blip in the road.

As I mentioned earlier, not too long ago I read a zombie/Bigfoot mash-up that I thought was awful. There was no character development, and the author seemed more focused on the chain of events than the characters. I can see the point, as the author ended up killing off all (or most) of the human characters, so I think the author was justifying it by thinking the characters are just cannon fodder for the rest of the story so why bother letting the reader get to know them. I feared Sullivan might make that same error--you need to know the characters if you're expected to feel anything when they are sent to meet their maker--and I'm glad to see he didn't. And it wasn't just the human characters he developed; he also developed his cryptids, assigning them their own personalities, so you came to care for them as well. They weren't just stupid beasts traipsing through the woods.

In addition, Sullivan too great care developing his story line; it wasn't just a zombie Bigfoot crashing through the forest, killing indiscriminately, and the zombies aren't just thrown in as a way to advance his plot, which is something he leaves you wondering about until you're a good way into the book. You find yourself thinking, "How do they (the human characters) not know about the zombies?" but it all falls into place eventually. I also like that the author pulls from Native American folk lore and brings other creatures into this; while they don't actually make an appearance, Sullivan ties in the zombies with the Wendigo, and at the end, while he does wrap up the story he's telling in this book, he does introduce another creature that leaves the door wide open for a follow-up novel, which I hope is coming out soon.

If zombies are your thing, but you're also a fan of Bigfoot fiction, this is one to definitely check out. Highly recommended.

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?

 

I enjoyed Peter N. Dudar's The Goat Parade, but to be honest, the cover of Blood Cult of the Booby Farmers was always a turn-off. It was a little to "out there" for my tastes, but having had the opportunity to read (and enjoy) a potential sequel, The Mississippi Glory Hole Mutilations, I figured I'd have to shrug off my initial impressions of the Booby Farmers cover and read it. And what a read!

Dudar doesn't waste any time throwing you into the thick of things. Right away we're introduced to Mathias Tucker, an inbred hillbilly whose twin brother is literally attached to his chest. Yes, they are conjoined twins. The cost of separating them is prohibitive, which is only one of the reasons why Lee Tucker never had his sons separated. Besides the money not being there, there was a high risk of neither brother surviving, and Lee needed the extra pair of hands to run the farm, along with his other son, Tobias. And while both matured in one respect, Bubba, the conjoined twin, never fully developed, and he had a constant craving for mother's milk. But since there were no women in residence on the Tucker farm, that meant it had to be obtained in other ways. Usually by kidnapping expectant mothers. As long as they could provide sustenance for Bubba, they were allowed to live. But more often than not, their lives were cut short by Mathias because as Bubba fed, Mathias raped them, thus satisfying two hungers at one time. Which left Tobias to discard the bodies, but not before severing the breasts, which would be served up for dinner. They have a neat little operation going on, and no one was the wiser. If only they could keep up with the payments on the property.

You know where this is going. The bank is going to foreclose, and the Tucker men think they've got it all figured out until the effects of the toxic poisoning of the environment by the Atkins Chemical Company begin to manifest. And that's where I'm going to leave it, because to say anything more would only spoil the wild ride the rest of the book takes you on. But if you think what I've revealed is wild, you ain't seen nothing yet. To quote Bette Davis: "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."

I'll be the first to admit that I've shied away from extreme horror because, from what I've heard of it, it doesn't seek to arouse a sense of dread and fear in the reader the way horror should; instead, it goes for the gross out. The author attempts to see how far they can push the reader to instill a reaction, not through suspense, but through the vulgar, the repulsive, the sickening, and the gross, which, to me, is not horror, much the way movies like the Saw franchise never appealed to me because it was nothing more than torture porn. While Dudar's novella might be a little tame where "extreme horror" is concerned, it certainly is a book to get your feet if you haven't ventured into this sub genre of horror yet. It also dips its toes into bizarro fiction, which is another sub genre I haven't fully immersed myself in (I have read some, and walked away scratching my head, wondering what the point was of what I'd just read). The author introduces characters and provides the reader just enough back story for you to care about them, but then exposes the chinks in their armor, showing the reader that they aren't as good as the reader was led to believe, and you want to say everybody got their just desserts, but no matter how tarnished characters like Betty-June Gray might be, they don't deserve the torments visited upon them. Nobody does. Well, except for the Tuckers. They got off too easy if you ask me. And as the events unfold, you read with wide-eyed bewilderment and wonder just how much further the author can go?

Would I recommend this? Definitely. As I said, it's a mild book by extreme standards, but it does go where the squeamish fear to tread, and be forewarned... This book is not for people who are easily offended. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

More Powerful than a Speeding Bullet, Faster than a Locomotive... It's... SUPERHUNK!

 Before you say it, I know...It's not horror. Occasionally I do read books outside the horror genre. Not often, but I do. And I've been a fan of Hal Bodner's since his first novel, Bite Club. The man can blend humor, camp, and horror together (no easy feat) and make it look easy. It just seems to flow from him like blood from an open vein. But when I learned he was writing a superhero novel, I kinda groaned. Yeah, I would read it, but even though Hal had written it, I knew it wasn't something I could just jump into. My main concern was could he do for the superhero genre what he did with horror. I would find out -- eventually. You see, I need to be in a certain mindset to read non-horror books no matter who wrote them. So, as a result, Fabulous in Tights has been sitting on my shelf for a while.

The book opens with the introduction of Thanatos, Centerport's newest supervillain, as he sets about destroying a genetics lab and killing several key scientists who had been working on the Feed the World Project, a project that, if successful, would eliminate world hunger. Not a bad thing, so why would anyone want to stop it? We get the idea that Thanatos isn't as crazy or as bad as some of the other villains that have passed through Centerport because he appears to have some remorse over the lives he is forced to take in order to cover his tracks.

Enter mild-mannered hunk, Alec Archer, a former hustler turned high-end escort agency owner who also happens to be Centerport's resident superhero, The Whirlwind. He's can be a bit catty (I would use another word but it might not pass Amazon's censor bots), has a sharp tongue and, at times, a quick wit, as is evident when he rescues several of Green Gene's employees from the raging inferno. He also has one deep-seated fear, and that's a fear of his secret identity being discovered, as that could potentially put his husband's life in danger. Yeah, Centerport's superhero is as gay as the come. And ironically, especially with the given name of The Whirlwind, our superhero doesn't fly.

What follows is a series of derring-do as The Whirlwind and Thanatos go head to head and Thanatos's ultimate goal is revealed. To complicate matters, though, is the attraction the two feel toward each other. There are several instances when the two are facing off when tights become uncomfortably... well... tight, if you know what I mean. So will The Whirlwind be able to keep his raging libido in check long enough to subdue Thanatos and see him safely to prison, where the hunky villain's dance card is sure to be full every night?

While not as campy or as humorous as Bite Club or The Trouble with Hairy, Fabulous in Tights does have its moments. It's a fast, easy read, and you can't help but be caught up in the story, which Bodner moves along at a pace faster than a speeding bullet. Wrong hero, I know. We're given just enough backstory to come to care about and root for the characters we're supposed to and despise the character we're supposed to despise, especially once the Big Reveal is made. And as much as I enjoyed the book, which I think is a "fabulous" addition to the superhero genre, I do have two key complaints. One, it was too easy to piece together. I knew what the Big Reveal was going to be and I wasn't even half way through; and two, we need more backstory on Alec, we need The Whirlwind's origin story. Was he born with super powers? Did he accidentally come in contact with some radioactive lube that ended up leaving him with super powers? We don't know, and since this is The Whirlwind's first outing, this is something we should have learned. But those issues aside, Fabulous in Tights is the perfect weekend and/or beach read if you're looking for something light and campy to unwind after the long week. And let's face it, after the past two years, we could all use a little bit of campy humor to get us through the day. Definitely check out Fabulous in Tights, and if you enjoy it, don't miss The Whirlwind's second adventure, A Study in Spandex, which is currently available.

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah...

 

They say never judge a book by its cover, and to that I say, "Bull shit." Prior to reading Camp Death by Jim Ody, I have never heard of the author before, but suddenly this cover kept popping up in various Facebook groups. Some folks might say there's nothing special about the cover, but for me, there's something about it that called to me. I didn't even bother to read the synopsis before grabbing it, so when I started to read it, I was going in totally blind with zero expectations.

Based on title and cover, I thought I was going to be reading a summer camp massacre like Friday the 13th, but after reading the prologue, I realized I was about to read a creature feature. Even better. By the end of the prologue, we know there was one survivor, a girl. You know from this that we will be meeting this stranger again.

Jump two years into the future, and Ody introduces us to our central character, Ritchie, a sixteen year old boy suffering his first heartbreak. We also learn he has a troubled older sister (she's eighteen), although it's never clear what kind of trouble she's going through -- at first. We learn later on what her problem is. It's been decided by their parents that it would be best if they got away from a few days. As a family. Their destination? Camp Death. Actually, it's Camp Deathe, but some smart aleck as crossed out the final "e". We also learn that they will only be spending time as a family at mealtimes; all other times, the kids will be at camp why the parents stay in a hotel on the same grounds. Ritchie admits that if he had known this was going to be the setup, he would have put up more of a fuss, but since they're already there, they might as well make the best of it. Campers being campers, we know we're in for a bunch of spooky stories, and we learn this is the very same camp where, two years prior, there was a massacre. We're not told there was a survivor, but we, as the reader, already know there was.  But who is it? Ritchie's sister Sophie, or fellow campers Becca and Claire? Knowing Sophie is troubled, you immediately jump to the conclusion that it's her. But is it? You'll just have to read to find out. And is the Beast still around? Ritchie keeps catching a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, but he can never see clearly what it is.  When Toby, the head counselor for Ritchie and his crew, disappears, we assume that the beast got him. And this is where we learn that there's more going on that we had at first thought.

I admit to being caught up in the story, but this is where it starts to fall apart for me as well. For one, I was expecting a higher body count and less angsty teen drama, but we soon learn that we have a number of unreliable narrators here, which means you really can't trust what you've read so far. I hate unreliable narrators for that very reason. How much is true, and how much is a creation of their own minds? So what could have been a 5 star read has now dropped to a 4. Also, the ending did not work for me. It came totally out of left field, totally jumping the shark, which further contributed to the downgrade. As a reader confronted with a compelling mystery, part of the fun of reading something like this is to piece together the clues to find out who or what is responsible for the events that have occurred. It also raises questions that are never answered, especially where the parents are concerned. When you realize you're dealing with unreliable narrators, you can no longer do this. You also no longer sympathize with the characters because you no longer trust them and the things they say and do.

The book, for the most part, was well written, but it would have benefitted greatly from being turned over to an editor for basic grammar and punctuation. Throughout, the use of commas would have been beneficial, as without them, the reader sometimes stumbles over sentences and needs to backtrack and re-read to understand what the author is actually saying in a particular instance. This happened often enough as to lose another point from me. Again, I know this isn't an issue for many folk, but for this reader, it is.

Overall, Ody has created a compelling tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat because you want to know what's going on. I tend to overanalyze books and movies, or so my friends say, and maybe I'm overthinking things here. But if the unreliable narrators aren't a problem for you, and you can deal with the punctuation issues, I would definitely recommend picking up this one. However, if these things are an issue, I would recommend passing on this one to avoid the frustration you're bound to feel by the end of the book. 

Gone Fishin'

 

This one came recommended by Jeffrey Kosh, since he knew I was a fan of creature features, and right off the bat, I have to say, based on this particular novel, it's a shame Shaun Jeffrey stopped writing (or so I've been told), and I will be checking out his other books.

Fangtooth hooks you from the very beginning. Howser, captain of the Silver Queen, spies an odd configuration on this ship's tracking equipment. All the technology is new to him and he pretty much leaves it to his more knowledgeable crew. Billy Trasker admits to having never seen anything like it. It could be a school of fish, but it might be something else. Well, whatever it is, it attacks the shipping; the ship sinks, taking the crew with it.

Then we're introduced to Bruce Holden, a recently widowed man, and his son Jack and their dog Shazam. I have to admit I almost stopped reading here. For some reason, whenever pets are introduced, they usually used as cannon fodder, one of the first victims of the big bad that lets the locals know something sinister is afoot. Thankfully, that doesn't happen. Hoping for a new start, Bruce and his son have moved to the small coastal village of Mulberry. Typical of scenarios like this, the son is an unwilling captive, being underage and having to cave to parental will, and he makes his displeasure know. From day 1, we know they're in for trouble, when they find the town crazy in their house. We will later learn that she becomes the cause of all the trouble for the Holdens. You seen, Mulberry is experiencing a drought of sorts. Besides the developments that were built all around the town, essentially cutting off the lifeblood to the residents, the waters appear to have been fished out, further jeopardizing the future of the town. We also learn later that the previous residents of the Holdens' new home, which has been vandalized with some strange, creepy graffiti, disappeared mysteriously. And through the Holdens, we're introduced to Erin and Jen, potential love interests for father and son, respectively. And we also find out the reason for the depleted fish population: giant, mutated, deep sea fish known as Fangtooths, and crazy Lillian believes that in order for to make the Fangtooths return to the depths and for the fishing to return to normal, a sacrifice needs to be made, and that sacrifice turns out to be the town's newest residents, since all the trouble started once they arrived. Best laid plans never go off without a hitch, and for folks who have enjoyed movies like Piranha and SyFy's Mega-Piranha, we know fish don't travel alone, and what was thought to be a one-off mutant turns out to be an entire school, and before you know it, the town of Mulberry is under siege.

This is one of those books where you curse life for interfering with your reading time because you just can't put it down (at least, that was my experience), but alas you must. Jeffrey does a great job leading the reader onward, ending each chapter in a min cliffhanger and compelling the reader to keep reading. He's fleshed out his characters, the main ones at least, so you find yourself rooting for them to come out of this thing unscathed. Others he provided just enough detail to make them interesting, and then there's the cannon fodder, folks we know nothing about except that they aren't going to make it out if this siege alive. And I confess, as much as I was rooting for the Holdens and those they cared about, I was more concerned with what happened to Shazam. I'm often criticized for my view of the treatment of animals in horror fiction: I don't care how many people you kill (kids, adult, old people), just leave the animals alone. And by animals, I mean the family pets. And folks will ask, But what about the fish? In this case, even though they are doing what nature has programmed them to do, they are still the Big Bad here, mutations that should not exist within the realms of nature, so they have to go. So, for folks like me, yes, Shazam does survive.

If you're a fan on nature strikes back horror, films and books like Night of the Lepus (adapted from The Year of the Angry Rabbit), Jaws, Piranha, Grizzly, and a whole host of movies from SyFy, then I can't recommend this book enough. Just turn off the TV, disconnect from Facebook and other social media, shut down your phones and tablets (unless you read on them), put up the Gone Fishin' sign, and and prepare for an action-packed tale of terror from the deep.