REVIEW: Michael Bray - The Island

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Severed Press

Publication Date: 4^th October 2015

Pages: 206

REVIEWED BY CHAD

A copy of The Island was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author, Michael Bray, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Severed Press.

In The Island, by Michael Bray, we see a society in which reality television has become a performance platform for violence and death. The island itself is a man-made land mass on which a competition has been resurrected to air for the first time as a television series.

Contestants are set loose on the island and only one can survive to the end. Their prize? Whatever it is they desire. All they have to do is make it from one side of the island to the other.

Oh, and they have to make it through an island packed full of dinosaurs.

The main character of the story, Chase Riley, decides to take part in the newly revamped show in order to save his daughter who is suffering from terminal cancer. Against the wishes of his wife, he enters into the show, hoping that a victory will bring in the money they lacked, in order to get their daughter, the treatment she needs.

Putting all my honesty down on the table, I have to admit that I was a little dubious of the concept of this book going into it. My concern was that this was going to just end up feeling like a modern reimagining of The Running Man, but with dinosaurs as an artificial attempt to add an extra element to an already successful story. Still, I was also intrigued by the idea and was willing to give it a go.

I'm glad to say that my reservations were unfounded. I think this book is a good reminder that, regardless of the specific concept, effective writing and characters that can be related to will carry a lot of weight, even if the story has some familiar ring to it.

To start off, I think that the strongest element to this book is that of the characters. It's really easy when you have multiple characters to have trouble keeping track of everyone and they all start to blend together. Despite that challenge, I thought Bray did a really good job making sure everyone was distinct and easy to tell apart from each other. Despite the fact that some of the characters were fairly archetype-ish, I found myself interested in them and engaged in their part of the story.

I also really liked how he explored the dynamic between the characters within the context of the game itself. More specifically, the notion of people who are on one hand contestants but also still feel the urge to help each other. How do you work with and against each other at the same time? How do you deal with the fact that you might care for someone's well-being while at the same time realizing that you may be put in a position where you might have to take that person's life?

I found the pacing of the book to be great. I thought the story moved along at a nice clip and once things really got going, they don’t stop until the book ends. Bray did a great job creating a story that is engaging and that held my interest throughout.

As it is probably to be expected in a story of this type, things are not necessarily as they seem. The twists in the story are well done and are used effectively in order to move things along. There were a few points towards the end of the book where I felt like the twists were starting to stretch the limits of credibility, slightly. However, this did not prevent my ability to enjoy them and I was able to shut that part of my brain up and just watch the book unfold.

If I had one critical comment about the book, it would be that at times I thought the writing style got in the way of the flow of the narrative, somewhat. There seem to be quite a few moments where the writing is a bit dense in terms of the paragraphs being very long. There isn’t anything necessarily wrong with this practice, but I think it can make scenes less effective when there is a lot of action going on. I think it has a tendency to slow down the reader and bring down the immediacy of the narrative. In my opinion, some of the scenes could have been more powerful and effective if some of the longer paragraphs had been broken up. This is just a personal issue of my own and it’s a minor one. It didn’t interfere with my enjoyment, nor did it necessarily make the book any less engaging.

In all, I thought that in a culture that has become rife with dystopian literature, The Islanddoes a pretty good job keeping its head above the water and not feeling like ground that is being re-treaded one too many times. It is a book I enjoyed and would highly recommend.

General rating:

★★★★

Reviewed by Chad.

If you would like to help support Confessions of a Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy The Island or any other books from Michael. This not only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like to buy books after reading my reviews.

Thanks.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Book Synopsis:

What if the next generation of reality show had your life as the prize?

The island is the largest manmade structure ever constructed. Within its two-hundred-foot high steel walls are savage dinosaurs created for one purpose. To hunt man. In addition, of those who are chosen to enter the island, only one can leave and claim the prize.

As television screens around the world tune in to watch, the six contestants form an uneasy alliance as they battle nightmarish beasts beyond comprehension. When a secret is uncovered which could bring down the entire Lomar Corporation, the contestants find that some men are worse than monsters, and some corporations will stop at nothing to protect that which they tried so desperately to hide.

Michael Bray is a bestselling horror / thriller author of several novels. Influenced from an early age by the suspense horror of authors such as Stephen King, Richard Laymon, Shaun Hutson, James Herbert & Brian Lumley, along with TV shows like Tales from the Crypt & The Twilight Zone, his work touches on the psychological side of horror, teasing the reader’s nerves and willing them to keep turning the pages.

Several of his titles are currently being translated into multiple languages and with options for movie and Television adaptations under negotiation for others, he will look to continue his growth as a full time professional writer long into the future.

And for more about Michael, visit his site or find him on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page

REVIEW: Kristal Stittle - Merciless

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

Publication Date: 1^st June 2016

Pages: 129

REVIEWED BY CHAD

A copy of Mercilessby Kristal Stittle was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publisher, Sinister Grin Press, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

There is a common and, in my opinion, misguided idea when it comes to writing that there are certain plots that one should steer clear from, that ground which has been treaded on one too many times can never be fertile and should be left to go barren. The thing is, as much as we all likely fancy ourselves as shining lights of ingenuity and creativity, there really are only so many stories that can be told. Sure, we can put some individual touches and color tones to the picture but in the end, it isn’t often that I read something or watch something and get at least a little touch of déjà vu or a feeling of “haven’t we been here before”?

Case in point would be the book Merciless, by Kristal Stittle. I found the book to be highly entertaining and delivered in a way that felt fresh and seemed clear that the author was invested in it. The story itself is simple enough. The protagonist, Mercy, is home alone while her boyfriend is off having a weekend with his friends. Mercy begins to receive phone calls that start as merely curious and quickly progress to creepy and disturbing. When she decides to try and get out of the house and spend some time at her parent’s house, the calls mysteriously follow her and soon she finds herself in the middle of an all-out home invasion.

There are some who might read the description of that story and choose to give the story a pass on the basis of exactly what I am talking about. “I’ve seen that before,” or “Done too many times”. The reality is that this attitude can cut you off at the pass from enjoying some great books.

I found that Stittle took the concept and brought a lot of originality and freshness to the book as well. I really loved the mystery of the story from the start. Who was making the phone calls? Why are they going after Mercy? What is it they want? How do they know who she is? The horror elements of the story are handled very well but the addition of elements of the mystery genre really gave the book a feeling of being well rounded in its conception.

One aspect of the book which I really appreciated was in terms of the makeup of the villains themselves. While their efforts are clearly organized, they are also shown to be flawed and imperfect, as much so as a victim would be in any given situation. I think that it is a common mistake to make the villain or the monster of a story so powerful and perfect that there becomes no way for the hero to win out in the end in a way that seems credible or believable. This is one specific area that, while I don’t generally believe in going on about the “rules”, I think you have to adhere to in order for the story to work. It’s easy to construct a bad guy who is the evil genius. It takes more courage of pen to write one with weaknesses that can be exploited. After all, speaking for myself, the last thing I want is to see a protagonist win out at the end on the back of some fluke effort or random twist of luck.

Mercy herself also surprised me as a character in terms of her resourcefulness and her resolve. It is not something I would have expected to see from her as I read through the opening chapters so it was a pleasant surprise to see the amount of strength she displays throughout her ordeal.

The writing of the book for the most part is great and on point. The pacing of the story is also done extremely well and I thought things moved along nicely. I wasn’t able to read the book in its entirety in one sitting but I sure wanted to.

There were a few minor issues I had which did not interfere with my enjoyment of the book but which I felt should be mentioned as well. In the early chapters of the book, there is a tendency sometimes for the narrative to get side-tracked a little and go off into areas of exposition that I didn’t think were particularly important to the overall story. For example, pausing in the story to provide a bunch of details about her sister’s background that don’t really end up playing a part in the story or at a point where Mercy is being chased and she starts thinking about playing tag as a child. It was just small moments here and there that knocked me out of the flow of the story a little bit. I also thought that early on, there were a few moments where the narrative voice made a point of identifying things as disturbing or frightening and I thought Stittle did a good enough job making the events of the story scary without having to label it as such. And if the intention was simply to convey Mercy’s state of mind, I think it would have worked a little better to show her in the grips of her fear, rather than simply say that she felt scared.

My other issue was the point in the book where we find out who the person is behind this attack on Mercy and what motivated it. Ultimately, I wasn’t really convinced by the scenario as it unfolded and found it to be a bit too improbable.

Still, despite all of that, I was very happy with the book. Mercy as a character, goes through tremendous transformation and in a way that feels real and powerful. The book works efficiently towards a chilling conclusion that totally made the book for me. I was very happy to have read this and I would definitely encourage you to check it out as well.

General rating:

★★★★

If you would like to help support Confessions of a Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy Merciless or any other books from Kristal. This not only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like to buy books after reading my reviews.

Thanks.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Book Synopsis:

Mercy just wanted a quiet evening with her folks after a hard week at work, followed by a rather eerie phone call. Instead, she finds herself alone in the old family home as the dark descends. Unfortunately for Mercy, she’s not alone for long. For reasons she can’t understand, she finds herself surrounded by men in masks with an unclear but obviously sinister purpose. What Mercy does know, is that her situation is dire and that she can’t let them take her. No matter what.

Kristal Stittle was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, where she still lives with her cat. She’s always working on several writing projects at a time, from novels and short stories to scripts. Trained in 3D animation, she continues to paint and illustrate regularly while dabbling in photography.

And for more about Kristal, visit her site or find her on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page

REVIEW: Brett McBean - The Invasion

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

Publication Date: 15^th May 2016

Pages: 368

REVIEWED BY CHAD

A copy of The Invasion by Brett McBean was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Sinister Grin Press via Hook of a Book Publicity in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

For only the second time ever, Confessions is posting a second review for the same book. We in the Confessional have decided that rather than only letting one reviewer pick up a book at a time, we would let anyone take whatever they wanted and if more than one person read the same book, then so be it, we would still post the review on the site.

The main reason for this is so that we can offer readers varying reviews of the same book so it doesn't always look to be biased. We are hoping that it will give you lot that read these reviews, a little bit of extra help in deciding what you want to buy. So on with Chad's review.

Through no fault of its own, as I started to read The Invasion by Brett McBean, I realized that the book was going to have somewhat of an uphill climb, as I had just read another book recently with a similar premise. As I got into it though, I found I was reminding myself about how the rules and conventions of writing can often prove less than reliable. Specifically, in this case, authors often put themselves through the wringer trying to come up with something new and fresh, avoiding story tropes which have been done in the past.

What is important to remember is that if a book is compelling, the reader should find themselves propelled though the story, regardless of how many other iterations exist out there in the world. Besides the book I had just read, there are certainly plenty of examples of films which center around a character home alone, hopeless as some dark figure descends onto the house to do harm. It’s not a story that is particularly new but despite this, I thought that McBean did a good job crafting a book that stands on its own and packs a heavy punch.

In The Invasion, we find ourselves in the home of a popular author, playing host to friends and family but just as we think the evening is drawing to a close, they find themselves under attack by a gang that lays siege to the house. Their motives are unclear, save for the fact that they clearly intend to do harm, and as much as possible.

I thought the pace of this book was really well done and that, despite being of novel length, I thought it had more of the feel of a quick-paced novella. I liked how McBean managed to convey good information about the characters without going into a lot of long, awkwardly placed exposition. Despite the use of several POV characters, I thought they all had a unique feel that made it pretty easy to follow.

I also thought the construction of the chapters in the book was very clever in the way it utilized rooms in the house. Each chapter is named based on the room that it is taking place within. This leads to some really cool constructions when the characters become more mobile and start running around the house. Another use of the house itself that I thought worked really well was the opening chapter that shows the house with the porch light on in the daytime. Such an innocuous image, but McBean managed to implant it with an awesome feeling of creepiness and provided a great, ominous feel as the story began.

In books of this nature, I think that there is one aspect that is incredibly important in determining the success of failure of the story. It goes along the lines of being careful not to make your monsters too powerful. It is a lesson that I picked up very early on as a writer myself in that your characters have to at least have a chance of prevailing. You want to root for the characters but at the same time, you want those characters to be deserving of that support. I hate the feeling I get when I start to think that the monsters in a story are prevailing, mostly due to the protagonist being completely inept. If you want an example of what I’m talking about, take a look at the film The Strangers. Another home-invasion type story but there are so many points where the characters could have turned things around but failed thanks to some deus ex machina related intervention that made them lose all sense of reason and logic. Don’t put a gun in the hands of your characters and then try to concoct some reason why they still end up losing out to a bad guy who only has a baseball bat. In sum, if your characters are completely hopeless, the reader is more likely to abandon all sense of interest.

My point in relation to this is that McBean pulls off this aspect of the story quite nicely. The book isn’t simply a string of one horrific thing happening after another, for the sake of shocking the reader. In the grand scheme of things, the book often feels like the opposing forces are fairly even matched and that anything could happen as a result. I never felt like there was a foregone conclusion to the book as I was reading it and I never felt like the ending was particularly telegraphed or predictable. The book felt honest and authentic to me, avoiding some of the easier narrative devices that can make a story feel more contrived or forced.

Finally, I would say that I also liked the mysterious nature of the monsters in this story. As the gang that takes over the house is revealed, you get a sense that this is part of a larger, overall effort. They are in constant communication with others via their cell phones which suggests that more is happening off-stage which we aren’t privy to. And while there aren’t a lot of global, narrative explanations given for who these people are, what we do see is terrifying to contemplate. It just goes to show that sometimes you can scare more by what you don’t show or don’t tell.

The scariest stories for me are the ones that force you to contemplate scenarios that could realistically happen, more so than stories about vampires or zombies or aliens. This book was well constructed and executed and presents a vision that is pretty scary to consider.

Highly recommended.


General rating:

★★★★


Reviewed by Chad.

If you would like to help support Confessions of a Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy The Invasion or any other books from Brett. This not only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like to buy books after reading my reviews.

Thanks.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Book Synopsis:

It was supposed to be a quiet end to a long day: five close-knit family and friends settling in for some much-needed sleep after coming together for an early Christmas party.

Instead, it’s the beginning of a shocking night of brutality when six intruders break into the sprawling residence of Debra Hillsboro, a middle-aged romance novelist with a fierce devotion to her loved ones and a strong kinship with her home of almost thirty years.

Armed with smartphones and a modern brand of madness, the intruders – an internet-age cult disconnected from humanity and addicted to causing fear and mayhem – have come to the secluded property for one purpose: to terrorize, and ultimately kill, everyone inside all while filming their heinous crimes.

Outnumbered and cut off from the outside world, the terrified occupants find themselves trapped in a fight for survival as a once place of safety is turned into a deadly maze of darkened rooms and forbidding hallways. On this sweltering summer night, they must somehow find a way to escape before the cult turns the beloved home into a house for the dead.

Brett McBean was born and raised in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. A child of the ’80s, he grew up on a steady diet of He-Man cartoons, Steven Spielberg movies and audio tapes such as Summer Hits ’88. And yet, somehow he managed to turn out normal (well, kinda…). He started playing the drums at age ten and after high school, studied music at Box Hill College, one of Victoria’s most renowned music schools, where he earned an Advanced Diploma. Shortly after completing the music degree, he turned his attention towards writing, and he now prefers to pound the keyboard rather than the drums.

His books, which include The Mother, The Last Motel, The Awakening and the Wolf Creek prequel novel, Desolation Game (co-written with director/screenwriter Greg McLean), have been published in Australia, the US, and Germany, and he’s been nominated for the Aurealis, Ditmar, and Ned Kelly awards. He won the 2011 Australian Shadows Award for his collection, Tales of Sin and Madness. He has a keen interest in true crime, in particular the infamous Jack the Ripper murders of 1888, and most of his fiction deals with true-life horrors, often using real-life crimes as a basis for his stories. He still lives in the wilds of Melbourne with his wife, daughter and German shepherd.

And for more about Brett, visit his site or find him on social media:

Website – Facebook – Goodreads – Amazon Page

REVIEW: Rich Hawkins - King Carrion

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Sinister Horror Company

Publication Date: 17^th Sept 2016

Pages: 132

REVIEWED BY CHAD

A copy of King Carrion was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Sinister Horror Company in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

As a child of the eighties, I was born and raised on what I consider to be one of the golden ages of horror fiction. Franchises were born here, franchises that, to this day we find ourselves unable to escape from. And while there are any number of instances where we, as a culture have lost our way, there is one specific area which I particularly lament where we seem to have gone wrong.

I speak specifically of vampires.

A lot of this is likely going to seem directed at Twilightand to be sure, much of it for me came from that particular franchise. If that’s your thing, all the power to you but for me, it was way too far of a stone’s throw from the classic films I grew up with. Vampires used to be cool, they were dangerous and gritty. Vampires were a force to be reckoned with in the fictional landscape.

Then things began to change and it was almost like vampires started to become too precious. The intensity of the genre seemed to lessen and with the exception of a few standout films, vampire fiction seemed to become very bland and for a long time now, I have been waiting for a beam of light to show us the way through this long vampiric nightmare we seem to exist within.

Enter King Carrion, by Rich Hawkins, stage left.

The story of the book is to the point and efficient. The main character, Mason, is returning to his home town after an incarceration to try and beg himself back into the life of his ex-wife, trying to atone for his crime. He quickly discovers that something is wrong. An ancient vampire God has descended on the town, intent on making Great Britain his own.

This.

This is what I have been missing for all this time. These are the vampires I grew up with, this is the horror genre I grew up with. It was a breath of fresh air in a world of emotionally available vampires. These vampires hit hard and fast, with just the right amount of gore that I have come to expect.

The book is paced quite well and for me, King Carrionoften has the feel of Salem’s Lot, if it were to be clarified down to its essential base self. Hawkins wastes no time taking the reader straight into the heart of the story and uses a ton of great description to plunge us into this beautifully bleak environment.

The quality of the writing here is top rate. Hawkins’ aptitude for physical description comes through clearly in this book and the action of the story does a great job moving things along. There was no point where I felt things were dragging and pretty much throughout the book, I didn’t want to put it down. This is one that I definitely could have taken down in one reading if the time had been there. His characters feel genuine and their struggles seem real. He does a good job making their situation sympathetic very quickly.

Hawkins also does what I think is essential to any proper monster story in that he takes the essence of the vampires but also adds some personal twists of his own. It felt like he paid tribute to the legacy of the monster while also putting something out there that was uniquely his.

If I had any gripe about the story, it would be a minor one and to be fair, this is a hard bridge to cross for any author and there are just some times when it works better than others. But for me it was the point in the story where, after having his first encounter with the vampires, Mason decides to return to the scene to investigate. For me, I always find myself in horror movies and books asking why the character is bothering at all when I would probably be trying to get the hell out of there. Why go back? So in the context of this book, I think I would have liked it if that decision had been a little more fleshed out so that his motivations were a little clearer. As I said though, very minor issue for me.

I don’t know if Hawkins has any plans for a follow-up to this book but if there is a chance, I would definitely be on the lookout for it as I believe there could be more story to tell here.

For anyone out there who is of a similar disposition to me, who loves their horror delivered with some grit and some bleakness to it, this book would be an excellent choice for you. And maybe, with small steps like this, we can start to bring ourselves back into the light and away from the sanitized versions of these great fictional characters we have today.

Say it with me.

Vampires can be cool again.

General rating:

★★★★★

Reviewed by Chad Clark

If you would like to help support Confessions of a Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy King Carrion or any other books from Rich. This not only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like to buy books after reading my reviews.

Thanks.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Book Synopsis:

In a town in southern England, people are going missing.

Mason, a homeless ex-con, arrives in the town to beg his wife for a second chance and atone for past mistakes.

A vampire god once worshipped by ancient Britons has awoken from hibernation and plans to turn Great Britain into a vampire isle. But first, people of the town must be converted, and the gospel spread.

Within a week, the town is quarantined by the military, and the nights belong to the undead.

There will be no escape for the survivors.

CONFESSIONS REVIEWS RICH HAWKINS

Fallen Soldier

Scavengers

Rich Hawkins hails from deep in the West Country, where a childhood of science fiction and horror films set him on the path to writing his own stories. He credits his love of horror and all things weird to his first viewing of John Carpenter's THE THING. His debut novel THE LAST PLAGUE was nominated for a British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel in 2015. The sequel, THE LAST OUTPOST, was released in the autumn of 2015.

The final novel in the trilogy, THE LAST SOLDIER, was released in March 2016.

And for more about Rich, visit his site or find him on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads - Amazon Page

REVIEW: Mercedes M. Yardley - Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Crystal Lake Publishing

Publication Date: 4^th March 2016

Pages: 121

REVIEWED BY CHAD

A copy of Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love by Mercedes M. Yardley was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publisher, Crystal Lake Publishing, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love by Mercedes M. Yardley is a fun take on several different genres and manages to take brush strokes from each in a brilliant effort to create a new, uniquely molded book.

The book has two main characters. As the story opens, Montessa is on her way home from work when she is fallen upon and abducted by serial killer, Lu. He figures out very quickly that Montessa isn’t like any other women he has killed before. She is captivating to him and surprisingly, as the story shifts over to Montessa’s point of view, we find that she is becoming just as taken with Lu. In each other, Montessa and Lu discover the holes in their lives they had never realized were there in the first place.

Soon, Montessa no longer travels along with Lu as his victim, but rather as his partner and his lover.

To start, there have been plenty of stories that deal with the situation where a seemingly innocent victim is lured in by the guile of their would-be killer or kidnapper and ends up becoming a part of that world, fundamentally changing themselves into the monster they had thought they were fleeing from. It isn’t what I would call un-trodden ground but in Yardley’s capable hands, the book doesn’t have even the most remote feelings of seeming stale or overdone. I think that fundamentally, there are two different types of stories. In the first, you settle down into the book, saying to yourself, “okay, I’m reading a western”.

These are the books that fit into a certain convention of expectations and tradition.

The second type are the stories that feel like genres unto themselves. It doesn’t happen as often and it doesn’t always work. But in this case, I thought that it worked very well. There were moments where I might have been reminded of other stories or films or shows I had seen before but for the most part, this felt like a fully organic, original endeavor.

I think that one of my favorite aspects of this book is how Yardley chronicles Montessa’s journey in terms of how she feels about Lu from the start and how that progresses. Any author can tell you that a character feels or thinks a certain way but it’s another thing entirely to take the reader to the point of actually understanding what they are seeing. It is to the point where I found myself saying, well of course this is what Montessa is doing, that makes total sense. What else would she do?

Both of the characters in this book are woven extremely well and there is a strong sense of them being individually defined while at the same time pieces of the same puzzle. And woven into their characters is the existence of a magic of sorts, something that makes the both of them unique. I loved that Yardley resisted the urge to rush in and over-explain everything in the story. Sometimes one of the most difficult things as a writer is to sit back and just let things be what they are, without giving narrative justification. Why does magic exist in the universe of this story? Because it does. How is it that Montessa and Lu have their unique abilities? I’m not really sure, they just have them. I don’t think the story suffers from a lack of explanation and I also don’t think it would be enhanced by adding more backstory. It’s the perfect situation as a writer that we all strive for.

If I had one minor issue with the story, I think it would be in how quickly Montessa and Lu’s language towards each other becomes a sort of lovers’ shorthand. The flowery nicknames for each other you would expect to hear from the characters deeply in love with each other. As the book moved on and their bond intensified, it felt more natural but as early as it started, it felt a little forced to me. But as I said, this is just one extremely minor point, in no way did it take anything away from the story.

I enjoyed this a great deal. It was the first of Yardley’s work I have read and I am definitely looking forward to reading more.

General rating:

★★★★★

If you would like to help support Confessions of a Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy Apocalyptic Montessa or any other books from Mercedes. This not only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like to buy books after reading my reviews.

Thanks.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Book Synopsis:

Streetwise Romeo and Juliet meets Stephen King’s Firestarter.

HER MAMA ALWAYS SAID SHE WAS SPECIAL.

HIS DADDY CALLED HIM A DEMON.

BUT EVEN MONSTERS CAN FALL IN LOVE.

Montessa Tovar is walking home alone when she is abducted by Lu, a serial killer with unusual talents and a grudge against the world. But in time, the victim becomes the executioner as ‘Aplocalyptic’ Montessa and her doomed ‘Nuclear’ Lulu crisscross the country in a bloody firestorm of revenge.

CONFESSIONS REVIEWS MERCEDES M. YARDLEY

Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Tale of Murder and Whimsy

Hi. I’m Mercedes. I have two broken laptops, three kids, a husband and no time to write, although I try my very best. I like to write stories. I like to write poems. I like to write essays and sometimes they’re funny, sometimes they aren’t.

I know how to throw a tomahawk and I wear red corduroys because they make me happy. That’s also why I write: I like being happy.

And for about Mercedes, visit her site or find her on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page

REVIEW: Jasper Bark - The Final Cut

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Crystal Lake Publishing

Publication Date: 27^th May 2016

Pages: 280

REVIEWED BY CHAD

A copy of The Final Cut by Jasper Bark was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Crystal Lake Publishing in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

The Final Cut is a dark and twisted journey through the imaginings of the talented Jasper Bark. Every once in a while, you get a book that has the ability to take you within the folds of the dust jacket and like a Chinese finger puzzle will not let you go until you give in and realize that you have to let it happen.

The book is about a pair of indie film makers (Jimmy and Sam) who have gotten themselves into a bit of a financial dead end.

After borrowing money from the wrong person and making some poor choices with that money, they find themselves at the mercy of their one-time benefactor. As a way of demonstrating to them what could happen if he doesn’t get his money, the loan shark shows them a snuff film he has recently acquired, suggesting that the same could happen to them if they don’t provide the payment he expects.

Before the film ends however, an unknown party descends down on the room and kills everyone present, save for Jimmy and Sam. Realizing they have survived, the two decide to take the tape and use it somehow to create a sort of hybrid found-footage film. Their production gets off to a bizarre start right out of the gate as a mysterious actress shows up to audition for the film. She is perfect for the part but she has some unusual demands of her own, and her behavior is nothing short of eccentric as well.

The story progresses from here into an incredibly creative narrative that is woven expertly and executed at a very high level of craft. The imagery in the book is vivid, often chilling, signs of a deep and expansive imagination that I felt privileged to take part in.

I wanted to take a moment and discuss the contents of the book in terms of how palatable they are going to be for the average reader. This isn’t a book that is going to be for everyone but I also think it’s important to draw a distinction, that the mere existence of graphic violence isn’t automatically or inherently wrong. There are scenes in the book that are pretty graphic but there was no point where I felt that Bark was throwing in gore just for the sake of being graphic. It’s easy to dismiss certain work because it might hover near a perceived line in terms of what’s acceptable. This is going to be ideal for those willing to challenge themselves, to put that part of their brain into silent mode and just take in the emotional impact of what is unfolding in front of you. The graphic violence in the book feels like it is there to serve a purpose and I don’t think I could really imagine the book without it.

As I made my way through, I thought I had a sense of where things were going but I am glad to say that I was completely wrong. The book brings together brilliant elements of suspense, horror and supernatural elements that are presented in an amazing fashion. As with reading any author for the first time, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this but once I got into it, I was very happy that I took the chance on this one.

I thought this book was a really smart exploration of how easily obsessions can be formed inside of a person and how one’s own well-being can take a back seat to the object of that desire. The book moves back and forth between Jimmy and Sam’s perspectives and I think this serves as a powerful aid to the story. It’s fascinating to see how differently they react to the situation that develops and how the snuff film ultimately affects the both of them. Bark presents a clear and powerful plot, through the medium of these two characters.

For me, horror fiction isn’t always about just scaring the reader, it’s about putting them inside of the visceral experience of the book. I think this is what takes horror fiction off of the page and elevates to something even better.

To say the least, this book comes highly recommended.

General rating:

★★★★★

Reviewed by Chad Clark.

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Book Synopsis:

Some stories capture the imagination; others will be the death of you.

The Final Cut is a genre busting mash up of crime, horror and urban fantasy. An imaginative and thought provoking tale that explores our need to watch and make horror fiction, examining not just the medium, but the purpose of storytelling itself. Taking in everything from ancient myth, to modern atrocity, this novel will entrance, mystify and appall you in equal measures, haunting you long after you’ve reached the very last line.

In an East London lock up, two film makers, Jimmy and Sam, are duct taped to chairs and forced to watch a snuff film by Ashkan, a loan shark to whom they owe a lot of money. If they don’t pay up, they’ll be starring in the next one. Before the film reaches its end, Ashkan and all his men are slaughtered by unknown assailants. Only Jimmy and Sam survive the massacre, leaving them with the sole copy of the snuff film.

The film makers decide to build their next movie around the brutal film. While auditioning actors, they stumble upon Melissa, an enigmatic actress who seems perfect for the leading role, not least because she’s the spitting image of the snuff film’s main victim. Neither the film, nor Melissa, are entirely what they seem however. Jimmy and Sam find themselves pulled into a paranormal mystery that leads them through the shadowy streets of the city beneath the city and sees them re-enacting an ancient Mesopotamian myth cycle. As they play out the roles of long forgotten gods and goddesses, they’re drawn into the subtle web of a deadly heresy that stretches from the beginnings of civilization to the end of the world as we know it.

Jasper Bark is infectious - and there’s no known cure. If you’re reading this then you’re already at risk of contamination. The symptoms will begin to manifest any moment now. There’s nothing you can do about it. There’s no itching or unfortunate rashes, but you’ll become obsessed with his books, from the award winning collections 'Dead Air' and 'Stuck on You and Other Prime Cuts', to cult novels like 'The Final Cut' and acclaimed graphic novels such as 'Bloodfellas' and 'Beyond Lovecraft'.

Soon you’ll want to tweet, post and blog about his work until thousands of others fall under its viral spell. We’re afraid there’s no way to avoid this, these words contain a power you are hopeless to resist. You’re already in their thrall and have been since you began reading this bio. Even now you find yourself itching to read the whole of his work. Don’t fight it, embrace the urge and wear your obsession with pride!

And for more about Jasper, visit his site or find him on social media:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Amazon Page