Day 19: The return of my long forgotten 1001 list...

So yeah, those of you who have followed my Blog for a while may well remember a little 1001 Authors And Books To Read Before You Die list...well, 'whatever happened to that?' I hear you cry.

The simple answer is Life. I don't get time to read for pleasure as much as I would like to anymore (something I never thought I'd hear myself say), and of course, I have been kind of neglecting the ol' Blog for a while now. Not anymore though...

You may have heard me mention a little someone called Susan Simone before; I work alongside her virtually at J.Ellington Ashton, and she has given me tremendous support both in my writing and in my editing - not just when I edit myself, but also when I edit for our other authors. She is a fabulous person, really giving, fully supportive and almost always positive and upbeat, and one of the kindest persons around unless you cross her. Then may the Gods themselves forgive you for stirring up her wrath!

But she is also, as well as being Senior Editor, a writer in her own right and a most excellent and amazingly talented cover artist. She alone came up with the design you see at the top of my Blog that is the cover of my debut novella, Time Of Tides, and captured the spirit of the story wonderfully first time around. I truly am honored to be in her company most days, and she has done nothing but encourage me since Day One.

It is two of her books that I would like to include in my 1001 List. 

First up is Silent Heart. This is what I wrote about it back in June last year:- 

"It is a fact that some of the best written fantasy fiction is that in which the reader almost can't tell that he or she is reading fantasy. This is why authors such as Robin Hobb and George.R.R.Martin have become so successful- their fantasy novels are so believable that you become caught up and totally ensnared in their worlds!

So it is for Silent Heart. This was the first book I have read by this author but it left me hungry for more!

Paige is a just young deaf girl living in the woods when she literally stumbles across a group of assassins in the process of decapitating an unknown man. Fleeing for her life and pursued by these armed killers, Paige falls into the arms of Stone; a warrior sworn to protect and to serve. He guards her and protects her from harm and, when he realizes what it is she has seen, devotes himself to escorting her back to the palace of King Evard. For the man the assassins killed was a Prince and Stone knows that the killers will not stop until

This was an absolutely amazing read! It is brutal, harsh and highly emotional but never anything less than compelling. I could not put this down and simply cannot recommend it enough! The descriptive passages are so amazingly well done that you feel as though you are there living the story with the characters, it simply is that believable! To say that this is an emotional journey would be an understatement but one thing is certain, authors as good as this don't come along very often and if you don't pick this up you will definitely be missing out!

Susan Simone proves with this story that she is a veritable tour-de-force and definitely a name to watch in the future. If any of her other novels end up being as well written and as cleverly thought out as this one, she deserves every success she gets ~ she has an inimitable style all of her own and I, for one, already consider this one of my best reads so far this year!"
the last witness to their actions is silenced forever. What follows is an epic and dangerous journey as Stone gives up everything to keep Paige safe..."

People who know me, and know me well, know that I do not ever recommend a book this highly unless I am very highly impressed indeed! The first time I read this novel, I never realized just how much impact on me this book had had. It was only later, when I started reading another of her books,Morning Song, my second recommendation tonight for my 1001 list, that I was once more captivated and ensnared by this woman's writing!

Here is what I had to say about Morning Song:- 

"Last year Silent Heart was one of my favorite novels. A fantasy book that ended up being so much more and that transported you into a fantastic and yet totally believable world with brilliantly conceived characters that stayed with you long after the last page.
Though I enjoyed her follow-up, Under A Twisted Moon, I thought it lacked some of the magic of Silent Heart.
Morning Song is a long awaited and very worthy successor!

Set in a dystopian future where the dark ages have returned, that is no more than a shadow of the world we live in today, Morning Song introduces us to Morna; an above average sized mystic who tends to the needs of her village despite daily abuse at the hands of the men folk who see her as fair game.
Into her life comes Arrick and suddenly everything changes.

Yes, this has strong elements of romance to it but you know what, I really really really really enjoyed this. It is as beautifully written, as you might well expect from this author, and once again really transports you into another world vastly different from our own.

Simone pulls no punches and though certain normally taboo subjects, such as rape, sexual abuse and the
Just like Silent Heart, I expect this book to stay with me for many months to come; if not years.

It is at once as beautiful as it is enchanting and kept me on the edge throughout the whole of my reading of this book.
I am wary of saying too much about the plot because i don't want to ruin enjoyment for other readers, but this book is every bit as magical as anything by Robin Hobb and though it lacks some of that writers more fantastical elements, there are moments in this book that are every bit as brilliantly created!

I cannot stop thinking about this book and how much I enjoyed it.

Truly Susan Simone is a brilliant writer and all I can say is I hope she continues with more such books of a similar vein because it is in this direction that her true talent really shines through!

Morning Song is one of those rare novels that refuses to be pigeon-holed into any one genre. Instead it has a universal appeal and you know what? I cannot recommend it enough!
degradation of women, are tackled head on and unashamedly, if you like daring, punchy writing then this is most definitely a book for you!"

 As you can see, I am a big fan of both these books, and quite frankly, that is why they make the List! Susan Simone quite literally breathes so much depth and personality into her characters that, for a while, you almost forget you are reading a book and start feeling as though you have fallen down the rabbit hole and entered into her world! And that is what good reading should always be about!

                                                                      *****

Another book that I read and enjoyed last year, and that fully deserves to make my list, was Helene Gremillion's debut novel, translated from its original French into English. 

Here is what it says on Amazon:

"A stunning debut novel in the vein of Irene Nemirovsky's 'Suite Francaise' from journalist Hélène Grémillon.  In 1970’s Paris, Camille receives an anonymous letter narrating events from pre-war France. She feels sure it was meant for someone else. Then more letters start to arrive…They tell of the unlikely friendship between village girl Annie and bourgeois Madame M., who encourages the girl’s passion for art. But when Annie

offers to carry a child for her infertile friend, their lives become destructively entwined, with repercussions that are still felt decades later."

 This short synopsis doesn't do it justice! This book very much reminded me of the tone and feel of such films as Amelie and A Very Long Engagement. I could so easily imagine Audrey Tatou playing the lead role!

What links all these three books together? None of them are my usual type of read, and yet I absolutely loved them all! All three could so easily be described as 'womans books', and yet, here I am to show that yes, a 40 year old male horror writer was able to take something very memorable away from all of them.

These are the kind of books my 1001 List was created for and inspired by. I said in the very first post I made about my List that the only books that should be included were those that provoked a reaction. In that respect, all three fulfill that criteria!

I'm just popping to the shops love.....

As you well know, I love sharing the work of fellow authors and one of the books I enjoyed this year that I felt worthy of including on my 1001 List was MEAT BY MICHAEL BRAY. If you want something a bit dark and different to read then this little novella might be right up your alley. Here's what I wrote on Amazon....


"Just read this in a single day and have to say this is one of

the best horror stories I have read in ages! It is absolutely grisly, gruesome and nasty ~ in other words, right up my street!

A group of shoppers find themselves trapped in a new supermarket with no hope of escape. On the shelves are disembodied feet (seasoned ready for cooking), pickled eyes and fresh tongue kebabs - all mixed in amongst the usual produce. At first some of them think it is all some kind of sick, practical joke but when some of them try to leave, they quickly learn there is only one way they are getting out of this store...and it's not through the front doors!

This is an awesome, awesome, awesome read and one hell of a ride! It is quite simply one of the best short horror novels that I have read in ages! It feels heavily influenced by Richard Laymon in places and is exceptionally nasty right through to the end. The climax alone will leave you gasping, let alone the rest of the novel! It really is a roller coaster ride from start to finish!

This is the first piece of fiction I have read by author, Michael Bray but you can be certain, it won't be the last! I was left speechless, reeling and almost sickened at times by the sheer horror and brutality depicted within but you know what? Horror simply doesn't get much better than this!

This is how much the book influenced me: mid-reading, I popped into my local Tesco Express to pick up a couple of things. Walking around the shelves, I found myself half-consciously looking around for disembodied limbs and decapitated heads - it wasn't till I got to the till that I realised what I had been doing! This is the sign of a good author, that he can so engross you in his writing that you find yourself actually living what you have been reading in your head! Few writers have this ability and so for M.Bray to achieve this shows just how good a writer he really is!"

Why I love Catt Dahman....

So yeah, yeah, yeah ~ I know, I keep saying I'm going to keep this Blog updated and I don't but things DO keep getting in the way I promise! I'm not really ignoring you!

Today, I want to talk about my author friend, Horror writer Catt Dahman, and why I have so much love and respect for her right now!

I've mentioned her before as the author of the Z Is For Zombie series but she is also responsible for so much more! In the last six months or so , she has also released the awesome Smooth, Alice And Friends and most recently, Titanic Q.E.D which is a homage to H.P.Lovecraft and is simply a brilliant read! Her latest, Helen Of Troy, Vampire is still waiting to be read but I am expecting big things from it if it reaches her usual standards. (She will be nervous now, reading this and anticipating my latest review!)

I met Catt through Goodreads and, more specifically,  the Author-Reader Co-Op section, where she was asking for reviews for Z Is For Zombie. Anyway, she loved my brutally honest reviews so much that she took away some of the criticism I levied at her and rewrote two of the books in the series and made edits! How cool is that? That I had an influence on her work?? 

This kind of helped her get a Publishing Deal with Severed Press and ever since then she has continued to send me her books for review purposes and has continually praised me publicly and bigged me up at every opportunity!

Last Wednesday, this Guy called Gary Mundford was responsible for organizing this huge Zombie Fest event on Facebook where authors and fans could get together and exchange dialogue, win competitions and give away/ receive free E-book downloads. The event was a tremendous success and not least helped by Catt who stepped in to help when Gary became swamped by his real life. The event was awesome, I ended up getting loads of new stuff to read and offering out my review services but everyone agrees that if Catt hadn't jumped aboard, the chances are it might all ended up a bit of a damp squib. 

She has encouraged me to try writing stuff of my own because she says I have a way with words and so when this Zombie Fest announced that they would be producing an anthology of short fiction to commemorate the event I decided to give it a go. My story only went and got included!! The anthology is not quite ready yet because Gary is formatting and editing it in his spare time but 

will be free for a week, I think it was decided and, after that, will go on sale with proceeds going to the Walking Wounded charity. Now, if Catt hadn't have encouraged me to write, something I have toyed around with for years without actually ever really doing or achieving anything with it, then I would never have gotten my name in print! Now, I actually have something published though I am more nervous about Catt reading it than anyone else because she is my inspiration and my muse!

This is just one of the reasons as to why I am now putting her on my 1001 Books And Authors To Read before You Die list. Though there were moments when I might have thought her Z series faltered slightly and I  wondered how it could last 9 books, by the final novel I was suddenly realizing how close I was to the characters and how much I had enjoyed reading their exploits to the point that I became quite passionate and emotional at the way she treated them in the last book. I believe I even called her jokingly a "a nasty, sick bitch" for some of the things she put them through ~ something that she thankfully took as a huge compliment. Her words (and I paraphrase) were along the lines that these are the words every horror writer lives to hear! Lol!

Oh, but that's not enough. There's more reasons why I love this author and have nothing but the utmost respect for her. She is tireless to a fault, has anther 5 books on the go even now and even more irons in the fire. When Catt was on American Radio Station, Zombie Radio, doing an interview, she gave me a shout-out; she calls me HER British Reviewer and gets possessive over me if I offer my reviews to other authors and continues to tell me to keep going in regards to my writing to the point where I am now slowly putting together a portfolio of short horror fiction that I am toying with the idea of releasing as an anthology collection at some point in time! At the moment, that's all it is ~ just an idea I have but who knows where this will take me and I am determined to keep writing and see where it goes.

But that's still not it. Following after Zombie Fest, (and early indications are that it was such a success there will be another one) Catt and a few others have all gotten together to form a new Indie Publishing House as self-publishing looks like it is going to end up being a death knell for writers; due in part to all the dross that has flooded the market in recent years that has been self-published. And because she has so much love and respect for ME and my honesty and integrity, she has asked me to be one of her Editors checking submissions for quality when they come in. There is no money involved as yet but Catt and her team have high hopes and aspirations for this Publishing enterprise so who knows where this might lead and I might even have a foot in the door should I get anything together worth publishing. I don't expect any special treatment if I do and will expect to be treated just as any other author but can think of nothing more exciting than having Catt help promote my work!
 
I once told Mrs.Sparky, when talking about the artwork that I sporadically do, that I wanted to leave something behind to mark my passage. Maybe this is how it all starts to happen, how I will get to leave my mark, who knows... there are no guarantees in life but if you don't aim high then you might as well go home ~ a credo that I've kind of borrowed from Catt and her new Publishing House, J Ellington Ashton Press! Remember the name, because from little acorns, big trees grow and Catt and the rest of the team have all got high aspirations for this new endeavor....and to be asked to be a  part of this, though a little overwhelming, has left me feeling excited, thrilled and more than just a little bit flattered.

Anyway, that's it ~ I'm so sorry that this has been such a long post but I wanted to share with you all just a few of the reasons why I love Catt Dahman! She has become more than just my favourite author right now, she has become a dear friend and I hope that she feels the same. If you are reading this Catt, thank-you for inspiring me and believing in me and I promise to live up to all your expectations of me!

That's me, Sparky, signing off... (for now...)

xxxx 

P.S all my reviews of her books are available on Goodreads and Amazon, so feel free to check them out and don't forget to give her books some of your own love! 

Ooops.....doesn't time fly?

Ooops! What can I say right about now? I hadn't realised it had been quite so long since I last updated my Blog; knew I had been a bit lax but like...wow?!? Ooops! Sorry guys, kind of forgot all about for a while....

You would be forgiven for assuming this Blog was now dead; abandoned and left to rot in Cyberspace, never to be returned to ever again. Not so! Honestly, I've just been very, very busy.....

Firstly, I have been unfaithful. Not to Mrs.Sparky ~ I like my nuts where they are and if I ever cheated on her, I have no doubt that I would be unlikely ever to be able to have sex again! No, I have been kind of guest-writing for a couple of other Blogs. Book review sites yanno?

The first of these is  http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/  where I regularly contribute with book reviews on books I am sent three or four times a month. Though many of the books reviewed there fall into the Erotic fiction/ romance Genre, obviously I don't review them but instead get to review exciting new titles by up and coming Thriller/ Sc-fi and Horror authors. A lot of times I am forced to be brutally honest and I don't always enjoy the books sent me but, equally, it was how I discovered two of last year's top titles ~ The Icarus Void and The Blackwater Flood, both of which topped my 1001 list!

The other site I review for is http://masqueradecrew.blogspot.co.uk/  though I have not been writing for them as long and have reviewed only about three or four books for them so far. 

Anyway, I really came back because I really need to start updating my 1001 Authors And Books To Read Before You Die list as I have found plenty of more books to join the ranks that I simply not had time to add until now....firstly, let's cover the last three entries that I have listed but not yet talked about....

 Every so often, a book comes along that is absolutely jaw-droppingly good and simply quite amazing. A book that makes you stop and think; that thrills you, entertains you, keeps you hooked and even chills you to the bone.

Extinction Point is that book!

The first in an ongoing series by author, Paul Antony Jones, Extinction Point is set in the not too distant future (where all good sci-fi is set!) and focuses around a Global Extinction Event which sees much of humanity wiped off the face of the earth. How much of humanity, we are not sure but this first book takes us through what happens as seen through the eyes of investigative journalist, Emily Baxter; a young, intrepid roving reporter who soon finds herself in a Manhattan empty of anyone else but her.......

Anyone human that is.......

It starts with red rain; big, red thick drops that fall from the sky in cities all across the globe. For some reason, Emily is compelled to stay out of the downpour and keeps her distance from anyone who has been contaminated by it. It is not until she reaches her Offices that she discovers that similar rainfall has been reported all across the world. And then people start getting sick. And after they get sick, then they start to die....very quickly and very, very messily!

As one of the few people who has avoided contact with the rain, Emily manages to survive but finds herself alone in a vast, unpopulated city. Determined to escape and find refuge....other survivors....anything, Emily prepares to leave New York. But she is not alone. The red rain was just the beginning......

Something is colonising the earth......

This book is simply beyond words! Someone on Amazon has commented that the only downside of this book is that the next chapter is still in process and urges the author to hurry up and I concur! This is an amazing novel that moves at its own pace, merely revealing more and more layers of mystery without really giving us any answers. One scene in Central Park left me breathless and dying to know what was going on and where this book will lead us on its journey. I  only read one other Sci-fi book this good last year and that was The Icarus Void by C.K.Burch! And Extinction Point definitely comes a close second only because it leaves you hanging with no second installment as yet in sight!! 

 I think I should point out that this review was written last year and, in point of fact, the second volume is now available. I have not gotten around to purchasing it yet but will do so because I enjoyed the first book so much and will let you know if it matches the suspense of the first book!

The next entry on my list that I have not talked about, but which barely needs any introduction, is the 87th Precinct novels by Ed McBain.  These long-standing Police procedural thrillers are all set in the fictional city of Isola in and around the 87th Precinct. Published over several decades, the books pretty much follow the same set of characters throughout as their lives and careers change along with the city and all pretty much cracking good reads! Occasionally you might get a duff book but, as a whole, these novels are amazing! One of the things they are most remembered for is for introducing the character of The Deaf Man; a criminal Mastermind who may or may not actually be deaf but who always taunts the 87th with little messages whenever he is in town attempting his latest heist. Invariably these heists always go wrong but it is normally not because of the boys of the 87 who are seemingly reduced to bumbling idiots when he is around as they try to solve the cunning puzzles he sets up for them. Usually as a distraction to the main event. If you have never read an 87th Precinct novel then you are missing out and if you have read them all, then you are fortunate enough to have shared in one of Crime Fiction's finest ever long-running series. I am a big, big fan and have been ever since I first picked them up as a teenager. Unfortunately McBain is no longer with us but his books live on as a lasting legacy and a testament to his superior writing ability!

Finally, the last book that I entered onto my list was Ripper by Michael Slade. I have talked about this author before but Ripper still stands as one of his greatest works.

Slade was the pseudonym for a team of Canadian Lawyers that has since been taken over by one of those Lawyers who still writes the books but now with his daughter. Ripper is set mostly on an island where a group of amateur mystery Detective authors have been summoned to compete in a mystery weekend. Zinc Chandler of the Special X Branch of the RCMP is one of the entrants, currently on sick leave after nearly being killed in one of the previous books and now left Epileptic as a result of his head injuries. His Boss thinks it will be a good test of his mental capabilities to take part; the weekend being hosted by Elvira Franklin who emerged at the end of Headhunter, the book that started this series off. 

It is not long before everyone is being slowly killed off with no way of escaping the island in a very clever tribute to Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. I oved this and thought it one of their best books to date simply for its sheer ingenuity.

Anyway, that's about it for now but will be back soon with more updates I promise!

I have lots more books to add to my list plus some other stuff which I will share at a later date...

until then, ciao... 

 

Another entry onto my 1001 List is this highly amusing erotic parody based on the classic book by Lewis Carroll.....here's my review....
 
Right about now, there is an absolute deluge of 50 Shades parodies doing the rounds on Amazon ~ all trying to cash-in on the best-selling series for women that has recently gained both publicity and notoriety and has even had its own genre created for it having been largely described as"Mummy Porn!"

50 Shades Of Alice is just one of these many parodies and attempts to combine the erotica of 50 Shades with Lewis Carroll's most famous and iconic novel with hilarious (yet smutty) results....

Alice has never experienced orgasm. Ever. Her boyfriend Lewis is awful in bed and continually fails to even come close to satisfying her and he knows it. And so he buys her a Rabbit vibrator and gives it to her (easy now) over a quiet picnic lunch.

After another brief and unsatisfying liaison, Lewis pulls his usual trick and falls asleep. Alice, initially appalled at her new gift, now curiously pulls it out to take a look. At which point, it switches itself on and falls down a hole in the ground. Distraught, Alice follows after it and soon finds herself in a strange and peculiar world that is as obsessed with sex as it is with teaching Alice everything it knows....and I DO mean everything!

The first in a new trilogy, 50 Shades Of Alice is an erotic masterpiece! As well as being very, very funny (and almost satirical in places) the book is also extremely sexually charged and certainly NOT for the faint-hearted or prude amongst you! Featuring scenes of a highly sexual and pornographic nature, Alice is all about one girls sexual awakening and is best described as downright blatant smut and filth with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure! Whilst not my usual choice of genre, it is very, very good and extremely well written and surprisingly much better than one might expect it to be.

Did it turn me on? I am not ashamed to admit that yes indeed, in places it did. But to reduce this simply to its lowest common denominator is to do this book a mis-justice and it is much more than just another example of what many people have come to class as the more acceptable face of pornography! This is also a very clever parody that works well as both a homage and simultaneously a mickey take of a modern classic that could never be accused of taking itself too seriously in the first place!

I would like to think that Lewis Carroll would be pleased by this and if a little bit of something naughty is what you after (and an antidote to the original 50 Shades) then this definitely for you!

more updates to my 1001 Books And Authors To Read Before You Die List...

I told you I had lots of books to update on my 1001 List, well here's a couple more....

DEADLOCKED BY A.R.WISE ~ "There seems to be a complete surge of Zombie novels available on Kindle at the moment...and not just novels but also novellas and short stories as well. In fact some days you cannot move for Zombie tales, there are so many overloading the virtual shelves.

Whilst some are good though, others, the majority in fact, are truly awful! Thankfully Deadlocked Volume 1 is right up there with some of the best!

Telling the story of a father just diagnosed with a terminal illness, this novel, the first in a series, follows his journey as he tries to make his way home to his family just as a Zombie outbreak occurs. How this outbreak begins is part of the mystery, there are hints of some kind of terrorist action that may have started it all off but no definite answers, but what makes this novel truly great is the attention to detail and the fact that it is told in a real-world perspective. For instance, to start with no one realises that their attackers are zombies, just that people in the streets have started to go crazy. Secondly, everyone that our hero, David, encounters behaves just as you might expect them to do in such a situation! All in all, this makes for a tale that is both highly believable and ultimately quite terrifying!

I really loved this and can't wait to read the further installments that carry on the story. Volume One sets everything up perfectly and introduces us to some really well-rounded characters that the reader can't help but connect with and future volumes, I am told, not only continue the story but expand on many of the themes and ideas that we are introduced to here. Also smaller characters who appear here briefly in cameos also get more of a chance to shine! But even if you don't fancy paying for any of the other novels (this volume only is free at the moment from Amazon), then there is still plenty here to enjoy as this can be enjoyed as much as a stand-alone as it can as part of the larger series as a whole!

If you like the T.V series, The Walking Dead then you are going to absolutely love this! This is a zombie lovers wet dream; a real-life, believable zombie story that simply can't be beat! On the Kindle at least, this novel has no equal and this reviewer VERY highly recommends this for a realistic take on the traditional Zombie tale!"

THE BLACKWATER FLOOD BY ROBERT WILLIAMS ~ "Blackwater Flood is one of the best books I have read on Kindle so far and is another great example of absolutely awesome indie fiction in a sea of mediocrity.

It starts with a young boy, sheltering in his grandmothers house with his parents from a mighty storm outside that refuses to abate. The nearby river is preparing to flood its banks and it looks as though the family is going to be stuck there for some time. But it is not just the flood they have to be worried about....

Scientists at a local nearby Goverment Laboratory have been messing about with things they shouldn't and when the family take a stanger into their midst, they soon learn that the rising flood water is the least of their troubles....there is something out there in the water, several somethings in fact, and they are hungry for flesh.....

This was a very well written, extremely scary thriller that started off well and progressed swiftly throgh a journey into absolute terror. The ending was a little bit contrived but was totally unexpected and brought all the various plot strands together nicely leaving nothing unexplaned and the reader with a good sense that they knew exactly what had happened. There is nothing worse, after all, than a book that leaves you guessing at the end and scratching your head in puzzlement.

I cannot talk about this book too much because I don't want to give anything away, but this book was even good enough to go on my 1001 books and authors to read before you die list on my Blog and this is a real honour!

Overall, I can totally recommend this and can quite cateogorically state that this is one of the best horror thrillers available on Kindle right now! "

More soon....

I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts....

Am still working to get up to date with my 1001 List, so here is another recommendation and the latest addition to my List...the classic Ghost Story by Peter Straub.....

" Peter Straub is a well renowned author who has famously collaborated with Stephen King on two of his novels, The Talisman and Black House, and who has a quiye lengthy back catalogue of his own as well. But of all of his novels, many of which have failed to impress this paticular reviewer over the years, Ghost Story remains arguably his best and most successful solo novel to date and was also made into a film featuring Fred Astaire!

A group of old-timers regularly gather together in the town of Milburn once a month to exchange ghost stories about their past in a bid to ease their restless dreams. All four of them are plagued by nightmares almost every night ~ triggered by a secret from their past that they all share; the ramifications of which have continued to reverberate throughout the town in the intervening decades that have passed. And slowly the group are dying off because once, not long ago, they were five........

In a bid to try and lay their nightmares to rest, the group begin correspondence with the nephew of their deceased friend and former confidante; a horror writer who it would seem has some experience of the macabre and may well be the one to prove to the old-timers that the feelings of being hunted they share are just the product of a set of over-active imaginations. Unfortunately, his arrival only causes things to escalate leading to the final battle between the group and an old enemy who may just be the death of their home town!

This is an awesome novel that still shocks and chills decades after I first read it as a teenager. It reads like a cross between Stephen King's It and his other great novel, 'Salem's Lot with its themes of a town under seige not just by extreme weather but also by a maevolent, ancient and very evil force!

All the characters are brilliantly conceived and though there are a few places where the novel does lag a bit, mostly around the middle chapters, the end climax is as fantastic as it is terrifying as the group plus their newest addition face off against something from their past they long thought was dead!

I cannot say any more without giving away what it is they face but this truly is the Great American Ghost Story of our modern age and if this IS the only book in Peter Straub's bibliography worth reading and of any note then at least the writer has left us something truly memorable as his legacy.

It is a shame that nothing else he has written has ever quite matched the skill and depth of this book. Nonetheless this remains one of my favourite books of all time and has lost none of its impact in the years since it was first published.

If you only ever read one Peter Straub book then this should be it!


Advantages: Terrifying still decades after it was first written....
Disadvantages: Nothing else he has wrote solo has ever matched the potential of this book!"

Taken from my review on  Dooyoo....

Introducing Catt Dahman......

So, recently on Goodreads I discovered a group called Apocalypse Whenever which specifically looks at and discusses post-apocalyptic fiction and there was a section of the forum there called author/reader co-op. This is where authors post asking a limited amount of people to read their work for free in exchange for a review on Amazon and Goodreads. This was how I discovered the aforementioned End Of Faith and how I have since discovered Catt Dahman. Catt has kindly sent me a selection of her fiction to try out and review if I enjoy them. And, thankfully for her, her gamble has worked out because, as it turns out, she is a pretty darn amazing writer!

As you guys know, if I don't like something I will be brutally honest about it and pass on my opinions accordingly. There are a lot of books out there and part of the mission that Bloggers like myself and fellow Blogger, Lainy (amongst others) have chosen to undertake is to read as many of them as is humanely possible so that you guys who read our Blogs get an idea of what's hot and what's not.

Anyway, back to Catt Dahman...(and if you want to learn more about her, her website is here ~ http://www.cattd.com/). First of all, let me tell you about Time Of Grace...


"First of all, I have to say that Time Of Grace is simply amazing! Kind of a cross between Stephen King's IT and Robert McCammon's Boy's Life, the story is set initially in '50's America where a small town teenager first befriends then falls in love with the girl next door. But something is happening in the local area and when tragedy strikes, the life of the main character and his close circle of friends is irreparably changed forever....

I loved this and thought it a wonderful novel! Catt Dahman is better known for her Z Is For Zombie series but is keen to point out that she is NOT a zombie writer, just catering to the law of supply and demand. Well, I personally think Catt should write more books like this one because this was just awesome - the supernatural element that appears mid-way through the book never feels forced and gives this coming-of-age tale an extra dimension and twist that lifts it high up and above any other similar styled stories by other authors I have read.

I recommend this highly and think it is a first-rate little tale that left me wanting more. And that is always a good sign of a story, when you don't want it to end...." 

Though this didn't quite make my 1001 List, I wanted to tell you about this book because I enjoyed it so much and, to be fair, it only misses making the list by a whisper! I can't explain why some books make The List and some don't as it is a purely personal choice but I should point out that this book still comes highly recommended and got 5 stars from me on Amazon and Goodreads so that should go some way to show how much I thought of it...


Catt has also written the Z Is For Zombie series and this is my review of the first novel here : " Z is for zombie:georges terms is the first in a series of novels set in a post-apocalyptic world in which the dead have returned to feast on the living following the outbreak of a pandemic across the entire planet.

The symptoms of the disease begin with you contracting the virus, bleeding out from every orifice and then lapsing into a coma. But it doesn't end there because you then awake with the urge to feast on living flesh and tissue!

A group of survivors slowly begin to gather in the basement cafeteria of a nearby hospital that has all but been evacuated and begin their quest for survival against all the odds. But when a secondary catastrophe befalls the world outside, their greatest enemy becomes themselves!

This book is less plot driven and more character driven as the author explores the fragile balance of humanity and mankinds total inability to get along, despite the need to work together! I really loved this book and thought it a great start to the series with the introduction of some interesting characters whom I hope to encounter again -this despite the fact that subsequent novels are intended as stand-alones rather than sequels!

My only issue with this, a copy gifted to me by the author in exchange for a review, was that it could have done with a good proof-reading! I found several mistakes through the course of the text and, whilst this didn't affect my overall rating, it was at times distracting! I hope this is something the author takes note of as this has the potential to be the start of one of the best zombie series yet with just a little more attention to detail. The consequences of this not being better proof read is that it could well put people off picking this up in the first place and that would be a shame.

I gave this 4* rather than 5 because I did think it began to lose a little momentum towards the end despite a shocking and unexpected added twist that totally threw me around half-way through the plot! That said, I did really enjoy this and look forward to picking up the second volume...."

I am actually reading the second volume now and about half-way through and can honestly say it is as good as the first book if not better. Introducing elements of Stephen King's The Stand into the ongoing story, I have a strong suspicion that if this series continues the way it is going, from strength to strength up until now, then it could well be a serious contender to go on The List....we will just have to wait and see but whatever the outcome, I recommend you check this gal out because she is certainly an author to watch and deserves all the praise she can get.