Fellside, M.R. Carey

It’s been a while since I had the chance to just sit down and read—sometimes my working life interferes with my reading life. So I was finally able to begin looking at my pile of new books and on the very top was Fellside, by M.R.Carey.

But first, THE BLURB:

Fellside is a maximum security prison on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors. It's not the kind of place you'd want to end up. But it's where Jess Moulson could be spending the rest of her life.

It's a place where even the walls whisper.

And one voice belongs to a little boy with a message for Jess.

Will she listen?

MY REVIEW:

Wow! Where to start…From the first line, this book reaches out and grabs you. Quote: It’s a strange thing to wake up not knowing who you are. The first line hooked me, and the book completely lives up to that first line.

Jess Moulson is an intriguing character. Her life has gone to hell, and she has no idea why.  She is charged with a horrific crime, and while she knows she is innocent, she is unable to prove it. Young, a drug-addict, and naïve, she is the perfect fall guy when a person in a position of power need one.

She lives in a bad part of town, and one of the neighbors has a son, neglected and abused. Alex touches Jess’s heart, and she does what she can to alleviate his life. She is accused of setting the fire that results in his death.

She also believes she can hear him speaking from beyond the grave.

It is when we get to Fellside Prison that things really kick into high-gear.

M.R. Carey has a gift for creating atmosphere. Fellside is dark, dangerous, and ultimately the domain of the male guard known within those walls as “Devil” Devlin.

Grace makes hell intolerable, and Devil Devlin enforces the pain. Still, Jess finds women like Liz, and Sophie—women as broken as she is, and finds compassion is as sweet and precious as water in the desert. She treasures it when she finds it.

The truths Jess discovers while behind those walls come to a shocking, violent conclusion. The ending is not what I expected, but is more powerful because of that.

This is not a light read. This is very much a psychological thriller. I found this book difficult to put down, and hard to forget.

I give Fellside by M.R. Carey five stars.

Black Numbers, Dean Frank Lappi

One of my all-time favorite books by indie author Dean Frank Lappi, is his first one, a little thing called Black Numbers. 

But first the blurb:

In a land where true magic is based on the rare ability to use advanced mathematics to affect the physical world, those who can control such powers are part of a secret organization known as the Oblate. Over the millennia, they have directed the Korpor, a violent and sexual creature, to roam the land and search for the Aleph Null, the one prophesied to control the mysterious Black Numbers, a power beyond anything ever seen in the land.

Sid’s awakening sexuality and genius-level mastery of mathematics puts him on a collision course with the Korpor and the Oblate, and he soon finds himself on the run from powerful and mysterious forces intent on controlling him and his powers. His journey propels him to the center of an ancient struggle that he cannot understand and wants no part of.

But he is not alone, for the friendships that he forges along the way help him to navigate the dark and chaotic road he must travel.
Can Sid overcome the seductive darkness known as Black Numbers?

MY REVIEW:

This book is in many ways a traditional fantasy, but Lappi crosses the line into horror without losing the qualities that I love in an epic fantasy. We have a true Good vs Evil plot, a completely believable system of magic, incredibly frightening creatures and a plot that would make Clive Barker proud.

In Black Numbers, Lappi has created a character-driven plot with all the elements of the Hero's Journey that true fantasy incorporates, along with the atmosphere of fear that great horror evokes.

Magic is expressed both sexually and through mathematics. The central protagonist, Sid (Sidoro) is a young boy growing up with a hard, uncaring father. Sid's father teaches him how to use mathematics, believing with all his heart that Sid is the Aleph Null - a prophesied wielder of the Black Numbers who will rule The Oblate. However, the dreadful creature called the Korpor must test him, and sexually awaken his numbers.

This is not a story for the weak of heart. Sid's violent and frightening encounters with the Korpor are the stuff of nightmares. Many people want to see Sid dead, because of what he is. Fortunately for Sid, he attracts friends who are willing to protect him, one of whom is Crowdal, a giant of a man who is a member of a race called the Trith.

Lappi has created a tale that makes you both afraid to turn the page, and terrified not to. You want to see what will happen to Sid and Crowdal, and at the end, you are left wanting to read more: Lappi set it up beautifully for the sequel, Blood Numbers. I loved this book!

Mr. Composure, Shaun Allan

This is one time when the spin-off story is so far beyond the movie there is no comparison. Indie author Shaun Allan was commissioned to write this original novella as a serial for WattPad, and he really knocked it out of the park. It is short, only 46 pages, but it is a gripping read.

But First--THE BLURB:

"Once upon a time..."

All the best stories begin that way. Once upon a time, Jack climbed a beanstalk. Cinderella did go to the ball.

Once upon a time, his parents died.

When your parents are killed in front of you on the one day of the year when all crime is legal, what do you do?

You prepare for next year. You prepare for payback...

-

Specially commissioned by NBC Universal for the release of the film The Purge: Anarchy, Mr. Composure is "simply superb" and ranked #1!

MY REVIEW:

From the first paragraph, this tale is gripping. The protagonist is never named, and in many ways we actually know more about the killer, whom our protagonist dubs Mr. Composure, and who has a first name: Tom, than we do our protagonist, despite the fact our protagonist is speaking to us all along.

His desire to get the man who killed his family becomes his reason for existence, and he spends the next year laying plans just for that opportunity. Society has completely collapsed, and starving, facing a life of thievery, he is taken in by a stranger and his wife.

The ending is--wow.

I give this tale 5 stars. 

A Dry Patch of Skin, by Stephen Swartz

I love it when an author approaches an old tale with completely new eyes. A Patch of Dry Skin is most definitely a new take on the old tale, and I must say it's about time! Indie Author Stephen Swartz has put together a well-crafted tale that is both a horror story and a morality tale.

But first, the Blurb:
The truth about being a vampire: It is not cool, not sexy. It’s a painful, miserable existence.

Good reason to avoid that situation, thinks Stefan Székely. He's too busy falling in love with TV reporter Penny Park, anyway. Until one day when she notices he has a dry patch of skin on his face.

At first it's annoying, nothing to worry about, some weird skin disease he can treat with lotions. However, as his affliction worsens, Stefan fears that his unsightly problem will ruin his relationship with Penny.

If only that was all Stefan has to worry about! He soon realizes there is a lot more at stake than his handsome face. To save himself, Stefan must go in search of a cure for the disease which is literally destroying him inch by inch. If only his parents had told him of his family's legacy.


My Review:
This is a deep book--I found myself thinking about it long after I finished reading it. Stefan Székely is an interesting character. He's a successful phlebotomist, his parents have died, he's approaching middle-age, and has finally fallen in love with a woman he could spend the rest of his life with.

Unfortunately, he has this little eczema problem, which begins slowly, and soon escalates to tragic proportions. Confused and just wanting it to go away, Stefan consults doctors, seeking treatment through progressive western medicine, to no avail.

Penny is a strong woman, but the disfiguring disease is sometimes too much for her. If Stefan is to keep Penny, their romance has many bumps to overcome, and some of those are insurmountable. Salvaging his romance with Penny becomes Stefan's obsession. 

Stefan has a high sense of morality, and when he accidentally discovers that blood relieves the symptoms, he is faced with making terrible choices, none of which are good for either his career or his relationship with beautiful Penny.  

Things really take a change for the strange when he seeks an unusual treatment in New Orleans. This tale takes the reader all over the world, and into some dark places. The characters he meets along the way are wonderfully portrayed. The sense of history in each location is there, underpinning the story, and his journey becomes a quest for salvation--one he may not achieve. The ending of this tale is both surprising, and is really the only way it could have ended when you think about it.

All in all, I give A Patch of Dry Skin 5 full stars. This is a classic horror story with a non-traditional twist.

Extinction Point, by Paul Antony Jones

Extinction Point, (Extinction Point Book 1) by Paul Antony Jones is an interesting take on the traditional post apocalyptic thriller. It starts off a bit slow, with a little too much background info in the first pages, but stick with it, as it kicks into gear and quickly becomes engrossing.

The Blurb:
First comes the red rain: a strange, scarlet downpour from a cloudless sky that spreads across cities, nations, and the entire globe. In a matter of panicked hours, every living thing on earth succumbs to swift, bloody death. Yet Emily Baxter, a young newspaper reporter, is mysteriously spared—and now she’s all alone.

But watching the happy life she built for herself in New York City slip away in the wake of a monstrous, inexplicable plague is just the beginning of Emily’s waking nightmare. The world isn’t ending; it’s only changing. And the race that once ruled the earth has now become raw material for use by a new form of life never before seen…on this planet.

With only wits, weapons, and a bicycle, Emily must undertake a grueling journey across a country that’s turning increasingly alien. For though she fears she’s been left to inherit the earth, the truth is far more terrifying than a lifetime of solitude.

My Review:

Emily is an interesting character. At the beginning, she seems like a girl who wants to be streetwise, and as events begin to happen, she grows as a character.  The author details the environment well, and also her reactions to the situations she finds herself in. Her observations about the red rain and subsequent evolution of the alien invader give the reader the sense that they are finding things out when she does. There is a sense of impending doom that builds as the story progresses, and I wanted to know what would happen next.

It's not a real long read--I read it in three hours--and the tale continues in book two, so there is no real resolution which was a bit disappointing, but many authors seem to be dividing one book into two or three installments nowadays. 

It was hard for me to decide what I think about this book, as while there is sometime too much information in long dumps and a bit of repetitious narrative, I can forgive those failings because it's a good, gripping story. It's an indie book, but frankly it's no worse than some of the traditionally published genre fiction I've seen lately, and the narrative has moments of being downright stellar. 

Despite the fluff and info dumps that could have been edited out and the lack of a good ending, I'm giving it four stars, because its an awesome concept for a tale, and Emily is a great protagonist. I'll definitely read the next installment, because I'm curious about what happens next.

And Soon the Song, J.D. Hughes

And Soon the Song is a modern fantasy-horror novel by one of the best indie authors in the business, J. D. Hughes. This is his second novel, and is action packed; awash in a sinister atmosphere.

The Blurb:

‘Hearthstone Hall came into sight; not a light showed. It stood, black and massive against the sky, blacker than the night, a mouth of darkness waiting to suck in the innocent.’

Charlie Chelford, hotshot New York photojournalist, is tasked with an unwelcome assignment to photograph billionaire businessman, Sir Marcus Tilling, in England. She has no inkling of the ancient terrors that are rushing to meet her and will change her life, forever.

Fresh from London’s Wormwood Scrubs prison, penniless ex paratrooper Tom Buchanan struggles against the odds to keep on the straight and narrow. He finds a job as a security guard. But there is no security for Tom as he uncovers the mystery of his lost childhood and faces the ultimate test against a supernatural entity that seems to have limitless power.

In an East Harlem cell, gang member and killer Angel Diaz feels the desperate need to escape. He needs a miracle, but then he does have divine help.

Ex-fashion model Elyssia Jordan, locked in an Ashbourne mental asylum, finds an unconventional way to get out… and get home.

And, eyes full of the moon, a huge, black dog dreams of the song, dreams of death.

Deep in the wilds of Derbyshire, England, mediaeval manor house Hearthstone Hall draws them to its cold stones - the boy, the girl, the dark man and the others. They will have no choice, for they will all hear the song and the hunger will be assuaged.

Lost to the gaze of God, Hearthstone waits.

Waits for the guests.

Waits for the children.


My Review:

UK author J.D. Hughes has a gift for conveying the sense of place with an economy of words. The book begins with setting the scene through several action sequences, and while the narrative jumps around a bit at first between people and times, it soon comes together. Charlie is a strong female protagonist, an orphan with a murky past. Her photo-shoot in England does not go as she thought it would (yay for us!) and the way she and all the other characters react to the evolving nightmare is well-conceived and real.

There is evil here, and it is really frightening.

J.D. Hughes explores the concept of deeds done in the distant past influencing the lives of the present, building the tension and sense of danger with every turn of the page.

This is a novel with substance, not a quick read, even for me--but it is well worth spending a day or two at it. If you love horror and supernatural thrillers, you will definitely be glad you did. 

Rushed, by Brian Harmon

This week I found myself dipping into the realm of horror, having run across Rushed, by Brian Harmon.


THE BLURB:

Eric can't remember the recurring dream that keeps waking him in the middle of the night with an overwhelming urge to leave, yet he spends each day feeling as if he desperately needs to be somewhere. With no idea how to cure himself of this odd compulsion, he decides to let it take its course and go for a drive, hoping that once he proves to himself that there is nowhere to go, he can return to his normal life. Instead, he finds himself hurled headlong into a nightmare adventure across a fractured Wisconsin as the dream reveals itself one heart-pounding detail at a time.

MY REVIEW:

Eric Fortrell is an average guy, with a good life and and a great relationship with his wife, Karen. The recurring dream that plagues him threatens all of that, but his wife agrees with him when he at last gives in and begins driving, with no conscious idea of where he will end up. One of the main characters in this tale is Eric's cell phone, which seems to hold a charge exceptionally well.

I like the way Harmon portrays the scenery Eric passes through, fitting it into the narrative without bludgeoning the reader with it--and the scenery is important in this tale, because a cornfield isn't just a cornfield where Eric is going.

No one is what they seem, and help isn't always that helpful. Apparently Eric is running late for something, but no one is willing to tell him what that may be.

This is a gripping mystery, with nightmarish creatures and evil characters. Harmon keeps the plot moving and keeps Eric progressing ever further toward his destiny, making this tale hard to put down. I am giving it five full stars for creativity, great characters and a bold, twisting narrative that won't let you go. 

SIN, by Shaun Allan, Audio Book narrated by R. D. Watson

Today I am discussing the most recent of my audio-book purchases, Sin. I have in the past referred to the written version of this book by indie author Shaun Allan as  "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets Finnegan’s Wake." Beautiful plays on sarcastic, witty words formed into lyrical, wonderful prose. I thought the written book was wonderful, but I am here to tell you, the Audio Book as read by R.D. Watson is nothing short of AWESOME!

THE BLURB:

Dead, dead, dead. Say it enough times and it becomes just another word. What would you do? Could you kill a killer? Does the death of one appease the deaths of a hundred? What about that hundred against a thousand? What if you had no choice? Meet Sin. No, not that sort of sin, but Sin, crazy as a loon (you ask Sister Moon), and proud of it. Sin locks himself away in an asylum and, every so often, gets violent. That's only so they'll give him those nice drugs, though. The ones that help him forget. It's a pity they don't work.

MY REVIEW:

Sin is a dark, urban fantasy, written with a large dose of sardonic humor. We hear the tale from the man who was given the name 'Sin Mathews' at birth, but who goes by the name of Sin only, as the last name doesn't matter; only the name which is the sum of his parts matters. R.D. Watson's reading of Allan's shining, witty, prose is moving and brilliant in every aspect. He gets into Sin's head, and you are completely spellbound.

Sin finds a coin, a two pence coin, or perhaps the coin finds him. Either way, this is the catalyst for Sin's curse. He finds himself flipping the coin compulsively -flip, catch - and it arcs through the air he sees images of disaster and death, which is then reported on the news. Eventually he realizes every time he flips the coin, someone dies; sometimes a lot of people die in what he believes are 'unnatural disasters' timed perfectly to the flip of the coin.  Though he tries to avoid flipping the coin, he finds himself doing it anyway.

No matter how he tries, he can't throw it away, or lose it. The coin always comes back to him when he buys something and gets his change; or even just appearing in his pocket.

Sin receives a letter from his sister Joy, telling him she had found a coin, and when she flipped it she made lives. She wrote that the responsibility for making the world happy was too much for her. She was alone in a world of happiness she couldn't be a part of, and she killed herself.  Sin apparently had found his coin right after her death.  He decides to check himself into an insane asylum in order to get the sort of psychotropic drugs which will render him incapable of seeing the visions, and flipping the coin.

Sin's conversations with Dr. Connors in the opening chapter are adversarial, and illuminating. For the most part, he enjoys his stay in the asylum, but, being sane, he sees the sordid truth in the callous treatment and chronic over-medication of the patients.

Although posing as a mentally ill patient works for a while, the medications soon cease to be effective and he decides that since the coin always comes back to him as if by magic, maybe he has the power to teleport.  He resolves to commit suicide by teleporting himself into the heart of a furnace, hoping for instant incineration.  Unfortunately, he finds himself on a beach, instead of in Hell where he had hoped to be.

Sin has an encounter with Joy who tells him death is not what it is cracked up to be. She warns him "a storm is coming".  He continues his inadvertent journey, trying to get his bearings. After a chance meeting which reveals more of his powers, he finds himself in Grimsby, the home of his childhood.

The atmosphere throughout is surrealistic, but it is well-balanced. I adore Allan's lyrical, intimate style of prose, as in this series of images describing Sin's disorientation, “History doesn’t relate whether Jonah, Gepetto, and Pinocchio sat around a table eating pizza, sharing stories of prophecy and puppetry while in the belly of the whale, but I thought that I could relate to being swallowed whole.”

Throughout the novel, Sin's ruminations are self-mocking, and world-weary, yet naive and innocent.  He bears the guilt of the world, and suffers the unbearable pain of being the cause of so many deaths, but still he finds ironic humor in every situation. Joy is grounded and guides him to the truth, but is not allowed to tell him anything.

 Nothing is what it seems in this tale, and right up to the end, you are not sure which reality is real.

The facts come out, or do they?  This book is a roller-coaster ride from the start to the finish, and I give it 5 stars for originality, and if I could I would give this audio-book version ten!

Sin is available as an audiobook at Amazon.  Buy it here!
If you are in the UK - you can buy it HERE!


OR you can go to these fine vendors:

The link for Sin ebook is Http://getbook.at/SinEbook

The iTunes audiobook is:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/audiobook/sin-unabridged/id829162177?l

Audible.com is: http://bit.ly/SinAudibleUS

Audible.co.uk is: http://bit.ly/SinAudibleUK

Cherry Hill cd is: http://bit.ly/SinAudio

And Cherry Hill MP3 is: http://bit.ly/SinMP3

Blood Numbers, Dean Frank Lappi

This week I read Blood Numbers, book II in the Aleph Null Chronicles, written by indie author Dean Frank Lappi. The Aleph Null Chronicles has to be the most unique fantasy series ever written. The first book is the reissued novel, Black Numbers.

THE BLURB

Sid is the Aleph Null, his power of Black Numbers awakened, but he cannot yet manipulate those numbers. He journeys with his friends Crowdal, Melinda, Mrs. Wessmank, Maelon and Writhgarth to a faraway land that may hold the key to his powers. Along the way he meets a powerful woman who awakens his first feelings of true love, but who may also be the one destined to destroy him.

Sid is pursued by evil forces from all directions. His former childhood friend, Tris, now rules the Oblate and commands a power of numbers equal to, if not greater than his own. He also controls the seductive yet violent Korpor, and together they are weaving a plot to capture Sid and take control of his Black Numbers.

Sid is also hunted by a sadistic and violent warlord and his death squad who has his own plans for Sid. But worst of all, a forgotten and ancient evil has been unintentionally freed from its millennia-long prison, a nightmarish being that has one purpose...

To destroy the wielder of Black Numbers

MY REVIEW

I read Black Numbers when it was first published and I was gobsmacked. The writing is beautiful, the plot is devious and seductive, the characters are deep and fully formed. Blood Numbers follows and delivers the same raw emotions with a punch just as elegantly delivered.

These books are in many ways a traditional fantasy, in that they are peopled by both humans and non-humans, magic is involved, and setting is a beautifully detailed place that could never exist.  But Lappi crosses the line into horror without losing the any of the qualities that I love in an epic fantasy.  We have a true Good versus Evil plot, a completely believable system of magic, incredibly frightening creatures and a plot that doesn’t stop.

I want to say at the outset that in this series, magic is expressed both sexually and through mathematics. This is a series where sexuality is central to the expression of the magic, and it is at times explicit. This tale is not always nice, at times it is brutal. This is not erotica; this is a tale with uncomfortable plot twists, but plot twists a true fan of horror will not be able turn away from. These books are not for the faint of heart, or for those who shy away from explicit and at times, violent sex. Yet the sex is not for prurient purposes. Lappi’s magic is created by melding high mathematics (the sort that explain the universe) and that most powerful of human drives, sex.

The central protagonist, Sid (Sidoro) grew up with a hard, uncaring father.  Sid's father taught him how to use mathematics, believing with all his heart that Sid was the Aleph Null—a prophesied wielder of the Black Numbers who will rule The Oblate. It is central to the plot that for the Oblate to control Sid, they would have to control his sexuality and the Korpor is central to the Oblate. Sid's violent and frightening encounters with the Korpor are the stuff of nightmares.  To top that off, many people want to see Sid dead, because of what he is, and how he threatens their position and power.

Tris, the man Sid always thought was his friend rules the Oblate and controls the Korpor, and is now pursuing him, intent on killing him. Fortunately for Sid, he attracts friends who are willing to risk their lives to protect him. Sid inspires great loyalty in his friends. Crowdal, Mrs. Wessmank, Writhgarth, Crowdal and Maelon are each uniquely individual and have their own stories. All the characters are wonderful in this series, but Crowdal is bold, witty and, dare I say it? Sexy in his own right. Indeed, all of Lappi's characters are clearly visualized and compelling.

It is a dark series, and there are some very disturbing moments, but it is also an amazing journey into those most basic of human emotions--friendship, love, loyalty, lust for power, and boundless ambition. For Sid, there is danger in falling in love. For me as reader, this was an unparalleled adventure.

  

The author has said in an editorial disclaimer, “The mathematics in this series were intentionally described without going into any mathematical depth. I wrote it this way because I wanted the math to be conceptual as a way to explain magic, for it to be more visually spectacular than mathematically precise.”  I have to say that this makes it MUCH more enjoyable for me, as I am most decidedly NOT a mathematician.

As with the first book in the series, Lappi has created another tale that makes you both afraid to turn the page, and terrified not to.  You want to see what will happen next. When I reached the final page, I couldn't get this book out of my mind.  I could never have predicted this ending—and now I must have the next book!

Dark Places, by Shaun Allan

Shaun Allan is one of my favorite, go-to authors when I am in the mood for an off-beat, darkly-humorous book that makes me wish I was an author! (insert lol here.) His most recent book, Dark Places is one of those secret pleasures that I hide away with, and savor every paragraph.

The Blurb:

I am Death. I know who you are...

There is darkness and madness in each of us. We must do battle with our own demons.

But...

What if those demons opened the door in the back of your mind and stepped out. What if they became real? If the night, the shadows, the reflections and Death himself walked among us? And what if they were watching you? Waiting? Thirsting...?

Dark Places. Thirteen stories. Thirteen poems.

Thirteen doorways.

My Review:

Shaun Allan's obsession with all things dark bears strange and frequently hilarious fruit in this compilation of stories interspersed with poems. 

The book opens with the poem "Mmmm," a commentary on life by a man who wishes that he could 'DO' instead of just 'going with the flow' but lethargy owns him--he's unable to make the effort.

The first short tale is  "I am Death".  It details a day in the life of the Grim Reaper. The Grim Reaper has been at his job for quite a while now, and is becoming rather bored with with it. Death writes bad poetry--"To live is to die, To smile is to cry"--and knows in his heart he should stick to his day job and leave poetry to those with, well, a soul.

This book is full of little snippets and jewels of dark prose and self-mocking humor. "This Night", a poem that sheds a little light into the authors own psyche, showing us the anxiety that lurks just below the surface of our precarious modern lives. "This night is safe. This night..."

"Dark Places", a longer tale, details the mental state of a man who finds himself. Literally.

"The Last Dance" is one of the shorter pieces, but is incredibly moving.

"Patient Solitude" details love, loss, two men and living with the memories of one woman's last moments.

All through this book, interspersed with the horror, is the shockingly honest humor that Shaun Allan is famous for, shedding light on our own fears and frailties.

But my FAVORITE tale is the creepy, "House on the Moor." Let's just say it brings a new level to the dangers of dipping into the real estate market.

I was privileged to be an editor on this book, so this review is a bit of nepotism on my part, but I've been a fan of Allan's since I first read his monster-piece, "Sin", a deep, dark novel of one man's madness. It was such a pleasure, to be allowed to work with an author of this caliber. Allan's prose is beautiful and harsh, opening doors into our own psyche we may wish we'd never entered. All in all, this is an excellent book for a cold winter's day, safe by your fire with a cup of cocoa.

Ring of Lost Souls, Rachel Tsoumbakos

In 'The Ring of Lost Souls' by Aussie author Rachel Tsoumbakos, we are asked to consider, 'What if Fairy Tales were real?"  Well, I think you know reading that line in the book-blurb intrigued me from the get-go!  And joy of all joys - this book more than met my high expectations! The story is set in the real location of Larundel Asylum but that is where the reality ends. I warn you, there is more of horror than of fairies in this tale. But then, true fairies never were the way Disney portrays them until only the last century, so maybe there is a great deal of Faerie.  They were thought to be capricious and cruel, and certainly not good to be involved with!

Long ago a human beautiful woman Eithne became involved with Finnbheara, the King of the Fairies. Unfortunately, Finn was married to Una, who took exception to the whole thing. Eithne was also a witch, and she made a magic potion which was to keep Una asleep for  100 years, but which had only worked for a season. Somehow the magic potion linked Eithne and Una, and gave Una a conscience, which turned out to be bad for Finn.

When Eithne discovered that Finn was also the King of the Dead and sacrificed humans on Halloween, she had been disgusted, but still she hung on to him. Eithne is forced by circumstances to marry a human King, Amairgin. He conspires with Una to force Eithne to magically banish Finnbheara from Ireland to 'the ends of the earth, a place not yet discovered or conquered'. This act has the unforeseen consequence of binding the four of them for eternity, in a complex cycle of rebirth.

The 'ends of the earth' turns out to be Australia. Living in Melbourne, Isobel is recently divorced and has also recently lost her job. She takes up running as a hobby, and frequently finds herself passing by the ruins of an abandoned mental asylum, Larundel. One day she finds a simple gold wedding band on the grounds, and puts it on.   Strange events begin happening, some things which call Isobel's sanity into question.

A ghostly 'bird-lady' named Maisy, urges her to 'kill them all'.  When Isobel asks who she should kill, Maisy replies 'the lost souls.' Things go downhill from there.

This tale winds though modern pop-culture and the events of her past-lives which involve Larundel. Isobel struggles to to discover who Maisy was and what ties them together. All the while she is struggling with this mystery, Finn and Maisy watch her, as ghostly entities.

Friends do not always have her best interests in mind, and what she has always believed of herself is proven to be a myth.

This story has more twists and turns than a country road. Just when you think you know what is going on, you find you were off track. The ending is unexpected and I highly recommend this tale to everyone who likes a good paranormal fantasy.

I enjoyed Rachel Tsoumbakos' first book, Emeline and the Mutants, an off-beat take on vampires, zombies and the cure for HIV. Both books are available for Kindle at amazon.com.

Drasmyr, Mathew D Ryan

Drasmyr  is a fantasy horror novel written by indie author Mathew D Ryan.

The story takes place in the city of Drisdak, and centers on the mages’ guild there.  Lucien Val Drasmyr is a 1000 year old vampire and is the main antagonist in this tale. He has made an unwise acquaintance with Arcalian, an evil mage and guild master who wants a magic scepter that Lucien guards.  He sends 2 apprentices to get it – one dies and one (Clarissa) is turned into Lucien’s bride.  Lucien kills Arcalian in the mage’s own domain and takes the body with him while the study burns behind him.

Regecon, a Mage of noble decent, formerly a councilman and newly made Guild Master has to find out what really happened in Arcalian’s study. He is assisted by Toreg, an arrogant mage, Morcallenon, the head diviner and Ambrisia, a sorceress of earthcraft who is also Regecon’s closest confidant.

Coragan is a bounty hunter hired to find Arcalian if he lives. He is not happy in his profession, feeling more like an assassin for the nobility than a bringer of justice. He feels like he is always cleaning up after his two mates. Coragan has had only bad experiences while working for both mages and noblemen, and does not see that improving.

Galladrin is a rogue. He was once a thief, is a weapons-master and is a reluctant follower, preferring to lead.  This story is ostensibly about Coragan but seems to be told from Galladrin’s perspective more often than anyone else’s, although the POV changes frequently during the course of the narrative.

Borak is barbarian warrior, strong, silent, and the only one of the three with any brains, but does not speak often.

While the three men are sifting through the ashes of the fire that had consumed Arcalian’s study they come across a special jar that remains untouched by the fire.

Korina, a student and apprentice of Ambrisia, knows what the mysterious jar is. Korina is possessed of many secrets, all of them evil. She hides her evil under a mask of innocence well, and joins in the fight against Lucien for reasons of her own.

Galladrin is somewhat of a loose cannon and his inadvertent encounter with Clarissa bring them to Lucien’s attention.

The mystery deepens and then the adventures really begin.  This is a rather grisly book, and I really don’t recommend it if you have a distaste for graphic violence.  People die regularly and gruesomely. Despite the violence, the plot moves along well and kept my attention.

The story frequently alternates point of view between Lucien whose story is told in the first person, and each of the other characters parts of the story, all of whose stories are told in the third person. The point of view jumps all over the place, but still the story is intriguing and immersive.

The system of sorcery is logical and makes sense; the characters are well drawn and engaging.  It is very easy to visualize the environment of Drisdak. I was quite engrossed in the world that Ryan builds.

Drasmyr is only available through Smashwords, and the only way I was able to read it was on my Kindle for PC app as it would not upload to my Kindle. Nevertheless, I recommend this as a great rainy-day read.

The Best In Fantasy Year in Review

This year, in July I began my quest to try to read and discuss one really good fantasy read a week.  At the time that I began this quest, I had no idea just how difficult and time consuming a task that would become!  I quickly discovered that for every one book that I loved, I had to read four or five that I quite frankly didn't love. Many books that have received high critical praise didn't ring my chimes at all. 

For this post, I had to decide which book-cover was my favorite book cover, and that was incredibly difficult!  The art and graphics on most of these books is so great that I would be proud to have it on my walls.  Still, Stephen King's incredible cover for 'The Dark Tower' looms as the best cover that I have seen this year.  The joke there is that I never reviewed that book, although my friend Jesse Schlecter reviewed the series as a guest post!  Still, I am using it as the cover of choice for this post. A very close runner-up for cover of the year is Valerie Douglas' 'Servant Of The Gods', which was my final review of the year.

Since my reason for writing the Best in Fantasy was to discuss the books that I loved, you have never heard of the ones that I like moderately, or even not at all, and you will never hear about them unless we are chatting in person! I don't have the deeply rooted belief that I am the final word on whether a book is bad or great that a true critic needs to have.  You have come to realize, I am sure, that I have a rather quirky sense of what I consider to be a great read.  My choices of books tend to be quite divergent and often obscure.  Reading pleasure is so subjective and individual, that I simply try to promote what I personally consider to be little gems.

Several little gems really stood out in my mind this year, and they may or may not surprise you.  The first book that leaps to my mind when I think of the book that I enjoyed the most this year is  L. T. Suzuki's 'Imago - A Warrior's Tale'.  I was blown away by that first book in the series.  I dropped everything and immediately began reading everything in the whole series.  The more I read, the more I was addicted!

Another little gem that rocked the Casbah for me was 'Black Numbers' by Dean Frank Lappi.  That is the scariest, most compelling book I have read in a very long time.  I am now waiting on pins and needles for the sequel! 

I also dipped deep into the realm of Young Adult Fantasy, and along with J. K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' (which was my inaugural post) I read Alison DeLuca's 'Night Watchman Express', Rick Riordan's 'The Lost Hero' and Gary Hoover's 'Land of Nod - The Artifact'.  Although all of these books are written from a teen's point of view (an age which I left behind along with the dinosaur), each and every one of them captured my attention and drew me completely into their world.

I also review many books by authors who have passed on, but whose works live on and still pull the reader in, even after all the years since their passing.  Fritz Lieber's classic ' 'Swords and Deviltry', Robert Jordan's 'New Spring', and Marion Zimmer Bradley's 'Mists of Avalon' were just a few of the classics that I re-read this year for this blog.  I was so happy to re-read their work, and discovered many things in them that I hadn't noticed the first time around.

We also lost several great writers this year. The prolific, amazing Anne McCaffrey passed on in November, and Diana Wynne Jones in March.

Despite the losses, and despite the amazing number of books that I have had to read just to find one gem a week, this has been a truly great adventure.  Each and every book that I have reviewed in this forum is a book that I absolutely loved reading, and I would gladly read again. Thank you all for being a part of my first year at this!  I hope to be able share many more little beauties with you in the years to come!

Voices in the Field and Other Stories, J. Allen Fielder

Periodically, I go on binges of reading short story compilations.  Recently I came across one written by indy author J. Allen Fielder, and I am now hooked.  He has gone back to the roots of science-fiction and fantasy with his book, 'Voices in the Field'.  This book is definitely a thinking-person's sort of book.  There are morality tales, and tales that are simply meant to make you go "hmm...."

Fielder's own description of his book on Amazon is as follows:   "Voices in the Field" is a collection of short stories by J. Allen Fielder. Titles include previously published and unpublished short stories, from the eponymous "Voices in the Field," to the humorously creepy "Mom's Eye View," these stories were written to thrill, chill, and make the reader wonder "What the hell is wrong with this guy?" Other titles include "Liquid," "Truck Stop Love," and "Homemade Pie." Stories range from horror, to mystery, to children's . . . and various points in between."

I must say, Fielder delivers on his promises!

In the first tale, which the book takes its title from, Fielder introduces us to a man whose car has broken down along a rural stretch of highway.  This tale is both homey, and frightening, with a sort of Stephen King intensity.  Harold is a 71 year old academic who has taken a less traveled route from Kansas State college on his back home to Corinthian College.  Alas, this road is exceedingly less well traveled, and Harold's car breaks down.  Being a naturally cheerful sort, he settles in to wait for a passing car to get help. To while away the time, he records his thoughts on the machine that he uses to record his notes on.   He is a bit old fashioned, and doesn't have a mobile phone. He soon regrets having taken the back road.  This is an unsettling story and it sets the tone for the rest of the book very well.

For those of us who are fans of horror, the fourth tale, 'Liquid' is one of the creepiest tales I have ever read.  A doctor at the top of his craft is the victim of an attack that completely changes his life.  It is a terrible case of 'There but for the grace of God go I', taken to an appalling extreme.

I must say, that I may never eat a pot pie again, having read 'Homemade Pie'.  The twist at the end of this tale is a real surprise, and gruesome though the tale is, it is one of my favorites.

'Cowboy Up' is the tale of an urban cowboy with an identity crisis, and a marriage proposal gone awry.

'The Party Pooper' is an extremely graphic tale of two buddies who make porn films in their spare time.  These are men whom I wouldn't want to know, but hey - it's all in good fun. (NOT!) 

The book ends with 'Weight' a tale of a young man who has suffered a lifetime of abuse for being obese.  It is not a long tale, but it is the sort of tale that would have found its way onto 'The Twilight Zone' back in the heyday of morality tales.

I could practically hear Rod Serling 's voice introducing each of these well crafted and deliciously thought-provoking tales!

All in all, J. Allen Fielder has written a wonderfully creepy series of short stories.  This book is going on my list of keepers!