Author Archive

The impulse to collect springs from deep within the human psyche Squirrels gather acorns, rats collect shiny things, but only humans assign meaning to the objects they collect. Detritus is a collection of stories about the impulse to collect, preserve, and display gone horribly wrong. The stories in this collection can be about hoarders, cat ladies, people who keep cabinets of curiosities, folks who have secret stashes of strange and disturbing things or any other sort of person who has a frightening collection or a desperate need to gather up and keep things close.

My own personal obsession with short stories has grown considerably over the last couple of years to the point that any new anthology is something that I really look forward to. Detritus found its way into grubby little mitts via the wonder of technology that is Twitter. This collection contains fifteen short stories that range from the surreal to the gruesome by way of extremely geeky. There is a whole lot to enjoy here and my thoughts about my favourite entries are listed below.

Shots and Cuts by Mary Borsellino – A homicide detective discusses the rise of the violent Internet memes and you-tube videos that depict horrific crimes. This is one of the more gruesome tales in the collection. A fact is made all the more distressing when you realise it is also likely the most realistic as well.

Mrs. Grainger’s Animal Emporium by Phil Hickes – A mysterious shop and an equally mysterious proprietor who knows exactly how to deal with young boys who cause trouble. This was one of the real standout stories in the collection as it reads almost like a modern day fairytale.

The Tick-Tock Heart by L.S. Murphy – When two estranged sisters meet after years apart one finds the constant interruption to her highly regular routine more and more difficult to cope with. She eventually takes matters into her own hands with horrific results.

Arkitektur by Michael R Colangelo – This was one of the more surreal stories in the collection. The old house contains dark patterns and those patterns affect everyone that comes into contact with them. As this tale unfolds things just get stranger and stranger. I’m not adverse to a bit of odd and this certainly delivered that.

Armoire by Louise Bohmer – Sometimes when I read a short story it seems obvious to me that all I’m getting is the smallest of glimpses into a much larger world, Armoire felt like that. I think I could quite happily read an entire novel based around this stories premise – a young woman with magical powers becomes obsessed with collecting the spirits of inter-dimensional parasites.

Heroes and Villians by Michael Montoure – Anyone who has ever collected comic books will enjoy this story. Just how far would you go if the ultimate collection landed in your lap? Darkly comic, please excuse the pun, and just a little bit evil.

In His Own Graven Image by Pete Clark – There is a growing trend in the world for body modification and this story finds a man who has taken one particular type of modification to the extreme. A tale that masterfully examines the nature of obsessive behavior and how it can totally control a life.

Overall this is a solid little anthology that contains some real gems. I wasn’t blown away by every single story but at only £2 for the entire collection I think this is still definitely value for money. If you enjoy your horror in the short form then I would suggest you give this a try. I am sure that you will find something that you enjoy.

Detritus is published by Omnium Gatherum and is available for Kindle now.

See larger image Detritus (Kindle Edition) By (author) Mary Borsellino, L.S, Murphy, Michael Colangelo, Opal Edgar, Michael Montoure, Lee Widener, Phil Hickes, Edmund Colell Release date January 11, 2012.

They searched for GOLD. They found DEATH.

Iraq, 2005 

Seven mercenaries journey deep into the desert in search of Saddam’s gold. They form an unlikely crew of battle-scarred privateers, killers and thieves, veterans of a dozen war zones, each of them anxious to make one last score before their luck runs out.

They will soon find themselves marooned among ancient ruins, caught in a desperate battle for their lives, confronted by greed, betrayal, and an army that won’t stay dead…

Outpost, Adam Baker’s debut novel, was an unexpected highlight of last year. Creepy, action-packed, with a cast of memorable characters and a darker than dark story it most definitely earned its spot on my book of the year list.  When my copy of Juggernaut arrived, I have to admit that my expectations were extremely high.

Like its predecessor, Juggernaut features a strong female protagonist as its main character. Lucy leads the group of mercenaries from the front and she is just as tough as any of her male counterparts. She is ex Special Forces and her calm under pressure makes for an engrossing character. She doesn’t panic, she doesn’t flinch, and she just does whatever needs to be done. Like the lead character in Outpost, there is an inherent inner-strength that starts to shine through as the plot unfolds.

The rest of the mercs are a rag tag group. My personal favourite was the South African team member, Voss, who has a habit blowing things up and chewing tobacco. I have to admit I kept picturing Jesse Ventura as Blain in Predator every time he appeared. My only minor disappointment was that Voss never delivered the line “I ain’t got time to bleed” in a South African accent.

The northwestern Iraqi desert is an ideal backdrop for this story. While war rages far to the south, the blistering heat, inhospitable terrain and desolate landscape creates a sense of isolation. This isn’t just mercenaries against hordes of undead but also against their surroundings. As the action escalates and the odds of surviving reduce by the second there is a palpable air of desperation.

I continue to be impressed by Baker’s work and Juggernaut expertly showcases a rising talent in the genre.  Be prepared for a tale featuring zombies of mass destruction that seamlessly blends together political intrigue with shockingly graphic body horror.

Juggernaut functions as a prequel to Outpost and fills in some, but not all, of the intentional blanks that appeared in the first novel. The reader gets to learn at least a partial origin to the virus that is causing all the mayhem.  There are also some insightful flashbacks that shed light on the shadowy government officials who are trying to control it. There are, however, still enough gaps and a tantalising epilogue that makes me think there may be at least one more novel to come. If not, I will be happy to start the campaign here and now that demands that Adam Baker writes one. Juggernaut and Outpost are both masterful works that I would recommend to any reader that enjoys absorbing horror.  Mr. Baker is an author that has a flair for the apocalyptic and I’m already looking forward to his next novel.

I have my own mental checklist when it comes to zombie novels like this. I’m looking for seemingly hopeless situations, futile gestures made by characters that know they are living on borrow time, small groups facing insurmountable odds and a climax that takes has you sat on the edge of your seat. The good news is that Juggernaut delivers all of this and more. Sure there are a plethora of zombie books out there but there is a world of difference between a zombie novel and a zombie novel done well. This falls firmly into the later category.

Juggernaut is published by Hodder & Stoughton and is released on 16th February 2012. I urge you to seek it out, especially if you enjoyed Outpost, you will not be disappointed. In fact if you haven’t read Outpost buy that as well and enjoy them both.

See larger image Juggernaut (Paperback) By (author) Adam Baker List Price: £12.99 GBP New From: £6.99 In Stock Used from: £8.68 In Stock

A story of survival and obsession in a world brought to its knees.

When Jez White disturbs Rachel’s solitary existence she finds herself being drawn into a murky territory somewhere between stalking and being stalked. This powerful is by turns sensual and sinister, and conjures up an all-too-believable near future – of isolated communities, wild weather and strange allegiances.

I Have Waited, and You Have Come is a character study that follows the life of a woman who shuts herself away from the world as it starts to fall apart due to global warming.

As her story unfolds, I have to admit that I found my feelings towards Rachel changing on almost a chapter-by-chapter basis. She chooses to live an isolated existence, purposefully avoiding human contact whenever possible. The relationship she had with her previous partner ended badly, and this has undoubtedly left a mark. Her increasingly fragile grasp on reality and deteriorating mental state make her come across as quite abrupt and standoffish at times. There were moments when part of me felt sorry for the situation she was in, but another part of me couldn’t help but feel that some of her problems were due to her cutting herself off from what’s left of humanity. It’s a strength of the writing, and the insight that I gained into Rachel’s character, that the author was able elicit these feelings. It’s not often I get so drawn in.

Rachel’s feelings towards Jez and vice versa have a fluid, almost ambiguous quality that allows for a lot of the interactions that occur to be open to different interpretations. Is Jez stalking Rachel? Is she stalking him? Is Rachel imagining it all? Is the whole situation nothing more than a figment of Rachel’s tortured imagination?

Though less evidence is presented, it is also clear that Jez is also suffering from the stresses of a world that that is slowly collapsing. He has his own demons and the relationship that these two share is obsessive on both sides.

This is an extremely intimate story, both characters divulge their innermost thoughts but the majority of the novel is written from Rachel’s point of view. A lot of the information that the reader discovers is learnt via her slightly skewed perspective of the world. There are however some short extracts from Jez’s diary, which offer glimpses into his mind. It is only in the final chapter that any detail of how other survivors view them both is finally revealed.

At only one hundred and seventy pages long, it’s not difficult to read the entire story in a single sitting and it is certainly compelling enough to do just that. I’m still thinking about this book days after I finished reading it. The science fiction element was the initial hook that drew me in but there is so much more to consider – the nature of obsessive behaviour, how differing perspectives can offer completely different interpretations of the same event. This is a thought provoking novel that is deceptively chilling.

I Have Waited, and You Have come is re-released on 14^th February 2012 and is published by Myriad Editions.

See larger image I Have Waited, and You Have Come (Paperback) By (author) Martine McDonagh List Price: £7.99 GBP New From: £2.73 In Stock Used from: £2.18 In Stock Release date February 14, 2012.

London, 1850. Fog in the air and filth in the streets, from the rat-infested graveyard of Tom-All-Alone’s to the elegant chambers in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, where the formidable lawyer Edward Tulkinghorn has powerful clients to protect, and a deadly secret to hide. Only that secret is now under threat from a shadowy and unseen adversary – an adversary who must be tracked down at all costs, before it’s too late. Who better for such a task than young Charles Maddox? Unfairly dismissed from the police force, Charles is struggling to establish himself as a private detective. Only business is slow and his one case a dead end, so when Tulkinghorn offers a handsome price for an apparently simple job Charles is unable to resist. But as he soon discovers, nothing here is what it seems. An assignment that starts with anonymous letters leads soon to a brutal murder, as the investigation lures Charles ever deeper into the terrible darkness Tulkinghorn will stop at nothing to conceal. 

Inspired by Charles Dickens’ masterpiece Bleak House, Tom-All-Alone’s is a new and gripping Victorian murder mystery which immerses the reader in a grim London underworld that Dickens could only hint at – a world in which girls as young as ten work the night as prostitutes, unwanted babies are ruthlessly disposed of, and those who threaten the rank and reputations of great men are eliminated at once, and without remorse.

It seems entirely appropriate that on the day that marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Dicken’s birth I bring you a review of a new book inspired by his body of work. Regular readers will know that I tend to focus primarily on horror, science fiction and fantasy but occasionally I like to read something that is a bit outside my comfort zone. I certainly don’t read a huge amount of historical fiction but when I heard about Tom-All-Alone’s I have to admit that I was intrigued. The premise of a mystery set in the mists of Dickensian London appeals and by the time I got to the bottom of page one and read  ”Night and day London moves and sweats and bawls, as riddled with life as a corpse with maggots”, I was sold.

Interspersed throughout the main story there is a second narrative following the story of a young woman called Hester. The chapters she appears in detail her life with friends in the seemingly idyllic Solitary House. Through the course of the novel the author starts to slowly drip feed the reader how Hester’s tale ties in with the case that Maddox is investigating.

Like Dickens there are many larger than life characters that that vie for your attention, all of them pitched perfectly and each memorable in their own way. Charles Maddox is still finding his feet in his role as a detective and the mistakes that he makes feel that much more real. He is young man driven to discover the truth at all costs.

Maddox has a great uncle who he shares a name with. Maddox Snr was a great ‘ thief taker‘ in his time but is suffering from the vagaries of old age. It is becoming increasingly obvious to his family and friends that his once razor sharp mind is beginning to fail him. One moment he is fine, the next his is violent and then suddenly almost catatonic. He endeavours to offer his nephew what little assistance he can but is dying by degrees. The scenes between the two men are particularly touching and very effective. The reader gets glimpses of the investigator the old man once was and the high regard that his nephew still holds him in. Reading the novel with 21st century eyes it is interesting to see how 19th century characters deal with a condition as debilitating as Alzheimer’s.

It is only right and proper for a private investigator to have an arch-nemesis on the police force and in Maddox case this comes in the form of inimitable Mr Bucket of the Detective. It’s a highlight to see how their relationship evolves throughout the novel.

It’s always a pleasure to discover a writer whose work instantly clicks with you. I sincerely hope there will be further mysteries featuring Charles Maddox. The evocative setting, well observed characters and tantalising storytelling had me hooked from the very outset. The writing deftly brings to life all the sights and sounds of the metropolis, however grotesque they have the potential to be. The opportunity to delve into the dark underbelly of Victorian society is just too good to miss. Lynn Shepherd’s London is a world of corruption, violence, and dark unpleasant secrets with a little blackmail thrown in for good measure.  This is exactly the sort of story I’d like to see adapted for the screen. Actually if the BBC happens upon this review I’m thinking lavish adaption perhaps in time for next winter? Seriously, you’d be on to a winner.

Tom-All-Alone’s is published by Corsair and is available in the UK now and will be published as The Solitary House in US/Canada on 1st May 2012.

See larger image Tom-All-Alone's (Hardcover) By (author) Lynn Shepherd List Price: £12.99 GBP New From: £5.30 In Stock Used from: £6.83 In Stock

Juggernaut by Adam Baker is published by Hodder & Stoughton and will be released on Thursday 16th February in the UK. Fancy winning yourself a copy? Of course you do. Well it’s all terribly easy. Simple follow the instructions below.

All you have to do is copy and paste the text below into a tweet .  All those that post the tweet will be entered into a draw and 1 lucky winner will picked at random.

Please tweet the following text by 9pm Friday 10th February:

Follow @TheEloquentPage & RT this for a chance to win a copy of Juggernaut by Adam Baker #Juggernaut http://bit.ly/AwOw7d

RULES:

• To be entered into the draw you must have tweeted the above text sometime before 9pm Friday 10th February 2012, AND be a follower (old or new) of @TheEloquentPage twitter account.
• Unfortunately this competition is restricted to UK residents only.

I like to help promote local book related goings on when I can. Those cheeky young scamps over at Un:Bound sure do make it easy to do so. Check out the poster for their latest event.

Hellequin, last of the HawkEye military elite, is desperate to escape the legacy of Soul Food, the miraculous plant food that leeched the soil, destroyed his family, and instigated a bloody civil war. For a man awaiting the inevitable madness brought on by his enforced biomorph implant, there’s only one choice. Run away with the circus… 

Drifting above a poisoned landscape, Cyber Circus and her exotic acrobats and bioengineered freaks bring a welcome splash of colour into folk’s drab lives. None more so than escaped courtesan turned-dancer Desirous Nim. When Nim’s freedom and her very life are threatened, Hellequin is forced to fight again. But, even united, will the weird troupe and their strange skills be enough to save Nim and keep their home aloft? That’s assuming, of course, that Zan City’s Blood Worms, mute stowaways, or the swarms don’t manage to bring them down first…

Welcome to the greatest show on Sore Earth!

Last year I read Tourniquet and thoroughly enjoyed the author’s iconoclastic take on a neo-gothic future Nottingham. Based on that experience, I made a promise to myself that I would definitely read Kim Lakin-Smith’s next novel when it was published. I’m embarrassed to say that due to other commitments I have been denied that chance up until now.

The Cyber Circus is constantly travelling, scratching out a living wherever and whenever they can. Hot on their heels is the pimp D’Angelus. He’s determined to reclaim what he sees as his property, Desirous Nim. In addition to that he is also lusting after Rust, the wolf girl. His growing obsession forces the circus to keep on moving as they try to avoid the mercenaries that D’Angelus has hired to track them down.

One of my favourite things about this novel is the wonderful characterisation. As you read, it becomes evident that Lakin-Smith has taken care to give each of her creations their own fully developed backstory.  There are just so many great characters to discover and enjoy. Though Hellequin and Nim take centre stage, I have to admit I developed a bit of a fondness for the chief pitchman, Pig Heart, and a group of children known as The Scuttlers.  I can see Hellequin becoming a fan favourite though, as he takes it on himself to protect the Circus and most specifically, Nim. There are some brilliant moments where he cracks heads and causes no end of grief for his enemies.

Reading Cyber Circus feels like a steampunk mash-up of two, sadly short lived but excellent, genre television shows –  Firefly and Carnivale. Lakin-Smith has effortlessly captured the detail of the lives of the carnival folk (carnies). Like Carnivale, you get genuine insight into how the circus functions, the reader gets to see what goes on behind the curtains that lead to back stage.

The carnies are one big dysfunctional family. They may not always get on but they look out for one another when push comes to shove. It’s the interactions between them all that make this a very readable ensemble piece.

After the main story is finished, there is a second tale that acts as almost a Wizard of Oz-esque prequel. It’s a genuine strength of the writing that I was starting to imagine the events unfolding in a grainy black and white as opposed to the vivid technicolour of the narrative that preceded it. This prequel also hints that there are many more voices from Sore Earth still left to be heard, next time I certainly won’t wait months to discover them. Highly recommended.

Cyber Circus is published by NewCon Press and is available now.

See larger image Cyber Circus (Paperback) By (author) Kim Lakin-Smith List Price: £9.99 GBP New From: £7.99 In Stock

For centuries it has been locked away 

Lost beneath the sea 

Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight.

But now magic is rising to the world once more.

Gavin has given up on the adults in his life, and they’ve given up on him. His father appears to hate him, his mother is scared of him, his teachers think maybe he should be in a different school. What he has is a gift – one he neither wants nor understands. At fifteen, his closest friend and confidante is the mysterious Miss Grey, although he has given up trying to talk to people about her as it only seems to upset them. Turned out of school, and not included in his parents’ holiday plans he catches a train to what may be his last haven; his aunt Gwen in Cornwall.

However, she is not there to meet him. Instead the weather is turning bad, and unnerving things are stirring.

Gavin is at that difficult age between childhood and being an adult. He is filled with uncertainty and he doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. When the reader is first introduced to him you aren’t given a great deal of detail about what is going on but as each new chapter unfolds a little bit more of a larger puzzle is revealed. There are secrets everywhere you look in Advent. Conversations occur and it is not until later on in the book that their relevance suddenly becomes clear. Gavin’s journey is a voyage of self-discovery as he uncovers the truth about his family and the secrets that have surrounded him since birth.

As the main narrative follows Gavin the reader only discovers information as Gavin discovers it. I did start to panic at one point that I just couldn’t get my head around what was going on but it turns out that I needn’t have worried. Once Gavin starts to find answers to his questions I very quickly had my own epiphany moment, at around page three hundred, everything just started to click and it all suddenly made a wonderful kind of sense. I’m glad that I persevered and I should stress that it is entirely worthwhile sticking with the story.

The other characters that the reader encounters are just as intriguing as Gavin. It seems that everyone that lives in this tiny little corner of Cornwall has his or her own secrets. There is the ‘nutty’ professor Hester Lightfoot who has left academia under a cloud, the Uren family who live at Pendurra itself and a whole cavalcade of other slightly odd types. I haven’t even mentioned the mysterious John Fiste, the greatest magus the world has ever seen.

The author has taken key elements from various mythologies and deftly woven them into his story. Arthurian legend, classic Greek myth and Celtic folklore are represented amongst others. It’s a strength of the narrative that these have all been blended together seamlessly to create a modern day fable.

The thing that really captured my imagination was the main location used in the novel. I’ve been fortunate enough to have visited Cornwall in the past and Treadwell’s writing vividly captures the isolated house, Pendurra, where Gavin finds himself. It’s easy to believe that if magic was going to return it would be to somewhere so remote like this.

Acting as a preview to the next novel the final chapter moves the story away from Cornwall, to somewhere completely different, and offers some tantalising hints that the scope of this trilogy is going to get much larger when the sequel does arrive. Advent is a compelling debut that mixes fantasy with reality to create the first part of what promises to be an extraordinary tale. I’m already looking forward to reading the rest of it.

Advent is published by Hodder & Stoughton and is released on 2nd February 2012.

See larger image Advent (Hardcover) By (author) James Treadwell List Price: £12.99 GBP New From: £5.15 In Stock Used from: £5.99 In Stock Release date February 2, 2012.

Something is sapping the energy of the usually robust dancers of the Moulin Rouge … Zombies roam the streets of New York City … Clowns die in mysteriously humorous ways … Jack the Rippers crimes are investigated by a vampire …

Welcome to the horrific and poetic world of Sam Stone, where Angels are stalking the undead and a vampire becomes obsessed with a centuries-old werewolf. Terror and lust go hand in hand in the disturbing world of the Toymaker, and the haunting Siren’s call draws the hapless further into a waking nightmare.

Thirteen stories of horror and passion, and six mythological and erotic poems from the pen of the new Queen of Vampire fiction.

This collection is split into three sections. The first seven short tales fall under the banner heading of Lucrezia’s Stories. Lucrezia is the main character from another novel called Futile Flame, which is part of the Vampire Gene series. The second section, called Other Bloody Jottings contains six one off short stories. The collection is rounded off with six poems

Of the thirteen stories that make up the main body of the anthology my personal favourites are listed below.

Fools Gold – I have to admit that I’m a bit of a sucker for stories set in Victorian London. Add to that the mystery that surrounds the legends of Jack the Ripper as well as a vampire-cum-detective and you have successfully caught my attention.

Lead Poisoning – Another story that has a definite nod to the detective genre. In this instance however the action takes place in modern day Los Angeles but also has one foot firmly in the past.

Zombies in New York – I don’t want to say too much about this, as it would spoil the surprise, but imagine if 28 Days Later had vampires in it. Zombie purists may disagree a bit with the title though.

Clown Addict – In a collection of macabre and quirky stories I think Clown Addict wins the prize for being the oddest. A civil servant who works in the security services develops an attraction to clowns. Rather than fearing them, Coulrophobia fact fans, he lusts after them. This is definitely one of the stronger stories in the collection. It was nice to see a horror mainstay, the scary clown, de-constructed and stood on its head.

Chillers and Breathers – Two cops hunt down a killer, one is a ghost while the other is alive. I like the premise of this story  - an alternate Earth where ghosts and the living co-exist. I could quite happily read an entire novel that further explores this mythology.

Each story in the collection ends with some additional thoughts from the author. I’m undecided how I feel about these inclusions. In a couple of instances the additional notes do prove to be insightful but on other occasions I think that certain stories may have been better served by leaving them to speak for themselves.

Zombies of New York and Other Bloody Jottings certainly acts as a perfect introduction to Sam Stone’s work. If you enjoy the likes of Laurell K Hamilton’ Anita Blake series then I think it may be worth your while checking this out. The short stories that take up the first half of the book do offer a tantilising glimpse into the Vampire Gene universe.

Overall I found this collection to be a bit of a mixed bag. The stories I highlighted above captured my imagination and were a great deal of fun to read but some of the others left me a little cold. In fairness I don’t think I am necessarily the target audience for this collection. The inner cover mentions, “Chick slash has never been so entertaining”. I think based on the fact that I had to go and look up what Chick slash meant this would suggest that I’m not the novel’s intended target.

I also have to be honest and admit that I didn’t read any of the poetry. My experience with poetry is limited and I fear I could potentially do the author’s work a disservice by attempting to write/review an art form I am largely ignorant of.

Stone is undoubtedly passionate about her work and I think I would recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys his or her horror with a lustful or obsessive edge and is willing to give something new a try.

Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings is published by Telos and is available now.

See larger image Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings (Paperback) By (author) Sam Stone List Price: £12.99 GBP New From: £7.47 In Stock Used from: £11.03 In Stock

Some houses appear to be haunted: their ruined facades and fabled pasts lead to stories of haunts and spirits. Some houses are legitimately haunted: ghosts that refuse to leave this world behind roam their rooms and hallways trying to recapture the life that has been taken from them. But there are some houses that go beyond these simple haunts. There are some houses that hide secrets so dark and grisly that the very essence of evil seeps from their walls. One of these houses sits tucked away in the quiet woods of southern Virginia in the sleepy little town of Ponderbrook. 

Terrence Bennett, an esteemed author, is taking his small crew to Ponderbrook to investigate the house for his next book. A skeptic at heart, he approaches the house and its history as nothing more than another spooky tale. But he will soon learn that there is a very real evil that separates normal haunts from those that twist the mind and damn the soul. And when this evil is stirred awake, it is rarely content to stay confined to the four walls of the house in which it has grown.

I’ve always been intrigued by the idea that buildings retain traces of violent events that have occurred in their history. I’m not saying I would go so far as saying I believe in ghosts but I am open to the possibility that there are things that exist in the world that are beyond our current level of understanding. A book that focuses on this premise certainly appeals.

Jack, Terrence & Hank are three paranormal investigators who visit Hammer House in an attempt to unravel its long and bloody history. Each of the trio has their own feelings about the work that they do and these viewpoints are explored as the plot unfolds. Jack is the believer of the group, ever hopeful that their search will bear fruit and he’ll be there to witness it. Hank is unsure what to believe, he has experienced things in the past that he can’t explain and this uncertainty fills him with doubt.  Finally there is Terrence, the group’s leader and confirmed skeptic.

The initial investigation of the house doesn’t appear, at first glance, to be terribly successful.  As time passes, however, it becomes evident that the team’s most recent trip has left far more of a mark on them than they had realized. Hank and Jack have difficulty sleeping and can’t shake the oppressive feelings that the house created in them. Meanwhile Terrence steadily becomes more and more obsessed about writing his book. The secrets of Hammer House refuse to remain hidden any longer. Unable to step away from his latest project Terrence’s home life starts to breakdown as his compulsion to work escalates. There is a nice nod to another obsessed writer that had to deal with a haunted building at this point that feels entirely apt.

What really sold The Bleeding Room to me was the author’s attention to every detail, this creates some of the novels many highlights. The backstory of Hammer House itself is fully fleshed out and well observed. Finding out, for example, how the building got its name is a particularly gruesome treat.

There is something special about a haunted house story executed well. If the writer has pushed all the right emotional buttons, then the plot will slowly draw a reader in and they’ll become engrossed without even realising that they are doing it. The Bleeding Room manages this unenviable task quite well. It’s easy to become caught up in the detail of Terrence’s life, Hank’s fears and Jack’s hopes.

The Bleeding Room feels like proper old school horror. The novel has a slow build up which works nicely, adding an air of creepy tension that should send the odd shiver up any reader’s spine. The final showdown between Terrence, Jack and Hank and the denizens of Hammer House picks up the pace and provides an extremely satisfying conclusion. Add to that a great little coda that rounds the story off perfectly and you’re on to a winner.

The Bleeding Room is published by Graveside Tales and is available now.

See larger image The Bleeding Room (Paperback) By (author) Barry Napier List Price: £9.80 GBP New From: £8.07 In Stock Used from: £16.57 In Stock