Saturday 21 December 2013

Blood Under The Mistletoe by Blaze McRob



No Joyful Noise by Blaze McRob: John now lives a in a cave after the plague has come. He manages to sustain his needs and many others follow him due to his skills in finding food. As it is Xmas Eve, they decide to sing carols to earn their supper from those that live in the houses, above ground,  protected and safe; but this is a horror book, expect a twist in the tale!

Blood Mass by Blaze McRob: The church is ready for Mass but is hung-over Monsignor Alfonse? He ponders the strange country wide murders that are going on, bodies that are drained of blood, over his thick, black coffee? As he stumbles in to church to take the offering of "blood and body" he soon finds out what is going on.

A Christmas Slaying by Lisa McCourt Hollar: Lisa awakes in her bed, stumbles for her first drink of the morning and gets berated by her husband, then her son decides to make her morning even worse by showing her his uniquely decorated xmas tree.....what makes this gory? well lets just say it has my favourite line in the whole book. He began singing, "Deck the halls with bowels of Holly..." !!

In Elf Defence by Jeffrey Hollar: Oisin, the Elf, is a member of the Alfar Special Forces unit. The Snowmen are attacking, Santa is well..... Santa is something! and the Elves are committing suicide, something must be done. This is one of the best xmas horror stories I have EVER read, its cleverly thought out, well written and funny but in a ghastly way, not to mention the amazing use of words.

Ghoul Yule by Blaze McRob: poor Torget he cannot celebrate the xmas festivities, he is sad and alone, but that's what being a dead flesh munching ghoul will do to your social life. All he wants is a nice cold beer.

A Zombie Christmas by Lisa McCourt Hollar: Jenny, Dale & Danielle; surviving as a thrown together family after the zombies have come. A xmas wish is made and Mum tries her best to fulfil it, now if only Santa would deliver too.  Another very comical view of the apocalypse.

Claus and Effect by Jeffrey Hollar: Santa is an alien, I knew it! Close to the knuckles of decency in this story but riveting nonetheless. I'm sure there is some moral tale in all this horror but I just enjoyed another well thought out world with every little detail accounted for.

No Time For Holidays by Blaze McRob:  who are the real monsters in this tale of transformation.

Christmas in Hell by Lisa McCourt Hollar: Thomas has done some very bad things; was he a man made monster or a natural quirk? Who cares? in Hell, nobody.

Presents of Mind by Jeffrey Hollar: a man and his unique take on xmas and gift giving, it's all in the preparation and it's the thought that counts, right?

He Sees You When You're Shopping by Blaze McRob: OMG this was horrific!

The End to Christmas by Lisa McCourt Hollar: toys are not being made fast enough and elf stew is on the menu, as a riot ensues and teddy bear parts go flying this is one messed up Santa's Grotto.

Overlooked by Blaze McRob: the poor, murderous Blue Spruce, all he wants is a bit of tinsel.


Retribution by Blaze McRob:  a Demon? The Devil? Is given an xmas eve gift of rampage, and he certainly enjoys it! A shudder to end on!

Blaze McRob is so rich in his story telling you are absorbed into his little, horror filled worlds, only to raise your head at the end of each story to gasp for breath and check your surroundings.

Lisa McCourt Hollar is very concise in her writing, she also has this marvelous sense of humour wrapped up in the horror she writes.

Jeffrey Hollar writes in a genre all his own, somewhere between horror and sci-fi with some fantasy thrown in for good chewing. He has such an expanse vocabulary that it is exciting to read the words let alone the fantastic stories he tells.


There are some “beautiful” bits of art throughout the book too, so thank you Thomas Arensberg.

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