ready DEAD: End by TW Brown

The authors note followed by the mega fan comments were enough to make me cry; so I left this book for another two weeks. This is the END.

Having invested a few years in this series I have thus far, lost friends, disagreed with the author, cried, laughed, been disgusted, been horrified but always been drawn back to continue the journey, only now it’s finally, really, truly coming to an END.

Looking back, is it the writing style that I have enjoyed? The world TWB has foretold? The vivid characters? After all, I still have DEAD: “in your town” series; so lots more zombies, great characters and yucky moments. I also have That Ghoul Ava, Zomblog and the other many books that TWB has planned to enjoy.   

So what makes me so sad about the end of this book series?  I suppose I don’t want to say a final goodbye to Thalia, Billy, Jody, Catie, Dr Zahn and all the other multitude of characters that TWB has brought into my life (even the personally irritating Juan!).

Not all the stories or people have panned out as I wished they would. Catie really annoyed me, I’m not so sure Kevin would have been proud of her methods but I did like her ending. 

Thalia, sigh, I have loved this child, and been privileged to watch her grow up, so letting her go and seeing what happened to her made me cry. 

As for crying, I did lots of that in this book. Juan, Jody, Billy; saying farewell in various ways, some fizzled out, some got the happy ending and some got gruesome take outs; TWB did not shy away in making anyone safe or anything unimaginable.

As for my name sake, well, a huge lump came to my throat for her ending with the gorgeous Paddy. 

A few things were still not finished in my view of the world; what happened to Egypt? Kid zombies? Cats….. what the hell is it with zombie authors and cats!!

I did feel a little cheated at getting to 92% and then given two (ok they are great but…) first chapters of other books!

I did like all the little jibs, jabs and subtle references; very clever Mr TWB, very clever.

As a post-script TWB has now started his stand alone (but a series) of DEAD snapshots... so go take a look!


                            DEAD: End

Bob meets Sam by Jaime Johnesse

Starts off with a blast as Bob goes into full on dance, and body part flinging mode within the first few lines. We are also reintroduced to Griff, the empath.

The tongue in cheek humour is forefront with Bob and even if a little stinky/slimy he is such a likeable guy.

What is not to like about JJ’s writing, especially her dialogue pieces as they give her characters such life with getting stuck down in the he said/she said back and forth.

When Bob catches up with Sam, the shape-shifter, at Griff’s bar JJ explains  how they both became part of the supernatural world and how they met, a really great story in and of itself. However, when Bob learns that the necromancer he helped to capture has escaped he has to help to recapture him.

Bring on New Orleans, Voodoo hoodoo, witches, zombies and mayhem galore!

JJ moves her stories along quickly, but still holds tension, and this was no exception, fast paced but with full on mental imagery to pull you into the story.

I am looking forward to the much promised updated Sam the Shifter book.

Bob meets Sam 

Cast in Fire: Revelations Series 2 by Jaime Johnesse, Chirstine Sutton & Lisa Lane

I want a hell hound!!

Poor Frank, the cat loving demon, his love of kitten mugs is so endearing and yet he loves his job as a torturer in Hell, he is a guy I would love to know personally!

The ongoing escape of Djinn continues as does the drain on Lucifer’s soul reaping, with dire consequences, revelations of the fall from Grace are given up during one of her many “moments”.  A time that Poly tries hard to hide.

Poor Drew is sinking further into her soul/energy draining addiction and I loved finding out more about her past history.

Lenny, such a cutie, but the girl you want on your side in a fight not the one pounding you! Her shape shifting abilities bring some interesting  elements to the, multiple, fight scenes.

When the Djinn do their ultimate weapon release the World goes into melt down but one Senator seems to be immune and keeps rising to the top of the pile.

I love the way all three authors gel so well in their writing, you can see the differing styles in their characters but they blend their story lines so well in the joint scenes.

A few new characters in this episode of the trilogy but I think my favourite is Gabriella and her cat Vincenzo.

However, Nick the Ghul, also intrigues me and I look forward to finding out which side he really plays for.

Just when you think all is coming right for the World the ladies kick you in the gut with the final comment, talk about leave you on a knife edge and ready for the final instalment – a good tease ladies, but oh so wicked!

Cast in Fire

At Hell's Gates Vol 2 - Anthology

Another AMAZING anthology! a real varied mix of authors.

Pulse by Mark Tufo:

Sam has invented a bug zapper with a difference. Julie, his wife and Arni the lawyer are seeing dollar signs, large ones, little ones and portable ones.

However, the Gov’ is never far behind once you apply for a patent, neither is a certain Hit Man; Emery.  However, unlike Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition, I have learnt with this author to always expect the unexpected and Julie is my hero.

The humour in the story made it a brilliant read and what a fantastic start to this anthology, which has a reputation to upkeep after book 1.

Cookies for the Gentleman by C.T. Phipps:

The narrator describes the worst monster which has followed him through life with various unspeakable torments.

He is placated finally by, of all things, the perfect cookie.   However, the author manages to make cookie baking a terror all its own.

Short and sharp, I loved how this progressed, the writing style was easy even if the subject matter was not.

By Any Means Necessary by Evin Ager:

Sargent Jason Burrows is on guard duty and he hates it. On some god forsaken island in the middle of nowhere he sees this as a total kick in the teeth from the Army.

Then the dreams start, then the goo, the disappearances and finally a climatic end that had me both riveted and disgusted; fantastic.

An author for me to put on my TBR list – these anthologies must have it up to a mile long by now.

History’s End by Frank Tayall:

Dr Marcus Holloway made a video, he also made a virus.

Following a series of breath holding moments, some clever skulduggery and the odd bit of espionage the world ends, but of course!

Would love to have read more, had the story extended into a novella etc. another TBR author, see what I mean!

A Mother’s Nightmare by J. Rudolph

A woman finds a suicide note whilst scavenging post apocalypse.

It is a sad story and I was getting upset myself until the dogs, then I couldn’t have cared less about this loving pre apocalyptic family, but that’s me, animals will always be equal in my eyes.

I liked the overall idea and the plotline was a good one, the characters and emotion they evoked was very real.

Patient 63 by Stevie Jonas:

Fabulous story of an infected who falls in love, yup you read that right!  Not all goes well of course but the love story was great, the outline and surrounding characters were well thought and fleshed out.

Tyrannical Ascension by Shana Festa:

Always and easy and fascinating read from SF, trouble is I always want a bit more.

Basically a tale of how sneaky, nasty and calculating humans can be, this just happens to be post-apocalyptic. Not forgetting the twits that follow them.

Ink by James Crawford:

A fast paced descriptive read. A much sort after and solitary tattooist is sort out by a client who is unsure what he is searching for.  However, the tattooist muse is all too aware.

The drawn out fight and torment scenes are yucky but weirdly intoxicating. I liked the fullness of the story and how well it was structured.

The Man with Four Scars by Stephen Koziekski:

I found lots of contradictions in this story eg. Not able to name items as language skills so primitive but able to tell night time, fireside stories?

At first it distracted me but I was soon enveloped in the story of this self-made town hero falling a fallen star and the strange green goop it emits; green goop is never a good thing!

Whilst I enjoyed the overall story and its unique take and twist on an often tired zombie genre I was annoyed at the author for keep changing the parameters of his characters.

Daddy’s Girl by Ian Mclellan:

What are the worst things you can do? Kill? Maim? Torture? Ignore?

Loved the lure in, the character fill out and then the thrusting twist in the tale. A well written story and a funny bio of the author.

Operation Devil Walk by David Mikolas:

Set in WW2 with the Nazi occult obsession as it main force a group of academics, drafted by the military is set to infiltrate a far flung island to find proof of strange goings on.

The ensuing story is both sad, horrifying and totally captivating.

The Infected by S.G. Lee:

Too many names to keep track of at first but then the little feuds amongst the Medics fighting for a faculty position start to focus their individuality.

A task is set to weed out the weak applicants and of course, this is the perfect back drop for a spot of wild research.

I liked the way the story was told in dialogue as it gave a great emotional feel to the story.

Forget Me Never by Sharon Stevenson:

Just what is the true price for fame? What lengths will people go to too get it?  A fabulous narrated story of murder, decay and fame.

Mileage by Sean T. Smith:

A surrealist tale of humanity trying to survive and a dying man’s hallucinogenic dreams.  A bit too weird for my liking but then that’s why I love anthologies so much, I’m sure some people will adore this story.

The Milestone by Lesa Kinney Anders:

Such a sad and chilling story. I’m not sure what was more horrifying the monster or the disease. I really liked the slow unfold of characters and plot line.

Genesis by Kit Power:

A son chases after kidnapped, crook father. The suggestions of torture via dialogue were very clever and made the reveal even more sticky.

This serves as a prequel to the author's new novel God Bomb! which I have recently enjoyed.  Overall I felt this was a little wordy compared to his novel, but it’s a good flavour of his writing style.

Lock Down by T.M. Caldwell:

Apparently this is the author's first published short, she is working on a fantasy novel; judged on this, I can’t wait for that!

I loved her open and caring writing style, I really felt for her characters and squirmed at the dangers they were facing.

The ending was a great crescendo to a well-paced story throughout, like the slow thud of footsteps that follow you on a dark night.

Collect Night by Curran Geist:

A bit more a fantasy tale with an alien flavour which is great after all that undead!

Hank is desperate to get home to save his new family after a terrifying phone call. CG does well to evoke the distress and builds on our fears of family loss going down every possible nasty avenue of thought on the journey home.

The off world critters he describes are both sad and fear evoking and, again, I was found wondering what a longer novella would be like.

Loved the author bio.

The Cold by Devan Sagilini:

Darren is not a likeable guy, a beach bum who thinks he deserves more. A chance letter post a death and he thinks his ship has come in, but hang on this is a horror anthology nothing is THAT nice!  

Great writing and build-up of character, hard to make one so dislikeable yet not cliché.

A Different Cocktail by Claire C. Riley:

The things men will do for a BJ!

A weird gothic night out and the narrator suddenly feels very hungry; an old story retold, but done well.

I liked the way it spiralled me down with the narrator, thankfully I didn’t vomit or slough my skin but I was in need of a ham sandwich post reading.

A Song to Sing in Babylon by Bobby Medvedev & Michael Baugh:

Monster children of SET are awaiting the uprising and doing various things to speed that along; rock concerts, portent watching, disease and dismemberment.

The exchanges between family members was interesting, especially seeing different views of madness.  However, the ending was a bit sharp for me after all the build-up.

The Gouger by Paul Mannering:

Murdering orcas and kicking dogs off boats (albeit accidently by the character) is not my idea of a good read and I declined to fish this story, shame as it was the last story in thus far a great anthology.

Sorry author but I can’t read any form of animal harm/cruelty that is MY taboo subject.

Overall I really enjoyed this second in the Hells Gates and I can’t wait to get stuck into book 3.

ps - sorry if i got anyone's names wrong!!

At Hell's Gates Vol 2

That Ghoul Ava on the Lam by TW Brown

Jump on a few months and my favourite pop culture referencer and dead body muncher is back in favour with the fairies having royally upset them in the last story. However, she is now hunted by the Templars.

We start this story with her throwing doggy poop down a neighbour’s chimney! You have to read this now huh!  With two hilarious Great Danes who are so dense they are a comedy double act, please let them be a bigger part in the future

There are hilarious moments in this book and you can tell that TWB really enjoys writing this character but there is also a dark and sad edge to it, please read the forward to understand the mind-set, also because the author really puts a part of himself in there.

This chapter sees Ava battling a revolting creature and coming to terms with certain facts about her undead life now and the community she has joined. As the story comes to a close it is clear another danger is imminent, great tease TWB!

Having visited Portland, Oregon, and had a personal tour given to us by TWB (ok I’m showing off now) I loved all the references to the places.  A Xmas tree farm!!! Wahahahah (personal joke from TWB – btw if the books he writes get 5* from me it’s because he has EARNED them, not because we are pals, he sucks – I tell him, but so far so good!)

I thought I cracked how to read these by always having one in the wings, so to speak but now I am Ava bereft.  Smaller more frequent bites (pun intended) please TWB even if you have to split a few books, like the old Saturday morning cliff-hanger movies!

That Ghoul Ava on the Lam

A-Z of Horror: Complete Collection: Fear from beginning to end by Iain Rob Wright

A is for Anti-Christ

Issac is 16 and ready to become a man, with the party of a life time especially with his parents out of the house!

As the teenagers slowly get more drunk, Isaacs every wish, desire and comment appear to be coming true, a bit worrying in some cases, smirk worthy in some but slowly building scary tension overall.

The finale has some very gory mental images but the ending was flat and rushed IMO.

I liked the reference to the horror movie that was clever.

B is for Bogeywoman

Dean & Wendell seem to be enjoying a burger with a side order of burps! They soon settle down to some video games, enjoying their sleep over together.

IRW takes time in this short story to fill out the lives of the two boys and allude to some sadness in their pasts.

Between random fingernails, old dead women and glowing red eyes under the bed, IRW really starts the reader’s tummy rolling with tension.

The ending was a sort of surprise and sort of expected, but well written.

C is for Clown

Stacey is babysitting little Harry. As she settles down to a film and fantasising about Mr Murray she notices the clown statue standing in the corner of the room.

I found the film choices amusing and enjoyed how IRW intertwined them into the story flow. As poor Harry has trouble sleeping and the clown continues to freak Stacey out I really felt a little spooked myself. Clowns, who doesn’t get weirded out by clowns!

One – Fifteen by Jacob Rayne

Guest story to fill the void left by D which was too horrific for Amazon to publish but which you can get on IRW website – to carry on the theme I won’t review that one but leave it for a surprise for you to discover!

This is a well written first narrative of a women in trapped in some sort of place having recurring nightmares. Whilst it was slightly obvious from the outset what was happening I was still rush along at a face pace by the great writing.

A well-earned place in this book.

E is for Exterminator

Antworth Manor is a three story Edwardian house that needs some love and attention, but first its new owner needs to evict the current tenants – half a million creepy crawlies.

With a pure hatred of all buggy things since a horrific childhood experience, could this bug infested house even be too much for bug killer extraordinaire Chris Treadwell.

Love the little quotes at the start of the story, Arachnophobia; bound to get my goose bumps rising.

As he goes about the building spraying and stomping Treadwell finally makes it to the cellar, then the horror really starts.

Treadwell is urged on through greed mostly, and then defiance even as the unusually large and prevalent multitude of wasps, beetles, spiders and other insects, decide to bite and sting.

When he finally makes it into the Library a few new discoveries finally give him the “willies” enough to run for the exit.

The ending is smirk worthy and full of wonderful gore; another brilliant instalment of the A-Z of Horror.

F is for Feral

Let down, teased, tormented and then scared half to death Max is given a life or death choice from an unlikely source.

IRW manages to get teenage mannerisms and speech to a tee, makes for uncomfy reading.

G is for Genome

You know when science and secret are in the same sentence that something is going or gone wrong.

Dr Lester Solberg has been tempted by a large final pay packet and shipped off to a secluded location in Bratislava with the promise of research and more riches.

The idea of what can be done and what is to be studied by Dr Lester made me shudder and then very curious all at the same time.

With such big and bold characters to “play” with IRW does go to town with some clever wording that gave me the odd snort.

The ending was sort of expected but I would love to see this story extended.

H if for Hell

Barbara is having a day from Hell, we all have those days when nothing goes right and everything that can go wrong does, but not quite as bad as Barbara’s ends up.

A misfortunate, violent accident and she makes a “wrong” decision and her day only get worse than the broken heel she suffered earlier.

The ending left me a bit flat but a reread, as is always advised with the complex works of IRW (you will miss something!), I saw it’s truly goosebumpy potential.

I is for Ice

Peter wakes up cold and confused, but Dr Faraday is on hand to soothe his worries and warm him up with a special blue drink. Post cryostasis he needs all the help he can get, if only he could remember what was going on.

Dr Faraday needs Peter to help with his work, the search for a cure to the Final Flu; the bug that has killed off 99% of the planets human population.

The confusion Peter feels is clearly evident and IRW is sparing in his details to keep that confusion going with the reader.

Loved the little link back to other story characters.

I liked the overall story, it was like a mini apocalypse, a nice ambiguous ending but I felt with more time this “story” would have fallen apart or come under more scrutiny from us canny zombie fiends.

J is for Jaws

Hehehe, friends on a boat in the middle of the sea, but something has awoken in the deep blue ocean….I can feel a Dada, Dada…dadadadada coming on as I read that introduction.

What came next was not so funny.

Something with very big jaws and huge teeth has definitely awoken in the deep and is coming up for lunch.

I loved how this was so cliché but also quite terrifying, it’s nice to see that 30+ years on Jaws still haunts me and I can’t go in the sea past my knees, thanks IRW for reminding me.

The characters are well defined and I really cared about one couple in particular so had a routed investment in them surviving.  Brilliantly clean writing as always with IRW.

K is for Klutz

An old man is dragged out from his burning house, but he is not thankful to the heroic firefighter. What follows on is a strange mix of “batty old man” and possible blood curse.

IRW leaves you guessing right to the very end. As dead people started piling up around the central character I did have to smirk at some of the OTT deaths. Not sure if intentional but it did make me giggle in that nervous way at the casualness of it all.

L is for Lamia

Loved the quotes at the beginning of the book. Made me want to watch Hocus Pocus again.

It’s all happy families until there is a knock at the door, IRW really did fantastically well to the build the tension in this short story.

I enjoyed this story as could not tell where it would end up, eventually the ending was fantastic! I found the family dynamic and the father’s thoughts were very realistic, if shocking.

M is for Matty-Bob

So very tongue in cheek, an hysterical giggle from start to finish.

The joys of fan love as IRW gets a visit from an unhinged fan! Bit close to home this one for me, as I have wasted many an hour camped out in various authors shed, but never thought to order pizza – way to go Matty-Bob.

I was snorting and giggling through this story and it was really great to see IRW humorous side.

Loved the Misery reference and I’m sure there were many more that I missed as IRW is so clever in adding little bits like that, just see the blurb to Last Winter, sorry Final Winter!

Btw Matty-Bob I DO love IRW more than you, so ner!

 Matty Bob version: far more revolting and sexually focused that IRW version this does give a good and honest account of events.

The epilogue is so sad, poor Matty-Bob locked up for only doing what all good fans would do and now living in fear at what “He” will do next to poor, poor Miikeal Brae.

N for Noddy

Drugs, drink and dead cats.

I really enjoy how IRW always links his stories with a place or character, this makes for some really little perks as an avid/loyal reader.

A sad little story that you can feel coming but does not take the pain or real life horror away.

O is for Orifice

Of all the horror tales in this collection I think this one freaked me the most.

A touch of reality mixed with expert writing skills had me holding my breath forever and then not wanting to exhale in case the ending was real.

P is for Peeling

So full of tongue in cheek humour I snorted my way through this, I loved the series IRW did of this idea but thought this little nugget and possible beginning, was superb!!

Q is for Quarantine

Love the way IRW builds up his characters even in a short tale. It’s very James Herbert.

The main character really came to life for me and I was routing for him and Sammie, let's hope the Orange doesn't win!! Have to read it now huh!

R is for Revenant

Such emotion in a snap of a tale. Made me gulp a few times.

S is for Sand

A beautiful moment turned sour by someone's true nature showing.

Not sure what the true horror moment of this story was, the sand or the reaction. Made me think.

T is for Troglodyte

A proper ghost story! But not what I expected.

U is for Urinary Tract

Oh, proper gross and fabulous!

Safer sex never had a better advocate story.  Any little itch will now send you scurrying!

V is for Vulgar

 A chauvinistic comedian gets his due and I found the ending strangely funny and relaxing!

W is for Waste

A heart-breaking tale of modern life and love.

X is for X-22

A man vs machine story, loved it.

Such cool writing left me with a sense of dread at the consequences, I long for more on this story idea.

Y is for Yeti

A funny yet, bit sad story of a yeti/minion/scarecrow that terrorises a new neighbour!

Some great humour brought to a mythical critter.

 Z is for Zion

Great tie up story for lots of IRW works.

Infuriating in its cliff hanger!!

Bonus content: Craig Saunders, Andrew Lennon, Matt Hickman, great intro stories as they show off these authors talents and styles.

Just like IRW to be so generous in allowing so much space for this brilliant authors.

A-Z

First Time Dead 1 Anthology

Hello Again by Megan Tregler:

I found MT so descriptive I could almost taste the colours she was describing, her style of writing was beautiful.

Jackson is mourning the rapid, recent and strange death of his wife. As he looks out of the pond in which her buried her ripples start to appear and those among us who understand the way the zompoc works knows what is coming up from the depths.

The difference to this beginning of the apocalypse (and those are always my favourite) is that MT puts so much emotion into their previous relationship with little comments or flashbacks that the love and horror combine.

Add to that the final line and it’s shudder worthy. I also really enjoyed Jackson as a character.

Twisted Words by Andrew Stockton:

Antony is an English book dealer and the story starts with him visiting a wealthy collector to purchase some items; I am always bias to love stories that are set in my own country. Although I am at loss as to why if you lived in the Highlands you would “crack open an Irish (whiskey)”.

As his host gives him a guided tour of the estate he lives in they come upon a twisted tree that has an unusual story. A story within a story, hard to pull off but done very well in this instance.

The following description of love, torment and decay is very palpable not to mention heart wrenching.  As the story unfolds and then reaches a climax I was impressed that the ending did not fail the brilliant story.

Everything I know about Zombies I learned from Star Trek by Sam Christopher:

With a title like that I was really interested, however, it turned out to be far to disjointed for my liking. The majority of the time the language was incomprehensible and I finally gave up after three pages of confusion.

BUT that’s the great thing about anthologies, to others this story will be brilliant.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Dillon Cox:

Ah, that age old start to the apocalypse; the military and their marvellous experiments, I do love a classic.

Lori and her baby brother, Zack, could be out for a road trip if they were not running from the undead! Nothing really felt strained, hard or dangerous for these two. 

In addition, Lori is stunningly beautiful and the chap they meet happens to be an upstanding, military trained hunk, with a fully functional off the grid hideaway etc etc

I was a bit concerned that Zack was sleeping the whole time and was also waiting for the gore/horror to start. Whilst the writing was good the story IMO was not.

Just Another Day by Chantel Boudreaux:

Margot has a busy job, a needy family and she is trying to become an author or at least plagiarise her currently compromised husbands work.

I love the way that CB writes with such humour, the explanation for her families circumstances are brilliant and almost believable.

CB is always a joy to read.

Inland by Martin Milhomme:

Jake is surving the zompoc on a boat in the Florida Keys  when happens upon a traumatised, nearly eaten Angela. However this initially good story took a nose dive when she went from the screaming abdabs to offering a “fun afternoon” in the space of 24hrs not to mention said “fun” was had post an amputation, medications, a blow torch incident and alcohol!

At that point I gave up, yes zompoc is fictional (currently) but I need to believe they could be true.

He’s not Heavy by Rebecca Snow:

WOW this was my favourite story.

Well thought out with a twist I did not see coming. I really enjoyed the build-up and the characters were spot on with great back stories, really all crammed into a small story.

Bravo – an author I intend to look up.

As I Watch Her Walk Away by Dave Minyard:

So sad but also so funny, at least I hope that’s how it was intended.

A happy young man describes his demise at the start of the zompoc, it all felt very real and very fast.   I really enjoyed this one.

Things Worse Than Death by Bryan Vogt:

Poor Peter has a unique on several survivors as they crash through various rooms trying to escape the oncoming horde.

Cleverly written with a brilliant twist at the end. Another author to look out for (for me!)

Death by Dad by Lisa Conger:

Not sure how I felt about this story as it sorted flitted about a bit.

Whilst the writing was clear there was just something wrong; lack of character in the characters and the story kind of went nowhere IMO.

Forgive me Father for I have a ….. Burp by Michael J Evans:

A zombie yet to lose all his brain power is over wrought by the desire to confess post eating his wife.

Whilst the writing was and the story a good one it really lacked some humour, this could have been a gigglefest with some extra input to make it lip smackingly good, which is a shame.

The Overpass by John Lemut:

I was totally engrossed in this story, the characters felt rounded and the timeline jogged along really well and then just as it got really intense it stopped!

I do hope this is part of a larger novel elsewhere, otherwise I’m stumped.

At the end are some footnotes regarding the authors, personally I would have liked these at the end of each chapter.

Overall I liked this anthology as a couple of stories were fantastic and others I would have chucked, but that’s the joy of them, it’s like a mixed bag of sweets!

First Time Dead 1