A Shrouded World: Atlantis by Mark Tufo & John O'Brien

As Mike, Jack and Trip further their journey to Atlantis they try to figure out why they are there.

Mike with his usual humour and Trip just being Trip, I was unsure of Jacks character at first, being new to JO’B’s work but I am really starting to like him, he has none of the humour of Talbot but he is much more practical, which takes some getting used to, he also has a real sentimental side when thinking of family/friends which is endearing.

The difference in writing is a bit more obvious in this book as author MT goes for fast paced humour laden scenes and author JO’B tends to pull out his scenes with lengthy tension inducing scenes, both end in fight scenes usually.

The mental image of Talbot doing the River Dance had me giggling and snorting. As for Trip and his antics, they bring some much needed humour to a terrifying situation.

There is enough zombie, guns ‘n’ ammo, gore and weird goings on for all hard-core horror fans, plus a few brave sci-fi ones too.

The pace never lets up with the switcheroo telling of the same tale. A constant battle for life that never seems to let up, the threats from the zombies, night runners and whistlers are still there but a new happening is occurring and it’s a little worrying.

 And what is so special about Atlantis?

Lots of theories are thrown into the mix, I was a bit upset that just as the book gets somewhere it stops…. But book 3 is on its way!

Not sure about the cover picture as not sure I had the mental vision  of Trip being that “with it” looking, he looks too clean and intense for my liking but woo hoo at the sexy looking MT!

Shrouded World Book: Atlantis

A Shrouded World: Whistlers by Mark Tufo & John O'Brien

This is a first time collaboration between Mark Tufo and John O'Brien, two authors that are known for their own zompoc series of books, Zombie Fallout for MT and A New World for JO’B and it's here in Whistlers that their two main characters both crash land into this strange new world where the worst of their two worlds collide.

Michael Talbot, Trip ( aka John the Tripper) and Jack Walker.

As I have only read the ZF books (it’s my hubby that loves Jack Walker) I can say that both writers put their character across easily and leave no guess work. 

If you haven't already done so I would recommend reading both MT and JO’Bs books before hand to get some background on the characters and their individual stories, however this IS intended to be a standalone series so more maybe revealed as the books progress. 

Trip is still my favourite character in almost every book I read barring a few, fantasy novels; and I think he would fit right in there too. He seems to have been given more visionary skills, whereas Mike and Jack have retained their new enhancements from their old worlds. 

Although I think that some sort of explanation as to why the two have super powers might have helped the newbie reader.

Both authors have certainly honed their writing skills now and are able to produce a story line that gels, excels, excites and is basically worth every penny spent. They mash up together very well. 

I was curious (and worried) as to how two such strong characters (and authors) would be able to blend but it’s like peas in a pod/flip sides of a coin (yes, yes I know they aren’t the same!! See, what I did there though!) 

Fabulous way to introduce the three lunatics to the rest of the world.

They have distinctive “voices” and styles that worked really well with the alternating chapters and PoV, I loved the way a “thing” would happen to one character and then you would get a different view of the same “thing” from the other.

Left on a knife edge I cannot wait until the next book is released in what, I hope, will be a long series.

Negatives; there is a lot of dialogue in here BUT that does allow the characters to merge and the new readers to get to know them, however, it could get tedious for current fans.

If you don’t like a certain authors style then their character may get on your nerves a bit, personally I don’t like all the over egged military stuff so tend not to read about every little nuance regarding guns, bullets and kick backs, again got tedious for me.

A Shrouded World

The Peeling Series by Iain Rob Wright

I have been looking forward to more of this gruesome, yet riveting, story since it was hinted at as a freebie at the end of Animal-Kingdom: An Apocalyptic Novel (a fantastic read!).

This tale gives you a little glimpse of the horrors inflected upon a variety of individuals, which are unfolding all over the World by a new plague which literally peels the skin off its victims, IRW manages to describe this in glorious technicolor!

For such a brief tale, you cant help but be totally absorbed and taken over by the characters and they have such depth that you miss them at the end... and as always, the IRW,  the ending is not what you think....

Jeremys Choice

The second instalment of this gruesome new world that IRW has imagined and brought to life (or death) a ghastly new disease of unknown cause but very known consequences.

He continues his absolutely stunning grip on the real horrors in the world as superbly illustrated in his novel ASBO: A Novel of Extreme Terror and manages to bring forth the true nature of people in stressful situations and make them the real horror in the mess of apocalyptic terror.

As usual, the characters are rounded, with short but fulfilling back stories, you feel at ease with them instantly and are soon engulfed in their world.

As no-one is safe from the Peeling you are in full trepidation as to what dread is around the next page turn (or button click for us ebookers).

As always I was captivated by this new chapter and sad that it ended, but Mr Wright is consistent in his fabulous endings.

The Stadium

The focus is on a supermarket takeover, and not by Tesco!

Two sets of army teams fight it out with the "civvies" in the middle. Good vs Evil basically, yet so well done.

Attention to detail as always from this perfectionist author.

Some very attention grabbing defence plays; very apocalyptic in nature... makes for a "fun" read.

Now, the ending... OMG what a way to leave it!! amazing!

I cannot do spoilers... but you wont see this one coming!

Warriors

So IRW takes us to the heart of hell and the possible start of the virus, or is it?

The journey into this new pit is coldly scary and unnerving in its possibilities.... how do a group of intelligent people keep a hostage for so many years?

The creeping terror sensation you get with this book is very, very dark.

Classically done! Faultless in its editing, as usual, and amazing writing!

Patient Zero

A nice fresh setting to end the series, with some great new characters that have enough of a back story to be believable and cared about.

In such a short and horrific tale IRW still manages to inject some brilliant British humour!

I really loved the reality check of how the group felt and reacted, no movie style theatrics, no overt hero stuff, it all felt so real.

The tension and build up as IRW drags you to the finale was exquisite, I really felt myself squinting and half looking at my kindle, I'm sure if I had been listening on audio book I would have had my hands over my eyes or been hiding behind the sofa!

The ending is abrupt, but totally satisfying.

As always with IRW the editing is perfection, not a comma out of place.

The Peeling Book 4:The Lights

Zippered Flesh: Tales Body Enhancements - anthology

As the name suggests this is going to be gross! It's flow is good, keeping a good pace, you really get your moneys worth in this brilliant anthology!

Bootstrap by Michael Baily: great concept regarding cloning, just a bit too detailed in the IT stuff at the beginning lost me a bit until it stretched out the information overload and turned into a really great story telling, then it wanders off into the technobabble again. The actual horrid is hard to pin point; the imagination does go into overdrive a bit at the missing byte! Less technobabble would have made this story a 5*

Idol by Michael Laimo: when does imitation become more than flattery? When you need a replacement?! Great details delve you into the weirdness, but it only more weird, gross and weird!

Unplugged by Adrienne Jones: OMG I love this story, I was disappointed when it ended! Alien transformations, brilliant brilliant!

Comfort by Charles Colyott: this reads like a sad story of a man who loves he mother to the deference of is job, marriage, friends.... Only in the last paragraph do you reach the horror of a mother's comfort, truly gross, but a great story.

You With Me by Christophe Nadeau: you can feel the horror coming on this one, like little flickers of light at the corners of your vision.... You don't quite want to look the whole way! Nothing prepares you for the ending, but it is a good one! Nothing says I love you quite like this!

The Shaping by Scott Nicholson: in a strange world of Critiques, Editiors & Artists the sorrowful artist gives blood, sweat and tears to his final masterpiece, but is it enough to gain him the thumbs up though? A very weird concept with lots of strange word play - a masterpiece in its own story telling, what a talent Scott is....

Something Borrowed by J. Gregory Smith: really enjoyed how this bubbled away, giving you flashes of what horror is on its way! I was so not prepared when this went full 3HD on me! A story of a nip and tuck too far?

Equilibrium by John Shirley: loved the idea of body form cars! But that was all I really liked about this! This author was all over the place for me, even now Im not sure what it was supposed to be about.

Sawbones by L.L.Soares: WOW - a body modified hit man gets visited by a "ghost". This was an excitingly played out story, definatly one of my top 3.

Whirling Machine Man by Aaron J.French: great story telling of an intriguing idea; torture, amputation, spirits etc shame it never went anywhere.

Sex Object by Graham Masterton: This must rate as the most disgusting story of the book. How far does a woman go to change herself to please a husband! Riveting but revolting!

The Sad, Not so Sad, Ballard of Goat-head Jean Ambivalent Devil Queen: wow really felt like I had been on a mushroom trip with this tale of murderous boyfriends, satanic rocks and the desire for perfect breasts! Can't really tell you what the story was trying to say but I did feel bedazzled, dizzy and WTF happened at the end, but in a good way!

Locks of Loathe by Jezzy Wolfe: it was the hair what done it!! A murderous tale of revenge via hair! Well written with an exciting ending!

By Hook by Elliott Capon: a sailors tale with a curse to boot. Nothing special in this story for me, a tenuous link to the pirates hook.

Creeping Death by Armand Rosamilla: stranger than most! A girl obsessed with tattoos becomes protected from Death! Written so you get a shudder at the end.

Paraphilia by Lisa Mannetti: short and vicious  you get lulled into this sad girls story only to get slapped as the ending hits you. Very clever writing!

Independence Day by P.L. Barrington: hard to describe really - crippled man uses a shamen Dr to fix his body which then turns on him. Just never really explained why....

Marvins Angry Angel by Jonathon Templar: how funny that a new trend would be to get an Angel attached to your shoulder, literally! What happens when that Angel gets pissed off though; funny, short and not so angelic!

Change of Heart by Rob M. Miller: Ewwww Ewww double ewww! A withc of a mother in law comes to dinner. The final paragraph is the killer - yucky ducky... brilliant!

Hearing Mildred by Wheldon Burge: ah the wicked evils of TV and not reading enough! A cute little tale that made me smile.

Zippered Flesh

Horror Stories by JA Konrath & Jack Kilborn

Overall, this is one of the funniest horror books I have read, that said its not perfect and has its fair share of errors and boring moments. His longer novels are well worth a read!

Finicky Eater: The A-bomb has dropped and Jack Kilborn serves up some yummy food possibilities, the more it continues the more gross it becomes.

The Screaming: JK states at the blurb beginning that he wanted to get the local vernacular correct, big fat no from me. Did he miss the fact that 50p was not in circulation until 1969 (the story is set in 1960s – so just on the cusp, but bad research). Another inconsistency is the journey “out of town” is only 15 miles away but takes TWO hours on the train! I know British Rail has its issues, but seriously what was it powered by, snail juice?

Once I got over these really annoying parts the actual story was ok, and only ok, all been done before and nothing new was added. Blah

Mr Pull Ups: an obsession with becoming the no.1 entry into the Guinness Book of Records goes sadly wrong. I was not expecting the final line… great stuff.

The Shed: strange, just strange! Two would be criminals get their punishments.

Them’s Good Eats: two hillbillies get ubducticated, awesome! I tale of piggy revenge! This has to be my favourite, seriously gruesome but so sweet in payback! Some really good humour in this short.

First Time: two boys and a slaughter house. Very short and a bit pointless, for me.

Forgiveness: a serial murderer gives his confession. Some truly sickening moments, with a climatic ending, very well told as I felt myself becoming quite tense.

Redux: a ghostly revenge, cleverly done. Shame about the random errors in spelling and editing.

The Bag: a truly repulsive story on so many levels, no spoilers here. For sheer disgusting thoughts and gore; top marks.

Careful, He Bites: this reminds me of my favourite novel Werewolves anonymous! I was treated to a were-canary in this short tale, so disgusting what the cat does but giggles abound!

Symbios: some good ideas in this sci-fi story, but as I don’t generally read that genre maybe its all been done before. A revolting tale of greed and need.

A Matter of Taste: this really made me giggle, a zombie family argue at the dinner table. Who knew that mentioning Waldorf Salad could make me snort out coffee!

Embrace: JK does state this is over flowery, but wow its worse than that. I was so bogged down in flowers I missed the whole point of the story.

Trailer Sucks: JK really seems to have a hatred of animals as most stories seem to torment them in some ways, its most off putting for an animal lover. Karma is also one of his themes, which I do really like!  This one is high on that list as some Red Necks capture a female vampire and do some unspeakable things, karma is a bitch!

Markey: again with the animals. Plus I did not like this one as it touches too much on mental health issues. I liked the staccato way of writing tho’.

Punishment Room: a tale of torture, most uncomfortable, but with a stranger ending! JK manages to really ratchet up the tension in this one.

The Confession: completely told as a narrative this is inspired. Sweet, bloody revenge. I actually enjoyed the descriptions of torture, mostly due to WHO they were targeting. Awesome.

Basketcase: just gross, but in a weird and fun way. JAK can certainly show you the appeal of being a basketcase.

The Agreement:  when some warped mobster is going to torture you, make sure you listen to the agreement! Very clever.

Well Balanced Meal: omg my stomach was churning, glad I had not eaten. I can see why it won a Gross Out completion, just glad I was not in the audience. Am still gagging just thinking about this.

S.A. : at the beginning of all the stories JK has a little blurb on why, how and where it was written and published. This blurb was very funny, but not as much as the actual story. Totally inspired, this novella (its too long to be called a short) has some amazing nods to the genre and fantastical ideas. Some of the scenes are hysterical I don’t think a chocolate cupcakes will never again pass my lips again. This is my ALL time favourite story from JK. Were-coral still has me in stitches.

Dear Diary: teenage girls are so twisted. Feeding, JK is also obsessed with food. Not a yummy story, but a very good one though.

Mr Spaceman: I found myself snorting with laughter a lot through this rapid fire short. Aliens vs hookers, yeah no contest!

Appalachian Lullaby: Red Necks, monkeys and Uranium – what could go wrong?

Treatment: I am running out of words to describe funny, this was brilliant – I cant say anymore for spoilers!

Sound of Blunder: poor Willie he seems to have every ailment going, poor Bruno the beagle and you have to love Nana. Aliens, dinosaurs… you name it, plus this has so many body parts in it you will struggle to keep up. It does ramble a bit but then I think the aim was to make you feel like you had eaten the pound cake.  Not the greatest story to finish on though. 

Horror Stories

The Peeling Finale (full series) by Iain Rob Wright

I have been looking forward to more of this gruesome, yet riveting, story since it was hinted at as a freebie at the end of Animal-Kingdom: An Apocalyptic Novel (a fantastic read!).

This tale gives you a little glimpse of the horrors inflected upon a variety of individuals, which are unfolding all over the World by a new plague which literally peels the skin off its victims, IRW manages to describe this in glorious technicolor!

For such a brief tale, you cant help but be totally absorbed and taken over by the characters and they have such depth that you miss them at the end... and as always, the IRW,  the ending is not what you think....

Jeremys Choice

The second instalment of this gruesome new world that IRW has imagined and brought to life (or death) a ghastly new disease of unknown cause but very known consequences.

He continues his absolutely stunning grip on the real horrors in the world as superbly illustrated in his novel ASBO: A Novel of Extreme Terror and manages to bring forth the true nature of people in stressful situations and make them the real horror in the mess of apocalyptic terror.

As usual, the characters are rounded, with short but fulfilling back stories, you feel at ease with them instantly and are soon engulfed in their world.

As no-one is safe from the Peeling you are in full trepidation as to what dread is around the next page turn (or button click for us ebookers).

As always I was captivated by this new chapter and sad that it ended, but Mr Wright is consistent in his fabulous endings.

The Stadium

The focus is on a supermarket takeover, and not by Tesco!

Two sets of army teams fight it out with the "civvies" in the middle. Good vs Evil basically, yet so well done.

Attention to detail as always from this perfectionist author.

Some very attention grabbing defence plays; very apocalyptic in nature... makes for a "fun" read.

Now, the ending... OMG what a way to leave it!! amazing!

I cannot do spoilers... but you wont see this one coming!

Warriors

So IRW takes us to the heart of hell and the possible start of the virus, or is it?

The journey into this new pit is coldly scary and unnerving in its possibilities.... how do a group of intelligent people keep a hostage for so many years?

The creeping terror sensation you get with this book is very, very dark.

Classically done! Faultless in its editing, as usual, and amazing writing!

Patient Zero

A nice fresh setting to end the series, with some great new characters that have enough of a back story to be believable and cared about.

In such a short and horrific tale IRW still manages to inject some brilliant British humour!

I really loved the reality check of how the group felt and reacted, no movie style theatrics, no overt hero stuff, it all felt so real.

The tension and build up as IRW drags you to the finale was exquisite, I really felt myself squinting and half looking at my kindle, I'm sure if I had been listening on audio book I would have had my hands over my eyes or been hiding behind the sofa!

The ending is abrupt, but totally satisfying.

As always with IRW the editing is perfection, not a comma out of place.

The Peeling Book 4:The Lights