Survivor by JF Gonzalez

Firstly I love the cover but it has nothing to do with this book, so not sure why the author decided to update it to this.

My first foray into hardcore and I was not overly impressed with the story line or the amount of grossness, I was pleased the author stayed away from animals (although there is one very brief paragraph) however, there are multiple rape scenes, tortures, mutilations, the making of snuff films, mentions of child pornography, bestiality, bondage, some cannibalism, so enough gore and splatter that this should be a fantastic read.

The whole “Hitcher” style kidnap at the beginning is well done, up until the police are involved; “Desperation” by SK crept into my mind with the no emotion cop (who later becomes an emotional wreck?!) and the whole being put in jail on a Friday afternoon and not being allowed out until Monday morning seems a little odd and convenient – can’t two high profile lawyers call in a few favours! It’s only a traffic offence not mass murder, yet.

After an explosive and riveting start; I was lulled in to an exquisite sensation of skin crawl and then suddenly slapped with a big yuck.

The main character, Lisa, is kidnapped, chained up and told she is the star of a hardcore S&M snuff film; well if that does not make your skin crawl then having her watch the would be rescuer suffer the torture, rape and mental breakdown that has been promised as “bonus content”  should be enough to scare the pants off you.

However, I found the most disgusting part of the book to be the suggestion that Lisa blurted out to save her own skin but this was badly set up at the beginning of the book and then the deaths which could have been a pivotal mind twist were glossed over IMO. 

The actual suggestion was repulsive, but then who knows what we would promise faced with certain torture and death.

A cat and mouse type of search and rescue is instigated by her husband , when he finally makes it our of prison, which is all a little to handy for the time line, the story sort of takes a nose dive after that.

None of the characters are likeable or believable. They are caricatures of what they could be.  The “good” side is too syrupy and the “baddies” act like total idiots in the end.

To have the “set-up” guy switch his mind set so quickly all the time got on my nerves; he is either an abused and traumatized kid post bunny torture and has no empathy or he is in it for the money but really cares, he can’t be both! Or at least not in the way JFG tells/explains it.

The Big Cheese in it all just seemed like a bumbling twit in the end and was a bit Al Capone (tax evasion - let down) in his eventual capture.

I found the over padding of the good guy vs bad guy image a little nauseating and predictable. As for the planting of a red herring, it’s supposed to divert your attention not scream at you “it was me! coooeee over here” or put at least put in a few more.

The elderly assassin is inspired, although I would have liked her story extended much more as there are about 30 years missing in her story. Her vicious killing of the security guards but decision to leave Brad (hubby) alive so her can wriggle free and phone the police is just horrible storytelling and again with the letting your characters do stupid things just to aid the story line shows very poor skill, and commitment to the story.

The end fight scene was such an anti-climax, firstly Lisa’s body seemed to have her head on the wrong way around; the rapist/killer was able to enter her from behind but she then bit off his nose? 

Then in her half stabbed, half-starved, waif like body state with no weapons training and having been in a catatonic condition for several days/weeks (time line is a bit off) how was she able to kill two big, strong men (who are proven killers) on her own and then drive herself through the Nevada desert (with no sat-nav!).   

Lets not even mention that said big, strong torturous killers, supposedly into the "hardcore S&M" scene scream like babies and act in total agony when she bites their nose - whoops I did. 

JFG really backs away from some of the kills, just some vague descriptions on how brutal they were, basically lots of build up to a damp squib throwaway line. As for the whole S&M scene – laughable, clearly no research done.

Despite the long winded comments from the author at the beginning that this is the final and most brilliant version, it has some serious consistency errors and definitely some typos that would have benefitted a good beta read and editor, which is surprising as I think this author (my first book by them) is quite high profile and has a fair few books to their name.

I did enjoy the ending. I loved the wrap up bits and I needed some soothing and loving after all the actual gross splatter thrown at me. There was no ambiguous ending and I enjoyed that, I want to be told a story not make up half of it myself.

Would I read this author again, maybe, if another title gets flashed up to me (or someone would like to suggest one) but I won’t be searching them out.

Survivor

Haunt by Jeffrey Kosh

As a ghost is shown his past by The Shade all manner of emotions are dragged from you by JK.

The ethereal writing style really lends itself well to this ghastly subject matter as JK walks you through a torturous carnival scene of pain and terror.

Trapped then in the present and tied in a unique way to a solid place the ghost must suffer more to atone for his previous sins, I think he is still enjoying it a bit too much though!

As the norm’ for JK another perfect story, not a dot or thought out of place!

Haunt

FREEEEEBIES by Iain Rob Wright

Housemates

TEN DAYS, TWELVE COMPETITORS, TWO MILLION POUNDS IN CASH.

What at first appears to be a wonderful opportunity for Damien Banks turns out to be the worst nightmare he can imagine. 

Trapped inside a house with eleven strangers, and a booming voice known only as ‘The Landlord’ controlling his every move, Damien will be forced to compete not only for the money, but for his life.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN…

My review: I adore the way IRW brings full circle his characters;  ASBO and The Final Winter are both linked in, plus a great cliffhanger at the end!

Some really good surprises in this book. IRW's writing really puts you in the front row for a voyeuristic show; you may not always want to be there.

I did find some of the torturous stuff right on the edge of believable, but then this is fiction, I hope!

My only other real niggle is my own disappointed face when I thought I still had 20% of reading left only to find another authors short at the end!

Ravage

FIRST PEOPLE GOT SICK. THEN THEY GOT VERY SICK..
Nick Adams is just a normal guy. He loves his family, appreciates his home, and covets his car. But he absolutely hates his job. Which is what makes it so difficult that not a single customer has come by his store today. It seems as though there’s a bug going around, something that has come out of nowhere and is keeping people at home. Still, it’s probably nothing to worry about. People get sick all the time.

And besides, things are finally starting to look up. Nick’s first customer of the day has just stumbled through the door… 

HIS DAY IS ABOUT TO GET WORSE..
It won’t be long before Nick’s entire life is turned upside down, sending him on a frantic journey through a ravaged world that will ultimately lead him 500 feet upwards to a hilltop amusement park. Is it the last safe place on Earth, or are the monsters at the top of the hill even worse than the ones below?

WELCOME TO RIPLEY HEIGHTS. WHERE THE FUN NEVER STARTS.

My review:

I was lucky enough to get a review copy BUT I found it so brilliant I bought the ebook as soon as it became available, I am also a fan of indie authors and if you dont buy them, they cant write more!!

Anyway, on to the review!

No slow introduction here, wham you are straight into the snotty, blood soaked gore. Assuming you are not new to zombie horror you will recognise and wince at all the sneezing, finger kissing and bottle sharing.

IRW has the amazing ability to make all his characters have depth, none are perfect, they are just regular humans - which gives the the thrown together/apocalyptic group dynamic a real tension.

The story is split into three parts, you are introduced to various people and watch as circumstance, zombies and plain human idiocy rip them to pieces.

IRW does not shy away from the gore factor but gives you enough of the day to day running of post apocalypse to be, in itself, horrifying.

The links to his other books is nothing short of genius (if you think SK does a good job wait till you see the intricate web IRW weaves!)

I thought the ending epilogue chapters were what really made the story stand out and unique for me. The trail and spread of destruction was reminiscent of SK The Stand but had such a human element attached you feel yourself shudder at the implications of your own daily life.

As for the final paragraphs.... OMG.....

Strings by Allison M. Dickson

Extended from the The Good Girls short story this starts off with a great bit of back history, but does not fully explain everything, leaving lots to the imagination and hopefully a prequel, beg beg.

The strange mix of Mob, house spider, torture, prostitutes and a weird Nurse wrapped in red is beyond gripping. The suspense builds with each chapter, the rotating stories really allow for some suspense filled moments.

The intricate dual plot lines are fantastic, coming to an inspired climax. The characters are complex yet full of life, some in a very scary and realistic way, even the ones "not really there" have a sense of depth.  

Madam’s scene in the kitchen was wonderfully grotesque and most definitely my favourite part in the book.  

Just when you think the horror can’t get worse, it does in bucket loads. AMD surpasses herself in this book, I actually felt a bit nauseous at one point, but the story just drags you along by your throat as you are compelled to carry on reading.

As always with AMD, her author notes are extensive and open, as she shows you her process. I often find these to be as much fun as the stories. I say almost because this has gone way beyond any of her short stores or flash fictions this is a full of novel of terror, sublimely written with such delicate details as to make you squirm. However, it is also highly addictive as I was rooted to my chair unable to go to bed until I completed the juggernaut of terror ride.

Strings

The Housemates by Iain Rob Wright

I adore the way Iain Rob Wright brings full circle his characters; ASBO and The Final Winter as both are linked in, plus a great cliffhanger at the end!

Some really good surprises in this book. IRW's writing really puts you in the front row for a voyeuristic show; but you may not always want to be there.

I did find some of the torturous stuff right on the edge of believable, but then this is fiction, I hope!

My only other real niggle is my own disappointed face when I thought I still had 20% of reading left only to find another authors short at the end!

IRW - remains firmly in my top 10 authors!

Housemates

ASBO by Iain Rob Wright

I went to bed to read a few chapters of this book.... stayed awake for another 5hrs reading as could not put this down.

Wow Iain Rob Wright grips you right from the first few pages and does not let go.

The characters are believable and this makes for a gut wrenching read. IRW states this is a thriller more than horror, but I beg to differ... the truth in this novel is horrifying... none of it seems OTT or non plausible.

All big towns/cities in UK have this issue now with feral kids running around bored, and reasons or not, the stuff they do and say is scary... no, fear generates some real terror.

IRW manages to make you feel every emotion with this read.... amazing!

I cannot praise this book enough, it has left me gobsmacked!

ASBO

Wasting my life on crap films and Lies that trailers tell us!

imdb - Prisoners

The Blurb from imdb: When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?

So it was Date Night with "girls" and we chose this film for the above actors, yes we are shallow, and we thought this would be an action/revenge/getmydaughterback type film in the style of Taken.

Once we got past the half hour of adverts we were treated to horrific torture scenes, both shown and implied. Mr Jackman spitting and gurgling his way thru' most of his lines and thumping alot of things. Mr Gyllenhaal played an uber detective who manages to miss most of the clues to solving what was going on and he managed to develop an annoying way of blinking.... oh, ok maybe I was just bored or traumatised by this time.

Not to mention this seemed like the longest movie ever, I was not alone in this thought, most of the (minimal) audience were doing a running commentary.

The direction was odd, the occasional close up of tree bark was weird. And I'm not sure what the point of Maria Bello was as she was asleep for most of the movie. Poor Melissa Leo  was cast as a lady 30yrs too old for her and I just kept waiting for her wig to slip off.

On the positive side you really wont be able to figure out whodunnit until the reveal at the end, but by then you really wont care.

So with numb bums and having lost the will to live ourselves we couldn't face our much awaited Nandos and came home hungry :(

Pressure by Jeff Strand

A very harrowing start to the book, but wow was I gripped.

It is written as a narrative which works very well later in the book when things are merely eluded too, really builds the tension.

Split into three very distinctive parts of Alex's life, with a finale and, my favourite, an epilogue (tying up those loose, niggley end).

The story of a basically happy man Jeff Strands takes you through those angst ridden, who will like me/my parents hate me/what's wrong or right teenage years, to college life and then on into adulthood.

However, on his tail is Darren, who is just a little bit weird.

The first part is set in a boarding school which brings its own horrors as to the treatment of children and then expecting them to grow up to be nice, productive, socially acceptable people!  The issues with Darren come to an alarming conclusion as Alex and his two friends discover their own version of the Law.

As Alex looks forward to the mayhem of college and a chance to be his own man, his life turns into a type of hell with a cat and mouse game of terror.

Life it seems, becomes perfect later on, all trauma is forgotten, but the hatchet vs cactus, the pit and Gallery of Horrors soon come into play; the lovely Alex is soon considering his kangeroo court again.

Whilst I really enjoyed how this was written and the basic story was great, I was irritated by the lead character Alex for mostly being a wimp, but I suppose that IS reality, how would we all react to strange, non socially conforming behaviour?

Having previously only read Wolf Hunt I was also surprised by the lack of humour, other than HeeHee, HawHaw and HoHo   which did make me giggle a bit; that said this deals with some seriously disgusting stuff so comedy would probably have been out of place.

Really looking forward to reading all the other novels by Jeff Strand.

Pressure