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

Wind Walker by Neil Buchanan

Audio & Ebook versions:

Wind Walker consists of three short stories; one is stand alone and the last two are linked by a character.  All of them have a similar feel and theme; death, apocalyptic, cannibalism and monsters.

I found the writing style to be very dark but exceptionally descriptive, add in the clipped, direct narration of Carrie Buchanan and I kept rewinding to ensure I had heard what she said; the ewww moments were really horrifying.

The first story is Wind Walkers; a man learns he is the harbinger/catalyst for monsters to rise on a snowy mountain side in Wales.  His inner monologue of fears and memories interspersed with the dialogue with his children allowed for characterisation and a connection with them as a family.

I really liked the “cool velvet” explanation of calm after intense pain. My only negative would be the alternating of PoV was a little confusing when listening to the audio version, but when read I was able to slow and repeat paragraphs.

The second two stories were linked by a character; the narrator is left alone in a shopping mall whilst the world outside is filled with monsters. I did wonder if they were all linked as the season is winter with snow and ice and both talk of a rift. 

Sam the floating corpse will stay with me for a while, she was so vivid, even in death NB gave her a brilliant back story.   Another negative amongst all this praise would be the use of “diapers”; clearly set in the UK why use an American word?

The is an abundance of flesh, blood and gore, eyeballs hanging and bits being cleaved or munched off. The shock value is obviously there but NB writes with such substance and palpability that even the simplest of phrases made me wince eg the eye ball stalk!

All the endings were very sorrowful and pessimistic, no happy endings here, horah for some dirty horror. Loved the gruesome, creepy unrelenting nature of these stories and cannot wait to read more from this author!

Wind Walker

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

Left to Darkness: Oblivion Series Bk1 by Craig Saunders

I heard the first chapter of this book read by the author at FantasyCon (sept 2015) and went straight back to my hotel room to download it. I then waited three weeks until my holiday to relish it.

No disappointments at all.

Frank the Thug has a dramatic entrance to the story. Paul is the Good Cop who plods along; how these two meet is unexpected and what follows is a fantastic piece of storytelling. Finley, who happens to be Franks Boss, is up to no good as all corporate villain bosses should be.

 Dawn is a most likeable, tender yet tough, woman who has a vicious start to this book and life generally. Thankfully she has the most amazing father in law.

Some of the horror, gruesomeness, gore and torture was so blunt I actually laughed out loud in my discomfort.

As meteors hit the Earth destroying all life, a strange naked man is wandering around offering smokes, advice and guidance to our main characters. His continual smoking is like the Pied Piper bringing them all together in a strange warped way.

A few of the intermediary characters have such force that they really took my breathe away.

This book is merely the start of a series planned by the author and I have to say I can’t wait for the next one. I am intrigued with what is “really” going on, what will happen to the heroes and villains, who is the naked man and what does he want to achieve, what’s with the Little Kings and and and and …..!

Left to Darkness: Oblivion Bk 1

Diary of a Dead Man by Matt Shaw

This is a first person narrative of a man on death row writing his memoirs, why because he has nothing else to do.

I liked the rambling talking to himself style, it really fitted the story and gave the impression of him slowly unravelling and then going boom!

MS was good at describing the emotions or lack thereof and making this murderer appear normal.

The “off milk” comment did make me gag a little but the mint dish sounded very practical.

MS did some. good finger pointing at the judicial system and general human nature.

A good ending with a little after thought which wrapped the story up well.  Yes there are some disgusting bits but no more than you would read in a real crime novel.

Whilst I would say this is one of the best MS books I have read I felt he could have put more into the murders, given a few more examples, especially of the trophies and really laid the gore on a bit more thickly, I suppose really I would  like this to be expanded to a novella maybe, or even longer.

Diaryof a Dead Man

Wolf Hunt 2 by Jeff Strand

George and Lou are clearly happily married, to each other!

But I’m glad to see that they both survived Ivan, even if missing a few parts!

However even in their secret hideaway with endless cruddy TV and cocktails they are soon found by a certain gangster intent on kidnapping another werewolf only this one is a 14yr old girl who has no idea she has wolfie lineage.

She also has a rather miffed off father that has anger issues and a weirdo friend and girlfriend.

Shane is a rather revolting specimen all by himself, but no plot spoilers here.

As always with JS novels the humour and gore is right up there making you wonder whether to cringe or giggle, usually both followed by gagging.

A great follow up to book one which you really need to read first, but it’s a riveting read, with a fabulous ending, book no.3 maybe??

Wolf Hunt 2

Wolf Hunt 1 by Jeff Strand

George and Lou are just trying to do their jobs, if that means breaking bones, then so be it, but they are decent guys really, honest!

These lovely, gone to seed, muscle hounds are given the simple job of driving a captured werewolf up state (insert laugh here as we all know werewolves don’t exist, right).

They are given a set of rules by their employer, Mr Bateman, a bit like the mogwai rules only these involve no food, no water and never open the cage.

The instant they set off Ivan (the werewolf) does not shut up, mostly with derisive comments set to infuriate our two good henchmen.

Then the dog incident at the petrol station occurs and suddenly they have blood everywhere and a witness on Georges lap. Ivan continues his wind up.

Eventually of course the primary rule is broken and soon they are all on a wolf hunt!

Murder, mayhem and general nastiness take place as all members of the chase have their own agendas. There is plenty of gore as the werewolf delights in his killing spree.

One of the funniest parts (for me) was in the middle of Ivan kicking ten buckets of blood out of George, Lou decides that running past shouting “ferret, ferret, ferret” is the best way to distract him from ripping Georges throat out; for some reason I could not stop giggling!

Eventually after a mass murder at the Cotton Mouse Tavern the “professionals” are called in, which goes as well as you think it might, let’s just say body parts where thrown around and leave it at that.

The climactic final battle was intense and I was on the edge of my seat as to who would win and how, sorry no spoilers here!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to get my teeth, normal human ones, into Wolf Hunt 2, the explosion of gore and comedy just had me gagging and giggling for the last three hours, I could not bear to put this book down.

Wolf Hunt 1