Publisher: Sinister Grin Press
Publication Date: 25th May 2016
Pages: 278
MY REVIEW:
A copy of Mayan
Blue, by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason, was sent to Confessions of a
Reviewer by the publishers, Sinister Grin Press, in exchange for an honest
review. This is said review.
I do enjoy getting ARCS from Sinister Grin Press. This
one has been on my radar from before it was even written. Michelle and Melissa
are twin sisters also known as The
Sisters of Slaughter and I have been friends with them in the social media
world for over a year now. I have been eagerly awaiting this, their first
novel, with baited breath. Two girls who are an absolute pleasure to know, I
have read a couple of short stories of theirs and couldn’t wait for this to
come out.
So was the wait worth it?
Professor Lipton is searching through caves in a remote
part of Georgia. He really believes that he can find a secret. A secret that
will prove his theory that the Mayan’s made it this far north. Maybe the secret
he is after should stay hidden.
Wes, Alissa, Kelly, Dennis and Tyler are on their way to
meet up with Professor Lipton. They all have their own reasons for going on
this expedition. Some legitimate and some foolish. Regardless of their reasons,
like Professor Lipton, they may regret even having an interest in the Georgian
Mayan’s.
Characters in this tale are as you see in the synopsis. I
won’t give you a lot of detail on them because to be honest this is the type of
story that you can never be sure if anyone is going to make it off page one
alive. Professor Lipton seems to be the stereotypical, slightly mad
archaeologist, who is convinced he knows where the find of the century is. Wes
is his understudy. Totally mesmerised by his hero, Lipton, he is as keen as
mustard to meet up with the professor and go hunting. Alissa is keen as well.
Keen on Wes. To be fair though she is probably the only other one there for
serious reasons. Kelly invited herself. Probably because she was bored. Dennis
and Tyler tagged along for the extra credit and also because Kelly was going.
They both have the same intent where Kelly is concerned.
The plot? It’s an old horror cliché. Ancient history
dictates that something ancient be found and quite possibly it will unleash
something evil into the world. But – the difference with this one is it isn’t
the old old cliché of the evil being something the Catholic Church has been
battling against and keeping secret for centuries. No my friends. It’s the
Mayans. In Georgia! Surely not? Well there you go then. Horror needs uniqueness
and these girls have pulled that part out of the bag.
This does make it fresh to the extent that we aren’t
dealing with the aged alcoholic priest, and the Vatican sending in the heavies
to stop all attempts at retrieving the ancient artefacts. It takes a slightly
different direction in the evil that will be unleashed. At first I was a bit
worried that it was too much like an Indiana Jones adventure type story rather
than horror, but to be honest, I never seen Harrison Ford have to deal with
some of the things that these people had to run from. And run they did.
The characters themselves felt a little bit flat to me at
times. It almost showed that some of them were only there for the ride. You
could say this is very effective writing but to me at times I think they could
have been beefed up a bit more. Given a bit more oomph.
The plot itself was fairly simple and uncomplicated but
this was tremendously enhanced by the array of evil characters and monsters and
beasts that were involved. The girls really hit the nail on the head in giving
you a sense of being in a different world. The colour aspects and the
descriptive text about the world and the beasts and even the vegetation gave
you a very true sense of being somewhere other than on planet Earth. I think
the best way I can describe this is that visually, I imagined this world to be
not unlike the landscape we saw in Avatar.
Beautiful in one light but scary as hell in another.
This is a horror novel with a lot of adventure in it but
I wanted more scares. I wanted more jump out of my seat moments. I wanted more
nearly peeing myself moments. I wanted more reading with one eye closed
moments.
It certainly has the blood and the guts that horror books
should have. In fact, it has this in abundance. Some of the injuries that are
inflicted on some of the characters are horrific and did have my skin crawling
and tested the gag reflex.
It just didn’t scare me enough.
I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to write a book
with someone else. Now given the fact these girls are twins, I would suspect it
may be easier than some collaborations but that is one thing that I didn’t
notice until I had finished. It flowed extremely well. I defy anyone reading
this to be able to pinpoint when the writer changes. It is seamless in that
respect.
To summarise: a horrific adventure bringing together some
ancient evils and fantastical worlds to keep your blood pumping from start to
finish. Could have been a bit scarier for me but these girls have proved with
this that they have an eye for the details and a definite knack for completely
removing you from your boring mundane life and transporting you to a completely
different world. Bravo sisters!
General rating:
★★★.5 excellent for a debut novel with a difference.
Horror rating:
★★★.5 I wanted more scares.
If you would like to help support Confessions of a
Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy Mayan Blue or any other books from Michelle
and Melissa. This not only supports me but also lets me know how many people
actually like to buy books after reading my reviews.
Thanks.
Book Synopsis:
Xibalba, home of torture and sacrifice, is the kingdom of
the lord of death. He stalked the night in the guise of a putrefied corpse,
with the head of an owl and adorned with a necklace of disembodied eyes that
hung from nerve cords. He commanded legions of shape-shifting creatures,
spectral shamans, and corpses hungry for the flesh of the living. The Mayans
feared him and his realm of horror. He sat atop his pyramid temple surrounded
by his demon kings and demanded sacrifices of blood and beating hearts as
tribute to him and his ghostly world.
These legends, along with those that lived in fear of
them, have been dead and gone for centuries. Yet now, a doorway has been opened
in Georgia. A group of college students seek their missing professor, a man who
has secretly uncovered the answer to one of history’s greatest mysteries.
However, what they find is more than the evidence of a hidden civilization.
It’s also a gateway to a world of living nightmares.
Melissa Lason and Michelle Garza have been writing together since they were little girls. Dubbed The Sisters of Slaughter by the editors of Fireside Press. They are constantly working together on new stories in the horror and dark fantasy genres. Their work has been included in FRESH MEAT published by Sinister Grin Press, WISHFUL THINKING by Fireside Press, WIDOWMAKERS a benefit anthology of dark fiction. Their novel MAYAN BLUE is being released May 25, 2016 by Sinister Grin Press
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