REVIEW: Jason Parent - Wrathbone and other stories

Genre: Horror collection

Publisher: Comet Press

Publication Date: 3^rd October 2016

Pages: 160

REVIEWED BY NEV

A copy of Wrathbone and other Stories was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Jason Parent in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Comet Press.

Nothing I like more than getting a request from Jason Parent to have an early look at one of his books. Be it a novel or a short story or as in this case, a collection, it doesn’t matter to me. He is one of those authors that I just cannot resist reading. I love his easy, relaxed style of writing, even when the story is going at one hundred miles per hour.

I was especially eager to read this collection because I knew that myself and my good lady wife Jo, feature in a story together. This triggers the usual disclaimer that including me on the outside or indeed the inside of a book does not garner any favours from me in terms of the review.

So let’s see what this little beauty has to offer!

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #38 - Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love

#38 in my showing off section is a book that I got last year and to this day it remains one of my all-time favourite books. This goes both for the content between the covers and the actual cover itself.

Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love.

This little beauty is from the crowd I call the Bad Apples Crew. Evans Light, Adam Light, Edward Lorn, Jason Parent and Gregor Xane.

When this one came out I was just launching Confessions. I came up with this crazy idea of doing a week long stint of interviews and along with the review, managed to pull it off. I have to honestly say that it was probably a bit rough round the edges but it worked and was the fore bearer of all that has come since.

The cover on this one was done by Mike Tenebrae and is still one of my all-time favourite covers.

This is my copy:

REVIEW: Bad Apples 3: Seven Slices of Halloween Horror

Genre: Horror / Collection

Publisher: Corpus Press

Publication Date: Sept 2016

Pages: 242

REVIEWED BY NEV

A copy of Bad Apples 3: Seven Slices of Halloween Horror was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Corpus Press, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

This is the final line from my review of Bad Apples 2: Six Slices of Halloween Horror:

If there is a Bad Apples 3 next year, do we get seven slices?

Turns out I was right! Only thing I can say to that is whoo hoo!

So if you have never read Bad Apples 1 or 2, you have missed a treat, and what are you waiting for? Reviews are at the bottom of the page so go read them and then go buy them.

This is the time of year that if you are lucky enough to get an email in your inbox from Evans Light, the chances are it is with an ARC for Bad Apples. This has become somewhat of a tradition for this book to be released at this time of year so you can go pick it up and add it to your reading list for Halloween. It gets bigger and better every year. It has the same five faces that these collections always have in Evans Light, Adam Light, Edward Lorn, Jason Parent and Gregor Xane. This year though we are given an extra treat with the addition of Mark Matthews, John McNee and Craig Saunders. The only one I have never read before from this lot is Mr McNee so I am super excited to see what he has in store.

I could give much more of an introduction but I can’t wait to get reading, so this is what I thought:

REVIEW: Jason Parent - Where Wolves Run

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Corpus Press

Publication Date: 31^st May 2016

Pages: 86

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Where Wolves Run by Jason Parent was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Corpus Press, in return for an honest review. This is said review.

My old friend Jason Parent has a new one out! And I get asked to review it! How could I say no? Well I could have but that would have been stupid on my part because I always love his stuff. Well, Unseemly wasn’t my favourite of his to be honest, and after seeing this one was to do with werewolves, I went at it with a little trepidation. I have never read anything to do with werewolves from Mr Parent before. I didn’t really think it was his bag but you live and learn.

This is what I thought anyway.

Konrad lives with his mother. His father is never around. Hasn’t been for years. He flits in and out of their lives sometimes but never stays for long. Konrad resents him a lot because of this.

When a tragedy hits Konrad and his mother, his father returns and fills his head full of tales of ancient evils and explanations for why he is never around that don’t really ring true to Konrad.

He doesn’t really have a choice but to believe him and have faith. Faith that he will survive when the evil comes for him.

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #30 - Jason Parent - Unseemly

#30 in the show-offs is another from my good friend and totally awesome, panda loving author, Jason Parent. It’s his latest novella, Unseemly.

It is always an absolute pleasure to get books in the mail from Jason. I am pretty sure I have a signed copy of all of his books now which makes me a very happy bunny.

I don’t know if he sends me them because he likes me or due to the fact my wife seems to be madly in love with him. He is referred to in this house as “the other husband”. If I were him, I would be more than slightly worried about this.

Especially as Jo has his address.

Anyway, this is my copy of Unseemly:

REVIEW: Jason Parent - Unseemly

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Corpus Press

Publication Date: 25^th Jan 2016

Pages: 48

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Unseemly by Jason Parent, was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publisher, Corpus Press in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

So it’s no secret that Jason Parent takes up space on my bookshelf. I think anyone who doesn’t have him on their shelf is quite frankly either a bit stupid, or plainly haven’t discovered him yet. If you are the first, then fix it. If you are the second, then fix it.

I was very pleased when I was asked to review this one. I would have gotten it anyway but I always consider it a privilege to be asked to review Jason’s stuff.

This is what I thought.

Peter Callum has had a pretty shady past which he is trying very hard to leave behind him. An ex-wife, and her money demands however, mean he is considering teaming up with an old acquaintance, Dervish, for one more scheme.

The money maker.

Along with a professor McCoy and a gentleman he doesn’t really care for, Corbin, they are going hunting. Hunting for something Dervish is convinced exists and can make them very rich. Something that Peter thinks cannot possibly exist.

What does exist is nothing like they were expecting. It’s not the kind faerie they were looking for!

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #19 - Jason Parent - What Hides Within

#19 in the Show-Off and Tell feature is a “look what you could win” feature too. The wonderful What Hides Within, by Jason Parent.

Now, when Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love came out, I did a week-long series of interviews and reviews with the guys from The Dead Roses Crew. In case you missed it, you can check it out here.

This is how I got to know Jason Parent a little bit better and discovered that he is definitely one of the good guys that more people should know and read.

I was expecting a copy of Dead Roses in the post from Evans Light and he had recently just met up with Jason who very graciously signed, and included a copy of What Hides Within in the box that was delivered.

This is my copy:

CONFESSIONS OF A REVIEWER TOP FIVE 2015: THE OVERALL TOP FIVE!

Welcome back to the Confessions of a Reviewer’s top five lists!

This is it! The overall top five books of 2015!

Now, if you have been following the posts through the week, you will obviously know that more than five made it through to the top five. So, that left me with a dilemma. Do I now do a top seven, or stick with a top five and bin a couple?

I decided to do neither. I had to be totally honest about how I felt about these books. There were a couple of positions where I just could not split books. I decided therefore, to go with my heart and below is what I came up with.

This list is basically my favourite books of the year. I have had a wonderful year in terms of reading and I have been lucky enough to read some of these before anyone else had a chance to, and for that I am eternally grateful.

I urge you to buy any of these books if you have not already. You will be supporting some great authors and giving them encouragement to continue with their writing and keep us entertained for years to come.

This list is made up of books I have read this year so the books may not necessarily have been published this year.

So let’s get to it and don’t forget to buy buy buy!

CONFESSIONS OF A REVIEWER TOP FIVE 2015: THE THRILLERS!

Welcome back to the Confessions of a Reviewer’s top five lists!

Tonight we have the top five Thrillers! My definition of a thriller for this list is a novel written by a single author that would obviously not fall under a category like horror or romance. Some books that I would class as a thriller will have other elements in the story, such as crime, mystery or even the paranormal. To me thriller covers a very large range of writing as you will see in my list.

This list is made up of books I have read this year so the books may not necessarily have been published this year.

I have judged these books purely on the basis of how much they entertained me individually. The books will be listed first, with links to reviews and links you can use to buy them. At the bottom of the page you will find all the info you need on the individual authors.

So let’s get to it and don’t forget to buy buy buy!

CONFESSIONS OF A REVIEWER TOP FIVE 2015: THE ANTHOLOGIES!

So to the Confessions of a Reviewer’s top five lists proper!

I am kicking things off tonight with The Anthologies. Now I am doing things a little bit different. My definition of an anthology for this list is a collection of short stories or novellas by different authors in one book. This means some of them may have five stories in them and some may have twenty.

This list is made up of books I have read this year so the books may not necessarily have been published this year.

I have judged these books purely on the basis of how much they entertained me on a collective basis. The books will be listed first, with links to reviews and links you can use to buy them. At the bottom of the page you will find all the info you need on the authors or presses that produced the books.

Obviously a couple of them have so many contributors that it would take me forever to list them all so I have listed details for the presses.

So let’s get to it and don’t forget to buy buy buy!

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #11 - Evans Light / Adam Light / Edward Lorn / Jason Parent / Gregor Xane - Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror

#11 in this feature is another book sent to me by Evans Light in our trade off. To be fair though I definitely reckon I got the better deal in the trade!

Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror is a wonderful collection of stories, perfect for the best time of the year. It contains five tales that will totally creep you out and get you in the perfect Halloween mood.

The variety in this book is superb with offerings from Evans Light, Adam Light, Edward Lorn, Jason Parent and Gregor Xane. If you haven’t read anything by these guys yet then Bad Apples is a perfect way to introduce yourself to their writing styles.

This is my copy.

REVIEW: Evans Light / Adam Light / Edward Lorn / Jason Parent / Gregor Xane / Kealan Patrick Burke - Bad Apples 2: Six Slices of Halloween Horror

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Corpus Press

Publication Date: 4^th Oct 2015

Pages: 260

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Bad Apples 2: Six Slices of Halloween Horror was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the authors in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

OK so I read the original Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror yesterday after having it on my Kindle for a year and not getting round to reading it. My bad. It was the first time in Confessions history that a collection or anthology got five stars across the board.

Do you reckon they can do it twice on the trot? Let’s find out!

HALLOWEEKEND BY EDWARD LORN

Dean Laymon owns a very special house. It’s worth millions of dollars, but its history and its contents are worth much more than that to Dean.

It’s called the “Horror House”. Every Halloween people flock to the house to wander through its floors and rooms with the hope of it scaring them more than it did last year. Joe and Richard are two such kids. They are cousins but more importantly friends and they go every year.

The house is full of animatronics. There is something about them though that people don’t realise. They live. They need to be fed candy or they will not be happy. What would happen if Dean wasn’t there to do that? Joe, Richard and everyone else are about to find out.

REVIEW: Evans Light / Adam Light / Edward Lorn / Jason Parent / Gregor Xane - Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Corpus Press

Publication Date: 14^th Sept 2014

Pages: 225

MY REVIEW:

So it’s my turn to confess. I have had this on my Kindle since it was released last year and have never gotten around to reading it. I am slapping the back of my hand as I type. Know how difficult that is?

As Bad Apples 2 is now out I thought this would be the time to read and review the original and the sequel. This is my review of Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror. Tomorrow night I will publish my review of Bad Apples 2: Six Slices of Halloween Horror.

I have read stuff by all these guys, both individually and also in one of their other collections, Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love. In case you missed it (how dare you), I did a week long Confessions special full of interviews with the crew (see here) and a review of the book itself (see here).

So to the review itself. Was it worth the year long wait?

GUEST POST: Confessions of my Past, Present and Future #13 - Jason Parent

Confessions of my Past, Present and Future

by

Jason Parent

The Past

The book that floored me, that gave me my love not only for reading horror but for reading in general—the book that I will argue to this day should be an American Classic, required reading over that shite that happened at Walden Pond, or at some goddamn West Egg or East Egg or Egg Nog (mmm… I actually do like egg nog)… and by the way I’ve never once seen a Grape get angry, Holden is a reason for blue balls, not the name of a main character, and did anyone seriously know that Tom Sawyer went abroad? Personally, I always thought he had a thing for Huckleberry, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Who gives a damn how many gables a house has and what shade of red your letter denoting your alleged “whore” status is? If you say you’re going to kill a mockingbird, then get ’er done (I’d settle for a mocking jay) and fuck you, I will not call you “Ishmail” no matter how many damn times you tell me to. Isn’t bad enough your friend had to go through life named “Queequeg”?

Ah, Nev, you have no idea how good you had it growing up in a country that actually cares about “football”. Now that I’ve offended, oh, well, everyone… the book! That’s easy: The Stand, by Stephen King. Granted, I’ve read the book three times: original once, extended/unabridged/whatever-you-call-it twice. All three times happened many years ago. But I am not alone in this opinion of the book. I wonder, if I go back and read it now, knowing now what I did not know then… I would be a time traveller who would immediately begin betting on famous sports events. But with respect to the book, I wonder if I would pick it apart.

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #3 - Jason Parent - Seeing Evil

In keeping with the theme of the week, this weeks entry in the Show-Off and Tell feature is my copy of Seeing Evil by Jason Parent.

I was over the moon to receive this review copy in the post from Jason not only because I so desperately wanted to read and review it, but also because I know this man is destined for huge things in the future and I want to be able to say I have followed the journey from the very beginning.

INTERVIEW: THE JASON PARENT VIDEO INTERVIEW

Well here it is. Confessions of a Reviewer’s first ever attempt at a video interview. I’m so glad it was Jason Parent. This guy put himself on the line with this one. He was prepared to answer anything that was thrown at him, and I mean anything!

Giving the logistics of trying to pin someone down who is three thousand miles away from me, this had the potential to turn into a nightmare. I must thank Jason for his patience while some technical difficulties where ironed out and also for giving up his time for what turned into a very long night. It was, however, a night full of answers that will give you all you need to know about Jason’s new book Seeing Evil, his life and writing in general and of course the fun side of Jason where he put his very existence on the line in the 18+ section.

REVIEW: Jason Parent - Seeing Evil

Genre: Thriller / Supernatural

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing

Publication Date: 4^th August 2015

Pages: 234

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Seeing Evil was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Jason Parent in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Red Adept Publishing.

I have not read a lot by Jason Parent, just his stories as part of the mighty crew that gave us the collections, Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love and Bad Apples: Five Slices of Halloween Horror. I have known him for a while now and have to say he is a decent bloke. I admit to that solely for the purposes of this review. I want it made quite clear that even though I do know him, he is also quite clear that garners no favours when I review books. He knows that I am honest about what I read, no matter who wrote it.

To that end I have to say I was hugely disappointed with what I read in Seeing Evil. Read on and I will tell you why.

Sam Reilly is a detective in the Major Crimes Division. She isn’t exactly orthodox and has a bit of a reputation as being somewhat of a maverick. She is sent to a gruesome murder/suicide where she comes across a small child sitting on the floor in the middle of a pool of blood. His family has been killed in the crime.

The child was Michael Turcotte. 11 years later, he has been in and out of various foster homes, struggling with growing up in a system that sometimes doesn’t care. His only true friend is Sam. She has stuck by him during the years since his family was murdered.

Michael has a secret. It’s so secret he has just discovered it himself. He has visions. Visions of things that are going to happen to anyone that he touches, flesh to flesh. He truly sees evil. When he tells people and Sam about his first vision, they don’t believe him. When it comes true and someone dies, Sam starts to listen to anything Michael tells her.

Tessa Masterton also has a secret. A secret life that no one but her and her father know about. She has heard about Michael’s visions and approaches him to see if he can tell her what her future holds. What Michael sees is something he cannot possibly tell Tessa. He tells Sam though.

What unfolds is a race against time, a race against evil and a race to stop a cold and ruthless killer that won’t let anyone stand in his way. That includes Sam, Michael and Tessa.

DO YOU KNOW JASON PARENT? HAVE YOU READ JASON PARENT?

Would you like to know more about Jason Parent or indeed read more of his stuff?

If the answer to any of the above is yes then this could be your big opportunity!

I wanted to do something for Jason to help promote the launch of his new book Seeing Evil, out 4^th August. Now I have already interviewed Jason on Confessions of a Reviewer so needed to come up with something a bit different for a second interview.

For better or for worse, Jason has agreed (the fool) to take part in a Skype interview with me. Now I have never done this before so it is fraught with danger. Number one, will Jason understand my Irish accent? Number two, will I understand his accent? Number three, will he behave himself? Number four, will it actually work? Number five, the list goes on and on.

NEW BOOK TRAILER: Seeing Evil by Jason Parent

I have never shared a trailer for a book before but a while back I missed a cover reveal for Seeing Evil by Jason Parent due to being incapacitated (read: off my brains on drugs) (for a bad back I may add, nothing like.. illegal stuff).

REVIEW: Evans Light / Adam Light / Edward Lorn / Jason Parent / Gregor Xane - Dead Roses: Five Dark Tales of Twisted Love

Well folks I am very very sorry to say that this is the last instalment of the Dead Roses Special week. Some of you may be glad of that fact to get away from my ramblings but I have enjoyed myself so much with this one that I want to do it all over again! Right now!

I honestly can’t find the words to properly thank the guys for taking part in this for me. Mike, Edward, Jason, Gregor, Adam and Evans were all kind enough to take time out from their busy schedules to answer all of the questions I threw at them to put this feature together. None of them moaned or complained and were only too happy to help in any way they could. For all of this I am eternally grateful.

I have discovered that these six are all totally down to earth guys with huge hearts and a massive love for horror, writing, art and anything to do with their fans. I like to think I have made some new friends through this and hope to keep a hold of those friendships for a long long time.

All the info you need for either contacting this crew or buying their stuff is at the bottom of this page. Please please support them in their work so that we can all enjoy reading their words and appreciating their artwork for years to come.

Thank you again for visiting the blog this week. I will have some more features coming up in a week or two’s time as well as my normal reviewing in between times so please keep coming back for more Confessions of a Reviewer……and please tell your friends!!

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Corpus Press

Publication Date: 16^th March 2015

Pages: 250

MY REVIEW:

This copy of Dead Roses was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer as part of a special article on the site for the books launch and in return for an honest review. This is that review.

I have been looking forward to this one for a long long time after hearing such good stories about this group’s previous collaboration, Bad Apples: 5 Slices of Halloween Horror. I have read all but one of these authors previously and already know they can produce some very powerful short stories.

ELEANOR BY JASON PARENT

Stuart is a priest in a small West Sussex church. Someone abandons a child on the steps of the church. The little girl was extremely disfigured. Stuart took her in and kept her from harm. Fifteen years later Eleanor is growing up. She is becoming sexually aware but surely Stuart can do nothing about this? He is a priest. Eleanor just wants to be beautiful. But how can she when she always must wear a mask? She can fix this. She can make herself beautiful.

Beautifully twisted. That’s about the only way I can describe this tale. On one hand you have a priest trying to do his level best for an abandoned, disfigured young girl. God will help him with this. But why keep her hidden away for fifteen years and tell no one?