AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT CONFESSIONS

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it is with a very heavy heart that I must announce to you today that, this is the very last post I will ever be publishing on Confessions of a Reviewer.

This has been a fantastic journey for me and I have met some wonderful people over this past two years whom I cannot thank enough for their encouragement, help and support.

However, times change and I now feel that it is time for me and the blog to part company.

REVIEW: Erik Hofstatter - Rare Breeds

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Dark Silo Press

Publication Date: 13^th October 2016

Pages: 100

REVIEWED BY NEV

A copy of Rare Breeds was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author, Erik Hofstatter, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Dark Silo Press.

Erik Hofstatter. If you have been reading Confessions from the beginning, you will know this is my favourite name in the world of indie horror. We have had an up and down relationship in terms of how I like his books but that is what makes me like him even more. He keeps on coming back. I have been waiting on him writing something in the same vain as the first thing of his I read, The Pariahs. Not particularly the same type of story, just the same type of style.

His last short, Katerina and his collection Amaranthine and Other Stories left me wanting more from him. Was I going to get it with Rare Breeds?

This is what I thought.

Zora and Aurel are married and live with Zora’s daughter, Livie. It’s a relationship that has had its ups and downs. Aurel sleepwalks and he can never remember what he has done when he wakes up the next day.

This worries Zora a great deal. She is always worried in case he does something to harm Livie.

She should be more worried about what he is doing with his secret sister, Cornelia.

REVIEW: 13: An Anthology of Horror and Dark Fiction

Genre: Horror Anthology

Publisher: Limitless Publishing

Publication Date: 4^th Oct 2016

Pages: 435

REVIEWED BY NEV

A copy of 13: An Anthology of Horror and Dark Fiction, was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by one of the contributors in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Limitless Press.

Anthologies. Love em or hate em, there have been a tonne of them out this year. To be honest I have probably already read my fill of anthologies and collections for the year so 13 is sort of up against it from the outset. It will need to be a good one to keep me reading.

On the other hand, I have read a few books from Limitless and they normally produce some really good stuff so I am hoping this is the same.

I won’t say which contributor sent the copy to me. If you know me though it shouldn’t be too hard to guess.

Anyway, this is what I thought of 13.

COVER REVEAL: Robert E. Dunn - The Harrowing

Robert E. Dunn. One of the gentlemen of the indie book world.

I have known Robert for a while now and I must say, from all of the interactions I have had with him, every single one has been an absolute joy. He is, without doubt, one of the most prolific supporters of Confessions, continually tagging, reposting and retweeting everything we do. For that, sir, we are eternally grateful.

Bit of a no brainer then when Robert contacted us to see if we could do the necessary and set up a cover reveal for his new book coming out. Even though Confessions is sort of semi closed at the minute, this is something we could just not refuse to do.

If you have seen any of Robert’s previous books, you will know he has a longstanding relationship with artist, Erik Wilson, who also designed the artwork for two of Robert’s previous books, Red Highway and Motorman. Both of those covers stand out when put on anyone’s shelf and I am sure you will agree when you see the new one that it is equally as fantastic.

The new book is due out on 25^th November and, as usual, Confessions will keep you updated with the links to buy as and when they become available.

So, without further ado, Confessions of a Reviewer gives you, the cover for The Harrowing by Robert E. Dunn.

REVIEW: Adam Howe - Tijuana Donkey Showdown

Genre: Pick One!

Publisher: Comet Press

Publication Date: 9^th December 2016

Pages: 230

REVIEWED BY NEV

A copy of Tijuana Donkey Showdown was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Adam Howe in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Comet Press.

It is no secret that I absolutely love Adam Howe’s writing. Anything I have read from him before gives me the greatest of pleasure both during the reading, and once I have finished. You cannot help but have a huge smile on your face for days after finishing one of his books. They are that good.

His mixture of genres is superb. His last book, Die Dog or Eat The Hatchet, mixed up horror and comedy and southern noir with splattering’s of crime and mystery and a host of other genres to boot.

One of the stories in it was Damn Dirty Apes where the unlikely hero, Reggie Levine has to battle all sorts of unspeakable things to survive, and keep his reputation intact.

Tijuana Donkey Showdown is the sequel to Damn Dirty Apes. It was a no brainer that I was going to pick this one up.

This is what I thought.

It’s two for one day at Confessions!

REVIEW ONE:

Go buy it. Don’t read anyone’s review, including mine, they will not do it justice!

The Times They Are A-Changin.

It’s been a funny old time this past couple of weeks in the Confessions office.

Everything is changing. In fact, I am in probably the biggest transitional period of my life. Ever.

A lot of you will know what’s going on but many of you may not. That is the reason for this post.

I have just become unemployed from the day job. This is mostly by choice but also due to enormous changes within the unit I was working in. It seemed a fantastic idea at the time because of life choices, and plans that myself and my wife Jo had in place to totally change the direction our life was taking, and to try and finally make something for ourselves and live out the dreams we have had for many years.

REVIEW: Michael Bray - The Island

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Severed Press

Publication Date: 4^th October 2015

Pages: 206

REVIEWED BY CHAD

A copy of The Island was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author, Michael Bray, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Severed Press.

In The Island, by Michael Bray, we see a society in which reality television has become a performance platform for violence and death. The island itself is a man-made land mass on which a competition has been resurrected to air for the first time as a television series.

Contestants are set loose on the island and only one can survive to the end. Their prize? Whatever it is they desire. All they have to do is make it from one side of the island to the other.

Oh, and they have to make it through an island packed full of dinosaurs.

The main character of the story, Chase Riley, decides to take part in the newly revamped show in order to save his daughter who is suffering from terminal cancer. Against the wishes of his wife, he enters into the show, hoping that a victory will bring in the money they lacked, in order to get their daughter, the treatment she needs.

Putting all my honesty down on the table, I have to admit that I was a little dubious of the concept of this book going into it. My concern was that this was going to just end up feeling like a modern reimagining of The Running Man, but with dinosaurs as an artificial attempt to add an extra element to an already successful story. Still, I was also intrigued by the idea and was willing to give it a go.

LAST CALL FOR ALL YOU CONFESSORS!

If you follow the blog on a regular basis, (and if you don’t why the hell not?) you could not have failed to see the Confessions of my Past, Present and Future feature, where authors write a piece about what they like in books from their past, the present and the future.

If you have never seen it, then go have a look here to see what it is about.

This feature has run for over a year. It still proves to be very successful and you all seem to enjoy reading about what your favourite authors like in books.

So, I am going to keep it going. This is where you come in. I only have a few submissions left and would like more.

If you are an author and would like to take part in this feature, then please see the guidelines for it below and email me at confessionsofareviewer@gmail.com to let me know.

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #42 - Mark Cassell - The Shadow Fabric

#42 in the Show-Off and tell feature brings us, sadly, to the end of a week-long special about its author. Tonight’s book is The Shadow Fabric by Mark Cassell.

I have mentioned a couple of times this week how much of an approachable, decent fella Mark Cassell is. I hope that throughout this week you have picked that up as well and also that you will go pick up some of his books and give him the support he deserves.

If you decide to go and buy this weeks featured book, The Shadow Fabric, this post will give you an idea of what you will have in your hands.

The cover alone gives you an idea of the mysterious happenings on the inside of the pages and indeed, if you meet Mr Cassell at a con, you will be able to see the hourglass in person.

This is my copy:

REVIEW: Mark Cassell - The Shadow Fabric

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Herbs House

Publication Date: 18^th October 2014

Pages: 340

REVIEWED BY NEV

The Shadow Fabric is Mark Cassell’s first novel. This book is published by Herbs House.

This book pops a couple of Confessions cherries tonight. Firstly, it is Mark Cassell’s first time being reviewed on Confessions.

Today he becomes a man.

Also this is the first ever book that I bought at a con. I met Mark at Emcon in Nottingham and to be honest I had no intentions of buying any books at that stage, but he impressed me so much with his enthusiasm that I bought them all. And stole a few bookmarks. And sweets.

This is another one that sat on the pile for a while because it wasn’t a direct submission for review. I was struggling to decide which one to read next instead of following the normal strict list. When this one caught my eye, I thought I would give it a go.

This is what I thought.

Leo is confused. He has had a troubling life. The problem is he can’t remember any of it bar the last couple of years. He has just returned from a years traveling around the world and his guardian of sorts, Goodwin, has a job for him. He wants him to go work for his friend Victor as a chauffeur.

Leo soon discovers that chauffeuring will not be the only job he will be doing for Victor. On his second day he witnesses a murder. On his third day he witnesses much, much worse.

What follows, is a race against time. A race against evil. A race against unknown forces. A race against The Shadow Fabric.

This is a race that no one can afford to lose.