REVIEW: Erik Hofstatter - Katerina

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Creativia

Publication Date: 30^th Sept 2015

Pages: 37

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Katerina 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 Creativia.

Erik Hofstatter. Probably one of my all-time favourite author names. No idea why. It just makes me smile every time I hear it. I have only read one other thing from Mr Hofstatter in the past and that was another short story called The Pariahs. You can read my review of it here. I loved it so grabbed the chance at reviewing this one.

Kamil is a medieval weapons trader living in the Red Light District in Prague. He hates prostitutes and all they stand for but is attached to his flat so won’t move. He doesn’t normally interact with the street girls. That is until he strikes up an unlikely friendship with Katerina.

After a couple of very strange episodes, Kamil realises there is something very strange and mysterious about Katerina. He decides to put aside his hatred of her profession and try and find out exactly what it is about Katerina that won’t let him say no.

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #12 - Pete Kahle - The Specimen

#12 in my Show-Off and Tell is a book I read last year that totally blew me away. The Specimen by Pete Kahle.

Pete is the man who brought us Widowmakers, the James Newman benefit anthology. That book proved what a fantastic editor he is and showed exactly how an anthology should be put together. The Specimen shows off his skills as an author and believe me, this book is up there with the best of them.

Now I have always wanted a copy of this one from the day I read it. I just never got around to getting it. This one came to me completely out of the blue. Pete contacted me one day and felt a bit sorry for me when I was recovering from my back surgery and asked for my address to send me a copy as a combined get well soon and birthday present.

How could I say no to that!

REVIEW: Keith Deininger - The Godgame (The Godgame #1)

Genre: Dark Fantasy

Publisher: A Meridian Codex Book

Publication Date: 1^st October 2015

Pages: 242

MY REVIEW:

A copy of The Godgame (The Godgame #1) was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Keith Deininger in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This is A Meridian Codex Book.

Isn’t it funny how the simple task of reading a book can take a turn you never expected it to? This sort of describes my experiences with the writings of Keith Deininger. My first experience of reading his stuff was The Ghosts of Eden. I found it very weird. I just didn’t get it at all. I could however see potential there for me to like his stuff in the future so kept plugging away.

When I saw a post with some blurb on it for The Godgame it looked right up my street.

What I’m trying to say is, if you don’t “get” a book, don’t write the author off. If I had done that I would never have found this absolute beauty.

This series starts with the extended prologue, Marrow’s Legacy. You can read my review of it here.

Eli has made it to the other side and is on his way to Talos. At the same time, in the neighbouring territory of Nova, twelve year old Ash is starting an adventure he is not even aware of.

The Talosian’s are a people of decadence. They live for the good things in life and will do anything in their power to get it and eradicate anyone who gets in their way. The Archon of Talos has some tough decisions to make. There is unrest in Talos. People are losing faith in their God and in their leadership. The Archon feels the time is right to destroy Nova and all its inhabitants.

In a story with many paths, the entire population of Nova is in danger. The Archon of Talos is in danger from people in his own city but doesn’t realise it. Who will survive? Who will be victorious? Will common sense prevail or will the forces of darkness that surround everyone have their way. These are the players in The Godgame.

REVIEW: Keith Deininger - Marrow's Legacy (The Godgame #0)

Genre: Dark Fantasy

Publisher: A Meridian Codex Book

Publication Date: 1^st October 2015

Pages: 68

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Marrow’s Legacy (The Godgame #0) was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Keith Deininger in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This is A Meridian Codex book.

Stories of fantastical proportions, set in an imaginary world that couldn’t exist, written by an author who specialises in the dark stuff. Why wouldn’t I have wanted to pick this up and read it? Especially after reading some of the blurb for it. It sounded right up my street. I was delighted when this copy arrived from Mr Deininger and couldn’t wait to get stuck right into it!

Eli lives in “The Machine” with his wife Nora and their daughter Pia. Everything they do in their daily lives is in dedication to The Machine. They have to worship its very existence and anything contrary to this is blasphemy.

On a day like any other, something strange happens. A strange device in the cathedral in Sector One, starts to make a ringing noise. When it is picked up, a man’s voice repeatedly asks to speak to Eli. When Eli is brought to it, the voice tells him “the flood is coming”.

Eli has no idea what this means. He wonders, though, if it has anything to do with the box his father gave him many years before and if he will find the answers he needs there. Changes are coming and Eli must prepare for the flood.

GUEST POST: Confessions of my Past, Present and Future #15 - Keith Deininger

Confessions of my Past, Present and Future

by

Keith Deininger

The Past

As a sheltered kid with an overactive imagination, it didn’t take long to discover the allure of books. When I wasn’t allowed to watch the kind of movies I wanted to watch or play the video games I wanted to play, I could always read. And it was reading that first led me down some strange paths of the imagination, and became a lifelong obsession.

I began with fantasy, Roald Dahl and C. S. Lewis. Even though reading was difficult for me in grade school, I struggled my way through a lot of books. I remember forcing myself to read The Hobbit (a battered copy from the school library) and having a very hard time with the language, but I persevered and loved it by the end.

After that, I began to search my dad’s haphazard shelves of books. Most of the books he owned were technical, filled with dense text and nonsense equations and charts, but I was able to find a few works of fiction, mostly science fiction. That was how I discovered Ray Bradbury and Frank Herbert. I was in awe of the depths of imagination I found in The Martian Chronicles and in Dune. They changed me, my perceptions and how I viewed the world, and I went in search of more.

REVIEW: Daniel Marc Chant - Mr Robespierre

Genre: Horror

Publisher: The Sinister Horror Company

Publication Date: 23^rd Sept 2015

Pages: 121

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Mr Robespierre was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author, Daniel Marc Chant, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by The Sinister Horror Company.

So I have only read one other thing by Mr Chant and that was his short story Conductive Salts which appeared in the anthology The Black Room Manuscripts, again from The Sinister Horror Company. You can read my review of that little beauty here.

I didn’t dislike the short story. I was half and half and rated it bang in the middle because I wasn’t sure about it. This review is what I like to call a “challenge” review. This is as a result of an email from Mr Chant saying something along the lines of “sorry you didn’t like the other one but try this one”. I love “challenge” reviews because I have nothing but respect for an author who comes to me, after what they would probably call a negative review, and says “try this”. I say phooey to all this “never interact with a reviewer if you get a negative review” rubbish. Some of us actually like it. If it’s done in the right way like this.

*Disclaimer* - just because Mr Chant had the balls to do that doesn’t garner any favours in the review. However……

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 #14 - Adam Light

Confessions of my Past, Present and Future

by

Adam Light

The Past

I was raised by a family of book lovers, and I am eternally grateful. My parents passed their love of reading down to their kids, and instilled in us that books were not just to be read, but to be treasured. So, you get the picture. Books are an integral part of my life. I am a voracious reader, and have been known to read two or three books at the same time. Somehow I can manage to juggle books with ease, though once in a while, a particular book fully engages me and I have to lay the others down to focus on that one.

There are quite a few authors whose works have influenced me throughout my life. I’m not sure what the first really good book that I read was. I can remember the time when books became an obsession for me, though. I recall my stepdad coming into my room one day, carrying a big, dusty cardboard box. He set the box on the floor and beckoned for me to open it up and look inside. I didn’t know what would be in the box, but when I opened it, I was mesmerized by what lay within. It was packed full of paperback books. About sixty Doc Savage books, written by Lester Dent under the pseudonym Kenneth Robeson back in the 1930’s and 40’s, to be precise. That was the coolest gift ever, and I swore to read them all. They were not in the best shape, but I read every one of them. I don’t remember what happened to those books, but I wish I still had them.

I can’t say I remember much of Robeson’s stylistic approach, but it doesn’t really matter. What made those stories special was how they introduced me to the concept of reading for pure escapism. I would disappear for entire evenings, and never hear anything else around me, and I was truly happy.

GUEST REVIEW: Ken Preston - Joe Coffin: Season One - Reviewed by Kit Power

It gives me great pleasure to host another review from writer, blogger, musician and all round bloody good guy, Kit Power on Confessions of a Reviewer. This is what he thought of Joe Coffin: Season One.

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Ken Preston

Publication Date: 31^st Oct 2014

Pages: 470

KIT’S REVIEW:

I guess we should start with ‘Season 1’, because it’s a concept that can mean different things. In this case, it signifies two things - the first is that you're getting four sequential novel length works in a single package, making this one of the more value for money indie bundles I’ve seen in some time. The second is that, in addition to presenting an overall story arc, this also represents the first part of what is clearly set to be a longer running narrative.

It’s an intriguing concept, and one that Ken Preston goes a long way to selling me on, purely on the strength of this offering. The titular Joe Coffin is a great choice for lead. On the surface, he’s an absolute staple of noir fiction - the huge, hulking muscle, mob enforcer, at home with violence and none too imaginative. What I found clever about this book was that Mr. Preston took the decision to put this character - normally a bit part at best, often played on screen by Henry Rollins - front and centre. In the process, we’re invited behind the eyes of this guy. Preston has a fine line to walk here - after all, Coffin isn’t super bright, nor is he an especially deep thinker - but he does have considerable street smarts and a surprising amount of emotional depth. For me, this was one of the great achievements of this book, and I was quickly taken in by the interiority of the character. To have rendered such a brutal character human enough to care about, without sacrificing any of his propensity for violence or darkness, is a far from easy trick, and I have to commend Mr. Preston for the skill with which he achieves this.

REVIEW : Kristopher Rufty - The Vampire of Plainfield

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

Publication Date: 15^th Oct 2015

Pages: 385

MY REVIEW:

A copy of The Vampire of Plainfield by Kristopher Rufty 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. You never know quite what you are going to get because they do produce a very wide range of stuff. This one I went at with one eye closed at the beginning. The last couple I have read by Kristopher Rufty haven’t really given me what I expected from them so I was a bit sceptical. Should I have been?

The year is 1954. Ed Gein lives in the small town of Plainfield, Wisconsin. Ed isn’t the nicest of people really. He likes to dig up graves in the middle of the night, when everyone else sleeps.

Timmy and Peter are best of friends. They like to visit Ed at his house because he buys lots of comics and books that they would not be allowed to read at home. Peter’s mom wouldn’t approve and Timmy’s dad is a policeman so he definitely wouldn’t approve. Ed shows them stuff like shrunken heads that he says his brother sent him from abroad. The kids believe him. Ed knows different.

One night, during one of Ed’s grave robbing visits, he unleashes something that he shouldn’t have. Something evil. Something he has no idea how to deal with. Unbeknown to any of them. Ed, Peter and Timmy are about to be caught up in something they never would have suspected. With terrifying results for all of them.

REVIEW: William Malmborg - Blind Eye

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Darker Dreams Media

Publication Date: 19^th May 2015

Pages: 616

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Blind Eye was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author William Malmborg in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Darker Dreams Media.

The above is sort of true. I noticed one day someone had a copy of this and happened to comment on it being a nice book. A week later a signed hardback copy arrived in the post courtesy of Mr Malmborg. I was over the moon with it so decided to give it the full Confessions treatment.

I have read a few things by William Malmborg in the past and due to those experiences, settled myself down for a brutal and terrifying journey. By the way if you get this book, it is bigger than a brick!

Alan Miller is at a turning point in his life. Recently discharged from the army, he is living back at his mums with no job and just college classes for something to do. Life is mundane.

Enter Stacey. An old flame from years ago. Stacey is a freelance reporter and emails Alan out of the blue after hearing he was back in town.

They get together for drinks and soon slip into the familiarity they had years ago. Circumstances bring them even closer and force Alan into the middle of an investigation Stacey is doing into a local real estate company after she becomes suspicious the business is a front for a prostitution ring.

Alan soon wishes he had never opened the email from Stacey as the investigation takes some nasty turns. After offering to pose as a client to get “inside” info, Alan and Stacey soon find themselves embroiled in the brutal world of vice and uncover some nasty, unexpected surprises.

INTERVIEW: William Malmborg: Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of Confessions of a Reviewers interview with William Malmborg.

In tonight’s section, William starts by answering some specific questions on his newest book Blind Eye, continues to talk about his writing and life in general and tackles The Ten Confessions.

It’s only Tuesday but go grab something nice like a pizza and a beer, sit back and relax, but mostly……enjoy!

COAR - Moving on to Blind Eye, where did the inspiration for this one come from? What did you want to achieve with it?

WM - Blind Eye is an interesting one because it was born over the course of a decade from two separate novels I wrote early on in my career. The first novel was about a young man living with his mother who decides one day to become a private investigator, and starts working a case about a kid that goes missing. That was written when I was nineteen in November 2003 and had quite a bit of comedy in it due to the investigator’s mother constantly getting involved in his case and mucking everything up.

The second novel was much darker and involved a private investigator who was hired to find out if a husband’s wife was cheating on him while he was deployed overseas. The wife was a real estate agent, and soon the private investigator uncovered the real estate prostitution scheme and found his life threatened because of it. Neither novel ever went beyond the first draft stage, but the ideas stuck with me, and, eventually blended themselves together into Blind Eye. I didn’t consciously use the ideas, it just sort of happened.

As far as my achievement goal . . . I wanted to write a kick ass novel that people wouldn’t be able to put down, one that would hopefully introduce a new continuing detective-like character (characters -- if any others survived) that readers would love to follow from one book to the next. So far, if what my constant readers have said, I achieved that.

INTERVIEW: William Malmborg: Part One

Welcome to Part One of Confessions of a Reviewers’ interview with the one and only, (some would say phew!) William Malmborg.

If you don’t know a lot, or indeed anything, about William then read on. In this interview William was kind enough to take the time out to give us some detailed and, very candidly honest answers to all the questions I threw at him.

In Part One, tonight, we find out some general information about William and his writing and influences. In Part Two, tomorrow night, William will give us some specifics on his new book, Blind Eye and also take on the mighty Ten Confessions.

On night three as always, I will be posting my review of Blind Eye.

Nothing left to say other than go grab some nibbles and a drink and sit back, but most of all……enjoy!

COAR - So tell everyone a bit about yourself in general?

WM - Weary wormhole traveller. Ever see the show Sliders? Something like that. After years of travelling, I came upon this world, which is similar to the one I originally jumped from, and discovered my double on this planet appeared to be a bestselling horror author adored by women. Wanting to live like that, I vaporized William Malmborg and assumed his identity only to discover that his novels were no longer selling well, all the women had moved on, and that he was getting ready to move back into his parent’s house.

Thankfully, I have penned a novel titled Blind Eye, which is sure to get the William Malmborg name back onto the bestseller list - even if it is a tad different from what his readers typically would have expected from him. I also bought an old farmhouse with his little brother, though given that he is starting to suspect something, he may be next in line for my vaporizing device . . .

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.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Another Milestone and a new interview next week!

Well Confessions has hit another Milestone! On 4^th October the blog was officially opened for eight months. On that same day the “Blog Visits” counter clicked over to the amazingly wonderful number of 20,000.

I honestly cannot thank people enough for the support you have all shown to me over this past eight months. This includes every single person who has visited, should that visit just have been for a quick look or to read one of my many reviews, interviews and features.

To all of the authors, publishers and presses who have supported me by either sending me books to review, taking part in my features, offering your time for blog posts and sending me wonderful signed copies of your books – your generosity and dedication never ceases to amaze me. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Things have been tough for myself and my family personally for this past few months and the blog has been a bit of a release for me so I appreciate every single comment and message of support for what I do. They honestly keep me going. Especially when it feels, at times, there is no point.

Next week I have an interview for you. This is the first one I have done in a bit whilst I try to get back on my feet and get back into the swing of the blog.

REVIEW: Frazer Lee - The Leper Window

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd

Publication Date: 6^th October 2015

Pages: 54

MY REVIEW:

I received an advance copy of The Leper Window by Frazer Lee from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Samhain.

Frazer Lee is another new one on me but when I saw this short story on NetGalley I thought I would give it a go. I liked the description. Sounded intriguing. Did it live up to my expectations?

Daniel Gates has “acquired” a book for his client Mr Rothschild. The book is called Choronzon’s Grimoire. It’s an ancient book of apparently very high value.

Mr Rothschild discovers there is a page missing from the book and this obviously diminishes the value for his client. He isn’t happy and has demanded that Daniel track down the missing page and restore the book to its original condition.

On his quest to find the missing page, Daniel must battle firstly his hangover, then an ancient occult evil to try and restore the book.

This is a short story. You could probably read it in an hour or so. I have to admit to having mixed feelings about this one. I liked it but found it to be a bit confusing. It looks like Daniel Gates has been a character in a previous book and this wasn’t really made clear in the blurb so I felt a bit out of  order reading this one without the previous one. There are things talked about in this one that might have made more sense having read the earlier book.

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #10 - Evans Light - Screamscapes

Tonight’s Show-Off and Tell is another double header. It’s only a double header because I am lucky enough to have two copies!

It’s Screamscapes by Evans Light.

Evans and I traded on some books at the start of the year. He was lucky enough to get books he was after that I had in a box in my garage. I was even luckier to get some signed stuff from him in return.

Screamscapes is a collection of short stories written by Evans. It is a superb read and contains possibly my favourite short horror story of all time, ArborEATum.

This is the standard copy.

EDIT: After originally posting this I spoke with Mr Light himself who informed me that this, in fact, is not the standard copy but a rare First Edition copy of which probably only a couple of hundred were printed and there are none left! Woot!

REVIEW: Glenn Rolfe - Blood and Rain

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd

Publication Date: 6^th October 2015

Pages: 202

MY REVIEW:

I received an advance copy of Blood and Rain by Glenn Rolfe from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Samhain.

Earlier this year I read two novellas from Glenn Rolfe, Abram’s Bridge (you can read my review here) and Boom Town (you can read this review here). I enjoyed them both but you could see that Glenn was just starting out on his writing journey with these books. I knew this fella had talent so I was eager to see if he had moved on any with Blood and Rain.

Simple answer? Yes. Longer answer? This lad has a long future ahead of him I think.

Joe Fischer is the Sherriff in Gilson Creek in Maine. In 1997 he dealt with a series of deaths that were attributed to attacks by a mountain lion. Joe knew different. He should have dealt with the situation then, but didn’t.

Seven years later, the beast is back. It only attacks when there is a full moon. It couldn’t be the same beast. Could it?

Joe and his deputies must prepare themselves for the next full moon coming. This time it’s personal. Especially when his daughter Sonya is at risk.

REVIEW: Greg F. Gifune - Devil's Breath

Genre: Horror

Publisher: DarkFuse

Publication Date: 7^th July 2015

Pages: 190

MY REVIEW:

I received an advance copy of Devil’s Breath by Greg F. Gifune from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Also this book is published by DarkFuse and you generally cannot go wrong with anything they put out to the masses.

I have read a few things from Greg Gifune in the past. I have loved every single one of them. It’s been a while but I was hoping he still has that same dark and brooding writing style I loved previously. Man has he still got it or what!

Stan Falk is living a life he would probably rather not. He lives in coastal Sunset near Cape Cod. It’s a mundane life working as a dishwasher in a diner and drinking nearly every cent he makes. It’s better than his old life though. It was a dark, dark place that neither his body nor his psyche wants to return to.

He wakes up one morning with the mother of all hangovers. He can’t really remember what he did the night before. He seems to remember a lot of blood and gets visions of horrific proportions. It must have been a nightmare.

People tell him they saw him the night before but he can’t remember. His bank account was emptied by someone. He really needs to find some answers.

Unfortunately the answers he finds are not what he wanted to find. It looks like he has entered a world unknown to many. A world full of old gods and devils. A world full of darkness and evil. He’s been touched by the Devil’s Breath.

GUEST POST: Confessions of my Past, Present and Future #12 - Evans Light

Confessions of my Past, Present and Future

by

Evans Light

The Past

I was fortunate to be surrounded with books from a young age, to have a family that valued the written word. If I go way, way back to my earliest childhood memories, my favorite books were Jack in the Sack by Ken Wagner, and The Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter by Evelyn Scott. The former was my first exposure to a tale with a twist ending (spoiler alert for Jack in the Sack: the child space explorer was on Earth the whole time!) and The Fourteen Bears created a whole cozy world within its lavish illustrations.

During my childhood there was a fairly long stretch of time – nearly a decade - when television sets weren’t permitted in my home. Fortunately, there was a small branch library across the street from my elementary school; in my free time during the years between first and eleventh grade I read a large chunk of that library, anything and everything that struck my fancy, fiction and nonfiction alike. This was during the 80’s and the books in that library weren’t exactly kept up to date, so much of what I read during that time was classics and older works.

Charles Schultz’ Peanuts was my go-to for humor as a child, and the fact that I read favorites C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia and T.S. White’s The Once and Future King (which to this day I consider to have the most magical prose I’ve ever seen) dozens of times might make one think that I would grow up to become a fan of fantasy literature; but beyond those specific examples I never cared much for the genre. My father loved Tolkien and constantly encouraged me to give it yet another try, but it literally bored me to sleep.

REVIEW: James Raven - Dying Wish

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Robert Hale

Publication Date: 30^th June 2015

Pages: 226

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Dying Wish was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author James Raven in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Robert Hale.

This is another of those instances where someone totally random to me and someone I have never heard of before takes the time to email me at Confessions and ask if I would consider reviewing their book. James Raven was a name I was not familiar with at all but after checking out the synopsis for this one I decided to give it a go.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. If these people take the time to self-promote and contact you about their book, it doesn’t cost you anything but a little bit of your time and you never know, you might just come across a little gem. I did with this one.

Jeff Temple is a Detective Chief Inspector with the Hampshire Police. Temple and his team of investigators in the Major Crime Investigations division are investigating the disappearance of married couple Bob and Rosemary Hamilton. They went missing whilst on their way to a night out with friends and an intended overnight stay in a hotel. They were a happily married couple with a young child with no reason to disappear. When their car is found abandoned, the worries for their safety grow.

Grant Mason is a local author who lives in the New Forest. He writes books about the forest and gives advice on treks that can be taken in the local area. He has a heart attack at a book signing event. Just before he dies he whispers to his PA that he needs her to do him a favour. He needs her to go to his house and burn it to the ground.

She mentions this to Temple who knew Mason on a social level so he agrees to go to his house to see if there is anything mysterious. When he gets there he is assaulted by a masked intruder and left for dead. When his team arrive at the house they find a secret in Mason’s loft. It’s a map of the New Forest, covered with little crosses with names beside them.

On investigation, the names belong to various people who are listed as missing persons. Could these sites be graves? Who is the mystery person that appears in some disturbing video evidence found at Mason’s house? These are questions that Temple and his team must answer before time runs out for Bob and Rosemary.

REVIEW: Lesley Conner - The Weight Of Chains

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

Publication Date: 19^th Sept 2015

Pages: 324

MY REVIEW:

A copy of The Weight of Chains by Lesley Conner 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. You never know quite what you are going to get because they do produce a very wide range of stuff. This one was no exception. This is the first I have read by Lesley Conner. In fact this is her debut novel.  Knew nothing about it before reading it then discovered it was about a rather nasty little man from a long time ago in history.

The year is 1436. The place is Machecoul, France. Gilles de Rais is the Lord of Machecoul. He mainly stays in his castle. A dark and foreboding place. There are many rumours as to what goes on there and what he is actually like. Some say he is the greatest master in all of France. Some say he is a monster.

He tries to do his best by his people. He takes young boys from the town and sends them to Paris to be trained as pages, and to give them a better life. Some say the boys never leave the castle. He is, however broke and needs a way to get some money together to pay off debts and keep his lavish lifestyle.

Jeanetta, her brothers Jacques and Raul, along with her parents have recently moved there. She has no idea why and their life is much tougher in Machecoul. They have no money and no food and work is tough in those times for an eleven year old girl.

Bridgette and Celia are new friends who try to warn them about the master and what goes on in his castle. They should have paid attention.