REVIEW: David Bernstein - The Sludge

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Great Old Ones Publishing

Publication Date: 4^th July 2016

Pages: 131

REVIEWED BY NEV

A copy of The Sludge was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author, David Bernstein, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Great Old Ones Publishing.

Sometimes this reviewing game throws you surprises. A lot in fact. A lot of welcome surprises. One of them that never fails to amaze me is the fact that, sometimes you read someone’s work and rave about it. Then you pick up something else of theirs and it doesn’t do a lot for you. When you review it, you automatically think that is the last you will hear from that author. Think this reviewing lark is easy? It’s a minefield I tell you.

David Bernstein’s last book, A mixed Bag of Blood was a collection that I didn’t really connect with. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but it didn’t grab me the way some of his other stuff has.

I was delighted when David sent me a copy of The Sludge to review. Firstly, because he hadn’t fallen out with me, and secondly because…..well…..just look at that cover! It screams old skool horror! I couldn’t wait to get my teeth into it.

This is what I thought.

Bull and John are removing some toxic waste. They should dispose of it carefully but they are just going to dump it in Lolo National Forest.

They throw it in a lake and it mixes with some stuff they dumped years ago and starts a chain of events that will create a monster no one thought could ever exist.

Cole and Derrick are brothers. They are about to rob a bank with their friend, Dirk. The plan is to hide out in Lolo after the job is done.

Edgar, June, Kim and Tyler are hiking in Lolo when they stumble across the camp belonging to the brothers. Everyone is in for the shock of their lives.

The Sludge is brewing.

REVIEW: David Bernstein - A Mixed Bag of Blood

Genre: Horror / Short Story

Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

Publication Date: 1^st March 2016

Pages: 130

MY REVIEW:

A copy of A Mixed Bag of Blood, by David Bernstein, was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Sinister Grin Press, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review.

Wow, another ARC from Sinister Grin. These boys are going to busy this year. I’m glad to hear it because if the ones I have read from them so far this year are anything to go by, I’m going to enjoy this year!

I have read a couple of things from David Bernstein before. There was the collaborative work, Jackpot. Review for that here. Then I read two books from him in quick succession last year, Skinner, review here and Goblins, review here. This is my first experience of his shorter writing though. I have enjoyed his novels so far but how does he fare with short stuff?

Time to find out!

THE TROJAN PLUSHY

Brad is in pieces. His wife and daughter have been killed and the man who did it has just walked free from court. A technicality setting him free. When Brad turns to drink, dreaming of revenge, help comes to him from an unlikely source.

This is the type of story you would see on The Twilight Zone. A man looking for revenge for the death of his family using unconventional means to get the revenge.

I liked this because it got straight to the point. It’s the sort of story that could be well padded out for a novella or novel but told in its rawest short form, it is very effective.

★★★★ for general.

★★★★ for horror.

REVIEW: David Bernstein - Goblins

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Samhain

Publication Date: 4^th August 2015

Pages: 208

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Goblins was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author David Bernstein via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Samhain.

So David Bernstein is lucky enough to have two books coming out within a month of each other with two different publishers. I have just finished his other book Skinner and the review is written. I decided to read this one straight away after enjoying Skinner so much. I was hoping for more of the same. I think this one is better!

Marcus Hale is Chief of Police on Roanoke Island. He moved here for a quiet life after a messy divorce and a disaster on his last case as a detective. His career so far on this sleepy island has been just that, sleepy.

Children start to disappear. The pattern is always the same. Shortly after they disappear, their parents are brutally murdered. Butchered would be a better description. When Hale and some of his men stake out the house of the current victims to try and catch the murderers in the act, it all goes horribly wrong when the murderers turn up. They don’t appear to be human. Although he can’t believe it, they appear to be Goblins.

According to the town drunk, this is connected to something that happened in the 16^th century and if it isn’t stopped, the lives of every single person on the island are in danger. Hale has to firstly try and believe what he is being told then secondly, try and keep his men alive as they try to defeat the ancient evil.

REVIEW: David Bernstein - Skinner

Genre: Horror

Publisher: DarkFuse

Publication Date: 27^th July 2015

Pages: 159

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Skinner was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author David Bernstein via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by DarkFuse.

My only other experience of David Bernstein was reading the rather excellent Jackpot in which he collaborated with some other fine authors, Cesare / Rufty / McKenzie. I was hoping Skinner would be along the same sort of style. I wasn’t let down. You can see my review of Jackpot here.

A group of six friends are on their way to a remote log cabin for a weekend away. As they are climbing through the Adirondack Mountains they hit a bad snowstorm. As they round a corner there is a strange figure standing in the middle of the road. The driver, Rob, swerves to avoid him and they crash over the side of the mountain.

Miraculously they all survive the crash but now must battle against the elements to find somewhere safe to stay warm until they get rescued.

When they find an abandoned cabin they think all is well until they discover the tracks of a huge animal in the snow outside. If they think they just need to stay safe from the animal, they need to think again.

A mysterious and ancient evil is lurking outside. It doesn’t want them to leave.

INTERVIEW: DAVID BERNSTEIN: PART TWO

Welcome to Part Two of Confessions of a Reviewer's interview with David Bernstein.

In tonight’s section, David starts by answering some specific questions on his new books Skinner and Goblins, continues to talk about his writing and life in general and tackles The Ten Confessions (Nine in his case)

It’s Monday so go grab something boring like lasagne, a coke, sit back, but most of all……enjoy!

COAR - Moving on to Skinner, where did the idea come from for this one? What did you want to get out of it?

DB - My parents had a summer house on Lake Champlain in upstate New York. We used to go there during the winter, too. We had to travel over a mountain and I remember when it snowed how treacherous it could be. Who would save us or even find us if we tumbled down into the forest? And I love tales—book or movie—that take place in the snow. I love '80's slashers and survival horror. I had written Witch Island—another '80's-like slasher that takes place on an island in the summer involving high school kids. I wanted to write something similar that took place in the mountains in the winter, but make it different at the same time. Both books are quite complimentary of one another. But with Skinner, I wanted to give the feeling of total hopelessness and seclusion.

INTERVIEW: DAVID BERNSTEIN: PART ONE

Welcome to Part One of Confessions of a Reviewer’s interview with David Bernstein.

I must admit to not knowing an awful lot about David before this interview so if you are like me then you are in for a treat.

In tonight's section, David will be answering questions on his life in general and his writing and influences. As you will read, he has already led a very interesting life. In Part Two, tomorrow night, David will be answering specific questions on the two new releases he has coming up, Skinner and Goblins.

On night three I will be publishing my review of Skinner.

It’s Sunday so sit back and relax, get the roast dinner in front of you but, most of all………enjoy!

COAR - Whilst doing my research for this interview I discovered there is very little about your personal life to be found on the internet so, tell everyone a bit about yourself in general?

DB - I come from a small town located about an hour north of NYC, but now I live in NYC. I prefer small town life, the woods and less crowded places. The city has a lot to offer, but I dislike all the chaos—sirens, honking horns and traffic. I studied numerous martial arts throughout my years. I started out practicing Karate, then Aikido before moving into the Chinese arts of Kung Fu—White Crane, Choy Li Fut, Wing Chun, Hung Gar, and finally Tai Chi. Real, made-for-combat Tai Chi. It looks pretty and has lots of health benefits, but it's probably the most deadly. Internal energy is so much more powerful than muscle energy.

I also enjoy camping with friends, watching movies of all types—if it's good, it's good. But I do prefer horror and dark thrillers. Heck, my mother is a horror fan and got me into Alfred Hitchcock when I was a wee little one!

ANNOUNCEMENT: UPCOMING INTERVIEW WITH DAVID BERNSTEIN

I am delighted to announce that starting this Sunday (tomorrow. Sorry for the short notice), I will be posting an interview I managed to bag with Mr David Bernstein.

This is part of the build up to the launch of David’s two (yes two) new books. Part One of the interview will be posted Sunday 19^th July with Part Two the following night Monday 20^th July. Night three on Tuesday 21^st July will feature my review of the first of the books to be released, Skinner, which is out on Tuesday itself.

The interview will also see David answering some questions on his second book, Goblins, to be released on 4^th August. I was originally going to publish the review of Goblins as part of this feature but decided to keep it until its actual release date.

As always, the interview will feature some very candid questions all about David’s life in general, his writing, the two new books and of course The Ten Confessions although I am calling this one The Nine Confessions because no matter how hard I try I cannot squeeze an answer from David for one of them.

Please remember to drop in for this interview and review with another Confessions virgin and tell anyone you know that would be interested in finding out about David.

REVIEW: David Bernstein / Adam Cesare / Shane McKenzie / Kristopher Rufty - Jackpot

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Sinister Grin Press

Publication Date: 23^rd Sept 2014

Pages: 142

MY REVIEW:

A copy of Jackpot was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the publishers, Sinister Grin Press, in exchange for an honest review. This is it.

Booker is a serial killer. He wants to win the lottery. He picks his numbers by randomly selecting victims, torturing them, and using their ages for his numbers. Tonight’s jackpot is over $200 million and he has just won it.

Enter Frank. He is a lowest of the low lawyer who wants a slice of the winnings. He intends to get his share by offering his services to Booker, or to be more exact, conning him and also expecting to play on the fact he thinks Booker is none too intelligent.

Enter Winona. This meek little old lady believes the money should be hers. She intends to get her hands on it by any means necessary, using her inbred family to help.

The hunter, Booker, has now become the hunted. Who will finally get their hands on the cash and at what cost?

Well now. Where do I start with this one? Definitely do not open this to read as you sit down to eat. What we have here is the definition of a gore fest. Torture on virtually every page. Blood on every page. Large amounts of blood I may add. Some of the subject matter in this story is probably at the very extreme of the spectrum of my tolerance levels. But do you know what? I “bloody” loved every bit of it!