Draugr by Arthur Slade

Slade balances a portrayal of modern—if rural—Canada with ancient Scandinavian folklore, creating a tale that will engage both young adults seeking an accessible chill and fans of sagas. Fourteen-year-old Sarah Asmundson, her twin Michael, and her cousin Angie have been sent north from Missouri, USA, to a small village in Manitoba, Canada, to stay with …

Grim Harvest by Patrick C. Greene

Greene mixes strongly connected characters with tropes from multiple flavours of horror to create a tale of a town plagued by evil. This is the second volume in Greene’s The Haunted Hollow Chronicles. Spoilers ahead, in particular who might survive the first book. A year ago, supernatural evil turned Ember Hollow’s Pumpkin Parade into an …

The Vampire of Blackpool by Catherine Green

Green blends romantic tropes with the fundamental truth that love doesn’t make everyone a saint in real life to create a vampire protagonist who realistically craves the company of some humans without experiencing any qualms at draining others. While this novel is part of Green’s The Redcliffe Series, it barely refers to events from other …

Yog-Sothoth Doesn’t Play Ball Games

Commentary on Lovecraftian horror often takes a fixed stance on Lovecraft's racism (was he a racist; is his work racist; does liking Lovecraft make you a racist) so this video by Athena Productions on whether art can be separated from artist was a pleasant surprise to my nuance-seeking mind. However, I noticed one critical factor …

Blood Loss by Andy Maslen

Maslen mixes modern technology with visceral vampire action to create a gritty horror thriller that feels grounded in the classics of the genre. Caroline Murray is a successful barrister, engaged to a brilliant skin-cancer researcher. So, when Ariane Van Helsing appears on her doorstep claiming her fiancé’s new employer is actually a vampire seeking a …

Proceeding in an Orderly Fashion

Earlier, I came across a theory that Inspector Legrasse suffered mental health issues following the Bayou raid, either from the raid itself, having the Cthulhu statue in his possession, or the cult attempting to recover the statue. While popular perception is that all Lovecraft's heroes go insane, I didn't recall Legrasse suffering a collapse. Rereading …

Hindsight’s 2020, ed. Tyrolin Puxty

Flavoured with but not tainted by the uncertainty and constraint of the Covid-19 pandemic, this anthology provides a series of engaging escapes from reality. This anthology collect nine stories inspired by the theme of “regret”, spanning a range of genres and styles. ‘I Should Have Known’ by Samantha Bryant. A young woman reminisces on why …

No Masks Here

Yesterday I came across an untitled poem by Upashna that refused to quite let go. Dusk pours her dregs of light on the weary bones draped in a corrugated yellow skin threading the silk suture A melange of reverberations in the air- a distinct chirp of hatchlings calling it’s dame at prey, the yellow tailed …

How to Stop a Vampire War in Six Easy Steps by Matthew S. Cox

Cox mixes the politely lethal conflict of medieval nobles or mafia dons with the unique threats and approaches of vampirism to create urban fantasy with pace and complexity. This novel is the eleventh volume of Cox’s Vampire Innocent series. The previous books have plenty of enjoyable misunderstandings and reveals... it would be a shame if …

Upon Boxes

Inspired by a conversation with my wife, I've added a "First in Series" category for reviews. While I feel it's a useful addition, it's rather self-explanatory and the time spent adding existing reviews didn't generate any engaging stories. So, here's a somewhat creepy short film to add some interest to the post: Stucco (Janina Gavankar, …