Nikolas P. Robinson

Good But Lacking

Revisado: 07-27-24

While his readers, listeners, and fans await the next installment of his The Land series, Aleron Kong has released another tangentially related title, Alpha. This one takes us back in time to before the opening scenes of God’s Eye: Awakening, and sometime following the events that kicked off the adventure in The Land. With some manipulation from certain Lords of Chaos, the Earth is connected to The Labyrinth, and all hell breaks loose. The changes are immediate, but the extent to which these changes alter the planet (and the life living here) is relatively gradual. Of course, those of us who have made it through God’s Eye: Awakening are aware of how this turns out for Earth and the human species. It is interesting to see how it all starts off, though.

We’re introduced to Fin and Lauren, a couple deeply in love and tragically bearing witness to the force of chaos piercing the planet and opening the bridge to The Labyrinth. Fin served in the military during the Third World War and became an ER doctor in his civilian life afterward, setting him up to be a more capable protagonist than our previous main characters in Kong’s books. The tone of this book shifts accordingly, as Fin (our narrator) is a man inured to violence and capable of cruelty when properly motivated.

I personally found Fin to be a reasonably compelling, three-dimensional character. He’s frequently at odds with his personal history and the way it shaped him, as he struggles to be the man Lauren helped him see he could become. This internal conflict and the dichotomy of the soldier vs. the physician is ever-present throughout the narrative and adds a bit more depth to the whole.

The introduction to the interface system on Earth is interesting, though occasionally a bit on the tedious side…but this is an introductory story, so that’s to be expected. There are definite differences from what we’re acquainted with in The Land and God’s Eye, and the fact that the planet itself is incorporated into the system was a nice touch.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much meat to this story. It largely takes place in a hospital as Fin explores the new features that have changed the world. Though they are satisfying, there’s not much movement as far as the plot is concerned, as the focus remains almost exclusively on character development. The conflict, when it arrives is a pleasant change, but the cliffhanger ending is an issue I have with most of Kong’s work. His books aren’t self-encapsulated and that leaves them feeling incomplete and mildly frustrating as we wait for the next installment that will invariably suffer from the same characteristic abrupt conclusion.

My other issue is with unattributed pop culture references. Notably, a cribbed section from High Fidelity really struck me as off-putting. It’s fine to incorporate pop culture references in fiction. Farscape, a television series from 20 years ago, handled it phenomenally well. The protagonist acknowledged that he was referencing things other characters would not recognize, and it was done with a wink and a nod. In Alpha, that particular reference was treated as if it was some witty thought process of the character. That didn’t sit well with me. There’s also the reality that people now hardly recognize references to High Fidelity, and it seems highly unlikely that a soldier from a good distance into our future would have no reason to have read or seen it.

Pavi Proczko’s narration is excellent. All three of the narrators who signed on to work with Kong have brought his works to life in a way that I consider admirable. Narrating a LitRPG title can’t be the easiest thing. Proczko does a great job of conveying the emotional fluctuations Fin experiences as the story progresses, and that’s definitely something different narrators struggle with.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The Definition of Modern Literary Horror

Revisado: 07-22-24

John Langan proves that he is a master storyteller with the collection of tales included in The Wide, Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies. It's a diverse selection of tales, with some common threads of meta-commentary and a love of classic horror woven throughout many of them. This is an exceptional example of what's meant by literary horror when the term gets bandied about. There's a clear appreciation for the written word and it comes across as what feels like an almost meticulous process of selecting just the right words every step of the way.

We begin with a couple of stories that approach the zombie theme from vastly different directions, the second of which, "How the Day Runs Down," was one of the most original and entertaining things I've had the pleasure of reading. While it isn't--on the surface--overtly comedic, there's something about a zombie plague as experienced by Thornton Wilder that manages to amuse the reader/listener to a great extent.

"Technicolor" showcases both Langan's appreciation of the classics and his knack for metatextual analysis within the stories he tells, this time focused on Poe as he plays with the true story of the man's life and then blurring the line between fiction and reality.

The titular story, "The Wide, Carnivorous Sky," is a vampire tale unlike any other I've had the pleasure of reading...and that is a damn shame because I would love to read more stories like this one.

"City of the Dog" and "The Revel" tackle other supernatural creatures with the same deft hand Langan used when approaching zombies and vampires.

"The Shallows" presents a cosmic horror tale that's as eerie and discomforting as anything written by Lovecraft, filled with tension and dread that are palpable to the reader.

"June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris." is a bit more flippant than the other stories included, but when one discovers that it's meant to be a sort of cruel and horrifically humorous tribute to the fantastic Laird Barron, that all starts to make sense.

"Mother of Stone" is the perfect tale to cap off the collection. It draws the reader in and fills them with a disquieting sense that the real world may not be quite what we believe it to be. This is one of those stories that makes you happy to know you're reading fiction, though the investigation at the heart of the tale makes it feel all too real. It felt, much like "The Shallows," like Langan was delving into the realm of cosmic horror, but in a far more practical and plausible fashion...which made the story delightful.

Eric Martin's delivery as the narrator is superb, and fully captures the literary qualities of Langan's work.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Grady Hendrix At His Best

Revisado: 07-03-24

It’s not a popular opinion within the horror community, but I have not been a fan of Grady Hendrix. His writing is top-tier, and the concepts behind his work have always been compelling, but there’s something in the execution that’s never worked for me in the past. I’ve seen the rave reviews of books like My Best Friend’s Exorcism and The Final Girl Support Group, and I’ve gone into them hopeful…only to feel disappointed. I wanted to like them. Something about the characters and the pacing always left the stories lacking.

And then I took a chance on Horrorstor.

This was what I was hoping to find. The other Hendrix books didn’t do it for me, but this one contained the perfect blend of wry humor and sincere horror. The characters didn’t irritate me, the pacing felt simultaneously practiced and natural, and the story itself was fascinating.

If you’ve spent any time shopping at IKEA, you’re familiar with the planned layout that’s guaranteed to draw you deeper into the store before you ever have a chance to find an exit. The way out is through, but it’s a long way through. This is precisely the dynamic ORSK has implemented in its shameless attempt to copy the already established IKEA. And that makes it all the more difficult for employees to figure out how or why things are being damaged, defiled, and destroyed overnight. And, what’s worse, sales are down.

Could someone be breaking in? Or is this a case of someone phrogging in the establishment? That’s what the manager hopes to find out when he enlists two of his employees to spend the night there with him, as they prepare for a visit from corporate headquarters.

Unfortunately, the truth is far worse and infinitely more difficult to understand. Will any of the employees survive the night, or will they get lost in the labyrinth?

There’s a lot to unpack, from the scathing indictment of consumerism and the mindless drive to shop and spend that’s promoted and encouraged by the corporations hoping to pad the bottom line to the predatory conditions at-will employees are subject to, simply to keep the lights on. Hendrix imbues this story with plenty of social commentary.

The chapter breaks–with their increasingly sinister product descriptions–were one of the best things Hendrix could have added, making the whole experience that much more entertaining.

Tai Sammons’s narration of the main story was fantastic, and Bronson Pinchot’s delivery of the product advertisements separating the chapters was a masterful stroke of brilliance.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Broader In Scope Than Much of Little's Work

Revisado: 07-03-24

If you’re familiar with Bentley Little, you’re probably well aware that he’s an author who excels at tales of small towns with dark secrets, hidden mysteries, and sinister forces beneath the surface. He takes the mundane and everyday aspects of our lives and transforms them into something sublimely creepy with apparent ease. That is, in fact, the man’s bread and butter as far as I’m concerned, and few have come close to doing it half as well.

The Walking includes a fair bit of what you’d expect from Little but with a lot more history involved than is often found in his work. The tale unfolds during two different periods, as the revelations behind what’s happening are deeply tied to events of the distant past, where a town of witches was established in the Southwest. In this place, they could be safe from persecution and the religious intolerance of the rest of American civilization. That is until everything falls apart.

In the modern day, we discover a plague of peculiar variety, in that some recently deceased people are suddenly driven to walk, although they’re clearly quite dead. Family secrets are uncovered, the cruel fate of the once-prosperous town of witches is revealed, and the cast of characters we’ve been following are forced to meet face-to-face with the mysterious force that’s animating the dead and calling them home.

Fans of The Summoning are sure to enjoy the appearance of a certain opportunistic FBI agent.

This was slower than a lot of Little’s work, but it was not disappointing for that fact. It felt different from much of his other work, including the pacing and the wider scale of the overall narrative.

John Pirhalla’s narration was top-notch, leaving no complaints and nothing to be desired.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The Reality Show From Hell

Revisado: 07-02-24

Jon Cohn invites us to Slashtag, a multiplatform reality program that promises to take horror to new, previously undreamt heights. The Propitius Hotel, once the home of America’s most notorious and prolific serial killer, Arthur Wilson, is the setting for this nightmare-inducing challenge that pits seven celebrities (or what passes for celebrities) against the clock as well as the malevolent entities that wander the haunted hotel.

The characters are all believable and distinct from one another, especially as their carefully crafted facades begin to crumble under the strain of life-or-death stakes, and the people beneath are gradually revealed. Cohn handles that character development/dismantling with masterful skill. As self-awareness kicks in and self-preservation becomes essential, we witness these people transforming before our eyes, even as they struggle to maintain the personae they know their fans are logging in to see.

Tawny and April are amazing characters, fascinating and fleshed-out, and the rest of the cast Cohn introduces us to is no less vibrant and interesting in their own ways, even if their personality is bland (yes, I’m talking about Britt). In some instances, the clear analogs to real-life people are a lot of fun, especially as we meet the wealthy board members of Krentler Media.

The uncertainty of whether what’s happening is real or contrived is deftly handled, as characters react in vastly different ways, depending on where they fall along that spectrum of belief…until they’re all in the loop, and fully cognizant of the danger they’re in.

The premise behind the reality program itself, the purpose behind the torture and slaughter, and the mythology that’s brought to bear are enjoyable and metered out with just the right pacing.

Lauren Ezzo’s narration is spectacular, providing each character with their own delivery and cadence. Her narration made the book all the more enjoyable.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Thrilling & Terrifying

Revisado: 06-30-24

Blake Crouch guides us through a narrative full of twists and turns, switchbacks, and–well, obviously–recursions, as he tackles the well-trod ground of time travel, bringing a fresh new spin to the topic. False Memory Syndrome is becoming a plague, as people find themselves suddenly–and seemingly at random–overwhelmed by new memories of a life that wasn’t the one they’d been leading up until that moment. These memories are as vibrant and real as the ones they’d had access to only seconds earlier, and the confusion and contradiction are enough to drive people mad.

One detective’s obsession with the often disastrous impact of these false memories and the unknown vector by which the mental illness is transmitted leads him to an inevitable meeting with a research scientist focused on salvaging memories for those suffering from dementia, as she hopes to ease the horror of that debilitating condition. Unfortunately, a wealthy and powerful benefactor with seemingly unlimited capacity to predict market trends and so much more has his own goals for the technology, and he’s seemingly two steps ahead of both of them.

Crouch takes us from the seemingly innocent and altruistic beginning to the cataclysmic end, as the truth–and reality itself–becomes a tangled mess of interwoven timelines. At once thrilling and depressing in the way it captures the worst of human nature, this is a must-read.

The narration provided by Jon Lindstrom and Abby Craden is fantastic, and they thoroughly capture the characters and bring the listener into the story.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Be Careful What You Wish For

Revisado: 06-30-24

John Wayne Comunale brings his usual irreverent humor and blasphemy to this tale of a working stiff who–like many of us–wishes he could find a shortcut to the life he would rather be living. Sometimes, that might be as easy as pushing someone in front of a bus, which–as it turns out–might be more challenging than you suspect. In this case, the desired shortcut comes in the form of a “Satanic” ritual.

A promotion at work, a life of ease, and the girl of your dreams, what would you do to have those things? Would you summon a peculiar little blob of a demon that resembles a demon about as much as the real Hell resembles the one you’ve always imagined from a lifetime of mythology and Christian upbringing–which is to say, not at all? Well, that’s what our protagonist decides to do, and he soon learns that there’s more work involved in making these dreams come true than it would have required if he’d just put in the effort in the first place. Mistakes were made.

Sometimes the shortcut isn’t much of a shortcut at all, but it’s difficult to see that until you’re already on the path, and by then it might be too late. Hindsight is 20/20, they say.

Comunale spins a fun little tale of a life spiraling out of control, the price of hubris, the hollow pleasure derived from cheating your way to success, and how important it is to be careful what you wish for. Along the way, he builds a new mythology of the realm we think of as Hell, the beings we think of as demons, and the harsh challenges associated with bridging that infernal realm with our own.

The author narrates his audiobook edition of the book, and there’s never any disappointment to be found in Comunale’s delivery. He knows just the right amount of sarcasm to imbue the narrative with, and the voices he has in mind for his characters.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Jones Never Fails To Surprise

Revisado: 06-09-24

Like much of what Jones has written, Demon Theory defies easy classification and mixes subgenres with fluidity and skill that borders on awe-inspiring. There’s a little bit of Watcher In the Woods, a touch of Jacob’s Ladder, a hint of Scream, and perhaps a taste of the first two Return of the Living Dead films serving as inspiration behind this book–that in turn serves as the novelization of three fictional films constituting the “Devil Inside” trilogy. Filled with pop culture references and nods to obscure horror flicks (for today’s audience), witty dialogue, meta-commentary, and as much dark humor as there is horror, this book is an excellent experience for fans of Stephen Graham Jones.

We begin on Halloween night as a group of medical students goes to Hale’s childhood home where his diabetic mother needs assistance. When they arrive, with Hale’s mother nowhere to be found, they soon discover they’re stuck in the secluded and rundown house as a snowstorm rages outside. As the story progresses, we discover the six med students aren’t alone, and it takes on a sort of slasher narrative as we learn more about Hale’s family, his childhood trauma, and the presumed identity of the killer. As the body count rises and the possible supernatural elements are introduced, we speed toward a conclusion that feels fitting, though slightly ambiguous.

The second installment of the trilogy begins with a familiar scenario that’s been touched on in the first, but things aren’t quite right. The deck has been shuffled and we’ve moved forward in time and simultaneously backward, it seems. Familiar faces appear but in different roles. The names may be the same, but the details are off…however, it isn’t long before we learn that recollection of the previous story’s events are clear to at least one of the returning characters–though Nona is treated as if these “false” memories are indicative of mental illness. It’s almost Christmas, and we ultimately find ourselves in a hospital where the staff prepares for a performance to entertain the patients. This installment skips the slasher element and dives right into the supernatural aspect we experienced in the earlier tale, amplifying the stakes and the danger. It’s no longer simply the cast of six facing the horrors that we witness arising in the hospital corridors–but how many people would believe that demonic entities are afoot before it’s too late?

The final piece of the trilogy comes as a direct sequel to the second installment, but following another time jump. We’re three years further along and many familiar faces have returned, this time taking the fight back to Hale’s childhood home, hoping to stop whatever nightmare they’ve been living in since they first stepped foot into that house. Nona has a plan, but can her judgment be trusted? Can anyone be trusted, as we delve deeper into the events that brought all of this about? Supernatural horror meets slasher meets brazen scientific experimentation as we learn the truth about Hale’s father, his sister, and the identities of the friends who accompanied Hale home in the first place. This one starts off with a splattery, violent bloodbath to up the ante as a group of punk criminals first arrive at the isolated house as a sort of initiation rite, setting the stage nicely for what awaits our returning cast of characters when they show up only a short while later.

Richard Ferrone’s narration is phenomenal, conveying a sort of homage to the voice of Ghostface from the Scream movies, which feels as perfect as could be with the self-awareness and referential nature of the characters contained within the narrative as well as the writing itself.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A Satisfying Conclusion

Revisado: 06-02-24

Duncan Ralston brings his Ghostland trilogy to a superbly fitting conclusion with Infinite. He takes us back and forth in time, as the mystery surrounding Rex Garrote’s plan is revealed, and the truth is more horrifying than anything Ben Laramie and his friends could have imagined. The stakes are higher, and the enemies are far more numerous than solely Garrote and the forces he’s aligned beside him, but Ben is not one to give up. As Ralston races us toward a final confrontation that threatens existence, we’re forced to wonder how Ben and his allies fight an enemy who seems to know what’s coming, and who seemingly orchestrated every step they’ve taken to reach this point?

It was a treat, getting this deeper glimpse into Garrote’s life and personal history, the relationship between Garrote and Hedgewood, and the previously unexpected nature of Garrote House. Similarly, getting a deeper investment in Ben and Lilian’s families was an excellent experience, as the horrors of the Dark Rift loom ahead of our heroes.

As with the previous two installments of the Ghostland trilogy, the cast of characters is fantastic and each one is well-drawn and believable in their motivations and attitudes. The action is fast-paced and exciting, even as Ralston succeeds in giving us numerous breathers as he unveils the history that set the stage for the events we’re bearing witness to.

Joe Hempel’s narration is–as always–spectacular. There seem to be few narrators as prolific or in such high demand, and for good reason.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Quiet Neighborhood Invaded By An Otherworldly Evil

Revisado: 06-02-24

Christopher Golden’s All Hallows transports us back to the simpler times of the mid-1980s, a time without cellphones and internet. I’m not a Luddite, by any stretch of the imagination, but something about the world back then triggers a healthy dose of nostalgia for me. It works especially well regarding horror because there’s no need to factor in the ever-connected nature of the modern world and its limitations on what makes sense. The bulk of Golden’s novel transpires on Halloween night, isolated to one suburban neighborhood. The setting definitely helps to make the story feel more intimate.

As the children of Coventry venture out to collect their toll of candy and treats, strange new children are making their way into the crowd, behaving strangely and unsettling some of the locals while going largely unnoticed by others. It’s not until they begin communicating with some of the neighborhood kids that we discover just how disturbing the situation is. Children and parents alike are forced to wonder what’s really going on in their otherwise tranquil neighborhood. Who are these peculiar kids? What do they want? And who is The Cunning Man?

All the while, family drama and infidelity threaten to upset the peace, creating distractions and turmoil that turn attention away from the genuine threat in their midst. Friendships are strained to their limits, families are falling apart, and a monstrous unearthly horror sweeps through the darkened streets and homes of unsuspecting victims.

Golden’s tale is a heartbreaking one. When all is said and done, no one will be the same, and the survivors might not be the lucky ones as they’re forced to face the dual traumas of loss and guilt no one is prepared for.

Narrations by Ron Butler and January LaVoy bring the story to life in a wholly authentic way that draws you into the tale as effectively as Golden’s masterful writing already would.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña