sweetcolleen69

Carnage Road by Gregory Lamberson

Print is Dead 2012 (an imprint of Creeping Hemlock Press)

The zombie apocalypse has begun.  The Floating Dragons motorcycle gang has hung on as long as possible.  Now Boone and Walker are the only ones left and they have decided to hit the road and head to Hollywood.  It is a long and dangerous road that takes them to an enclave of right-wing fascists, an abandoned movie theater where the zombies are also enjoying the film, and an eerily familiar last stand in Texas.

Gregory Lamberson’s first foray into zombie lit has proven to be a good one.  Carnage Road holds up extremely well in the sub-genre with a well-written and interesting story.  Even though Boone and Walker are from an outlaw gang, they are very likeable characters.  The ending has quite the “wow” factor and was anything but predictable.  Carnage Road is like Easy Rider (1969) meets Night of the Living Dead (1968).  It’s a very cool read.

Contains gore, violence, adult language and sex

Permuted Press 2011

Erik Tragger is ex-military, divorced and living in a small Oregon town when the dead start to rise.  Erik gathers up some supplies from his home and decides to ride out the end of the world in a secluded cabin in the mountains.  After months of isolation and hearing no news from the world Erik decides to try to make it back to his town and see about getting more supplies, which are beginning to run dangerously low.

What he finds upon his return is not what Erik expected.  It seems there are more than just your run of the mill zombies to contend with.  Saved from certain death by a group of survivors in an abandoned Walmart, Erik discovers that the ghouls he encountered were humans who fed on the flesh of zombies.  At first it was out of desperation but it has quickly become apparent that these ghouls want to make more of their kind—a freakish zombie/human hybrid.

After helping the group from the super store get away so they can head to Portland, Erik ends up back at the cabin with Katherine, another survivor.  After some months they are attacked and forced back to the town they originally fled from.  What ultimately awaits Erik in this new and dangerous world is beyond anything he could have imagined. 

BEYOND THE BARRIERS is another book that attempts to take the zombie sub-genre in a new direction and Long succeeds in that effort.  BARRIERS sets up a very frightening scenario for the end of the world and it is a book that I could not put down.  Characters are well-developed and have a depth that enables the reader to connect to them.  The ending is rather unexpected and left intentionally vague….I’m hoping that means a sequel?  Anyway, having seen a glut of zombies in the horror genre, I am pleased to see writers like Timothy Long taking risks and their zombies into new directions.  Get this book.

Available paperback and Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-the-Barriers-ebook/dp/B005VT7F0I

The Gabriel Virus, released by religious fanatics brought civilization to its knees.  Two distinct cultures have arisen out of the ashes which despise and fear each other.  There are the Settlers, or the clear skins, those that are uninfected and the People or the Spewers, who carry the virus and are made sick but who do not die from it. 

Each culture has their own historical perspective on how the remnants of humanity came to be this way.  Each mythology is different and each culture demonizes the other.  The novella focuses on two main characters—Tanner, a Sweeper for the settlements of the uninfected and Lila, a hunter for the infected clans.  Both Tanner and Lila view each other as an enemy that must be destroyed.  Unfortunately the hatred held for each other will lead to an inevitable and deadly conclusion.

Apocalyptic Organ Grinder is a psychological study of human nature and the inherent nature of distrust and fear of what is different or unknown.  Instead of attempting to live separately and in relative peace, these two cultures inevitably wish to destroy each other.  Whose version of history is accurate?  It ultimately doesn’t matter because that history has been ingrained in the generations since the Gabriel Virus took its toll.  It is a bloody and heartbreaking story that I loved reading.  It is a quick and entertaining read, and can be had for free courtesy of William Todd Rose.  He is a wonderful writer and you should be reading him.

Contains violence and gore

Available FREE at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/55221

Okay, I didn’t do this list last year but I guess it’s time I did.  I read 97 books last year and most of them were really good.  Then there were a few that I didn’t like at all…but I won’t mention them here because the reviews panning them were enough.  This list is just straight up what I liked the best in no particular order.

BONE MARROW STEW by Tim Curran—Tim is easily one of my favorite authors and I thought this collection of his short stories was amazing. 

ZOMBIE BITCHES FROM HELL by Zoot Campbell—this was a fun pulp-like novel about a zombie virus that only affected women.  Very entertaining.

FEAR ME by Tim Curran—I did mention he’s one of my favorite authors, right?

ETERNAL UNREST by Lorne Dixon—A fantastic mummy story that should be the start of something wonderful for the mummy in horror.

A PACK OF WOLVES by Eric S. Brown—Western/horror with a guerrilla style that grabs you at the start and doesn’t let go until the ride is over.

SKULLS by Tim Marquitz—I’ve always shied away from Young Adult titles but this doesn’t read like it’s for kids.  Adults will love it.

SUBJECT SEVEN by James A. Moore—Yet another Young Adult title that read more like it was for adults…I loved it.

VICIOUS ROMANTIC by Wrath James White—I loved this collection of extreme horror poetry so much I read it three times.

TALES FROM THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT by Mark Allan Gunnells—Collections are usually hit or miss but in this case every short story is a hit.

JASMINE & GARLIC by Monica O’Rourke—This extreme short story give new meaning to a trip to the gynecologist. <shudder>

There it is….my favorite reads from last year.  This was a difficult one to do because I’m a Gemini and I want to make everyone happy.

~Colleen

     SOMEONE TO LOVE (1987) a movie written and directed by Henry Jaglom is about a man looking for the reasons that people are alone. Danny (Jaglom) is a filmmaker who doesn’t understand why his girlfriend of six months Helen (Andrea Marcovicci) won’t let him spend the night at her apartment and won’t stay the night at his. In his quest for answers to his questions about relationships Danny invites friends and strangers alike to an old theater on Valentine’s Day if they are going to be alone. They think it’s for a party—and there is food and drink—but when they arrive they find Danny has a film crew with him. Danny begins asking them why they are alone and wants answers on camera. 
     Just before Danny sets up this little get-together, he finds out from his brother Mickey that they now own some property but the sale of that property will go through in ten days time. Mickey takes Danny to see the property which includes the theater that will be torn down to make way for a strip mall. Danny decides to host his gathering at the theater before it is sold and gone. It is a beautiful old theater and plenty are sad to see it go. One of the invitees is actress Edith Helm (played by Sally Kellerman) who has recently separated from her husband. Danny manages to get just about everyone there to talk on camera about why they think they are alone and if they are happy. At some point Danny plans to put the footage together in a film.
     Maybe it’s just me and the fact that I don’t like chick flicks. I just did not like this film as a whole. There is an endless parade of people telling the camera why they are alone and if it bothers them or not. What bookends the movie is the relationship between Danny and Helen. Danny obviously wants to be living with Helen and maybe get married. Helen is perfectly comfortable on her own and wants to keep things that way for a while. Why not do the whole movie about Danny and Helen? Maybe Helen has some legitimate reasons for wanting to take things slow….we don’t know. What is Danny’s purpose for gathering all of these people together? Maybe Henry Jaglom’s purpose was an altruistic one but Danny comes across as selfish and manipulative. He puts people on the spot with a camera in their faces. Later in the movie there’s a scene where Danny and Helen are dancing together and he is being very sweet and charming. When Helen succumbs to his charms Danny turns to the cameraman and asks if he got that. Helen is horrified and angry and storms off. All Danny reacts to is the fact that they’ve now run out of film and need to put more in the camera. He shows no concern for Helen or her feelings; he doesn’t even go after her. 
     While I didn’t like SOMEONE TO LOVE as a whole there were aspects of the movie I did like…a lot. I really liked Helen and wanted to know more about her. Andrea Marcovicci played the character with depth and a sincerity that made me want to defend Helen against Danny’s pushing for more from her. I felt he was being selfish and if he really loved her he would give her the space she asked for. Another character I really wanted to see more of was Edith Helm. She comes to the theater because she has separated from her husband. After speaking with Helen and listening to the others talk Edith’s façade of the cool chick crumbles. Why didn’t Jaglom go anywhere with this storyline? I would have loved to see more of Sally Kellerman’s cool, laid back presence. I also loved Yelena played by Oja Kodar. She goes to the theater with a friend and reluctantly gives her feelings on the subject of why she is alone. She is beautiful and smart and quite engaging. Again, I wanted to see more of Yelena. I felt as though I could relate to her on some level. 
     Finally, I absolutely love Orson Wells. We are only told that he is a friend of Danny’s. Sitting in the back row of the theater, he observes what’s going on and then gives his take on things.   He delivers a soliloquy on why Danny’s generation seems to struggle with relationships that is delivered with such sincerity that I wonder if he were truly speaking from experience and not just reading lines. Wells was charming and funny and his smile and laugh were infectious. Wells was like a wise old sage doling out his knowledge to whom ever would listen. Compared to Orson Wells, all of the probably scripted snatches of “why I am alone” from the strangers seemed frivolous and unnecessary. On a technical point, the editing at points was terrible and seemed to be done as an afterthought. Give me an hour and forty-five minutes with Helen, Edith, Yelena and Orson and I may have been much happier with the finished product. If you are a fan of the chick flick then maybe this movie is for you. Otherwise I say fast forward through the crap and just enjoy the only four characters with any redeeming qualities.

     Written and directed by Henry Jaglom and starring Tanna Fredrick, IRENE IN TIME (2009) tells the story of Irene Jensen (Fredrick) and how her relationship with her father affects her relationships with men. Irene has idolized her father, who disappeared while out on his boat during a bad storm. She reminisces about her childhood while talking with friends and her father’s friends. Irene remembers her father always bringing her gifts back from his business trips and hiding little clues in her music box for her to find a beautiful treasure left by him. Meanwhile, Irene moves from one failed relationship to the next, always comparing the men she dates to her dead father. 
     Irene’s closest friend Jo Jo Farentino, played wonderfully by Kelly De Sarla is a lesbian who at one point tells Irene she should try dating women and has her own issues with a father who was never around. While spending a day poolside with friends, Irene has a stack of self-help books on dating and is dismayed at all of the different “rules for dating” that these books have and how contradictory they all are. Jo Jo tells Irene that everything she’s looking for in a man can be found in another woman. Later in the movie Irene even experiments with kissing another woman but it goes nowhere.  
     While attending a party her mother Elenor (Victoria Tennant) is throwing to say goodbye to her neighbors (she’s sold the house) Irene finds a clue in her music box that leads to a box of her father’s mementos. This eventually leads Irene to a woman who knew her father long ago. While talking with her mother, Irene is told the truth about her dad. He wasn’t a businessman he was a gambler who had been asked to leave by Elenor because she just couldn’t live with him anymore. Irene’s discoveries about her father have not changed her opinion of him, however. 
     Let me first say that I am not a fan of chick flicks but I kept an open mind while watching IRENE IN TIME (2009) so that I could review it honestly. In my honest opinion this movie was torture to watch. At times I felt as though I was sitting in on a group therapy session for women with daddy issues. These scenes went on far too long and the dialogue sounded stiff and insincere. I also didn’t like Irene at all. Early in the movie we see Irene with a boyfriend and she’s completely oblivious to his very obvious lack of interest. Irene is a grown woman who comes across as juvenile and far too naïve. At one point we see Irene talking to a teenage girl in a restaurant and the girl is giving Irene relationship advice. Who tells a teenage girl and a stranger no less, that she has trouble with men?! The discoveries Irene makes about her father were for the most part rather predictable and cliché. 
     There were a few good points to IRENE IN TIME. I liked Jo Jo and thought she should have had more screen time. I also enjoyed the appearance of Karen Black as Sheila, one of Irene’s father’s old friends, although there was a scene later in the movie between Irene and Sheila that was just a bit bizarre and really had no purpose that I could see. Jo Jo’s father Norm was played (briefly) by David Proval who wasn’t bad here but was much better as mobster Richie Aprile in The Sopranos. The writing and directing were terrible.  This movie may have been able to redeem itself if more had been left on the cutting room floor.   What this movie left me with was the feeling that Jaglom doesn’t like women very much because he seemed to be exaggerating and making fun of women’s natural instinct to talk about….stuff. I think even fans of chick flicks would find this movie tedious and boring. SKIP IT!!

            Season of Death is a novella collection of four great stories by Eric S. Brown. In all of his stories Eric teases the reader with hope for the characters’ survival, but they are all pretty bleak. 

           “Undead Down Under” tells the story of a world overrun by zombies as well as various animalistic demons. England has survived the apocalypse under the leadership of Kyle, a mysterious man who possesses some knowledge of magic. Kyle has made an agreement with Bug demons—they gave him the ability to use magic to protect his people but he’s paying a high price for that knowledge. Kyle has learned of a group of survivors in Australia living in an old military instillation called The Rock. They have battled zombies and Croc demons to stay alive but their time is running out. Kyle sails to Australia with a unit of SAS and convinces the survivors to help him defeat the demons. Kyle manages to kill the leader of the Croc demons but the survivors don’t fare so well. Kyle sails back to England to continue his war against the other demons of the world.

          “Kinberra Down” is a sci-fi story written by both Eric S. Brown and Jessy Marie Roberts. Earth is at war with cat-like aliens called the Darians. The Kinberra is a naval starship transporting Marines and a very special Darian prisoner to Alpha Centuri when the fleet is ambushed. The Kinberra jumps to an uncharted solar system where they crash land on an Earth-class planet. The crew sets about making repairs and scouting the frozen planet for any signs of life. The ship is attacked by giant ant-like creatures looking for food. They continue their mindless search for food even though the ship is protected (for now) by an energy shield. They are a lot like zombies. The captain decides to release Xar, the Darian prisoner to help fight off the aliens and hopefully get the crew rescued. Now the leader of the squad of Marines has decided to mutiny and the crew may not last long enough to get off the frozen planet alive.

        “How the West Went to Hell” is a religious-based tale. The town of Reaper’s Valley is about to be overrun by demons. Louis is a book editor looking to get the real story behind a manuscript about another town that was completely destroyed. O’Rourke is taking the job of sheriff of Reaper’s Valley, but has no idea of what he’s getting into. Nathan who is trying to do God’s work by destroying the demons and hoping to protect the human population from demons. All three are headed to Reaper’s Valley but only Nathan knows what’s coming. Lee (Legion) is destroying town after town in the West. No one is left alive and the dead come back inhabited by demons. Can they stop Lee in his tracks and prevent the End of Days?

        Finally “Ragnarok Island” is about the zombie apocalypse. Humans and zombies are fighting a war. The zombies can think and function as though they were still alive except they aren’t and they need food. They have set up breeding centers to expand their numbers and to maintain a steady food supply. Admiral Pressley leads a rag-tag fleet of mostly civilian ships that have picked up the sole survivor of The Queen, a large ship loaded with humans that were raiding ports and freeing people from the camps. That survivor, Scott talks them into taking an oil platform that the zombies are getting back online. Things don’t go exactly as planned and Scott takes Sarah to Ragnarok Island, an old Air Force base that has been left alone until now. Scott convinces everyone to start raiding the land and freeing people from the camps in the hopes of building an army to fight the zombies. Initially the plan works and they decide to go on another raid. Unfortunately the zombie armada has found the island.

         All of the stories are well-written and character development fits the stories perfectly. Each one ends with a nice little twist and they are all very dark and bleak. Once again Eric S. Brown proves his mettle as a storyteller and Jessy Marie Roberts holds her own with “Kinberra Down”.