Short Story Review - Blood Harvest by Richard Swan

Name -  Blood Harvest 

Writer - Richard Swan 

Series - Warhammer 40k

Published By - Games Workshop/ Black Library 

This was my second read from Richard Swan. My first one was another Black Library short, which I found average and only started this one because this story was related to ' Tears of Raphaela'. This one was certainly much better and I kind of ended up wanting to read more about these characters and this conflict.

This is the story of a planet dealing with the onslaught of a Tyranid wave. We are introduced with some lowly conscripts who seem quite unlikeable at the beginning, then we get introduced with a fearsome warrior who seems to have some hidden agenda about helping the normal humans at first. Then the struggle for survival starts.

The action sequences are quite engrossing, and Tyranids are as fearsome villains as always. Despite the short scope the characters get interesting development, the dialogues are very enjoyable and the ending is quite different from typical 40k short.

All in all, this is one of the best black library short stories of last year in my opinion. 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Name -  How to Sell a Haunted House 

Writer - Grady Hendrix

Published By - Berkley Books

Grady Hendrix can write in a very engaging style; with his unique mixture of horror and dark humor; his relatable, interesting and well developed cast of characters and his unique knack of using well used tropes in fun ways to entertain. But unlike his previous writings this one does drag a bit in the middle and might have done well with cutting out 100 or so pages. 

After their parents' sudden death Louise must deal with the house they left behind and her complicated relationship with her brother Mark, while also dealing with something sinister that also inhabits their childhood home. Throughout the story we get to slowly learn more about the eventful history of the house and her family. 

The prose by Hendrix was as enjoyable as ever, with his unique style of slowly divulging information and coloring his characters. I especially enjoyed how he brilliantly transformed Mark from an annoying and selfish prick into someone who is quite smart and thoughtful and sympathetic person. 

Despite the strength of the characters, the story really suffered from the plodding pace during the second half the book. It does pick up its tempo closer to the ending, but by then finishing it felt like a bit of a chore. 

I will definitely check out future works by the author, especially because I really like his character building and sense of humor. I just really he keeps things a bit more compact and focused. 

This was a mixed bag, 3 out of 5 stars from me. 

Short Story Review - The Pram by Joe Hill

Name -  The Pram

Writer - Joe Hill

Series - Creature Feature 

Published By - Amazon Original Stories 

Despite meaning to check out his works for a while, this is my first foray into the writing of Joe Hill. And I am quite glad that I did read this one and am thankful that Amazon Original Stories for publishing these short stories that can read in a single or few sittings. 

The Pram deals with the story of Willy and his desire to have a son. It begins with a saddened atmosphere as we come to know the circumstances leading to Willy's anguish and resentment and then slowly builds into the horror of what it might finally lead him to. 

The character of Willy is the main focus and Hill does an admirable job of letting readers ease into his psyche and personality. None of the other characters were much fleshed out due to the shirt scope of the story, but Hill's uncanny ability to create relatable and realistic characters are clearly visible through the small glimpses on offer. 

The story progresses gradually and almost effortlessly into a crescendo and ends in a veritably shocking and explosive ending. And the aftertaste left made me immediately interested to check out more from the author and also from other stories in the series. 

A job well done, 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Book Review - 101 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered

Name - 101 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered

Writer - Sadie Hartmann

Published By - Page Street Publishing

Well, if you are like me and have gotten into the intriguing world of horror fiction in the last few years after traversing through other branches of genre fiction, this book is specifically curated for the likes of you. If you are like me, you have often wondered if it was possible to ignore the vast richness of the past works of horror fiction and check out the good stuff from the last decade this book is for you. If you just want to test out the different sub-genres of the immensely versatile world of horror for the first time, well, what do you know, this book is also for you. 

'Sadie Hartmann' did a brilliant job of just taking post 2000 books and making a huge list putting in varied tastes of modern readers into consideration. There are also some delightful author spotlights focusing on some lesser known yet highly imaginative authors who are emerging into the genre as future giants. Also some short non-fiction pieces from some of these authors. 

I really loved the way Sadie arranged her recommendations into various sub-genres (would have loved a few more like space horror, medieval horror, etc. though) and then listed them with not only a synopsis type post but rather her take on the novel or collection. I loved her little at a glance feature below the review particularly. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to people like me who love books about books, and also to people looking for some solid modern horror recommendations and also to people who are trying to get into the genre. Solid and thoroughly enjoyable reading material. 

I'll give this one full marks, 5 out of 5 stars. 

New Book Review - Do or Die by Josh Reynolds

Book - Do or Die 

Writer - Josh Reynolds 

Series - A Zombicide Novel

Published By - Aconyte Books

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you NetGalley and Aconyte Books for this opportunity.

I started reading this one having previously enjoyed the 2nd book in the series and with a bit of certainty that I would enjoy the further adventures of these interesting characters despite the overall familiar setting. Reynolds tries to spice up the adventure by setting up the story in the Everglades in Florida and adding some even more horrific monsters and equally dangerous humans. 

Westlake, Ramirez and company travel to the Everglades in search of more hidden caches of resources and friendly survivors, but things are way different than before as Westlake is falling apart both physically and mentally due to his transformation and there are strange animals and humans around to make their plight very difficult. The incoming hurricane and the issues between some new members and the usual gang makes matters even more edgy. 

The prose is depicted through various viewpoint characters, and the jumping of perspective was a bit much at times. It was really fun to return to the favorites like Westlake, Clavera and Kahwhita while the new characters and antagonists gave their own perspective to the ongoing struggle. I just really wish it had more chapters from the viewpoint of Westlake and Calavera.

From the get go it was apparent that some of these characters will not survive till the end, yet it was hard to say goodbye when the time came. The pace was as blistering as expected with no time for respite and the author did the action bits quite brilliantly.  The ending was also better than the last book despite being a bit predictable from the last one third of the story. 

I would really love to read more about this character although I am quite certain this will be the final adventure of this gang. It was definitely fun while it lasted. 

4 out of 5 stars from me. 

Graphic Novel Review - All Against All

Name: All Against All Vol. 1

Published by: Image Comics

Writer: Alex Paknadel

Artist: Casper Wijngaard

Colorist: Hasan Otsmane-Elhaou

This was a fun mini-series with a unique science fiction concept detailing the story of a group of parasitic aliens trying to delve into the mystery of the destructive nature of humanity on the backdrop of their own ongoing war. 

Alex Paknadel isn't an author that I was familiar with so I came into this without expecting anything, but his style was quite enjoyable. I liked his use of different viewpoint characters while trying to establish the world building through their perspectives rather than info dump. The story was an interesting one with some messages regarding the consequence of violence and war. 

The artist Caspar Wijngaard is also someone new for me, and I am definitely going to be on the lookout for his work in the future after my first exposure. His unique and unorthodox character and background designs, and masterful depiction of the action sequences were really able to drive home the visceral nature of the story. 

Interesting concept, fresh storytelling and vividly imaginative drawing kept me turning the pages rather quickly on this one as I kept intrigued about the twist to come. 4 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Alligator Loki #1

Name: Alligator Loki #1

Published by: Marvel Comics

Writer: Alyssa Wong

Artist: Bob Quinn

Colorist: Pete Pantazis

Well, who didn't like Alligator Loki when he was introduced in the Loki tv series. I sure did, and when I saw his infinity comic being published I was waiting for to check it out when it was to be collected as a normal issue. And, it really delivers on its promises quite commendably. 

The short strip like dialogue less stories featuring the notorious Alligator features cameos from characters from all over the Marvel universe with its mischievous fun and homages to popular memes are really something to be experienced. 

Bob Quinn does an excellent job with his exuberant art which compliments Wongs wonderful sense of humor quite nicely. As I found out this is only the compilation of season one of the series. I for one will be eagerly waiting for future adventures of this unorthodox and wicked god of mischief. 

4 out of 5 stars from me.