New Book Review - Feral and Hysterical by Sadie Hartmann

Name - Feral and Hysterical: Mother Horror’s Ultimate Reading Guide to Dark and Disturbing Fiction by Women

Writer - Sadie Hartmann

Published By - Page Street Publishing

This is the second book by Sadie Hartmann dedicated to creating lists of horror fiction recommendations. This time her focus is entirely on horror written by women and the book is arranged neatly into different topics listing her recommendations, each with a synopsis and her own thoughts about the books in a short review.

I really loved some of the creative list making and vibe selections and while like any normal reader wasn't much enthusiastic about a few categories. But therein lies the true depth on offer here, as the author really attempted to cater to almost every kind of taste that different readers have.

There are also five small essays by an interesting selection of authors shining even more light into female experience and expertise regarding understanding horror medium. These added a fine sense of variation among the lists and reviews.

Another great thing about the book is the great artwork on offer dispersed all throughout the book, almost perfectly conveying the mood for each list. In a reference book like this, these brilliant sketches really added an extra reason to keep coming back for more.

Hopefully she will keep writing this kind of books about books in the future, maybe about other genres, maybe about films or TV shows. I really like her prose style and her genuine sense of love for the works and her energetic approach.

I am gonna give this 4.5 out of 5 stars (mostly cause I liked the first one even more).

Weekend Shorts - Alien Boy by Fawaz Al-Matrouk

Name - Alien Boy 

Written by - Fawaz Al-Matrouk 

Ilustrated by - Aude Abou Nasr

Edited by - Ann Vandermeer

Published by - Tor Books / reactormag.com

Our world is always full of horrors, and war is certainly one of the most dreadful precursors and instigators of horror. One of the most negative impacts war has on children is how it makes them forced to displace and makes their families broken.

This story deals with such a child, displaced from his homeland to a foreign country with rules and customs unfamiliar to him, estranged from his mother, never really accepted in this new environment. And how this fear of displacement never really leaves him.

The story is very simplistic and not very original, yet it is also poignant due to the time we currently live in. Everyone deserves their story to be told and everyone deserves second chances.

I will give this 3 out of 5 stars, simply because I expected more.

New Book Review - Preaching to the Choir by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - Preaching to the Choir

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Series - Terrible Worlds: Transformations 

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

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

It seems Tchaikovsky can write in any genre, as this time he tries his hand in writing horror and provides yet another short yet impactful and enjoyable novella. This one has touches of fantasy, gothic and body horror immersed in a fast paced story with bits of real world tidbits to keep the readers googling stuff.

The story follows our protagonist Elena Mendes as she travels with her boyfriend Ross Enderbough to his family mansion Enderby for a rather very special occasion, where she meets with the suspicious and mysterious family members, soon discovers their creepy traditions and witnesses some horrific family secrets.

Compared to other books by the author this one is quite lacking in humor, much more descriptive and atmospheric and there is also rather a distinct lack of plot twists. But despite being predictable at times, it's the prose and execution that made this one such an enjoyable read.

Like most of Tchaikovsky's work, the pages seem to file away, as I kept thinking of just another chapter before other stuff and found out that I'm almost. In these day and age of everyone being so damn busy, and huge and daunting books flooding the market, short and precise reads like this continue to deliver a short breather.

This one gets a spooky 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Lorgar: Bearer of the Word - Gav Thorpe

Book - Lorgar: Bearer of the Word

Writer - Gav Thorpe 

Series - Horus Heresy: Primarchs #5

Narrator - Jonathan Keeble

Publisher - Games Workshop / Black Library 

There are times when you know beforehand that the book you are picking up is bound to be a bleak and gut-wrenching experience, but you still do read it because you want to observe the execution and the lore. If you are into Horus Heresy you know about the tragic story of Lorgars upbringing from various internet resources, but it will surely be quite difficult to give up experiencing it as a Black Library novel.

Most of the story of 'Bearer of the Word' takes place during Lorgar's younger years, told from the viewpoints of Kor Phaeron and one of his slaves Nairo, as they view the superhuman charisma of Lorgar while trying to manipulate him for their own purposes.

The harsh upbringing of Lorgar is explained through glimpses of his foundation into the religious doctrines of the dry world of Colchis. The geography and broader religion of this world are also explored somewhat during the telling of his story and action takes a backseat as the author focuses more on telling us why and how Lorgar became one of the most important precursors in the design of chaos to bring about the heresy.

None of the characters presented here are likeable, having little redeemable qualities and all vigorously attempting to use Lorgar to promote their own agenda. Kor Phaeron is a despicable father figure and always scheming behind his adoptive sons back for his own vested interests. Even faced with the inevitable coming of the Emperor, he keeps thinking of ways to reestablish his old religion rather than progress into the ways of the empire.

Lorgar himself is a character having multiple layers despite seeming too gullible and innocent at first. I would have really liked it if the author had explored further upon his psyche. I would have loved a chapter detailing the Emperor's arrival and how Kor Phaeron and Lorgar perceived it. And despite everything due to the subject, the audiobook seemed like a hard listen due to mental and physical tortures and other unwholesome aspects of the story.

The narration by Jonathan Keeble was simply sublime and added much to the atmosphere and psyche of the characters and made some of the slog through the harder bits of the prose bearable.

This gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me, and I would definitely like a sequel of sorts detailing further exploration into the early days of the Word Bearers, as I am a fan of them as a Legion (sure as hell I am a minority here).

Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature, edited by Becky Spratford

Name - Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature

Editor - Becky Spratford

Writer - Various 

Introduced by - Sadie Hartmann

Published By - S&S/Saga Press

I'll start with a bit of introspection, regarding my realization of my own appreciation of horror as a genre. As a child, I used to be very afraid of anything remotely to do with horror. I remember going to sleep early to avoid watching X-files with my older siblings; as a matter of fact, even the opening score was enough to scare me.

But as I got older and slowly fell in love with fantasy and science fiction, I gradually entered the world of horror in all its forms and variations, and began to understand that it has the ability to transform into anything and can also influence almost every other genre, creating remarkable fusion and falling in love with it quite inevitably.

This collection of essays deals with very interesting and enjoyable experiences of some famous names in horror writing, and mostly tells us their tales of growing up and falling in love with the genre, as many of us did all over the world.

The writing is often uneven and varied as is the nature of such a collection, but almost all the pieces are deeply emotional and thought provoking, and will surely leave the readers also reminiscing their own stories.

The editor did a brilliant job of selecting the authors and arranging the essays, making this a perfect experience for horror fans.

This gets 5 stars out of 5 from this nostalgic horror fan.