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.

New Book Review - King Sorrow

Name - King Sorrow

Written by - Joe Hill

Narrated by - Ari Fliakos and multiple other voice actors

Published by - William Morrow / Headline 

Audiobook by - William Morrow 

To review a book like 'King Sorrow' is quite difficult, as there is little left to be said about such a much talked about book, and it's still even more difficult comparing it with all the hype that it created as one of the best books of the year. But thankfully, it does deliver on its promises while also having a few minor issues keeping it from archiving perfection.

This is my first read of Joe Hill, and boy can he spin a great tale? Although he did remind me a bit about his father, he created his own unique sense in creating his characters and an epic take spanning a lot of time in their life. The horror elements were among the best parts of the book keeping the readers guessing if the nightmare will ever end.

The most fascinating thing about the book is the characters, who are fleshed so brilliantly, with their unique traits making them feel so relatable despite often not being lovable. Hill kept us guessing at who might or might not survive till the end and ending provided quite an emotional closure to this charismatic cast.

The novel was a hefty one, almost 900 pages in length (26+ hours for me as I listened to the audiobook), could have been easily crafted into a series with its multiple stories at different times in the life of characters doing the unintentional bidding of the King. The whole setting is not explained in detail, keeping a sense of mystery regarding the supernatural element of the book, and the bits of humor dispersed were quite charming.

I have to suggest the reader to try to listen to the audiobook, as the voice acting and sound effects made it that much more visceral, almost making me feel like the dread of facing the dragon at times and being part of the unlucky group of friends.

My little complaints are regarding the slow start and the author not bothering with trimming a bit of the fat, making the experience more streamlined and fast-paced.

In the end, I will give this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

New Book Review - The Hunger by Marsheila Rockwell

Name - The Hunger 

Series - Marvel Zombies 

Written by - Marsheila Rockwell 

Published by - Aconyte Books 

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

This certainly had the potential to be a very enjoyable book, with an interesting premise and some promising characters used. But ultimately too much banter and using Deadpool without focusing on his strengths made this one good while yet lasted but almost instantly forgettable upon finishing the reading.

This one deals with the patchwork team of Sanctum Sanctorum librarian, Zelma Stanton, witch Nico Minoru, monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone, and Deadpool coming up with a convoluted plan and trying their best to stop the zombie menace. The characters on offer were quite a well thought out team representing some lesser known Marvel heroines, and throwing in Deadpool had a certain sort of risk. 

The main issue with the book for me was the handling of Deadpool, making it seem like  he was only included for his popularity and used rather half-heartedly. There is also a bit too much banter for my liking and while the prose was a breeze to read I kept wondering when the action would begin.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read but nothing happens that leaves an impression and seemed like the whole excursion by the characters was rather pointless by the end.

3 out of 5 stars from me.

Hashtags - #Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #Review

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2023 MARVEL

Retro Book Review - Hell Hound by Ken Greenhall

Name - Hell Hound 

Written by - Ken Greenhall 

Published by - Valancourt Books 

I never would've even known about this book if I hadn't read about it in 'Paperbacks from Hell's by Grady Hendrix and '101 Horror Books To Read Before You're Murdered' by Sadie Hartmann, so I'll begin with thanking these two great connoisseurs of great horror fiction.

This book is a weird little piece of vintage horror from the late 70's. It has a brilliant mixture of psychological horror interspersed with unusually written creature feature with some soothing yet quite crisp and often frightening prose. His descriptions and dialogue create a sense of unease making the readers think more than comfortable while keeping them interested in what is to come next.

The characters are far from one dimensional and the multiple viewpoints bring that much more depth into the overall experience and sense of unease. I especially loved getting into the mind of Baxter and wished we could get more chapters from his perspective.

The small little twists and unusual actions of the characters kept me entertained till the last chapter and I will most definitely read more from this author in the future.

I will give this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Graphic Novel Review - The Fables of Erlking Wood

Name: The Fables of Erlking Wood 

Published by: Goats Flying Press

Writer & Artist: Juni Ba

Letterer: Aditya Bidikar

A rather unorthodox piece of modern-influenced folk tale incorporating a healthy dose of humor, sadness, and charm with beautiful design and artwork. That is how I can describe in one sentence this delightful little graphic novel that came literally out of nowhere to hit me in the feels reminding me a bit about my own lonely childhood.

This one is presented as a collection of fables and tales focused on the Erlking Wood of the title, the small bits then coming together in the overarching story of the main characters while creating an atmosphere of magically charged longing and contentment at the same time.

These characters despite being a mixture of animals, humans, and demigods are all quite emotional and relatable, and the author makes the reader care for their journeys of self-discovery and attempts at redemption. 

The art is just a joy to look at, giving another extra dose of magic into the overall mix. The changes in style are quite a unique experience, creating a different realm for the reader to explore.

A delightful read, gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.

New Metal Review - "Outward Streams of Devotional Woe" by Unsouling

Album Name - Outward Streams of Devotional Woe

Band Name - Unsouling 

Genre - Experimental Black /Death Metal

Label - I, Voidhanger Records 

Release Date - October 3, 2025

Line Up -

  A.S. - All Instruments and Vocals

I am always a bit sceptical about one man projects, because while there are quite a few brilliant genre defining stuff like Bathory, Burzum, Leviathan etc there are also countless mediocre and bland stuff. It is really hard to invigorate with real and emotional instrumentations rather than relying on programmed bits and uninspired copycat performances. But despite my reservations, I finally decided to go with it due to the short length of the album.

The album opens with 'Immaterial Entrance', a rather straight forward eerie black metal track, which gives a chilling wintry vibe immediately hitting listeners with an unhealthy dose of anguish and grief. From the get-go the album never transcends the sense of overwhelming icy hopelessness, rather embracing it and trying to mold the musical experiment with other forms of extreme metal.

There is a bit of doom metal depth, some crushing OSDM styled riffs, and even a dose of post metal shenanigans. The feeling often gets angrier with some growls and heavy drumming, but eventually always returns with a sense of foreboding and dreadfully nuanced emotionally charged blackened depth. The melodic bits interspersed between tracks and two minutes long instrumental song do provide a welcome distraction and create a distinguished sense of impending disaster.

The vocals are mostly harsh and often buried beyond the music, but overall create a sense of being part of the background. I rather liked the cleaner bits on offer on 'Your Momentary Passing' and 'To Come Unbound', and would have liked if there were more of such pieces throughout. The drumming seems to be live rather than programmed which is always a bonus point in my book.

My main problem with the album is that it never really delivers on the promise it often eludes. There is not enough experimentation; despite the genre blending, it never reaches the stage of something never done before. The vocals are not distinguished enough, and the overall experience seems too short. Hopefully, the next outing of this project will address these shortcomings.

Overall Score -

                         7.5 out of 10.

For more info check out the bands official Bandcamp page and their metal-archives page -

https://unsouling.bandcamp.com/

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Unsouling/3540538398   

Weekend Shorts - Let's Go to the Zoo by Louis Evans review

Name - Let's Go to the Zoo

Written by - Louis Evans 

Ilustrated by - Scott Bakal

Edited by - Mal Frazier

Published by - Tor.com 

It's been a while since I read a short story, so I wanted to get restarted through something short, weird, and thought-provoking. This one fits the bill quite nicely with an added dose of psychological nuance thrown in deepening the atmosphere.

The story is told in first person, detailing a couples visit to the Zoo, without spoiling anything further I can just add that actually they are visiting to see something specific, which on the surface level might seem simple yet through small and thoughtful expositions turn out to be not so ordinary.

The prose is a bit unorthodox and gives the short story an extra edge at times, making me re-read sentences just to glimpse into any hidden bits on offer.

Despite being so minimal, this was quite refreshing, 4 out of 5 stars from me.