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One Book Interview #35 – Kevin Kennedy (Author)

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Interview #35 holds the record for the quickest turn around to date.

Within 12 hours of the author kindly agreeing to be featured on the One Book Interview, I had the answers back. I thought it only right to put out the interview within another 12 hours.

You should read it, it’s a good one.

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Scotland in the UK (well, it is at the moment…) – Kevin Kennedy.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland by Carlton Mellick III. I have probably read thirty or more books by Mellick. This was one of the first and the main reason I started to appreciate the Bizarro sub genre. There are so many great ideas in this book and Mellick’s style is a pleasure to read. It’s almost like having a bedtime story read to you when you were little, except the stories are absolutely mental, and often look at real issues in a very interesting way. I really enjoyed this one and while I could spend all day listing books like Swan Song and other fan faves, I feel this book deserves more credit than it gets.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Okay, so I said in the last post I wasn’t going to mention books like Swan Song. I lied. If you only had one book, which if we are honest, isn’t a plausible way to exist, it would need to be a pretty big book. Especially if you were going to re-read it, which is something I very rarely do. I think Swan Song and The Stand uncut version are the two longest books I’ve read. Although a lot of people may disagree, for me Swan Song was a far superior story and had a lot more going on in it. Post-apocalyptic fiction is one of my favourite sub-genres so there is a good chance I’d go with this one. It is definitely one of the best books I have ever read. It could be an idea to take something I haven’t read but if it turned out to be crap or written in a style I didn’t enjoy I’d be raging lol.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

City Infernal by Edward Lee. I started reading adult horror books when I was fifteen. I fell in love with Richard Laymons work and I read my way through everything he had written. When I finished all his books I tried another few authors and wasn’t impressed and just stopped reading. A few years later I found the old Richard Laymon message board and was recommended another few books and authors. The first four I bought were City Infernal by Ed Lee, Offseason by Jack Ketchum, Live Girls by Ray Garton and The Rising by Brian Keene. The suggestions were excellent. I loved them all but the world that Ed Lee builds in City Infernal was something else. It was entirely different from the type of horror Laymon wrote, and while I loved his style I also enjoyed Ed Lee’s style. I think it’s a book everyone should read. A lot of people talk about Edward Lee’s extreme horror and I love that too but this book is a tremendous story and not as hardcore as a lot of his other stuff.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

You Only Get One Shot: A Horror Novella that I co-wrote with J.C. Michael. It’s the longest piece I’ve written by quite a bit and it’s also the most time I’ve invested in the one piece of work. We changed things several times along the way and it’s good to have someone to bounce ideas off of. I think we both found it pretty easy to work together which helped and by the end up I think we have a pretty great story. The feedback has been excellent from readers and authors alike. J.C. also wrote a short prequel to the novella in Collected Halloween Horror Shorts.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Darkness Tell Us by Richard Laymon. It’s the book that started me reading adult fiction. I read Point Horror books when I was young and then fell away from it. I hadn’t read in years, then we got told we had to write an essay for English class when I was fifteen. I left it to last minute and then grabbed this book for 10p at a jumble-sale just because it had a Ouija board on the cover. I then realized the book was about six hundred pages and I think I had three days to read it and write the paper. It should have been an almost impossible task but I think I read about three hundred pages the first night. It was absolutely riveting. The story totally sucked me in and I only put the book down because I needed to get a few hours sleep. After this I read Island and continued on from there.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Probably Funland by Laymon. I don’t want to make it all about Laymon but sometimes when I’m thinking of new ideas and I think about the type of story that I enjoy reading, I think of Funland, as I really like stuff involving carnivals, boardwalks or piers with rides and stalls and circus stuff. Something about the whole carnie vibe works well with horror. Funland was among my favourite Laymon books, and ever since reading it, I’ve always looked for stories in that vein. The most recent story I have written, Halloweenland, featured in my new Halloween antho, is about a special kind of traveling carnival that sets up on a pier, funnily enough. It is completely different from Funland in every way but I think it definitely influenced my taste in horror and that translates into the stories I write.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

You Only Get One Shot: A Horror Novella, is the only work I have out that isn’t part of an anthology but I do put together the Collected Horror Shorts series, which has received some amazing praise. I have stories in each of the anthos and we have a fantastic mix of upcoming indie authors and some of horror genres top sellers. You can now pick up Christmas, Easter and Halloween editions.

 

You can find Kevin at: www.kevinjkennedy.co.uk

Kevin J Kennedy is the co-author of You Only Get One Shot, and the man behind the best-selling Collected Christmas Horror Shorts & Collected Easter Horror Shorts anthologies. His short stories have featured in many other notable anthologies in the horror genre.

Kevin lives in a small town in Scotland with his wife, step daughter and two strange little cats.

Keep up to date with new releases or contact Kevin through his website: www.kevinjkennedy.co.uk

 

 

Please note I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon sites.

 

One Book Interview #31 – Duncan Bradshaw (Author)

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We’re up to Interview #31 and I have absolutely no idea how to introduce this week’s author.

Go read his bio at the bottom of this page or on his website.

Go on.

I’ll wait.

Back already?

See what I mean?

How do you introduce someone who can’t even introduce himself? (Hi, Dunk, you’re not really reading this are you?)

If, however, you’ve been too lazy to click on a few links, I’ll leave you with this, from the self-professed ‘loon’ himself.

“It’s taken me a long time in my life to pull my finger out and do something that I enjoy, to most people, myself included, work is a chore. Writing helps me get through that by giving me a shining beacon to keep me going. Whatever that beacon is in your life, follow it, embrace it and make the most of it. Life is too fucking short, don’t have regrets, just do it.”

That’s not crazy. That’s utter sanity.

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Chippenham, Wiltshire (UK)  – Duncan Bradshaw

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

There are a number of books that lay to the claim of ‘stone cold classics’, and I agree with a number of them. Personally, I’d say that everyone has to read 1984 by George Orwell, without a shadow of a doubt. Yes, there are parts in the final third which feel a bit superfluous to the modern reader, but as a work of fiction, it is near peerless. With recent events, this, and a number of other dystopian books have been pimped out again, whilst they (Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, Handmaid’s Tale, A Brave New World etc) are excellent reads, 1984 surpasses them all.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

I’d take House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski with me. This would be a bit of a bold move on one main fundamental issue. I haven’t actually read it. I bought it a few years back following a recommendation by a friend. It has sat, nestled within my TBR pile since that fateful day. As other books have been picked up and devoured before it, still it looks out at me, hoping for the day when its turn will come. Being marooned on a distant planet, where time and the sheer size of this weighty tome are no longer considerations, I’d finally be able to read it. I just hope that I enjoy it, else it’s going to be a loooonnngggg time on the red planet.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Got to go with Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. You know those books where you hear people go on about, even those who you don’t know that well, and you feel inclined to pick it up, just so you know what they’re banging on about? That was Ready Player One. I snagged it in Southcart Books, in Walsall, when I was doing a reading, with the intention of slinging it on the TBR pile, and getting to it at some point, (a la House of Leaves). I ended up starting it a few days later and was completely and utterly hooked. Not quite knowing what to expect, as I got more into it, I realised that this book is aimed squarely at me and my generation. So many references in there, so many favourite games and popular culture references, I loved it. I passed it to my brother who approached it with similar expectations, and he loved it too. It’s a winner.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

My personal favourite is, heXagram. It’s six stories, set across five hundred years of human history, charting the dissemination of an ancient Inca ritual. It is fundamentally an action/horror book, based on the adage ‘we are all made of stars’. What if it could be harvested? How can knowledge, partial or complete, be twisted to fit different people’s views or hopes? It tracks this information as different people come into contact with it, and seek to use it to their own ends, visiting the American Civil War, the Whitechapel murders, a suicide cult in the eighties, up until the modern day. For me, it was the most serious thing I’d written, using different styles to create a patchwork quilt of a narrative, all wrapped up in an epic overarching story. Sounds pretentious huh? It certainly isn’t and has definitely been my ‘marmite’ book, but to me, it is my absolute stonewall favourite.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

When I was halfway through college, we moved 40 odd miles down the road, which meant that I had to get the train to study. This gave me vast parts of the day with time to kill. There is only so much bowling and arcade games that you could play, so I decided to work my way through my mum’s bookshelf. I ignored the Stephen King, and headed straight for the Russian literature, mainly Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich stood out a mile. The struggles of getting through one day, alive, and somehow surviving, knowing that the next day would be the exact same situation all over again, gripped me. History has always interested me, but learning about things which governments tried to bury and suppress, trying to silence the victims and the survivors, left a profound effect on me. Though I later read the likes of Primo Levi, it was always One Day In The Life…that left an indelible mark.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

I’ve never been a fan of authors giving tips on writing, it just seems a bit silly. What works for me, is anathema to someone else, and downright crazy for the next person. I think the book that gave me the confidence to write what I wanted was Vinyl Destination, by Adam Millard. If you’re not familiar with his work, you really are missing out. Vinyl Destination is a simple premise, but pushes the silliness envelope into overdrive. I was on holiday when I read it, and the amount of times I laughed out loud and got odd looks from people was high. When I finished it, I thought if he can do it, why can’t I? Not in the same way, that’s impossible, but it showed me that I shouldn’t be limited in my ambition. Most of my ideas are a little odd, and as I don’t plan what I write, even mundane scenes end up veering off into weird territory. This book took off my mental shackles, and allowed me to be the writer that I want to be, not what I think I should be, and that’s a helluva big deal.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

I’m mostly known for two things, zombies and silliness. This is encapsulated perfectly in my zombie short story collection, CHUMP. Nine stories on the undead, each one is very different from the others. There is one set in the Wild West, another gives an alternative reason as to why the Eastern Bloc boycotted the 1984 Olympics. There is even a story featuring zombie fish! In the midst of it all, is a novella length story, and a serious one at that, which follows a courier living in the apocalyptic wilds. It’s passe, but there really is something for everyone in it, even if you’re not that fond of zombies. It is a true mix of styles, and was even nominated for a Saboteur Award at the beginning of 2017. Which was nice.

You can find Duncan at: www.duncanpbradshaw.co.uk

Give me a D! D. Give me a U! U. Give me an N! N. Okay, so this wasn’t the best idea was it? If you hadn’t guessed already, Duncan P. Bradshaw (spell out the letters in your head if you want), was a cheerleader in a previous life. Many was the day spent practicing his moves on windswept playing fields, and nursing twisted ankles after nasty spills on wooden gym floors. When he was murdered brutally by renowned serial killer, Ed Turpin, aka The Broom-handle Basher, he was reincarnated and, sometime later, the memories of his hideous demise came flooding back. Day and night he was wracked with visions of his final moments, and other things, other lives, other futures. GASP! So, to try and make sense of it all, he began to write them all down, hoping that he can bring enough words into existence that he might be able to form them into a broom-handle of his own, find Ed Turpin, and HAVE HIS REVENGE! Please help him, by reading his books, or by leaving out snacks on your porch. He mostly likes tea (milk, one sugar) and biscuits.

 

 

Please note I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon sites.

 

One Book Interview #28 – Steve Van Samson (Author)

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This week’s author is a man after my own heart – mixing genres such as horror, dystopian, dark fantasy and adventure. A man who believes that:

‘character is king and there should always be little seeds planted between lines, that the reader will only discover in subsequent readings’.

Except for the vampires. He has vampires in his stories.

(And a pet dragon at home.)

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Lancaster, Massachusetts – Steve Van Samson.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

The Shining by Stephen King. I think it might be fair to say that at this point, more people are familiar with the film, than the novel. Even though both stand as legitimately fascinating characters, it’s a little shocking how little book-Jack has in common with movie-Jack. In fact, King’s Torrances are written so intricately, so staggeringly human, we are left with no recourse other than to fall madly in love with them. That’s why I believe that all fans of Kubrick’s “The Shining”, owe it to themselves to check out the original novel.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Mars is a hike–why take just one story? The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard is literally my favorite compilation, ever. The tales range from werewolves, to sea curses, to explorations of Howard’s bottomless interest in the ancestral roots of men. Included are some of Howard’s best works including two of my favorites: Pigeons From Hell, and Worms of the Earth. Though the writer is best remembered for creating Conan the Barbarian (and with him, that sub-division of the fantasy genre known as “Sword and Sorcery”), this collection reveals at least one more genre we can thank him for, “The Weird Western”. What’s more, the book also features numerous stunning black and white illustrations by Judge Dredd artist Greg Staples, as well as a fascinating introduction by editor Rusty Burke. That should keep me busy on Mars for a while, I reckon.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman. First let me state that Gaiman is (skill and style wise) probably my favorite writer of all time. His prose is so expertly crafted, so brimming with restrained wit–as I read, I constantly feel like I’m being winked at. That said, I do not necessarily adore every single thing the man does. As it happened, my wife had urged me to read TOATEOTL for a while, almost a year. And truthfully, I don’t know what my problem was. I think the title evoked something that didn’t interest me. Maybe I thought it was going to be too childish, or a sap-fest. Not sure anymore. Long story short–when I finally read the thing, I found myself immediately whisked away on a magical coming of age story unlike any other. By the end, my butt was sore from all the kicking I did (you know, for not reading the darn thing sooner).

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

I’m still pretty knew at this whole being published thing, so I’ll choose the last book I finished (which will be released this fall). The book is called Marrow Dust and it is the second in my Predator World series. As with its predecessor, Marrow Dust is set in Africa and deals with the business of survival, some decades after a vampire apocalypse. I had never written a sequel before and crafting a story that felt not only worthy of telling but necessary, wasn’t easy. I’m definitely proud as heck of the thing, and of my tough as nails, female protagonist, Mirèlha Nanji.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Oh boy–this is a tough one since I generally read fluff and nonsense. The hell with it, why fight the tide? Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry. That one holds a very special place in my heart. When I was a tot, my mother instilled in me, a great love of books. We read nearly every night, just as I now read to my own daughter. That said, as time went on, books were replaced by Nintendo and then the far more majestic Super Nintendo–and though it pains me to admit it, at the age of 17, I had never read a novel I wasn’t “forced to, for school”. Fortunately, that all changed with Shadows of the Empire. It was the one book, I couldn’t not read. Billed as the lost Star Wars film, the story fit between Empire and Jedi. And if that wasn’t enough, the novel was only one part of a three pronged Lucasfilm multimedia assault! Prongs two and three were a series of comic books, and a video game for the N64, respectively. All bore the title of Shadows of the Empire and I had to have them. All of them. What was so great about this marketing strategy was this–you couldn’t get the whole story without consuming all of the separate media. The stories were not redundant adaptations of one another, but rather separate tales that intertwined into one massive whole. There were plenty of familiar faces to get excited about, but also new ones like Han Solo’s slightly scruffier pal, Dash Rendar. Best of all though was the villain of the piece, Prince Xixor of the Black Sun crime organization. An evil man, by all accounts, but one who reserved his true hatred for one, Darth Vader. Despite being only 385 pages, this book proved that reading a novel for pleasure was something I was capable of–and as silly as it sounds, when I finished, I was pretty stinking proud of myself.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Hands down, the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Reading these books taught me so much about the sort of writer I wanted to be. They proved that the relationship between reader and writer is a tenuous thing. That sometimes, to be a really great writer, one must first become a tyrant. Manipulating not only their characters, but the hearts of those who read. I definitely don’t agree with everything Martin does (there really is only so much chin grease one logically needs to describe), but he has a way of playing his audience like few others can. Beyond the merits of an unexpected death, he has also shown me the value in creating a character that we will have no choice but to despise… only to then spend the next two books turning our hearts on the subject. When done properly, it’s a heck of a thing.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

The Bone Eater King is my first published novel. The book was inspired by the Robert E. Howard story The Hills Of The Dead which featuring Howard’s famed monster fighting puritan, Solomon Kane. As with THOTD, I decided to set my vampire story in Africa–far away from the typical settings of some modern city or Victorian Europe. With The Bone Eater King I strove to create a pulpy and thoroughly unique adventure tale with horror elements, told from the perspective of an amnesiac. Someone who begins the story in the middle of a pitch dark savanna, unsure who he is or what the dozens of sinister eyes which now surround him, belong to. The book will be released for Kindle on Aug. 21st and then in paperback on Sept. 25th.

You can find Steve at: www.shatteredscribblings.com

Author of the forthcoming pulpy horror/adventure books “The Bone Eater King” and its sequel “Marrow Dust”, Steve is an artist, graphic designer and dad by trade, but also a part time pod-caster, wannabe rock star and a great lover of all things GEEK.

 

 

 

Please note I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon sites.

One Book Interview #22 – Rachael Dixon (Author)

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This week the One Book Interview brings you a life-long horror enthusiast writing out of the Northeast of England. (Somewhere near Winterfell, I think.)

A writer who “enjoys exploring the darknesses and weaknesses within the human psyche,” Rachael enjoys reading works by Shirley Jackson, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Joe Hill, Susan Hill, Ramsey Bolton Campbell (Two ASOIAF jokes in as many paragraphs. I’m on a roll!), Stephen King (AKA The Man) and George R. R. Martin.

Good people of the Internet, the horror author that is Rachael Dixon.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Stoker manages to stoke the imagination of the reader with a classic tale that’s filled with fear, hope, love, lust, dread and vampires. Need I say more?

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. It’s a very short book, but it’s quirky, funny and disturbing in equal measure. I doubt I’d ever get bored of reading it. The main character, Merricat, is as mad as a box of frogs, so I reckon she’d be wonderful company to have with me on Mars.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin. Usually I don’t read epic fantasy, but wow this really paid off. So much so I went on to devour the rest of the A Song of Ice & Fire books and can’t wait till the next one is out!

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

My latest novel, A Storytelling of Ravens. I had a lot of fun writing it and I think this really shows. I took the idea of four people being stranded in a cabin in the woods and let it run in all directions. The story has an immediate energy and doesn’t let up till the last page.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Fluke by James Herbert. I read it when I was about ten, when I was craving more than just children’s books. It inspired me greatly and gave me a thirst for the horror genre. I knew as soon as I’d finished reading it that that was what I wanted to do with my life: write horror fiction.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Again, going back to Shirley Jackson: The Haunting of Hill House. Jackson writes the kind of horror that I prefer. Very character driven, psychological stuff. The anthropomorphism associated with Hill House and the ambivalent nature of Eleanor, the main character, makes the story very subjective and personal to the reader. As in, the reader can take from it what they will.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

Emergence, my debut horror novel. It’s the story of a young widower who has to look to his ambiguous past in order to save his little girl from an unknown evil. It’s based in my hometown in the northeast of England, and this, I think, lends the story a certain grittiness and dose of believability.

You can find Rachael at: www.rhdixon.com

H. Dixon is a horror enthusiast who, when not escaping into the fantastical realms of fiction, lives in the northeast of England with her husband and two whippets.

When reading and writing she enjoys exploring the darknesses and weaknesses within the human psyche, and she loves good strong characters that are flawed and put through their paces.

When not reading and writing she enjoys travelling (particularly wildlife-spotting jaunts involving bears, wolves and corvids), painting and drawing pet portraits, collecting animal skulls to put on her bookcases and drinking honey-flavoured Jack Daniels.

 

 

One Book Interview #21 – Israel Finn (Author)

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After a hiatus of a couple of weeks, a few book reviews and other such literary shenanigans, the One Book Interview is back in its regular slot (and a few of our old favourites are back in the book choices).

This week, I’m very happy to have a factory worker, a delivery driver, a singer/songwriter, a sailor, and various other professionals all hiding in the past of a storyteller writing out of southern California.

Good people of the Internet, the horror author that is Israel Finn.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. It’s poignant, philosophical, entertaining, and still highly relevant in this day and age. If more people were to look out through the eyes of that wonderful young girl, perhaps some of the hatred might subside in the world.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

The Martian by Andy Weir. Duh!

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Bird Box by Josh Malerman. Josh was relatively unknown as an author when the novel came out but I’d heard good things. I found out before I read it that he was the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, The High Strung, so I was even more intrigued. After reading it, he immediately became one of my favorite authors as well. Bird Box is a fresh, original horror story that filled me full of dread and kept me feverishly turning pages until the end. It’s one of the best horror novels out there.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

My collection of dark fiction, Dreaming At the Top of My Lungs. I’ve written others, but it’s the first one I felt was worthy of being published. And I’d say I made the right decision, because it’s been very well received. And several of the stories in the book are near and dear to my heart, as they’ve become with many of my readers.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Again, I’d have to say Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, and for the reasons I mentioned before.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Okay, I’m going to bend the rules here and mention two books. On the art side of things, I’ll say The Stand by Stephen King. I’d been writing off and on for years before I read it, but that novel helped me to find my own voice as a writer. On the craft side, I’ve got to go with something I read recently called Thrill Me: Essays On Fiction by Benjamin Percy. I’ve read a ton of books on writing, many of which were wonderful. But Percy’s book is the best I’ve ever read. He puts things across in such a concise, down-to-earth way that you can’t help but have your eyes opened to the hows and whys of fiction writing.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

Dreaming At the Top of My Lungs, which (so far) is my only release. Here’s a nifty little link that includes several retailers:

You can find Isreal at: www.israelfinn.com

Israel Finn is a horror, dark fantasy, and speculative fiction writer, and a winner of the 80th Annual Writer’s Digest Short Story Competition.

He’s had a life-long love affair with books, and was weaned on authors such as Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Arthur C. Clarke and H.G. Wells. Books were always strewn everywhere about the big white house in the Midwest where he grew up.

Later, he discovered Robert McCammon, Dean Koontz, F. Paul Wilson, Dan Simmons, Ramsey Campbell, and Stephen King, as well as several others, and the die was indelibly cast.

 

 

 

 

 

A Review of Hell Cat of the Holt by Mark Cassell

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I said that I had more book reviews in the pipeline, and here’s the next – Mark Cassell’s novella Hell Cat of the Holt.

Let’s get the disclaimers out of the way:

1 – I received a free copy of the book. Since finishing it, I’ve bought a copy. (As I’ve mentioned before, we need to support the arts – musicians, authors, artists and so on. If you don’t, they won’t be many of us left before long.)

2 – Confessions of a Reviewer who are organising this for Jason are also organising a promo tour for my latest book.

3 – I am a ‘friend’ of Mark on social media, despite having never met or spoken to him. (Odd how this is now ‘normal’.)

None of those have influenced my review and what follows is an honest opinion.

So, before we get to the review, what’s it about?

Shy accountant Anne returns to the village of Mabley Holt to piece together her life after a family tragedy. When her cat vanishes, and a neighbour claims to speak with his dead wife, she soon learns there’s more to the village than any resident dares admit. In search of her beloved pet, she discovers not only family secrets but also revelations of a local legend.

The verdict?

It’s great. Buy it. Now.

The novella actually struck me as two stories in one. The first part of the book is able to stand alone as a short story. This section really stood out for me. It’s tight and punchy and has a great twist. The beauty of the twist was that I knew something was coming, but didn’t spot it until it hit. When I reread it, I could see the hints that led up to the climax.

The rest of the novella builds on this back story. It’s fast-paced and creepy. It’s got demons, supernatural beasts, blood, gore, guts and enough unsettling sections for most readers interested in dark fiction/ horror. The characters are believable. The plot’s well thought out and has some unexpected turns that keep it interesting.

I like the way the author weaves in characters and cameos from the rest of his work. I appreciate this style of writing isn’t to everyone’s tastes, but I enjoy spotting the references and connections. It’s cleverly done and not obtrusive.

Downsides? It gets a little too descriptive in places, in particular towards the end. I’d have preferred sparser prose and maybe a little more dialogue to keep the pace quicker as the story builds to its conclusion. (As much of a conclusion as you get in an ever-expanding world of stories.)

The more of the stories you’ve read in the author’s Shadow Fabric Mythos, the more you’ll get out of this novella. That being said, this book works perfectly well as a stand alone novella and serves as a good introduction to his work. Plus, you also get a bonus short story at the end that provides further background to the Hell Cat story.

Highly Recommended.

Five stars.

Now go buy it.

if you’re interested in reading the words behind the words, i.e. what Mark reads when he’s not writing, you can check out his interview below.

One Book Interview #20 – Mark Cassell (Author)