Scott M. Baker (author)

Review of Dead of Night

2012-02-07T22:09:00.000-05:00

Title: Dead of Night

Author: Jonathan Maberry

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Date: 2011

Pages: 357

Blurb:

A prison doctor injects a condemned serial killer with a formula designed to keep his consciousness awake while his body rots in the grave. But all drugs have unforeseen side effects. Before he can be buried, the killer wakes up. Hungry. Infected. Contagious. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang… but with a bite.

I’ve been a fan of Jonathon Maberry ever since reading Patient Zero, his breakout zombie novel. A lot of novels that make it to the bestsellers list often don’t deserve the accolades they receive. This was not the case with Patient Zero. Maberry did a masterful job in melding the zombie, suspense, and biomedical thriller genres. It was one of the most entertaining zombie novels I’ve read.

Now I can add Dead of Night to that list.

Desdemonda (Dez) Fox and JT Hammond, two officers with the Stebbins County, Pennsylvania police force, respond to a possible break-in at Hartnup’s Transition Estate (i.e. funeral home). Arriving at the scene, they find the place a bloody shambles and discover the ravaged corpses of Dr. Hartnup and Olga, the Russian cleaning lady. As they wait for back-up, Olga comes back to life and viciously attacks Dez, forcing Dez to take down the cleaning lady with three shots to the head from her Magnum. When back-up finally does arrive, the two officers are unable to explain why such excessive force was necessary against a civilian or how they lost the body of Dr. Hartnup (who had also come back to life during Olga’s attack and shuffled off into the countryside). The chief sends them away to write a report that makes sense while he and the rest of the Stebbins County police force begin searching the woods for the missing doctor. For Dez and JT, it is a fortunate turn of events because they avoid becoming human fodder for the zombie outbreak.

However, with most of their comrades now amongst the horde of living dead, Dez and JT must single-handedly stop the apocalypse from engulfing their town before federal authorities sterilize the county to contain the spread of the infection.

Where Dead of Night truly stands out among other zombie apocalypse novels is in the subplot detailing how the outbreak started. [Spoiler alert] Billy Trout, a local reporter for Regional Satellite News (and Dez’ former lover), gets wind that Homer Gibbons, a notoriously vicious serial killer who was just executed that morning by lethal injection, had a distant relative in Stebbins County. Sensing a sensationalist story that might make him an overnight success, Billy contacts Henry Volcker, the prison physician who oversaw the execution. Volcker relates how he wanted Gibbons to truly suffer for his crimes, so along with the lethal injection he included a formula that would revive Gibbons several hours after his death as a sentient zombie, allowing him to be fully aware of his surroundings as he slowly rotted away inside his coffin. Gibbons was supposed to be buried immediately after his execution since he supposedly had no next of kin, which meant no one other than Volcker and Gibbons would ever have been the wiser. However, Gibbob;s Aunt Selma came forward at the last minute to claim Gibbon’s body and give it a proper funeral, which meant the corpse was unexpectedly sent to Hartnup’s Transition Estate. It was while on the mortician’s table that Gibbons came back to life and became patient zero of the zombie outbreak. [End spoiler alert]

Dead of Night reminded me of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead on meth. The novel takes place in the course of one night, which keeps the action fast-paced. Once the first zombie rises from the dead, the intensity does not let up until the final page of the novel. My only criticism with the story is that the final confrontation with the living dead is somewhat anti-climatic as compared to the proceeding three hundred pages, with Maberry instead going for an emotional punch to the gut. However, it’s a minor criticism and in no way detracts from the overall quality of the story.

As with Patient Zero, Maberry provides us with multi-dimensional characters that draw in the reader and gives them an emotional stake in their fates. From Dez, whose crumbling life forces her to confront her own personal demons and the bad choices she has made throughout her life as she battles the zombie outbreak, to Billy who puts aside his selfish motivations to try and save his town. From Gibbons, who revels in his new-found ability to generate carnage, to Dr, Volcker who must deal the realization that his misguided attempt to achieve justice created a villain more heinous than ever and inadvertently ruined more lives than Gibbons ever could have on his own.

Dead of Night is a fantastic zombie novel and a must-read for anyone who loves the genre. I give this book four and a half out of five rotting zombie heads.

Sunday Bunnies

2012-02-05T13:42:00.000-05:00

Please don't let daddy find out it was me who chewed the buttons off of the remote.

Review of Underworld: Awakening

2012-01-31T20:08:00.000-05:00

Title: Underworld: Awakening

Date: 2012

Tagline: Vengeance Returns

I went into Underworld: Awakening with low expectations. After all, this is the fourth movie in the franchise (and the third in the Selene saga), and rarely does a series make it this far without a significant loss in quality. (Does anybody remember Halloween III: Season of the Witch or Friday the 13^th IV: The Final Chapter?) However, I walked away pleasantly surprised.

Underworld: Awakening begins a few days after the final battle of Underworld: Evolution in which Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman) defeated the Elders. That conflict brought the existence of vampires and lycans to the attention of humans, who immediately initiate The Purge, a “mass cleansing” of the underworld. (My favorite line from the movie was when Selene says: “The humans no longer fight amongst themselves. They’ve been waiting for an enemy like us.”) Selene and Michael are caught up in the cleansing, and Selene is rendered unconscious in an explosion. She wakes up twelve years later inside a cryogenic chamber located within the laboratory of the biomedical firm Antigen, an enterprise run by Dr. Jacob Lane (Stephen Rea) who is using Selene and another test subject as source code for a vaccine he is developing to counter the affects of vampirism and lycanthropy. Her escape was orchestrated by another test subject who had broken free earlier. Assuming that the other test subject is Michael, Selene sets off after him.

[Spoiler alert] What Selene finds is a world that has changed substantially from the life she once knew. Lycans live like vermin in the sewers and teeter on the brink of extinction. The few surviving vampires have abandoned their mansions for underground lairs beneath the city, scared of any contact with humans and stripped of their former self esteem. The biggest surprise is when Selene finally catches up with the other test subject. It is not her lover but a young girl named Eve (India Eisley), Selene’s and Michael’s lycan-vampire hybrid daughter who has the same abilities as her father combined with the hormonal rage of a teenager. As Selene struggles to adapt to this new world and bond with the child who has grown up without her, she must also protect Eve from Dr. Lane who wants to recover his test subjects, his interest in them harboring a deep and terrifying secret. [End spoiler alert]

Directors Marlind and Stein succeeded in keeping the franchise fresh by taking Underworld: Awakening in a new direction. By having Selene deal with the consequences of her actions, the directors built on the foundation of the first two movies rather than continue the story linearly, which would have failed to deliver. In addition, introducing the dynamic of motherhood allowed them to develop Selene's character beyond that of a warrioress. Marlind and Stein also provide new and impressive protagonists in the form of a massive uber-werewolf that is more than a match for the vampires and in Dr. Lane, the most complex and evil villain in the franchise to date.

There are some major flaws with the movie, the two biggest for me being the passing off of an eighteen year old actress (Indian Eisley) as a twelve year old girl, and the inclusion of Michael in the storyline even though Scott Speedman does not appear in the movie (there are a few brief shots in the opening scenes that are either Speedman transposed from Underworld: Evolution or filmed with a body double). Nor does the storyline explain how Selene could give birth, and how Eve grew into a teenager, if both were in cryogenics for the past twelve years. However, given the overall positives in the movie, these don’t detract too much from the final product (and may someday be the basis for an Underworld: Awakening drinking game).

Underworld: Awakening was a good way to start off 2012, and makes me look forward to the sequel (as long as Kate Beckinsale and her leather outfit are in it). I give this movie three and a half out of five vampire fangs.

Sunday Bunnies

2012-01-29T10:56:00.000-05:00

What mess?

Stuck in a Slump

2012-01-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

I've had a bad case of writer's block for awhile now, and it's frustrating. At least fighting off hordes of the living dead would give me something creative to do.

Sunday Bunnies

2012-01-22T01:12:00.000-05:00

[A special Sunday Bunnies edition dedicated to Cocoa, my "old guy" who celebrated his 9th anniversary with me this weekend.]

Nine bloody years as your pet and all I get for an anniversary celebration is lettuce? Butthead.

See You in a Week

2012-01-16T12:37:00.000-05:00

I will be tending to other business for a few days, and won't be blogging this week. But I'll be back next Sunday with the latest edition of the Sunday Bunnies.

Sunday Bunnies

2012-01-15T10:27:00.000-05:00

Yes! Four tubs of pineapple and papaya, and now it's all mine! Mine!

Upcoming Events for 2012

2012-01-13T22:33:00.000-05:00

I have not been on line as much the past few weeks as I would have liked, mostly because I've been preoccupied between my day job and crashing to finish my latest novel. Most of that is behind me, so now I concentrate on looking ahead. This year promises to be very successful.

Rotter World, my first zombie novel, will be published by Permuted Press sometime in April or May. I am finishing up the final revision of Yeitso, my tribute to the B-grade monster movies of the 1950s that I loved as a Monster Kid (and still do). Hopefully within the next few months I will begin work on my sixth novel, Hell Gates, a young adult dark fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic world where the boundaries between earth and Hell collapse, allowing the two worlds to merge.

In the short story category, I have "The Last Flight of the Bismarck" (steampunk zombies) is currently with a publisher, and I should hopefully be hearing back soon. Another short story, "Recognition" (a zombie apocalypse told from the living dead's point of view), is ready for submission, and I am looking around for the right publisher. Plus I have several more ideas I'm hoping to develop in 2012.

I will also be attending several conventions this year as a guest. Among them will be Ravencon 2012 in Chesterfield, Virginia from 13-15 April and Crypticon in Seattle, Washington from 25-27 May where I will be sitting at the Permuted Press table. I hope to make appearances at several others, including HorrorFind 2012, as well as hold more book signings. As always, I will keep you posted on developments.

That's it for now. I thank my family, friends, and fans for all their support. And I look forward to all the new people I will meet this year.

Sunday Bunnies

2012-01-08T12:30:00.000-05:00

You go ahead and write. I'm just gonna lie here in the warm sun all afternoon.

Sunday Bunnies

2012-01-01T13:23:00.000-05:00

Thank God the holidays are finally over.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T15:10:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all my family and fiends! May you all find love, happiness, and success in 2012.

Review of World of the Dead: Zombie Diaries 2

2011-12-29T16:17:00.000-05:00

Title: World of the Dead: Zombie Diaries 2

Date: 2011

Blurb:

The insatiable dead run amok in this gore-filled horror flick, which follows a bad of humans who've survived a virus that has turned the rest of the world into zombies. Our heroes hear about a sanctuary near the sea -- but is it true, or a trap?

One of the great things about Netflix is that, given the number of movies I watch a month, each one costs me only a few bucks to rent. For that reason, I check out stuff that I normally wouldn’t watch because I’m willing to take a chance on any movie for $2. Sometimes I find a treasure, and sometimes I hit a septic tank. More often than not, though, I just dig up an average DVD.

That’s the best that can be said for World of the Dead: Zombie Diaries 2. It’s average.

The plot has been rehashed a dozen times. In a Great Britain that is collapsing under the onslaught of a zombie virus, a small military unit abandons the fight against the living dead and struggles to make its way north. From there, according to their commander (played by Philip Brodie), a naval convoy will rescue the survivors and take them to the Netherlands, the only spot in Europe not affected by the outbreak. However, they only have forty-eight hours to reach the coast and join the evacuation before a massive air strike is launched that will burn away the English countryside and the zombie hordes along with it. Along the way, the survivors stumble across overrun military camps, rape gangs, zombie-ravaged towns, and almost every other standard fare typical for a zombie film. To bog down the plot even further, the entire story is told as a video diary.

Despite the numerous drawbacks, Zombie Diaries 2 does have some redeeming qualities that make the movie worth watching. The cinematography and acting is much better than in your average independent production, so the movie is entertaining (however, despite the acting, I still didn’t really care much for any of the characters). In addition, the video diary format does provide a unique and vital subplot to the movie. The cameraman, a character named Jones, records his diary over a previously-recorded videotape, inadvertently leaving some of the old material intact; these snippets provide a chilling back story to the outbreak. Finally, the last few minutes of the movie have a macabre ending that perfectly embodies the futility and frustration inherent in a zombie apocalypse.

World of the Dead: Zombie Diaries 2 won’t be the best zombie movie you can watch in 2012, but it sure won’t be the worst. The movie is worth a shot as long as you go into it with average expectations. I give this movie two out of five rotting zombie heads.

Sunday Bunnies (Christmas Edition)

2011-12-26T18:10:00.000-05:00

I decided to post several pictures of the rabbits enjoying their Christmas. Enjoy.

Where the hell are the Christmas gifts?!?!

At least he didn't dress us up this year.

Willow baskets and hay cubes? I asked for a bag of raisins. Jerk.

So we made a mess with our gifts. It's Christmas. Deal with it.

We're tired from trying to get at the tree and chewing on daddy's Christmas gifts, so talk to the butt while we relax.

We don't have mistletoe, but Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T23:08:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to all my fans and friends.

If you've been good all year, may you get what you want for the holidays. If you've been bad, you already have it.

Check Out My Interview on Swedish Zombies

2011-12-23T15:01:00.000-05:00

On 21 December, Swedish Zombie posted an interview with me where I discuss one of my favorite topics -- zombies. Please read the interview and check out the blog.

Review of Zombie Apocalypse

2011-12-21T00:02:00.000-05:00

Title: Zombie Apocalypse

Date: 2011

Blurb:

Months after a zombie plague has wiped out 90 percent of the American population, a small group of survivors fight their way cross-country to a rumored refuge on the island of Catalina.

I sat down to watch this movie with high hopes but low expectations. After all, it was a zombie movie with Ving Rhames, so how bad could it be? As far as I’m concerned, Ving earned his living dead street creds in the 2004 reimaging of Dawn of the Dead, one of my favorite zombie films. However, Zombie Apocalypse was a SyFy Channel production, and while I enjoy their movies for what they are (today’s equivalent of a Roger Corman B-film), I was skeptical.

Zombie Apocalypse turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

The plot is basic but entertaining. Months after the outbreak has devastated mankind, a small band of survivors is making its way to the California coast where rumor has it that the island of Catalina is a safe haven free from the outbreak. Along the way they join up with other groups, run across hordes of zombies, and lose some of the numbers, all the while bonding in the process. Eventually the remnants of the cast arrive at the port facility where a weekly ferry will transport the uninfected to Catalina, only to discover that the greatest threat does not necessarily come from humans brought back to life.

The acting, sets, and special effects are what one would expect from a made-for-TV movie made on a limited budget and shooting schedule. However, despite the constraints, director Nick Lyon succeeded in living up to the film’s title and gives us ninety-plus minutes chocked with action, zombies, and blood and guts. What else could a zombiephile want?

Zombie Apocalypse is definitely worth a viewing, especially on a Saturday night with a bunch of friends and some pizza and beer. I give the movie two-and-a-half out of five rotting zombie heads.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-12-18T09:56:00.000-05:00

I'll just wait here for Santa, and when he shows up Christmas Eve I'll take the fat guy down and keep all the gifts for myself.

Review of The Vampire Hunters: Dominion from Taliesin meets the Vampires

2011-12-17T10:01:00.000-05:00

Taliesin meets the Vampires posted a review of The Vampire Hunters: Dominion, giving it a score of 7.5 out of 10. Please check out the review and visit the blog.

Review of Graham Masterton's The Sphinx

2011-12-14T21:42:00.000-05:00

Title: The Sphinx

Author: Graham Masterton

Publisher: MHB Press

Date: 2010

Pages: 167

Blurb:

For up and coming politician Gene Keiller an attraction to a beautiful woman is no strange thing. But Lorie Semple is no ordinary woman. She has a secret. She has history. And when the attraction becomes obsession he takes his first steps on a perilous journey where myth and reality collide with devastating consequences. A savage beast is unleashed and by the time he discovers the truth the mysterious beauty who has so captivated his soul it is far too late to run.

I usually don’t post negative reviews of books. As an author, I know full well the time it takes to write a book and the emotional investment that is made in the process. Just because I’m not intrigued by a plotline or don’t like the way a character was portrayed, it’s not fair for me to bad mouth another author’s work. I’ve read several novels over the past few months that have not been discussed in this blog for that reason. This time, however, I’m making an exception.

What bothers me is that the review is of a Graham Masterton novel.

Anyone who follows my blog or interviews knows that Graham Masterton is one of my favorite authors. His first novel, The Manitou, which I read when I was ten years old, hooked me on the genre. After that, I devoured every one of his books like a ravenous zombie ripping into a bus full of cheerleaders. Picking up one of his novels, I was guaranteed an edge-of-my-seat ride as Graham would take an infamous legend or twisted premise and turn it into a tension-filled, action-packed, gore-laced thriller. Graham Masterton never failed to deliver. At least until I read The Sphinx.

Originally published in 1978, The Sphinx was released this year by MHB Press as a signed, limited hard cover edition selling for $60 (or for $625 if you want the deluxe, lettered edition). Gene Keiller, a self-important and egocentric mid-level State Department diplomat, meets the stunningly beautiful Lorie Semple at a dinner party and is determined to see her again despite the woman’s protestations. After much persistence, Gene finally gets his wish and starts dating Lorie, only to discover that she and her mother are the last of the Ubasti, an ancient race that was half-woman/half-lion. Although Lorie claims to love him, Gene begins to worry that he is being set up by the Semple women to be a blood sacrifice to keep the Ubasti bloodline alive.

The Sphinx lacked all of the elements I’ve grown to love in a Graham Masterton story. There was no mounting tension, no surprising revelations or plot twists, no horrible and gory deaths. The characters were two dimensional and, for the most part, unlikeable. I was more than one hundred pages into the book before the story began to pique my interest. Even the climax was the least exciting of any of his works that I’ve ever read.

If you have cash to spend and you don’t mind paying the overly-inflated price to have a signed copy of a Graham Masterton book on your shelf, then by all means get a copy before they are all sold out (the cover art by Ben Baldwin is extremely well drawn and attention grabbing). Other than that, I wouldn’t spend the money; you would be better off trying to find a first edition of The Manitou or The Devils of D-Day on e-bay and purchasing them.

The Sphinx was a major disappointment for a big-time Graham Masterton fan like me. I give this book one out of five rotting zombie heads.

Review of "Deck the Malls with Bowels of Holly"

2011-12-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

Horror author M.R. Gott reviewed my Christmas short story, "Deck the Malls with Bowels of Holly," from Living Dead Press' Christmas Is Dead anthology. Check out the review here. You can buy a copy of the anthology at Amazon. It'd make an awesome Christmas gift.

2011-12-11T10:22:00.000-05:00

It's two weeks before Christmas, you bring a bag into the house, and you think we're not going to snoop? Idiot.

Review of It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies!

2011-12-08T18:02:00.000-05:00

Title: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies! A Book of Zombie Christmas Carols

Author: Michael P. Spradlin

Publisher: Harper Collins

Date: 2009

Pages: 81

Blurb:

Yes, Christmas is on its way – and all the little boys and ghouls are dreaming of stockings filled with candied eyes and bleeding body parts. You’d better watch out! Santa Claws is coming to town – and he knows who’s been naughty, who’s been naughtier… and who will taste best with a nice glass of Chianti!

It’s Christmas, and what better expresses the spirit of the holiday than hordes of the living dead? As Christopher Moore notes in the introduction to this book, “there are very few literary pursuits which cannot be improved by the addition of Zombies.” Michael Spradlin and illustrator Jeff Weigel prove this in It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies! A Book of Zombie Christmas Carols, a humorous little twist to the traditional holiday fare that would scare the sheet off the Ghost of Christmas Future. From I Saw Mommy Chewing Santa Claus to A Jolly Zombie Christmas, all your favorites are brought back from the dead with plenty of guts and gore, including my favorite, and the signature song of the book (sung to the tune of It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas):

It’s beginning to look a lot like Zombies

Everywhere you go.

They’ve stormed the Grand Hotel, and filled the park as well.

They’re hungry and they sure don’t mind the snow!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Zombies!

Blood splattered on the floor!

But the scariest sight to see is the Zombies that will be

At your own front door.

So grab yourself several copies of this book, gather your best friends (or fiends), and go zombie caroling. You’ll be spreading some old-fashioned holiday cheer along with a good ole rotter outbreak.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies! is good Christmas fun and makes an excellent stocking stuffer. I give this book four out of five rotting zombie heads (each wearing a Santa’s cap).

Fantastic Review of The Vampire Hunters: Dominion

2011-12-06T20:51:00.001-05:00

Peter Schwotzer of Famous Monsters of Filmland just posted a review of The Vampire Hunters; Dominion, the last book in The Vampire Hunters trilogy. Peter has been a huge fan of the trilogy, which means a lot since getting the thumbs up from Famous Monsters is an honor for an old Monster Kid like me. However, the recommendation Peter gave for the book has me walking on air.

If you are vampire fanatic like I am you will absolutely love this vampire trilogy. In fact I like this more then “The Strain” trilogy. So what are you waiting for? Use the links above to order what I feel is one of the best vampire stories I have ever read and I give it my highest recommendation.

Beating out del Toro in the vampire genre? Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. I'm breaking out the whiskey and cigars in celebration.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-12-04T10:27:00.000-05:00

If you think you're going anywhere before you give us treats, you have another thing coming.

Review of Down the Road: The Fall of Austin

2011-12-02T00:13:00.000-05:00

Title: Down the Road: The Fall of Austin

Author: Bowie Ibarra

Publisher: Permuted Press

Date: 2011

Pages: 246

Blurb:

Officer Mike Runyard of the Austin Police Department and his partner, Derek Tucker, are stuck in the middle of a city overrun by the living dead. With resources and luck running out, Runyard is flung into a fight for survival among the living, the dead, and a wave of criminals released from jail into the streets of central and south Austin.

I’ve been a fan of Bowie Ibarra ever since I read his first two zombie novels, Down the Road and Down the Road: On the Last Day. I like Bowie because his books read at a brisk pace, his characters are well developed and believable, and his zombie carnage is first rate. One reason his novels stand out is that the zombie outbreak not only signifies the end of civilization as we know it, but also the collapse of the social norms that bind us together. When I read a Bowie Ibarra novel, I’m fascinated by characters who are not only scanning the path ahead for zombies, but are constantly looking over their shoulder to make certain they’re not about to be stabbed in the back.

With Down the Road: The Fall of Austin, Bowie again drops his readers right into the middle of a nightmare.

The novel centers around five groups of characters, most of whom range from barely likable to “I can’t wait to see that bastard get eaten alive.” (NOTE: That is not meant as criticism. The deeply flawed nature of the characters makes them realistic.) Mike Runyard who, thanks to his partner Derek Tucker, is wounded and has to fend for himself in a city crumbling around him. Keri Lawrence, a junior high teacher with a broken heart of gold who is desperately trying to find a way to survive the apocalypse. Hector Arana, the drug kingpin who escapes from prison during the outbreak and mobilizes a Hispanic gang that attempts to restore a perverse order to the streets of Austin. And two groups of soldiers assigned to secure Austin from the living dead, one led by Sergeant Arnold whose team deserts rather than allow themselves to fall under a United Nations command exercising power over U.S. troops, and the other led by Sergeant Nickson whose team of miscreants hunt down their AWOL comrades with a sadistic glee. As the situation rapidly deteriorates, each group winds up on separate paths that eventually cross during the apocalyptic climax.

Bowie delivers the goods in his third book in the series. Not only is there considerable tension and intrigue as the characters try to survive the outbreak, but there is more than enough zombie action to satiate those of us who like gut-munching action.

Down the Road: The Fall of Austin is a zombie apocalypse at its best. This book gets four out of five rotting zombie heads.

Photo From the Beyond Comics Book Signing

2011-11-30T17:35:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to the staff of Beyond Comics in Gaithersburg, Maryland, for hosting my book signing on 26 November.

Check Out My Interview on Apocalyptic Horror Fiction

2011-11-29T16:50:00.001-05:00

On 27 November, Craig DiLouie's Apocalyptic Horror Fiction posted an interview with me on vampires, zombies, and the genre in general. Please check it out.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-11-27T13:41:00.000-05:00

No, I do not look like the Thanksgiving turkey with lop ears. And yes, I resent the nickname Butterball.

REMINDER: Book Signing at Beyond Comics in Gaithersburg, Maryland, 26 November

2011-11-24T21:03:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that I'll be signing all three books in The Vampire Hunters trilogy on Saturday, 26 November, from 12 PM to 3 PM at Beyond Comics on 536 North Frederick Avenue, Gaithersburg, Maryland. If you live in the area, please drop by. I hope to see you there.

Thanksgiving Edition of the Sunday Bunnies

2011-11-24T09:07:00.000-05:00

I give thanks to Cocoa, treats, my daddy, treats, my health, treats, a warm place to live, treats. Did I mention treats yet?

2011-11-24T08:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving. Here's hoping your turkey doesn't come alive and eat you instead.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-11-20T15:39:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is this week. We don't care about turkey, stuffing, and gravy. But you better save us some carrot cake.

Check Out My Interview on Cutis Anserina

2011-11-18T18:13:00.000-05:00

On 18 November, horror author M.R. Gott, who wrote Where the Dead Fear to Tread, posted an interview with me on vampires, zombies, and the genre in general. Please check it out.

Review of High School of the Dead (the movie)

2011-11-17T20:17:00.000-05:00

Title: High School of the Dead

Date: 2011

Blurb:

It began without warning. It continues without mercy. Now a band of high schoolers join forces with guns, swords, baseball bats, and anything else they can get their hands on to battle a bloodthirsty, flesh-hungry zombie apocalypse. Slashing action, stunning animation, and jaw-dropping excitement make HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD the most hotly anticipated event of the year.

We’ve all been there. You stumble across a movie you have never heard of before, take a chance on it, and then wonder where that little gem has been hiding all your life. This was the case for me with High School of the Dead, an anime series from Japan. I was introduced to this movie by a dear friend who was trying to expose me to the world of anime and knew it would appeal to my love for zombies.

High School of the Dead is based on the manga comic strip by Daisuke Sato titled Academy Apocalypse (Gakuen Mokushiroku). The movie centers on five students and a school nurse who are among the sole survivors when a zombie apocalypse known as the Outbreak ravages their campus. They make up an unlikely band of heroes. Takashi Komuro, a seventeen-year-old second-year student and the head of the group; Kohta Hirano, the class geek whose esoteric knowledge of firearms comes in handy when the group find a stash of weapons to defend themselves from the living dead; and Takashi’s “harem” (in anime, that refers to a coterie of women who all have the hots for the main character): Rei Miyamato, who has loved Takashi from childhood, even after he bashed in the head of Rei’s current boyfriend after he was infected; Saya Takagi, the sexy brains of the group; Saeko Bushujima, the quiet and intense third-year student and an expert with the bokken (wooden sword); and Shizuka Karikawa, the busty school nurse whose only talent (besides jiggling through twelve episodes) is her ability to drive.

As the survivors soon find out, fighting their way through classrooms swarming with zombies and watching their friends become school lunches for the living dead is not the worst of their problems. The group’s best chance of survival is to make their way across a zombie-ravaged Tokyo to the compound of the Takagi clan (led by Saya’s father), an ultra-nationalist district leader who runs his protected enclave like a prison camp. The only thing between them and sanctuary is a city overrun by the living dead, an ineffective and hapless government bureaucracy unable to cope with the crisis, a populace rapidly devolving into savagery, and a megalomaniacal teacher from their school who wants Takashi’s team to join his personality cult of terrified, brain-washed students.

High School of the Dead is an action-packed zombiefest that provides more than its far share of gut munching, gunplay, and gore. The plot flows in a logical progression, as does the character development. A group that would never interact with each other under normal circumstances, the apocalypse forces them to work together if they want to survive, to put aside their petty jealousies and emotions, and, in the case of the students, to mature. However, in moments of relative safety, they are still teenagers. For anime fans, the movie provides plenty of fan service (“fan service” refers to female characters dressed in skimpy outfits, up-skirt shots, and bouncing boobs – and I’m not complaining about that one bit).

One word of warning: The movie does have a slightly ambiguous ending, and although it can stand alone, the viewer does get the impression that there may be more. This is because the graphic novel on which the movie is based is still in publication in Japan. The graphic novel is still popular so, with luck, hopefully we will see a High School of the Dead II.

This is a must-see movie for all zombiephiles. I give High School of the Dead five out of five rotting zombie heads.

Book Signing at Beyond Comics in Gaithersburg, Maryland, 26 November

2011-11-15T20:18:00.000-05:00

I'll be signing all three books in The Vampire Hunters trilogy on Saturday, 26 November, from 12 PM to 3 PM at Beyond Comics on 536 North Frederick Avenue, Gaithersburg, Maryland. If you live in the area, please drop by. I hope to see you there.

Sunday Bunnies (One Day Late)

2011-11-14T20:36:00.000-05:00

So, what possible excuse do you have for forgetting to post a picture of me yesterday?

Sunday Bunnies

2011-11-06T08:16:00.000-05:00

Wake me up when the holidays are over.

New Horror Blog From Emma Audsley

2011-11-05T09:47:00.000-04:00

Emma Audsley has just launched a new genre blog titled The Horrorifically, Horrifying Horror Blog. She has posted interviews with Graham Masterton, David Moody, and many others. Plus she was kind enough to include my musings on what horror means to me. Please check it and be a frequent visitor.

Photos from Book Signing at Harrison's Comics

2011-11-03T09:49:00.000-04:00

Below are some of the pictures taken during my book signing of The vampire Hunters trilogy at Harrison's Comics and Collectibles on Sunday.

Yours truly set up at Harrison's.

Signing books.

Me with my biggest fan -- my niece, Kiera.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T22:32:00.000-04:00

May you all get a trick or a treat this Halloween.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-10-30T00:50:00.000-04:00

If he calls me "Puff" one more time I'm going to pee on his pillow while he's asleep.

REMINDER: Book Signing at Harrison's Comics in Salem 30 October

2011-10-29T22:59:00.000-04:00

Despite the snow (for those of you who don't live in the Boston area, we're in the middle of a storm that has already dumped two inches on the city and is promising up to five inches by morning), I still plan on signing all three books in The Vampire Hunters trilogy on Sunday, 30 October, from 2 PM to 6 PM at Harrison's Comics on 252 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts. Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon most if this will have cleared up. If I'm not set out on the sidewalk like originally planned, I will be somewhere inside Harrison's. I hope to see you there.

Status Update

2011-10-25T20:29:00.000-04:00

I finished the first revision of Yeitso (formerly The Walking Monster) yesterday. Now I need to research some missing sections and input the feedback from my readers, then I'll start the final revision.

Check Out My Interview on Ramsey's Book Reviews: Halloween Bash

2011-10-24T16:17:00.001-04:00

On 19 October, Ramsey's Book Reviews' Halloween Bash posted an interview with me on writing in the horror genre. Please check it out.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-10-23T11:06:00.000-04:00

First I'll establish dominion over the rabbits, and then I'll subjugate the humans.

Posting on Zombo's Closet

2011-10-22T22:25:00.000-04:00

On 19 October, Zombo's Closet posted the last in my blog series on how to write your first novel titled "Why Write for a Living?" Please drop by Zombo's Closet and check it out.

Book Signing at Harrison's Comics in Salem 30 October

2011-10-20T17:09:00.000-04:00

I'll be signing all three books in The Vampire Hunters trilogy on Sunday, 30 October, from 2 PM to 6 PM at Harrison's Comics on 252 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts. If you live in the area, please drop by. Salem will be abuzz that weekend with dozens of events from the city's Haunted Happenings to celebrate Halloween. I hope to see you there.

Review of The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon

2011-10-19T17:26:00.000-04:00

On 15 October, Hayes Hudson's House of Horror posted a review of the second book in my trilogy, The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon. Hayes commented on the "uniqueness" of the battle sequences and noted that the book "created a believable and likable world, in which darkness borders on overtaking all that is good."

One thing Hayes does point out is the number of grammatical errors that appear in the book, something that I am embarrassed about, especially since I had reviewed the proofs and thought I had caught them all. I apologize to my readers for the unintended sloppiness, and promise to do a better job of editing in the future.

In Lieu of the Sunday Bunnies

2011-10-17T01:06:00.000-04:00

I usually don't talk much about my personal life in my blog, but this time I think it's acceptable because of the relationship to my writing.

The past six months have been one of the most stressful periods in my life. I lost my pet of nine years, Woodstock (Woody), to cancer. My mother almost passed away after she suffered a ruptured bowel; thankfully, she rallied and is fine now. In June I changed jobs. And this past week, my wife and I formally separated after twenty years of marriage. Through it all, a network of family and close friends were very supportive and kept me emotionally grounded.

What suffered most was my writing. I barely had time to work on current projects and to blog, let alone start anything new.

This past week saw the passing of the last and most stressful event. With the worst behind me, I now plan on refocusing on my writing. In addition to the revisions to Yeitso (formerly The Walking Monster), I am looking for a market for one short story I've completed from the zombie's point of view, and am researching another story I hope to start soon about the living dead at Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg. I'm also developing a concept for a young adult novel about portals to Hell opening up on Earth. I have a book signing set up for the end of October, and hope to add others soon (I'll post more of this later). And I hope to get back to listing movie and book reviews as I had done previously. It may take a while to fully get back into the swing of things, so please bear with me.

Thank you all for your support. Hopefully the future will have better things in store.

Check Out My Blog Posting on the Horror Writers Association Homepage

2011-10-11T01:01:00.000-04:00

Please check out my blog posting on the Horror Writers Association Halloween Haunts page titled "The Zombie Question" on whether zombies are still relevant in contemporary film and fiction.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-10-09T12:49:00.002-04:00

The domseticus rabbitus lies in wait in the tall hay, waiting for an unsuspecting plate of greens and mints to wander by so she may pounce.

Congratulations to the Castle Macabre Contest Winner

2011-10-06T21:42:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Lorrie Zielinski of Lockport, Illinois who won the Castle Macabre giveaway. Lorrie will be receiving autographed copies of all three books in The Vampire Hunters trilogy. I hope you enjoy them.

The Vampire Hunters: Dominion Now Available

2011-10-03T23:24:00.000-04:00

The Vampire Hunters: Dominion, the third and final book of The Vampire Hunters trilogy, is available as a trade paperback and for Kindle, both from Amazon.com.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-10-02T21:53:00.000-04:00

Oh crap, it's October. That means daddy will be breaking out the Halloween costumes soon.

Posting on Zombo's Closet

2011-09-27T16:28:00.000-04:00

On 27 September, Zombo'S Closet posted the latest in my blog series on how to write your first novel titled "Marketing Your Book and Yourself, Part II". Please drop by Zombo's Closet and check it out.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-09-25T18:35:00.000-04:00

We love devouring the newspapers on Sunday morning. The Washington Post tastes much better than The New York Times.

Getting Back on Track

2011-09-24T12:16:00.000-04:00

Many of my friends and fans have noticed that I'm not on line much anymore, and that I haven't discussed my writing like I usually do. Over the past four months, I have gone through some significant and life-altering events. Some of these events were of my own choosing, others I had no control over (like the death of my pet Woody and the near-death of my mother). After awhile, this perfect storm of stresses took its toll, and I rapidly reached the breaking point. One of the things that suffered during this time was the writing.

I am happy to note that most of these stresses have been resolved, and slowly but surely I'm getting back in the swing of things. This week I started the final re-write of The Walking Monster, finished the first draft of a short story from the zombie's point of view titled "I Am Zombie," and had a burst of inspiration for the next novel. I've been involved with Permuted Press in designing the cover art for Rotter World. I am also working on a new webpage, which is taking longer than anticipated since I am not the most computer savvy person in the world, and will soon post my reading of Rotter World from the HorrorFind weekend.

Thank you all for your patience and support. It's been my family (furry and human) and friends who have helped me through this tough patch. The best is yet to come.

Congratulations to the Back of the Book Review Contest Winners

2011-09-22T22:51:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Ilka who won the Back of the Book Review's daily giveaway as part of their September Extravaganza event. Ilka won a signed copy of The Vampire Hunters.

Congratulations are also in order for Sheila Gallagher of Pittsburgh who won the Back of the Book Review's Grand Competition. Sheila will be receiving autographed copies of all three books in The Vampire Hunters trilogy once the final book is published in October.

I hope you ladies enjoy the books.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-09-18T11:29:00.001-04:00

First, you're picking me up. Second, you're making me look fat. And then you'll wonder later why I chewed the buttons off of your remote control.

Cover Art for The Vampire Hunters: Dominion

2011-09-16T22:17:00.000-04:00

Pill Hill Press sent me the cover art for The Vampire Hunters: Dominion, the last book in The Vampire Hunter series. The book will be available from Amazon and on Kindle/Nook on 1 October.

Castle Macabre Giving Away The Vampire Hunters Series

2011-09-14T20:46:00.000-04:00

Castle Macabre is running a giveaway of all three books in The Vampire Hunter series. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment. The giveaway ends 30 September. Good luck.

Status Update

2011-09-13T23:30:00.002-04:00

I wish I could say that my absence last week from blogging and Facebook was because I had become so inspired after the HorrorFind Convention that I sat in front of the laptop and was diligently cranking out scores of pages. The truth is, I bought the video game Dead Island and wound up playing that all week. However, fun time is over, and now it's back to business.

The HorrorFind Convention was awesome. I had a great time sitting my first authors panel (on why zombies are still relevant today). Thanks to fellow panelists Tim Lebbon and Jeremy Wagner, and to Christopher Golden for moderating. I enjoyed meeting old friends and making new ones. I will post photos and more details of the convention later this week.

On 7 September, Zombo's Closet posted an interview on why Halloween is important to me. On the 12th, he posted the latest in my blog series on how to write your first novel titled "Marketing Your Book and Yourself, Part I". Please drop by Zombo's Closet and check it out.

On 9 September Colleen Wanglund posted on The Horror Fiction Review a review of The Vampire Hunters: Dominion, the final book in The Vampire Hunters trilogy. Colleen noted: "The entire series is well-written with excellent character development and an easy flowing narrative. The book reaches a climactic ending that is as unexpected as it is heartbreaking." Many thanks to Colleen for being such a devoted fan.

In Memorium of 9/11

2011-09-11T12:07:00.002-04:00

On the tenth anniversary of 11 September 2001, please take a moment to remember not only those who lost their lives on that terrible morning, but all those in the past ten years who have given of themselves, many making the ultimate sacrifice, to bring to justice those who committed this horrible crime and to keep our nation secure.

Posting on Zombo's Closet

2011-09-04T00:08:00.000-04:00

On 1 September, Zombo's Closet posted my latest in a series of articles on how to write a novel. This posting is titled Finding a Literary Agent or Publisher, Part III. Please drop by Zombo's Closet and check it out.

Off to HorrorFind

2011-09-02T10:34:00.000-04:00

I'm getting ready to head out to the HorrorFind Convention in Gettysburg. Hope to see some of you there.

E-Book Versions of The Vampire Hunter Series Now Available on Kindle, Nook

2011-08-30T22:32:00.001-04:00

Some of you have noticed that the links to the e-book versions of The Vampire Hunter series have been removed. This is because the e-books are no longer being distributed by Shadowfire Press. However, Pill Hill Press has purchased the electronic rights to the books and has distributed them for downloading via Kindle and Nook. Below are the links for the e-books.

The Vampire Hunters -- Kindle edition and Nook edition

The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon -- Kindle edition and Nook edition

Reminder: I'll Be a Guest at HorrorFind in Gettysburg 2-4 September

2011-08-29T18:47:00.002-04:00

I'll be attending this year's HorrorFind Convention not just as a fan, but as a guest. If you're at the convention, please drop by and say hello. Below is my schedule.

Friday, 2 September, 5:30pm – 6:30pm: Authors Christopher Golden (moderator), Tim Lebbon, Jason Gehlert, Scott Kenemore, Jeremy Wagner, and Scott M. Baker discuss why the dead just won’t stay dead, and why the literary zombie craze is far from over.

Sunday, 4 September, 2:00pm – 3:00pm: Reading - Jeff Burk and Scott M. Baker (I will be reading from my upcoming novel Rotter World)

Sunday, 4 September, 3:00pm – 4:00pm: Book Signing - Scott M. Baker, Brent Abell, and Ryan Clark

Sunday Bunnies

2011-08-28T21:12:00.001-04:00

No, I'm not chubby. I'm well-rounded, thank you very much.

Posting on Zombo's Closet

2011-08-24T23:07:00.000-04:00

On 22 August, Zombo's Closet posted my latest in a series of articles on how to write a novel. This posting is titled Finding a Publisher or Literary Agent, Part II. Please drop by Zombo's Closet and check it out.

Interview from Read Horror

2011-08-21T16:35:00.000-04:00

Please check out my latest interview in Read Horror's Meet the Writer section.

RIP Jimmy Sangster

2011-08-21T16:26:00.000-04:00

Hammer Films screenwriter Jimmy Sangster (1927-2011) passed away on 19 August at the age of 83. Sangster is best known for writing the adaptations for such Hammer classics (and personal favorites of mine) as The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958) as well as a long list of other credits. Check out the official notice from Hammer Films here.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-08-21T16:10:00.001-04:00

Daddy's back, and he brought the camera with him. Maybe if we ignore him he'll go away.

Sunday Bunnies (A Day Early)

2011-08-13T08:56:00.000-04:00

Good. Daddy is going on vacation for a few days. Now we can relax and not have to worry about him taking any candid pictures.

Posting on Zombo's Closet

2011-08-13T08:49:00.000-04:00

On 12 August, Zombo's Closet posted my latest in a series of articles on how to write a novel. This posting is titled Finding a Publisher or Literary Agent, Part I. Please drop by Zombo's Closet and check it out.

Review of Rise Again

2011-08-12T18:20:00.002-04:00

Title: Rise Again

Author: Ben Tripp

Publisher: Gallery Books

Date: 2011

Pages: 371

Blurb:

Forest Peak, California. Fourth of July. Sheriff Danielle Adelman, a troubled war veteran, thinks she has all the problems she can handle in this all-American town after her kid sister runs away from home. But when a disease-stricken horde of panicked refugees fleeing the fall of Los Angeles swarms her small mountain community, Danny realizes her problems have only just begun—starting with what might very well be the end of the world.

Ben Tripp punches you hard in the gut on the first page of Rise Again and keeps you reeling for the next three hundred and seventy pages.

The novel focuses on Danielle Adelman, the local sheriff of a small mountain community where the biggest challenges of her life are dealing with tourists from Los Angeles who descend on the isolated town for the 4th of July celebration and facing the personal demons she brought back with her from Iraq. All that changes when authorities in nearby towns warn her that a swarm of tens of thousands of people from Los Angeles are heading in her direction, each one infected with a virus that makes them run and scream uncontrollably until they drop down dead, and who infect anyone they come in contact with. The mass of crazed civilians pass through Forest Peak, turning the panicked tourists into screaming madmen. When the dust settles, Danny and a handful of survivors are faced with picking up the pieces of their lives and figuring out a way to deal with the thousands of corpses littering the streets of Forest Peak.

The situation goes into full FUBAR mode when Danny intercepts a recorded communiqué from a weather station that broadcasts the same message repeatedly: The infected dead will rise again.

Ben Tripp’s first foray into zombie literature is a stunning success. The character studies of average people trying to survive the end of the world are flawless. The action and tension are relentless. Those that survive the initial outbreak must contend with surviving in a world without rules and law in which there are dangers far greater than the zombies, mainly the privatized army of the Hawkstone Corporation and the unknown entity that even the living dead fear.

Rise Again is zombie apocalypse fiction at its best. Ben Tripp is now on my must-read list.

This book gets five out of five rotting zombie heads.

Good News for Authors

2011-08-09T17:48:00.001-04:00

There was in interesting article in today’s The New York Times about the publishing industry (see Julie Bosman’s “Publishing Gives Hints of Revival, Data Shows”) which offers encouraging news to authors. According to a survey that was released 9 August by BookStats, the publishing industry generated net revenue of $27.9 billion in 2010, an increase of 5.6 percent over 2008. One of the strongest growths was in the adult fiction market, which witnessed an 8.8 revenue increase in the last three years.

E-books jumped from 0.6 percent of the total trade market in 2008 to 6.4 percent in 2010, with the strongest sales in genre titles (romance, mystery, and thrillers). In 2010, 114 million e-books were sold. Hardcover books and trade paperbacks saw slight drops in the market shares.

The article also noted that many publishers are experimenting with various multi-media products that go beyond the traditional book.

What this means for us authors is that the market is still vibrant and very much alive (unlike the creatures I write about). So, as my friend Clint says: "Write or die!"

Sunday Bunnies

2011-08-07T13:24:00.000-04:00

Let's get a few things straight. One, I'm a rabbit, so I don't smile. Two, even if I could, I'm not going to smile for "cheese." Carrots, maybe.

Postings on Zombo's Closet

2011-08-06T00:10:00.002-04:00

Zombo's Closet has posted the third and fourth installments in my series of articles on how to write a novel: What To Write About, which was posted on 25 July, and The Mechanics of Writing, and which was posted on 5 August. Please drop by Zombo's Closet and check them out

Review of Movie Madness

2011-08-05T00:58:00.000-04:00

Title: Midnight Movie

Authors: Tobe Hooper and Alan Goldsher

Publisher: Three River Press

Date: 2011

Pages: 310

Blurb:

The Good News: Director Tobe Hooper has been invited to speak at a screening of Destiny Express, a movie he wrote and directed as a teenager, but that hasn’t seen the light of day in decades. And Hooper’s fans are ecstatic.

The Bad News: Destiny Express proofs to be a killer… literally. As the death toll mounts, Tobe embarks on a desperate journey to understand the film’s thirty-year-old origins—and put an end to the strange epidemic his creation has set in motion.

This is one of the most interesting books I’ve read in a long time, and that is meant as a compliment.

The plot is simple. Tobe Hooper’s first film, Destiny Express, a horribly amateurish production made when he was a teenager and which has been lost for thirty years, is mysteriously discovered. When it’s played at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, the fans go wild – literally. Everyone who watched the movie becomes infected. Some people turn dangerously violent. Others become obsessed with sex, satisfying their insatiable appetite with anyone they can find while spreading an STD that causes the infected to ooze blue. The unlucky ones devolve into self-mutilating zombies. As the outbreak spreads across the country, Erick Laughlin, a film critic who attended the showing but did not watch the entire movie, figures out the connection between the epidemic and the film and attempts to enlist Tobe in an effort to set things right. Unfortunately, mankind's future may lie in the director's past.

[A note to the readers: One of the reasons I picked up this book is because several reviewers compared the sex scenes to those of Ed Lee, which appealed to my dark side. That is not the case. No one writes sex scenes as perverse as Ed. However, that should not detract from the overall appeal of Midnight Movie.]

The story is told in first person narratives, journal entries, newspaper articles, e-mails, blogs, and Tweets. While the premise of the book is off the wall and completely irreverent, Tobe and Alan make it work. The characters range from the likeable (Erick and his girlfriend Janine Daltrey), to the sympathetic (Janine's sister, Andrea, who transitions from virgin to sex addict after watching the movie), to the utterly obnoxious (Dude McGee). Tobe’s narrative rants about himself, directing, and the movie industry in general are worth the price of the book alone. Don’t worry if the plot seems to ramble along in a disjointed orgy of violence and sex for the first two hundred and fifty pages; it’s meant to be that way. For those who want a nice, tight ending, there's no need to worry. The authors wrap up the story nicely in the last thirty pages and resolve all the unanswered questions.

Midnight Movie is a fun novel and a must-read for any Tobe Hooper fan. I give it four and a half out of five blue-oozing rotting zombie heads.

Reviews of The Vampire Hunter Series

2011-08-02T21:14:00.000-04:00

Last week, Sonar4 Landing Dock Reviews posted reviews of the first two books in The Vampire Hunters series. The review described the series as "a story that could have been cute vampire pulp and turned it into an action packed thriller with character driven details that draws the reader in" and "strongly recommend[ed] the series for anyone who enjoys good stories that are action packed" or who enjoy "dark vampires." Please check out the reviews of The Vampire Hunters and The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon as well as all the other reviews.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-07-31T11:07:00.000-04:00

Is it my turn for the Sunday Bunnies again? Crap!

Review of Stripperland!

2011-07-29T22:49:00.000-04:00

Title: Stripperland!

Date: 2010

Blurb:

Fleeing the wrath of man-eating vixens who've taken over the world, a ragtag caravan of refugees makes its way across the country to the relative safety of the West Coast. But en route, they're attacked by unrelenting waves of starving strippers. If looks could kill ... well, let's just hope they can't.

When I saw the jacket cover I thought, “Zombies and strippers. What more can I want?”

How about a plot?

This movie describes itself as a parody of Zombieland. In this version, the zombie outbreak starts with an exotic dancer who takes tainted drugs, and then spreads rapidly through the stripper community. Our heroes who try to survive the living dead apocalypse are straight out of the original: the neurotic geek with his rules for survival, the anti-hero who lives for the zombie kill, and the two “damsels in distress” who are tougher and smarter than our heroes. This is where the comparison ends.

For the first fifteen minutes, Stripperland was entertaining as Director Sean Skelding set up the premise and introduced the characters. After that, the movie devolved into a disoriented storyline that shambled along worse than the zombies. The only reason I didn’t get up and pop this one out of my DVR was because I was on the floor petting the rabbits and didn’t want to disturb them. They owe me for that one.

Don’t waste your time with this movie. I give this one half a rotting zombie head out of five – and I’m being generous.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-07-24T11:02:00.000-04:00

Those of you who follow me on Facebook or read my blog regularly already know that on Tuesday we helped our Woodstock (Woody) cross Rainbow Bridge.

He entered our lives exactly eight years ago as a neglected rescue rabbit. An Easter gift that the family quickly tired of, he had spent the first eighteen months of his life in a small metal cage shoved under the front porch where he was fed once a day and let out to play for thirty minutes a week. When Woody arrived here as a temporary foster, he was two pounds underweight. His ears were so infested with mites the vet thought he was a lopped ear rabbit; when the vet cleaned off the scabs, his ears popped upright. (For the rest of his life, Woody would have one ear standing up straight and one sticking out to the side. We used to call him Helicopter Ears.) At the time, no one gave him much of a chance for survival. What no one counted on was his fighting spirit and zest for life.

I’m sitting in my study as I write this, which used to be the room him and his girlfriend Cinnamon shared until he became crippled by arthritis of the spine and confined to a small bed, and we moved him upstairs to be closer to us. The memories came back like a flood. The way he used to hop around my feet when I would bring him his breakfast and dinner. The way he would race across the floor to get his treats, squeaking like a dog’s chew toy in his excitement. The way he ran up and down the hallway with his girlfriend, hopping with joy. The way he would sit by my feet while I wrote, patiently waiting for me to finish and get on the floor to pet him.

Sure, sometimes he would get impatient with me when I spent too much time on the computer, and would show his displeasure with an act of rabbit rebellion. Once, when I ignored him for several hours because I was absorbed in my writing and then went upstairs to have dinner, he retaliated by ripping open the bag of Carefresh I used in his litter box, digging out the entire contents of the bag, and spreading it across my study floor. When I came down to write some more, I found him sitting in the middle of his mess, proudly taking credit for his handiwork. I spent the rest of the night playing with the little guy, and all was forgiven.

In his final months, when arthritis robbed him of his mobility and prevented him from running and hopping, and cataracts blurred his vision, Woody still enjoyed life to its fullest. He perked up every time someone entered the room, knowing he would get a treat and a pet, and thanked us by licking our nose or face. In November 2010, the vets had warned that he would never make it to Christmas. Woody lived for another eight months, and would probably still be with us today if he had not developed a tumor in the right leg that consumed his femur and eventually his strength.

Even in his last few moments, as the vet administered the shot that would send him to Rainbow Bridge, Woody thought of us more than himself. His last act was to groom my arm, saying goodbye and assuring me that everything would be all right. Woody passed away in my arms, surrounded by the ones who loved him most.

Woody had the most patient, loving, and selfless personality I have ever known. I miss him dearly, but will always remember him fondly.

Status Update

2011-07-23T13:58:00.000-04:00

It's been a very stressful week, to say the least. But, as I have been mourning the loss of Woodstock and worrying about my mother (who is doing much better), a lot has been going on behind the scenes. So let me provide an update.

On Thursday, I finished revising the proofs for the print edition of The Vampire Hunters: Dominion and sent them back to Pill Hill Press. The book is scheduled to be published 1 October -- just in time for Halloween

Sonar4 Landing Dock Reviews gave an awesome review of The Vampire Hunters, calling it "an action packed thriller with character driven details that draws the reader in." Please check out mine and all the other book reviews.

Finally, many thanks to George Straatman for featuring me as a guest author on his blog. Please be sure to check him out at the Converging.

Review of Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!

2011-07-21T20:50:00.001-04:00

Title: Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!

Date: 2008

Blurb:

When an unorthodox drug experiment conducted by a mad scientist transforms the residents of a small town into flesh-eating zombies, a motley crew of exotic dancers, pimps, hookers, and johns are forced to take refuge inside a seedy strip club.

I’ve seen enough direct-to-DVD releases to be sufficiently jaded, especially when it comes to movies that portray themselves as zombie comedies, or zomcoms. Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! was a pleasant surprise.

The plot is basic – strippers, hookers, johns, and a pimp are trapped in The Grindhouse when a zombie outbreak occurs in the parking lot after one of the local street walkers smokes meth tainted with an anti-cancer/cell regenerating experimental drug. The characters are predictable – the stripper with a heart of gold, the stripper with an IQ equal to her bra size (not that she wears one), the stripper who is hardened by her experiences, a pimp who is about as intimidating as a constipated Chihuahua, etc. And none of the actors/actresses will be accepting an Academy Award in the foreseeable future (however, Jessica Barton is an FMH model and Hollie Winnard is a former Playboy Playmate, so that’s enough credentials for me).

Yet Director Jason Murphy pulls it together and makes it work. The plot is fast-paced and entertaining. Murphy introduces the first zombie within the first fifteen minutes, and from there it quickly becomes a munchfest. The movie doesn’t try to be cerebral or socially relevant. It’s 82 minutes of hookers being turned into happy meals and some impressive gore shots.

One of the factors that made Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! work for me was the dry humor. Murphy was smart enough not try and play the movie for laughs, instead opting for a sardonic wit more in keeping with the movie’s tone. I got a kick out of the running gag in which patrons pull up in the parking lot expecting to see a show, only to be set upon by the increasing horde of zombies. I also give Murphy credit for his ending. I don’t want to give away the last few minutes and spoil it. Suffice it to say, he figured out a unique way to deal with the mass of the living dead that gives the CGI folks plenty to play with (even if the effects are low budget).

It’s not Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead, but Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! is worth the rental. This is definitely a movie to watch Friday night with your horror buddies, pizza, and a few six packs. I’d give it three out of five rotting zombie heads.

RIP Woodstock

2011-07-19T15:41:00.000-04:00

Woodstock, the neglected rescue bunny who entered our lives eight years ago yesterday, crossed Rainbow Bridge this morning after a year-long bout with arthritis of the spine and cancer. He went to sleep this morning at Stahl's Exotic Animals Vet Service surrounded by the ones who loved him most. Even as he was slipping away, he groomed me one final time as if to assure me everything would be all right. This Sunday Bunnies will be a memorial to the little guy who taught me to live life to its fullest.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-07-17T14:23:00.000-04:00

Ruby decides to consult with Daddy on the proofs of his latest book. "It needs zombie rabbits."

Posting on Zombo's Closet

2011-07-15T22:52:00.000-04:00

On 11 July, Zombo's Closet posted my second in a series of articles on how to write a novel. This posting is titled How To Write That First Novel. Please drop by Zombo's Closet and check it out.

Interview from Back of the Book Reviews

2011-07-15T10:34:00.000-04:00

Please check out the interview in Back of the Book Reviews. Thanks.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-07-10T13:23:00.000-04:00

Have you ever seen a pet look so disgruntled at being cuddled and loved?

Review of ENTOMBED

2011-07-07T18:26:00.000-04:00

Title: Entombed

Author: Brian Keene

Publisher: Camelot Books

Date: 2011

Pages: 204

Available: Sold out.

Blurb: It has been several months since the disease known as Hamelin’s Revenge decimated the world. Civilization has collapsed and the dead far outnumber the living. The living seek shelter from the roaming zombie hordes, but one-by-one, those shelters are falling. Twenty-five survivors barricade themselves inside a former military bunker buried deep beneath a luxury hotel. They are safe from the zombies…but are they safe from one another? As supplies run low and despair sets in, each of them will find out just how far they’re willing to go to survive.

Let me first caution that, if you pick up Entombed expecting to read about hordes of zombies attacking the main characters, you will be disappointed. This is not The Rising, City of the Dead, or Dead Sea. In those novels, the living dead are the threat. In Entombed, mankind (or what’s left of it) are the monsters. And they’re more frightening than anything Ob could conjure up.

The novel is told in first-person narrative by Pete, a tour guide at a former Cold War-era government relocation facility located beneath a luxury resort in West Virginia that has been converted into a museum. When the zombie apocalypse finally reaches the resort, Pete and twenty-four survivors escape into the underground complex and lock themselves in, becoming trapped as the living dead swarm the doors and prevent their escape. The consummate loner, Pete spends all his time in the museum’s movie room watching old movies, television shows, and cartoons, effectively ostracizing himself from the group.

The group soon faces an even greater threat than the zombies massed outside – starvation. Although the museum has an adequate supply of water, the only food available is what is left in the break room vending machines, which is rapidly depleted. After a month of entrapment, Chuck, the Alpha male and resident bully, calls the group together to discuss their only option for survival – cannibalism. Pete refuses to take part and goes off to watch movies, and so the others unanimously vote to let Pete be the volunteer. (This reminds me of a saying a colleague used to use about five wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner is not democracy.) When several members of the group show up at the visitor center to inform Pete of the decision, Pete resists with deadly consequences. What ensues is a bitter fight for survival within the underground complex.

Entombed is a disturbing psychological study, a contemporary Lord of the Flies which details what happens to man once we have been yanked out of civilized society. [Spoiler alert] Although in the beginning you feel for Pete’s plight and want him to survive, half way through the novella you begin to question his motives and wonder whether the rationale for what he does is based on insanity brought about by starvation or the thought processes of a sociopath. [End spoiler alert]

The second novella in the book, White Fire, focuses on Captain Tom Collins and Phil McLeod who are transporting the bioweapon White Fire across Illinois when a tornado overturns their van and releases the contents on the town of Godfrey, with the anticipated deadly results. While trying to handle the situation that is rapidly spiraling out of control, Collins confronts an unusual antagonist who forces Collins to face up to his own culpability in the catastrophe.

Fans of Brian Keene should not pass up this novella, if they can find a copy. I give it four out of five rotting zombie heads.

Sunday Bunnies (a day late)

2011-07-04T17:57:00.000-04:00

No humorous Sunday Bunnies today. I spent most of yesterday at the emergency vet with my crippled geriatric rabbit Woodstock. He has developed a tumor in his right leg that has eaten away most of his femur. However, if the little trooper is in pain, he doesn't show it. He still eats up a storm, gets excited at treat time, and will spend half an hour licking my nose. I'm taking him to his normal vet tomorrow to decide what the next course of action is. Wish us luck.

Blog Posting on Zombo's Closet

2011-06-30T23:52:00.000-04:00

On 29 June, Zombo's Closet posted my first in a series of articles on how to write a novel. This posting is titled The Four Stages of Your Writing Career. Please drop by Zombo's Closet and check it out. (For those who think this sounds familiar, this series was originally posted a year ago on Dawn's Reading Nook, but has been slightly updated to include those experiences acquired since then.)

Review of THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES

2011-06-29T00:46:00.000-04:00

I’m trying a new approach with my blog. During the Stoker Weekend two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with many of my fellow authors, including Jonathon Maberry, Scott G. Browne, Scott Kenemore, and John Cozzoli. One of the many topics discussed was blogging, and how to make our blogs more appealing to readers. Talking with them, I realized that what my blog is lacking is less material about me and more postings that will be of interest to the wider genre community. So I decided to make some changes in the coming months, make my blog less “me” centric, and post the occasional review of zombie and vampire books and movies.

So with that, here’s my review of Steven C. Schlozman’s The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse.

Author: Steven C. Schlozman

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Date: 2011

Pages: 190

Available from Amazon.com

Blurb: As the walking dead rises up throughout the world, a few brave doctors attempt to find a cure by applying forensic techniques to captured zombies. Based on the research of renowned zombie expert Dr. Stanley Blum, performed at a remote island where a crack medical team has been sent to explore a radical theory that may lead to a cure for the epidemic, THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES documents for the first time the unique biology of zombie organisms. Twenty-five detailed drawings of the internal organs of actual zombies provide an accurate anatomy of these horrifying creatures, including zombie brains, hearts, lungs, skin, and the digestive system, while Dr. Blum’s notes reveal shocking insights into how they function, even as Blum and his staff themselves begin to succumb to the plague. No one knows the ultimate fate of Dr. Blum or his researchers, but now that his notebook, THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES, has been made available to the UN, the World Health Organization, and the general public, his scientific discoveries may provide the last hope for humans on earth!

Word of mouth from other blogs and forums has been giving The Zombie Autopsies good reviews, so the last time I was at the bookstore I picked up a copy. I’m glad I did. As a psychiatrist on the faculty of Mass General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Schlozman has used his medical background to provide a unique entry to the zombie genre.

The Zombie Autopsies focuses on the private, hand-written diary of Dr. Stanley Blum, the last scientist sent to the United Nations Sanctuary on the island of Bassas da India in the Indian Ocean where researchers from the UN and the World Health Organization are conducting autopsies on fully-animated zombies to find a cure for the living dead plague that has ravished a third of mankind. Everyone else who has ever traveled to the sanctuary has become infected and eventually turned into a zombie, so for Dr. Blum volunteering for this mission is a death sentence. In conjunction with Dr. Banca Gutierrez and Dr. James Pittman, the current researchers who are rapidly progressing from Stage II to Stage IV of the virus, the trio perform graphically detailed autopsies of the brain and internal organs of fully animated zombies. Their research soon unearths a frightening fact – the virus that has wiped out much if the world was most likely engineered by man.

An interesting twist to the novel is the bureaucratese that dominates the text. Because The Zombie Autopsies is written like a scientific paper, it has a detached feel about it. The zombie plague is referred to as Ataxic Neurodegenerative Satiety Deficiency Syndrome (ANSD), the “internationally accepted diagnostic term.” Those infected with ANSD are referred to as “humanoids” until they reach the final virulent Stage IV and become “No Longer Human” (NLH) and can be “deanimated.” Schlozman also includes references to the Treaty of Atlanta, the meeting of scientists, ethicists, and religious leaders to reach a consensus on how to characterize and deal with the infected (ethicists have been arguing that killing in mass self-defense can only be justified as an act of war, which does not apply in this scenario since the zombies did not formally declare war). Anybody who has watched the complete ineffectiveness of governments in the face of Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Haiti, and the tsunamis that recently devastated Japan will find these sections disturbingly authentic.

As a tongue-in-cheek nod to genre fans, Scholzman uses the autopsies to explain the physiology of the traditional shambling zombies of the Romero mythos (no fast zombies here), providing a medical basis for why the living dead possess voracious appetites, why they walk with their arms held out in front of them, and a host of other characteristics. And it would be remiss not to mention the gruesome illustrations by Andrea Sparacio, which in and of themselves are worth the purchase price of the book.

The Zombie Autopsies is a unique novel that should be included in any zombie aficionados’ book shelf.

Sunday Bunnies

2011-06-26T11:51:00.000-04:00

The things I have to do to get a treat around here. Yuck!

Hellnotes Reviews The Vampire Hunters

2011-06-20T23:02:00.001-04:00

Sheila M. Merritt of Hellnotes published a review of The Vampire Hunters this weekend, stating that the book "gets the blood flowing, without noticeable clotting in the plot." Even Cocoa's character -- Van Helsing -- got a shout out, being referred to as "the warm and fuzzy" that offers "a stabilizing contrast to the febrile frenzy of killing." (Cocoa gives that part of the review a paws up). Please check it out.

Father's Day Edition of the Sunday Bunnies

2011-06-19T21:37:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day. Hope all the dads out there have a special day and get a kiss from their kids, furry or otherwise.

Heading Off to the Stoker Weekend in New York Tomorrow

2011-06-15T23:30:00.000-04:00

I have not blogged in a while, and worst of all, I failed to post the Sunday Bunnies. I was down with a bad head cold all weekend, and am still feeling the tail end of it. Nor did it help that I had some major changes take place in my life this week with all the accompanying pressure that brings.

Tomorrow morning, I'm heading up to Long Island to attend the Horror Writer's Association Stoker Weekend 2011. Tomorrow night is the mass book signing that is open to the public, and the remainder of the weekend is filled with panels and forums. I'm definitely looking forward to this, and to the chance to get away for a few days.

I'll post more about the event as they happen.

Status Update

2011-06-09T00:14:00.000-04:00

I finished the first draft of The Walking Monster yesterday afternoon. It's just under 75,000 words. I'll be sending it off to my readers in the next few days for their feedback, and will begin the revisions of the manuscript later this summer.

On Sunday, Matthew Scott Baker (how ironic is that) posted a review of The Vampire Hunters on Hayes Hudson's House of Horrors, calling it a "fun and loudly entertaining vision of vampires versus the living."