Icy Heart, Empty Chest by Holly Lee and The Hat Man by Greg Marchand

Icy Heart, Empty Chest by Holly Lee 

This review is also on Reedsy Discovery.

Icy Heart, Empty Chest by Holly Lee is great at world building by creating a modern society of fairies, nymphs, elves, kelpies, and other magical creatures. It has a fascinating albeit gruesome plot and characters with potential. However, it is a slow paced book that gets repetitive very quickly.

In an alternate universe in which magical creatures live their daily modern lives, Cora is a barista, bounty hunter, smuggler, and art thief. Her client Finneas gives her a new assignment to retrieve a kelpie’s heart from the witch who stole it and give it to a potential buyer. While investigating Filla, the witch who took the heart, she learns that the heart belongs to Damien, a kelpie who is also her ex. He is alive but is growing weaker without his heart. Cora must choose between duty of following her assignment and a love that never really ended.

The strongest aspect of this book is the world building. It does not pull the old standard “Fairylands are stuck in a pastoral arcane Medieval like society" trope. If human society changes, there is no reason to assume that Fairy Worlds wouldn’t. They live in a society where magic and technology combine to create a world that is both fantastic and identifiable. 

This is a world where nymphs and sprites live next door to each other in suburban homes. Where an elf runs the local cafe. Where a doctor might treat your illness or injuries or you might get a witch to do it. Lee clearly had a lot of fun with treating magical characters like people that we might see every day. They just happen to have powers to create storms, curse people, heal with their hands, or teleport from one place to another. 

Some might have large ears, fur on their whole bodies, wings, sharp fangs, or look more animal than human. But they are just like you and me. They go to work or school, go shopping, run errands, hang out with friends, spend money, relax at home, and live mundane lives while having awesome powers and fascinating physical characteristics. 

The book has a promising character and its plot is alright for the most part. Cora isn’t a smuggler simply for money. She steals because she loves and appreciates art. Her love of art is inherited from her late father. In a way, her career keeps her memory of him alive even if her pursuits aren't exactly legal.

Cora’s love for her father also is evident in her conflicts with Damien. In fact, their fathers had a violent confrontation. As children who are close to their parents will do, Cora and Damien defended their old men and ended their relationship in a battle of words. While Cora rejects what she lost, she recognizes that Damien doesn’t deserve to have his heart taken out and doesn’t want his death on her conscience. No matter how their relationship ended, she does not want to be the one to give him a death sentence. 

The most serious drawback in the book is its pacing and it drags what would be an interesting plot. The heart assignment is well executed and there is genuine suspense in Cora’s search and retrieval of the heart. It could be a thrilling cat and mouse game that happens to have a living macguffin and lucky for Damien, a patient that is actually alive to take part in the search.

However the slowest moments occur during Cora and Damien’s reunions. There are several chapters devoted to them discussing their conflicts before they are resolved. A few are fine because this is a couple with a lot of serious baggage but those chapters repeat themselves. Cora and Damien spend a lot of talking in circles over the same topics and discussions without coming to any resolution or clarity. 

The pacing drags down what could be an interesting book with a fascinating premise and characters and makes it tedious and even boring. Their conversations could have been shorter, or came to the main points quicker. Also instead of talking about their issues and telling each other how they feel, they could show each other. What is overly verbose could have more action showing the two coming closer together emotionally on this heart stopping, pun not intended adventure. 

The Hat Man by Greg Marchand 

A supernatural creature that has gained popular culture relevance is The Hat Man. a mysterious tall figure with no facial features and dressed in a black suit, coat, and fedora appears from out of the shadows and stands over an unwilling victim usually in their bedrooms, in an abandoned street, or the woods, somewhere they are alone. It doesn’t touch them or talk to them mostly. It just stands there as a frightening silent presence. The Hat Man is most commonly associated with sleep paralysis as humans have largely reported seeing it in their bedrooms and over their beds before approaching REM sleep. There are urban legends of Benadryl users taking large quantities of the antihistamine to purposely encounter the figure. 

The Hat Men inspired the look of various characters like Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, The Babadook, and Creepypasta’s Slenderman. He has also appeared in the horror films, Shadow People and The Shadow Man, the documentaries The Nightmare and The Hat Man: Cases of Pure Evil, the games LSD: Dream Emulator and Deep Sleep, the Jason Pargin novel, John Dies At the End, and The Twilight Zone episode, “The Shadow Man.” The Twilight Zone episode in particular builds on the legend by depicting The Shadow Man as attacking people except “the one under whose bed (they) lay.” Unfortunately, the young protagonist finds himself the prey of a Shadow Man from under someone else’s bed!

The most recent portrayal of this enigmatic eerie and otherworldly figure can be found in Greg Marchand’s horror novel, The Hat Man. Similar to The Twilight Zone episode, it shows a Hat Man who isn't just terrifying because of its mere presence. It isn’t above using violence to make a point. 

This version of the Hat Man appears after a couple excavate trees for their gum. Instead of the expected sap from a slash pine, blood emerges and the two stumble upon an abandoned grave. They then see a terrifying figure dressed in a fedora who attacks the couple. Once unleashed, The Hat Man attacks various characters in violent ways. Two brothers searching for the monster are separated then murdered with great efficiency by The Hat Man. It falls to Sadie Burrows and Colton Garrett, who lose loved ones to the Hat Man, to investigate the mystery of this strange specter, its origins, and hopefully how to stop it. 

This book embellishes The Hat Man mythos by giving it more agency, character traits, and even a backstory. Instead of being a silent detached observer, it is an aggressive creature of action and rage. He uses his sharp claws, ice cold death breath, and superhuman strength to overpower then kill its victims. The action removes the more ominous ambiguous presence from the legend but makes sense from a storytelling point of view in this context. 

In some ways, Marchand combines the behavior of The Hat Man with more malevolent spirits like the dybbuk, which possesses and torments the living and the revenant which returns from the dead to inflict harm or terror. 

The behavior of the Hat Man becomes more understandable once we learn about its backstory before its death. It was once a person that was involved in horrible things and died graphically and violently. It is trying to seek the vengeance and justice in death that was denied in life. It’s not a particularly understandable or sympathetic character in the past or present, but knowing that it was once human gives it more of a relatable edge.

 There are many people filled with such hatred in their hearts that they make life miserable for those around them. Their words, actions, and very presence stirs negative emotions within people and they almost delight in that persona. They could fly into violent rages or play cold sociopathic mind games, but no matter their means they bring cruelty and inspire fear, despair, dependance, self-blame, guilt, submission, anger, fury, trauma, depression, anxiety, complacency, and apathy. Now picture a person like that coming back to life after their death and having supernatural abilities. It’s very easy to see why The Hat Man leaves such an impression on those he encounters.

This presence is also augmented by the personal suffering inflicted by the human characters. Sadie is coming off of an abusive relationship in which her ex hurt her dog, Buddy, who would later be killed by The Hat Man. A vet assistant and animal lover, Sadie’s strongest emotional core was her dog and the Hat Man destroys it. 

Colton’s family is extremely dysfunctional, particularly his troubled, addicted younger brother, Trevor, whom Colton has always taken a paternal role towards. He also greatly admires his older steadier brother, Bill, who is also the Sheriff. Both are murdered by The Hat Man. In killing them, The Hat Man also deprives Colton of his strongest emotional touchstones. 

It’s not enough for The Hat Man to kill someone physically, he destroys them emotionally by removing those they love the most and leaving them completely vulnerable and helpless when he comes after them.

That is the atmosphere that surrounds the book. It is a cruel world obsessed with death and violence that is reflected by an even crueler afterworld where the violence doesn’t end. Instead it increases. One of the more disturbing passages occurs when Sadie, Colton, and their friends hunt for The Hat Man during a Mardi Gras parade and stare befuddled and shaken at a float from The Hat Man Krewe, a float that not only honors the terrifying spirit that ruined their lives, but turns him into an attraction. It is one thing to become victimized by a disturbing person or presence but it is another thing to see that same presence glamorized into a figure of fun, sexuality, or worse admiration. 

The Hat Man book reveals a lot about a supernatural creature but it also reveals a lot more about the humans who talk about it. 

The Assassin's Heart by Chuck Morgan; Dead People Anonymous by Loraine Hayes

The Assassin's Heart by Chuck Morgan; Dead People Anonymous by Loraine Hayes 

 The Assassin's Heart by Chuck Morgan 

This is a short review. The full review is on LitPick 

The Assassin's Heart is an enthralling character driven Thriller about an assassin who begins to question her allegiances when her own heart and emotions are on the line.

 Delia Cahill seems to live a perfect enviable life. She's happily married to Mark, a government employee and has a great career as a high powered attorney with a noted list of rich and famous clients. She is actually a high priced assassin with a tremendous kill list and an excellent reputation as someone who gets the job done. Her latest assignment is Alexander Thorne, a tech genius who created an app that can penetrate any system, network, and defense. However, her heart gets in the way as Delia finds herself falling in love with her target.

Delia straddles the line between consummate professional and romantic heroine and plays both extremes rather well. She's like a praying mantis or a black widow spider, attracting her captive before destroying him. In fact she is so effective at her job that it would be nice to see more of this side of her as a remorseless killer.

Mostly we see her when she realizes that her job isn't what she thought. Her relationship with Alexander becomes a deal breaker between her and the Organization. After she falls in love, they go through extreme measures to break her, treating her just like she used to treat her targets. 

Delia lived a life of violence that overpowered her enemies and tried to live without a conscience. It worked until her conscience overpowered her. 

Dead People Anonymous by Loraine Hayes 

It turns out the dead need just as much emotional and psychological help as the living. Just like the living, the dead sometimes meet in groups to talk about them. Dead People Anonymous by Loraine Hayes is an entertaining, hilarious, and heartfelt look at life after death and the support groups that they form. 

Lexi died at age 28. She wakes up surrounded by other ghosts that have their own stories to tell. There's Billy, a soldier who died during the Vietnam War and finds Lexi very attractive. Vivian is the group leader and Team Mom who suffered loss and rejection in life. Malik appears to be the youngest as he died at 11 but since he's the first who died, he is the wisest and most experienced when it comes to rules of the dead. Dominic is a surly argumentative sort on the surface but has a hidden heart of gold. Maria is quiet but retains the insecurities and neurosis that she had in life. Finally, Chester is the oldest, dying at age 98 and has a lifetime of regrets and memories. The Dead People Anonymous group is there for each other.

The living impaired talk about their problems, discuss the circumstances of their deaths, and what they need to do to cross over to the next plane of existence wherever that may be.

The world of the dead is very detailed with all of the rules and standards that the dead follow. Like all good Fantasies, Hayes took great care in creating and planning her imaginary world and it shows in her writing. 

The ghosts are restricted to various rules. They feel emotions strongly and those emotions can be quite contagious among them. They can relive moments in their pasts as observers and maybe learn things about those moments that they suppressed on Earth. Yes Heaven and Hell exist and the choices that they made in life and after death could serve as gateways to either location.

The ghosts can touch each other but not humans.

They can leave and observe humans, but during times of stress or enlightenment, they find themselves transported back to the building where the group meets. It's also not a good idea to visit friends or family. It's not forbidden but it brings out the worst emotions and could lead to permanent relocation in one direction or another.

These rules are intriguing as Lexi navigates her way through being dead, making mistakes, and adjusting to her ghostly afterlife.

The book also has a strong sense of character development as we get to know each group member, what they were like in life, who they left behind, and what unfinished business holds them back. 

Each character's past is explored and we touch on various human experiences through the eyes of those who had to leave humanity behind. These are stories of lost loves, missing family members, unfaithfulness, anger, jealousy, age, grudges, unspoken words, regrets, and wanting to know if their lives had any meaningful impact and if there was some part of themselves that lived on in some way. 

In the end that's all anyone wants to know, dead or alive. If they actually mattered.

The Slither Queen by Tamera Lawrence; A Slithering Sizzling Scintillating Success

 The Slither Queen by Tamera Lawrence; A Slithering Sizzling Scintillating Success

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I suppose there are worse things to turn into than a serpent. You would be on the shortlist to play The Serpent in an adaptation of The Garden of Eden. You would be yelled at by Samuel L. Jackson in one of his meme-tastic roles. You would be coldblooded all year round especially in the hot summertime. At the very least, you would strike fear into the hearts of anyone with ophidiophobia and would look really awesome doing it. The Slither Queen by Tamera Lawrence is about a group of Shifters who can transform into such creatures in a novel that is slivering, scintillating, and sizzling.

Blake Howard, a conniving and ruthless leader of a serpent cult has kidnapped his newborn daughter, Prisca and her mother, Lustra so Prisca can be used in a ritual. But what Blake doesn't know is that Prisca has stronger abilities than he is aware of. One of these is to send telepathic messages in distress. She sends one out to Rachel Garth, who also possesses snake shape shifting abilities. She recently joined with some magic users including her new boyfriend, Gabe and Ariel, a friendly enemy. Rachel is determined to help Prisca and her mother and discovers that her link to Prisca goes beyond similar powers.

The Slither Queen hovers the right amount between Supernatural Horror and Urban Fantasy. There are some truly chilling skin crawling moments made even creepier by the fact that the characters can turn into serpents and therefore frighten many onlookers and Readers. One of the most startling scenes involves Rachel, who is still new to the shape shifting game and is only learning the difficulties of her powers. One of the difficulties is turning during the worst, most inopportune moments and not knowing when to turn it off. One chilling moment reveals this when she turns into a giant serpent while on a ferris wheel in full view of the public and has trouble reverting back to her human form.

The characters are interesting and complex. Rachel is the type of empathetic self-sacrificing protagonist in this type of subgenre, but she has some edges. Her past is a particularly dark one of abandonment, addiction, and estrangement from her mother and sister. Someone with such a toxic past as hers, could either become a bitter misanthrope living for only themselves or a caring idealist so others don’t suffer the way that they did. In Rachel’s case, she is the latter. 

However, Rachel is somewhat bitter about her past, particularly at her mother. There is a running subplot where she has an uncomfortable reunion with her mother who stumbles into this predicament and she is briefly held captive by Blake and his worshippers. Mother and daughter are torn between their angry resentment and the hope for reconciliation.

Gabe and Blake are a little less complex but serve their purpose. Gabe is both a mentor and love interest to Rachel by guiding her through her shifting mistakes with compassion and knowledge. Blake alternates between seductive charisma and ruthless efficiency. He gives off a dangerous and sophisticated aura where it’s easy to see why he has no trouble mesmerizing potential followers and lovers. When he displays his authoritarian violent murderous tendencies,is when his true nature is revealed underneath the charming exterior.

By far the two most complex and interesting characters in this book are Ariel and Prisca. Ariel walks a thin line between good and evil, being a friend of Gabe’s and a follower of Blake’s cult. She fancies Gabe and resents Rachel’s intrusion in their lives. She conspires with Blake because of her intense romantic feelings for Gabriel and her burning jealousy for Rachel.

 On the one hand, it is somewhat understandable that Ariel would feel possessive of Gabriel for years and rage at his attraction to Rachel, whom they just met. But there also comes a time where she has to learn that she is not entitled to him, nor does her love for Gabriel, justify the harm that she puts on Rachel and Prisca, especially the latter. It’s this line between understanding her behavior while not condoning her actions that make Ariel a complicated fascinating character.

Despite being a newborn, Prisca has more going for her than just sleeping and being breastfed by her mother. Despite being an infant, she has a wide range of powers including shifting and telepathy. This awesome but unskilled power is wrapped inside of a tiny body that can’t even sit up yet. It could be great but also explosive and Blake certainly recognizes this deadly possibility.

She also has some awareness of her surroundings that suggest deep wisdom despite having just been born. Her telepathic communications with Rachel come out in visuals, feelings, and short words to suggest a limited vocabulary and understanding, but an awareness of concepts like cause and effect, danger and safety, and possibly good and evil. 

Prisca’s awesome power and how it relates to Rachel become more evident when we learn some secrets about them that link them together in various ways, physically, emotionally, and magically. 

The Slither Queen might not be the best book for snake haters, but for everyone else it’s a highly recommended Urban Fantasy with plenty of magic, plenty of twists, and plenty of serpentine spirit.

Return of the Weird #1: The Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage by David Neuman; Kaleidoscopic Shades Strangeness Continues With Some Clarity

 

Return of the Weird #1: The Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage by David Neuman; Kaleidoscopic Shades Strangeness Continues With Some Clarity

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: For this and the next review, I am returning to the continuation of two of the strangest weirdest books that I read since beginning this blog, two books that were my favorites from 2022 in fact: Kaleidoscopic Shades Within Black Eternity by David Neuman and The Merchants of Knowledge and Magic(The Pentagonal Dominion Book 1) by Erika McCorkle. Both were bizarre, weird, eccentric, and unforgettable. Returning to those worlds with their sequels, Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage for the former and The Merchants of Light and Bone in the latter could lead to more weirdness or more clarity. By and large they streamline the series by limiting the perspectives and giving some concrete and important information and exposition to make the series well slightly more comprehensible but still retaining their mystifying, unearthly, uncanniness.

In Kaleidoscopic Shades Within Black Eternity, a series of strange bizarre events occur particularly around the home of Bob and Susan Triplow and their son, Joshua. These seemingly random bizarre occurrences like people appearing and disappearing, a strange man haunting various children's dreams at once, balloons appearing in the sky, and the sound of disembodied bells were tied to Bob’s traumatic childhood growing up in a sinister orphanage with a history of abuse and neglect. He and Joshua traveled to Bob's childhood home of Kapunda, Australia and the Mother's Care Orphanage where he grew up and face some demonic forces and childhood fears that never really disappeared as he grew older. 

The sequel, Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage is set three years later and things are far from settled. A new series of strange unearthly events are happening. However, instead of going global and affecting random parts of the world as before, they are mostly contained within the towns of Corona, California and Kapunda. This keeps this volume more self-contained and streamlined but also takes out the mystery and overall bizarre nature of its predecessor. It also makes the plot a bit easier to follow and understand though there still are plenty of frightening moments that make the Reader wonder what they just read and afraid to continue reading to find out.

Ralph Shaw, a young boy, disappears in a mysterious area in Kapunda called “The Playground.” A group of teens encounter a ghost car in which one teen later discovers is very similar to one in a photograph from almost 100 years ago, a photograph with a very disturbing message written on it. Constable Benjamine “Ben” McLevy’s investigation into these matters put her up close and personal with disturbing sounds and images. Meanwhile in California, Joshua Triplow is grieving for his missing friend, Sammy Debnar who disappeared in the previous book. He still feels Sammy's presence including having frightening audio and visual visions of and about him. Perhaps another trip to Australia is in order.

What Penny Arcade lacks in mystery and ominous energy when the scope is widened all over the world, it makes up for immediate urgency and personal connections to these strange events. The scary moments are plentiful but not as random as they were in the previous book. 

Many of the moments like the ghost car and the disappearance focus on the mental and physical torture of children. They center around the old orphanage and its former staff and residents and the terrifying moments are a reflection of the hatred and trauma that endured in the past. It even spreads to those who weren't there but are directly involved in protecting or investigating them like Ben. 

If there are sacred spaces which are filled with spiritual enlightenment and meaning, then The Playground is the exact opposite. The space inspires feelings of fear, anxiety, loneliness, and trauma. It is practically festered with a violent history which affected the entire environment. It's practically a gateway to Hell where if you don't lose your life, you are certain to lose your mind. It's a chilling setting just in thought let alone in action.

The presences that haunt this area and are responsible hover between the demonic and fanciful and the human and the painful realistic. One of those is a spirit that takes many forms and haunts people through various means like visions and whispers. Some of its more graphic moments are when it tortures the disappeared victims like Sammy and Ralph. Its most sadistic form is that of a grotesque jester that laughs at the pain that it inflicts on the young boys. It's also capable of changing shape and manipulating others for the added psychological and emotional torture. 

This creature is very similar to the Strange Man who haunted children's dreams in the previous book though clearly takes on a more active persona. Whereas the Strange Man was an observer who watched children, did not move or interact with them but still left an ominous eerie presence, the Jester is more hands-on. He gleefully tortures and abuses his targets, mocks people in their heads, and laughs at his unbridled cruelty. It is similar to other clown-like villains like The Joker or Pennywise but unlike the former who is human but psychotic, and the latter who is hampered by a chronological deadline to appear every 27 years, The Jester has those tendencies and all of the time in the world to use them.

The other sinister presence is found in a human being, Anthea who worked at the former orphanage. She has a history of abusing the orphans that were once in her care.

We are given something of her backstory that thankfully does not absolve her though it does provide some clarity and understanding towards the events in both books. In fact her history makes her actions appear worse. 

Since the previous book, Anthea’s rage affected her mentally and physically. She boils over with dreams of revenge that have taken a toll on her body. She becomes an ugly person in appearance and personality. Her hatred and abusive nature become the nucleus in which the strange supernatural events were formed. The land becomes the living embodiment of the pain that she once inflicted on innocent children and now inflicts upon herself. Though they are on opposite sides of human and supernatural, Anthea and The Jester are mirror parallel images consumed with the desire to hurt others and are collaborators in spreading pain in their own way.

Despite being an important character, the primary protagonist, in the previous book, Bob is mostly absent from Penny Arcade. Much of the main character energy is instead provided by Ben and Josh.

Ben is the standard cop protagonist found in these types of novels, tenacious, courageous, kind hearted, observant, and skeptical until they are face to face with the bizarre. Ben’s evolution through the book is that of someone who is confident in her career and the investigation process but is out of her element when encountering something inhuman, something that by nature cannot follow human standards and resists being caught or contained. It's always there and will always be there.

Since Bob takes a minor role, his son Josh inherits his Protagonist Genes and does a pretty good job. When he is haunted by memories of Sammy, he decides to enter a student exchange program to study in Australia with his friend, and potentially more, Ethan. 

Josh is experienced with this supernatural activity to the point that he acts like a jaded veteran with hard won wisdom and massive PTSD. His return to Australia is not just a rescue mission for Sammy, it's a chance to gain some closure for what happened to him last time.

Penny Arcade Mother's Care Orphanage brings some reason and logic albeit illogical logic, towards Kaleidoscopic Shades Within Black Eternity. It isn't necessarily better than its predecessor, but it clears up the events in both books and makes them understandable. 

 

Sinister Ascension by Marc L. Abbott; School Spirit (and Vampires and Mediums)

 

Sinister Ascension by Marc L. Abbott; School Spirit (And Vampires and Mediums) 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Sinister Ascension Marc L. Abbott’s graphic eldritch Supernatural Horror novel involves a coven of vampires that infiltrate a University and interfere with mortal’s lives for their goals.

Todd, a mysterious handsome charismatic newcomer enrolls in Bruckner University and catches the eye of Kim Morris. She is in a tempestuous relationship with her boyfriend, Eric Tucker which Todd takes full advantage of. However, Todd's not just there to be the third point in a love triangle. He's a vampire with a secret plan for “ascension” and needs a mate. He has many who oppose him including his fellow vampires and coven mates, Kevin and Zeborah, Eric, Dayton Conner, Eric's best friend, and Carmen Guerra, Kim’s roommate. Carmen actually has a secret weapon. She's a medium whose grandmother taught her how to communicate with ghosts and read the minds of otherworldly creatures.

Sinister Ascension has all of the usual earmarks of a decent Supernatural Horror: spiritual encounters, horrific monsters that are beyond description, love triangles gone fatal, and a confrontation between a sinister otherworldly creature with unbelievable abilities and a courageous worried human, often the Female Survivor/Final Girl, also with unbelievable abilities. There technically isn't anything new with what is done with the material, but it is an engaging ride with its ominous moments and genuine suspense.

Todd is a presence that alternates between charming and chilling. There are moments where he plays the role of the sympathetic potential boyfriend to the hilt, maneuvering Kim and Eric’s relationship in his favor. They have personality conflicts about missed dates, spending more time with friends, and mixed signals. These are often minor moments that create tension with any couples, but Todd is a master manipulator. He exaggerates Eric's flaws, builds up his own virtues, and plays on Kim's insecurities and sexual longings. 

Todd almost doesn't need supernatural abilities because he makes for a very effective manipulator and potential abuser. But he is a vampire and is capable of various powers like shapeshifting, hypnosis, and telepathy. As a 21st century vampire, he updates his technique. He spends a lot of time in labs breeding leeches and a subservient fellow vampire to extract the mortal blood. He goes through an eerie metamorphosis that strips away the handsome manipulative exterior to reveal the monster that had been lurking underneath.

The characters that fight against Todd are effective, particularly his rival vampires and Carmen. Kevin and Zeborah hover between being as antagonistic as Todd and justifiable in their fights against him. Kevin takes a more pragmatic approach towards humanity and Todd's fanatic megalomaniacal ambitions run counter to that. Even though he was willing to work alongside Todd on behalf of their coven previously, Kevin realizes that his colleague has gone too far and sides with the humans, specifically Carmen, against Todd. 

Zeborah also has his reasons to side against Todd. There are spoilers involved, but let's say his reasons are more emotional. He still has a soul despite his vampiric tendencies and is also tired of following Todd's orders especially when they led to much previous destruction. His journey towards atonement is one of the strongest aspects of this book.

By far Todd's strongest opponent and the primary protagonist is Carmen. She is beginning college just as she is discovering and developing her powers. Her conversations with her grandmother often consist of her asking questions about these growing powers that she doesn't understand and can't always control. Her abuela gives plenty of heartfelt advice born from a lifetime of using otherworldly talent in an ordinary world. 

Carmen's powers manifest themselves in different ways. Her encounters with ghosts are so mundane that she at first believes that she's talking to actual human students until something gives them away, usually when someone else does not see whom she is talking to. There is such an eerie chapter in which she talks to someone revealed to be a ghost during a stressful shocking night. 

Carmen also has the ability of sharing thoughts with some supernatural creatures most prominently Kevin. This skill allows these two unlikely allies to be on the same page as Carmen tries to protect Kim from Todd and Kevin fights against his one-time coven mate. 

With the ghostly encounters, telepathic conversations with vampires, and the migraines that often precede the use of her powers, Carmen is often on edge. Her abilities are amazing but they are clearly not a pleasant experience. They bring physical pain, mental confusion, and emotional loneliness when she can't tell anyone about them. Carmen recognizes the pain and discomfort but also realizes that it is a calling to help those in trouble particularly her friend and ultimately everyone around her.

Sinister Ascension is a worthy addition to any Supernatural Horror book collection. It has a lot of depth, scares, and plenty of spirit.

Debunked by Beth Perry, Discover Your Natural Gifts: Connect With Your Natural Genius, Discover Your Niche, and Transform Your Life Using Gifts From Your Ancestors by Barry D. McCollough, French Turquoise Echoes by Carola Schmidt

 Debunked by Beth Perry, Discover Your Natural Gifts: Connect With Your Natural Genius, Discover Your Niche, and Transform Your Life Using Gifts From Your Ancestors by Barry Douglass McCollough, French Turquoise Echoes by Carola Schmidt 

Debunked by Beth Perry 

This is a brief review. The longer version can be found at LitPick.

Debunked is an engaging Supernatural Thriller/Occult Mystery about possessing intuitive abilities and using them as well as releasing long buried guilt. It is a fascinating conflict between skeptics and intuitives that has a lot of parallels with real life.

Craig Herbert is the executive field producer of The Debunkers Challenge, a top rated reality program that exposes fraudulent psychics. The twist is the show will offer money if they can prove their abilities in front of the skeptics.

Craig visits Tennessee upon the advice of a colleague’s relative to visit Betty Ann Crawford, a clairvoyant with an uncanny success rate. The more Craig interviews the woman, the more bemused and mystified he is. Either she is an excellent con artist or she really is psychic.

The Debunkers Challenge is clearly based on the challenge created by James Randi.

Betty Ann is probably not based on one specific person but probably an amalgam of different famous psychics and mediums such as Dorothy Allison, Sylvia Browne, Tyler Henry, Allison Dubois, and Uri Geller. Readers will love the inside references and the themes of science vs. superstition, skepticism vs. belief, the physical world vs. the supernatural world. 

This is also a very tight efficient Occult Mystery which plays all of the right notes within the subgenre. Craig has a tragic past with his own brush with death and unsolved crimes. His encounters with Betty Ann build on those memories as he receives horrific visions and flashbacks connected with his past. 

The final chapters taking place during the filming of the episode in which Betty Ann is the spine tingling climax. Betty Ann makes some chilling revelations that are genuine plot twists that were properly built up but enough of a surprise once they were finally told. 

Debunked is a brilliant chilling Occult Mystery that challenges the Readers with what they believe in and what it would take to question those beliefs.

Discover Your Natural Gifts: Connect With Your Natural Genius, Discover Your Niche, and Transform Your Life Using Gifts From Our Ancestors by Barry Douglass McCollough

Barry D. McCullough’s Discover Your Natural Gifts is a brilliant inspirational book that encourages Readers to discover and build on natural talents in Leadership, Management, Math, Art, and Science.

Each chapter follows the same formula. It explains the origins of the gifts and how they evolved through time. They then cite examples of famous people who exhibited those traits as well as many of the others. They then discuss strengths, limitations, and keywords of those gifts and how the others balance them out.

Among the most interesting sections are the ones that describe specific people who exemplify those gifts and how they used them to help create a better world around them. Mohandas K. Gandhi was an example of a Natural Leader by creating a specific vision and inspiring large groups of people with his words and calls to action. He led many to embrace his ideals of nonviolence and civil disobedience and became a symbol of India’s fight for independence from Great Britain.

Another fascinating section is one which describes the gifts in great detail, particularly their keywords. A Natural Manager for example would be adept in observation, analysis, organization, planning, discipline, calculation, restraint, utilizing, making decisions, allocation, and assigning and delegating responsibility. They falter in gaining control, manipulation, judgment, accepting and rejecting certain people and views, being too commanding, and sometimes practicing discrimination. 

They show that every gift has positive and negative attributes and how important it is to balance them with the other gifts so the person doesn't become too rigid and short-sighted in their roles and views.

Discover Your Natural Gifts is an interesting way to explore and nurture one's abilities and maybe gain some new ones.

French Turquoise Echoes by Carola Schmidt 

Carola Schmidt’s short work “French Turquoise Echoes” could be seen as a modern day adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Like its predecessor, it explores the fine line between sanity and insanity. It also asks some really tough uncomfortable questions about the real reasons behind this psychotic break, the person experiencing it, and the world surrounding them before and during this episode.

Janet Danvers is a retired psychologist/youth volunteer.spends her days staring at her French turquoise wallpaper which is decorated with a floral pattern. Throughout her days, she interacts with a variety of characters who could be either products of an overactive imagination, repressed memories of people in her life, or visual and auditory hallucinations. As her conversations with them become more intense. Janet is forced to come to terms with various past traumas that may have manifested themselves into the forms of her companions.

“French Turquoise Echoes” is reminiscent of those classic Gothic short stories which take place in a small enclosure and where every object is filled with meaning and metaphor. The wallpaper for example could stand for Janet’s fractured mindset. Flowers normally symbolize life, youth, peace, and growth but in case they mean something different. The flowers on the wallpaper seem to be metaphors of death and hidden truths. Instead of reminding her of good pleasant times, they are covered in her blood as she strips away the paper. They force her to peer into her subconscious and come to terms with things that she mentally concealed.

Her companions are deceptively written to be engaging and a welcome presence.. Such characters as the curious Margaret, the calm Antonio, the sardonic Robert, the elegant Lilac comment on and become almost as multifaceted as Janet herself. Even some characters like Gwen, Janet’s daughter, and Otto, a young boy put in Janet’s care, have an air of mystery to them. It is purposely left ambiguous whether they are actually real or a part of this gang. 

At first, they appear to be a sort of protection from the real world, a means for Janet to express herself in a creative manner. They represent facets of her personality and allow her to examine those traits inwardly. They also could just be someone that she can talk to on a daily basis. However, as the story continues they become more forceful, manipulative, and possess violent and self-destructive impulses. On the one hand, they want Janet to learn the truth but they don’t mind hurting her to make her see it.

As I mentioned before, “French Turquoise Echoes” is a post-modern adaptation of “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Both are commentaries on the line between sanity and madness and how society treats the people involved. Gilman’s story was a criticism of the treatment of women in a patriarchal society. Women who had depression and other illnesses were prescribed rest cures, were deprived of outside stimulation, and reduced to an infantile state. 

“French Turquoise Echoes” is a meditation on loneliness and the plight of the elderly. Janet once felt useful, a large part of a thriving community. She had a successful career to look back on with pride,loyal friends, and a loving family. Now, she lives a solitary life detached from the world around her. She is forgotten by the society around her, so she retreats within herself inside her own head. Is it any wonder that she has such an active fantasy life when her reality is so disappointing? 

Unfortunately. Janet used her fantasy life as a deflection and a shield from her traumas. However, the more she tried to hide from them the more they appeared until she couldn’t hide any longer. Her fantasy and reality, once separate world are forced to become one.

Hell's Beginning by John T.M. Herres; Bloody, Graphic, Paranoiac Horror/Thriller About a Unique Killer

 Hell's Beginning by John T.M. Herres; Bloody, Graphic, Paranoiac Horror/Thriller About a Unique Killer

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I will have to reveal a very important plot twist so I will reiterate that this review has VERY IMPORTANT MAJOR HEAVY DUTY SPOILERS!!!!

 What can be worse than facing a creature that defies human explanation, has superhuman abilities, has origins that date back to ancient times, has no compassion, empathy, or human emotions, and is seemingly unstoppable? How about one who is all of that and one that you can't see and could potentially be anyone around you?

That is the concept surrounding John T.M. Herres’ Hell's Beginning, a graphic, bloody, paranoiac Supernatural Horror about a hunt for a creature just like that.

In the beginning of the book, we receive a first person narration from a very creepy character who is planning to rape and abduct Sharon, a woman whom they see in a bar. After that happens, they pursue a group of young people at a make out session. When one of the kids at the session, Tammy, is reported missing, the search is on for her and Sharon's kidnapper and potential murderer.

Okay, not bad, not good but familiar. It’s from the point of view of a serial kidnapper, possibly killer, a human serial kidnapper and their victims. We’ve read that before. 

The book alternates perspectives. The Abductor gives theirs as they psyche themselves up before they put their awful thoughts into action and the victims give theirs as they struggle to survive and fight this terrifying ordeal.

The book is very tense and there is definitely a sense that The Abductor is driven by uncontrollable obsessions and compulsions. “It's just a Psychological Thriller,” we might be heard to say, “Just a very real frightening human Psychological Thriller.”

Then something happens that completely changes how we see The Abductor and the society in which they live. When The Abductor is murdered in retaliation by Mike, one of Tammy's friends, a blue mist emerges and enters inside Mike. Suddenly, Mike has a different voice and outlook and is also compelled by a desire to claim and destroy everything around him.

Hell's Beginning shifts from a Psychological Thriller to a Supernatural Horror. What was once human now is something demonic. It was someone with a form, a shape, and a body.

There may have been a reason, an actual origin for their hatred and what they did. While it's hard to get into the minds of a serial killer, at least you know what might happen when you're in there. At least a human psychotic can be stopped by a bullet, their own hand, or a prison cell. We know what the characters are getting into when they confront them. It may not end up well for everyone but at least they can be defeated.

Now what we read about is something completely different. A human killer is replaced by a demonic force that enters a human body and forces it to commit violence. The human host has completely mentally disappeared leaving the parasite demon in its place. 

This exchange with Mike isn't the first and only time that The Demon has done this. It's done this before and since several times throughout the book, hopping from body to body and controlling one mind after another.

Just think about it. This Demon can't be killed because it goes from the victim to the murderer. It takes a different form and voice and is smart enough to access its new host’s memories and experiences to imitate them flawlessly and gain access to their stuff. Its pursuers don't know who it is inside next. 

It could be in anyone and anywhere. A bystander, a witness, a family member, even their own spouse or partner. The paranoia is justifiably thick as characters have to face an enemy that is potentially all around them.

There is an interesting subtext concerning the Demon. It slips between human forms when the human kills the previous body. Perhaps The Demon is a metaphor for violence itself. Jumping from body to body suggests that we all have the capacity to commit violence. 

That urge lays dormant inside us and is just waiting for an outlet to bring it forward. Whether because of hatred, vengeance, self-defense, or commitment to patriotism and justice, sometimes we want to hurt others. This demon is just a manifestation of our worst desires to do so.

It's easy to defeat a monster that exists outside of oneself. It's a Hell of a lot harder to fight the one within.

The Street Between The Pines by J.J. Alo; Mesmerizing Supernatural Thriller Let Down By Demystifying Explanation

The Street Between The Pines by J.J. Alo; Mesmerizing Supernatural Thriller Let Down By Demystifying Explanation 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: J.J. Alo’s novel, The Street Between The Pines, illustrates the difficulties of crossing subgenres and making the Reader think that they are reading one specific type of book only to realize that they are reading a completely different one. 

When a tropical storm pounds down rain, lightning, wind, floods, and more severe weather into New England, Norwich, Connecticut is hit with some strange occurrences. A man is practically devoured by an unknown creature. Another man is pulled into a river while fishing for a very large catch. A woman goes missing after she walks her dog. Clowders of mysterious cats are seen everywhere. An estranged couple comes face to face with a powerful and terrifying sea monster as their basement is flooded. What is going on? Is it something supernatural? A curse on the town? A creature from local New England legends making an appearance? An ancient God displeased with humanity's destruction of the planet? Is there a more logical explanation? Perhaps a science experiment gone awry? A government conspiracy? An experiment in mass psychosis? Parallel dimensions? Aliens? 

The first half of the book suggests one possibility. Then it does a 180 and gives another explanation making an uneven work that captures two distinct subgenres and ends up doing neither one any favors.

I have mentioned many times that I love when books transcend genres and do various things. A police officer investigates a case of grizzly serial murders and comes face to face with a vampire. A college freshman explores life and love at a university where they study magic. Boy meets girl/alien at a singles bar in a far off galaxy. Good authors that combine subgenres keep the Readers on edge and off kilter so they can see beyond the tropes and expectations and embrace this strange offspring of two very different parents. 

However, it's very important to make sure that the couple is compatible before they copulate. The Author has to maintain the delicate balance between the various subgenres so the results are melded together and are not jarring. Unfortunately, The Street Between The Pines is very jarring. 

The first half of the book is far better than the second. There are very chilling chapters which illustrate the “nothing is scarier than something” trope that is so common in horror. Characters investigate something weird happening and can hear a strange noise creaking around the backyard, some sea creature a lot larger than a duck moving in the water, or can just make out a mysterious shadow. Unfortunately they are then attacked and that strange figure is the last thing that they will ever see.

Everything suggests some strange crossing of the natural and supernatural world. The cats offer some sinister foreshadowing since they have never been seen around these areas of Norwich before. They could be foreshadowing the death and destruction that is to come.

The flood motif throughout the book plays on uncontrollable environmental fear. As the water overwhelms the homes and leaves people in survival mode, the attacks become more prominent. The destruction of nature and the arrival of the supernatural serves as both an intended disruption and condemnation. With flooding of coastal towns and cities being a prominent sign of climate change, it may be no coincidence that Alo used it so often as a metaphor. This natural destruction suggests that humanity has messed with nature long enough so nature works with humanity's greatest fears to settle the score.

The book also captures regional folklore. One character researches books and sites to discover the type of creature that attacked their house and discovers the Norwaukus, a Connecticut based cryptid. It is fascinating for both locals and outsiders when authors base their books on local folklore. Those who are from that area will like the inside reference and those who aren't will enjoy getting introduced to a new legend and character.

I have not found any information to show that the Norwaukus is an actual cryptid from Connecticut legends. More than likely it's based on the Glawackus, which is described as “one of Connecticut’s big three cryptids.” (The other two are the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills and the Winstead Wildman.) It is a very interesting and unique take to bring a local creature to the front of one’s book and give it some national attention.

However this supernatural horror devolves into something else. For spoiler’s sake not much will be revealed about the resolutions. Characters learn the origins of these cryptids and what the purpose was behind the attacks. Unfortunately it's revealed in a clunky overly verbose section that turns a Supernatural Horror into a Science Fiction Thriller and not a good one.

The exposition is rather tedious, boring, and comes out of nowhere. It creates some plot holes and frustrating unexplained questions such as why the creatures attacked coincidentally at the same time as the severe weather. Why were particular characters singled out to be attacked? What role did the cats play and if none at all why did the narration make a big deal about them? 

 The worst part of all is that the explanation also removes the mystery from the cryptids. This in turn makes them less scary. They were much more chilling when we didn't know about them and could fill in our own assumptions or at least if the resolution had an unusual paranormal explanation

on to it. Instead, they are seen not as creatures who live to themselves and have no means of

being controlled or subdued. Instead they became

servile pawns to achieve someone human’s

ambitions.

The suspense is removed and the threat is

weakened. This turns a book that started out so

promising into a slow sluggish ponderous mess. 

 

American Odyssey The Devil's Hand by B.F. Hess; Gripping Modern Day Faustian Supernatural Horror ..Or Is It?

 American Odyssey The Devil's Hand by B.F. Hess; Gripping Modern Day Faustian Supernatural Horror ..Or Is It?

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I guess there's no time like the present to read a modern day adaptation of the Faust story like B.F. Hess’ American Odyssey: The Devil's Hand. It has many of the usual tropes found in the adaptations: cocky ambitious protagonist, creepy and charming demonic figure, deal with the devil, naive troubled love interest, many good times of untold wealth and fame, terrifying supernatural moments, and the climax when it all goes horribly wrong and the devil comes to collect. What makes American Odyssey different is the blurred lines between fantasy and reality, sanity and madness, delusion and truth. 

Uriel Jacob Sullinger, the latest patient at the Clay County Home for the Mentally Ill, has an interesting story to tell his psychiatrist, Dr. Kessler. Jacob was once a rich, powerful, influential lawyer. During a case, Jacob receives an unusual offer from a friend to strike a deal with a M. Diabolus. When Jacob meets Diabolus, he can't help but notice that there is something mesmerizing but sinister about him. Dare we even say potentially demonic? 

American Odyssey is an interesting send up to the Faustian Legend. The modernized touches make the legend relevant and relatable to Readers. Instead of a demonic figure magically popping in and out from nowhere, Diabolus is dressed in fine tailored suits and has clandestine meetings in penthouses and limos. Instead of signing contracts written in blood, Diabolus like most businessmen rely on third parties and legal loopholes to get his souls.

It's similar to the movie, The Devil's Advocate which also depicts Satan (played by a deliciously diabolical Al Pacino) as a modern day businessman who uses the contemporary world to his advantage. 

There are some other touches that build on familiar tropes. Jacob was raised by an eccentric great uncle, who had a very loose definition of what is considered legal, and served as Jacob’s Wise Old Mentor. There's Fran, a married older woman who is ruined by her association with Jacob. There's Angelica, a sweet restaurateur who helps Jacob when he hits rock bottom and takes him to get the resources that he needs. Her name and personality might not be the only things angelic about her. Jacob is tormented by nightmares and visions of demons, fire, and torture that cause him to question his sanity and require medication to control.

Speaking of questions of sanity and requiring medication, there is another subtle more subversive element to this book that makes it more than a postmodern “Deal with the Devil.” There's an ongoing theme of mental health and the decline of it. The novel begins in a psychiatric hospital and Jacob recounts his story to his psychiatrist. Jacob spends the first few chapters detailing his upbringing by his great uncle and there are definite signs of inherited mental illness. Kessler even admits that he considers Jacob's great uncle a friend because of their time as philanthropist and beneficiary but also as doctor and patient. There are also revelations towards the end that Jacob is the latest in a long line of family members that have had psychological disorders and let's just say did not express them in the healthiest of ways. 

This background information casts the Reader in the role of a dubious skeptic wondering how much of the book is true in a literal sense, a figurative sense, or just a series of visual and auditory hallucinations. This question is never answered and leaves room for alternative possibilities and theories. 

Looking at his story from a more detached analytical perspective, it's possible that this is not the adventures of a man making a deal with the devil but the story of a man who is fighting a losing battle against his own sanity. His nightmares may not be supernatural but hallucinations. Seeing religious significance in real people like Diabolus and Angelica could be symptoms of paranoid delusions and they are neither diabolical nor divine messengers. His biggest battle might not be good vs. evil but instead madness vs. sanity.

If he's not damned by Satan, then Jacob is damned by his own mind. One can confront the Prince of Darkness, but can they ever really confront the darkness within themselves if they don't recognize it?

The Boy From Two Worlds (The Girl in the Corn Book 2) by Jason Offutt; Contemporary Fantasy Brings Magic and Macabre to Missouri

 The Boy From Two Worlds (The Girl in the Corn Book 2) by Jason Offutt; Contemporary Fantasy Brings Magic and Macabre to Missouri

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I love Contemporary Fantasies and I am always interested in books set in my home state of Missouri, so I feel like Jason Offut’s The Boy From Two Worlds was written specifically for me to read and review. It definitely delivers the magic of a Contemporary Fantasy and the macabre of a Supernatural Horror to the Show Me State.

In 2016, Bobby Garrett rigged a chain of explosives which resulted in the deaths of 462 people in St. Joseph, Missouri. Found at the center of the attack were a couple, Thomas Cavannaugh and Jillian Robertson, and Marguerite Jenkins, who was pregnant with Bobby’s child. One year later, Marguerite gives birth to a boy, Jacob AKA Jakey and Thomas and Jillian move in together. 

Over the next four years some strange things start happening. There are cattle mutilations. Some people are mysteriously murdered in a very horrible and graphic manner. A transient mumbles about some dark force coming. Jillian is acting very distant from Thomas and has a very bizarre conversation with his mother. There are parts of Thomas’ past that he doesn’t remember such as something traumatic that he blocked out, but has to do with his girlfriend. 

Then there’s Jakey. Ever since he was born, there has been something off about him. He has dark eyes with no irises and very sharp teeth, some of which he had at birth. Marguerite laughed when he came out and the boy was born with no umbilical cord and navel already intact. As if his physical abnormalities weren’t odd enough, there’s his weird precocious behavior. He is quite knowledgeable in mature subjects and has a taste for violence. He has a sadistic sense of humor that frightens many around him. It’s no wonder that Marguerite is afraid of and withdraws from her own son. Eventually, all of this creepy weird stuff culminates with the discovery that there is ancient magic afoot and fairies that will use it. But these fairies are far from the pleasant wish granting Disney fairies. Not even close. 

This book is a Grimm Fairy Tale combined with a Stephen King novel and I couldn't be happier that it's set in Missouri. It cannot be overstated how perfect the setting is for a book like this. Not just because Offutt lives in Maryville so knows the territory. Not just because it's my home state which is a huge draw for me. It's because of how much Missouri’s basic averageness plays into the thematic elements of dark sinister supernatural things happening to ordinary average people and scaring the living Hell out of them.

Don't get me wrong. Missouri has its charms with lovely natural settings and interesting tourist spots, and definitely has a complicated and fascinating history. Not many cities like St. Louis boasts a zoo, an art museum, a history museum, and a science center with free general admission and an outdoor amphitheater that hosts musicals during the summer and has free seating. I'm proud to live in the St. Louis area even when I don't agree with much of the right wing politics. But I will also admit there is no better state that emphasizes the “mid” in the Midwest and the “over” in flyover state. 

Missouri is a very thoroughly Midwestern state. Middle of the country. Middle of the road. Very average. I mean a more traditional setting for a Fantasy or Horror Novel would be possible. Take Louisiana which must have "a belief in the supernatural" written in their state constitution. California is certainly off beat enough.  Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft   made quite use of the dark fantastic natures of their states of Maine and Massachusetts respectively. But Missouri is noted for not being very noteworthy.

 State residents may have favorite spots but non residents don't go out of their way to come here. They drive through on their way to other more interesting states. Michael Che summed it up in an SNL Weekend Update monologue: “Missouri is the Show-Me State as in Show-Me-the-Way-to-Chicago.” It is probably only surpassed by Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, the Dakotas, and Idaho in overall average normalcy and blandness. Missouri is probably the last place that you would expect something weird, spooky, or particularly magical to happen which means it's perfect.

The clever selection of Missouri as the state setting is only augmented by Offutt choosing St. Joseph for the city. St. Joseph is the home of one of Missouri's most infamous residents, Westerns outlaw, Jesse James and St. Joe is not a town that will let you forget it. The house in which he lived and died is now a Museum dedicated to the outlaw's life and career. Visitors can see his grave, whose epitaph is quite colorful in describing James's death at the hands of Robert Ford. They can even see the bullet hole in the wall that came from Ford's gun and killed James. There are Jesse James Festivals nearby. It is not an understatement that St. Joseph has a huge crush on the man.

The point is not so much outlaw fascination (though come to think of it, that might be a factor) but the idea of locals turning anything into a tourist trap. In my review of Somewhere East of Me by Sean Vincent O'Keefe, I wrote about those strange tourist traps that are found in out of the way locations in flyover average states. They are like these off the wall eccentric bright spots in what would otherwise be an endless sea of boring roads and rural farmland. Not only that but there is something bizarre, off putting, even macabre about them. When you stop to think about it, it is weird that a town pays such tribute to a man who was known for robbing and killing people. 

That's what The Boy From Two Worlds explores: the weird, macabre, and ultimately scary in a very average ordinary basic location. It explores how the people are unprepared for this weirdness. They would be content to work, go to the grocery store to shop and catch up on local gossip, binge watch their favorite show, have a drink or two, and spend quality time with their family or friends before going to bed. 

They are unprepared for a very human tragedy in which a psychopath with skewered views takes multiple lives. They are even less prepared for the otherworldly events that happen afterwards. They are plunged into a nightmare which subverts everything that they ever thought and believed. No wonder that the human characters suffer from alcoholism, addiction, PTSD, Depression, parental withdrawal, paranoia, Schizophrenia and other issues. Even Jakey’s earlier sociopathic tendencies which cause his mother to withdraw from him could be symptomatic of the bizarre otherworldliness which manifested itself before he was born.

The Boy From Two Worlds excels at using its creepy images and storytelling to subvert our expectations. When we first learn about the Garrett Murders, the book has shades of a Psychological Thriller. We also see Supernatural Horror with the strange potentially not human child and the brutal cult-like murders. There are even traces of Science Fiction with the appearance of cattle mutilations and abductions where the victim recalls bright lights, painful surgical experiments, and lost time. Like the characters, the Reader thinks they know where the plot is going based on information from other genres. Then we are left surprised by what approaches.

However, the Horror elements don't end once we learn that Fairies are involved. If anything, it makes things worse

The book has plenty of magic and magical creatures, but it reminds us that these creatures are powerful, menacing, and extremely dangerous. These Fairies have sharp teeth, shape shifting abilities, duplicitous ethics, and a hunger for human flesh. They are less animated family friendly Fairy Tale Faire Folk and more graphic nightmarish early Celtic and Teutonic legend creatures. They are powerful, immortal, hungry, deadly, obsessive and have a whole town of delicious mortals to play with and feast upon. 

The Boy From Two Worlds is a Dark Fantasy that knows exactly how to scare its Readers and offers the right setting in which to do the scaring.

The Shabti by Megaera C. Lorenz; Phony Mediums, Egyptian Curses, and a Charming Gay Romance Makes a Chilling Historical Supernatural Horror

 The Shabti by Megaera C. Lorenz; Phony Mediums, Egyptian Curses, and  a Charming Gay Romance Makes a Chilling Historical Supernatural Horror

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Megaera C. Lorenz’s The Shabti has a lot going for it: An engaging historical setting, an inside look at the Spiritualists movement and the tricks that frauds pulled, a genuinely creepy supernatural threat, and a charming romantic gay couple that encounters these problems.

In the 1930’s, Dashiel Quicke was once a noted Spiritualist that many would pay top dollar to get his psychic impressions or communicate with deceased loved ones. He now spends his time exposing the hucksters and grifters of the Spiritualist Movement, revealing how they actually accomplished their tricks. During one of his lectures, he captures the interest of Professor Herman Goschalk, an Egyptologist and museum curator. Herman tells Dashiel that his museum is the center of some strange activity: footsteps, whispers, missing items, stuff being thrown around, bleeding walls, the usual. At first the situation seems easily explained by science or an overactive imagination but as Dashiel gets to know Herman and experiences more of these strange events, it becomes clear that they are being haunted by a real ghostly apparition, a ghost from Ancient Egypt who inflicts great pain, curses, and suffering against all it comes near. All of the flimflam tricks aren't going to save them when they are faced with the real thing.

From beginning to end, this is a book brilliantly charged with a sense of Historical Horror. Instead of going for big shocks and scares, The Shabti leisurely builds its pace by taking a straight line from events that are odd but could be explained to the cosmic horror in which the barriers between time and space and life and death must fade before that horror can be encountered and possibly defeated.

One of the ways that it accomplishes this fear is by giving us a protagonist who has seen the supernatural world from the inside and knows how people bend and use it to their advantage.

The most interesting moments early on in the book occur when Dashiel tells how Spiritualists operate. He describes how they hire spies in the queue to gather information then sneak into the mark’s house to take a valuable object to look like the “spirits” used “relocation” to appear in the medium’s hands. Information gathered by the spies, cold readings, and early special effects added to the performance to sway the audience. It's a pretty clever grift and a sweet scam that is easy to see why many are fooled, especially those who have lost loved ones or want proof of life after death.

 That life also comes to weigh in on Dashiel as he admits to Herman that many former clients, particularly a sickly elderly woman, came to bad ends because of their trust in Dashiel and his former colleagues. His past also figuratively comes back to haunt him when a former partner and lover wants to reignite their relationship both on and off stage. It doesn't take much for the former Spiritualist to see the guilt and danger that a life of deceiving others would bring, and it is understandable why he would expose it. However, his skeptical nature and career of exposing the Spiritualist Movement is just as much a vulnerability as when he was an active participant in scamming others, when he faces real ghosts. He has to use the same procedures seriously to save Herman and himself that he once used deceptively to gain money.

The fraudulent style of Spiritualism puts Dashiel in a false sense of confidence when he is faced with the Egyptian Ghost. He could assume that bleeding walls are rust, creaking walls are a house settling, footsteps and whispers are signs of an overactive imagination. But after a while, those scientific rationales and previous charlatan history becomes moot when those small signs become large unrecognizable monsters and the whispers become shouts of the undead.

It's enough to make one doubt their beliefs and particularly their minds. There are many chapters where the supernatural encounters cause tremendous physical and psychological pain to Dashiel and Herman. They are shaken, disturbed, and quite often bedridden after facing the remnants of the Egyptian Ghost’s curse. It is a terrifying experience because of how it affects their bodies and minds and the only healing balm they have is each other.

Speaking of Dashiel and Herman, their relationship is a bright spot in this Horror Show of Ancient Terror. It is one of those relationships that begin organically with the two beginning to understand and relate to one another. Herman is confused and fascinated by Dashiel’s career as a Spiritualist and is on the fence between skepticism and belief. Dashiel gets arcane knowledge from Herman’s studies and while he explains Spiritualism and gives possibilities to Herman's encounters, he never ridicules him and likes talking with him.

 A friendship grows between the two protagonists that in other works could have remained platonic but fortunately for them, it does not. Their romance begins  unexpectedly just as  the Reader might think, “Hmm, they would make a nice couple” a few pages before they actually kiss. Their love strengthens each other as Herman’s knowledge of Egyptology and Dashiel’s Spiritualism experience counter the Ghost's wrath.

This book is set in the 1930’s and it doesn't go into the legal and prejudicial ramifications and potential hardship that could occur if a romance between two men is made public. On the one hand, it does a mighty historical disservice in showing how courageous the two characters are just by being together. But on the other hand, it also proves to be a source of light and brightness in this dark disturbing supernatural world. 

When the two men work together to fight the Egyptian Ghost alongside friends and Dashiel’s former colleagues, their love is the truest and most honest thing that counters the terror of the otherworldly darkness but also the deception and mind games that Dashiel was once proud to be a part of.