Sanity Test by K.E. Adamus and Fate's Last Melody by Vanessa Smith

 

Sanity Test by K.E. Adamus 

This review is a summary. The main review is on LitPick.

Sanity Test is a short but very disturbing look at two very troubled, conflicted, and potentially delusional men

This is a series of emails between Hubert Kawka and Wlodzimierz Pawski. Their emails reveal a great deal about their characters and perspectives through the emails. 

It appears that Kawka is a mentally ill patient in a psychiatric hospital and Pawski is his primary carer, but as the emails continue they become more frantic and questionable. The reader starts to wonder who is sane and who isn’t and who exactly these characters are in relation to each other.

Kawka straddles between childlike impulsivity and frightening sociopathic behavior. Through his emails, he describes a series of dramatic means to get Pawski's attention. He harbors an unhealthy fixation to an unhealthy obsessive degree and is gaslighting the other man. 

However, Pawski’s emails also raise concern. He is more emotional and threatening from the initial emails. This is definitely a potential sign that things are not what they seem and adds to the overall uncertainty that we can’t trust either of these men.

As Pawski becomes more unstable, Kawka becomes more reasonable which leaves the reader with questions about who is real, who is fictional, who is sane, who is insane, and who we can trust. The book gives us no real answers and leaves the reader to make their own conclusions to understand this strange and disturbing duo, 

Fate's Last Melody by Vanessa Smith 

This review is a summary. The main review is on LitPick.

Fate's Last Melody has a strong sense of setting and tone by depicting Hell with all of its overall darkness, graphic violence, scares, and ominous energy coming out from every corner. There is a sense of abandonment, hopelessness, and desolation that exists primarily throughout the book. 

Melody is a woman who is abducted during a night on the town with some friends and a potential boyfriend. Her abductor is not a human psychopath. He is a demon named Nyx who takes her to Hell, where she learns that she is the daughter of one of the Fates from Greek Mythology. Melody has to find her way through Hell and learn how to use her inherited powers of seeing and changing other's Destinies before she meets The King of Hell who has his own agenda involving Melody. 

Melody’s first view of Hell is a dark desolate place shrouded in shadows. The descriptions aggravate the senses and the landscape shapes itself to torture those suffering. Needless to say, it's not a pleasant experience.

Smith makes her version of Hell a composite of different mythologies most notably Abrahamic religions and Hellenic Mythology. Hell is led by The King of Hell who is so vaguely described that he could be either Lucifer or Hades, so it could go either way. The Judeo-Christian influence is shown primarily through the 7 Deadly Sins while the Greco-Roman aspects are revealed mostly through the presence of the Fates and the Titans.

There is an overall feeling of helplessness and abandonment until the end when Melody and other characters are inspired to fight against The King of Hell. But there are some potential questions about the actions that were taken to do this which suggests that Hell might end up with another dictator, one who will also torture others for eternity, inflict pain, and control others.

Gittel by Laurie Schneider; Speechless in Achten Tan (Book 1 Of The Sands of Achten Tan) by Debbie Iancu-Haddad; Slumber Nevermore by R.J. Garcia

 

Gittel by Laurie Schneider 

This is a brief summary of my review. The main review can be found on LitPick 

Gittel by Laurie Schneider is reminiscent of many coming of age books like Anne of Green Gables and The Little House books. It's not long on plot. It prefers instead to focus on various individual conflicts in Gittel’s life that test her character and teach her various lessons.

13 year old Gittel Borenstein is part of a Jewish family that emigrated from East Europe because of a pogrom to Mill Creek, Wisconsin with 12 other Jewish families. The book focuses on various events in Gittel’s young life such as bullying from Antisemitic classmates, conflicts with her more traditional Orthodox family, a budding romance with a local boy, and her participation in a Chautauqua.  

The book is strong on character, time, and place. The Borensteins emigrated for their safety but still feel out of place in this rural American country. Gittel has to suffer from insults and threats from other students, particularly Karl Leckner, whose religious Antisemitic father takes every opportunity to compare them to demons. Gittel shows her strengths by using witty comebacks and verbally challenging her antagonists. She even describes her mouth as the sharpest weapon that she and her friends, Irene and Emily, have.

Gittel struggles with not only societal conflicts but those within her own family. Gittel is a maturing young woman who is fascinated with the American way of life while her traditional Orthodox family mostly clings to the tight-knit Jewish community around them. Gittel makes gentile friends, develops her interests in singing, dancing, and reading, and uses her talent in public speaking during a Chautauqua. She nurtures aspirations to continue her education and become an actress or writer despite some of her family's concerns and soft objections. 

The most heartwarming moments are when Gittel and her family come to an understanding about her aspirations and interests and she recognizes their own adaptability as well as her own. She recognizes loving bonds which while hidden and not always expressed out loud, but are always felt. 

Gittel is the Yiddish word for “good” which is a decent description of the book. However, it's more than good. Gittel is great.

Speechless in Achten Tan (Book 1 in The Sands of Achten Tan) by Debbie Iancu-Haddad

This is a brief summary of my review. The main review can be found on LitPick. 

Speechless in Achten Tan is a Fantasy novel that will appeal to YA and Adult Readers with its captivating lead character and her search for her personal power.

 Mila, a mute cavern gnome, goes through a test to be considered worthy to study magic. After she fails the test, her mentor, Nora, sends her to the desert world of Achten Tan to study magic under Gerwyn, a wise and powerful witch. While in Achten Tan, Mila finds romance and friendship, becomes involved in a power struggle against the despotic Bone Chief Opu Haku, and discovers her strength and voice.

After her test, Mila is in despair because she doesn't conform to what her community believes are their standards of maturity. She is deprived of the ability to speak and to practice magic. She cannot ascend in their world so she is deprived of her agency. The dramatic irony is the reason behind her failure. Mila’s brother, Turosh, drowned over the same waterfall where she was being tested. She was temporarily overcome with grief, lost control, and failed the test. A moment of emotion remembering a traumatic event that shaped her youth and motivated her to continue studying ended up becoming a barrier in her pursuit of magic and full acceptance into her society.

As with the heroes in many legends and books in the genre, Mila is sent to continue her journey elsewhere. She has to leave to continue her studies. Her journey to Achten Tan also allows her to connect with her past, present, and future. Her boyfriend from the village, Geb, is also in Achten Tan to train as a healer. He provides an emotional center and keeps Mila focused as her abilities increase.

She also befriends Kaii, son of Opu Haku, the Bone Chief. Mila's friendship allows the son to step out from his father's tyrannical shadow and fight against him. Mila widens the scope of her magical pursuits to make long lasting changes with other kingdoms including her own. 

Mila is even able to reconcile her grief over Tarush’s death. She comes to terms with the loss and its aftereffects. While death and loss are still painful for her, she is able to set them aside and move forward on her path to maturity.

This is a Fantasy novel that many, especially young people, will relate to as they follow their own paths, discover their own abilities, and gain their own voices.

Slumber Nevermore by R.J. Garcia

R.J. Garcia knows how to keep Readers up at night. With the anthology, Slumber Nevermore she crosses genres to give the Readers a full effect of dark twisted tales that deliver on chills, ominous energy, and unforgettable mental images. 

There are seven stories but the best are:

“The Stolen Child”-This story is a Dark Fantasy that plays on those frightening magical creatures: Fairies.

Garcia refrains from the wholesome fairytale Disney image of fairies and focuses instead on the variations from myth and legends where they are powerful, capricious, demand to be respected, and should be kept at a safe distance. 

Mae is anxious about her sister, Emmie, who disappeared right in front of her. She has this sensation that they had been watched and out of the corner of her eye, she thinks that strange figures appear and disappear. She always suspected that there were fairies in the woods. Could she be right? Spoiler Alert: She is.

The fairies are written as ominous and secretive. They appear as orbs of light, shrill whistles, or silhouettes. Mae isn't sure if they are dreams or if they are real. Then when she finally talks to them, she isn't sure if they are good, evil, or neutral with their own moral code. They could go either way. Their ambiguity is their strength and while she is with them, Mae is completely at their mercy. As long as she is in their world, they could do whatever they want to her and no one would know about it. 

“The Stolen Child” is a modern fairy tale told to a Horror loving audience. Anyone who reads fairy tales knows that fairies can be sinister or helpful but are rarely the main antagonists. Instead the real villains are often a lot closer to the protagonist’s home than that. Those villains are cruel, malicious, and bring the worst misfortunes. 

“Lipstick”-This story is a Paranormal Horror that should not be read by anyone with coulrophobia. 

10 year old Billy sneaks out one night to see a carnival. The night of rickety rides, junk food, and fun to be scared thrills turns to terror when he encounters a demonic looking clown. The clown not only makes a formidable impression but makes him an offer that haunts him for years.

Dark carnivals might be cliched and scary clowns even more so, but they are used so often because they work. Carnivals can give off a sinister vibe when one thinks about it. These places of supposed amusement contain rides that are quickly put together by people who might have dubious reputations and are certainly in a hurry. A guest’s safety depends on them. Is it any wonder that they inspire fear? If you read books like Something Wicked This Way Comes or saw movies like Freaks or Carnival of Souls among others, you know what I am talking about.

Then there are clowns. They hide their true faces, come up close and face to face with children, seem impossibly cherry, and wear garish makeup. Lest we forget fictional clowns like Pennywise or real ones like John Wayne Gacy who certainly had dark sides. A clown can be terrifying. A carnival can be spooky. A clown in a carnival is frequent but also can give you that instant chill down the spine, the chill that warns you that maybe you should have stayed home.

Billy ignored that chilly warning and ultimately paid a huge price for it. This brief moment changes his life in many disturbing ways that leaves him traumatized and alone. The final paragraphs show the complete impact that this demonic clown had over his life to the point that Billy can't separate himself from him.

“Sister Witches”-It’s rare to have a Horror short story told from the point of view of the monster, but this story does and turns a story that would normally herald fear for the victim instead invites pity and regret for the monster. 

Cassandra is one of three witches. The other two are her sisters, Sheba and Celeste. The trio kill mortals and absorb their youth to remain forever young and beautiful. Their latest victim is Tommy, an aging man who is residing in a nursing home. 

The witches' goal is to preserve their youth. Their absorption of others’s essences is graphic but is comparable to an addiction rather than an unexplainable supernatural or demonic force. It ruins the mortals but also the witches as well.

Cassandra and her sisters absorb the essence not because they want to, but because they think that they have to and are unable to survive without it. This takes a toll on Cassandra in particular. She has become someone who isn't terrifying or frightening. Instead, she's weary and tired of life. She is ready to die but is unable to. 

In a way the fear doesn't come from an outside source, but from within. If we compare their immortality to an addiction, the fear comes from feeling forced to get that immortality and what it would be like to live without it. Cassandra fears what they have done, what they will do, and what would happen if that eternity would end. She is simultaneously longing for death and afraid of what happens if it comes. 

“The Axeman Among Us”-Of the stories, this is the most realistic. Instead of Dark Fantasy or Supernatural Horror, this is more like a Psychological Thriller. It features an infamous real life serial killer. The Axeman of New Orleans was a serial killer who murdered mostly Italian immigrants or Italian-American men from 1918-1919. Most notably, a letter allegedly from The Axeman said that he would not kill anyone on a certain night in homes where jazz played. Musicians played in hundreds of homes that night. The Axeman was never identified and no arrests were made.

Vincent and his friends, Mikey and Dupree are startled one night by the sound of a scream and a dark mysterious figure hastily leaving a building with an ax in hand. They suspect that he might be the Axeman. The trio become obsessed with the case and go to extreme lengths to stop the Axeman's reign of terror.

This story’s tone and atmosphere are on point. The Axeman is certainly human but he carries a demonic aura. He haunts Vincent's dreams and is described more of as an otherworldly presence than an actual human being. He invites the possibility that he might not be human at least in this version. But the fact that he is, somehow makes him even more chilling. He has a human way of planning and analyzing how to commit the murders without getting caught and an inhuman desire to hack a human body to pieces.

There are some interesting twists to the story. Since it is set in New Orleans, we get motifs like voodoo and jazz. Voodoo presents the only supernatural link in the story and even that might just be within the minds of those who believe in it. It also makes sense that in absence of any physical legal help to stop the Axeman, the boys would turn to more esoteric means. Voodoo is a large part of New Orleans life but it is also held in suspicion by non-practitioners. There is something supernatural and eerie about it, the type of thing that would draw someone like the Axeman. The boys are using one unusual potentially dark path to capture one unusual dark person. 

Jazz music also plays a large part most prominently practiced by Vincent's brother, Peter. It not only plays into the physical location but the time period as well. Jazz is improvisation mixed with deep emotion like pain, anger, sadness, and love. While popular, it was also controversial and considered an outsider’s choice of music like rock or rap would be later. The kind of music someone who stands on the outside fringes of society would listen to.

It's also worth noting that Peter is a WWI veteran. This is the time of the Lost Generation, when soldiers returned home with deep trauma. Where flappers and college kids decided to live freely without a care. It was a time where people were aware that life could end at any moment, so might as well grab all that you can. This deep emotion is played by someone who saw death up close and killed people because his government told him to. Maybe Peter feels a disturbing connection to the Axeman, an understanding about what it's like to live on the outside fringe, with longing and emotions that he can't express openly, and living with a violent and bloody past. 

These stories deliver scares to the characters and the Reader making their sleep a truly unpleasant one.

Tales of Wythenwood by J.W. Hawkins; Bedlam Trances by Nicholas Wagner; Two Anthologies Reach the Dark Side of Human and Animal Nature

 

Tales of Wythenwood by J.W. Hawkins; Bedlam Trances by Nicholas Wagner; Two Anthologies Reach the Dark Side of Human and Animal Nature 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: I have been reviewing a lot of anthologies this year. If you can't say it in a long novel, say it in a short story or novella and these authors do. Do they ever. 

Aside from being speculative anthologies J.W. Hawkins’ Tales of Wythenwood and Nicholas Wagner’s Bedlam Trances would have very little in common. Tales of Wythenhood is a fantasy about talking animals in an enchanted woods and Bedlam Trances is a Supernatural Horror and Crime Thriller about creepy people doing creepy things. But if we dig deeper, we discover that these books have a great deal in common. They are bleak looks that explore the dark side of human and animal nature. One is just more subversive about it than the other.

Tales of Wythenwood by J.W. Hawkins may be an anthology about talking animals, but don’t for a second think that it’s anything like Charlotte’s Web or Beatrix Potter. Think less Charlotte’s Web and more Animal Farm. Less Beatrix Potter and more Watership Down. Less Mickey Mouse and more Maus. It’s a very dark, at times disturbing and graphic fantasy novel that personifies animals with human traits and not very pleasant ones. Many of the traits that the flora and fauna represent include prejudice, avarice, wrath, vanity, aggressiveness, hatred, and vengeance. It is not some sweet adorable romp in the forest. Instead it is a commentary on human nature and it is forthright, savage, cruel, terrifying, beautiful, and captivating.

There are six stories total and the best are:

“Gerald the Mangy Fox”-What could be a decent variation of “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer” where a misfit who is judged by their appearance becomes a hero by helping the people who insulted them instead becomes much more subversive and yet somehow more honest.

Gerald is insulted by other animals, particularly the other foxes because they have beautiful coats and his is covered in mange. The foxes are also facing conflicts with the Great Oak, who is the leader of the Wythenwood. They resent having to give back to the forest what they take from it. Gerald, angry at the other fox’s treatment, starts a chain reaction that affects himself and the other foxes.

Gerald is reminiscent of human outcasts, people who are turned away by others because of their appearance or place of origin. Gerald, like many, grows to resent the treatment that he has been given to the point that he wants bad things to happen to his tormentors and doesn't care if they inadvertently happen to him. He is filled with anger and regret towards those who made him miserable. It makes him an outsider but it also makes him understandable.

We have all had situations like that where we were scapegoated and treated horribly like others. Better people often forgive them and work towards positive things in spite of or because of that derision. Most people to be honest simmer with anger and justifiable hurt. They hurt us so we want to hurt them back. Gerald is like that to the point that he makes deals with wolves and the Great Oak to get even with the other foxes. 

The final pages drip with irony as the results are not what any of the characters expected. It shows a reversal of beauty and ugliness where true natures are shown and exposed. It becomes a test of honesty, kindness, and mercy which reveal the appearance of the souls underneath. 

“The Fall of the Orchid Copse”-This story takes a strange but meaningful look at interconnectivity within countries and how much people claim independence but we are often linked by economic, political, and social interdependence. No one truly stands alone. People buy and sell goods and services. We live off of each other’s work and survive because of those connections.

Some animals of Wythenwood live in the Orchid Copse which is a specific part of the woods that operates by its own laws and regulations. It’s the time of year when the animals of Orchid Copse must decide which one of three animals, selected by the Great Oak herself, will be the leader of the Copse and whether the Copse is to remain an independent area or become a complete part of Wythenwood. 

This novella represents the way various nations are formed and the struggle that many face to become an independent country to themselves or to remain with a larger one and if so which one. There are many questions and arguments made by the various characters whether this is a flawed system or one that works. It doesn’t give any easy answers and allows the characters and Readers to decide for themselves.

Most of this story is seen through the eyes of Sriya, a fiery mongoose that questions this system that she has been given. She wants to know whether choosing only animals that are selected by the Great Oak is a real choice or whether it’s just the appearance of a choice. Is the Great Oak a dictator, an apathetic disinterested leader, or a loving parent watching her children? What does the Orchid Copse gain from maintaining its own complete autonomy from the Great Oak and what does it have to lose? 

Sriya represents the rebel, the one who recognizes the flaws in the system and has the passion to fight against and change it. When a violent action takes place, she is able to gather enough interest and a following for the Copse citizens to seriously consider breaking away from the Great Oak. But it comes at a great cost to their own freedom and security. 

Because it is based on the Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution of 2014, it also recounts what happens when rebellion falters and asks whether idealistic ideas are enough to sustain a community. It’s all well and good to break away from a government, but if there isn’t anything substantial to back it up and an actual plan in place, ideals and arguments are all that remains. 

“The Artfulness of Stupidity “-With all of the sweeping themes of politics, prejudice, and other important issues, Tales of the Wythenwood doesn’t lose sight of capturing good characters inside their fur and feathers. This is a particularly strong character driven piece in the anthology. 

In a colony of beavers, everyone does their part to build their dams and contribute to their community, everyone except Indoli. His outsider status, avaricious manipulative nature, and his insistence on obfuscating stupidity ends up causing problems for everyone in the woods, especially the beavers and himself.

Indoli, similar to Gerald and Sryia is also an outsider but unlike his appearance and his ideals, it is Indoli’s personality that makes him different. Instead of doing the hard work of his fellow beavers, he prefers to scheme and manipulate others. He plays dumb but is actually very clever in seeing problems and potential solutions. 

He is the type that knows where to point and put others in certain directions to acquire his own benefits, retain his own sense of leadership, or sometimes just to get even with others. He is a character who in other stories would become an outright villain. He could be reminiscent of corporate CEO’s or oligarchs who become wealthy not from their own merits, but from the labor of others. They control things from behind the scenes and are so drunk on their own power that they would rather hurt others, even if it means destroying all that they have worked for. They don’t see the danger that could backfire on them and in destroying others, they ultimately destroy themselves.

There is another possibility of Indoli’s character, one that is more positive towards him.Hawkins subverts those expectations of making Indoli a full villain by giving him certain character strengths and also a son, Pickwick whom he truly loves. Instead of being seen as a symbol of corruption and manipulation, he could also be seen as creative. He has a different mindset from those around him that causes him to function differently from the rest of the colony. He may not fit in, not because he chooses not to but because he can’t. This mindset allows him to come up with creative solutions that could be beneficial to the other beavers if they were implemented. Those traits that Indoli has gives him the ability to think and act differently, but also keeps him away from everyone else.

One of Indoli’s most positive characteristics is his love for his son, Pickwick. The young beaver is Indoli’s main confidant and sees the more vulnerable side that he keeps hidden from others. The two are at odds with Indoli’s means and methods, but they are still devoted as father and son. Pickwick doesn’t see a corrupt influence or an iconoclastic eccentric. He just sees his father. Likewise, Indoli doesn’t see a disappointment or one of the mindless herd working on the colonies. He sees his son. He gives Pickwick the love that he often felt was denied him by the rest of the colony and the Wood.

Bedlam Trances by Nicholas Wagner Bedlam Trances by Nicholas Wagner is familiar territory to the blog. It involves graphic horror in many different forms. Most of the stories focus on manipulation and control. One party uses violence and threats in their greatest extremes to control another. There is a feel of unease in each story as the truly violent means are executed and characters are left with broken lives, minds, hearts, and souls.

“Crown of Switchblades”-This story combines crime thriller with psychological horror and does both genres rather well. A criminal gang is caught up in a war between their employer and another upstart. What starts out as a crime spree of violence, public property damage, drunkenness, and debauchery becomes much darker as they run into a strange, morbid, and terrifying cult. 

“Crown of Switchblades” runs on two tracks and because of that the tone is drastically different. The first part is a black comedy along the lines of the Italian Job, Lock, Shock, and Two Smoking Barrels, or any Quentin Tarantino film. It consists of seedy characters having clandestine meetings, bodies tumbling out of cars, and plenty of f bombs shouted by no-hopers. It’s a grim but weirdly comic situation as the gang, particularly the main protagonist, Doss hit spots like pubs and football clubs as though they were just having a Lad’s Night Out rather than breaking the law on behalf of their leader. 

The story then takes a severe turn into something else as Doss and his cronies end up farther away from their city environment into a rural area dotted with abandoned buildings and metal sculptures called the pipe men. They then encounter the people behind the pipe men, a cult who is looking for someone called “The Prophet.” 

Once Doss encounters the cult, he is put in a situation in which he is not prepared. Before he and his friends were able to face these conflicts. They can deal with crime bosses, drug deals, and the occasional violent act. But this cult isn’t like that, they have darker purposes. They have no motives and they don’t care who fits their vision. They want to fulfill it and they draw Doss in a way that is incredibly bone chilling and ominous.

““The Tragic Events Befalling Lizaveta”-The darkness that these stories encounter carries over into the Medieval Era as Oresetes, a monk investigates some strange happenings in a monastery after a novitiate turns up dead. 

The murder mystery is effective as Oresetes and his superior, Wittelsbach investigate the murder and the various leads. The setting of the monastery is deceptively described in the first page which features children playing. It gives the impression of a good kind giving place which welcomes all. But the more that the protagonists visit the cold austere stone walls and the monks keeping secrets, the more an ugly side resonates. 

Things become more apparent when they enter an area called “The Hurting Place.” In a few pages, the secrets are revealed in a bloody violent confrontation. It shows the ancient outdoor Pagan subconscious inside the Gothic indoor Christian surface. It says that inside many law-abiding seemingly upright pillars of the community hides souls that seethe with wrath, sexuality, violence, anger, and hypocrisy.

“Notes from the Yucatan”-This is a very short story which makes the most of its setting to show the eerie sense of dread when one is out on an unfamiliar landscape and how it mirrors the dark souls that inhabit it. The Narrator is searching for a man named Sir Reginald with the help of a guide, Bartholomew. 

The setting has many descriptions of sinister trees, ruins, particularly pyramids, and harsh rain. It seems like the end of the world where someone is listening to every sound and seeing every shape and is in fear of what could be out there, whether it is animal or human. Whatever it is, it is coming for you. Worst of all, the body could be thrown somewhere and never be found.

The fear and paranoia in the setting is mirrored in the behavior of the characters that surround it. It  is like an Edgar Allen Poe story in which the Reader explores the Narrator’s fractured psyche and we see the violence in the main character is just as prominent as it is without. If anything it was even greater within the Narrator. He is not acting out of any motive or or reason. He is violent for violence’s sake, almost like a force of nature around him.

“Hecato’s Dream”-This story takes us to the decline of the Roman Empire.Two guards, Hecato and Rufus chase after an assassin and come face to face with their own mortality. 

This is set towards the end of an era and that is felt throughout the story. There are discussions about Gauls, invading armies, cults springing up, and lawlessness. The Empire that maintained such a wide control over various nations is on its way out the door. With that decline became a decline of structure, rules, regulations, defense things people like Hecato and Rufus were familiar with but had long taken for granted. 

Now during these times, bloody crimes occur but not in a way that feels justifiable or understandable, not for any specific reason. It is because there is no structure and the one that remains is so fatigued by the forces outside that they don’t care about the struggles within. If there are no laws, no one can be punished. If no one can be punished, there is no fear of being caught. Hecato and Rufus’ world is crumbling so they are taking what they can. They know that their time is short, just like that of the Empire and the only thing that they have left is their own violent avaricious angry urges that need to be satisfied. Once those are spent, they truly meet their ends in an afterlife in which they know but can’t accept that an inevitable end is coming. 

“Ceremony”- This story covers similar ground with “Crown of Switchblades” in which a seemingly badass group is undone by a supernatural presence and all of their braggadocio becomes a joke, whereas “Crown of Switchblades” excels in a shift in tone. “Ceremony” excels in dark comedy dialogue. Declyn, an investigator, is looking into  the rock group “The Raging Bastards. His lover, Misty, who is involved with not only him but the three guys in the group is his main contact. Declan’s time with the Raging Bastards begins with plenty of sex, drugs, and rock and roll and ends with blood, guts, and terror, especially after Misty disappears.

The key advantage is the dialogue. Many characters dance around the truth with plenty of strong language, sexual overtones, and violent metaphors. Many of the phrases like when Bastards member, La Roe sarcastically describes the group as “tree huggers preaching peace and love” brings ironic smirks. Other comments like “If I had your eyes, I’d drive us off a cliff” carry an edge of suspense undertones hidden inside the dark comedy overtones.

One of the more interesting aspects of the dialogue is the amount of foreshadowing. After the story is over, it’s worth going back and putting together the tantalizing clues that the characters dance around. The constant references to blood, animals, violence, and aggressiveness spill some of the tea before the entire kettle is knocked over. There are also warnings when people tell Declan that he should stay away and that he doesn’t want to know what Misty and the Bastards are up to. It’s one of those stories that lays the plot in front of you so when you go back and reread it, you think, “Of course, it was there all along!” 

The violence is graphic but detached in a way that makes it more grotesque or comic than scary. The moment when Declan reaches the truth is dripped in irony and gore. The final line is blunt in violence that comes out of nowhere leaving Readers to sort out the aftermath.

The Girl in The Corn (Girl in the Corn Series Book 1) by Jason Offutt; Set Up is Just as Chilling as The Climax in This Contemporary Fantasy

 

The Girl in The Corn (Girl in the Corn Series Book 1) by Jason Offutt; Set Up is Just as Chilling as The Climax in This Contemporary Fantasy

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Warning: Before I begin this review, I insist that you read my review of the book, Boy From Two Worlds as this book will reveal important spoilers in this series. I will also reiterate that this review contains MAJOR HEAVY DUTY SPOILERS!!!

I find it an interesting experience to read a book series out of order. Sometimes, it can be very confusing. Sometimes, it can be tedious if the exciting parts happen in the earlier volume so we have to encounter the exposition. Other times, it actually makes the books better especially if you think of them as though they were meant to be written out of order. 

An example of the latter experience falls in The Girl in the Corn by Jason Offutt which is actually the first book in Offutt’s two part series but is actually the second book that I read in the series after its follow up Boy From Two Worlds. Reading the two books in the proper order works in a linear storytelling fashion in which the plot points are introduced, conflicts begin, action builds up to a climax, the events expand in the next volume, characters evolve, the scope of the threat expands, solutions are given, and resolutions are made. 

But Offutt gives his books a unique gift in which they are just as well written out of order as they are in. Instead of thinking of the books as an ongoing series, one can instead look at Boy From Two Worlds as the main book that tells the important story and Girl in the Corn as the prequel that sets up the situation retroactively. They can be read in order or out of order and the Reader would still be just as fascinated either way. 

In Boy From Two Worlds, a mass murder committed by Bobby Garrett sets up a chain reaction that includes the birth of his son, Jakey, by a woman named Marguerite Jenkins, the disintegration of the relationship between Thomas Cavannaugh and his girlfriend Jillian Robertson, and a series of strange events that get stranger. It is eventually revealed that there are fairies that are violent predators who feast on human flesh and live for their suffering. Jakey inherited some of their powers which the fairies want to take full advantage of in their campaign against the mortals of St. Joseph, Missouri

Girl in the Corn takes us back in time to when 6-year-old Thomas first encounters a fairy in his mother’s garden who tells him that he is special. The fairy girl appears throughout his life telling him that he must defeat Dauor, a dark creature from her world. Meanwhile we are introduced to Bobby, who pre-murder is a teenager with violent impulses that are nurtured by a mysterious creature who takes the form of a Girl Scout. Throughout the years, Thomas and Bobby are encouraged, tormented, cajoled, persuaded, and shaped by these strange creatures who eventually pull them into a battle between supernatural forces, the lives and souls of many, and their own sanity. 

One thing that Boy From Two Worlds did well was expand the universe. Weird things didn't just happen to Thomas or Bobby. They happened all over St. Joseph. Through that we got to explore the town itself and particularly its obsession with Wild West outlaw/infamous native son, Jesse James. Exploring the daily realistic life of St. Joseph's residents builds up tension when the otherworldly action begins.

The supernatural incidents vary including bloody ritualistic murder, cattle mutilations, abductions, lost time, mass murder. If you didn't know going into the book series what happened in the first volume, you would be led to believe that anything could be responsible for the strange happenings.

Instead of expansion, Girl in The Corn focuses on intimacy. The events specifically happen to Thomas, Bobby, or someone associated with them. While we lose something in the setting, we gain something in character. It is not so much the supernatural invading an unprepared small town as it is the supernatural affecting two specific young men who happen to live in that town.

Through their separate experiences, the Reader is given contrasting characters that will end up confronting one another. 

When Thomas first encounters the fairy, he is a little boy. She appears as a sweet innocent little girl, one who promises to befriend the young boy. She plays on the portrayal of old fairy tale concepts where fairies were seen as beautiful,helpful, charming, adorable, and innocent creatures. 

As Thomas matures, his meetings with the fairy become more intense and less fanciful. She now appears as a troubled young woman who appeals to Thomas's good guy helpful personality and his insecurities about being average. She builds up his confidence by saying that he is destined to fight Dauor. This plays on Epic Fantasies where ordinary people are given the Chosen One narrative where they are the ones destined to fight evil for…reasons. Of course, this book is a clever subversion of that trope because it asks the question whether the figure predicting the heroism can be trusted and whether they have ulterior motives for what they do.

As with Boy From Two Worlds, Girl in the Corn builds on different genres. While Thomas's journey compared to Fairy Tales and Fantasy novels, Bobby’s story is more grounded in Occult Supernatural Horror. He comes from a religious family and has his own complicated spiritual beliefs so the fairy builds on that. It first appears as a disembodied voice that builds on Bobby’s anxieties and fears of God's judgment. Bobby begins to commit violence to silence those ever growing fears.

As Bobby ages, his spiritual encounters become angrier, more fierce, and graphic. They are reminiscent of his diminishing mental state and growing blood lust. It takes on horrific images like the body of a murdered girl to taunt and rage at Bobby until he does what it wants. If it weren't for knowing what would happen in the next book, it could be entirely possible that this fairy is in Bobby's head. But since we do know, it's a matter of seeing where it's going to go before it reaches its foreseen explosive conclusion.

Reading the series backwards, turns this book into an unfinished jigsaw puzzle. We see all of the sides and colors and are waiting for the whole image to show. “Okay we see Thomas and Bobby,” the Reader might think. “What about Jillian and Marguerite? When is Jakey conceived? What about the mass murder?” All of those questions are answered and the pieces fit in ways that make the Readers look at them differently in Boy From Two Worlds or deepen understanding in the second book if we read them in the right order.

Cleverly, Thomas and Bobby's journeys seem to be a battle of good vs. evil but once they face those final confrontations, those lines are less defined. The two young men realize that they were led to this conclusion by not only the magical influences but by their own choices. They were given great gifts to see another world, obtain intuition and knowledge, and to decide what to do with that information. In reading the two books, it becomes apparent that the trouble didn't start with a mass murder in a hospital. It started when a six year old boy met a fairy and chose to follow her.

The Unholy Trinity: A Collection of 99 Stories by L. Marie Wood; Horror Anthology Delivers on Shocks, Scares, Twists

 The Unholy Trinity: A Collection of 99 Stories by L. Marie Wood; Horror Anthology Delivers on Shocks, Scares, Twists 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: L. Marie Wood’s Horror Anthology, The Unholy Trinity: A Collection of 99 Stories is practically Tales From The Crypt in book form. So much so that I expected a wisecracking skeleton puppet to pop up from the pages and start quoting ghoulish puns. 

Well that didn't happen but The Unholy Trinity carries many of the same great qualities that Crypt does: easy digestible stories of fears brought to life with spine tingling plots, graphic images, and engaging twists. These stories combine Wood's three previous horror anthologies, Caliginy, Phantasma, and Anathema. They are written to raise that slight chill in the back of the mind, the one that tells you that despite knowing that you are alone in the house while you read this book that maybe you should give that window, or that closet, or the door locks a second look. They remind us that watching horror is a fun and interesting pastime but reading horror lets your imagination fly off into dark and forbidden dimensions that turns your sleep into an unpleasant one.

All of the stories are terrifyingly well written and are certain to scare and delight the Reader but the best are: 

“A Bat Out of Hell”-Right out of the gate, the first story is a mesmerizing thrill ride of shocks, scares, and screams of fright. Carly goes to the County Fair with her boyfriend and just can’t resist the roller coaster called A Bat Out of Hell.

This story draws the Reader right in with its atmosphere that promises fun and adventure but hints at something else. The Fair should be fun but there is darkness. The description and tone remind the Reader that these rides may be exciting but they also dare riders to defy death by going too high or too fast inside metal contraptions put together and inspected by people that may not be entirely trustworthy. 

As if the regular suspense of a theme park isn’t bad enough, the roller coaster itself is far worse. The demonic Goth motif hints at its true intentions. There are bits of foreshadowing like the blood red seats and screams that sound less like the “fun to be scared” screams and more like the “being tortured and begging to be let go” screams. The final pages deliver the gore that reveals that this ride was literally meant to scare the Hell into you. 

“The Dance”-“The Dance” mixes subtlety and eroticism. Gillian, the Narrator is mesmerized by a seductive dancer named Vanessa who fills her with desire especially after the two dance together.

This story is filled with descriptions of Vanessa and her dancing. She is beautiful and otherworldly. Her hair, body, face, and figure give off the impression that she is almost too perfect. Gillian feels stirrings within her that she ignored because of fears of being outed but they are brought forward  the more she and Vanessa interact. 

 Vanessa awakens those longings that Gillian put away, the longings to be with someone without judgment, to be pleasured sexually and emotionally, and to feel that rush that one individual can bring to another individual. It is a truly erotic story that also serves as a metaphor for fulfilling one’s longings and living authentically. 

“The Inn By the Cemetery”- This is a delightful, creepy, and surprisingly romantic story about the past haunting the present. Modern couple Sharon and Mitch go on a romantic weekend getaway to historic bed-and-breakfast. While visiting a cemetery, Sharon picks up an old bracelet. Meanwhile, Mitch has unexplained dreams of the past and visions of a ghostly woman. 

This is a haunting, beautiful, and almost wistful story that delivers feelings of sorrow and uncertainty rather than fear. Sharon’s imagination is activated as she researches the past of the town for a book. The research consumes her to the point that she has trouble separating herself from the past. 

Meanwhile Mitch’s encounters with the past are found by esoteric means. The images of the ghostly woman aren’t really scary. They emphasize her sadness and isolation from the world of the living. She inspires empathy rather than scorn. The couple’s visit practically makes them the unwanted intrusions instead of the ghost.

“The Black Hole”-As many know some of the best anthology stories are ones that like to offer social commentary inside a memorable story. In this story, a group of young African-American men are invited to a paintball tournament by one’s white co-workers. The true intentions of the night are revealed as the men find themselves running for their lives.

This story is very reminiscent of Jordan Peele’s movies by turning a supernatural occurrence into an insightful commentary on racism. The players are evenly divided in strength and athleticism but the white players have advantage over their black counterparts because they know the true meaning behind the game. The weapons become more realistic and the game becomes bloodier and more violent as we peer into the dark hearts of those playing it. 

The black men try to strategize and work together to survive the night and maybe even fight their assailants. It’s truly gut wrenching as they get taken out one by one because they live within a system that does not value them as people. They are regarded by their hunters as nothing more than targets meant to be slaughtered. 

“The Keeper of Souls”-This story is similar to a dark fairy tale that personifies Death as an actual being. The Narrator has been haunted by a creature that he calls The Keeper of Souls. Now at age 88, he fears that the Keeper is coming for him.

The Keeper’s dark clothing and silent demeanor deliver a slight chill. The overall impression is that of a character that you can barely see out of the corner of your eye and swear he was there a second ago. Then upon closer inspection, he’s gone at least according to your eyes. But somewhere in your heart, you know he’s still there watching and waiting. 

The Keeper is like one of those fair folk who operate on their own rules and standards. He collects souls, that’s what he does. He no more has any feeling or compunction about it than he does about the heads that he carries. He is not someone who can be reasoned with, challenged, or argued against. He just is. 

“Dear Monique”-This story is brilliant at subversion and shifting the Reader’s thoughts towards and then away from the characters. A long letter recounts the friendship between Monique and the narrator, Christine. 

Christine’s narrative starts out sweet and nostalgic. She captures various moments that solidified the friendship between the two women through school, marriage, and motherhood. There is at first a sisterly bond between them that appears unbreakable. It’s sweet until we remember that sisterhood can have negative qualities as well as positives. For every March Sisters there are also Cinderella and her Wicked Stepsisters.

The letter takes a severe turn as Christine’s memories become more fragmented, darker, and more accusatory. Buried resentment and envy come forward and the two friends confront one another in a tragic conclusion. At first, it seems abrupt and jarring but upon closer inspection, the letter reveals that there was always something brewing under the surface of this friendship. Their end isn’t a surprise as it is inevitable.

“Baie Rouge”-This story is a continuation of and sequel to “The Dance” by carrying many of the same themes of sexual attraction and undying love. Sandra remembers her relationship with Vickie and still mourns her death. One night during her grief, Sandra gets a surprise visitor that completely changes her outlook.

The couple are very close and Sandra’s memories are pleasant. She recalls Vicki’s positive and negative qualities cherishing those former times as a means of holding onto her deceased lover. Sandra makes Vicki a real person and not a caricature or a model of perfection. That makes her death all the sadder. 

The resolution is easy to predict but at the same time intriguing. Because of what we are told about their relationship, the results are not something to be feared. Instead it is seen as a triumph. 

“To Die A Fool”-Like “The Black Hole,” this is social commentary wrapped inside an engaging story. Only this time religion is given this bitter satiric treatment. A religious man finds his  beliefs tested when confronted with his own mortality.

This story is a savage and brutal takedown of religion and the willful blindness that it sometimes brings. The Narrator spends the first few pages trying to convince the Reader that his faith is constant and unyielding. He arrogantly describes his devotion almost to the point of parody.

The final pages counters the Narrator’s view and give him an ironic hell. It’s a complete contrast to what he talked about without understanding. It forces him to look at himself and learn that his religious behavior was just simply surface without substance. 

“Last Request”-Some of the darker stories in this anthology takes the Readers into the mind of characters who are human and far more dangerous than any supernatural entity. Willie Dean Campbell sits on death row awaiting his last meal and execution.

Campbell’s story is one of using violent means to satisfy one’s cravings and desires. He is written as someone who has a hunger that needs another thrill to satisfy it. Those thrills start out minor and then get progressively worse. He is inhuman as he looks at his victims as simply means to satisfy those longings.

The most troubling aspects of this story are revealed when Campbell admits that he didn’t come upon his homicidal tendencies on his own. In fact, they were drilled into him by his mother. She created the desire and the cravings and got him started on the path. Campbell just simply followed it to its obvious conclusion. 

“One Night Stand”-Some of these stories are flash fiction and have only one page or even a few sentences to capture a mood. In this one, a woman contemplates the aftereffects of a murder.

Despite the short length, Wood manages to capture a truly diabolical situation. The description is extraordinarily graphic and evocative in its violence. In a few short sentences a nightmare is created.

The final sentence is meaningful enough to be a twist ending. In this brief story, we learn as much about the characters and their situation as we would have if we had been given more pages. 

“Issue”-This story is one that many authors may relate to, especially when their characters seem so real. While writing his latest mystery novel, Maurice White seems to feel the presence of Charlie Carver, his protagonist. 

The story begins with many creepy moments like when Maurice begins speaking in the accent that he gave Charlie and taking on some of his mannerisms. He is afraid to look in the mirror or go about his daily activities because he thinks that he will see Charlie appear to him.. As the snippets of Maurice’s novel are meant to keep his readers in suspense, Maurice’s journey does the same to us. The Reader isn’t sure if Charlie’s fears are justified or we are reading the thought process of a paranoid schizophrenic. Is Charlie a fictional character or an alter ego that Maurice tries to suppress but is begging to come forward. Or more than likely could both be simultaneously true?

The ending spins the story in a different direction from entering the mindscape of a writer to blurring the lines between the real world in which they live and the fictional world that they create. Charlie Carver takes on a more demonic persona as he confronts his author. He is unfinished because his story is and he demands a resolution. This story shows that people, authors especially, can create their own demons and are often at their mercy. 

“Noon”-This story takes a trip into panic during the end of the world. The Narrator searches through a zombie apocalypse for his brother, Corey.

The story captures the panic and tension that one would have in a situation where their entire world has ended. The Narrator recalls the moments when  the creatures attacked the humans and chaos ensued. He’s still in shock and denial trying to reconcile the world that he once knew with the one before him. This leaves him defenseless when he isn’t adequately prepared for the new normal. All he can do is find his brother and hide. 

The tension contrasts with the Narrator’s feelings towards Corey. His memories of the two raising each other and sticking together through hardships fill him with hope. He hangs onto those memories because they are all that he has. He wants to think of Corey as the man that he once was and not a corpse or worse. That hope turns to despair and fear when he realizes that the times have changed his brother too.

“Patty”-Unlike many of the stories in the anthology that  cannot be found in reality, this one explores a monster that is very human and unfortunately very common. In this one, Patty recalls her unhappy and abusive marriage to her husband, Troy and the violence that ensued from it.

Who needs ghosts, demonic roller coasters, and zombie apocalypses when the fear of domestic violence is all too present and real? Patty’s marriage starts out badly even before the ceremony when she overhears Troy make disparaging comments about  her appearance. Troy’s abuse towards Patty escalates from sharp criticisms, to outright insults, to gaslighting, to physical and sexual violence. The characters fall into a pattern that is frequently echoed in reality. 

The worst part about the abuse is the toll that it takes on Patty. When we read about her, she is a faded withered woman who is deprived of the ability to think for herself because of the erosion of her self-esteem. She wears clothing, fixes her hair, and manages the household in ways that he approves of. She is not even allowed the privacy of her own thoughts without his domineering voice and harsh hands entering her mind. As with many abuse victims, she has lost the ability to fight him and in this case her obsession to please him takes on violent proportions. However, the story makes us side with her because Patty is not the monster. Troy is. He took her identity, mind, independence, self-respect, and left behind an empty shell. He did far more damage than any zombie ever could.

“Idol”-Many of these stories are at their core about obsessions, but none explore that concept more than this one. In a long monologue, Iris recounts her obsession for a famous woman to the point that she wants to look like her and goes to desperate lengths to achieve her goal.

The story straddles the line between darkly comic and extremely grotesque,  Iris talks about her injuries and body mutilations like they are a day at the spa. She is alarmingly nonchalant about the fact that her complexion is burnt to a crisp,, that her hair and eyebrows are gone because of disastrous dying techniques, and parts of her skin has been hacked off to trim the fat. It’s terrifying and pathetic to imagine this poor woman putting herself through such torture to look like her idol.

This story is a commentary on the beauty industry and the lengths that people, especially women, go through to look perfect. In a world where eating disorders, plastic surgery addiction, compulsive shopping, and images and videos that exploit insecurities in the name of beauty are all too common, are Iris’ actions really that far off? Many destroy themselves to obtain a perfect image that doesn’t exist, that never existed. They just don’t do it as graphically as Iris does. 

“Abstract”-If Art can capture life, then it can capture death too and that is what is explored here. Matthew and Cameron go to an art exhibit from a controversial artist whose paintings leave quite an impression on those who observe them.

The story starts out like one of those urban legends. Matthew and Cameron debate about the stories that they heard that they swore happened to a friend of a friend. Like other urban legends, this set up opens up a real fear but puts a story around it that is hard to believe. We may not believe the legend, but it scares us all the same. 

Things take a turn when the duo look at the painting. It is not described very much, just in splashes of colors. It’s an abstract which one may look at in any museum and  ponder its meaning, but leave it behind in pursuit of other works. With this one, it’s not so much the painting itself but how it makes the viewer feel. There is a haunting creeping coldness that symbolizes death. It can’t be expressed into words and barely into visuals beyond an abstract. It can only be felt and as it is felt, it remains. 

“Skin”-”Folie a deux” means shared psychosis and is particularly felt among two or more people who work together to commit crimes. In this story, Karen, a former psychiatric nurse, recalls her troubled obsessive relationship with Jeremy, a patient.

Karen and Jeremy are like many killer couples, most notably The Joker and Harley Quinn. They fill a need for each other and those needs often end in murder. Jeremy lives for his obsessions and addictions that are only satisfied by killing and devouring his enemies. He lives on emotion and impulse and doesn’t care who he hurts. 

Karen on the other hand is smarter and more methodical and calculating. She delivers certain things and pays favors to Jeremy to earn his trust. Then when she has it, she becomes an accomplice to his deeds. While Jeremy is not personally invested in the people he attacks, Karen is. She has a specific target in mind and puts them right in Jeremy’s path. In some ways, that makes her worse than Jeremy. He may live totally in darkness but she can control it. 

“Worthington Court”-This is reminiscent of those old ghost stories or campfire tales about that person or that area in town which are cursed. In this story, the cursed area is Worthington Court and the only person who knows its dark devastating secret is Alma Roberson, a 96 year old resident who reveals the secret to Henry Goode, a skeptical historian.

There is a nostalgic old world quality to this story, the kind which is shared by a storyteller to their listeners. Alma tells the story with a compelling narrative that captures both history and horror. She tells it in a way that makes you want to listen even though you are afraid of the ending. 

The story has a parallel point of view from Henry. After Alma finishes her story, he researches it to determine the veracity. He  methodically and thoroughly searches archives, town records, newspaper articles, census reports. He is convinced that he knows the truth. He forgets that there is something out there that resists being researched and can’t be analyzed or understood by academic means. 

“Detour”-This story has one of the usual stock endings found in horror but the journey to get there can’t be missed. Stuck in traffic, Cheryl takes a detour along the mysterious Palatial Lane only to get the fright of her life. 

“Detour” is almost hypnotic as it describes the long drive with the roads and endless traffic. It’s meant to put the Reader and Cheryl into a false sense of monotony during an everyday situation in which we are all too familiar. 

Palatial Lane is purposely the opposite of its name. Cheryl expects a wealthy road with big mansions, manicured lawns, and fancy cars. Instead, she finds an unkempt wood, old houses, dead grass, and an overall sense of abandonment. It is a place that fills her with fear and loathing and only towards the end does she realize that her fears are justified. 

“The Morning After’-This is another flash fiction which takes two sentences to capture a mood, a thrilling creepy mood. A woman hears a singer’s voice on the radio and it causes her mind to wander to a specific memory.

In the brief time in which we are given, we are told what we need to know about the woman, the singer, and what happened. The information that we are given gives us the important details and lets our minds wander about the rest. We don’t know who they are, the motives, or what led to it. That is left to the imagination. All that is known is something horrible happened and the Woman is not at all remorseful. In fact, she is jubilant.

“A Glimpse”-This is a very strange story which leaves a lot to the imagination. A woman is frightened by the appearance of a stranger but there may be more to this stranger than she thought.

We aren’t given a long story, just a few paragraphs. Most of it is devoted to the woman’s theories about this figure so it’s hard to tell what is real and what isn’t. This adds to the ominous feeling throughout. 

We are led to believe one thing, but then we are told something else that pivots us into another direction. In the end we aren’t given any clear answers and are left with the unknown. In a way that’s what makes it scarier. We are left to our own interpretations and to make our own conclusions. 

Girl in A Smart Uniform by Gill James; The Pumpkin King and Other Tales of Horror by R. David Fulcher; We Aren't Who We Are How to Become by Dustin Ogle; Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook: 1000 Days of Delicious Recipes with Images, Tips, and Techniques for Perfecting Your BBQ Game by Dr Esther

 Girl in A Smart Uniform by Gill James; The Pumpkin King and Other Tales of Horror by R. David Fulcher; We Aren't Who We Are How to Become by Dustin Ogle; Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook: 1000 Days of Delicious Recipes with Images, Tips, and Techniques for Perfecting Your BBQ Game by Dr Esther

Girl in a Smart Uniform by Gill James

A longer version of this review is on LitPick

It's important to know why and how a person would become part of a truly evil and cruel group and contribute to actions that further that group’s agenda. Everyone is susceptible to groupthink and propaganda. Girl in a Smart Uniform shows how easily a person with good intentions and ideals could fall into that situation and become an active participant

In 1930’s Germany, Gisela joins the Bund Deutsche Madel, or the BDM (The League of German Girls). At first she enjoys being a member but after a while she begins to question their tactics and policies. When people around her and eventually she herself become potential targets, she sees Hitler and the Nazi Party for the evil that they really are.

Gisela is far from likable at first but her journey from ignorance, to participant, to empathy, to self awareness is an interesting one.

She feels structure, belonging, and a sense of purpose after she joins the BDM. She has close friends whom she accompanies to meetings and outings. If she starts to feel remorseful about the way Jews and other people are treated under Hitler's reign, she silences that conscience with a jingoistic reminder.

Gisela becomes harder to like when she sinks into the Nazi mindset and even her narration becomes militant, arrogant, and Antisemitic. At times she is so willfully ignorant and delusional that Readers might want to reach through the pages and slap her to make her see reality. 

There are three particular moments that transform Gisela’s role from participant in evil to a fighter against it. 

The first is the birth of her half-brother, Jens, who is born developmentally disabled. The second is the realization that those closest to her like her oldest brother and a schoolmate are helping Jewish people. 

 

The final moment is more personal for Gisela. It's her growing awareness of her love for other women, particularly a fellow BDM member, Trudi. Gisela’s love for Trudi is what finally pulls her from embracing Authoritarianism and Fascism to embracing Democracy and Freedom. She finally is able to take action, help others, and free herself.

Girl in a Smart Uniform is a stirring tale of how someone can stumble into hate groups and their propaganda. But it is also a compelling heroic journey about someone who finds the inner strength and character to get out

The Pumpkin King and Other Tales of Horror by R. David Fulcher 

R. David Fulcher’s anthology, The Pumpkin King and Other Tales of Terror is an experiment on minimalist horror.

Each story is extremely short. The longest are less than ten pages and most are only two or three. In those brief times, Fulcher only has time to scare us and he does it well.

Fulcher contrasts with other short story horror authors such as Miles Watson or Michael Reyes. They create detailed settings and manage to squeeze in some exposition and world building in the brief time that they have been given. The results often are that the horror is often part of a larger picture that contributes to the fear factor that we are given. It's a grim ominous energy that awaits for some truly supernatural cosmic event to erupt.

Fulcher ignores the large picture and focuses on the immediate situation. He just sets up a scene, gives us a lead character, and puts them into a terrifying experience with a twist that makes it scarier. The stories don't have time to give details when they concentrate more on the shocks and scares that engulf the final pages.

This anthology offers some great stories designed to keep Reader’s adrenaline racing and their sleep patterns very short. The best are:

“The Pumpkin King”-The title story gives a fine atmospheric macabre Halloween setting that builds on the old pagan origins of the famous holiday. The Narrator opts out of decorating his house on Halloween night. 

He particularly refuses to leave a Jack O’Lantern outside his house and comes afoul of a visitor who makes their disappointment known in a gruesome way that illustrates the original need for placing pumpkins outside the door on that night.

“A Matter of Taste”-This is one of many “Face to Face With Death” stories that this anthology produces and is also a chilling “Deal with the Devil.”

Mary McKeldin wants her comatose son to heal so she agrees to Satan’s terms. The terms themselves are graphic as are the notions of sin and atonement that surround the act. The final pages call Mary to task for her actions, and her intent on whether it was to genuinely save her son or inflict revenge on another person. She ends up paying a final bloody price and an eternity of regret for the act.

“My Days with Mahalia”-War can produce its fair amount of monstrosities and this story is a definite example. The Narrator is one of a group of pilots who loves, really loves their plane, a sleek black flying fort. The men personify their flying mistress as she takes them on air raids and protects them with an almost human-like defense. They name her Mahalia after the Hindu goddess of time. 

Humanizing a vehicle, particularly one used for war, proves to have a downside especially when Mahalia’s men begin dying at an alarming rate. The Narrator realizes that this plane has more than a mind of her own and has a potentially fatal hold on the pilots who ride inside of her.

“Merry Are We of the Lake”-Ah Christmas, the perfect time for revisiting the old hometown, reuniting with friends, having drinks and engaging in ritualistic murder. You know the usual things that people do on the holidays.

The festive setting offers a great ironic punch to the awful deeds that are happening at the forefront as a group of old high school friends engage in a ghoulish ritual. The apparition that they appeal to is the perfect blend of otherworldly attractiveness and eerie omniscience that is both captivating and terrifying at the same time. This story is like a modern day version of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” where tradition and religious devotion stand in the way of morality, legality, empathy, and common sense.

“Extra! Extra!”-Thanks in large part to a certain Disney animated series from the 90’s, gargoyles are often now placed alongside other noted creatures of the night like vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and the like. This story gives those grotesque stone waterspouts some attention. Slade, a tabloid reporter, agrees to interview a witness to recent gargoyle attacks and gets more than an up close and personal exclusive. 

There is a savage undercurrent as the world of tabloid journalism is darkly mocked as are the strange outlandish tales that are spread through such outlets and social media. This modern humor contrasts with a centuries old spirit that has seen much, fought against and survived more, and knows exactly how to capture and kill its unwilling prey.

“The Watcher's Web”-This story combines a Crime Thriller with a Supernatural Horror by giving us what seems to be a perfect crime only to meet some definitely unexpected interference.

Rizzo, a professional thief, aspires to rob a museum exhibit only to encounter a very determined night watchman who has a few surprises of his own.

Rizzo is written as the consummate thief who has everything planned and observed. He is calculating and able to find ways around the obstacles that he would usually encounter like security systems and the police. However, his conflict with the night watchman opens himself up to something that he is completely unprepared for, something ancient and unknown, and leaves him vulnerable and defenseless.

“Dreaming, The Copper City”-Fulcher takes a brief detour into Science Fiction and plays around within another familiar fictional landscape. Carter, one of many residents on the Moon, sees a mysterious object land on the lunar surface. He approaches and hears a mysterious voice calling, “Yog-Sothoth.”

Fans of the Cthulhu Mythos will recognize that name as one of the Outer Gods and the progenitor of such deities as Hastur the Unspeakable and Cthulhu himself. Carter becomes drawn to the voice and an accompanying vision of a copper city. He becomes obsessed with the vision to the point of forgetting about life. 

This story presents the cosmic horror that is present in these horror tales. It's not enough that Earth is full of supernatural and human scares but the entire universe can present the unknowable fear. The type of fear also brings obsession, addiction, and insanity. Carter's obsessive pursuit of the copper city and the voice calling Yog-Sothoth reminds us that some things are better left unknown and unexplored if the cost is one's mind and life.

“The Faerie Lights”-We had a detour into Science Fiction, why not one into Dark Fantasy that involves those ruthless terrifying creatures: faeries?

Many think that faeries are harmless cute and sometimes mischievous creatures but anyone who has studied folk tales beyond cutesy animated films and TV shows knows that faeries are actually powerful malevolent spirits that you do not want to mess with.

In this story, the Narrator tells his tale of a late night encounter with the Fair Folk. The beginning plays on the more poetic beautiful images that fairies convey as they seduce and entice the Narrator. However, their true being and intentions lie underneath the surface reminding us that you can dress up and defang a powerful magical being all you want. But a great power lies underneath, one that is incomprehensible and demands to be feared and respected.

We Aren't Who We Are How to Become by Dustin Ogle 

Dustin Ogle’s Self-Help book is an interesting guide on how Readers can use their skills, increase their knowledge and learning, and activate those abilities to their fullest.

Ogle describes these abilities as “super powers.” They seem natural and normal to the person who has them but makes them stand out and be recognized and honored by others. The metaphor of comparing these abilities to super powers or magic gives Readers the understanding that they can use those abilities to help and assist others.

One of the ways that Readers can use those abilities to their fullest advantage is by changing thought patterns to become more empathetic and understanding. Sometimes we are too fixated on our own perspectives and points of view that we don't think of others whose experiences may be entirely different from our own. We fall into echo chambers and listen only to those in our specific groups.

Ogle suggests that a way to combat that echo chamber is to gain fresh perspectives through learning. If you come across something that you don't understand, make an effort to learn about it. Obtain new information and experiences to add onto what you already know. Even acknowledging that one can never really know everything and are willing to add to one's store of knowledge gives them a chance to increase their own gifts and use them to benefit others. Knowledge about a situation also increases empathy and allows people to connect on an emotional level. Those talents can be used to benefit not just the person who has them or the specific person that they are trying to help, but in some small part these powers can contribute to the community and society that surrounds them.

We Aren't Who We Are is not just a passive book offering suggestions and personal anecdotes. It also encourages active participation. There are many writing exercises and opportunities for journaling thoughts and experiences relevant to the topics in discussion.

Among the most important topics that encourage interaction is that of mindfulness. This book is filled with suggestions on meditation and visualization exercises to help clear the head and live in the present. These activities allow the brain to make a clear path between those talents and how to use them.

One of the most important activities is creating a vision. Once those special gifts are recognized and acknowledged, it is important to plan on how to use them. With their special powers, a person can be a leader, a performer, an educator, anything. Imagine what the ultimate goal that those gifts could deliver for oneself and others and the benefits that such a success could bring. Once that vision is made, then the Reader can take the concrete steps to develop, use, and promote those talents.

We all have the potential to be the heroes of our own stories. Ogle’s book gives us the tools to become that hero.

Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook: 1000 Days of Delicious Recipes with Images, Tips, and Techniques for Perfecting Your BBQ Game by Dr Esther

Barbecuing and outdoor cooking is a frequent pastime during the spring and summer seasons. The Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook offers some great recipes to try on your grill or smoker as well as some good advice on troubleshooting and how to make the most of an outdoor meal.

The recipes feature suggestions for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They include “Traeger Grilled French Toast, “Smoked BBQ Chicken Sandwiches,” and “Wood-Fired Honey Mustard Glazed Salmon.” Unlike other Traeger cookbooks, this one also covers recipes for snacks like “Smoked Buffalo Chicken Dip with Tortilla Chips” and appetizers like “Wood-Fired Buffalo Chicken Dip Stuffed Peppers.” The variety of food suggests that grilling can be used for any meal beyond the usual hamburgers and hot dogs that frequently mark such occasions.

The introduction to the book includes tips and techniques to master the art of grilling and smoking. Such tips like choosing the right wood such as hickory or mesquite to provide seasoning and flavor help elevate the outdoor cooking experience. There are also suggestions for when difficulties arise like how to make sure the meat isn’t too dry or tough. This advice provides Readers with much needed assistance to overcome any flaws and mistakes.

The Traeger Grill & Smoker Cookbook is highly recommended for those who want to cook, eat, and enjoy a meal in the great outdoors.