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Review of “The Revenants-I Kill Monsters” by Tony Monchinski

The Revenants, book two of the I Kill Monsters series, picks up where Fury left off.  Boone has been imprisoned by a vampire lord who is intrigued by the power of his blood and has hand picked him to complete a mission with several of his men.

Much like the first book in this series and the other books I’ve read by Tony Monchinski, the story hovers around New York City, though we depart that area to head over to Europe for a time, and Rainford, the Dark Vampire Lord, takes the reader and Boone on a journey to the distant past, where he relates the story of his history in Russia and the love of his life during his youth as a vampire.  While Boone finds the telling of this tale as he is imprisoned annoying at first, he is sucked into it much like the reader is, seeing things through the eyes of Rainford while he recounts his tragic tale.  But rest assured, this is no sappy romance with Rainford playing the role of tragic hero.  As is the case with Fury, vampires are relentless, vile creatures who have no regard for the living and in many cases no regard for their fellow undead.

The story has numerous plotlines going, all intertwined in different ways, though sometimes it is hard to see the ultimate connections.  As the author has a sizeable series planned, it is clear his plan is to reveal things in dribs and drabs here, and not divulge the meaning behind different portions of the overall story too soon.  Vampires, Furies, and now Revenants are revealed as supernatural creatures here, though it is clear that the Revenants here are not the typical zombies we are used to seeing in books and movies these days, but a more traditional form of enslaved dead.  The world as a whole doesn’t realize they exist, but the author is pulling back the curtain to show us more and more of the dark underbelly of the world.

Tony knows how to spin a complex tale, but therein lays the challenge with reading a book like this.  It was exactly two years ago that I completed the first book, and the extensive secondary stories took some time to come back to my mind after such a long absence.  Reading a complicated tale with sizable time gaps between each chapter makes it tougher to remember all the critical details from the previous book.  But that is not a gripe related to the storytelling or the story itself; it is just a desire for the author to produce these books faster.  Because both have been compelling reads, and I am already anxiously awaiting the third book in the saga.

You can find The Revenants here: http://www.amazon.com/Revenants-Kill-Monsters-Tony-Monchinski/dp/1478204303/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351442918&sr=1-14&keywords=tony+monchinski

Posted by  |  October 28, 2012 | Categories: Other folk's stuff... | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s a wild, wild week! Check out my interview with Rebecca Besser over at her blog.

As you should know, the anthology Zombies Gone Wild has been released.  Why should you know?  Well, let me tell ya.  Because it includes one of my short stories, “What’s Eating You?” which is one twisted, messed up tale of zombie therapy.  It also includes stories from a slew of great indy authors who loves them some zombies.  Out on the kindle, very soon to be available in paperback as well.

You should also know because great and wonderful fellow author Rebecca Besser, who also has a story included in this wondrous tome, has created “Wild Week!” over on her blog, where she is doing interviews of many of the authors involved in this killer project.  So please stop on over and check out the interview Rebecca did with yours truly as a part of Wild Week…and check out the other interviews she’s doing to support the book’s release as well.

http://blog.rebeccabesser.com/2012/10/26/patrick-dorazio—wild-week.aspx?ref=rss

Posted by  |  October 26, 2012 | Categories: My Writing Experiences, Other folk's stuff..., The Shorts | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

“No More Heroes” is finally out at Createspace!

This one has been years in the making.  I held on to the hope that this one would come out, sooner or later, even though the original publisher let it languish for quite a time, then promised to release it, but let the contracts lapse.  Then one of the editors, Wayne Goodchild, did his absolute best to find this book a new home.  But it was a rather unique concept, one which bound all the authors together under the same umbrella, but also meant that a new publisher had to buy into the concept of a whole new realm of superheroes and villains being created.  Yep, this alternate universe has an entirely new set of good guys and bad guys, and a very intriguing concept behind it.  A cataclysmic event causes most of the superheroes on the planet to get evaporated, allowing the villains to take over…but a new group of superheroes have revealed themselves, ready to provide the resistance the world needs to save itself.

Fortunately, Matt Nord, who had a personal investment in this project, wanted this book to be released as badly as Wayne did, and thus, like a Phoenix, it has risen from the ashes.  Now all we can ask is that you check it out…on createspace, and when it becomes available on Amazon and elsewhere.

The editors crafted a back story that was tremendous and should be included within the book.  Dozens and dozens of evil villains and superheroes, ready for their stories to be told.  My tale provides the origin of a angst ridden teen known as “Slow Goth” and his superhero mentor, “St. North”.  Naturally, the story is called “Slow Goth and St. North”.  I was pretty thrilled when my tale was accepted into the book, and fought along  with Wayne and Matt to see this project to completion.  The original vision was to not only see this project to its conclusion, but to hold out hope that it would be successful enough that we could craft more tales in future volumes…giving this world a real complexity, with as many of the bad guys and good guys used and involved in an ongoing saga.  It remains to be seen whether or not that will happen, but for now, I hope you have the chance to check out No More Heroes!  Just click on the cover to get sent over to Createspace.

On November 20th, 2009, a catastrophic event dubbed The Cataclysm wiped the world’s greatest heroes and villains off the face of the planet and created a death toll stretching into the millions.

Though most of the world survived, it is now in the grip of the super villains who avoided The Cataclysm. It may not have been quite the victory they expected, but it is the outcome they wanted: all the heroes are dead and the world is theirs…

Or so they believe…

Posted by  |  October 26, 2012 | Categories: Other folk's stuff..., The Shorts | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

The cover of the Permuted Press version of “Into The Dark” revealed!

I showed the cover of the Permuted Press version of Comes the Dark a while back and now that the second book cover has been released, it is time for the big reveal.  This one is a bit different, though it sticks with a similar theme as with the first with a similar background.  Definitely different than the original version from Philip R. Rogers, with both being excellent depictions of the main character and the theme of the novel.  Into The Dark will be released in March of 2013, with additional content-over 24,000 words in the expanded story.  So here it is, without further ado.

Posted by  |  October 22, 2012 | Categories: Into The Dark | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Zombies Gone Wild is now available for the Kindle! Soon in paperback!

I’m proud to announce that Zombie’s Gone Wild, an anthology of wild and crazy zombie tales, including “What’s Eating You?” which is my twisted and disturbing saga of zombie comedy, is included within its pages.  It hit the Kindle today, and will be available in paperback soon.  Stay tuned-I’ll definitely keep everyone posted on that front.  Just click on the cover below to be taken to where you can purchase this masterpiece of modern zombie horror and comedy.

 Death is not the end…

“Zombies Gone Wild!” is a chilling collection of twenty-six stories from established authors as well as up-and-coming writers in the genre, with an opening poem from everyone’s favorite zombie. This anthology includes tales where the undead stand as a symbol of unification for a desperate world, where friends really are what you make them, and where new beginnings aren’t always a good thing.

The end is only the beginning…

Bizarre, humorous, and terrifying, “Zombies Gone Wild!” will satiate your hunger for zombie goodness.

Posted by  |  October 17, 2012 | Categories: Other folk's stuff..., The Shorts | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review of Tonia Brown’s “Skin Trade”

Skin Trade takes place in the imagined old west where the dead have risen and made much of the country has been left uninhabitable, while the United States remains little more than a sliver of land along the east coast that is zombie-free.  Beyond that are the Borderlands, where the government promises new growth and a life for those willing to risk it, though the fear of revenants keeps most people living in squalor out east rather than taking the risk.  Beyond the Borderlands are the lands where revenants roam free.  That is also where the trappers ply their trade, but it isn’t animals their after.

Samantha, a girl who has escaped a wretched life in a brothel down south, has made it to the borderlands where she has disguised herself as a boy so she can go to a workhouse with other boys desperate to find a way to make a living.  There she is recruited by a trapper who needs apprentices to learn his trade.  Sam realizes that there is great danger in going west, but knows this may be her best chance to put the past behind her and learn a trade that could set her free.  But little does she know about all the dark secrets of the skin trade, though she’ll soon find out.

Skin Trade is quite an intriguing entry into the zombie pantheon of literature, with the undead see as animals to be slaughtered and skinned for the valuable leather they can offer up.  They are dangerous and to be feared, but it is the men who ply this trade who represent the real darkness in this story.  Sam is a tough, scrappy young lady who has escaped one horrible life to be potentially thrust right into another, but her adventures are fascinating ones, where she discovers a great deal about herself and her fellow man.

Tonia Brown knows how to craft a story, and her fertile imagination does not disappoint, whether it has to do with the undead or steampunk…or both.  She is one of the most creative authors out there working her magic on traditional zombie lore, intermingling romance, adventure, horror, and intrigue with ease.  Skin Trade is no exception.  Her characters are vivid, fun, and compelling, her stories always entertaining.  Definitely give this one a whirl if you are a fan of zombie lit-it’s a bit different than the traditional apocalyptic tale, and well worth checking out.

Skin Trade can be found here:  http://www.amazon.com/Skin-Trade-ebook/dp/B007PCVFDC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1349637677&sr=8-4&keywords=skin+trade

Posted by  |  October 7, 2012 | Categories: Other folk's stuff... | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The Dark Man is here and he’s taken over my blog!

Right now, my new novella, THE DARK MAN, just came out! But before we get into that, I want to thank Patrick D’Orazio for being so awesome as to let me commandeer his blog for a day. Thanks dude, you are freaking awesome.

 

In case you haven’t actually heard of the book, the following is the books short synopsis:

 

The human mind holds within its infinite reaches many of the greatest mysteries in the universe. Some are vast and wondrous, while others are chilling and nightmarish. Some mysteries are better left hidden in the dark corners of our minds, never breaking free of our subconscious.

 

Six high school students set out to explore these depths by sharing a mind altering substance on a night meant to be filled with both wild hallucinations and crazy antics. But the fun and games come to a shuddering halt when a strange man appears. This isn’t just any stranger. He is the Dark Man. Haunter of dreams and purveyor of nightmares. Dressed in a black suit and top hat, his pale skin and twisted grin promise a very deranged night of entertainment.

 

LINK:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dark-Man-ebook/dp/B009DKCGAK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348089055&sr=8-2&keywords=the+dark+man+p.+a.+douglas

 

I originally came up with the Dark Man when I was a stupid little teenager. Bet you couldn’t ever guess how. Either way, I know of a lot of people who have actually come into contact with this person while on such substances. Needless to say it had to be written about. The fact that more than a handful of people have seen the Dark Man in real life is creepy enough for me. Whether or not the content of the Dark Man stands true in this book is another thing entirely. So, to answer that age old question: what inspired the book; well there it is. I’ve been there and done that and don’t recommend ever going back.

 

If splatterpunk, grindhouse action is what you crave in a good horror read, then I would definitely recommend picking this one up. It’s a fast paced death to the finish. And with that, I think that covers it for me.

 

Thanks again to Patrick for letting me hop in and say hello.

 

-pat

http://indie-inside.com

Posted by  |  October 6, 2012 | Categories: Other folk's stuff... | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

But…but my story doesn’t have one of those in it! Well, maybe…

Okay, so I wrote this science fiction comedy story quite some time back for an anthology that never came out.  It was, without a doubt, a strange piece of fiction.  Perhaps not as strange as the piece I wrote for Houdini Gut Punch, a bizarro anthology, which is called “Consumer’s Paradise”, but then again, I wasn’t writing this piece in an attempt at something bizarro, just something wild, fun, and perhaps a bit…off.  Which is what I came up with.  And now it will be available via a new bizarro anthology that has been released entitled Tall Tales with Short Cocks, Volume 2 from Bizarro Press.

Okay, I get it.  I read the first volume of this anthology series and the comments in many of the reviews said  that there were very few…um, er, well, you know…naughty male bits…in any of the stories.  And I was thinking that my particular story, which is entitled “The Interstellar Quest for Snack Cakes” has none of them in it either.  But perhaps I shouldn’t speak so fast.  There is a bit of untamed lasciviousness in my tale, primarily with a wide assortment of alien creatures.  Nothing described in too much graphic detail, mind you, but it is there.  Of course, if I thought I could sell a few more books by making it a bit more racy, I might have considered doing so.  But hey, mixing comedy, science fiction, and erotica might just make a few folks heads explode, so I’ll keep things just where they are, with just the comedy and science fiction.  Otherwise I might have been forced to call my story Barbarella.

Suffice it to say, this anthology will have some pretty weird tales in it.  I read the first volume and there was plenty of horror, comedy, and some stuff that was just plane surreal, so my guess is that if you check this one out, you’ll get a nice assortment of whacked out crazy stuff mixed with some chills, thrills, and head scratches.  And including in this bevy of the odd is my story, which the editor said was ‘not strictly not bizarro, but pretty f$%king bizarre’ which I take as a tremendous compliment and makes for a great tag line.

Click on the cover below to head to Amazon to purchase the kindle version of this book.  Stay tuned for updates on the paperback version, coming soon!

Posted by  |  October 1, 2012 | Categories: The Shorts | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Review of David Gilbertson’s “Containment”

Containment by David Gilbertson struck me as something halfway between a dystopian fairy tale and a grand psychological experiment.

We are introduced to Edward, the main character, who has lost his wife sometime back and is doing his best to take care of his young son on his own.  When he finds out that a man with a very dark past has moved into his neighborhood, he becomes fearful for his son’s life and conveniently, it seems, stumbles upon an old army compatriot, Theodore, who has been tucked away from society and presumed dead for a very long time.

The two men begin swapping ideas with one another-Edward brings up the fact that it isn’t right that some dangerous person should be allowed to mix with decent folks.  Thus begins these two men’s experiment into realigning the country (in theory, or so it seems) so that the undesirables live with one another and all the good people live together, safely removed from danger.  They imagine rankings and qualifications based on a number of factors, including income, positive accomplishments, criminal record and other related factors.  They disagree on some, such as health and race, with Theodore being the more extreme, but they are able to come up with a very detailed plan.  The country will be split into fifty regions, with R1 being the nicest and R50 being where all the depraved criminals reside.

Little does Edward know that Theodore has taken this whole experimental process seriously and knows people in high places in the government who wish to implement this new plan.  So over the course of the next year, R50 is built, an identification process is crafted for all citizens, and the government begins moving people into their appropriate places based on their ranking.

The story follows Edward in his journey of realization of what he has created, the fact that it is real, and the consequences based on his and Theodore’s actions.

This book is challenging for me to rate.  It is a solid personal story of Edward, and the relationships he has with Theodore and his wife, Natasha, in particular.  As a journey of self-discovery and realization it has some intriguing elements.  As a dystopian story, it is more of a mixed bag, with it being interesting in theory and this is my reason for calling it a fairy tale at the beginning of this review.  I grew up loving history, and later in life discovering alternate history, written mostly by historians who knew enough about real history to twist and bend it enough to make a different path an intriguing and plausible possibility.  Containment dwells on our fears, especially in a post 9-11 world, of distancing ourselves from danger that it presents an interesting topic, but I felt there were far too many factors not considered and elements left by the wayside for this to ever be plausible.  In theory or as a make believe story with a moral to it?  It packs an emotional punch.  And yet…the country in question is nameless and has a convenient round numbered population, giving it a more classroom element to it, rather than a reality.  The discussions between Edward and Theodore and then later between Edward and Natasha have that classroom/theoretical element to them.  Even with the efforts of the author to cover quite a few bases, there is much left to chance and some elements of society left off the table completely.  To transition these theories into reality for this tale, several convenient coincidental meetings of people occur and drive the tale along.  So once again, this story works in theory-the idea is terrifying.  But put into practice, it became somewhat less than believable to me.

I did enjoy this story.  I felt that it left off a little abruptly, which might mean that a sequel is in the works.  It works as both a personal tale of discovery for Edward and as a fable of government control gone wrong.  It just misses a step or two when it comes to transitioning this new world order into something that has a possibility of becoming a reality.

Containment can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Containment-ebook/dp/B008LQ9BY6/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1349025696&sr=1-2&keywords=containment

Posted by  |  September 30, 2012 | Categories: Other folk's stuff... | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Review of “Loose Ends” by Jay Wilburn

Loose Ends by Jay Wilburn is a bit different style zombie apocalypse tale for several reasons, the main being the characters that inhabit this particular world.  We are introduced to our main character, Mutt, a fifteen year old boy who also happens to be mute.  He is hiding from a zombie pounding on the door of the panic room he has been in for a couple of days when the story starts.  The compound he’s lived in for most of the time since the dead rose up (about a decade) appears to be several buildings that have been connected and has been the dwelling place for a decent sized group of people.  Over the years, it has suffered attacks from zombies and humans alike, but the tenants have always persevered.  Not this time.  The only survivors are Mutt and the three men he works with in the kitchens: Chef, Short Order, and Doc.  Naturally, just like with Mutt, these are nicknames, but the reader isn’t provided real names of the characters until we are well into the story.  After cooking a few last meals and competing with one another to see who can outdo the others in taste and extravagance, they decide that it is time to hit the road, and find a new home.

The wide world is a dangerous, depraved place, with not only the biker types that assaulted them (along with the undead) this last time out there, but numerous other tribes of survivors that range from the deadly to the demented.  Mainly what our team of travelers finds at first is the undead.  They set out with their modified truck filled with supplies with the hopes of discovering a new and safe home-but they go in the direction that some of the men know and remember, and might not be their safest bet.  We get to know the characters better on their journey of attempting to one up one another in their cooking of meals they scrounge out in the wild.  Details are revealed about each of them, including their real names and their past.  Mutt too reveals more about himself and the brief childhood he had before it was torn apart by the undead.  Some of what is revealed seems almost better off remaining buried, with tragedies from the past that are hard to deal with, even after ten years of living with the undead.

Loose Ends definitely takes a different approach to introducing and revealing its characters.  These men are tightly bonded to one another, and the fact that Mutt is unable to speak allows their stories to be told with little interference from him, though it all through his eyes, including some very disturbing things.  While these three men are friends who protect and take care of Mutt (Doc especially, who Mutt is apprenticed to) they also have conflicts that stem from the fact that they are out of the safe and neutral environment of the compound and back out on the road traveling through the places where they are given the chance to revisit their pasts.

This book is not just a character study, it is a zombie apocalypse actioner, with plenty of scenes filled with harrowing attacks and attempted assaults of the small crew of survivors.  I am a fan of fully developed characters and human conflict that arises in apocalyptic tales-revealing the truth that is forced to come to the surface because of the harsh realities that surround the people trying to survive-and this tale definitely delivers that.  But I also love action and the horror that comes from the unrelenting nature of the undead, and Loose Ends delivers in that respect as well.

As far as the negatives with this story, as there are with every tale, it was my reaction to the beginning and something that happens not too far in that I had issue with.  I have a pet peeve about perspectives, and committing to the perspective chosen.  The author tells this story in first person, through Mutt’s eyes, and true to that, we never see anything from someone else.  But the author decides to bend the rules a bit and allows Mutt to imagine, in great detail, what is going on somewhere else.  Imagining what is going on isn’t a big deal, unless it reads like a very detailed and factual part of the story.  It felt forced here, but thankfully it is only a brief part of the story.  It does, however, happen very early on, which made me a bit fearful that it would crop up on a regular basis.  Thankfully this is not the case, and after another very minor dip into doing this again, the author leaves this behind and lets Mutts true perspective lead the way.

Overall, the storytelling here is solid.  Mutt lacks a voice but his ability to see what is going on around him and relate it to the reader adds a distinct flavor to the tale.  He both fears and relies on the men he is traveling with, in particular Doc, who he shares several harrowing adventures with and yet distrusts in many ways.  Mutt is not passive-he is an active participant in choosing his own destiny, which makes the story all the more satisfying.

Loose Ends tells the story of three men and a boy who all have issues from their past and have different levels of desire to confront these issues under the guise of searching for a new place to call home.  Some want to lay them to rest while others appear to be more interest in ripping open old wounds and remembering the darkness.  It is an interesting journey that I’m glad I tagged along for.

Loose Ends can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Loose-Ends-Zombie-Novel-ebook/dp/B008ISXOYU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348935151&sr=8-3&keywords=jay+wilburn

Posted by  |  September 29, 2012 | Categories: Other folk's stuff... | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment