Waiting On Wednesday: Indignities of the Flesh & The Monster Hunters

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



In honour of this week's Spring into Horror Read-a-Thon, I have a paid of horror-themed "can't-wait-to-read" selections for you:



Indignities of the Flesh by Bentley Little



Bentley Little has forged a name for himself as one of the most startlingly original authors in contemporary horror. His subversion of genre tropes and talent for creating surreal, Boschian-like nightmares from the mundane is without parallel.



Herein you'll meet: the mischievous 'Rodeo Clown', who may very well be evil incarnate, or perhaps little more than an innocent bystander in a ring of coincidence; a man obsessed with dental hygiene to the point of stalking, in 'Brushing'; a cynic forced to tag along on an ill-advised trip to a faith healer in 'Documented Miracles'; a demented birthday girl whose equally demented birthday wishes are about to come true, in 'Happy Birthday, Dear Tama'; a family on the run from cartoonists in search of their god, in 'Loony Tune'; and a man who pays the ultimate price for circumventing a parking attendant in the never before published, 'Valet Parking'.



Rounding out the collection are 'The Black Ladies' and 'The Pinata', a pair of unsettling stories culled from childhood nightmares, and the surprisingly poignant 'Even the Dead', which documents the last days of a tender partnership between two friends, only one of whom is still alive.



Indignities of the Flesh is a superlative gathering of the kind of twisted, darkly humorous, and mind-bending stories for which Bentley Little is best known. (May 31, 2012)







The Monster Hunters by Larry Correia



Monster Hunter International, Monster Hunter Vendetta and Monster Hunter Alpha in one huge volume!  Two New York Times bestsellers in together for the first time, and the first three entries in Larry Correia’s blockbuster Monster Hunter series.



Monster Hunter International: Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.



Monster Hunter Vendetta: Accountant turned professional monster hunter Owen Zastava Pitt managed to stop the nefarious Old One’s invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones. The Condition is led by a fanatical necromancer known as the Shadow Man. The government wants to capture the Shadow Man and has assigned the enigmatic Agent Franks to be Owen’s full time bodyguard -- which is a polite way of saying that Owen is monster bait.  Fortunately, this bait is armed and very dangerous.



Monster Hunter Alpha:  Earl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he’s also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business. But another force is working to bring about the creation of a whole new species of werewolf. When darkness falls, the final hunt begins, and the only thing standing in their way is a handful of locals, a lot of firepower, and Earl Harbinger’s stubborn refusal to roll over and play dead. (May 29, 2012)





Bentley Little is one of those old-reliable, go-to horror authors for me, and Subterranean Press always does an amazing job on their Deluxe Hardcover Editions, so that's a no-brainer. As for Larry Correia, I've been curious about his Monster Hunter series for a while now, so an all-in-one omnibus edition is definitely a treat!

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eBook Review: Dirty Eden by J.A. Redmerski

In keeping with the spirit (pun intended) of the Spring into Horror Read-a-Thon, I'm pleased to present my first horrific review of the week, an intriguing read called Dirty Eden by J.A. Redmerski.



This is a book I likely would not have otherwise stumbled upon, had Jessica not sent me a message via Goodreads, and one I likely would have declined to review, had it not been for the previous reviews calling it intelligent, dark-minded, vulgar, and blasphemous. As much as I tend to shy away from books with religious themes, that blasphemous tag really did catch my interest, and the reviewers' talk of interwoven mythologies intrigued me enough to take a chance.



I'm glad I did, because this was one of the most original reads I've had the pleasure of experiencing in a long time.



Dirty Eden is a book that hooks you right from the first page, somehow managing to inject a little discomfort into the boring banality of an office commute. All it takes is a glimpse of a stiletto-heeled stranger to shake Norman's routine, and a stranger's offer of $500 to go back and talk to her is more than enough temptation to derail not just a commute, but a man's entire life.



That stranger is, of course, the Devil . . . and what he expects from Norman is far more than just your typical 'selling your soul' type of mythological transaction. As we soon discover, there are big stakes involved, with the fate of all Creation ultimately resting upon the shoulders of an otherwise unremarkable man who dared to ask himself “What can it hurt?"



Before long we find ourselves accompanying Norman on an underworld journey which echoes those of Odysseus, Dante, and Chris Nielsen, but which adds its own unique spin on not just the journey, but the mythologies that overlap and combine to approximate the truth of our reality. It's a journey that's as fascinating as it it fearsome, through a landscape as gorgeous as it is grotesque. I think it was the moment that the naked, seductive fairy emerged from the forest, volunteering to have her wings ripped off as the price of Norman's passage across the Field of Yesterday, that I realized there was no escaping this book until I saw how it all would end.



This is a very dark book, and one that doesn't shy away from the darkness inside us all. Whether Norman is being confronted by the truth about himself, his family, or society at large, we're invited to bear witness to the worst acts of which mankind is capable - rape, murder, incest, adultery, theft, etc. There's not a lot of hope to the story, but there is a redeeming quality to Norman's personal growth that propels us along. It's also a very complex book, and one that is equally capable in delivering twists in plot as twists in mythology. Nothing is quite what it seems here, and the worst mistake you can make in reading the story is to assume you know what the Devil, Norman, or the author truly intend.



Having dreaded a literary betrayal, fully expecting a typically biblical end to the story, I was delighted to discover a climax worthy of the story that precedes it, an action-filled, suspense-laden, treacherous piece of storytelling that pulls together all of the various characters and themes into an entirely satisfying resolution. More than that, I have to applaud Jessica for a final twist that is as glorious as it is unexpected.

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Spring into Horror Read-a-Thon

Yes, today is Day 1 of the Spring Into Horror Read-a-Thon, hosted by Michelle over at Castle Macabre.



This is a week long read-a-thon that's all about being laid back and getting some scary reading done. Anyone with a blog is welcome to sign up, or you can sign up using your Goodreads, Twitter, or Facebook account. To follow along on Twitter, check out the #SpringHorrorRAT hastag.



I'm going to be starting my week with Dirty Eden by J.A. Redmerski before moving onto Poseidon's Children by Michael West, and then finishing up the week with an extreme horror collection, either Like Porno for Psychos by Wrath James White or Carnal Surgery by Edward Lee, Jr. (although there's an outside chance I may dip into my old-reliables and allow Richard Laymon's Fiends or Bentley Little's The Collection to usurp the extreme).

So, what will you be reading?

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TOUR EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Socialpunk by Monica Leonelle

After playing God for six years with the world he created, he couldn’t control any of his subjects, none at all. Over the years, he had watched them evolve and become the sum of their own choices rather than the sum of his; and for that, he regretted ever giving them life.

A small, blinking red light from just inside his eyelid reminded him of the news they sent him earlier that morning. The company had cancelled his funding and would shut down his project within three months. According to them, the project cost too much and took up too much space, and the inconclusive results couldn’t be published reputably, now or in the future.

Six years of his work, tens of thousands of lives at stake—and he could do nothing to save any of it. He bowed his head, letting his chin rest on the rim of his breakfast smoothie. The smoothie reeked of powder—crushed pills—but he supposed he had better get used to it. He wouldn’t be able to afford the luxury of real food after they canned him.

He closed his eyes and called up the camera view of one of his favorites, number 3281. She fascinated him; he couldn’t deny it. When he had designed her, her pre-teen rebelliousness lit fire in her eyes. A survivor, he’d thought. He’d meant for her to have it all—to grow up, to get married to the love of her life, and to have a beautiful family of her own someday.

But he had only given her sadness so far. Instead of creating a strict father, he had given her an abusive one. Instead of creating a loving boyfriend, he had given her a friend who could never love her. And instead of creating a strong, proud mother, he had given her a meek one, who watched the whole thing unfold and did nothing about it.

He looked at his last and final creation sitting in the chair across from him—his own son, not awakened yet. The law forbade him to have any children of his own, so this boy would substitute.

But he had done the unthinkable with this creation—he had bestowed on it his own thoughts, emotions, and decision-making processes. He’d given the boy his own mind, his own physical characteristics, his own wants and desires.

He had never done so with any of the others because of the dangers of investing too heavily in any one of his subjects. But who could he kid? He had not stayed objective thus far, watching some of his subjects more closely than others, wishing for the happiness of some at the expense of others. He had become an abomination, a monster of his own doing, who had created subjects only to watch them suffer.

He couldn’t forgive himself; not now, not ever. His eyes lingered on the vial that sat next to his breakfast smoothie, that he’d stowed away for the day when they destroyed all his work, his entire world. He would save it, tuck it away for now, for as long as he could protect them. When things spun out of his control, he would drink it and end himself the way he had ended them.

In the ancient stories, gods frequently gave their sons as gifts. Now, he would give his son as a gift to her, number 3281. So she could be happy in her last months on earth, before they destroyed her with the rest of them.

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Monica Leonelle is a well-known digital media strategist and the author of three novels. She blogs at Prose on Fire (http://proseonfire.com) and shares her writing and social media knowledge with other bloggers and authors through her Free Writer Toolkit (http://proseonfire.com/free-writer-toolkit).

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TGIF - Feature & Follow Friday

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that is designed to provide some much-appreciated exposure to the bloggers participating, and to expand their following. Hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, each of whom feature a chosen blog for the week, it's an interesting way to get to know one another.

Question of the Week: Fight! Fight! If you could have two fictional characters battle it out (preferably from books), who would they be and who do you think would win?



Give me a battle of the underdogs - sickly Elric of Melniboné (Michael Moorcock), leprous Thomas Covenant (Stephen Donaldson), and sickly Raistlin Majere (Weis & Hickman). Depending on who has the strongest grasp on their sanity that day, and whether they're prepared to wield their magical talismans (sword, ring, or staff), it's anybody's battle . . . but I'd have to give Raistlin the edge for his experience with treachery.



Parajunkee also hosts a Social Hop for Facebook and Twitter, which I always take part in. So, if you're one of those people who aren't on Blogger, or who just don't like Google Friend Connect, it's a great way to keep in touch and follow one another.

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TGIF is another blog hop designed to provide much-appreciated exposure to the bloggers participating, and to expand their following. Hosted by GReads, it's an interesting way to recap the week, pose a question, and find some exposure with a different audience.




Question of the Week: Book Blogger Influences - Has there been a particular book blogger who's influenced what you read? Share with us a review/book blog that convinced you to pick up a certain book.



For recommendations on new reads I always rely on The Steel Bookshelf, Fantasy & SciFi Lovin' News & Reviews, and Graeme's Fantasy Book Review.

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Get Jackie Gamber's Sela for FREE!

Get Sela for free on Kindle!



The second book of the Leland Dragon series from Jackie Gamber is available for free on Kindle today and tomorrow!





Peace was fleeting. Vorham Riddess, Venur of Esra Province, covets the crystal ore buried deep in Leland's mountains. His latest device to obtain it: land by marriage to a Leland maiden. But that's not all.





Among Dragonkind, old threats haunt Mount Gore, and shadows loom in the thoughts of the Red who restored life to land and love. A dragon hunter, scarred from countless battles, discovers he can yet suffer more wounds.





In the midst of it all, Sela Redheart is lost, driven from her home with only her old uncle to watch over her. As the dragon-born child of Kallon, the leader of Leland's Dragon Council, she is trapped in human form with no understanding of how she transformed, or how to turn back.





Wanderers seek a home, schemes begin to unfurl, and all is at risk as magic and murder, marriage and mystery strangle the heart of Esra. A struggle for power far older and deeper than anyone realizes will leave no human or dragon unaffected.





In a world where magic is born of feeling, where the love between a girl and a dragon was once transformative, what power dwells in the heart of young Sela?





Please share this link and spread the word!

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Waiting On Wednesday: The Hammer and the Blade by Paul Kemp

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:



The Hammer and the Blade by Paul Kemp



Egil and Nix, adventurers and swords for hire, are pulled into the dark schemes of a decadent family with a diabolical secret. 



Kill the demon.

Steal the treasure.

Retire to a life of luxury.



Sounds easy when you put it like that.



Unfortunately for Egil and Nix, when the demon they kill has friends in high places, retirement is not an option.



A fast paced adventure redolent with the best of classic sword and sorcery tales.. (June 26, 2012)



Sometimes you want to read a thousand page epic work of mythological fantasy, and sometimes you just want some old-fashioned pulp sword-and-sorcery. I think this may just be the fix I need.

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