Faithful Shadow by Kevin J. Howard (REVIEW)

Faithful Shadow is novel I find myself having a difficult time reviewing. On the one hand, the structure frustrated me to no end, especially Kevin J. Howard's use of short (sometimes exceptionally so) chapters. I've never been a fan of short chapters, preferring instead to be drawn in and deeply immersed in the story, so that kept me at a distance. The third person omniscient narrative bothered me as well, especially when the POV shifted characters within a scene, or divulged too much information to which the characters aren't privy.



On the other hand, I liked the uniqueness of the setting, and the novelty of the monster. There's a reason so many horror movies are set either in the wild, uncontrollable expanse of the outdoors, or the close, claustrophobic confines of an abandoned building. Howard takes advantage of both settings, dragging the reader out into the woods above and caverns below Yellowstone National Park, à la Friday the 13th, and into the shadowy halls of the Old Faithful Inn, à la The Shining. Both work very well on their own, and the contrast between them adds a really exciting edge to the story. As for the monster, the less you know going in, the greater the horror, so I won't say much more than I liked it a lot.



As for the characters, they fall somewhere in between. Reasonably well-developed, if not necessarily likeable, they're sufficient to move the story along, but never really endear themselves to the reader. Like the characters in one of those horror movies I mentioned earlier, they primarily serve as fodder for the monster, leaving the reader to play the old guessing game as to who will die first, and who will survive to the end. They're clearly defined, and have their own personalities, I just didn't find myself caring much about them - which, in the case of a story like this, is perfectly fine.



Overall, an above average concept, with an average execution. Readers who don't share my structural pet peeves will likely find a greater enjoyment in the story, but even those who do will find enough originality here to warrant a read.

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In the Seventh Star Press Spotlight Today - Me!

If you get a chance, please pop over to the Seventh Star Press Blog today and check out this week's Blogger Spotlight.



Taking the spotlight this week for a brief interview is none other than me! :)

Blogger Spotlight: Beauty in Ruins

Today, we must thank SSP's Michael West a little, as it was a pair of his short stories that initially brought Bob Milne of Beauty in Ruins into regular contact with SSP. Since then, SSP has been honored to have been on Bob's site with several of its authors on tours, Amazon Free Days, reviews and other activities. Beauty in Ruins is a first class site run by a dedicated guy with both a love for speculative fiction and an openness to independent and small press releases. You can't ask for anything more than that! So proceed forward and visit with the main man at Beauty in Ruins, Bob Milne!
-Stephen

A huge thanks to Stephen for inviting me to take the spotlight today, and to
Seventh Star Press for being one of those publishers I continue to get
excited about.

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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: Do you mind books with similar ideas to other books? Similar concepts, backgrounds, retellings or pulled-to-publish fanfic?



Let's be honest - is there really an original idea left in the literary world? There's a finite toolbox of ideas, themes, tropes, and cliches upon which every author draws. What sets writers apart from one another is how well they wield those tools. Some may settle for building the literary equivalent of a shack, while others may aspire to creating a mansion, but settle for a nice cottage. There are a rare few, however, who can aim for a sprawling castle or cavernous cathedral - and pull it off. 



Retellings are a perfect example. When done with skill, they can be pieces of literary wonder, just as good as (and sometimes better than) the original. Without that skill, however, they come across as the clumsy, cheap, awkward rip-offs that they really are. Even fan fiction, when done with skill, can be successful. Take, for example, series like Star Wars, Star Trek, Quantum Leap, and Stargate - the novels being professionally published are really just authorized fan fiction. Of course, I can probably think of a hundred or so others that are nothing more than an opportunity to share some really inappropriate sexual fantasies. :)



Parajunkee also hosts a Social Hop for Facebook and Twitter, which I regularly 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.

While you're here, please pop over to the Seventh Star Press Blog today and check out this week's Blogger Spotlight . . . me!

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Spook House by Michael West (REVIEW)

Harmony, Indiana is to Michael West what Castle Rock, Maine is to Stephen King. It's a beautiful little all-American town, populated by good, old-fashioned, ordinary folk. It's a friendly town, where the citizens aren't embarrassed to come to one another's aid. It's also a place with deep, dark, dirty secrets tucked carefully away, just out of sight.



Secrets like serial killers, haunted farmhouses, Lovecraftian monsters, bloody rituals, and a history of gruesome deaths . . . all of which feature in Spook House, the latest Harmony tale from Michael West



This is another solid West thriller, gruesome, bloody, scary, and fun. The opening scene is right out of a classic horror flick, complete a "don't go in there!" sentiment shared by the characters as well as the reader. The scene in the basement of the Fuller House is matched only by the scene outside, where the gloriously grotesque spider-dog comes fully to the forefront.

The emotional high point of the novel for me was the scene in which a young woman is sent by her father to let the dog in at the back door. It's one of those "don't open the door!" kind of moments, but even the most jaded reader can't anticipate the horror about to descend upon the family - even if a fortunate accident does provide the means to end the threat of the spider-dog once and for all.



Sheri and Robby are strong characters, vulnerable and damaged in their own way, but with a hidden strength  that drives the story forward. There are sparks there, but West wisely allows them to smoulder in the background, never allowing the prospect of romance to distract from the horror. As for Cayden, the Irish serial killer who's come to finish what Fuller started, he's almost too charming. He's funny, clever, and almost likeable . . . until he starts slaying young women to 'slip into their skin' (literally) in order to open the portal to Hell.

As for the climax, it's absolutely brilliant. Once again, West manages to pull off a finale that's more than worthy of the horrors leading up to it. If you've ever doubted that Super Soaker water guns, trucks full off road salt, bags of saline solution, and a cheesy Halloween haunted house set-up could be scary, then you need to give this a read - even if just to see how history comes full-circle, and how the victims become the heroes.

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Michael West is the critically-acclaimed author of The Wide Game, Cinema of Shadows, Skull Full of Kisses, and The Legacy of the Gods series. He lives and works in the Indianapolis area with his wife, their two children, their bird, Rodan, their turtle, Gamera, and their dog, King Seesar.



Every Halloween, he turns his garage into a haunted house.



Check out Michael on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-West/140201419360946



or on the web:

http://www.bymichaelwest.com/

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for review from Seventh Star Press author as part of a virtual book tour. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Waiting On Wednesday - Farside by Ben Bova

"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:



Farside by Ben Bova



Six-time Hugo-Award winner Ben Bova presents Farside.



Farside, the side of the Moon that never faces Earth, is the ideal location for an astronomical observatory. It is also the setting for a tangled web of politics, personal ambition, love, jealousy, and murder.



Telescopes on Earth have detected an Earth-sized planet circling a star some thirty light-years away. Now the race is on to get pictures of that distant world, photographs and spectra that will show whether or not the planet is truly like Earth, and if it bears life.



Farside will include the largest optical telescope in the solar system as well as a vast array of radio antennas, the most sensitive radio telescope possible, insulated from the interference of Earth’s radio chatter by a thousand kilometers of the Moon’s solid body.



Building the Farside observatory is a complex, often dangerous task. On the airless surface of the Moon, under constant bombardment of hard radiation and infalling micrometeoroids, builders must work in cumbersome spacesuits and use robotic machines as much as possible. Breakdowns—mechanical and emotional—are commonplace. Accidents happen, some of them fatal.



What they find stuns everyone, and the human race will never be the same. (Feb 12, 2013)





Ben Bova is one of those sci-fi legends I have always meant to read, but never quite got around to it. Able One has been sitting on my shelf for a while now, so it's a race to see which makes it into the 'read' pile first.

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2012 World Fantasy Awards Winners

The World Fantasy Convention 2012 was held this weekend in Toronto, and while I had planned to be there, the cost of an Attending Membership was much too steep for my wallet. It's a shame they can't make day-passes available at a reduced rate, but I'm not here to quibble about policies in prices.



You can check out the complete list of Winners (and Nominees) HERE, but a few highlights for me were:



Osama by Lavie Tidhar: Beating out the likes of Stephen King (11/22/63) and George R.R. Martin (A Dance with Dragons), this winner for BEST NOVEL is a book I originally had zero interest in, but am now curious about:



In a alternate world without global terrorism Joe, a private detective, is hired by a mysterious woman to find a man: the obscure author of pulp fiction novels featuring one Osama Bin Laden: Vigilante...



Joe’s quest to find the man takes him across the world, from the backwaters of Asia to the European Capitals of Paris and London, and as the mystery deepens around him there is one question he is trying hard not to ask: who is he, really, and how much of the books are fiction? Chased by unknown assailants, Joe’s identity slowly fragments as he discovers the shadowy world of the refugees, ghostly entities haunting the world in which he lives. Where do they come from? And what do they want? Joe knows how the story should end, but even he is not ready for the truths he’ll find in New York and, finally, on top a quiet hill above Kabul—nor for the choice he will at last have to make...





“A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong” by K.J. Parker, winner for BEST NOVELLA and already collected in The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 6, eclipsed the likes of Elizabeth Hand, Lucius Shepard, and Catherynne M. Valente. The story opens with the line:



“My sixteenth concerto,” he said, smiling at me. I could just about see him. “In the circumstances, I was thinking of calling it the Unfinished.”







The Weird, edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, came out on top in what I felt was one of the more interesting races, beating the likes of Blood and Other Cravings (edited by Ellen Datlow), A Book of Horrors (edited by Stephen Jones), The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities (also edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer), and Gutshot (edited by Conrad Williams) for BEST ANTHOLOGY:



From Lovecraft to Borges to Gaiman, a century of intrepid literary experimentation has created a corpus of dark and strange stories that transcend all known genre boundaries. Together these stories form The Weird, and its practitioners include some of the greatest names in twentieth and twenty-first century literature.



Exotic and esoteric, The Weird plunges you into dark domains and brings you face to face with surreal monstrosities. You won’t find any elves or wizards here...but you will find the biggest, boldest, and downright most peculiar stories from the last hundred years bound together in the biggest Weird collection ever assembled.







Congratulations to all the winners - as well as to the nominees - and here's to another strong year of Fantasy!

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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: What is a deal breaker for you in a book? For example, do you abhor love triangles? Or can't deal with bad editing?



For me, any time an author uses fiction as a social/political/religious platform, choosing to preach rather than entertain, that's a definite deal-breaker. I don't mind underlying themes or even an agenda that slants the writing, but don't have your characters (or worse, your narrator) get up on a soapbox and preach at me. There's no quicker way to get yourself relegated to my DNF pile than by being heavy-handed and confrontational, even if I might otherwise agree with you. 



Parajunkee also hosts a Social Hop for Facebook and Twitter, which I regularly 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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