Synopsis In the quiet streets of Prague all manner of mysterious creatures lurk in the shadows. Unbeknownst to its citizens, their only hope against the tide of predators are the dauntless lamplighters – secret elite of monster hunters whose light staves off the darkness each night. Domek Myska leads a life teeming with fraught encounters […]
Monsters
Review: The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews
The Leviathan feels like one of the biggest releases of the year. It’s awesome in its execution and perfect pacing. What starts out as a witchy is she/isn’t she? mystery novel darkens and darkens into something bigger, something so malignant and powerful that you really shouldn’t be anywhere near whether you’re a sceptical protagonist or not.
Monster Hunter International (#1 & #2) by Larry Correia
Monsters are real. But Monster Hunting is [semi] privatized. Enter Monster Hunter International (MHI)! Not all worlds need to be rich and fancy. Sometimes the solution is as simplistically elegant as picking up a gun and shooting a monster in the head. The author describes this as “a conglomeration of B-Movie stereotypes but tackled from the perspective tactical realism” and it’s just that.
Review: The Watchers by A. M. Shine
The Watchers is the fantastic, heart-thumping, page-turning debut from A. M. Shine that really left me no choice but to keep reading – to finish the tale at a pace, running from the shrieks in the night. This book gave me major Cabin in the Woods x Lost vibes: feels like they’re in limbo somewhere. The mystery is different, strange, because there’s rules and they know what hunts them … they just can’t see them at all. There’s but one warning for you before you read on, reader: Stay in the light.
Review: The Book of the Baku by R. L. Boyle
The Book of the Baku follows Sean, a teenager who has been through something so traumatic that he is mute. We follow his story both in the present day and in the past as he tries to stop what is happening to him and his Grandad. While dialogue is minimal in the book (after all Sean is mute for most of it) there’s still this real feeling of connection. From the moment Sean picks up The Book of the Baku his whole world starts to turn upside down and slowly things get creepier and creepier. The relationship between Sean and his Grandad goes through several different stages and while they may only have met each other I found myself really rooting for them both.
Review: The Blacktongue Thief (Blacktongue #1) by Christopher Buehlman
This book is absolutely *hilarious*, mostly in a darkly comedic sort of way mind you. Truly, I found myself chuckling right from the first pages at Kinch’s snark and commentary. Sometimes I caught myself laughing really loud too and that was definitely what I wanted as a low effort read these days.
Review: Summer Knight (The Dresden Files #4) by Jim Butcher
character, he’s a wizard-private-detective who’s stories are set in a realm filled with nightmarish creatures, and typically centered on a murder or investigation where the character slowly uncovers the clues while battling Vampires, goblins, faeries and probably every living thing you can think of. And this chapter in the entire series doesn’t disappoint.
Review: Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks
I read World War Z years ago and completely fell in love with it. The writing style, the story, the way it’s told, I just loved it. So when I saw that Max Brooks was coming out with Devolution I was stoked. Big Foot isn’t necessarily my favourite folklore creature but it’s also something I don’t come across often, so I was intrigued to see where this would go.
Review: The Liar of Red Valley by Walter Goodwater
Synopsis Red Valley is real boondock country. There’s a Walmart, a dive bar, a diner with a tree growing through it, and a river. There’s also the King. You don’t cross the King. You never, ever, go in the river. Oh, and you don’t trust the Liar … The Liar’s powers allow her to turn […]
Review: Near The Bone by Christina Henry
Do you remember a time where you were sitting around a campfire and told creepy stories to scare each other? Well, Near The Bone is a story that would be worth telling before you send your troops to bed. It got the tropes of a Stephen king novel, about human beings at their worst or best, mixed with a chilling story involving a beast in the woods. “We came up here to do some research and now we’re in a horror movie with a monster and an unkillable redneck with a gun.”