Horror Books

Little Deaths (Book Review)

June 30, 2012 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

Book: Little Deaths
Year: 2012
Publisher: Books Of The Dead
Author: John F.D. Taff
Language: English
Chapters: 19 Short Stories
Pages: Paperback = 218, E-Book = 345
Type: Novel

Author’s Summary: You think you’ve got bad dreams? Consider author John F.D. Taff’s nightmares. Taff has the kind of nightmares no one really wants. But it’s nightmares like these that give him plenty of ideas to explore; ideas that he’s turned into the short stories he shares in this new collection Little Deaths. Little Deaths features 19 pieces of short horror fiction; some have appeared previously in print elsewhere, others appear for the first time here. All of them are chilling, weird looks at the human condition from a decidedly dark perspective.

Review: Little Deaths is a collection of 19 short stories which I will outline briefly. BOLTS; a Frankenstein tale with reanimations; CALENDAR GIRL; A mysterious black book documents daily life and strange occurrences; BUT FOR A MOMENT…MOTIONLESS; God, Uriel and the bizarre; THE WATER BEARER; Water becomes a fountain of youth for a Doctor; THE CLOSED EYE OF A DEAD WORLD; Another world manifests when a hidden door is found in a newly acquired old house; SNAPBACK; A race for humanity with leaks in an underground facility; THE MIRE OF HUMAN VEINS; Spiders and menstrual cycles foretell a supernatural experience; THE SCENT; The sense of smell is amplified for a man with a hat; CHILD OF DIRT; Unborn babies do have feelings; ORIFICE; The body coloring tattoo process has a life of its own; HELPING HANDS; Extremities appear on a killer named Mr. Cradock; IN MEN, BLACK; An ordinary dress suit will change a man’s life forever; DARKNESS UPON THE VOID; What can happen when a Religious man loses everything; SHARP EDGES; The subconscious state of dreams can really be true; THE LACQUERED BOX; Halloween and magic is never a good mix especially for Vivian; HERE; Dogs are a man’s best friend except when one owner can’t escape paranoia; THE TONTINE; Creatures of the night hold the cards for wreaking havoc in the world; The MELLIFIED MAN; Having a sweet tooth is more disturbing than ever imagined; BOX OF ROCKS; A newly married widower has her hands full with her abusive husband.

I gave you a taste, albeit short of Little Deaths a new novel by the 25 year senior author John F.D. Taff. There is definitely a style to Taff’s writing which brings me back to THE TWILIGHT ZONE…weird, psychological stories that never wrap up in a tight little bow. The collection of short stories is well crafted and for the most part interesting. The good thing about a book like Little Deaths is…if a story doesn’t suit your fancy, you know you only have a dozen or so pages to read to get to the next one.

Three stories intensely captivated me which led to a second read for a more thorough dive into depravity. First is HELPING HANDS, a genius piece of craftsmanship. A killer has his victim’s hands grow all over his body, and his trip to a Doctor does more harm than good. What a fascinating tale that had me engulfed in the story. I could see a whole novel being featured on this subject matter. Second is THE MIRE OF HUMAN VEINS, spiders always get under my skin, I almost mean literally, and this tale takes an unexpected turn that I still think about while writing this review, a dark, creepy and satisfying horror experience. Third is THE MELLIFIED MAN, a based on real life scenario that shows how crazy some people are out there in the world. True events or even the thought of a true depiction like this truly freaks me out, this one even has a moral, put down that candy!

I would like to outline my thought process when tackling a book that is comprised with many different subject matters and stories. I shifted my “review mind” after each mini-fiction piece. I jotted down my thoughts and put a rating on each story. When the book was completed, I tallied up the ratings and divided by 19 which gave me the final outcome or rating if you will.

I would like to close Little Deaths by saying that I appreciate the Author relaying his thoughts behind each of the 19 short horror stories; it is exciting to me to learn how stories and books come to be. The smallest life experience can turn a person into a creative mastermind. Little Deaths is available for $10.84 in Paperback form, or if you have an Amazon Kindle or E-Reader Device you will be pleased to know that an electronic form of Little Deaths is only $3.99. My ratings and suggestions are below. I hope you enjoyed reading my review on Little Deaths, there is nothing better than relaxing at home with a good book in hand, and, if…the book is good…you escape into this fantasyland without a care in the world.

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Reviewer: Dark Goddess
Date: 06/30/2012
Rating: 4/10
Suggestion: Paperback: Avoid
Suggestion: E-Book: Buy

Evil Among Us (Book Review)

December 18, 2011 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

About a year after arriving in Texas in 1993 as an attorney, I chanced upon newspaper reports of the 1974 incredibly brutal murders of young Mormon missionaries Gary Darley and Mark Fischer. I recalled hearing about them years earlier in my own LDS congregation when the news first broke, and started investigating the case with an eye toward an article or two. The more I dug, however, the more compelling and heart-rending the story became. Stories, actually, of alleged murderer Bob Kleasen’s mental illness and pathetic life, of well-meaning Mormons responding to troubled new converts, of loving families dealing with unimaginable loss, and of a tortuous death penalty case.

In the mid-1970s death penalty law in the United States was unsettled. In 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court had invalidated all death penalty statutes because of the gross racism in how they were applied. Nearly every state was then attempting to enact new constitutional statutes which the Court was just beginning to rule on. This was the situation when Kleasen was brought to trial for killing Darley and Fischer.

Even though there seems to be little doubt Kleasen was the killer, his conviction was reversed on appeal and he was never retried. As a lawyer who specializes in death row cases, I was particularly interested in how the criminal justice system responded to such a situation. All of this clearly added up, I felt, to a story worth reading.

What follows isn’t intended to support the death penalty. Personally, I’m opposed to all executions. Nor is it an indictment of the American criminal justice system. In some ways, I realize, justice was frustrated in this case. However, it also illustrates how cases can work out in the real world of criminal law. And while I believe Kleasen was a murderer and, like everyone else, would prefer that he be locked up, I found considerable evidence of the forces that shaped him. I believe that understanding these forces–however much we may want to ignore them or tell ourselves they could never affect us–may help to prevent future Kleasens.

As with many religious and cultural communities, Mormons sometimes have a language of their own and concepts peculiar to Latter-day Saint life. I have attempted to explain these terms and beliefs for non-Mormon readers. Mormonism is more than a religious denomination; in many ways, it is close to an ethnic community.

Much of this book is drawn from Texas, New York, and federal court transcripts. Additional information comes from extensive newspaper coverage of Kleasen over the years. Quotations from those sources didn’t always translate neatly into writing, so I’ve occasionally taken the liberty of slightly rewording some to make them read more smoothly. In every instance, however, the plain meaning of the quotes has been preserved. Whenever the quotation is ambiguous, or its language is critical, it’s used exactly as found.

This book would have been impossible without the help of many people, some of whom were kind enough to revisit old, often unpleasant memories. I conducted about fifty interviews of varying lengths. For most, recalling events twenty years in the past in great detail was difficult. In many instances recollections didn’t always square with the existing documentary record. Whenever such conflicts were present, I chose to rely on the contemporary written record. Periodically, some of the people I spoke with still feared Kleasen or had other reasons for not wanting to be identified. In other instances I felt that some of the parties who couldn’t be located wouldn’t have wanted to be identified by their real names. For these reasons I’ve used several fictional names in the book. Each of these instances is identified.

Several Austin Mormons who knew Kleasen offered invaluable insights, along with a few former LDS missionaries who served in Texas and N

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King of the Nine Hells (Book Review)

April 22, 2009 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

King of the Nine Hells is a rather epic horror tale by author Dean Klein, and it’s a true gem to his collection. From the first impression provided by the dark, mysterious cover, to the structure and font used inside the pages, it feels like stepping into an entirely different world. With a very sophisticated style, which is something I’ve come to associate with Klein, the story unfolds between two-time frames. Klein uses a crisp and clear tone to paint a scenario that might leave some readers with nightmares.

In the present day Peter Ashford, a professor of Theology at Oxford University, comes across a timeworn and mysterious book. As a lover of the dark arts, he is intrigued and scared at the same time, because every inch of his intellect warns him to stay away. However, his interest can’t be deterred. Peter buys the book from the quite dishonest owner, but he fails to comprehend the amount of power it has. Unaware of the hell that awaits him, he becomes the new owner.

The origins of the book stretch back to the Dark Ages and a determined grave digger, who ultimately unleashes a power that sends shivers into heaven itself. It grants his every wish and gives him copious amounts of authority. But ultimately it has a life of its own, and it comes with an agenda of extinguishing the human race. The burden to stop the book from ending the human race falls onto Peter and his willingness to sacrifice life as he knows it.

I had the pleasure of reading the softcover version of the book, and I have to say, it does add to the atmosphere Klein intends to create. There is nothing light about the situation, and the book is perfectly structured in a way that plays well with the evil it captures. The enemy is methodical, brooding, and completely unpredictable. At the same time, it retains an intellectual quality, which is evident in the font.

I should note that this is the second book I’ve reviewed of Klein’s work and was very impressed with his first book (see: Hell’s Shadow), and now I’m a true believer. The sheer amount of research and discipline shines through from the very first few pages. The pacing of the book is spot on, thanks to the shorter chapters and the evenly balanced information the reader is exposed to at given moments, ensuring a suspenseful feeling right till the end.

Regarding the characters, I was sold on each of them. They weren’t stale or too familiar, and they never came across as unbelievable. Then, of course, there’s the fresh and original plot invented by Klein. It’s incredibly rare to be surprised by the way everything plays out in a horror story while being completely enthralled. For this, Klein has my admiration and respect.

Is it going to fall into everyone’s taste? I wouldn’t suggest it as an easy reading book because there are several sections where brain power is necessary to stay in the game so-to-speak. Klein is a very old-school type of writer, and by this, I mean that every sentence counts. It’s a story that requires your full attention at all times, and it comes with a big payoff!