new horror books

Slow Burn – Zero Day (Book Review)

November 6, 2013 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

“Slow Burn: Zero Day, book 1” is the first book in a series of 7 popular Zombie Apocalypse books that are becoming a modern classic!

Zed Zane isn’t looking forward to asking his mom and stepfather for yet another loan to cover his rent, which will be followed by an inevitable lecture about work ethic—but that particular dread is nothing compared with what he’ll face in the coming days. When he arrives at their house to meet them for lunch, he finds his stepfather having a zombie feast—in his mom’s corpse. Horrified and confused, Zed stabs his stepfather to death, but not before being bitten himself. He wakes up two days later to find his world–and eventually the world at large–in turmoil. After a brief stint in prison and then a quarantine ward, he sees the world go mad–a virus from Africa is spreading across Austin, turning its citizens in flesh-crazed monsters.

It turns out that Zed is a “slow burn”–someone who can be infected but may or may not turn. That adds a certain level of suspense to the story—will the character you come to know and root for become a mindless monster?—though most of what keeps the pages turning is the almost non-stop action, as Zed and a small band of others who aren’t infected try to get to safety and figure out how to survive in a world they could never have imagined.

While there’s been a resurgence in zombie novels lately, “Slow Burn: Zero Day, Book 1” stands out because it’s not just a tale of a survivor–it adds those who are immune to the mix, and the author has a great way with sensory detail that makes the novel come alive. There’s the grisly gore for those who like that in their horror novels, but there’s also excellent characterization (Jerome stands out as a surprising character) and a definite realism to the “flu” and how it affects society. Recommended for those who enjoy the zombie sub-genre, and for those who are looking for an exciting, action-filled read.

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Reviewed by Jezelle McLeod
Jezelle is a staff writer and horror book critic.
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The Beach House (Book Review)

November 4, 2013 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

Sibling rivalry leads to murder and a lifetime of evil in “The Beach House.” At the novel’s beginning, Damon and his younger brother Jonathan are spending time with their parents at family beach house, and Damon is sick of how his parents favor Jonathan, the “genius” and perfect younger brother. With no emotion except elation and glee, he lures Jonathan to his drowning death in the ocean.

Flash forward a decade or so, and Damon is a young man who feels no more remorse over that first murder than he did at the time. He and his beautiful girlfriend are double-dating with another couple to the beach house, which will again bring out Damon’s dark and twisted nature.

“The Beach House” is a horror novel without any supernatural element to it, which made me a little less excited while I was reading it—I generally do prefer my horror novels to have at least a touch of something beyond the ordinary. I also wished the author had addressed Damon’s childhood more—there are hints that he worries his parents with his lack of grief, but it’s not explored and it seems Damon’s evil nature lies dormant until he’s near the beach house. However, it is still an exciting and page-turning read, especially since you as the reader know Damon has potential for murder and could lose it at any moment—but the other characters have no idea and are not nearly as cautious around him as they should be. I also liked that the novel kept a low-level of gore while keeping tension high. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy thrillers as well as horror books.

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Reviewed by Jezelle McLeod
Jezelle is a staff writer and horror book critic.
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The Hand That Feeds (Book Review)

November 2, 2013 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

“The Hand That Feeds,” written by Michael W. Garza is an eerie book that plays with readers’ imaginations by developing a story about a regular family and twisting it to become something terrifying. It is a scary story that has haunting ties to real life experiences, making it often feel believable. Garza’s writing style is extremely descriptive, making it easy for readers to imagine each scene and what it would be like to be physically present in the world of the novel. “The Hand That Feeds” is an incredible story that focuses on true everyday family dynamics and how one treacherous turn can change a loving household forever.

The book opens with a horrendously heart-wrenching image of a little boy on the ground alone, quite potentially dying or in serious trouble. Then, the book shoots quickly over to the point of view of his anxious and terrified parents. The small boy, Alex, is found by his mother in serious condition with black goo seeping from his body. In absolute panic, she does anything in her capacity to try and save her young child and is ultimately unsuccessful. After a visit with their doctor, the two loving parents find out their child is dead. Or is he? Shortly thereafter, he seems to come back to life. However, something has changed and he poses a threat to his family’s life. The plotline is intense throughout the book and every page is filled with engaging text.

One thing that makes this book a pleasure to read is that the characters and their experiences feel normal. While both horrifying and less realistic things happen throughout the novel, the foundation of the book which is made up of the characters, their family dynamics and their emotions feels true and relatable. Rather than being solely a horror novel that turns in to an expected zombie apocalypse type of story, there is a real life element in the family that makes part of the story seem far less fictional. This is a unique element of this story that makes the read even more enjoyable and nerve-wracking because as a reader lost in the book, it is harder to separate what your mind deems as fiction and reality.

Also, Garza’s writing style is perfect for horror novels; he writes with depth, detail and impeccable flow. While there were a few extremely minor typos within the novel, the book was written with meticulous attention to detail. Each chapter and piece of the story connects perfectly not only to those which directly precede and follow it, but to the entire plot as a whole. He also describes scenes with significant detail, making sure to always include something to engage all of the reader’s senses. Garza remembers to explain how things smell, look, taste, sound and feel to the touch, making it easy for the reader to imagine themselves experiencing what the characters are going through in the book.

In summary, I definitely recommend the book “The Hand That Feeds,” by Michael W. Garza, for all horror genre readers who enjoy a story with a realistic twist. As opposed to feeling like a fantasy novel, this is a plotline which at times consists of real life experiences and emotions that happen to everyday people. The story is intense, descriptive and realistic, focusing in on a family’s grief in losing their son even though he remains physically present. Garza does an excellent job of bringing readers along for the ride throughout the story, providing incredible descriptions that truly bring each piece of the book to life. Overall, “The Hand That Feeds” is a well-written and powerful horror novel that has unnerving ties to real everyday life.

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Reviewed by Damnetha Jules
Damnetha is a staff writer, horror book and movie critic.
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Season of The Dead (Book Review)

October 31, 2013 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

“Season of the Dead,” written in collaboration by Lucia Adams, Paul Freeman, Gerald Johnston and Sharon Van Orman is a moving book about an infection that is spreading all over the world through zombie bites. Taking place in various cities and countries, the book recounts the progression of the infection, how citizens attempt to protect themselves from being affected or live through the zombie apocalypse and how they try to stop the furthering of the illness. It is a high energy book that is filled with suspense, gore and action. Also, the authors’ writing styles align beautifully to come together as one cohesive feeling story. “Season of the Dead” is a must read book for those who enjoy zombie stories and action or thriller novels.

The book is based on an infection that is plaguing the world and wiping out populations. With a crescent shaped bite from a zombie, a person can be infected and there is no going back. Deaths are eminent, zombies are taking over and brutally killing people and populations are either seeing their demise or spending their days hiding in the safe quarters of locked up buildings. The world is a scary place and no one can understand how this infection came about or how to fix the problem. Friends, neighbours, and family are dying from brutal zombie attacks or turning to the dark side and it seems that there is no way to escape.

First, this book is very well written in that it is descriptive and the tone evokes strong emotions in its readers. Every single scene in the novel is accompanied by a solid description that allows readers to picture in their mind how what is taking place looks. Furthermore, the tone is always suited to the events in the novel and it successfully causes the reader to personally feel and connect to the plot. For example, hearing detailed descriptions of the attacks on victims and the sorrow that the living characters feel really does bring out emotions of compassion and sadness in the reader. In contrast, when zombie chases happen or the characters are discussing constant feelings of fear and confusion, this brings about suspense and excitement for the reader. The descriptive nature of the authors’ writing styles and the well suited tone throughout the book makes for an excellent reading experience.

Also, the actual idea behind the plot is fascinating. The ideas are well developed and the book continues to revisit situations in four cities in particular around world. In those locations, we learn more and more about what is going on and begin to see a fuller picture in terms of the scale of the infection. As people, the notion that something like a zombie apocalypse or any Armageddon-like situation could ever occur seems nearly impossible. This book does an incredible job of bringing to life an event that seems far from believable and making it feel realistic. After reading this book, I am a new fan of zombie stories.

In summary, I would definitely recommend the book “Season of the Dead,” written by Lucia Adams, Paul Freeman, Gerald Johnston and Sharon Van Orman. It is an excellent story about an infection that is spreading across the globe after being brought on by zombies. The authors do an excellent job of working together to write a cohesive story that captures the emotions and attention of readers. Also, the plot is interesting from beginning to end, bringing its readers into an imaginative and unthinkable world where zombies are real and the world is in turmoil. This was a fantastic read and is a great book for any readers who enjoy zombie stories, action or thriller type novels.

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Reviewed by Damnetha Jules
Damnetha is a staff writer, horror book and movie critic.
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A Collection of Short Horror Stories (Book Review)

October 30, 2013 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

“A Collection of Short Horror Stories” is a book that was written by Joseph Inzirillo which contains a few short, sweet, exciting scary stories. Broken up into perfectly condensed and concise chapters or parts, each story in the book provides a quick read while fulfilling its audience’s need for a horrific plot. Furthermore, having the short stories themselves split up into shorter pieces makes them easy to read on the run or on tight timelines. While each tale is not lengthy, they provide depth in terms of the level of character and plot development achieved.

This book is basically a series of small horror stories combined into one text, separated by shortened chapters to make for quick and easy reads. Each story itself is well done. To give you just a taste, the leading tale in the book features a man who is practically brainwashed to kill. In the past he murdered his wife, parents and 52 civilians and now he is being persuaded into furthering his kill count in the name of protecting his lady. Sick and twisted, the story does a perfect job of giving readers a quick opportunity to get into the head of a person with an unimaginable mindset that was brought on through persuasion and manipulation.

“A Collection of Short Horror Stories” gives readers exactly what it promises – a few short horror tales that will provide quick and easy entertainment. The book is perfect for reading when only small amounts of time are available such as on public transportation, before bed or on a break at work. It is easy to get through a chapter and even a story without having to rush or feel like you will have trouble reading from where you left off. I personally loved this because lengthy novels with seemingly endless chapters are hard for me to read when time is limited, and I do not like putting down books in the middle of an important part of the plot.

Also, each story provides impressive depth into the story line and characters. While the amount of words used to compose each tale is limited, the various chapters and plots are very well developed in that by the end of the stories, the reader can feel they have a good grasp on the characters. Inzirillo does a great job of ensuring that readers have enough background information and context to really understand in a short period of time what it is that each character feels, sees and goes through, making for a much richer story. This is particularly remarkable because, for many authors, it takes many more pages of developments to convey the same information and level of detail. The amount that is expressed in such a short amount of words demonstrates the author’s ability to write succinctly and with laser focus.

Ultimately, I would recommend this book for any reader that enjoys a quick read and the genre of horror books. The stories within “A Collection of Short Horror Stories,” by Joseph Inzirillo, are long enough to be satisfying and short enough that they can easily act as a quick fix when looking to get in a daily amount of exciting and intense reading. The book has quick, condensed pieces that are easy and fast to read. However, the quality of the writing has not been compromised as a result of the length and each story in itself is rich and very well put together. It is an excellent book for those who have limited time, find themselves impatient with lengthy books or those with lengthy chapters and for readers who love the thrill of a good horror story.

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Reviewed by Damnetha Jules
Damnetha is a staff writer, horror movie and horror book critic.

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