Where the Dead go to Die @AaronDries & @MarkAGunnells #Horror #Suspense #Zombies

The Plot:

There are monsters in this world. And they used to be us. Now it’s time to euthanize to survive in a hospice where Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible.

Euthanize to survive

Post-infection Chicago. Christmas.

Inside The Hospice, Emily and her fellow nurses do their rounds. Here, men and women live out their final days in comfort, segregated from society, and are then humanely terminated before fate turns them into marrow-craving monsters known as ‘Smilers.’ Outside these imposing walls, rabid protesters swarm with signs, caught up in the heat of their hatred.

Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. But in a world where mortality means nothing, where guns are drawn in fear and nobody seems safe anymore—at what cost will this pursuit come? And through it all, the soon-to be-dead remain silent, ever smiling. Such is their curse.

This emotional, political novel comes from two of horror’s freshest voices, and puts a new spin on an eternal topic: the undead. In the spirit of George A Romero meets Jack Ketchum, Where the Dead Go to Die it is an unforgettable epilogue to the zombie genre, one that will leave you shaken and questioning right from wrong…even when it’s the only right left.

It won’t be long before that snow-speckled ground will be salted by blood.

Aaron Dries

Raised in a small New South Wales town in Australia, the former video store clerk, pizza delivery boy, retail specialist, aged-care nurse, document scanner, video editor, commissioned artist, and amateur filmmaker always had a strong interest in creating stories. Were it hand-drawn X-Files comic books or home-made movies starring himself and his family (the best of which had Aaron running over a friend with a lawnmower, followed closely by a remake of Scream starring his brother as Drew Barrymore), there was always something in the works.

Aaron graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Communications under his wing, majoring in creative writing and video production. As a filmmaker, he won a number of awards for his short films at home and abroad, including Best Film at the Newcastle Film Festival for Placebo, coinciding with the publication of his earliest stories in literary magazines.

His first novel, House Of Sighs, was originally written under the title Disunity for the Leisure Books/Rue Morgue/Chizine Publications Fresh Blood Contest. The premise of the novel stemmed back to a local murder that took place in Aaron’s adolescence. A mother on his pizza delivery route shot and murdered her husband and children before turning the gun upon herself. As was the case with everyone who read about the incident, Aaron’s mind churned with questions of morality. Why do bad things happen to good people? What is the origin of evil? What makes apparently sane people do insane acts? These questions would become the genesis for House Of Sighs some years later.

When he is not writing, Aaron Dries is thinking about writing, or upcoming film projects. He is also an avid traveler. The first draft of his debut was written over a three month period on a borrowed semi-functional laptop whilst living in overseas hostels.

Mark Allan Gunnells:

Mark Allan Gunnells has been writing since he was ten years old. His first book, A Laymon Kind of Night, was published by Sideshow Press in 2009. Since then he has put out three more books with Sideshow: the two-novella Whisonant/Creatures of the Light combo, a short story collection entitled Tales from the Midnight Shift Vol. I, and the Halloween themed Dark Treats. He also has put out the novella Asylum with The Zombie Feed, and a digital collection entitled Ghosts in the Attic with Bad Moon Books. He recently released his first published novel, The Quarry, with Evil Jester Press. He still lives in his hometown of Gaffney, SC.

Review:

Horror is not my cup of tea, so I probably should have turned down Where the Dead Go to Die when the authors’ publisher asked me to review it. I accepted it for two reasons: the zombies were infected by a disease, and I somehow convinced myself someone would find a cure. Which part of horror did you not get, Weber? And it took place in my hometown, Chicago.

So, okay. It’s horror. Spoiler alert. There isn’t going to be a cure. It’s not going to have a feel-good ending. That’s not why I’m giving it a three-rose rating. Chicago is.

It is possible to write about a place you’ve never been to, but it helps to at least study maps of the place so you can build a believable world there. Apparently neither author ever spent much time here, nor did they really study the Chicagoland Area. Where the Dead Go to Die had no real local references. Where was The Hospice? In Streeterville near the Northwest Memorial complex? On the South Side near the University of Chicago? The West Side near the University of Illinois Medical Center, Rush Medical, somewhere up on the Northwest Side? Old Irving Park? Logan Square? What are the cross-streets? State and Chicago? Irving and Cicero? Why does everyone have a Russian accent? I have a few neighbors from Eastern Europe and Chicago has a large Polish population, but most Polish families immigrated here decades ago and everyone speaks English except a few very elderly grandparents.

If you’re world-building in a place that already exists, you need to do your research, or explain why it doesn’t resemble itself at all. Otherwise, you’ll lose the respect of natives/residents like me. I did cry at the end. That's why I gave it three roses, but I would only recommend this book if you’ve never been to Chicago and you don’t know any better. Oh, and if you like horror.

Author Websites: 

Aaron Dries:  http://aarondries.com/

Mark Allan Gunnells:  https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Allan-Gunnells/e/B005C18L7Q

Warnings:  Violence, Gore

Length:  197 Pages

Digital Price:  $4.99

Buy Link:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1LYOGP

Thanks for visiting.

Horror: Miscellany by Jovanka Vuckovic

Blurb:

From Frankenstein and Dracula, to Night of the Living Dead and The Omen, this grisly grimoire conjures up ghouls, demons and all manner of things that go bump in the night. Crammed with endless facts, trivia and stories about every aspect of horror—from 1950s EC Comics and TV series The Twilight Zone; to the music of Black Sabbath and Japanese horror films—this little gem of spookiness is guaranteed to keep readers up all night.

Intriguing insights into the lives of classic horror writers like H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Clive Barker, and Stephen King are complemented by fascinating behind-the-scenes peeks into the productions of Psycho, The Thing, and Halloween.

Vuckovic’s many authoritative lists include: The Top thirteen Vampire Films; thirteen Scariest Horror Video Games; and The twenty-five Best Horror Movie Taglines: “The good news is your date is here! The bad news is... He’s dead!” revealing the humour in the horror.

Review by Rose Thornton:

This small book is a virtual encyclopedia of the who, what, when, where, and how of horror to the thorough extent that it is uncanny. Vuckovic’s Horror: Miscellany is an informative and interesting overview of the evolution of the horror genre throughout its media history.

“Horror has an ancient history that is difficult to map but it appears throughout the historical record in creation myths and classical mythologies, which are festooned with monsters, demons, and otherworldly creatures. The Bible, could easily be labeled as horror, as it is populated by fallen angels, demonic possession, ghosts, zombies, and even a terrifying apocalypse!” The truth this author lends for insight into horror as an internal part of human nature, as exampled in the preceding quote, makes his book so much more than just the facts and figures of the horror genre.

H.P. Lovecraft quote in Horror: Miscellany: “The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity; and it was not meant that we should voyage far.” Lovecraft, an American author influential for his work in horror fiction, reveals the essence of Vuckovic’s drive to fully convey why horror is an important element of the human psyche.

I am not particularly fond of the horror genre myself, but I did find this book to be intriguing for its underlying themes and revelations. Any book that incites me to action, in whatever form, has achieved a bond with me as a reader. I took Vuckovic’s advice on the best versions of certain horror films and ordered used DVD copies to watch, not for the horror but rather to pick up on the other themes included and to note the special effects, etc. used.

I will recommend this book highly, albeit with caution. It is not for everyone, but anyone with an interest in film history, the evolution of horror in media, or the dark side of human nature will find this book a good read.

Thanks for visiting, Rose, Julie, Donna, & Rochelle

Length: 96 Pages

Print Price: $9.20

Buy Link:

http://www.amazon.com/Vuckovics-Horror-Miscellany-Ilex/dp/1781570957

Sex, Marry, Kill by Todd Travis

Blurb:

A geek. A fat chick. A slow learner. A psycho suicide girl. A wannabe criminal. Five outcast high school kids with nothing in common except that nobody liked them. Five losers with nothing to look forward to but torment and harassment every day; nothing, that is, until they were introduced to the game.

Sex, Marry, Kill.

An online game that would change their lives and give them power over others. They could do anything they wanted, sleep with anyone they wanted to, kill anyone who got in their way. Their every fantasy fulfilled. But at a mortal price. They soon discover that the game will consume and destroy them unless they find some way to stop it before it’s too late.

For fans of Stephen King and Joe Hill, a dark tale of horror, revenge and gaming gone lethally wrong.

Review by Julie Grimm:

I was so mad when I read the last chapter, I had to knock off a rose. I really would have given this book 5 roses if that last chapter had been left off. Todd Travis had the most perfect and thought provoking ending for Sex, Marry, Kill in the chapter before the last one, so there was no need for the last chapter to get tacked on.

Make sure you read the dedication before beginning your journey through this book. Anyone who has felt out of place and been bullied at school by students, teachers, principals, etc. will feel a connection, and that’s what will draw you into this story.

While on a school bus trip, five unpopular students are found by a dark character who lures them into playing an online game where they can get whatever they want. These kids have put up with so much from people in their lives who have let them down, so they have reason to want revenge. Just how much revenge do they want, and how far will they go? You’ll feel sorry for them, be angry with them, cheer for them and root for them to survive the game. But, will anyone survive, and will they be able to conquer the beast behind the history of the game?

You will really want to know.

Length: 290 Pages

Prices:

Print: $9.89

Digital: $3.99

BuyLink: http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Marry-Kill-Todd-Travis-ebook/dp/B00I2CJCWU

Thanks for visiting.  Rose, Julie, Donna, & Rochelle

The Woman by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee

Blurb:

The Woman is the powerful story of the last survivor of a feral tribe of cannibals who have terrorized the east coast from Maine into Canada for years now. Badly wounded in a battle with police, she takes refuge in a cave overlooking the sea. Christopher Cleek is a slick, amoral — and unstable — country lawyer who, out hunting one day, sees her bathing in a stream. Fascinated, he follows her to her cave. Cleek has many dark secrets and to these he’ll add another. He will capture her, lock in his fruit cellar, and tame her, civilize her. To this end he’ll enlist his long-suffering wife Belle, his teenage son and daughter Brian and Peg, and even his little girl Darlin’, to aid him. So the question becomes, who is more savage? The hunter or the game?

Review:

Since I am still thinking about this story weeks after completing the book, I give The Woman by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee 5 roses. Depending on the type of horror story you like, “The Woman” is a book you will want to read if you plan to feel repulsion and disgust for days after you have put the book down. There is not a lot of blood and gore, so if that is what you like in your horror stories; it may not be what you are looking for.

This story is about a woman from a primitive past who is found by a man while out in the woods. He brings the woman home to his family, and the horror begins. Due to the behaviors of the father, it is very believable that members of the family would allow these events to occur.

While this is an extreme example, I consider the book to be about the primitive past encountering the present showing that humanity and cognitive development have not progressed as much as one would think.

Length: 336 Pages

Prices:

Print: $ 26.00

Digital: $4.99

BuyLink: http://store.crossroadpress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_150_152&products_id=160

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40% of the book price from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $0.83.

Downloading the file from your computer to your Kindle is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from your “Downloads” box to your Kindle/Documents/Books directory. You can download your books onto your computer using “Save As” to a “Books” file you create and sort them into sub-folders by genre, author, or however you wish before transferring them to your Kindle. That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting. Rose Julie & Rochelle