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Weekly Book Buzz: Reviewing Horror Movie Freak
New Sci-Fi from Kay Kenyon By
Tim Janson
August 22, 2010
Horror Movie Freak
© Krause Publications
Not much in the way of news and events this week. Kind of the calm before next week’s big release slate which will feature The War of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, the first book in his mega-epic fantasy series. Are you a horror film fan? If you are, you are going to want to check out this week’s feature title Horror Movie Freak down in our reviews section. It’s a great overview of current and classic horror films and a highly entertaining read.
New in Fantasy
Elemental: Destiny's Embers Bradley Wardell [Del Rey TPB]
At a frontier outpost on the fringes of the civilized world, an orphaned messenger named Xander witnesses the destruction of all he knows at the hands of the Fallen, the great enemy thought vanquished during the War of Magic. Abruptly, Xander’s life is changed forever. Now he must seek out an ancient artifact of legendary power in the hopes that it can stop the Fallen hordes from destroying the entire kingdom. Little does he realize that the hope of all mankind rests on his young shoulders, as powers of unimaginable might set out to stop him at all costs. Aided by his friend Genica, a mysterious thief named Vreen, and a crafty Sion of unknown loyalty, Xander journeys into the heart of the world, where long-hidden secrets will be revealed that could shatter the delicate balance established by the great Cataclysm a thousand years earlier.
The Black Prism (Lightbringer) Brent Weeks [Orbit Hardcover]
Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals.
But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.
The Thief-taker's Apprentice Stephen Deas [Gollancz Hardcover]
Berren has lived in the city all his life. He has made his way as a thief, paying a little of what he earns to the Fagin like master of their band. But there is a twist to this tale of a thief. One day Berren goes to watch an execution of three thieves. He watches as the thief-taker takes his reward and decides to try and steal the prize. He fails. The young thief is taken. But the thief-taker spots something in Berren. And the boy reminds him of someone as well. Berren becomes his apprentice. And is introduced to a world of shadows, deceit and corruption behind the streets he thought he knew. Full of richly observed life in a teeming fantasy city, a hectic progression of fights, flights and fancies and charting the fall of a boy into the dark world of political plotting and murder this marks the beginning of a new fantasy series for all lovers of fantasy - from fans of Kristin Cashore to Brent Weeks.
New in Sci-Fi
Star Trek: SCE: What's Past [Star Trek books TPB]
Before they became the crack team of engineers we’ve all come to know and love on the U.S.S. da Vinci, the Starfleet Corps of Engineers team had plenty of adventures throughout the galaxy. Now some of those exploits are chronicled, featuring special guests from all across the Star Trek universe.WHAT’S PASTProgress: Captain David Gold’s previous command brings him and former Starship Enterprise™ medical officer Dr. Katherine Pulaski to Drema IV and a special young woman named Sarjenka.The Future Begins: Learn how Captain Montgomery Scott found himself in charge of the S.C.E.—also featuring Geordi La Forge, Admirals Alynna Nechayev and William Ross, and Robin Lefler.Echoes of Coventry: During the height of the Dominion War, Bart Faulwell is part of a team that must crack Cardassian codes. Distant Early Warning: In the 23rd century, the U.S.S. Lovell helps in the construction of Starbase Vanguard in this special prequel to the hit novel series.10 Is Better than 01: An inside look at the culture of Bynaus, home of 110—the future Soloman.
Prince of Storms (The Entire and the Rose, Book 4) Kay Kenyon [Pyr TPB]
Finally in control of the Ascendancy, Titus Quinn has styled himself Regent of the Entire. But his command is fragile. He rules an empire with a technology beyond human understanding; spies lurk in the ancient Magisterium; the Tarig overlords are hamstrung but still malevolent. Worse, his daughter Sen Ni opposes him for control, believing the Earth and its Rose universe must die to sustain the failing Entire. She is aided by one of the mystical pilots of the River Nigh, the space-time transport system. This navitar, alone among all others, can alter future events. He retires into a crystal chamber in the Nigh to weave reality and pit his enemies against each other.
Taking advantage of these chaotic times, the great foe of the Long War, the Jinda ceb Horat, create a settlement in the Entire. Masters of supreme technology, they maintain a lofty distance from the Entire's struggle. They agree, however, that the Tarig must return to the fiery Heart of their origins. With the banishment immanent, some Tarig lords rebel, fleeing to hound the edges of Quinn's reign.
Meanwhile, Quinn's wife Anzi becomes a hostage and penitent among the Jinda ceb, undergoing alterations that expose their secrets, but may estrange her from her husband. As Quinn moves toward a confrontation with the dark navitar, he learns that the stakes of the conflict go far beyond the Rose versus the Entire—extending to a breathtaking dominance. The navitar commands forces that lie at the heart of the Entire's geo-cosmology, and will use them to alter the calculus of power. As the navitar's plan approaches consummation, Quinn, Sen Ni, and Anzi are swept up in forces that will leave them forever changed.
Flash Gordon Comic Book Archives Volume 1 [Dark Horse Hardcover]
Flash Gordon's classic era in comic books returns in a new archival collection from Dark Horse! Join the handsome and fearless Flash, his clever and capable companion Dale Arden, and eccentric scientist Dr. Zarkov as they face peril and danger in the wild landscapes of the planet Mongo and go head-to-head with the villainous despot Ming the Merciless! This archival collection, reprinting seven complete comics originally published from 1947 through 1953, makes a fine addition to any comics library. Ray guns, spaceships, and Silver Age storytelling - it's all here and it's all action!
Buck Rogers In The 25th Century: The Complete Newspaper Dailies Volume 4 (Hermes Press Hardcover)
The saga of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, the world's most famous science-fiction newspaper strip, continues with Volume Four of Hermes Press' complete reprint of this ground-breaking title. Included in this volume are two more years of the strip, from 1934 to 1936 and features five complete adventures. Volume Four also features a special 16-page introductory essay by noted science-fiction writer and pop culture historian Ron Goulart, and an afterword detailing interesting details about the history of the strip and its impact on science fiction.
New in Horror
Valley of the Scarecrow Gord Rollo [Leisure Horror]
The legend of Joshua Miller has chilled residents of Miller’s Grove for seven decades. The town’s children all know about the man who sold his soul to the devil and his macabre death at the hands of outraged townspeople—bound to a cross in a desecrated church, sealed away and left to rot. But he didn’t rot. His skin withered and his body mummified until he resembled a twisted human scarecrow. And he didn’t truly die. And now, after seventy years, blood will revive Joshua Miller. He will finally be free to exact his unholy revenge. With a burning hatred born in hell…
THE SCARECROW WILL WALK AT MIDNIGHT
The Caretaker of Lorne Field: A Novel Dave Zeltserman [Overlook BooksHardcover]
Why has a small town maintained a contract since the eighteenth century with a member of the community and his heirs to pull weeds in Lorne Field? Jack Durkin, the current and ninth generation of Lorne Field caretakers, says the things he pulls from the ground aren't weeds; they are something called Aukowies, and if they're not pulled up by the roots and burned every day, the world will end. Under pressure from his wife to get a real job; from the town fathers (looking to save a few bucks and end the contract); and from his sons, who don't see themselves as career weed-pullers, Durkin is finally out of a job. No more weed pulling.
Reviews
Dark Province William H. Johnson (I Universe TPB)
The Dark Province is an epic fantasy by new author William H. Johnson. It’s always fun to read a new fantasy author to see what new ideas and directions they have in a genre that can often be stale. In this aspect, Johnson doesn’t disappoint with a story that doesn’t tailgate along the usual fantasy plotlines. Johnson’s story does involve one of fantasy’s oldest plot devices, the epic quest, but here it’s not about finding a powerful weapon or artifact to defeat the usual wizard or ‘dark lord’. Rather, Johnson’s story is a more emotional and personal story about the lengths a man will go in order to save his sister.
Calvin Gooding lives a peaceful life until the day he finds out his sister is dying of a terminal illness. While his sister Mari accepts her fate, Calvin is wracked by grief and torn because there is seemingly nothing he can do to save her. That is until a sorceress appears to Calvin and tells him that she can save Mari. But in order to do so, Calvin must undertake a perilous quest to the Dark Province , a land that is filled with all manner of wickedness and decadence. It’s a world that is populated by the corrupt who are complete opposites of the deeply religious Calvin. Will he be able to resist the temptations of the Dark Province in order to save his sister or will he lose his own soul in the attempt?
Johnson describes his world in lush detail. As he traverses across the land you feel like you are walking in step with him and viewing this world come to life. His world is an amalgam of the medieval and the modern. The various people he meets along the way are fully fleshed out, not just there for window dressing. Calvin isn’t the typical fantasy protagonist. His efforts to save his sister are heroic, but he’s not your standard fantasy hero. The world of the Dark Province serves as the devils temptation for a character who comes from a land that is wrapped tightly within its religion.
As mentioned on the book’s back cover Johnson is the grandson of an Apostolic Pentecostal preacher. The heavy religious overtones may put off some readers who like their fantasy a bit more secular in scope. But overall this is a unique and fresh fantasy novel and Mr. Johnson has made a strong debut. Grade A-
Horror Movie Freak Don Sumner (Krause Publications TPB)
As the title suggests, Don Sumner’s HORROR MOVIE FREAK is fun and entertaining book for fans of horror films that runs the gamut from Universal’s classic horror films of the 1930’s right up to modern day Asian horror films and everything in between. What it is, is an engaging look at horror films in a variety of different sub-genres. What it isn’t is comprehensive. Horror Movie Freak is geared towards horror fans, not horror aficionados, but that’s ok. Sumner doesn’t present the book as an authoritative look at horror films but rather overview of the genre and even something of a primer for newer fans.
Sumner is the editor at best-horror-movies.com and his team of experts includes several contributors to the website. The book segments the films into almost 20 different categories including Aberrations of Nature, Aliens and Outer Space, Beginner’s Shelf, Classics, Evil from Hell, Ghost Stories, Homicidal Slashers, Monsters, Vampires, and Zombie Invasion. There are also sub-sections that deal with modern remakes, Scream Queens, and the groups ten picks for films to watch for Halloween.
These categories allow for Sumner and his team to more accurately define a film’s subject matter rather than paint them too broadly and it also adds to the book’s enjoyment in a campy way. Over 130 films are included in the book. The entries include the film’s release date, director, writer, and cast credits. A plot summary of each is followed by a short analysis of the film and some personal anecdotes. Each entry includes one or more screen-shots and often includes a picture of the original theatrical poster.
One of the book’s interesting categories is the Beginner’s Shelf. While you might think it would feature films that re required viewing, it is geared more toward the new horror fan who might not be used to the levels of terror and gore that the more experienced horror fan is accustomed to seeing. As mentioned, Sumner doesn’t attempt to make his book the last word on horror films and for that reason picking apart his inclusions or exclusions isn’t important. Although you do have to wonder how the Scream Queen sub-section left out the venerable Linnea Quigley. You might wish to question why certain films are in one category and not another…such as EVIL DEAD showing up in the Zombie Invasion category rather than the Evil From Hell category.
While not all-encompassing, you have to admire the diversity in HORROR MOVIE FREAK. A book that manages to include GRIZZLY, NOSFERATU, THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, MOTEL HELL, and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST under one cover is one heck of a potpourri of horror films. While it may be just an appetizer for a horror fanatic, it’s fresh, amusing style will delight the casual fan. Grade B +
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