Whitstable by Stephen Volk

I have just finished Whitstable and have been touched, mesmerized and even humbled by such an awesome piece of writing. It is 1971 and Peter Cushing's adored wife Helen has succumbed to emphysema and he does not feel he has the strength to carry on alone. However somewhere deep within him Cushing finds the will to face another lonely day, just as his beloved Helen would have wished. As he strolls along the seafront perchance he meets young Carl Drinkwater who greets him as Van Helsing and as the gentle old man and the boy get into conversation a darkness reveals itself. Carl knows that Van Helsing can save him..."I'm talking about here and now and you're the vampire hunter and you need to help me." "It's your job. It's your job Vampire Hunter. You're heroic. You're powerful." Carl continues to reveal some dark secrets...."My mun's boyfriend. He visits me at night time. Every night now. He takes my blood while I'm asleep. I know what he's doing. He thinks I'm asleep but I'm not asleep. It feels like a dream and I try to pretend it isn't happening, but afterwards I feel bad, like I'm dead inside".

The story evolves with Peter Cushing in his soft and unassuming way attempting to find the truth behind the words spoken by the young man. Stephen Volk has managed to bring the gentlemanly Cushing alive before our eyes, an actor who spent his working life fighting evil is now confronted with the very essence of the devil in the form of Les Gledhill, Carls stepfather,and thus can see the true evil that human beings are capable of. "You see, Peter, real evil is not so easy to spot in real life. In real life, evil people look like you and me. We pass them in the street." An essentially sad, thoughtful story and one that will remain with you for a very long time.

That which should not be Brett J. Talley

The bartender threw another log on the fire, and as he did, the already burning wood cracked and spat embers into the air. They burned for a moment , lived for only an instant, before vanishing into the night. The wind blew with its greatest intensity, and the snow fell in sheets. The heart of the storm was upon us, revealing that its earlier fury had been only a preview of things to come....what sublime writing...admit it you are curious and are drawn in....

Do you remember when you were a kid and those old black and whites movies came on the telly, Bela Lugosi or Lon Chaney Jr chasing or being chased by some unseen force...do you remember the coach and horses racing through the night, with a headless horseman and the clouds and darkness all around, with mysterious companions heading for some hellish destination and devilish meeting with fate....well if you remember you will love Brett J. Talley's wonderful and evocative "That which should not be."

Carter Weston is on a journey, a journey to discover the journal "Incendium Maleficarum" The Inferno of the Witch and return to Professor Thayerson at Miskatonic University. What are the professor's true intentions and what ancient magic will the book bestow on it's owner. Only if Carter accepts the challenge and, with true diligence searches for the answers, will the nature of this evil be revealed. This book is a diamond in the annals of storytelling, and it's images and stories are Lovecraftian in nature emphasizing the cosmic horror of the unknown.
Carter's journey takes him to a public house "The Kracken" in the township of Anchorhead..."I pushed open the heavy door and stepped inside, letting it slam behind me. The room was lit by oil lamps hung haphazardly from the ceiling. The gust of wind pursuing me had rocked them to and fro, and now their pale light cast grotesque shadows that seemed to gibber and dance on the tavern walls. I looked around the room. It was built like the bow of a ship, the center portion lower than its sides. There were several denizens, regulars of this establishment I would have wagered spread here and there about the place. But it was a particular table, the only one in the center depression that was occupied, that stood out to me the most. At it sat four men, incongruous for their diversity of dress and the mien with which they held themselves"

The four men have a tale to tell and not until the stories are complete do we learn the whereabouts of The Inferno of the Witch. The reader is taken on a magic devilish journey being assaulted with tales of the Wendigo, a demonic half beast and, a giant Gothic Castle in the bowels of eastern Europe with a mysterious Abbess..."May I help you gentlemen?" she asked, in a sing-song timber I couldn't trace but felt instantly entranced by. For a moment we just stood there, mesmerized both by her voice and by the glowing light that seemed to surround her. She was as out of place as she could possibly be. Finally, as was wont, Charles took the lead. Yes Abbess, I believe you may be able to help us. We are travelers. We have come from the village at the base of this mountain on our way to Czernowitz."  My own particular favourite tale is William's story and his period of internship at  Danvers Asylum!...."Darkness had long fallen on Danvers Asylum, but I knew no matter my misgivings, I could not put off the inevitable. I made my way to the west wing where the male patients were held. The incurables ward was particularly chaotic, and I wondered if they somehow sensed the tension among the doctors, or if Robert's bizarre death still resonated with them. But when the door to the incurables ward closed behind me, the heavy silence of the criminally insane was upon me."

In short I loved this story with it's Lovecraftian style of writing and its depiction of horror in images and stories rather than relying on gore or elements of shock although at times these are present when the story or situation demands. I certainly look forward to discovering more amazing tales from the mind of the talented Mr Talley!

Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi

This is an extraordinary well written story about about one man's attempt to find redemption and some form of closure to an incident that occurred during his formative years. Ronald Malfi manages to blend superbly elements of horror and crime nicely presented in the guise of small town America. Travis Glascow and his wife Jodie have settled in the pretty little community of Westlake Maryland but as befits all good storytelling nothing is ever as it seems and, as we are shown, the perfect life is something we all strive for but few achieve. Travis is haunted by the death of his younger brother Kyle, left under his protection but who tragically died jumping from an old wooden pier. The house in Westgate has a sinister past, Elijah Dentman, son of the previous owners met a tragic and untimely demise but even in death the spirit of Elijah refuses to rest "Nature does not know extinction. It knows only change. Metamorphosis. It knows that when life is snuffed out and the soul vacates the body, it must, by definition, go somewhere. And if you don't believe in  God or a god or in heaven and hell, then where do souls go?"

What makes this book such a wonderful achievement, so deep thought and contemplative is the authors style of writing. In a reflective mood Travis thinks back to his childhood and in particular his father "My father, who'd always been an intimidating physical presence, seemed to grow smaller day by day, some vital bone or organ now broken within him. He reminded me more and more of those rusted old cars on concrete blocks, colorless weeds growing all around him. He became an alcoholic after Kyle's death and maintained that ungodly and self-deprecating profession until prostate cancer punched his card many years later." Just look at the poetic nature of the opening paragraph to Chapter 18 " When you withdraw from the world, you find that the world withdraws from you, too. Then all that's left is the Greyness, the Void, and this is where you remain. Like a cancerous cell. Like a cut of tissue, diseased, in a Petri dish. You glance down and there it is: this gaping gray hole in the center of your being. And as you stand there and stare into it, all you see is yourself staring back."

Suffice to say this style permeates throughout the book and makes for rich and rewarding reading. Introduce to this a mix some wonderful, colourful characters; Althea Coulter tutor to Elijah and an old lady sadly dying of cancer, Earl Parsons veteran seasoned reporter, Veronica and David Dentman parents of tragic Elijah and possibly holding the secrets and answers that Travis seeks in his search for the truth and maybe just maybe his own salvation.

Dog on Heat!!

There is a picture of Dog about midway through his book, a picture of Dog adorned in white,with his long flowing hair standing with his preacher Tim Storey on a canoe as he makes his way to meet Beth on their wedding day in 2006. This picture epitomizes Dog as I believe he see himself as a kind of avenging rightous angel or the reincarnation of Jesus..yep the myth as he would have us believe  is certainly bigger than the man. 
There is another chapter or should I say capture described in great detail, the ultimate bounty for Dog where to prove himself to the world as "The greatest ever Bounty Hunter" he must capture and bring to justice a man with a high price on his head...Andrew Luster. This makes for some exciting reading as our hero (for hero he must surely be) after months of frustration and false leads and hope finally makes the capture only to find himself held prisoner in a stinking Mexican jail. Dog has always believed that God (dog backwards....get it) has a clear vision and purpose in life for him and is with him everyday...everystep of the way.."Until that moment, it hadn't really sunk in that I was now searching for one of the most wanted fugitives in America. It was time to put my money where my mouth was. I had a lot of stake. By joining the hunt for Luster, I was gambling on my future, my name, and my reputation. But I knew this was my chance to show the Lord I am worthy of His plan, His will. If this was the big one we'd been waiting for, the time had come". I cannot help but love Dog! a man who see himself as a latter day Billy the Kid wrapped up with a little Wyatt Earp and a smidgen of the avenging preacher from Pale Rider!! Dog's life story is a hard knuckle ride from a harsh upbringing with a brutal father "Flash" through his many years of addiction to drugs, a prison sentence for complicity to murder, the many women who had the priviledge of knowing him and being loved (albeit for a short time) and the resulting offspring. All through this adventure it would appear that a greater power than Dog (is there such a thing?) was guiding him on his life's mission and always ready to lift him from the depths of depression when the need arose "I turned my head to the sky and said "Lord , I know my mum is with you" And then I heard, "No Duane, she walks with you. Look straight out, my son. You will find what you are looking for." I cocked my head and stared straight out into the vast sea, wondering, hoping, praying, that the Lord was sending me a message about my mother"......Please do not misunderstand me and do not take my flippancy as a lack of respect for Duane "Dog" Chapman I actually really enjoyed this book, Dog the man and Dog the TV series lives through every word in this fun and highly charged adventurous read. A story of a hard life but one filled with guts determination and hope and even though the author may suffer from a narcisstic personality disorder that does not stopping me loving the man and the myth...and in his own words.."My name is Duane Lee Chapman. My friends call me Dog - Dog the Bounty Hunter. For more than twenty-seven years , I have made a living hunting down more than seven thousand fugitives. I wear that honour as proudly as my shiny silver fugitive-recovery badge that hangs around my nece".... Dog you are the man...you are truly on heat!!.....

The thinking man's Zombie...

This is an intelligent take on the zombie theme where zombies or "second-lifers" as they are now known have been integrated into everyday life. In true zombie fashion they have a slow deliberate gait and don't tend to converse much! "She smiled at him, a shocking rictus of unholy perversity, exposing blackened gums and serrated teeth. Her tongue, the color of well-done meat, slithered behind wide dental gaps, and her gray hideous hand clutched her chest." As a man dies and is retrieved and returns he emerges as a zombie which has a detrimental effect on already strugging economies "Although not cannibals like movies had predicted, they were far from harmless. Once a month, like some kind of planetary menstrual cycle, the earth spits up thousands of new mouths to feed and left taxpayers to shoulder the burden, straining an already struggling economy." There is a wonderful list of characters including Stephen Lingk Pastor of Glory's Children Church, Monika Janus and her lover from a previous live Eric Cooper. Eric works for AdCom and they are losing consumer confidence resulting in advertising dollars being slashed at an alarming rate, they plan to target the "second life" market (who have a great fondness for burgers and whisky!) and to this end employ Monika Janus a newly reborn second lifer. Stephen Lingk has his own agenda and is attempting to communicate more deeply with the second-lifers "The hundreds of second-lifers tested with the SSA under Lingk's supervision had produced fewer than a dozen responses most of them garbled beyond recognition." Will Eric obtain some form of closure? Will second-lifers destroy human life as we know it? Will the Pastor reveal his true colours? I did enjoy this book and felt that the themes whilst intelligent (in order for second-lifers to be born someone has to die) and different did not always hold my attention and came to realize towards the end......I really did prefer the traditional evil, slow lumbering, zombie the true "walking dead"