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Horror Fuel

‘Cold Spell: The Halloween Curse Of Winterhill’ Is The Perfect Way To Start The Season

Plot The idea of a witch cursing a town and then coming back to fulfill that curse is a plot that has a special place in horror. Personally, I love when people resurrect plots that we know and love and put their own spin on it. In the middle school-aimed Cold Spell: The Halloween Curse of Winterhill, Jeff C. Carter shows his unique ability to take something we all know and love and make it feel new, fun and scary! In this plot, Carter introduces the witch, but then spends most o the novel focusing on the characters, making us get to know them, become friends with them, and care about what happens to them…then the carpet gets pulled away from underneath everything. Halloween stories (like Christmas movies) create the world of Halloween we all wish existed in our celebrations. A world where every house is adorned with jack-o-lanters, where every neighbor hands out full sized chocolate bars, and where

Continue reading →
Greg Kershaw
Sep 24, 2021
Horror Fuel

Joshua Radburn Writes A Love Letter To Horror And Darkness With ‘Shells’ – Novel Review

Plot Monsters come in all shapes and sizes and Joshua Radburn’s upcoming novel Shells proves it. At it’s core, Shells is a menagerie of genres and styles that all blend together to create a captivating horror/mystery that is incredibly unique. I am not going to give much of the plot away here because it is one that reader’s need to experience. Radburn has created a plot built of tried and true tropes (like a down and out cop) that are tried and true because they work. The brilliance of this plot is not because it is exciting, terrifying, and keeps the reader guessing (although it certainly does all of that), the true brilliance is how Bradburn pieces everything all together to create his mystery. I think that the plot is best described in the novel’s forward. It is a “plunge into [the] underworld of gangsters, guns, and monsters.” Characters The characters in Shells feel real. They feel like they are

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 29, 2021
Horror Fuel

‘Dial M For…Mutants’ Is The Most Fun You Will Have While Being Terrified

Plot This book in incredibly fun! But don’t be fooled by that, it is also a legitimate and scary horror. Based in 1994 and focusing on a tabloid magazine called Weekly World News, this plot has everything in it. It is scary, funny, gripping, entertaining, original, unique, fascinating and mysterious. The tabloid is the type of magazine that I used to always want to buy at the grocery store because the cover revealed a brand new sighting of Bat Boy or some other fantastical story…but what if one of those stories was true? The plot truly takes us on an adventure that starts out as a light-hearted creepy (albeit funny) tale, and dives quickly into the terror and fear that satiates even the most tough-skinned horror fan. Characters Dial M For…Mutants focuses on Buck and Betty. As usual, I won’t give you too much detail about the specifics in my review (I like laving that up to you as a

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
May 8, 2021
Horror Fuel

Antony J. Stanton’s ‘Once Bitten, Twice Die’ Is A Perfect Blend Of Horror Species – Book Review

Plot This had potential to be a very confusing and unconnected book. There is a lot going on with a lot of characters and a lot of back stories. However, author Antony J. Stanton has it so well organized, so well written that it all fits perfectly together in a plausible, entertaining and fictionally-realistic way. Even the way that vampires, zombies and humans are all intertwined makes sense within Stanton’s world. We have a bevy of apocalyptic stories, zombie stories, and vampire stories, but this one is a plot full of depth, action and exceptional gore. Characters There are a lot of characters in his book. Luckily, Stanton recognizes that and gives a great glossary of characters in the beginning of the novel. His section entitled The Players organizes everyone in a tangible way that really benefits the readers of his novel. Having mentioned the number of characters, it becomes even more impressive that they are all deep, full of

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Jan 15, 2021
Horror Fuel

Paul C. Williams Creates A Dark World Worth Exploring in ‘The Shadow Of Hades’ – Book Review

The Shadow of Hades by Paul C. Williams is a very interesting and dark book. Four stories, intertwined, but not in obvious ways (think Trick R’ Treat style story-weaving). Williams took on a huge challenge with this book and really showed his ability as a writer by creating a novel with such depth and strength. I love that he didn’t fall prey to having to have each page so action-packed that people mistake adrenaline for a good plot. The plot is exceptionally strong and draws the reader in if you’re willing to put in the work Williams demands (and deserves) as a reader. Characters The characters in this book are deep and diverse. I felt very attached emotionally to the majority of them and with the style of Williams’ writing, there was time and space to really learn about the character…but also wanting more. I wanted more because I cared about their story, I cared about who they were and

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Nov 18, 2020
Horror Fuel

‘Seeds Of The Dead’ Is A Gory Ride Of Horror And Action: Book Review

Seeds of the Dead, the novel by Andy Kumpon and Gary Malick is an absolutely entertaining ride into horror, gore and everything we love about horror. With chemically-created, slime-spewing zombies running around gorging themselves on human flesh and an evil corporation as the puppet master, this is a story that has no down time. It is a wonderful, in-your-face novel that you won’t be able to put down. Characters One of the things I loved in Kumpon and Malick’s novel is the diversity of characters. Characters of different ideologies, ages, experiences, and depth were all represented equally well. Yes, there were main characters who had bigger roles, but there were no characters who were written weakly or with less care, regardless of how big of a role they played. Each character felt like they could be a real person with a whole lifetime of experiences behind them. The non-human characters I this book were just as impressive. The zombies were

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 29, 2020
Horror Fuel

Book Review: Lee Murray’s ‘Grotesque’

According to the afterword in Lee Murray’s short story collection Grotesque, she “steals” ideas for her stories. Murray describes how she listens to conversations, “frankensteins” people’s appearances and personalities together to create characters and uses old legends to twist into her own words and world. I am so happy that I took the time to read the afterword because throughout the entire collection I kept asking myself “how can someone write with such diversity in language, characters, and plot?” If I didn’t know better and without the Maori theme that ties through many of Murray’s stories, I truly would have expected each of these stories to be written by different authors And let me be clear: That is an exceptionally good thing! It is difficult to review collections like this. I am going to be very careful not to give any plot spoilers and I am going to shy away from focusing too heavily on any particular story (although I

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Jul 27, 2020
Horror Fuel

Book Review: The Light Reapers: End of the World

I have just had the chance to read the novel The Light Reapers: End of the World by Gary Hickman. Right off the bat, bluntly and honestly, I enjoyed this novel very much and I am grateful that Mr. Hickman sent it to me to read and review. The “Light Reapers” are an elite special ops group of soldiers who have a history of missions together that have bonded them over the years. They are deployed to rescue a scientist who may be able to find a cure for a viral pandemic caused by an ISIS faction which turns people into vicious, flesh eating hordes who who kill for any reason and in every grotesque way you can imagine. Story On the surface, the story of Light Reapers is not anything new. Zombies are a time honored horror tradition with a long, long list of media building their anthology of gnawing and feeding on flesh. For broad strokes purposes, this

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Jun 6, 2020
Horror Fuel

Review: Ghostbusters: Artbook

I was able to get my hands on a copy of Sony Pictures’ new “Ghostbusters: Artbook,” featuring artwork from artists all over the world, paying homage to the classic in their own styles. I was a bit surprised when I picked up the box that the mailman left on my doorstep, it was quite heavy. I excitedly tore through the brown box like Wolverine. I threw the bubble wrap over my shoulder like a bride throws her bouquet. Finally, I saw it. I was met with a big book ( 208 pages) whose cover art is in bubble gum colors featuring our favorite ghost, Slimer. As I ran my hands over the hardcover of the book it was easy to see that the cover is super high quality, thick, firm and smooth. I flipped straight to the introduction written by none other than Jason Reitman, the Golden Globe winner and the four-time Acadamy Award nominee who is directing the upcoming

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Apr 16, 2020

More from book review

Horror Fuel

‘Cold Spell: The Halloween Curse Of Winterhill’ Is The Perfect Way To Start The Season

Plot The idea of a witch cursing a town and then coming back to fulfill that curse is a plot that has a special place in horror. Personally, I love when people resurrect plots that we know and love and put their own spin on it. In the middle school-aimed Cold Spell: The Halloween Curse of Winterhill, Jeff C. Carter shows his unique ability to take something we all know and love and make it feel new, fun and scary! In this plot, Carter introduces the witch, but then spends most o the novel focusing on the characters, making us get to know them, become friends with them, and care about what happens to them…then the carpet gets pulled away from underneath everything. Halloween stories (like Christmas movies) create the world of Halloween we all wish existed in our celebrations. A world where every house is adorned with jack-o-lanters, where every neighbor hands out full sized chocolate bars, and where

Continue reading →
Greg Kershaw
Sep 24, 2021
Horror Fuel

Joshua Radburn Writes A Love Letter To Horror And Darkness With ‘Shells’ – Novel Review

Plot Monsters come in all shapes and sizes and Joshua Radburn’s upcoming novel Shells proves it. At it’s core, Shells is a menagerie of genres and styles that all blend together to create a captivating horror/mystery that is incredibly unique. I am not going to give much of the plot away here because it is one that reader’s need to experience. Radburn has created a plot built of tried and true tropes (like a down and out cop) that are tried and true because they work. The brilliance of this plot is not because it is exciting, terrifying, and keeps the reader guessing (although it certainly does all of that), the true brilliance is how Bradburn pieces everything all together to create his mystery. I think that the plot is best described in the novel’s forward. It is a “plunge into [the] underworld of gangsters, guns, and monsters.” Characters The characters in Shells feel real. They feel like they are

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 29, 2021
Horror Fuel

‘Dial M For…Mutants’ Is The Most Fun You Will Have While Being Terrified

Plot This book in incredibly fun! But don’t be fooled by that, it is also a legitimate and scary horror. Based in 1994 and focusing on a tabloid magazine called Weekly World News, this plot has everything in it. It is scary, funny, gripping, entertaining, original, unique, fascinating and mysterious. The tabloid is the type of magazine that I used to always want to buy at the grocery store because the cover revealed a brand new sighting of Bat Boy or some other fantastical story…but what if one of those stories was true? The plot truly takes us on an adventure that starts out as a light-hearted creepy (albeit funny) tale, and dives quickly into the terror and fear that satiates even the most tough-skinned horror fan. Characters Dial M For…Mutants focuses on Buck and Betty. As usual, I won’t give you too much detail about the specifics in my review (I like laving that up to you as a

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
May 8, 2021
Horror Fuel

Antony J. Stanton’s ‘Once Bitten, Twice Die’ Is A Perfect Blend Of Horror Species – Book Review

Plot This had potential to be a very confusing and unconnected book. There is a lot going on with a lot of characters and a lot of back stories. However, author Antony J. Stanton has it so well organized, so well written that it all fits perfectly together in a plausible, entertaining and fictionally-realistic way. Even the way that vampires, zombies and humans are all intertwined makes sense within Stanton’s world. We have a bevy of apocalyptic stories, zombie stories, and vampire stories, but this one is a plot full of depth, action and exceptional gore. Characters There are a lot of characters in his book. Luckily, Stanton recognizes that and gives a great glossary of characters in the beginning of the novel. His section entitled The Players organizes everyone in a tangible way that really benefits the readers of his novel. Having mentioned the number of characters, it becomes even more impressive that they are all deep, full of

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Jan 15, 2021
Horror Fuel

Paul C. Williams Creates A Dark World Worth Exploring in ‘The Shadow Of Hades’ – Book Review

The Shadow of Hades by Paul C. Williams is a very interesting and dark book. Four stories, intertwined, but not in obvious ways (think Trick R’ Treat style story-weaving). Williams took on a huge challenge with this book and really showed his ability as a writer by creating a novel with such depth and strength. I love that he didn’t fall prey to having to have each page so action-packed that people mistake adrenaline for a good plot. The plot is exceptionally strong and draws the reader in if you’re willing to put in the work Williams demands (and deserves) as a reader. Characters The characters in this book are deep and diverse. I felt very attached emotionally to the majority of them and with the style of Williams’ writing, there was time and space to really learn about the character…but also wanting more. I wanted more because I cared about their story, I cared about who they were and

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Nov 18, 2020
Horror Fuel

‘Seeds Of The Dead’ Is A Gory Ride Of Horror And Action: Book Review

Seeds of the Dead, the novel by Andy Kumpon and Gary Malick is an absolutely entertaining ride into horror, gore and everything we love about horror. With chemically-created, slime-spewing zombies running around gorging themselves on human flesh and an evil corporation as the puppet master, this is a story that has no down time. It is a wonderful, in-your-face novel that you won’t be able to put down. Characters One of the things I loved in Kumpon and Malick’s novel is the diversity of characters. Characters of different ideologies, ages, experiences, and depth were all represented equally well. Yes, there were main characters who had bigger roles, but there were no characters who were written weakly or with less care, regardless of how big of a role they played. Each character felt like they could be a real person with a whole lifetime of experiences behind them. The non-human characters I this book were just as impressive. The zombies were

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 29, 2020
Horror Fuel

Book Review: Lee Murray’s ‘Grotesque’

According to the afterword in Lee Murray’s short story collection Grotesque, she “steals” ideas for her stories. Murray describes how she listens to conversations, “frankensteins” people’s appearances and personalities together to create characters and uses old legends to twist into her own words and world. I am so happy that I took the time to read the afterword because throughout the entire collection I kept asking myself “how can someone write with such diversity in language, characters, and plot?” If I didn’t know better and without the Maori theme that ties through many of Murray’s stories, I truly would have expected each of these stories to be written by different authors And let me be clear: That is an exceptionally good thing! It is difficult to review collections like this. I am going to be very careful not to give any plot spoilers and I am going to shy away from focusing too heavily on any particular story (although I

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Jul 27, 2020
Horror Fuel

Book Review: The Light Reapers: End of the World

I have just had the chance to read the novel The Light Reapers: End of the World by Gary Hickman. Right off the bat, bluntly and honestly, I enjoyed this novel very much and I am grateful that Mr. Hickman sent it to me to read and review. The “Light Reapers” are an elite special ops group of soldiers who have a history of missions together that have bonded them over the years. They are deployed to rescue a scientist who may be able to find a cure for a viral pandemic caused by an ISIS faction which turns people into vicious, flesh eating hordes who who kill for any reason and in every grotesque way you can imagine. Story On the surface, the story of Light Reapers is not anything new. Zombies are a time honored horror tradition with a long, long list of media building their anthology of gnawing and feeding on flesh. For broad strokes purposes, this

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Jun 6, 2020
Horror Fuel

Review: Ghostbusters: Artbook

I was able to get my hands on a copy of Sony Pictures’ new “Ghostbusters: Artbook,” featuring artwork from artists all over the world, paying homage to the classic in their own styles. I was a bit surprised when I picked up the box that the mailman left on my doorstep, it was quite heavy. I excitedly tore through the brown box like Wolverine. I threw the bubble wrap over my shoulder like a bride throws her bouquet. Finally, I saw it. I was met with a big book ( 208 pages) whose cover art is in bubble gum colors featuring our favorite ghost, Slimer. As I ran my hands over the hardcover of the book it was easy to see that the cover is super high quality, thick, firm and smooth. I flipped straight to the introduction written by none other than Jason Reitman, the Golden Globe winner and the four-time Acadamy Award nominee who is directing the upcoming

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Apr 16, 2020
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