February 28, 2011
And the Winner Is ...
And the winner is ...
MELISSA HELWIG
Incidentally, Melissa runs a blog called Little Miss Zombie. This past month she has been conducting interviews with a multitude of female horror authors for Women in Horror Recognition Month. And Amy Grech was one of the authors interviewed, no less. I encourage everyone to check out her blog and read at least a few of those interviews. You're bound to find a name of two you haven't heard before, and possibly some more names and titles to add to your own wish list.
Congrats, Melissa. I'll be contacting you via e-mail soon.
On My Radar: The 2010 Bram Stoker Award Final Ballot
Here are the categories and the nominees:
- HORNS by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
- ROT AND RUIN by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster)
- DEAD LOVE by Linda Watanabe McFerrin (Stone Bridge Press)
- APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD by Joe McKinney (Pinnacle)
- DWELLER by Jeff Strand (Leisure/Dark Regions Press)
- A DARK MATTER by Peter Straub (DoubleDay)
- BLACK AND ORANGE by Benjamin Kane Ethridge (Bad Moon Books)
- A BOOK OF TONGUES by Gemma Files (Chizine Publications)
- CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES by Lisa Morton (Gray Friar Press)
- SPELLBENT by Lucy Snyder (Del Rey)
Superior Achievement in LONG FICTION:
- THE PAINTED DARKNESS by Brian James Freeman (Cemetery Dance)
- DISSOLUTION by Lisa Mannetti (Deathwatch)
- MONSTERS AMONG US by Kirstyn McDermott (Macabre: A Journey through Australia’s Darkest Fears)
- THE SAMHANACH by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
- INVISIBLE FENCES by Norman Prentiss (Cemetery Dance)
- RETURN TO MARIABRONN by Gary Braunbeck (Haunted Legends)
- THE FOLDING MAN by Joe R. Lansdale (Haunted Legends)
- 1925: A FALL RIVER HALLOWEEN by Lisa Mannetti (Shroud Magazine #10)
- IN THE MIDDLE OF POPLAR STREET by Nate Southard (Dead Set: A Zombie Anthology)
- FINAL DRAFT by Mark W. Worthen (Horror Library IV)
- DARK FAITH edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon (Apex Publications)
- HORROR LIBRARY IV edited by R.J. Cavender and, Boyd E. Harris (Cutting Block Press)
- MACABRE: A JOURNEY THROUGH AUSTRALIA’S DARKEST FEARS edited by Angela Challis and Marty Young (Brimstone Press)
- HAUNTED LEGENDS edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas (Tor)
- THE NEW DEAD edited by Christopher Golden (St. Martin’s Griffin)
- OCCULTATION by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
- BLOOD AND GRISTLE by Michael Louis Calvillo (Bad Moon Books)
- FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King (Simon and Schuster)
- THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY by Stephen Graham Jones (Prime Books)
- A HOST OF SHADOWS by Harry Shannon (Dark Regions Press)
- TO EACH THEIR DARKNESS by Gary A. Braunbeck (Apex Publications)
- THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE by Thomas Ligotti (Hippocampus Press)
- WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE by Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman (Citadel)
- LISTEN TO THE ECHOES: THE RAY BRADBURY INTERVIEWS by Sam Weller (Melville House Publications)
- DARK MATTERS by Bruce Boston (Bad Moon Books)
- WILD HUNT OF THE STARS by Ann K. Schwader (Sam’s Dot)
- DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN DIABOLIST by Robin Spriggs (Anomalous Books)
- VICIOUS ROMANTIC by Wrath James White (Bandersnatch Books)
Congratulations to all of the nominees. I've only had the chance to read a few of the titles listed above, but it's pretty safe to say that I'll be making an effort to read even more of them in the near future.
Getting Graphic: "Jonah Hex: Guns of Vengeance" by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray

Jonah Hex: Guns of Vengeance
written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
illustrated by Luke Ross, Tony Dezuniga, Phil Noto, David Michael Beck, & Paul Gulacy
DC Comics (2007)
ISBN 13: 9781401212490
If there's one theme that a western carries often, and with ease, it's vengeance. Guns of Vengeance is a compilation of Jonah Hex, issues 7 through 12, and while each story is separate from the next, the undercurrent of revenge is all over each and every page.
"One Wedding and Fifty Funerals" has Jonah Hex attending a wedding, which comes off as socially awkward at best considering his reputation and demeanor. The pleasantries end quickly though, as a posse led by the bride's jilted lover sets fire to the tent and starts gunning down the wedding party. Jonah pursues them, but it winds up some even shadier criminals get in his way.
"Never Turn a Blind Eye" offers up another furious band of gunslingers, but this time they're German and on the hunt for a wounded man who seeks the protection of Jonah Hex. But when Hex sizes up the situation, he realizes that not everything is as it seems, and the Germans might not be the villains.
"Gettin' Un-Haunted" is tragic and shows the demented version of sympathy from Hex. A young girl who helps nurse him back to health after a run-in with Indians winds up dead beacuse of an altercation he has with her mother and townsfolk. Time passes and he crosses paths with the mother again, only to wind up in bed with her and at the business end of a gun when a posse comes for him.
"Gator Bait" is all about the swamp folk. A black man's dying wish is for Jonah Hex to avenge his death and save the man's wife and baby who are still in the clutches of an inbred band of criminals who live in the middle of a gator swamp. The despicable acts they commit show they deserve everything Hex has in store for them too.
"The Hangin' Tree" is a kind of sequel to a story that was featured in the first Jonah Hex graphic novel I read and reviewed. Hex is saved from a hanging at the hands of a band of carnival freaks by a supernatural avenger known as El Diablo. The carnival folk are simply out for revenge, however, as Hex is responsible for killing their boss--a guy who just happened to kidnap and indenture children.
"The Bloodstained Snow" caps off the graphic novel with a story of Mormons trying to stake their claim in the snowy hills only to be shunned and hunted down by the neighboring town. When Hex comes onto the scene, he finds himself caught in the middle between two forces out to destroy the other.
Unlike so many other graphic novels I read, these stand-alone stories are a treat to read. And growing up watching the old John Wayne, Lee Marvin, and Clint Eastwood classic westerns, there's a part of me that will never tire of tales about gunslingers and the Old West. Hex isn't exactly the most likable character, but he's not meant to be, and the callousness of the times rings true more often than not.
Still haven't seen the film adaptation starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox yet, and I'm not in a hurry to either, because I wouldn't want to sully the enjoyment I have when reading these comic books.
February 26, 2011
Grasping for the Wind's Gargantuan List of Book Blogs
John Ottinger has a great blog called Grasping for the Wind, dedicated to science-fiction, with a bit of fantasy and horror thrown in for flavor. Recently, I saw his gargantuan list--thanks to Quentin Tarantino and Darryl Hannah for resurrecting that word--of book blogs dedicated to speculative fiction. So, in case you are looking to add a few more cool book blogs to your feedburner, here's the list as it stands today.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
52 Weeks of Geek
7 Foot Shelves
The Accidental Bard
A Bibliophile’s Reverie
A Boy Goes on a Journey
A Dribble Of Ink
Adventures in Reading
A Fantasy Reader
A Fantastical Librarian
The Agony Column
A Hoyden’s Look at Literature
A Journey of Books
Allan Bard
All Booked Up
Alexia’s Books and Such…
The Alternative
Andromeda Spaceways
Anomalous Thoughts
The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.
ask nicola
A Southern Fried Weirdo
Audiobook DJ
aurealisXpress
Australia Specfic In Focus
Author 2 Author
AzureScape
B
Barbara Martin
Babbling about Books
Bees (and Books) on the Knob
Best SF
Bewildering Stories
Bibliophile Stalker
Bibliosnark
Big Dumb Object
BillWardWriter.com
The Billion Light-Year Bookshelf
Bitten by Books
The Black Library Blog
Blog, Jvstin Style
Blood of the Muse
Book Addict
The Book Bind
Bookgeeks
Book in a Series
Book Love Affair
Bookrastination
Book Series Reviews
Booksies Blog
Bookslut
Books on the Knob
The Book Smugglers
Bookspotcentral
The Book Swede
Bookthing
Book View Cafe [Authors Group Blog]
Brain Harvest
Breeni Books
Brenda Loves Books
C
Calico Reaction
Cheaper Ironies [pro columnist]
Charlotte’s Library
Circlet 2.0
Civilian Reader
Cheryl’s Musings
Club Jade
Cranking Plot
Critical Mass
The Crotchety Old Fan
Curling Up By The Fire
D
Daily Dose – Fantasy and Romance
Damien G. Walter
Danger Gal
Dark Faerie Tales
It’s Dark in the Dark
Dark Parables
Dark Wolf Fantasy Reviews
Darque Reviews
Dave Brendon’s Fantasy and Sci-Fi Weblog
Dazed Rambling
Dead Book Darling
Dear Author
The Deckled Edge
The Discriminating Fangirl
The Doctor is In…
Dragons, Heroes and Wizards
Drey’s Library
Drying Ink
Dusk Before the Dawn
E
Enter the Octopus
Erotic Horizon
Errant Dreams Reviews
Eve’s Alexandria
F
Falcata Times
Fantastic Reviews
Fantastic Reviews Blog
Fantasy Book Banner
Fantasy Book Critic
Fantasy Book Reviews and News
Fantasy By the Tale
Fantasy Cafe
Fantasy Debut
Fantasy Dreamer’s Ramblings
Fantasy Literature.com
Fantasy Magazine
Fantasy and Sci-fi Lovin’ News and Reviews
Feminist SF – The Blog!
Feybound
Fiction is so Overrated
The Fix
Floor to Ceiling Books
Flying off the Shelves
The Foghorn Review
Follow that Raven
Forbidden Planet
Frances Writes
Frazzled Book Nommer
Free SF Reader
From a Sci-Fi Standpoint
From the Heart of Europe
Fruitless Recursion
Fundamentally Alien
The Future Fire
G
The Galaxy Express
Galleycat
Game Couch
The Gamer Rat
Garbled Signals
The Geeky Bookworm
Genre Reviews
Genreville [Publishers Weekly]
Got Schephs
Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
Grasping for the Wind
The Great Gnome Press Science Fiction Odyssey
a GREAT read
The Green Man Review
Gripping Books
H
Hasenpfeffer
Hero Complex
Horrorscope
Hot Cup of Coffee
Hyperpat’s Hyper Day
I
I Hope I Didn’t Just Give Away The Ending
Ink and Keys
Ink and Paper
The Internet Review of Science Fiction
io9
It is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous
J
Janicu’s Book Blog
Jenn’s Bookshelf
Johnny Oops
Judging a Book by Its Cover
Jumpdrives and Cantrips
K
Kat Bryan’s Corner
Keeping the Door
King of the Nerds
L
La Bloga
Lair of the Undead Rat
Largehearted Boy
Layers of Thought
League of Reluctant Adults
Legends of Fantasy
The Lensman’s Children
Library Dad
Libri Touches
Literary Escapism
Literary Musings
Literaturely Speaking
Little Red Reviewer
ludis inventio
The Luminous Page
Lundblog: Beautiful Letters
Lupines and Lunatics
Lytherus
M
Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review
Mari’s Midnight Garden
Mark Freeman’s Journal
Marooned: Science Fiction Books on Mars
Martin’s Booklog
MentatJack
Michele Lee’s Book Love
Missions Unknown [Author and Artist Blog Devoted to SF/F/H in San Antonio]
The Mistress of Ancient Revelry
MIT Science Fiction Society
Mithril Wisdom
Monster Librarian
More Words, Deeper Hole
Mostly Harmless Books
Multi-Genre Fan
Musings from the Weirdside
MyBlog2.0
My Favourite Books
My Overstuffed Bookshelf
N
Neth Space
The New Book Review
NextRead
Not Free SF Reader
Nuketown
O
OCD, Vampires, and Rants, o my!
OF Blog of the Fallen
The Old Bat’s Belfry
ommadawn.dk
Omphalos Book Reviews
On A Pale Star
Only The Best SciFi/Fantasy
Ooh…Books!
The Ostentatious Ogre
Outside of a Dog
P
Paper Spaceships
Paranormality
Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
Patricia’s Vampire Notes
The Persistence of Vision
Piaw’s Blog
Pink Raygun
Pizza’s Book Discussion
Poisoned Rationality
pornokitsch
Post-Weird Thoughts
Praetor Naturam
Publisher’s Weekly
Punkadiddle
Pussreboots: A Book Review a Day
Q
R
Ramblings of a Raconteur
Random Acts of Mediocrity
The Ranting Dragon
Ray Gun Revival
Realms of Speculative Fiction
The Reader Eclectic
Read. Breathe. Relax.
Reading Fairy Tales
Reading the Leaves
Rememorandum
Review From Here
Reviewer X
Revolution SF
Rhiannon Hart
The Road Not Taken
Rob’s Blog o’ Stuff
Robots and Vamps
S
Sacramento Book Review
Sandstorm Reviews
Satisfying the Need to Read
Science Fiction Times
ScifiChick
Sci-Fi Blog
Sci-Fi Bookworm
SciFiGuy
Sci-Fi Fan Letter
The Sci-Fi Gene
Sci-Fi Songs [Musical Reviews]
SciFi Squad
Scifi UK Reviews
Sci Fi Wire
Scribbler to Scribe
Self-Publishing Review
SF Diplomat
SFFaudio
SFFMedia
SF Gospel
SFReader.com
SF Reviews.net
SF Revu
SF Safari
SFScope
SF Signal
SF Site
SFF World’s Book Reviews
Shawn Lazarus
She Never Slept
Silver Reviews
Simply Vamptastic
Skull Salad Reviews
Slice of SciFi
Solar Flare
Speculative Book Review
Speculative Fiction
Speculative Fiction Junkie
Speculative Horizons
The Speculative Scotsman
The Specusphere
Spinebreakers
Spiral Galaxy Reviews
Splashdown Reviews
Spontaneous Derivation
Sporadic Book Reviews
Stainless Steel Droppings
Starting Fresh
State of Review
Stella Matutina
Stomping on Yeti
Stuff as Dreams are Made on…
The Sudden Curve
The Sword Review
T
Tales from the Black Abyss
Tangent Online
Teens Read and Write
Tehani Wessely
Temple Library Reviews
Tez Says
Thinking About Books
things mean a lot
Tor.com
True Science Fiction
Tyrion Frost’s Fantasy Blog
U
Ubiquitous Absence
Un:Bound
undeadbydawn
Urban Fantasy Land
Utter Randomonium
V
Val’s Random Comments
Vast and Cool and Unsympathetic
Variety SF
Veritias Omnia Vincula
Vons Books
W
Waiting for Fairies
Walk into Mordor
Walker of Worlds
Wands and Worlds
Wanderings
Wendy Palmer: Reading and Writing Genre Books and ebooks
Weirdmage’s Reviews
The Weirdside
The Wertzone
With Intent to Commit Horror
The Wizard of Duke Street
WJ Fantasy Reviews
The Word Nest
Wolfe and Raine
Wordsville
The World in a Satin Bag
WriteBlack
Writing About Reading
The Written World
The Wry Writer
X
Y
Z
Romanian
Cititor SF [with English Translation]
French
Chinese
Foundation of Krantas
The SF Commonwealth Office in Taiwan [with some English essays]
Yenchin’s Lair
Danish
Portuguese
Aguarras
Fernando Trevisan
Human 2.0
Life and Times of a Talkative Bookworm
Ponto De Convergencia
pós-estranho
Science Fiction Made in Brasil
Skavis
German
Fantasy Seiten
Fantasy Buch
Fantasy/SciFi Blog
Literaturschock
Welt der fantasy
Bibliotheka Phantastika
SF Basar
Phantastick News
X-zine
Buchwum
Phantastick Couch
Wetterspitze
Fantasy News
Fantasy Faszination
Fantasy Guide
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
February 25, 2011
Rabid Reads: "Sandman Slim" by Richard Kadrey

Sandman Slim
by Richard Kadrey
Eos (2009)
388 pages
ISBN 9780061976261
I would say Richard Kadrey demonstrates a rapier wit in his novel, Sandman Slim, but it's less like a rapier and more like a sawed-off shotgun. James Stark, the protagonist and narrator of this story, is brash and about as antihero as a character can get. Hell, this guy makes most antiheroes look like boy scouts.
Stark has a pretty good reason for being so pissed off, though. He's been in Hell for more than a decade, and upon learning his girlfriend has been murdered back on Earth, he's busted out of Down Town (Hell's nickname for itself) to return to L.A. and find the people responsible: his former circle of magician friends who sent him to Hell in the first place.
I suppose this novel fits nicely in the urban fantasy genre, what with it set in Los Angeles predominantly and has plenty of demons and magic, but the tone of the novel seems to defy the conventional idea of that sub-genre. There's more anger permeating through the text--it is a revenge tale after all. The quick-witted one-liners and fight scenes do lend themselves to that action-oriented fantasy adventure.
The beginning of the story sets the stakes really well, introducing important characters and alluding to others that appear later. But the first act seems to spin its wheels for a bit. It kind of meanders, or deviates, from the overlying mission Stark is on. It's entertaining, yes, but I had to wait a hundred pages or so for the book to really kick into high gear. But when it did, the book was impossible to put down.
Another plus for this book is that it works as a stand-alone novel, even though it's the first book in a trilogy (or maybe series) that usually forebodes some kind of cliffhanger or "to be continued" moment. Sandman Slim is a very satisfying reading experience all on its own, so I was spared the aggravating feeling that comes with so many books that serve as jump offs for trilogies.
I'll be looking forward to reading the sequel, Kill the Dead, in 2011. Fantasy tales with a barbed-wire tattoo instead of a tramp stamp are a welcome change of pace.
February 24, 2011
Rabid Rewind: Legion

starring Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Adrianne Palicki
directed by Scott Stewart
screenplay by Peter Schink & Scott Stewart
Screen Gems (2010)
It's a cryin' shame to see a movie that had potential to be a good pulpy action film wind up a disjointed mess like Legion. When I first saw trailers for this movie in late '09, I had my fingers crossed. Then I started catching the reviews for it, and my hopes were dashed. That's all a bit melodramatic, I suppose--and needlessly so--but so was this movie. For a film filled the most ridiculous action sequences and utter disregard for coherence, it takes itself very seriously.
The world's about to end because God has given up on humanity, so he's ordered his archangels to lead their armies to Earth to kill everyone--but most importantly to kill an unborn child. But Michael refuses and is cast out of Heaven. What makes the child so special? Beats the hell out of me, because the makers of this film didn't bother with the why. In fact, there are a lot of why's that are ignored throughout this movie.
So Michael falls to Earth and seeks out the child in a desolated diner in the Nevada desert, all the while the rest of the planet is razed by God's army of angels, led by the angel of death Gabriel. Now, part of the problem I had with the majority of the movie was how an army of angels was being held at bay by a rag-tag collection of humans and their arsenal of military-grade weaponry. Yes, the lesser angels possess humans of a weaker spirit, but half the cast holed up in the diner could be described as that, yet go unpossessed. It's irritating when a movie silently insists that you stop noticing the parade of imperfections.
It's not all bad. The performances from the actors are, for the most part, very watchable in spite of some very stilted dialogue and hair-brained scenarios. If there's a saving grace to the film, it's having actors like Dennis Quaid, Paul Bettany, and a couple others on the cast to lend a little gravity to key scenes. A lesser cast would have made this an abhorrent direct-to-DVD catastrophe.
Don't expect Legion 2 any time soon, although I wouldn't have expected Hollywood to make Wild Things 4, but there was a trailer for that on the DVD. God may not have given up on humanity, but sometimes when I see a bad movie, I do.
Authors I Follow
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Go Go Black T-Shirt!4 days ago
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On Old Friends and New Beginnings7 months ago
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Halloween Comes Early (AGAIN!)1 year ago
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“The Dollmaker” in Murky Depths Issue #186 years ago
