Guy N. Smith, known for his creature feature, B (or even C) grade pulp horror shifts gears and this time gives us his other writing penchant: witches Guy N. Smith, known for his creature feature, B (or even C) grade pulp horror shifts gears and this time gives us his other writing penchant: witches and the ever popular good versus evil.
This time it’s Bobbie Wheeler, a girl born from the genes of 2 competing witches. Torn between the light and dark and hidden away at a boarding school to keep her sheltered from her evil father, it isn’t long before the sinister ways of her dead dad (and the lure of Satan) influence her life. Before long she’s Satan’s acolyte and has started a Coven full of sex, violence, and every other Satanic cliche readers have come to know.
Honestly, Smith should have just stuck to the attacking crabs and bats books he was so famous for because Witch Spell is a mess…which is saying a lot considering this was an original Zebra.
From the beginning to the very end, nothing about this book is any good. Things happen so quickly that there is little buildup or understanding. One second Bobbie is a nervous virgin and within 3 paragraphs she’s a harlot, sleeping with anyone, boys or girls. She is wondering about the voices in her head and by the end of the sentence, she’s a professional Satan worshipper. The same with the students at the school. With hardly any exposition, Bobbie suddenly is able to influence basically the entire school to be full of followers of Satan. She does random things that are never explained. The fellow level headed teachers suddenly turn into either killers or rapists…or both. Bonnie’s dead mom returns at the end of the story for literally no reason except a badly written deus ex machina. And true to Smith form, there’s a ton of illicit sex (which is fine), except it’s done for shock value with hardly any bearing on the story (except, of course, apparently when you worship Satan, you need to have a shit load of dirty, violent and S&M influenced intercourse).
This book’s one saving grace is that it’s wicked fast and incredibly easy to read. Just like in every other one of his 60+ novels, Smith doesn’t waste time with trying to be a wordsmith.
Still though, Witch Spell is a dud. It may not be the absolute worst thing I’ve read (or that Smith has written), but it’s a far cry from his gloriously trashy Crabs series....more
A rare sequel that somehow manages to leave the original in the dust as Huston ups the ante with nearly every conceivable situatSpooktober 2023 Book 8
A rare sequel that somehow manages to leave the original in the dust as Huston ups the ante with nearly every conceivable situation of man eating slugs.
Breeding Ground is a truly insane horror novel, making Guy N Smith creature features feel like nursery rhymes in comparison. This book is chocked to the brim with blood, guts, graphic sex, unflinching and purely unrestrained violence on nearly every damn page.
Usually this over the top reveling in gratuitous violence turns me off, but Hutson makes every instance of spilled viscera unbelievably fun.
To be honest, this really should surprise not a single person who knows Hutson and his penchant for glorious trash. The dude made an unapologetic name for himself by penning these kind of stories and books like this prove why his name is so synonymous with horror. ...more
Werewolves have become a staple of horror fiction these days (especially in regards to having sex with them…yeah I don’t get it either) but i3.5 stars
Werewolves have become a staple of horror fiction these days (especially in regards to having sex with them…yeah I don’t get it either) but in 1979, when The Nightwalker was published, the idea of lycanthropy in fiction wasn’t nearly as popular.
Tessier jumped on the chance, penning a well written and unique take on the creature that eschews the cliches and pitfalls that come with telling a story in this sub genre. I’ll give credit to Tessier for what he did with it. It’s dark, stifling, and describes the underworld of late 70’s London in a way that legit feels seedy and sleazy.
The issue is that it’s way too ambiguous. Is Ives REALLY a werewolf or is he just insane? Parts of the explanation of his condition are also confusing and don’t lead to many answers…though in the afterward, Tessier himself states this was his intention.
I actually preferred the included novella “The Dreams of Dr. Ladybank”. In typical Tessier fashion, he tells a claustrophobic fever dream of mind control and madness that works and ends on an extremely bleak note. ...more
No other place in the world contains such a plethora of different walks of society. And nowhere is that more clear than on the sub1986. New York City.
No other place in the world contains such a plethora of different walks of society. And nowhere is that more clear than on the subway. What’s also clear is that despite its importance, the subway is gross, dirty and unsafe. Whether it’s the chance of sitting next to a dirty bum or getting mugged, you ride the subway at your own risk. It’s even more dangerous when a serial killer rides the rails, slaughtering passengers and drinking their sweet, life sustaining blood.
It doesn’t take long for all hell to break lose when an unlucky victim falls prey to this vampire, and, as he discovers his new found powers of vampirism, t’s up to his friends to put a stop to his evil ways before the entirety of the lower east side becomes a warren of undead bloodsuckers.
Widely regarded as one of the best vampire novels ever written and seen as the the first true “splatterpunk” novel, I can understand why people go nuts over The Light at the End. Really, I can. I mean, the book is mean, excessively violet and gory, and contains some of the most ghoulish and gross vampires in recent literature. Plus, it’s written sarcastically, with an acerbic style that oozes counter culture at every juncture and makes no apologies for its almost dark humor like tone.
But I feel that’s the only reason people enjoy Light at the End Because if we’re going on story elements alone, this one is lacking anything significant.
Yes, it’s bloody and sprays viscera at every chance it gets, however that’s all it does. The characters are too numerous and the ones that get more than a few minutes of page time all manage to get under your skin to the extent that they’re annoying. Our female lead just wants to get laid and gets jealous at everyone who manages to do the deed. Joseph, the main male protagonist walks around angry at everyone, and would benefit from therapy instead of killing vampires. And speaking of vampires, the antagonistic creature is a whimpering simp who’s only claim to fame is that he manages to be in the wrong place and wrong time.
The story itself goes on a pretty pedestrian path (complete with stakes and holy water). It’s only unique feature is that most of the settings involve New York subway trains instead of Transylvanian castles.
Maybe I’m just not into this kind of writing anymore and I’m really a literary hipster who prefers more depth in his reading choices, but whatever the case, I found this to be a chore to get though as I was bored from about 25% of the way on. Had this been cut down by about pages, I probably would have enjoyed my time reading it a bit more. Oh well. Such is life.
Well I’ll be on the naughty list for sure this year after reading Sonnet’s latest novella. Santasploitation is dirty, gross, and the kind of 3.5 stars
Well I’ll be on the naughty list for sure this year after reading Sonnet’s latest novella. Santasploitation is dirty, gross, and the kind of Christmas gift you’d get in your stocking next to a lump of coal and a switch. In other words, this is NOT a tale full of Christmas joy.
And yet, despite its dark and mean spirited tone, in typical fashion, Sonnet somehow makes a very NSFW holiday novella incredibly readable and hard to put down. Hell, I actually felt sorry for poor old Saint Nick after finishing this.
Honestly though, at this point I shouldn’t be surprised since she’s managed to keep me buying her stuff for the past 2 years, even though she tends to write in the sub genre of horror that I’m not usually a big fan of. And even then Santasploitation toes the line with dark humor and bizarro than straight up extreme horror.
So if you want a different take on the holidays and aren’t easily offended, give this quick little novella a read, but don’t expect sugarplum fairies and helpful elves on the shelf. ...more
Finally, a vampire story that wasn’t stale, boring, or full of moody suburban teenagers who just wanSpooktober 2022 Book 2
Making vampires sexy again!
Finally, a vampire story that wasn’t stale, boring, or full of moody suburban teenagers who just want love.
Live Girls is sleazy, scummy, and dirty. Dark, depressing and Full of blood, sex, and an incredibly bleak tone that encapsulated the seedy undertone of 1980s New York, THIS is how all vampire novels should read.
It’s clear why this one was a Bram Stoker finalist back in 87 and why it’s still usually regarded as one of the best in the business....more
Apparently this is a very sought after book. Not because it’s good, but because of the cover art. And I gotta admit that that is a pretty appealing coApparently this is a very sought after book. Not because it’s good, but because of the cover art. And I gotta admit that that is a pretty appealing cover. Just look at it: a big boobed blond chick holding up a stuffed panda bear in obvious desire. I mean, it got me to pick up the book.
And I guess what you see is what you get because, in all honesty, Panda Bear Passion isn’t very good. While there is a very minor subplot that wasn’t terrible, the rest of this 179 page novel is just an excuse to pen some of the worst masturbatory material I’ve read since I made the mistake of reading 40 pages of Fifty Shades of Gray.
I’m a straight male so of course I like women and descriptions of women and having sexual with women, but good God, this was almost enough to make me want to be a virgin. Hitt’s descriptions of intercourse become repetitive to the point of boring. Every page is the same sentence of how the main character can see a woman’s breasts through her shirt, or how the main character’s head begins to throb when the opportunity for sex is near. Even worse, the sex itself is super lame and way Hitt writes it feels like something a 6th grade boy would think it goes.
”Excitement ripped through him. Her breasts were wild mountains of pulsing flesh. He could hear the rapid beating of her heart, her heavy breathing. He moved his hand and she spread her legs wide. His fingers probed her and she trembled. He drove his finger deeper and she sighed, shuddering, holding onto him tight. Removing his hand from her, he began on top of her as he did so. She brought her knees up, bending them, giving him room. With a groan he lowered himself onto her, his manhood searching to claim her charms. ‘Ram it into me,’ she commanded, writhing beneath him.”.
I suppose if this was a one time occurrence, it wouldn’t be too terrible, but this is the same kind of thing that happens at least once a chapter, and sometimes as many as every other page. If Hitt was trying to get his readers to blush and feel all “hot and heavy”, he completely lost that after his first attempt.
I think there is supposed to be some kind of redemption story somewhere in the pages of Panda Bear Passion but it’s hard to feel any kind of kindness towards its main characters. Frank is a peeping Tom, a borderline incel who’s one desire is to rape any woman that looks vaguely familiar to a woman he once saw naked. All of the women are written as conniving whores who use men to get what they want. Even the sympathetic Edith is described as an “easy lay” and the office slut.
I should also mention that this book was clearly produced at the bare bottom level of quality. Typos and errors abound on every page.
In closing, I get that Panda Bear Passion was written in a different time for an audience that didn’t have the same Views on women and sex that we do in 2021. I’m not stupid enough or brainwashed enough to try and cancel or out this book (hell, it’s not even in print anymore and ridiculously difficult to find anyways), but I can definitely say that it’s far from great. I guess that In 1968 this novel did what it was supposed to do so I can’t fault Orrie Hitt for probably achieving his goals. And, in such an outwardly conservative decade, I’m sure Panda Bear Passion made more than a few readers either blush or get wet. So, 2 stars for that. ...more
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