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  • Writer's pictureChristina Pfeiffer

6-23-24 Christina Critiques

Friends! Do I have some bangers for you this week. Serial killers and what happens in retirement, romance in the world of Gotrek and Felix, creepy kids, a creature feature, and some drugged up body horror.


Without further ado, let’s get into them.

 

WHERE MONSTERS LIE

By Kyle Starks


WHY ISN’T THIS MORE WIDELY KNOWN ABOUT!? Sorry, I used my outside voice inside but friends, FRIENDS! What a wonderfully gory and well thought out story line.


You know those serial killers in our favorite movies that somehow survive the final girl and then show up on the anniversary of their deaths 20 years later? Ever wonder what happens in that 20 years or so? Well, WHERE MONSTERS LIE tells you the tale but this one has a much different ending. One of the monsters doesn’t adhere to a very important rule and their secret may get out.


Seriously, currently my absolute favorite graphic novel. Just the creativity and the never ending gore is remarkable. The death scenes are so realistic looking (for a graphic novel, obviously.) Serial killers, revenge, final guy, old ladies, I mean, this has it all!


Perfection.


A HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND 5/5.


Order Here:

 

SHAMANSLAYER (Gotrek and Felix #11)

By Nathan Long


Oh, this one. Oh my heart. So… Felix has found out the truth about his Father’s death and has sworn to go after the murderers but Gotrek has found yet another doom that sounds like the doom to end all dooms! Along the way, Felix and Gotrek meet two characters that had been left in the past over 20 years and one just so happens to be a lady! Not Ulrika, that blood sucking bitch bag. No, no. Felix finds someone that just makes your heart swoon. BUT! They all must survive the thousands of gors and ungors to possibly have a happily ever after.


I wasn’t ready for this one, friends! Not at all. Eleven books in and Long got me. I was pouting on my front porch like a little girl with some of the plot. I couldn’t help it. And you won’t either. One would think that the characters and plot points have been exhausted and they would be so wrong. Somehow the formula continues to work. I had to immediately start ZOMBIESLAYER because well, read it and find out.


Chugging along with my lower lip out like my seven-year-old. 5/5.


Order Here:

 

EVIL LITTLE FUCKS

Edited by Steve Pajak and R.E. Sargent


This anthology is full of creepy ass kids doing creepy ass shenanigans. Let’s just dive in.


Pick Up Something Stitch by Rebecca Rowland - Um… holy teeth Batman. This was creepy, uncomfortably and creative AF.


Never Leave by John Durgin - A Stephen King-esque re-imagining of Peter Pan. Absolutely stellar.


The Butterfly Boy by Jeremy Megargee - At a young age, Dallas learns beauty equals cruelty. Heartbreaking and graphic.


The Drop-Off by Megan Stockton - Nope. Don’t have kids, people. Now I will be side eyeing mine until they are 18.


Three, Two, One by Bridgett Nelson - When three kids mess with the wrong big brother, there will be hell to pay.


The Crab Apple Game by Candace Nola - Don’t let Ginny play games with her siblings, she plays for keeps.


Wallflower by L.P. Hernandez - I think I may start a garden after reading this. So twisty you think you’re on a rollercoaster.


Rebirth of Hope by Lisa Vasquez - How far would you go to bring your child back to you?


What the Boys Have Been Up To by Kristopher Rufty - This story will ruin forts for you, you’ve been warned.


There Goes the Neighborhood by Rayne Havok - If your child gives you the creeps, put them outside and hope they survive.


Beware the Hurly Burly by Brian Asman - When a creepy pasta story comes to life, will anyone believe you?


Joey Eats Anything by Jeff Strand - Absolutely cackle inducing. Joey… is a garbage disposal.


The standouts were: Durgin, Stockton, Nola, Hernandez, and Strand. But, not a bad one in the bunch unlike those creepy ass kids.


A HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND 5/5.


Order Here:

 

BENEATH

By Ash Ericmore


Rick and Candy just wanted to spend some time together you know… adult time. wink When they meet a drug dealer, Bonnie, they decide to move bars and meet up with Ally. Well, they don’t get away from Bonnie, the scamp. On the run from those that want some money that Bonnie doesn’t have, they find a hole in the floor that leads to… well, you need to read it to find out.  But it ain’t pretty, friends.


Ash writes one of my most uncomfortable of environments to read, claustrophobic caves. There’s something about it that makes me hold my breath as the characters have to find their way through. And on top of that, there’s a raper raping. The narrator, S.J. Hunter, for having the creepiest laugh EVER! She really brought this terrifying tale to life.


As usual, Ericmore gives us perfection. 5/5.


Order Here:

 

ABHORRENT ACCORDS

By John Baltisberger


The Abhorrent has come back and it has come back in a big way in the form of a kaiju Axolotl. Think that’s scary, how about watching your loved ones get eaten by the afflicted? Or dealing with a demented Joel Osteen-type reverend who wants to purify the Earth of non-Christians?


AA is heartbreaking. The oppressive emotions that Baltisberger forces the reader to feel is often times too much. You have to set the story down, walk away, then come back. As with other novels or novellas by John, you feel him working through HIS emotions as well. The drug epidemic, the ability for political or religious persons to cause derision between groups to the point of killing, and how sometimes, when the world seems to fall around us, we just need our Mom.


Be prepared to get pissed off at Reverend Aiden King for the last time in the ending of the Abhorrent saga and make sure you pick the right side.


Stellar. 5/5.


Order Here:

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