7-19-25 — Danielle’s Dark Corners
- Christina Pfeiffer
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
EARLY REVIEW
CABIN BLACK
By: Dan Shrader
“Some curses don’t die. Especially not the old ones. Especially not the ones placed in vengeance.”
I have read every single story and book that Dan Shrader has published. We entered the horror community around the same, albeit different roles, so it’s been really neat to see where he started to where he is now. Cabin Black is hands down Shrader at his absolute best. This book was one hell of a ride with so many twists and turns.
When a group of friends decides to go to a cabin in support of their artist friend, the dissent into madness gets real. And Shrader does a phenomenal job at making the readers feel it. It is brutal at times and has some solid body horror along with possession.
For fans of Hellraiser, The Evil Dead, Event Horizon, and The Cell… this one is for you.
Themes you can expect are:
Haunting and possession.
Disturbing history.
Tortured artist.
Grotesque body horror.
Love cradled by obsession.
Legacy of violence.
Art as a parasite.
Per Dan Shrader:
“I WANTED TO CRAFT A STORY THAT INTERTWINES CLASSIC HORROR TROPES
WHILE GIVING THEM A FRESH TWIST AND ELEVATING THE THEMES TO THE LEVELS OF BARKER AND CRONENBERG. I HOPE TO PAY TRIBUTE TO THE MANY REMARKABLE AUTHORS AND DIRECTORS WITHIN THE GENRE. THESE STORIES OF THEIRS INFLUENCED ME SO MUCH."
And he did just that… plus so much more. Cabin Black gets an easy five stars from me. It will be available on September 8th, so mark your calendars and make sure to get your hands on this one.
THE LOLLIPOP MAN
By: Kevin Sweeney
“A wheel rolled right over one of the escort’s testicles, which burst like a zit, sending a comet tail of semen across the floorboards.”
The Lollipop Man is an absolute unhinged gore fest, and I was living for every second of it. At just under 150 pages, I read this bad boy in two sittings. It’s fast paced, has a lot going on, and with twist after twist, you can’t turn the pages fast enough. Be careful who you make fun of as a kid… you never know who might show back up to play the role of karma themselves…
The characters were super solid, and the kill scenes were unique and actually quite vile. I really loved Sweeney’s writing style. And while I did cringe at some of the gag worthy moments, somehow, I managed to get a few chuckles out too. As unhinged and wild as parts of this story can get, please note that it’s told really damn well with a great plot.
It is definitely not for the faint of heart… so don’t say you haven’t been warned! The ending was such a *chefs kiss* moment too. This is definitely an author I now plan on binge reading more of. That being said, everyone looking for some depraved action needs to get over to Godless and grab this book asap.
BELOW THE BURROW
By: Taylor Z. Adams
“A deep, low laugh that rang through the house, an endless symphony of different, twisted voices all harmonizing together.”
Ya know those books that literally induce anxiety and make your heart race, so you HAVE to keep reading to find out what happens next? Okay, yeah. This is one of those books. At 80 pages this was a read in one sitting novella for me. I’ve said in other reviews that cosmic horror isn’t my typical go to trope but after reading quite a few this year, they’re definitely growing on me. And this book is another reason why.
Like most books, I went in blind, so I had no clue what to expect. I was so not expecting what I ended up getting, but Adams told an amazing and unique story. Five sisters living in a tree house with something unknown that lives in the woods. Now it’s up to one of them to figure out what the heck is going on. And there’s a whole lot that goes on!
Another thing I really loved about this book is the vast audience it would appeal to. This is a book I would even let a younger crowd read. But an older crowd would also enjoy it just as much! It’s very weird, but in the good way that you want a book like this to be.
Below the Burrow is available on Amazon now, and I would really recommend it to essentially any and everyone!