8-31-25 — Christina Critiques

It’s Sunday! You know what that means - blood, porn stars, and westerns? Wait… checks notes … nope, that’s all factual.

Let’s get into the craziness I have for you this week.

BOOKS OF BLOOD VOL. 5

By: Clive Barker

Release: 2013

Page count: 222

KU: No       Hoopla: No

Synopsis: Four more stories featuring prisons of the characters making as well as by others. (Features the Candyman short story)

First line: “When Cleveland Smith returned to his cell after the interview with the landing office, his new bunk mate was already in residence, staring at the dust-infested sunlight through the reinforced glass window.”

Favorite line: “Nobody ever just passed through, experience always left its mark. Sometimes it merely scratched; on occasion it took of arms.”

Thoughts: So far, this volume has been my least favorite. Three stories just didn’t work for me BUT The Candyman story was/is enough to carry the others. Now, don’t get me wrong, the other three aren’t terrible, I just expected more out of them. The commonality of prisons or containment was impressive. The way Barker can world build for the reader while adding that tense atmosphere will never fail to impress me though. One volume to go!

Rating: 4/5

Other recommendations: Any of the other volumes

Find it here: https://a.co/d/1m6kJJg

LANDIS: The Story Of A Real Man On 42nd Street

By: Preston Fassel

Release: 12/7/21

Page count: 121

KU: Yes       Hoopla: No

Synopsis: Bill Landis AKA Mr. Sleaziod AKA Bobby Spector wasn’t a one trick pony and here is his story - the good, the bad, and the ugly, a life cut short but no less impressive.

First line: “It’s a sweaty autumn afternoon in a motel in Nyack, and there is a panic in the air.”

Favorite line: “Anything that’s sexually ambiguous makes these nerds very nervous.”

Thoughts: Well, this was a stellar non-fiction gem. I had never heard of Bill Landis and surely did not know the influence he had on reviewing grindhouse and more underground cinema. And that’s just the tip of the life of Landis - he was a porn star (stunt cock), ran a zine, knew numerous Hollywood elite, a drug user and finally, a husband and father. Fassel gives the reader one of the most well-researched and in depth biographies I’ve ever read.

Rating: 5/5

Other recommendations: OUR LADY OF THE INFERNO, BEASTS OF 42ND STREET

Find it here: https://a.co/d/2JX1ZGK

A TOMBSTONE TAYLOR FRONTIER JUSTICE ADVENTURE TRILOGY

FEAST OF BUZZARDS - Book 1

By: Chuck Buda

Release: 8/15/24

Page count: 118

KU: Yes     Hoopla: No

Synopsis: When Shane Taylor returns from picking up a few items, he comes home to all he knows and loves dead or kidnapped. Come hell or death, he will get his revenge. One bullet at a time.

First line: “Shane Taylor hated fending for himself.”

Favorite line: “True, dead bodies are indeed evidence. However, without witnesses, the evidence points to nobody.”

Thoughts: I love westerns, most know this about me. I especially love them if they have an insane amount of tension, a kickass revenge arc, and are on the shorter side. OH! And the sexual assault happens off page, which makes the assault all that much worse. Our imaginations can do so much worse that way. This is my first from Buda but I will continue the series (as you will see below). There are too many questions my nosy ass needs answers to.

Rating: 5/5

Find it here: https://a.co/d/ipJvAw7

ITCHY TRIGGER FINGER - Book 2

By: Chuck Buda

Release: 9/15/24

Page count: 110

KU: Yes     Hoopla: No

Synopsis: Continuing his promise to kill every one of the Boucher gang members, Tombstone Taylor (as he is now referred to as) hollows the trail to Plainview, TX to avenge Emma but then he meets Philly. Will he survive his conscience and the Boucher gang?

First line: “Shane rode ten paces behind a wagon train from Oklahoma.”

Favorite line: “I believe you’re right. With a nickname like yours, they’d do well to settle their affairs before you arrive.”

Thoughts: Oh, Tombstone, you handsome devil you! As if a mute, traumatized girl you vowed to avenge AND methodically hunting each member of the gang wasn’t enough, now Philly is added to the mix? Out manned and out of plans, Taylor must get creative - will killing and with maintaining his innocence for Emma. Buda is SO great at creating that tension and anxiety for the reader. The twists, the reader never sees coming and the action rarely stops. This series is quickly becoming a favorite.

Rating: 5/5

Find it here: https://a.co/d/6PqShHc

GET YOUR GUN - Book 3

By: Chuck Buda

Release: 10/15/24

Page count: 105

KU: Yes       Hoopla: No

Synopsis: And finally, we mosey to Odessa, TX and the final showdown. Problem is, now Taylor isn’t just fighting the Boucher gang but also a lawman that has been hot on his trail since the ranch.

First line: “The streets of Odessa resembled the residents. Treacherous and pockmarked with danger.”

Favorite line: “Yer shirt is yella like yer belly.”

Thoughts: End of the line for Tombstone or Boucher. Only one can survive. Throughout the three novellas, the reader watches Taylor grow but is also shown that he is extremely flawed - in heart, soul, and mind. A hot head who may be a bit too loyal. Honestly, I would have given up in chapter 1 in the first book but not our Tombstone. An absolute must read trilogy for those that love westerns but aren’t ready for Splatterwesterns. These are the perfect in between.

Rating: 5/5

Find it here: https://a.co/d/bmzqcG6