REVIEW: Blood Mountain by Brenda S. Tolian

 

"Nothing ever prepares you for the strangeness on the mountain." - [12]

Blood Mountain by Brenda S. Tolian is a collection of twelve short stories which form part of a broader narrative centred around a truly harrowing and distinctly horror-infused locale destined to scare and intrigue the reader into a state of apprehensive giddiness and madness with each terrifying instalment. It's like watching the proverbial train crash, unwilling to look away until the last drop of blood hits the already red-stained pavement. 

Opening with 'Blood Mountain' and concluding with 'Seraphim', this collection comprises a delectable dish of horror to satisfy anyone's appetite for nightmare inducing storytelling; monsters, cannibalism, witchcraft, and ghosts to name a few; all manner of macabre is catered for. 

My personal favourites include the aforementioned 'Blood Mountain' which set the tone of the collection perfectly, 'The Stone Mother', 'Snake Man', 'William Zuni', 'The Turning of Tsetah Dibe', and 'What Remains', with an honourable mention to 'Slaughter Lodge' (such a great title and equally entertaining story) - but honestly, I'm just nit-picking, I love them all, however, if forced to pick my 'must read', check those out first. 

I wish more authors took the same approach to Brenda S. Tolian when publishing short story collections as I felt more connected to each instalment, thanks to the familiar setting and reappearing characters and themes (Undersheriff Blackwood and the Red Women spring to mind).

"It was like the mountain had a mouth that just ate them up, never to be seen again, or if they were found, they were in pieces." - Ink Poison

I can't wait to read what comes next!

Review: HERE GOES NOTHING by Steve Toltz

 

Here Goes Nothing is a difficult book to categorise as its doesn't conform to typical genre tropes; with elements of romance, horror, crime, and drama - there's a lot packed into this surreal story. 

Now, to the main character Angus Moody...

He's dead. 

No, that's not a spoiler, rather a key plot point, as the story primarily centres around Angus and his 'life after death' in a mystical realm not fully understood by even the longer term inhabitants who linger there. See Moody died a horrible death and pines for his 'living' wife back on Earth, Gracie, however, stuck in a supernatural realm located somewhere between heaven and hell, all he can do is haunt her (aka scare the sh!t out of her with his paranormal panache). It's during these hauntings that things really get interesting...

Forced to witness Gracie move on with her life (if I can say that, given Angus willingly seeks out Gracie in the 'real world'), he spirals into a state of perpetual torment leading to addiction, destructive behaviour, and questionable life, err, death choices. It's during these chapters I completely flipped on my feelings towards Angus and his killer...(let's just leave that gem there for prospective readers). 

The bigger picture plays out between these paranormal visitations and Angus's 'life' in death. Along the way we discover a little more about what makes Angus tick and how he views not only himself but the wife he left behind in the land of the living. It provokes a heady mix of sense and sensibility (cheesy I know but I had to do it) along with providing an interesting insight into Angus's moral compass. 

If I could sum up Here Goes Nothing in the most ominous way possible in four words it would be: when a stranger calls... let the imagination run wild, strap in, and prepare yourself for large chunks of time utterly consumed by this inventive and entertaining piece of surreal fiction by one of my new favourite authors in Steve Toltz. 

Pick Up A Pulp [84]: BIRD IN A GUILT-EDGED CAGE by Carter Brown

    "I need help," she said. "Badly. I need the help of a man like you, Senor Kane. A man who knows Hong Kong well, a man of action with not too many scruples." 

Andy Kane is a Hong Kong private investigator (probably more akin to a smuggler than P.I...) who typically deals in matters involving the recovery (often dangerous and unlawful recovery, that is) of expensive and rare artefacts for the savoury and unsavoury alike. 

In Bird in a Guilt-Edged Cage (1963), the follow-up to the first Andy Kane novel, Hong Kong Caper (1962), Kane and his co-detective Tess are accosted by the attractive and mysterious Carmen Diez to recover a family heirloom from the wealthy and seemingly shady businessman Mr. Mao. Under great sufferance, (after all having a scantly clad gorgeous babe throw herself at you with the promise of a big payday and herself as a sweetner isn't at all appealing to the womanising Kane!), Kane agrees to visit Mr. Mao at his heavily guarded compound to retrieve the 'Eagle of the Sun'. 

However, as per the formulaic nature of the Carter Brown mysteries, there's much more to the story and before long, Kane and Tess are wading their way through Hong Kong's backwaters on a junk boat, dodging bullets, army personnel, and hired guns - not to mention a second Carmel Diez with claims to the Eagle of the Sun! 

Like its predecessor Hong Kong Caper, Bird in a Guilt-Edged Cage is full of action; think back to those men's adventure novels where the hero always comes out on top and the women are always too quick to shed their clothes to prove how grateful they are to said hero. Whilst there's a healthy dose of that here, Bird in a Guilt-Edged Cage makes for entertaining reading with three distinct story arcs all tied together by some nice plot devices which certainly kept this reader on his toes, making for a more meaty and complex story compared to the run-of-the-mill pulps Carter Brown typically churned out in his prime publishing days.

Side note: Whilst Bird in a Guilt-Edged Cage can be read as a standalone I recommend checking out Hong Kong Caper first; it adds context and backstory to Kane and Tess - more of a bonus than essential reading.