Review: DOLL FACE by Tim Curran

From the back of the book:
Six friends are returning home from a night out when they end up in a town called Stokes. They discover they are trapped there, as Stokes does not really exist. The actual town had burned to the ground more than fifty years ago. The Stokes they are in is a nightmare version of the former town, engineered by a deranged and undead mind, a supernatural machine of wrath that will destroy them one by one....unless they submit to its dominance and become living dolls.

My Review:
DOLL FACE encapsulates all that is horror in a short, sharp-paced novel that never fails to raise goose bumps and shorten the breath using pulse pounding scare tactics and in-you-face gruesome and gore.

What DOLL FACE lacks, however, is editing. Whilst the novel itself is comparably short when measured up against its modern day horror genre counterparts, the repetitive teen-type horror antics seemingly more prevalent in the late 1990's and early 2000's horror-as-a-pop-culture boom do grow tiresome. After all, there are only so many 'turn a corner and see something horrible and run away' scenes you can fit into a single flowing narrative. 

That said, those scenes were very well written and really did capture that shock and awe/scare moment perfectly. I can't help but think their impact would've been more had there been less of them. 

As far as the story itself, the horror aspects did tend to lean towards a combination of Silent Hill (the movie) and generic survival horror. The blend was there, the mix of characters, however, didn't do all that much for me as I struggled to feel any emotion towards them.

DOLL FACE has flashes of brilliance marred by stretches of monotonous horror.

Review: Valiant Masters: SHADOWMAN VOL.1 - SPIRITS WITHIN

From the back of the book:
Jack Boniface nearly died one night - attacked by something out of a nightmare. But since that terrifying experience something has changed. Now, when darkness falls, a feeling comes over him, an urge to destroy the demons that would defile the New Orleans night. Wild, reckless, and hell-bent on eliminating evil in all its forms, Jack is now his city's new protector - the nocturnal avenger simply called Shadowman. A deluxe hardcover collecting Shadowman's legendary first appearance in the original Valiant Universe, featuring classic work by Steve Ditko, Steve Englehart, Bob Hall, David Lapham, Jim Shooter, and more, this volume collects Shadowman (1992) #0-7, and material from Darque Passages (1994) #1.

My Review:
A collection such as this which doesn't have a singular narrative voice by virtue of the condensed story arc's and 'one-and-done' individual issue reads makes it difficult to review in the traditional form as I would a graphic novel or single story arc - so I'm changing things up with this one, referring to keynotes rather than a holistic review (which I don't think would do the collection justice).

The character has a personal life, whilst the darkness is always lurking beneath, Jack Boniface, Jazz musician and single guy in New Oreleans has romantic encounters and also has to explain his bumps and bruises to his friends and acquaintances. This is a vigilante series that goes beyond the superhero facade. 

The pre UNITY SAGA issues (#1-3) read well as standalone's and were atmospheric.

The UNITY SAGA tie-in issues (#4-5) were seamlessly integrated into the overarching narrative.

Favorite moment - when Jack appears from beneath the swamp water in #6, the first post UNITY SAGA issue, seemingly only moments before diving beneath the surface in #3 - a great way to maintain continuity.  

I would've liked this volume to have included SHADOWMAN #8 as the conclusion of #7 felt like it needed another issue to finish the plot at a logical point. That aside, this was a great collection. 

Maxim St James, the Shadowman of SHADOWMAN #0 is great - from the origin, design and temperament - I'll def be tracking down back issues from the 1990's to see if he appears more.

I loved the characters listed in DARQUE PASSAGES #1 such as Darque's minions, Mademoiselle Jannie Noir, Abdul, Jawib - these are character's I'd like to see revisited by Valiant at some stage. 

In summary - I was very pleased with this collection and will need to look at some of the other Valiant Masters material. 

GIVEAWAY: And the winner of THE BURIED LIFE is...

The winner of THE BURIED LIFE giveaway, thanks to Angry Robot books is Tim Matthews.

Congratulation Tim, I'm sure you will enjoy the book as much as I did.

A representative from Angry Robot will be in touch with you shortly to delivery your ebook copy of the book. 

From the back of the book:

The gaslight and shadows of the underground city of Recoletta hide secrets and lies. When Inspector Liesl Malone investigates the murder of a renowned historian, she finds herself stonewalled by the all-powerful Directorate of Preservation – Ricoletta’s top-secret historical research facility. 

When a second high-profile murder threatens the very fabric of city society, Malone and her rookie partner Rafe Sundar must tread carefully, lest they fall victim to not only the criminals they seek, but the government which purports to protect them. Knowledge is power, and power must be preserved at all costs...