At Dark, I Become Loathsome by Eric LaRocca

 From Eric LaRocca—Bram Stoker Award–nominated and Splatterpunk Award–winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke—comes At Dark, I Become Loathsome, a grim yet gentle, horrifying yet hopeful, intense tale of death, trauma, and love.

“If you’re reading this, you’ve likely thought that the world would be a better place without you.”

A single line of text, glowing in the darkness of the internet. Written by Ashley Lutin, who has often thought the same—and worse—in the years since his wife died and his young son disappeared. But the peace of the grave is not for him—it’s for those he can help. Ashley has constructed a peculiar ritual for those whose desire to die is at war with their yearning to live a better life.

Struggling to overcome his own endless grief, one night Ashley finds connection with Jinx—a potential candidate for Ashley’s next ritual—who spins a tale both revolting and fascinating. Thus begins a relationship that traps the two men in an ever-tightening spiral of painful revelations, where long-hidden secrets are dragged, kicking and screaming, into the light. Only through pain can we find healing. Only through death can we find new life.

Ashley Lutin is mired in grief and losing the will to live. He finds solace in a bizarre ritual he uses to help others make their way back from the depths of despair. Ashley becomes intrigued with a prospective client over a telephone discussion when he is told a depraved story. His obsessive thoughts and feelings of guilt lead him down a darker path where this ritual is no longer enough.

Themes of loss, regret, death, sexual fetish and deviation twist through stories within the story. I was simultaneously repulsed and fascinated by them.

I have loved everything I've read by Eric LaRocca so far. I had pre-ordered this book months before the sale date because he has fast become one of my must-read authors. Once it arrived, I was so busy with ARCs that it sunk to the bottom of my TBR. It would probably still be there if not for a message I saw from an internet troll claiming something along the lines of it not even being a normal horror book. So, thank you, unnamed troll for being the reason I read it this weekend.  I am so glad it wasn't normal. It's extraordinary, fresh, brilliant, and dares to be pitch dark. Highly recommended... to those who can handle it.

5 out of 5 stars

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Movie Review -Self Driver

 

Facing mounting expenses and the unrelenting pressure of modern living, a down-on-his-luck cab driver is lured on to a mysterious new app that promises fast, easy money. As his first night on the job unfolds, he is pulled ever deeper into the dark underbelly of society, embarking on a journey that will test his moral code and shake his understanding of what it means to have freewill. The question becomes not how much money he can make, but what he'll be compelled to do to make it. If you've got nothing to lose, how far would you go?

The film world premiered at the Fantaspoa - International Fantastic Film Festival, winning Best Film in the Low Budget, Great Films section and went on to play Fantasia Festival where it won the New Flesh Award for Best First Feature, Grimmfest, taking home the award for Best Actor and receiving a Special Mention of the Jury for Best Director, Macabro Festival Internacional de Cine de Horror, MidWest WeirdFest, and Panic Fest.

Cinephobia Releasing acquired rights to the film in a deal negotiated between Cinephobia President Raymond Murray, and Justyna Koronkiewicz, Owner of Media Move. Self Driver will arrive on VOD, digital on May 8.

I was invited to view an early screener of Self Driver which will be available in the US on May 8.

Self Driver stars Nathanael Chadwick as a new dad who lost his office job to a corporate merger, and now struggles to support his family by using a ride-share app. He spends his days and sometimes nights shuffling people to and fro while avoiding calls from his landlord. When he is told by one of these riders that there is a new app where he can make thousands of dollars per night, plus a sign-up bonus he is intrigued, but wary. Desperation makes him throw caution to the wind and sign up even though his question of its legality goes unanswered.

The new app is utilized by an unusual clientele, and if he refuses any rider, he will lose all of the money he has made. As the night goes on, he will learn what he is willing to do or participate in to make money.

This low-budget thriller takes place almost entirely in the car, and although this is a money saving option that other films have utilized poorly, it was well done here and never boring. Chadwick gives a believable and completely relatable performance. At some points, it felt as if the car became a character in the movie. 

I rated this 8 out of 10 stars on IMDB

Self Driver will arrive on VOD, digital on May 8.

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Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

 

This "brilliant" (NYT) and Bram Stoker Award-winning novella opens with twelve-year-old Junior wide-eyed at his father's surprise visit to the family home late one night and increasingly desperate to make him part of their family again. The only problem, of course, is that Dad drowned eight years ago. When it's revealed that the cost of new life is far too high a price, Junior fiercely protects his mom and younger brother Dino, battling generational trauma and societal inequity alongside the supernatural. 

Walking through his own house at night, a young boy thinks he sees another person stepping through a doorway. The figure reminds him of his long-dead father, who drowned mysteriously before his family left the reservation. When he follows it, he discovers his house is bigger and deeper than he ever knew.

The house is the kind of wrong place where you can lose yourself and find things you'd rather not have. Over the course of a few nights, the boy tries to map out his house in an effort that puts his younger brother in the worst danger, and puts him in the position to save them . . . at a terrible cost.

"You can leave the reservation, but your income level will still land you in a reservation house, won't it?"

After the death of his father, Junior, his little brother Dino, and their mom have left the reservation. They've moved into a small rented modular home. 

Junior is a sleepwalker, and Dino has some learning disabilities that attract bullies, but Junior protects him as best he can.

"I was twelve the first time I saw my dead father cross from the kitchen doorway to the hall that led back to the utility room."

Mapping the Interior is a coming-of-age tale with a touch of grief and a generous serving of terror. When Junior first spots what he believes is his dead father, he takes it as a favorable sign of healing for his family. I was emotionally invested in that hope as well. I read this novella in one sitting because there was no way I was going to be able to function without knowing how Junior's dad died and whether this manifestation was good or evil. After racing through to the end, I was sorry that it was over. That's how much I was enjoying it. 

My thanks to Tor Nightfire for the paperback.

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Monster Bones edited by Stephanie Ellis and Noel Osualdini

 

Since time immemorial, humans have feared monsters. Whether they be real or imagined, stories of their existence have been told and retold, becoming either legend or urban myth.

Within the pages of Monster Bones are to be found the horrors that haunt the evil spirit, the revenant, the occult—creatures of different cultures who know no borders—as well as the monster made within ourselves. The rusalka who lurks in the water, the ghûl lurking in the graveyard, the cannibal skeleton, the geung-si, the anchimayen... the human. These are the monsters who seek to feed on us, suck the marrow from light and life.

But you can arm yourself against them, read their stories and learn from those who have gone before. You never know, it might save you one day. So, crack the spine, turn the page and dig in to Monster Bones...

Including stories and poems by Gwendolyn Kiste, David Wellington, Ben Monroe, Lisa Morton, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Maxwell I. Gold, Theresa Matsuura, Cindy O’Quinn, F. Paul Wilson, Stephanie Ellis, Joe R Lansdale, Kasey Jo Lansdale and Keith Lansdale, Eugen Bacon, Linda D. Addison, Lucy Taylor and Ai Jiang.

Published as a paperback and ebook

Features no fewer than 10 pieces of commissioned artwork from the award winning Luke Spooner.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Monster Bones contains a smorgasbord of stories, poems, and artwork that serve up a satisfying meal for any horror lover's appetite. Some have been previously published, but all were new to me. I did wonder why “The Companion” seemed so familiar to me even though I am positive I never read it before. Then I realized it had been turned into one of my favorite episodes of Creepshow a few years back. It was a treat to read it here.

There are familiar monsters including vampires and ghouls, and more unusual but no less deadly beings that I had never heard of such as the rusalka, a terrifying creature of Slavic folklore.

Gorgeous artwork and a slew of monsters from around the globe make this a fun and freaky read.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications for the e-ARC

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