Biggun: A Short Story - L. X. Cain

RATING: TWO STARS

Biggun: A Short Story tells the tale of a young mother who is trapped in her house during a zombie apocalypse. Her resources are dwindling and she is left with Biggun -- a shotgun given to her by her father -- to protect her young baby. Zombies are everywhere and they quickly realise that the young woman is barricaded in her home. Their attempts to invade it are relentless and eventually they are bound to ooze through her defences . . .

The Good
L. X. Cain has done a pretty good job with the story and has managed to paint a convincing picture of a mother desperately trying to protect her baby. He has thrown an interesting aspect into the story (which I won't spoil for you, but will be fairly obvious if you read it), which helps make it stand out from the other, more conventional zombie kill-fests out there.

The Bad
As with any zombie apocalypse book, the story itself is fairly predictable and isn't anything special. It's full of rotting corpses, gnashing teeth and the death the doom of the world brings. If you're looking for something new and deeply engaging, Biggun will definitely leave you feeling a bit disappointed.

My Thoughts
Biggun is exactly what it is says on the cover and is undeniably a short story. I doubt it'll take you much longer than fifteen minutes or so to read, but those fifteen minutes are fairly enjoyable. Cain has done a reasonable job in establishing a character and a snippet of her life in the short amount of prose he has used. The book certainly isn't something that you should rush online to buy, but it's perfect if you just want to kill a bit of time by diving in gristly horror.

The Hellbound Heart - Clive Barker

RATING: FIVE STARS

Frank Cotton is bored of life: long, wild years have left him unable to find excitement and his lustful, lecherous nature has left him unable to find love or satisfaction. It was upon his travels that he first heard of Lemarchand's Box, a gateway to the world of the Cenobites – beings that can bring untold pleasures. After years he manages to attain it, but what is pleasurable for a human may be very different to that of sadistic demons . . . Soon, Frank may wish that he left the otherworldly monsters completely alone . . .

The Good

The Hellbound Heart is a novella so maintains a very fast, exciting pace throughout its 128 pages. Despite its short word count, Clive Barker doesn't skimp on description and manages to build a vivid picture of the mutilated Cenobites and the torture they are able to inflict on us mortals. His tight, inventive language really adds to the atmosphere of horror he creates and the book is nearly as shocking as Hellraiser (1987), its Hollywood adaptation.

Many of you might have seen Hellraiser even if you haven''t read the book, so you know that the story itself is clever and pretty unique. I liked its slightly unconventional view of the demonic arts, where Frank actually called the Cenobites himself because he was eager to sample to pleasures they were reputed to provide. Barker also managed to twist my emotions in the story, so I was actually routing for the antagonist for much of it, as I could really see why he was so eager to escape from the Order of the Gash!

The Bad

As might be expected for one of Barker’s horrors, the book can be a little gory in places and he certainly has no qualms about describing blood and death. The Hellbound Heart can also be a little crude and, with scenes of torture and nonchalant murder, it certainly isn't for the faint hearted!

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed reading The Hellbound Heart and it has been one of the best horrors I've read in a long time. It has a dark, morbid story that is full of torture and death and Barker has a very clever way of writing that conveys a lot of imagery in just a few words. The book is undisputedly worthy of its place on my ‘Shelf of Fame’ and I will certainly be reading more of Clive Barker’s work. I suggest you do the same!

I Am Legend - Richard Matheson

RATING: THREE STARS

I didn't really know what to expect from I Am Legend, as I've already seen the film (2007) and had heard that the novel was very different. As it turns out, the book is VERY different and for starters, I was surprised to find that Richard Matheson's monsters were vampires rather than those angry zombie things!

Despite this, the basic premise of the book was what I expected: set in a post-apocalyptic world, Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth. Life is hard for Neville and he has to use all of his wits to survive the vampires that hunt him. Innovation is essential and he constantly works to safeguard his home while grappling with the demons of loneliness and celibacy.

Day to day, he dedicates himself to two things: killing as many vampires as he can find and searching for a cure. Despite knowing very little about medicine and biology, Neville is hopeful and manages to unveil a great many facets about vampire kind . . .

The Good

Matheson does a remarkable job in developing Neville's character and I could really believe that he is a man struggling to come to terms with the lonely existence that has been forced on him. Throughout the book, Matheson really describes Neville's thought processes, fears and ambitions and his character goes through several, believable transitions that were extremely interesting to read about.

Matheson’s ideas about vampires are also extremely well thought out and he has used real science in his explanation of them as a species and how they came to be. He has linked these ideas well with different human cultures to give them a real depth. In addition to this, Matheson hasn't gone overboard with blood and violence like many modern horror movies and books do, instead using his language to tell the story.

The story is also paced well. It's not a long book, with its length being perfect to tell Neville's heart-breaking story without growing stale – because let’s face it, there’s only so much an author can do with one character surviving in a world of vampires before it grows old!

The Bad

The main gripe I had with I Am Legend is that it really wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. Despite being a book about vampires trying to murder and suck Neville dry, there were very few scenes of horror in it. Although I think the Hollywood ‘blood and gore’ routine is getting a bit unnecessary now (as most modern horror films are simply slashers with various monsters in them), I did expect a certain level of it to have been included in the book . . . 

My Thoughts

I Am Legend is certainly a remarkable book, in which Matheson has really excelled himself. The book is well thought out, well executed and suddenly throws events at you from nowhere. I would certainly recommended reading it as it’s much better than the film!

The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

RATING: FOUR STARS

Written in the first person, The Wasp Factory tells a few weeks of the disturbing life of Frank Cauldhame – a young man who has grown up on an isolated Scottish island with his estranged father. Life there is bizarre for Frank; basically, because his father never registered his birth so he doesn't technically exist! This means that Frank didn’t go to school, can’t get a job and has but a single friend. So what does Frank do? Kill, of course: the decapitated heads of dead animals adorn the island and watch for intruders; gerbils and mice are catapulted to watery graves in tribute to Old Saul; and then, of course, there are people. Frank’s brother is dead; his two cousins are dead . . .

But Frank’s time is too valuable for these pastimes alone and he walks the enlightened path of the Wasp Factory . . . Furthermore, his dog-burning brother has escaped from a lunatic asylum and has begun to make his destructive way home. Frank knows that he will need all of his power, all of his skills, if he is to meet his brother and stop him from going back.

The Good

The vivid darkness of Iain Banks’ imagination in The Wasp Factory is staggering and he has really managed to create a warped, scarily insane character that is both believable and relatable. In fact, his narrations of Frank’s thought processes is astounding and really make it clear why Frank does the things he does, along with what he is hoping to achieve by them. This had the odd effect of making me sympathise with Frank in some places, despite being utterly shocked and disgusted by what he was doing at the same time (which made the book extremely fun to read)!

Banks’ writing is also highly emotive and elicits strong responses (albeit negative ones) in many places in the book. In my experiences, this is quite a rare skill among authors and the last book I read that did this was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Just like in The Lovely Bones, the strong emotions stirred by The Wasp Factory helps to distinguish it from other novels and makes it well worth reading as it makes you confront issues that you normally wouldn't consider.

The Bad

The biggest problem with The Wasp Factory has to be its disturbing content! The book certainly isn't for the faint hearted and is filled with twisted moments of cruelty and violence that are as controversial as they are shocking. Scenes of animal cruelty are prominent throughout the book as well, which I actually found more upsetting than the murders.

My Thoughts

The Wasp Factory is the first book that I have read by Iain Banks, but it certainly won’t be the last. The author’s dark mind, skilful prose and blunt dialogue make for easy, gripping reading and I am keen to read his other works. Despite being greatly disturbing at times, I would definitely recommend giving The Wasp Factory a go. It will probably leave you a bit bewildered and slightly perturbed by its end and you won’t be exactly the same person as you were when you began it, but it is certainly a classic of modern day Gothic horror that has been written by a very talented author.

The Waste Lands - Stephen King

RATING: FOUR STARS

With the help of Susannah Walker and Eddy Dean, his newly formed posse of gunslingers, Roland Deschain continues his search for the Dark Tower. His quest takes the group deep into unchartered forests and rolling hills, where they are confronted by a terror from the world before it moved on – a guardian of the Old Great Ones. Roland knows that the risk the guardian poses it great, but it protects one of the twelve beams and he knows he may have finally found a path to the Tower itself.

But things are never as easy as they seem and even if they manage to defeat the guardian, they will still have to pass through the war-torn ruins of Lud. The ancient city, once a gem of a bygone and more civilised age, is all but a wasteland itself and serves as the gristly battlefield for the centuries old war between the Greys and Pubes. Terrible drums play a dirge for their countless fallen and Roland suspects that he will need all of his wits to see his companions and himself safely to the other side – wits that he knows he doesn’t have as his mind fragments and he descends into madness as the result of changing his own timeline. He must save the boy to save himself – he must draw Jake into the desolated ruins of his world . . .

The Good
With its stunning backdrop and harrowing storyline, The Waste Lands did not disappoint me as the third instalment to The Dark Tower. Stephen King’s mind has continued to astound me as his story grows ever more complex and his famous ability to write has produced a book that is next to impossible to put down!

The Waste Lands is exciting and fast paced, containing flash fire scenes of violence that come out of nowhere (in much the same manner as HBO’s Boardwalk Empire) and cringing scenes of horror that made me want to put it down as much as it made me want to blitz ahead! And, in addition to this, King has continued his masterful development of his characters so they almost seem like real people that I really engaged with.

The Bad
I really have nothing to fault with The Waste Lands!

My Thoughts
The Waste Lands really begins to develop King’s Dark Tower multiverse and finally begins to explain some of the tragedy that has befallen Roland’s world. As I have discussed above, the book is both exciting and harrowing and is a fantastic instalment of a series that deserves all of the praise it gets. I thoroughly recommend The Dark Tower to fans of both fantasy and horror (as it’s not a fantasy in a traditional sense so you might enjoy even if you typically avoid the genre), which will undoubtedly prove to be an enjoyable and valuable use of your time!

The Drawing of the Three - Stephen King

RATING: FIVE STARS

Whilst I wasn't especially impressed with The Gunslinger (which was good, just not that good), I found The Drawing of the Three to be absolutely enthralling. It was both trippy and exciting, and Stephen King has really managed to make Roland Deschain’s character come to life in its pages as he continues to quest towards the Dark Tower.

The Drawing of the Three picks up right where The Gunslinger leaves off, setting the scene on the desolate beach where Roland falls asleep at the end of its predecessor. This beach actually proves to be one of the major settings for the story and is much more than what it appears at first glance. As Roland journeys down it, close to death, he finds three mysterious doors that lead to another world…

Through each of these doors are challenges and tests. Challenges that Roland has never faced before. Challenges that he can’t fail at if he is to ‘draw the three’ and survive to finally lay eyes on the Dark Tower.

The Good

The Drawing of the Three managed to captivate me right from the beginning and completely sucked me in. in fact, I was unable to put the book down once I began reading it and actually finished it within a week (although it’s taken me far longer than that to actually get round to writing this review)! Its pages are packed with action, but it was more than that which made it so good – it is the weird, almost trippy story that King has thought up. It’s pretty unique and has really begun to show the complexity of King’s ‘macroverse', which will undoubtedly prove important for the books to come.

I really liked the new characters who have made appearances in the book as well. They are realistic, highly flawed and are extremely enjoyable to read about. King has done a fantastic job developing them and I found that I had very little difficultly thinking of them as real people. As always, King has researched the underlying facts of book well, and I was really able to understand the characters backgrounds and views on life.

The Bad

I actually have very little to fault with The Drawing of the Three. If I have to make one comment though, I would say that some of the language becomes a little difficult to understand at times. Basically, King describes many scenes using the voice of a highly stereotyped black woman from a run-down ghetto in America. Now, this might just because I am English and am not that familiar with all of the slang and terminology used, but some of it got quite difficult to follow!

My Thoughts

The Drawing of the Three is undoubtedly one of the best books I have read in a while. Do not ‘forget the face of your father’ – either read this book or begin the series.

Desolation - Travis Simmons

RATING: FIVE STARS 

Trying to survive in the brave new world following a zombie apocalypse isn’t easy for Asher St. Paul. His family and friends are dead. His lover is dead. He should be dead. And to make matters even worse than the hordes of zombies that threaten him with each passing day, chilling rumours of necromancers are beginning to circulate through the last remaining human refuges. They say that survivors are being rounded up, caged and used to feed zombie populations as the necromancers’ fight to hive out their territories in the old cites. 

As Asher is searching for one such refuge, he observes a lone woman treating a pack of zombies as she would a dog and begins to suspect that there is more truth to these rumours than he would like to believe. His worst fears are realised when he finds the refuge to be taken in by them and Asher must come to grips with a dark secret as he struggles to save his newfound friends from certain death. 

The Good 

Written with the imaginative flair of Travis Simmons, the author of the gripping Revenant Wyrd Saga, Desolation is fast paced and exciting. The tragic events that befall Asher are believable within the confines of the story (accepting of course, the roaming zombies) and Simmons doesn’t go over the top with describing blood and gore. Instead, Simmons invests in describing Asher’s emotional battles as he learns to live the austerity and horror of his new way of life, which I found made his character very believable and easy to engage with. 

Without spoiling the book by going into too much detail, Simmons tells the story with a rather unique spin that I found refreshing as it helps Desolation to stand out from other zombie apocalypse books. Rather than focusing entirely on the zombies as the main villains, which of course they still are, Simmons mainly concerns himself with necromancers and how the zombies are used by them. By bringing in magic and a greater sense of purpose behind the apocalypse, Simmons has created an interesting blend of zombies and fantasy that I found both enjoyable and intriguing. 

The Bad 

I must say that I have little to fault with Desolation as it is well-written and Simmons steers clear of the ‘conventional’ clichés of zombie plotlines well. Saying that, Desolation does fall foul of the traditional problems that zombie stories face – where are Asher and the other characters getting all of their bullets? How is the electricity being generated in the Refuge? How are so many people being fed? I could go on, but I'm sure you know what I mean! 

Obviously, ammunition and electricity are things that probably wouldn't be around long should a zombie apocalypse actually happen, even if raiding parties did scavenge petrol from cars etc. for their generators. For the purposes of the story, however, it makes sense for Asher to have bullets in his guns and to be able to turn lights on in the refuge! And let’s face it, we don’t read zombie stories to be realistic so I found it very easy to forgive Simmons for this unrealism! 

My Thoughts 

After finishing Desolation, I found that I was disappointed that it was over. The book makes for a fantastic read that uses fantasy genre magic in a manner that helps it to stand apart from other zombie stories. As such, I would recommend that you add Desolation to your reading lists – you won’t be disappointed if you do!

The Gunslinger - Stephen King

RATING: THREE STARS 

Beginning with a short story that debuted in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1978, The Gunslinger is the first instalment of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series; telling the tale of Roland Deschain as he pursues a mysterious man in black across a bleak, post-apocalyptic world in his search for the fabled Dark Tower. 

But chasing the man in black, who always seems to be a step ahead of him, is easier said than done and Roland must overcome many obstacles if he is to succeed in his quest. And as if walking a path fraught with violence and hardship isn't bad enough, Roland also bears the burden of being the Last Gunslinger of Gilead – all that remains of a once great and noble people. Obviously, the weight of this is crushing and it drives Roland to be suspicious of making some much needed friends as he struggles through the danger of King’s vivid and scenically stunning world. 

My Thoughts 

As with A Dance with Dragons (featured below), I read The Gunslinger a while ago now and many of its finer details have become slightly hazy. Despite this, I can remember that I enjoyed reading the book and recommend The Gunslinger as a fine (albeit somewhat quirky) example of epic fantasy. In fact, many people go as far as saying that The Dark Tower series is King’s best work, which is obviously a flattering testament to The Gunslinger as a book and suggests more than I can that you should consider giving it a go!