Category Archives: Books

‘The Gallery of Horrors Bundle’ StoryBundle

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Gallery of Horrors Bundle

Ripping a still-beating heart from the chest cavity that shelters it, as the blood washes all over you in a warm, red fountain.  It runs in rivulets, like miniature water falls, down your face; some even winds its way toward your open mouth.

The penny-copper tastes coats your tongue before making its way down your throat.  At first you double over, gaging for a moment before feelings of revulsion are soon replaced by a sated feeling that–before now–you’ve been entirely unacquainted with.

If reading about such terrors is your idea of entertainment–it’s definitely mine–then The Gallery of Horrors Bundle is for you.

The books are offered by StoryBundle, and contains six books by writers such as Martin Kee, Brent J. Tally, and Tanya Eby.

Now here’s the cool part.  If you pay more than $12 for the Bundle, you get three bonus books:  Irregular Creatures by Chuck Wendig, I, Zombie by Hugh Howie and The Red Church by Scott Nicholson.

I can’t speak for everyone, but the scariest thing that I can think of would be to let such an awesome bundle of eBooks (readable in iBooks–my preference–or Kindle, Kobo or any other reader that accepts .epub or .mobi files) go away.

The Return Of John Carpenter

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image courtesy of Comixology app

Though truth be told he was never really gone.

John Carpenter, director of influential genre classics like Halloween, Escape From New York, In The Mouth Of Madness, They Live, StarMan, Big Trouble In Little China (perhaps his most underappreicated movie), among many others has been absent from theaters since 2010’s The Ward (an interesting movie despite thematic similarities to James Mangold’s superior 2003 film, Identity) may be on the edge of a comeback.

Though not for the reasons I at first thought.

Let me start at the beginning.  Today I was reading some comics on Comixology when I noticed John Carpenter’s Asylum.  I don’t recall ordering it, though they occasionally have ‘Free Comics Days’ so I assumed that I picked it up then.

It’s written by Carpenter, Thomas Ian Griffith (who played in ‘Jan Valek’ in John Carpenter’s Vampires) and Sandy King (Carpenter’s wife and producer) and  drawn by the inestimable Leonardo Manco.

By the way, speaking of Leonardo Manco, if you haven’t read Marvel’s 1994 comic Hellstorm–which lasted 21 issues–you should find a copy because Manco’s art is remarkable.

I was thinking that ‘Asylum’ would be Carpenter’s entry back into features, which is apparently not the case.

That honor would be bestowed upon DarkChylde, which  was an Image comic by Randy Queen in 1996.

King said that they have been working on the project for over two years, and that WETA Digital is creating the monsters.  You may not be aware of WETA, but if you’ve seen any of the movies based upon J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels (and many others), then you have seen their special effects work.

DarkChilde

Image courtesy of Storm King Productions and Destroy The Cyborg

Though the best thing, according to Sandy King, is that not only is John Carpenter working on DarkChylde, but he’s also preparing a new horror-themed series, John Carpenter’s Hell Gate.

‘Dear Mr. Watterson’ Trailer

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Homicidal Psycho Jungle CatMy question is:  What took them so long to acknowledge how awesome “Calvin and Hobbes” are?  I have been reading their adventures for years, and it was brilliant then, so why would time make any difference?

I have always admired comics that were layered, and talked to the audience wherever they happened to be, as opposed to dictating to them.

Calvin and Hobbes comics could be enjoyed by children, yet an adult could read the exact same comic, and get more nuanced shades of meaning from it.

In my book, that’s the definition of brilliance.

Gerry Anderson’s Gemini Force One Coming To Kickstarter!

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Gemini Force 1

Gerry Anderson, the creator of “Thunderbirds,” “Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons,” “Space: 1999” among many others popular series died last year, though the profile producer was working  on numerous projects for as long as he was capable.

The first of those projects, “Gemini Force 1,” is being released via Kickstarter as a series of books.  If they reach their goals, it will become a television series though I am not sure if it would be puppets, live-action or CGI.

A Movie Full Of Spiders?

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This Book Is Full Of SpidersI should mention right off the bat that I haven’t heard any buzz around Don Coscarelli considering a film of “The Book Is Full Of Spiders,” the sequel to “John Dies At The End,” though I hope that he’s at least considering it.

Though for better or for worse, it all comes down to money.

And speaking of ‘Spiders,’ it reintroduces John and Dave, the (occasionally) intrepid duo from the first film.  With David Wong’s first book, which I enjoyed, I was always cognizant that no matter how starnge things got, everything would be alright.

Now, not so much.

Like the first novel – where John doesn’t die – there are actually no spiders in “This Book Is Full Of Spiders.”  That would be too easy.  Like in ‘John Dies At The End” they have to deal with is another invasion (of sorts) of our reality, a plot device somewhat similar to that in the first book.

Though the invaders are significantly more ambitious than before, and are willing to do what it takes to get ahead.

Continue reading →

Introducing The StoryBundle Indie Fantasy Bundle

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Indie StoryBundleI dig movies, which makes sense since I write a movie blog.  That being said, what am I going to do when Skynet rises, and the machines take over?  Or when the time comes when there’s no room in Hell, and the dead walk the earth?

Which is why I would like to reintroduce everyone to StoryBundle.  I first heard about them sometime in 2012, when they launched the Halloween Horror Bundle, with work by writers like Douglas Clegg and Kevin J. Anderson.

More recently, they launched an Indie Fantasy Bundle, which consists of eight titles by writers like Christopher Bunn and Blair MacGregor, neither of whom I have heard of before.

Which, believe it or not, is part of the attraction.  For instance, I am a huge fan of Stephen R. Donaldson (the writer of “The Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, The Unbeliever” as well as the incredible ‘Gap Saga’) but I would never discover any interesting writing if I didn’t seek out new writers.

Which is why the Indie Fantasy Bundle is so cool.  You get eight ebooks by writers that you probably have little information about, which means that you’re delving into worlds that share only a genre in common.

And like with the Halloween bundle, you pay what you can, though you get two more ebooks if you pay at least ten dollars.

So, if the robots decide to throw off the yolk of their human oppressors, or the zombies start to hunger for your brains, at least you’ll have something to read.

My Copy Of ‘Sullivan’s Sluggers’ Has Arrived!

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My copy of Mark Andrew Smith’s “Sullivan’s Sluggers” arrived today, and it’s gorgeous.  It’s hard-bound, and included a poster, along with a protective slipcover and my picture does not do it justice.

It also feels well put together, and substantial.

If you haven’t taken a look at Kickstarter, either in a long time, or ever, then stop over and take a look around because I suspect that whatever it is that you like, that you’ll find a project that can use your support.

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