Book Reviews

The Maddening by Carver Pike

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

The story begins with tightropes and titties, as Perry and his best friend, Devin, enjoy a vacation in a small Mexican town alongside college students from all over America–and the rest of the world. Their enjoyment doesn’t last long, as Diablo Snuff has plans for the revelers, at least the ones they find attractive enough to press-gang into the same sort of service Kong and Nick “Lucky” Luciano were providing in Passion & Pain. If you haven’t read Passion & Pain, hopefully, you’ve read A Foreign Evil, The Grind House, and Slaughter Box. You should still have some idea what I’m talking about if you’ve at least read those three. Personally, I recommend going back and reading both Passion & Pain and Grad Night as well, because they all come together in the pages of The Maddening.
It’s wrong to say this story begins with tightropes and titties. It all begins in the pages of A Foreign Evil when Michael drunkenly follows a beautiful woman to a push-button hotel for a night of carnal pleasures that swiftly devolves into a nightmare of unearthly evil and sinister conspiracies. You’ve come all this way, though, so you know all about that. The journey here left its mark on you, I imagine.
The Maddening is Carver Pike’s conclusion to the Diablo Snuff series, and this man knows how to end things with a bang. The best way I can think of to describe the events taking place in this novel is to suggest that it’s John Carpenter’s In The Mouth of Madness meets The Purge while managing to be both more horrific and graphic than either of those movies. If that doesn’t sell you on diving into this book, I honestly don’t know why you’d be reading my reviews in the first place. You might not be my target audience, in which case you’re almost definitely not the target audience for Pike’s Diablo Snuff books.
The movies were bad enough, allowing incarnations of evil creatures on the screen to infiltrate our world, stalking and murdering the viewers unfortunate enough to witness even small portions of each film. The release of the novels written by the authors who disappeared from The Grand Georgina signals the next stage of the Diablo Snuff master plan as the madness spreads throughout society, irrespective of nation or culture. This plague of lawlessness and insanity is amplified with the release of The Maddening, the book Tobias desperately hoped he could keep from distribution.
None of these things are fast or dramatic enough in dismantling society and sewing chaos, and that’s where the app comes into play. Across the world, psychopaths and damaged people compete with one another to commit the most creative and devastating horrors, racking up more money with each rape and murder.
Against this horrific backdrop, the members of Psalm 71 must make their way to the heart of the evil that is Diablo Snuff, saving as many innocent lives as they can along the way. Knowing this is the final volume in the Diablo Snuff series, it should come as no surprise that the tale culminates in a battle between the forces of good and evil that crosses the border separating our world from unearthly planes of existence. This is a spiritual clash that would make Frank Peretti envious. If you’re unfamiliar with Frank Peretti’s Christian horror novels, you might be missing out because some of them are surprisingly good; but they’re nowhere near as good as what Pike has laid out for us in the pages of The Maddening.
This book is punctuated with set pieces of such depravity and cruel imagination that the reader can’t help but wonder at the apparent limitless creativity brought to the table by Carver Pike where horror is concerned. At its core, this is a story of hope, though. The Maddening–as with the Diablo Snuff series as a whole–is about facing a terrifying evil and refusing to flinch. It’s about standing ground and fighting, even when the easiest solution would be to turn away or to give in. Knowing that you may not survive, that those you love and who stand by your side may fall as well, but persisting in doing what you know must be done; that is the core of it all. In that respect, as in all others, Carver Pike has succeeded in crafting a masterpiece with this book.

Bone White by Ronald Malfi, Narrated by Charles Constant

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

Ronald Malfi’s Bone White is as devastating as it seemed like it might be. When we learn that Paul Gallo’s brother, Danny, had disappeared near Dread’s Hand, Alaska, only a year before a serial murderer wandered into town and turned himself in, we hope for closure as the best-case scenario. The author teases us with the potential for a happy-ish ending, only to string us along through a tale that crosses back-and-forth over the lines between supernatural and superstitious, thriller and horror.
Embedded within the larger story of Bone White, Malfi introduces us to multiple, smaller tales that would make for fascinating stories in their own right. This attention to detail and world-building for the remote Alaskan wilderness setting makes the story all the more engaging and impossible to set aside.
As we’re dragged through the cold and snow near central Alaska, it’s something you begin to feel in your bones. It’s not just the chill of the environment that gets under your skin, but the chill emanating from the locals who live insular lives with no interest in the outside world or having intruders from the outside digging through their secrets and the fears that underpin them. Paul’s tension and frustration are palpable, and anyone would likely feel the same if they knew their search for the truth about their missing sibling was being stymied by the superstitions and mistrust of the only people who might have the answers.
The narration provided by Charles Constant is terrific, his voice weaving the fantastic writing into a thoroughly captivating experience.

#DeadSealChallenge by Nikki Noir & S. C. Mendes

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

I don’t know that I’d recommend participating in the #DeadSealChallenge, but I’m sure you won’t end up like Gary or Lee. You certainly won’t end up like Johnny Ciao–the self-professed mukbang king. You know what, come to think of it. I think you’ll probably be fine. Never mind the fact that Food Network’s Andrew Zimmern wouldn’t touch kiviak; he’s never been fond of fermented meats.
How did we get from fermented meat to the different piece of meat #DeadSealChallenge opens with? It’s a long story. Well, it’s not that long of a story, but it’s a fun short story that you’ll need to read for yourself if you want to figure out how we find our way from the discovery of fermented birds stuffed into a dead seal carcass to a rotting penis on the chopping block. There might be some light necrophilia involved in the process of getting there, but you didn’t hear that from me.
Nikki Noir and S. C. Mendes are a match made in hell, or maybe Greenland?
Is Greenland that dissimilar from hell?
It’s unnerving how real the characters feel as they embark on the most ludicrous get-rich-quick scheme I’ve ever witnessed. It’s unfortunate for Gary and Lee that the story’s descent into madness and body horror is so damn entertaining because it makes it hard to feel bad for them when you’re enjoying it so much as it unfolds.

You can read this for yourself by going to http://www.godless.com or by downloading the Godless app to your mobile device of choice. The link is below:

#DeadSealChallenge by Nikki Noir & S.C. Mendes

Sudden Death by Adrian Ludens

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

Wayne expected a normal evening of hockey, announcing the penalties and the scores just like any other day at the arena. When he started feeling ill, he thought it might just be a cold, until he saw the tiny figure he’d coughed up. Unfortunately, for Wayne, that little person is only the first of many.
As the announcer’s body is pushed past its limits, and what starts off a curious–albeit revolting–spectacle for the fans becomes a nightmare of body horror as an unstoppable surge of humanoid figures continues to erupt into the arena.
Ludens blends body horror and science fiction in an entertainingly vile fashion with Sudden Death. Sadly, death doesn’t arrive suddenly enough for our poor, besieged protagonist, as his suffering continues beyond what anyone should experience.

Sudden Death was released as a Godless exclusive short at http://www.godless.com and you can pick it up for yourself by going to the website or by downloading the Godless app to your mobile device. The link is below:

https://godless.com/products/sudden-deathby-adrian-ludens

What’s Eating You by Nat Whiston

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

Nat Whiston weaves us a tale of friendship, betrayal, lost love, witchcraft, and supernatural horror in her short but potent debut, What’s Eating You. As the author draws you through the expertly crafted twists and turns, you’ll only discover where the story’s headed when she leads you right up to the precipice, and you find yourself gazing into the depths of Hell itself.
The moral of the story: Don’t betray a witch–and certainly don’t do it twice. But, if you insist on betraying her, make damn sure you understand the objectives she has in mind.
There’s no way to say anything more without giving it all away, so you’ll just have to read this one for yourself. I trust that you’ll find yourself just as eager to see what the author has in store for us in the future.

This story was released on http://www.godless.com as part of the AntiChristmas event for December of 2021. You can pick it up for yourself by going to the website or downloading the Godless app. The link is below:

What's Eating You by Nat Whiston

The Best Of Intentions by Joshua MacMillan

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

Joshua MacMillan knows how to craft a suspenseful and heartbreaking narrative. The Best Of Intentions exemplifies those skills carried over from short fiction to a larger work without any apparent difficulty on the part of the author.
Corey Loflin is a combat veteran still struggling to adjust to civilian life after years away from the military. He and his wife had hoped he was past the night terrors and emotional struggles associated with PTSD and survivor’s guilt, but when the nightmares return, focused on his wife and young son rather than his experience during the final deployment, Corey seems ill-suited to handle things on his own.
When seemingly sinister and threatening messages begin to appear, Corey’s insomnia and alcoholism combine with his insecurity in seeking help from those around him, leading him down a path of paranoia and latent violence. As we helplessly watch events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that Corey is on a dangerous trajectory that can lead nowhere good.
Missed opportunities, poor communication, and untreated mental health issues snowball out of control until we’re standing beside Corey as an avalanche bears down on us as he looks in the other direction.
As readers, we’re stuck asking questions for which we suspect we know the answers. Is someone threatening Corey and his family, or is he reading more into innocuous events than a more level head might interpret? Who is coming for him, and what do they have planned? Will Corey piece together the clues in time to avoid a catastrophic conclusion?
MacMillan leaves you wondering how everything will play out as the climax approaches, and he forces you to hope that things are not as they seem because if you’re right, you may not want to subject yourself to what those final pages contain. You know you won’t be able to turn away, though, regardless of how it all might end.

As with other D&T Publishing titles, you can obtain this in digital format from http://www.godless.com or by downloading the Godless app to your mobile device of choice. The link is below:

The Best of Intentions by Joshua Macmillan

Fucking Scumbags Burn In Hell: Book 9 by Dani Brown

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

Amy is a spoiled, entitled, petty, and manipulative monster of a woman. It seems only fitting that she’d find her way into the Hoopiverse with Dani Brown’s The Scratching Post.
Arguably the worst quality Amy displays is her solipsism. Her inability to recognize other people as independent, separate beings with perspectives that aren’t her own, manifests in a sort of delusionally cynical outlook and a lack of object permanence. For Amy, other people are only ever motivated by the same things that motivate her. That viewpoint might be less pronounced if she didn’t also surround herself with vapid, terrible people who only serve to reinforce the way she sees things. Thus, if everyone is motivated by the same things, it’s altogether too easy for Amy to see others as nothing more than playthings to be used for her perverse amusement.
For years, Amy got away with being a god-awful person, catered to by her mourning parents and pandered to by her social circle, but then Hoop moves in next door. As Amy’s carefully constructed world of gaslighting and self-deception crumbles around her, there’s no way a reader won’t take pleasure in the revolting and nefariously appropriate comeuppance she experiences.
Dani Brown brings her deliciously wicked and vile imagination to the table in bringing to life what has to be one of the most disgusting miasmas a reader can imagine. You’d be hard-pressed not to smell hints of the corruption wafting from the screen as you read the descriptions she provides.
Like the other installments in the Hoopiverse, we get to witness Hooper forcing empathy onto the monstrous people he sets his sights on. While it isn’t true empathy, being subjected to the experiences of those they’ve hurt, it’s a befitting analog that serves the purpose of showing these hideous men and women the harm they’ve caused in the only way they’ll understand, when it’s hurting them. You’ve got to hit the sociopath where it hurts, and Hooper’s got the skills that pay the bills.

You can pick up The Scratching Post as well as the previous installments in the Fucking Scumbags series by going to http://www.godless.com or by downloading the Godless app to your mobile device. The first season of tales is soon to be collected in a single paperback release if you prefer to wait for a physical book to love and caress with your nasty fingertips, but I recommend picking these up in the meantime. The link is below:

The Scratching Post (Fucking Scumbags Burn in Hell: Book 9) by Dani Brown

My Christmas Story by Rayne Havok

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

While My Christmas Story by Rayne Havok is not a new story from her, it’s new to me, and it was a perfect tale for her to make available on Godless for the Antichristmas event this December.
Lydia’s spending her first Christmas night alone, but her husband is still there…in spirit…in a sense. We’ll go with, “in a sense.”
It was bad enough that Henry had gotten her a blender for Christmas this year, but that’s the least of his transgressions…and Lydia is not the forgiving sort.
As she decorates her tree with the ornaments Henry provided, it does seem like Lydia is finally getting into the spirit of the holidays, and we can’t help but feel happy for her. While the holiday might have started as a bit of a disappointment, she found a way to make it festive just the same.
If you’re familiar with Rayne Havok’s work, you damn well know what to expect…so I’m not going to spell it out for you here. If you’re not familiar with her writing, you’re in for an enchanting, heartwarming tale of Christmas cheer.

This title was released on http://www.godless.com as part of the Antichristmas event for December of 2021. You can pick it up for yourself by going to the website or by downloading the app to your mobile device of choice. The link is below:

My Christmas Story by Rayne Havok

Aliens: Bug Hunt Edited by Jonathan Maberry

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

When Jonathan Maberry assembles an anthology, a discerning reader should expect a certain degree of excellence from the final product; that is doubly so when that anthology includes material from authors like Christopher Golden, Weston Ochse, Brian Keene, Scott Sigler, and Maberry himself. Aliens: Bug Hunt is certainly no exception.
Pitched by Maberry to the decision-makers handling the literary universe that’s evolved from Ridley Scott’s Alien universe as a series of vignettes, deep-diving into the lives and experiences of the men and women of the Colonial Marines, it’s a magnificent thing to behold.
The collection is kicked off with Paul Kupperberg’s Chance Encounter. He takes us to a far-off planet where low gravity provides a lattice for massive trees to spear the sky and equally impressive jellyfish-like creatures to float amid the highest branches. Unfortunately, for the expedition on-site to collect samples, there’s another lifeform preying on those Floaters and happy to prey on any other lifeforms making themselves available. Like many of these stories, this one focuses on greed and selfishness, and the disastrous consequences when we allow those traits to guide our actions, much as James Cameron’s Aliens did.
Reaper by Dan Abnett introduces us to a world where the corporation’s attempt to grow and harvest grain awakens a swarming colony of organisms with no objective but to consume all available organic material before returning to hibernation, awaiting new growth and new food for the swarm.
Rachel Caine’s Broken introduces us to Bishop, detailing his first minutes of awakened existence and the fateful mission that ultimately brings him into the company of Apone and crew.
Reclamation introduces us to Hicks, long before the events of Aliens, as Yvonne Navarro shares the story of his marriage and his desperate struggle to understand what happened to his wife on a mission that stole her from him five years earlier.
Christopher Golden’s Blowback takes us into the life of Dietrich, quite some time before her fateful mission to LV-426. We witness first-hand the turmoil of romance within the Colonial Marines as death can come from any direction, at any time. Numerous familiar faces populate this story, from Apone and Hicks to Hudson and Vasquez.
Exterminators by Matt Forbeck provides us with another glimpse into Dietrich’s life as she and Frost make their way to a bar on an out-of-the-way colony, only to discover that R&R is not in the cards for them.
Ray Garton’s No Good Deed takes us to LV-426 before the events of Aliens, as a bounty hunter and her sarcastic android chase two escaped prisoners to a colony under siege by xenomorphs. But it may turn out that the aliens aren’t necessarily the most dangerous creatures on the planet.
A most peculiar and horrifying encounter with a different sort of alien sucks us into Zero To Hero by Weston Ochse. As a cowardly Colonial Marine discovers untapped reservoirs of heroism, he discovers that he might have been better off staying home and playing video games.
David Farland’s Dark Mother shares the final hours of Burke’s life after he failed to get Ripley and Newt impregnated as hosts during the events of Aliens.
Episode 22 by Larry Correia details the history of the M41A pulse rifle in a fictional documentary format that is strangely captivating.
Keith R. A. DeCandido provides us with a glimpse into the hazardous life of an embedded journalist in Deep Background, as a group of Colonial Marines investigates a potential attempt by Weyland-Yutani to cultivate and study the xenomorphs on another planet, with another unsuspecting group of civilians.
Brian Keene’s Empty Nest takes us to another xenomorph infestation and provides us with a glimpse of just how far a mother will go to be a mother.
Darkness Falls introduces us to a retired Colonial Marine, desperate to find peace and security in a colony where she expected never to see xenomorphs again. Heather Graham’s is the only story where we get to witness the adaptations of the xenomorph depending on the organism they’re using for a host, and it’s a horrifying outcome.
Hugs To Die For by Mike Resnick and Marina J. Lostetter showcases a fine example of corporate hubris, as a small group of Colonial Marines receives a tour of a facility where xenomorph blood is being harvested for industrial use.
Maberry’s own Deep Black returns us to the prison colony from Alien 3, long after the events from the movie. A three-man team arrives on the planet, learning that all has not been as quiet as expected.
Distressed by James A. Moore introduces us to what is the most horrifying and indescribable alien lifeform of this collection, dragging us along on a surreal, disorienting battle against something virtually impossible to fight.
Scott Sigler’s Dangerous Prey takes us into the alien minds of xenomorphs themselves, and the experience is altogether more captivating than one might expect, becoming part of the hive.
Spite by Tim Lebbon takes a squad of Colonial Marines into conflict with a species of alien with a scorched earth methodology.
The narrators for these stories were superb in almost all respects, most notably James Anderson Foster, Priya Ayyar, Suzanne Elise, Michael David Axtell, and Grover Gardner. Those were just my personal favorites of the narrators involved, but there wasn’t a single one who didn’t thoroughly immerse the listener.

Lost Words In a Dream by Lucas Milliron

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

Mark’s life is one of banality punctuated by terror. Living in a sparsely furnished apartment and working at a filthy cesspool of a fast-food restaurant, he thought he might have escaped the horrific events that transpired in Leesburg. But the dread and panic are always there, just beneath the surface, waiting to erupt, and some wounds never heal.
Recollection of the events from his past come through only sporadically, intruding on his daily life at unexpected moments, triggered by seemingly unpredictable stray thoughts or disturbing noises and visions. As Mark struggles to remain in the here and now, he finds himself increasingly drawn into memories that he simultaneously wishes he could forget and desperately needs to unravel.
Maybe he didn’t escape at all, and it’s all happening again.
Milliron masterfully crafted this tale of cosmic horror, utilizing the imprecision of traumatic memories to provide us with an unreliable protagonist around whom the story plays out. This story has everything one could hope for in cosmic horror. Milliron blends a perfect mixture of secretive cults hidden within small-town populations, unspeakable horrors breaching the barriers that separate our world from somewhere cold and dark, hallucinatory visuals described with frightful detail, and a stochastic narrative that leaves the reader dizzied and struggling to piece together the mystery.
Lost Words In a Dream is a story that will stick with you long after you’ve reached the conclusion, and you’ll find yourself wishing you could go back in and experience it fresh all over again.

This title was released as part of the 31 Days of Godless event at http://www.godless.com for October of 2021. You can obtain a copy for yourself by going to the website or by downloading the app to your mobile device of choice. The link is below:

Lost Words in a Dream by Lucas Milliron