Book Review: DRACULA'S DEMETER by Doug Lamoreux *** and a 1\2 out of *****

Bram Stoker’s seminal horror novel, Dracula, has inspired numerous sequels, prequels, re-imaginings, and stories focused on side characters from the book. What makes Dracula’s Demeter by Doug Lamoreux in some ways special, is its focus on the vampire count’s journey from his homeland to England onboard the Russian schooner, the Demeter. Stoker only dedicated a small portion of his novel to the events that take place on the Demeter, but Lamoreux uses every ounce of detail that Stoker provides and runs with it, creating an entertaining, compelling, if a bit stilted, novel, that is filled to the brim with nautical minutiae.

Lamoreux fleshes out the five characters only briefly mentioned in Stoker’s original book, and creates an original character of his own with a clever twist. And although it is a bit hard to tell who’s who in the first third of the book, by the second half, as events speed up and the violence escalates, the characters come into their own, especially the Scottish cook, and the English stowaway. Lamoreux’s version of Dracula himself is also notable, as this Count is no romantic figure. Lamoreux takes Dracula back to his original form, depicting him as a powerful, vicious, disgusting, brutally violent monster with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

What stops the novel from becoming a horror classic is Lamoreux’s almost sole focus on storytelling. This is the kind of book that is almost all story, without enough emphasis on character. While the cast is likable enough, aside from the previously mentioned cook and stowaway, none of the characters really shine. Also, the book’s tone is slightly inconsistent, with the first two thirds playing out like a violent Gothic horror story, with graphic violence and a somewhat playful tone; while the last third of the story takes a darker, grimmer aspect. And Lamoreux’s choice of eschewing the epistolary format of the original novel, disconnects it stylistically from its source material, to a large degree.

But faults aside, Dracula’s Demeter is a fun, richly textured, Gothic horror novel, and is a must for fans of Stoker’s classic tale.

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Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2021.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of several short films and a feature, which was released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer

Classic Review: THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS by Bram Stoker (1903 edition) *** out of *****

Written by Bram Stoker, and considered one of the most influential supernatural thrillers of all time... No, it's not Dracula. It's The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903), a dated and mostly stilted novel, but one which created the template for almost all subsequent stories that dealt with Egyptology and mummies.

The plot, about a band of men and one young woman in Victorian England who embark on an experiment to resurrect Queen Tera, a powerful Egyptian queen with otherworldly powers, is incoherent and at times painfully slow. But Stoker is a master of atmosphere, and his writings always have a fascinating obsession with the supernatural and the tensions between technology and superstition, religion and paganism, or as he describes it in the novel, "Powers, old and new". Despite its stagy nature, its two-dimensional characters, and its stiff dialogue, the story is compelling and has a doom-laden, eerie atmosphere, which culminates in an unforgettable and harrowing finale that was so upsetting to readers and critics upon its initial publication in 1903, that Stoker revised the novel for the 1912 edition, replacing the original finale with a nonsensical and impotent "happy ending".

The novel is now mostly remembered for its meticulous attention to detail in the sections dealing with Egyptology, its original central premise, and its harrowing ending. But it's not an easy read, as it features some of Stoker's most cluttered prose, and many chapters are repetitive and overlong. But for patient readers who like Victorian Gothic fiction and are interested in its development, it is worth the effort.

P.S. Most available editions are of the 1912 version, which should be avoided at all costs.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

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Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer

The Dark Fantastic Interview: Author Kathy Ptacek on Charles L. Grant (1942-2006), the Master of "Quiet Horror

There are writers who write straight horror with populist leanings (Stephen King), and those who write horror that is playful and ebullient (Richard Laymon). There are writers who try to mishmash genres together, and, therefore, don't like to be labeled as "horror" authors (Dean Koontz). There are writers who try to elevate horror to something akin to "literary" fiction" (Peter Straub); and then there is Charles L. Grant.

Charles L. Grant (1942-2006) is, undoubtedly, one of the most underrated horror writers in history. He was prolific, writing dozens of novels and short story collections in numerous genres, as well as editing dozens of anthologies, the most famous of which is Shadows. He treated the genre with the reverence it deserves, and his style was unmistakably his own. He was one of the most flavorful horror writers to ever come out of the United States, his writing was never pretentious, and he basically invented "Quiet Horror", a style that focused more on character and atmosphere, than on graphic violence.

Charles L. Grant

During his lifetime, Grant won two Nebula awards, the World Fantasy award, and life achievement awards from The British Fantasy Society and the Horror Writers Association.

Long out of print, Grant's entire body of work is now available again in terrific ebook editions, courtesy of Crossroad Press. If you are a fan of stylish, understated, imaginative horror with memorable characters and which drips with menacing atmosphere, pick any horror title by Grant and it will hit the spot, and then some.

But who was this artist who created these shadowy, autumnal landscapes, who so mastered the art of scaring readers with seemingly little effort? Acclaimed and prolific novelist Kathy Ptacek, who was married to Charles L. Grant from 1982 till his passing in 2006, and who also happens to be one of his biggest fans, tells us all about Grant.

Charles was so prolific, writing under a variety of names, and in so many genres. I know he was mainly known for his horror fiction, but did he have a favorite genre out of all the genres he wrote in?

Well, he loved horror, of course, but I know he really had a fun time writing his humorous fantasy. He didn’t use humor in the dark stuff he wrote, so with his Kent Montana books and the others, he had a chance to develop puns and let people know about that twinkle in his eye that so many people have commented on.

Charles always talked about and championed what he called "Quiet Horror", horror fiction that focuses more on mood and suspense than on gore and gross-out effects. Can you elaborate on what "Quiet Horror" exactly meant to him in terms of language and style?

"Quiet horror" was never in-your-face writing. He wanted the horror, the eerieness to creep up on the readers ... to make them uneasy, unsettled. He thought that was best accomplished by the mood. He was sort of the master of understatement ... He was never explicit in any of the quiet horror ... He wanted the readers to fill in the gaps with their mind. One time, he got a letter from a woman, who talked about how horrible and bloody his work was, and she was so upset, etc. She mentioned this one scene in a book, in particular. Charlie and I looked at each other, because there was no way he provided any graphic details. That was my territory. Anyway, we found the book and the end of the chapter that she mentioned, and I think it was something along the lines of the monster–or whatever–pulled the character’s arm off. That was it. No description whatsoever. But this woman’s mind had painted a bloody scene ... all because, I think, Charlie had laid the groundwork in the earlier part of the chapter. She was so invested, so involved in that storyline, that it played out in her mind ... even if the words weren’t there on the page.

Charles was a very versatile writer and editor, jumping from one genre to the next, and from one form to another. With so many interests, what was his writing schedule like, and how did he choose his projects?

He usually got up later in the morning (he worked until the wee hours of the night), then he would play a computer game ... while he was waking up. He’d put on a CD to listen to while he was playing–and thinking. After he woke up a bit, he would open files and look at what he had written the previous day and night. By the way, the CD was usually the soundtrack to [John Carpenter's] THE FOG. I knew when the music stopped, that he had settled down to work. He worked usually until dinner, then would come downstairs. We might watch a movie or two, and then sometime after 11 or so, he’d go back upstairs to work some more. Of course, if he was on deadline, he might be up there longer.

As to how he chose his projects, I don’t know. I think they chose him. Sometimes, a word or phrase or something he saw in a movie or in real life would spark an idea. He did have a lot of deadlines, so, of course, he worked on those books and short stories first, but sometimes he would have a side project. He kept a steno notebook by his side when he would read downstairs or work in his office. He would jot down words he saw in books; he knew them, of course, but maybe he didn’t use them all that often. Or he’d see a phrase that interested him. And I know that he would review those pages before writing ... I would guess that sometimes a word or phrase would leap out at him then.

Arguably, Charles's most well-known books are the "Oxrun Station" series. Do you know what made him go back again and again to the strange and wonderfully dark world of Oxrun?

I don’t know why he returned to it so often, except he loved that little town. And so did I. I had asked him to write a BIG Oxrun Station novel for me, and he planned on it. But, unfortunately, he ran out of time.

It is astounding to me that with such a wealth of terrific and cinematically written stories under his belt, Charles's work never got the feature film treatment. I know that some of his short stories were adapted for TV, but never as a feature. Why is that?

I don’t understand that, either. The Pet was optioned once, back in the ‘80s, by a well-known director, but he ultimately passed on it because he didn’t know how to make the horse spooky. Well, that’s what we heard, which just astounded me. This was long before CGI, but I could name easily five or six ways to “spook” up the horse ... I am hoping someone from Hollywood gives a holler one of these days about Charlie’s work. I would love to see some of it filmed. I think the Oxrun Station stories and novels would work really well as a TV series. Hint, hint to anyone out there with TV connections! Heh!

The Pet was a big hit for Charles, back in 1986. It's an elegiac, haunting book, and somewhat different from most of his work. It's also one of his longest books. Can you talk a little bit about the success of the book, and what, in your opinion, made it connect with readers to such an extent?

Everyone was a teen at one time, and I think that much of what the boy goes through, what he thinks, how he reacts ... it’s something most people can identify with. I think that it is amazing–and gratifying--that so many people always talk about The Pet when they mention Charlie’s books.

Charles had a special friendship with Stephen King, and King wrote Charles one of the greatest blurbs in all of horror fiction, calling Charles "one of the premiere horror writers of his or any generation." So how did that friendship start, and what was their relationship like?

The two shared the same agent in their early days of writing and publishing, and I guess that’s how they met. I remember that Charlie said that he and Steve and the agent would often go out for a breakfast meeting and that because none of them had much money in those days, they would share the meal.

My introduction to Charles's work was through a copy of "Black Oak: Genesis" [the first in the "Black Oak" series of five books, about a private investigation firm that focuses on the paranormal]. I loved it. It was like reading a contemporary version of those classic short stories about "psychic detectives", like Algernon Blackwood's John Silence, or Seabury Quinn's Jules DeGrandin. I read in an interview that Charles started the series so that he could do in it what he wasn't allowed to do on his "X-Files" tie-in books [Goblins and Whirlwind]. Charles passed away before he could finish the series. Do you know what he had in mind for the future of the series?

I’m glad you enjoyed Black Oak! So many people wrote to him about that ... I still received emails and notes from folks about the series, even after his death.

He did have a sixth book for the series, but it wasn’t finished at the time of his death. I don’t know what he had planned for the future, but I’m in the process of talking to another writer to finish the book. 

What were Charles's favorite books of his? And who were some of his favorite writers?

I think all his books were his favorites! Heh! But I do think the three books based on the Universal movie monsters [The Soft Whisper of The Dead (1982), The Dark Cry of The Moon (1986), and The Long Night of The Grave (1986)], and initially published in hardcover by Donald Grant, and now in E-book format from Crossroad Press with the same wonderful covers by Jill Bauman, held special meaning for him. He never listed contemporary writers as his favorites–he did have them, but he really didn’t think it was fair to many authors. But one of his all-time favorites from long, long ago was Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Many of Charles's books have been re-released as e-books through Crossroad Press. They are wonderful editions, and a treasure trove for fans like myself, who were struggling to find copies of his older books and books written under pseudonyms. How did that come about, and what can we look forward to in the future? Any unpublished work, perhaps?

At one time, E-books were brand new ... an emerging form of publishing, and I suspected they would take off, but I had no idea where to turn. I was approached by a number of other presses, and I was really appalled at their options and rates. The royalty rate was sometimes barely half–for the writer!–and one place wanted me to PAY them $300 each for 3 books to be published, and then, supposedly, I would recoup the money via royalties. No, I don’t think so. I took my time and didn’t rush into any deals. I was doing this without the benefit of an agent, and I wanted to make sure I got it right; it really was such a new form of publishing, so there weren’t a lot of people I could turn to for advice; I figured I would let common sense guide my hand. And then Dave [David Niall Wilson, CEO of Crossroad Press] contacted me, and we talked about things. I had worked with him when he was President of the HWA, and I had known him from long before that when he edited his magazine, THE TOME. I liked what I saw on the contract, and signed up, and it has been an incredible experience. I am really thrilled with Crossroad and Dave Wilson and David Dodd. Thank you, guys!

I am still looking for some of Charlie’s unpublished stuff, but there isn’t much, sadly. He sold most of what he wrote, so it’s not like he has a shoebox with unpublished manuscripts lurking under the bed! I wish there were. I was hoping to find more short stories, but I still might.

I want to talk a little about your own work. Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

Thanks. No. I wanted to be an artist or an archaeologist. But in ninth grade, we had to write a short story for my English class. I didn’t have a typewriter in those days, so I wrote it longhand. It was based on THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., and my teacher loved it and wanted to read it aloud to the class. I was so shy in those days that I said no. Sheesh. But at that point I decided I liked writing, but I didn’t know how I could write fiction and make a living (I was clueless in those days!), so I took journalism after that, and that was my major in college. I still wrote fiction, but not a lot. And I was very fortunate to have a wonderful professor in college who encouraged me to write more. This was the late Tony Hillerman, the bestselling mystery writer. At the time I was in his classes, his very first mystery had just been published. I was so amazed to know a real-life writer at that time. Later, after I sold my first novel, I joined his First Friday luncheons where a lot of other New Mexico writers would get together to have lunch and talk about everything.

You're an eclectic writer, going from monster movie homages like Gila!, to literary horror like Ghost Dance, to Young Adult fiction like The Hunted. How do you choose your next project, and do you enjoy writing in so many genres?

I love to write in the different genres because I love to read so many varied things. I have never read in just one category ... I do read a lot of nonfiction (and I also have had a number of credits in different magazines, including some short fiction about canals in SKYLANDS MAGAZINE) as well. But I am fascinated in just about anything and everything. I have a friend who said to me once that she never knew anyone who was interested in so much. I don’t know if that’s from my journalism training or if it’s just because I’m basically a nosy person ... which goes back to the journalism, I guess. 

As for how I choose my next project ... it’s hard to say. I write what strikes me. When historical romances were hot in the ‘80s, I was writing those ... I love history, and this allowed me to do tons of research, which I really enjoy. Actually, most of my novels are historical, even the fantasy.

Who are your favorite writers, and what have you read recently that you recommend to fans of your work?

One of my favorite writers is Charlie, and I think that fans should read his work. It is nothing like mine. In fact, we had thought once about writing an historical romance together, but our styles differed so much and our interests in history didn’t mesh, so we said, never mind! We used to laugh about that ... the book that never was!

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m actually working on a poem. I just started to write poetry in the last few years, and I enjoy it quite a bit. I haven’t written many poems, and I do want to work on more. I like poetry because each word has to say what a paragraph or more would say in a story. It’s a challenge.

And I do have an idea for a novel. I was set to do some research in New York state, but then the virus hit, and I canned the idea of a road trip. But I still might do that. And a short story idea popped into my head yesterday, so I need to find some time to jot down some notes.

What advice would you give to young writers, especially ones who want to write horror and fantasy?

Read, read, read. Read everything and anything; don’t stick to one genre. Same with writing. Just do it. Don’t think you have to have your writing area just so or that you can only do it at a certain time of the day or when the moon is full or whatever ... Just put down those phones, look into the distance, think a bit, then sit down and write. It doesn’t have to be a complete story or chapter from a novel ... Write a sentence ... a phrase. You can come back and expand on it later on.

I have never been an every-day writer, but for several years in February (this year it was February through part of April), I sit down and write the opening sentence to a short story ... I do this every single day in February. Why that month? I don’t know. Sometimes, I’ve struggled to complete a sentence, but on other days I’d have a number of sentences, and sometimes those would become paragraphs and even pages. At the end of the month, I would reread what I wrote. A lot of it will never see the light of day, of course ... but some of it sparked my interest, and I expanded those opening lines into short stories. And then I sent some of those out to various markets and sold them, which was fantastic. I think this is a fun exercise for any writer to try ... Do it for a week if a month is too long. I’ll be doing it again next February, and I invite people to contact me on Facebook to let me know how they’re doing with the exercise.

Oh, and one other piece of advice? Never sneer at another genre that you don’t write in. When I was writing historical romances, I remember that many people had nothing good to say about it, and the same with horror. It’s all writing, and it’s all good, and writers should support each other.

Thanks so much for you time.

Thank you for asking me.

Charles L. Grant and Kathy Ptacek

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer

Book Review: STOKER'S WILDE by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi *** and a 1\2 out of *****

One of the most fun horror/dark fantasy novels in years, Stoker's Wilde is one wild ride, and a pleasure for fans of Gothic Horror and Victorian fiction.

The story takes Bram Stoker, freshly appointed as manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, joins him with the foppish, contrarian, and pre-infamy Oscar Wilde, and pits them against an evil, supernatural enemy that is out for world domination. There are monsters, gore, plenty of action, and more than a modicum of humor, with appearances by a number of historical figures from the era, and nods to numerous horror classics, including the works of Stoker, Wilde, and even the Joss Whedon TV show Angel (1999-2004)!

The only caveat is that the novel's epistolary style, which channels the style of Stoker's Dracula, a purely Victorian, blood and thunder type of novel, doesn't always gel with the authors' agnostic/progressive tone.

But with a title like Stoker's Wilde, one knows the authors don't take themselves too seriously, and, ultimately, this is a novel written by horror fans for horror fans, who are bound to have a great time, thanks to straightforward prose, loads of imagination, and genuine affinity for the characters. Recommended.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK

Book Review: THE SCARLET GOSPELS by Clive Barker *** out of *****

The book Clive Barker fans waited for for decades, The Scarlet Gospels is, for better or worse, Barker's summation of his entire cannon. It features his talent for world-building and stunning imagery, his obsession with sex and violence, and his two most famous creations, detective Harry D'Amour and The Hell Priest a.k.a Pinhead.

But fans expecting this to be a no-holds-barred horror-action fest are in for a surprise. Yes, the book features a couple of lengthy action set-pieces, but Barker seems more interested in telling an epic tale of loss, hubris, and the eventual cost of dancing with the dark. This will undoubtedly be somewhat disappointing for many readers expecting the Pinhead of yore, as The Scarlet Gospels is more Everville (1994) than The Hellbound Heart (1986), and with a darker, more vicious version of Pinhead on display.

It's best not to reveal too much about the incoherent plot; suffice it to say, Barker sends D'Amour and his band of heroes (called The Harrowers, for some reason) on a direct path with Pinhead, who has been collecting arcane magical powers for a purpose darker and more devastating than anyone could have imagined, a purpose which will lead D'Amour straight into hell.

From the opening chapters, everything that is good and not so good about the  book becomes clear. Barker's writing shifts from wondrous descriptions of darkly images and creatures, to self-indulgent and overlong scenes of mayhem, to stretches of subpar, profanity-laden dialogue, making for a read that is uneven, to say the least. As this is Barker at his most brutal and excessive, with his penchant for epicness producing instances of overwhelming excess, and also stunning sequences of biblical mayhem. The overall effect is a novel that is overly dark, under-plotted, and, despite the violence and gore, surprisingly elegiac in tone.

Ultimately, The Scarlet Gospels is pure Clive Barker, and fans of his work and the Hellraiser universe will want to give it a go. But casual readers will probably find it ponderous and confusing. Recommended, with reservations.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer

Book Review: JACKALS By Charles L. Grant. *** and a 1/2 out of *****

Master of "Quiet Horror" Charles L. Grant delivers one of his darkest and most fast-paced novels with Jackals.

On the surface, Jackals is a horror tale about Jim, a middle-aged man who dedicates his life to hunting down "jackals", a vicious breed of flesh-eating killers who may or may not be human. Then a young woman, battered and bleeding, comes to his door, and his life takes a dark turn. But Grant has more on his mind than simply telling a story about monsters; there's more going on here. Grant touches on what it means to be human, what makes someone a killer, and the nature of good and evil, making Jackals more of a literary horror novel. That doesn't mean that Grant skimps on what makes a horror novel work, far from it. In terms of atmosphere, imagery, and honey-smooth prose, Grant delivers.

Jackals is, hands down, one of Grant's darkest and most downbeat books, revealing a side of him that readers rarely see, which makes this book less of an outright entertainment than say, The Orchard or the Black Oak series. But it is this solemnity, this willingness to travel down the dark roads of the night, that make Jackals so memorable.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon.

Book Review: Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix *** out of *****

The second novel by Grady Hendrix is a fun if slight horror-comedy novel about a haunted furniture store.

The book features likable characters, and Hendrix has a talent for dialogue and smooth prose. But the confined setting - the whole book takes place during one night inside the store - and lack of twists, make things feel repetitive, and the villain is pretty forgettable. Also, the anti-big business message comes off as heavy-handed and sophomoric.

An entertaining if forgettable book, which feels like a below average book by a talented writer. But it might please fans of eighties horror, as it is obviously intended as a pastiche of the "haunted store/mall" subgenre that was so popular in that decade.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon.

Book Review: RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD By John A. Russo *** and a 1\2 out of *****

Published in 1979 to little fanfare, screenwriter/novelist John A. Russo's sequel to George A. Romero's Night of The Living Dead (1968) is a must-read for fans of the seminal film and the zombie subgenre. Russo, the screenwriter of the original Romero classic, opens the book, which is set years after the event of the original film, with a shocking scene of mass brutality, as a preacher and his flock systematically mutilate the victims of a bus crush so that they won't turn into zombies. From there, the story gets darker and darker, as Russo introduces us to a number of believable, if not very memorable, characters, and takes them through one nerve-wracking and harrowing situation to the next.

Reading the novel, it quickly becomes clear that Russo is not as interested in overt sociopolitical commentary as Romero, focusing instead on the brutality of living in a world turned on its head, and the struggle of decent people trying to survive without turning into monsters themselves. There's plenty of violence, which makes the novel not for the faint of heart. What isn't there is humor, as, like Russo's screenplay for the original film, this is a dead-serious take on the zombie genre that Russo and Romero more or less invented back in 1968.

Even if the prose is a little workman-like, this is a good, fast-paced, and immensely readable story, and a worthy if somewhat dated sequel to the original classic. Fans will surely find it fascinating.

* Russo originally wrote the story as a screenplay, then turned it into a novel. His screenplay served as the basis for Dan O'Bannon's film, Return of The Living Dead (1985). Russo then adapted O'Bannon's revised screenplay into a separate book/novelization with the same title. That book was released  as a tie-in to the film in 1985.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon.

Book Review: GHOUL. By Michael Slade **** out of *****

Ghoul, the second in the loosely connected "Special X" series by Canadian author Michael Slade, is a hard book to categorize. It's part horror, part psychological thriller, and part police procedural. But it's also much more than that. With Ghoul, Slade (which is actually an alias for writer Jay Clarke and a number of co-writers) has come up with a formula so unique, so strange, and so potent, it's basically a new genre unto itself.

The plot, which centers on the hunt for two spree killers - one obsessed with blood, the other with horror fiction, especially Lovecraft, is a dizzying spiral down  a series of graphic set-pieces, red herrings, and nightmarish imagery; and the protagonists, CID Hillary Rand from New Scotland Yard, and RCMP officer Zinc Chandler, are fleshed out and likable. But Ghoul is not really about characters. It's almost all story, and what a story it is. On the surface, this is an addictive, compelling, and wholly entertaining psychological thriller with horror overtones. But on another level, this is also a clever and well-thought out meditation on the nature of horror fiction, and the never-ending debate on its effect on society. It sounds ambitious, and it is, but Slade pulls it off for the most part, delivering a fascinating, multi-layered thriller that is unlike any other, and which is brimming with ideas and wit. He only falters a little near the end, with a climax so complex it almost buckles under its own weight, and an overlong section full of psychobabble, which tries to tie up the plot's loose ends and explain away the killer's disturbing motives.

With his debut, Headhunter (1984), Slade proved to be a force to reckon with. With his second book, Ghoul, he proves to be one of the most original thriller writers of the past fifty years. Highly recommended.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon.

Book Review: FEAR STREET (SUPER CHILLER): CHEERLEADERS: THE NEW EVIL. By R.L. Stine *** and 1\2 out of *****

R. L. Stine returns to one of his most popular sagas, Cheerleaders, with this entry in the Super Chiller series. The New Evil continues the story of Corky, Deborah, and Kimmy, the last survivors of The Evil, a malevolent spirit that possesses people and forces them to commit mischievous acts, and even murder. This time around, Corky and her friends suspect that The Evil has escaped from its icy grave once again, and is causing a series of horrible accidents among the school's cheerleader squad. So Corky and the girls come up with a plan to trap the evil spirit once and for all, with shocking results.

Although the Cheerleaders saga is one of the sillier sagas in the Fear Street series, Stine amps up the chills and thrills in The New Evil, delivering a superbly enjoyable and twist-filled story, which even has a couple of truly scary moments, a rarity in the Fear Street series. Like the other entries in the Super Chiller series, this is a notch above the usual, and one helluva fun horror tale. Recommended for fans of Fear Street, the Cheerleaders saga, or for readers looking for a short, fun, horror read.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

Book Review: THINNER by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) **** out of *****

The last book to be published under the Richard Bachman pseudonym before it was revealed that Bachman is actually Stephen King, Thinner is the closest in tone and subject matter to what is usually considered a “Stephen King” book than the rest of the Bachman books. It is the only Bachman book to feature a supernatural threat - the overweight protagonist Billy Halleck, after accidentally running down an old gypsy woman, is cursed by her father, and starts losing weight at an unnatural and fatal rate -  and it has more dark humor than any other Bachman novel. It is a brilliant, harrowing, often funny, and brutally dark tale of suspense.

Here King is at his most effective, with honey-smooth prose and impeccable storytelling. It is a testament to King’s ability as a writer that a book with a concept this unpleasant, can be such a pleasure to read. This is King at his absolute best, and it is arguably the second best Bachman book, right behind The Long Walk.

It is a great loss to the world of literature that Bachman was outed as Stephen King, as King seemed to be having a blast writing under an alias, with his writing darker and more energetic than in many of his works under his own name.

King later published two other books under the Richard Bachman alias (with the heading “Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman”), The Regulators and Blaze, but they didn’t really feel like vintage Bachman. So do yourself a favor and grab a copy of the out-of-print edition of The Bachman Books that includes Rage, and a copy of Thinner. You won’t regret it.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.

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Review: Carrion. By Gary Brandner ** and 1\2 out of ****

Gary Brandner, the author of The Howling, one of the most entertaining horror novels to come out of the 1970's, is one of those authors that has an accessible, highly readable style that makes almost everything he writes fun to read.

Carrion is no exception. While it's not Bradner's best, this breezy read about a cheeky fortune teller who accidentally discovers that he has the ability to raise the dead, is sure to give you a few nights' entertainment. The main characters are likable, the prose unfussy, and the ending suitably tongue-in-cheek. Recommended.

© Ahmed Khalifa. 2019.

Book Review: The Bachman Books by Stephen King *** out of ****

As a huge Stephen King fan, I have to admit that, for me, early King is the best King. Books like Salem's Lot, The Stand, and Pet Sematary remain unparalleled in their ability to entertain, frighten, and transport. The Bachman Books, first published in hardcover in 1985, is an omnibus of the first four books King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The books themselves were written in the late 1960's and early 1970's, at a time when King was, in his own words, "infatuated with the art and craft of writing."

Why King published these four books (and Thinner, which is not included in this omnibus) under an alias is a matter of debate, and King himself has always answered the question with cagey evasiveness. The short answer seems to be that King wanted to know whether he really was a good writer, or if his success was just a fluke and his name nothing but a comforting brand. The four novels included in this volume (Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man) are somewhat uneven in quality, but King's unique and hypnotic voice is loud and clear, and the stories themselves are compelling and entertaining. But it is obvious why Bachman's tales never caught the public's fancy like the tales of uncle Stevie. Uncle Stevie's tales, with a few exceptions, like Pet Sematary, are dark but ultimately human and hopeful stories of good versus evil. Simply put, The Bachman Books are not.

Rage, the first one published under the Bachman name, and long out of print at King's request, is an addictive, immensely readable tale, but one which is also brutal, angry, and relentlessly nihilistic. Dealing with bullying, teenage sexuality, mental illness, parental abuse, and teen violence in schools, Rage is an almost overwhelming exercise in hopelessness and, well, rage, and the heavy-handed and immature writing doesn't help matters much. Its pitch-black ending, reminiscent of William Golding's The Lord of The Flies, is one of King's most pessimistic and grim. 

The Long Walk, the second novel published under the Bachman name, is, hands down, the best book in this collection, and an underrated masterpiece. Here King is at his most hypnotic and assured, taking a simple concept - in an alternate future where resources are scarce, male children between the age of 12 and 18 are encouraged to participate in The Long Walk, a contest in which one hundred boys embark on a never-ending walk, with the last one still alive getting whatever he desires for the rest of his life - and using it as an exercise in storytelling excellence. Although the dialogue is occasionally stilted, and the cast of teens sometimes act and talk a lot older than their age, this is a near-perfect novel; atmospheric, highly readable, and thought-provoking, with an ending that is nothing short of haunting.

Roadwork, considered by many, and at one time by King himself, to be the weakest Bachman book, is a touching, somber tale about a middle-aged man coming undone. Unable to deal with his young son's death, his failing marriage, and his house being torn down to make way for a new road, he starts down a path that ultimately leads to his destruction.

Roadwork is basically a psychological drama about one man's inability to let go, and the consequences of that failure. This is a loosely plotted tale, with enough incident and believable characters to make it enjoyable. But even though it remains compelling till the end, it's a predictable, straightforward story, and one which hasn't aged as well as other King books.

The Running Man, the fourth book to be published under the Bachman name, is arguably the worst of the Bachman Books. A superficial, slow-going tale of a dystopia where the poor are enlisted to participate in televised game shows that always end in death, The Running Man suffers from some of King's weakest, most heavy-handed writing, and an unlikable protagonist. Its saving grace is its brevity. It was very loosely adapted as a feature film in 1987, starring Arnold Schwarzeneger.

Taken together, The Bachman Books are a revealing look at Stephen King before he became a phenomenon. This is Stephen King at his rawest. It is also surprising how political these novels are, with every one of them dripping with working-class rage and bitterness, where every authority figure is a nasty villain, and every rich person is either corrupt or willfully unaware of the plight of the poor. King seemed to show more maturity and restraint as he grew older and more successful, but here, in this phase of his life, the rage, for better or worse, was palpable, and because of it, the writing was leaner, sparer.

Highly recommended for fans of King, or for readers who think King is nothing but a horror writer. Writing as Richard Bachman, King may not have sold as many books, but he sure as hell proved he could write anything he wanted, and write it well.

© Ahmed Khalifa. 2019.

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Book Review: THE OUTSIDER By Stephen King. *** and a 1/2 out of *****

What begins as an "impossible crime" thriller - a man accused of killing and raping a young boy was seemingly at two places at the same time, providing him with a perfect alibi, while furnishing the police with damning evidence - eventually turns out to be a supernatural thriller with a dash of Dark Tower mythology to round things off. And, truth be told, the transition between the genres ain't exactly smooth. With The Outsider, Stephen King attempts to write a modern take on Dracula, with some elements of the crime novel mixed in. He doesn't entirely succeed, but it's a good read nonetheless.

The first half of The Outsider features some of King's best writing in years, with tight plotting, believable characters, and short, ridiculously readable chapters. For a while there, one would be forgiven for thinking that this was going to be King's version of an Agatha Christie mystery. But, alas, that doesn't turn out to be the case.

The second half of the book is typical King, replete with all his strengths and weaknesses as a writer. You get the readable, unfussy prose, the likable characters, and King's endearing, addictive voice, which keeps you reading even when things aren't exactly moving along. But you also get the cute dialogue, the endless references to pop culture, the occasionally lazy plotting, and the hokey finale, all trademarks of a King book.

But this isn't a bad book. As a matter of fact, it's a damn entertaining one, with a villain that is fascinating and utterly terrifying. That is, till he's unmasked in the underwhelming climax.

This might not be King's best book in years as some have proclaimed it to be. But it is a good one, and, like most of King's work, there's magic to it, .

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2018.

Review: THE WOMAN IN BLACK (1989)

The first adaptation of Susan Hill's classic ghost story is an atmospheric, nuanced horror film that lingers in the memory long after you finish watching it.

From the performances, to the confident direction by Herbert Wise, to the terrific screenplay by none other than Nigel Kneale (The Quatermass Experiment), this is a near-perfect ghost story, which draws its power from its ability to suggest (with sound design and good cinematography) rather than show, and its terrific use of location shooting. Some of the technical aspects have aged a little bit, but considering that this is a modestly budgeted production made for British TV in the late 80s, this is an impressive, stylish, and surprisingly elegant film.

Reportedly disowned by Susan Hill because of the changes Kneale made to the original novel (including the shocking ending), this is arguably the best adaptation of the story (superior to both the popular stage version and the extravagantly produced 2012 feature starring Daniel Radcliffe). A must see for fans of ghost stories, British cinema, and the original novel.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2017

Book Review: THE DOOR TO DECEMBER by Dean Koontz

One of Dean Koontz's lesser novels that was previously published under the Richard Paige pseudonym, The Door To December is an overlong, overwritten paranormal thriller, which needed to be half this length to work. As is, you get Koontz at his most repetitive and heavy-handed. Not recommended, even to fans of Koontz's work.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2017

Book Review: THE MOTH DIARIES by Rachel Klein

Disturbing, astute, psychological/Gothic thriller about a teenage girl's descent into madness while attending boarding school. Features memorable characters and some haunting imagery, but suffers from being monotonous and predictable.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2016.

Book Review: CELL by Stephen King

One of King's darkest novels in a long time, Cell is a compelling, tense, unsettling read. While apocalyptic novels have been done to death (with King himself penning a few prior to this one), Cell sets itself apart by its unflinching focus on its characters' plights, tragedies, and tenacity. Despite a central premise that is conceptually and scientifically wobbly (a cell phone-transmitted pulse that turns people into violent, senseless beasts), the book works because of the characters, a bunch of superbly drawn, if not always likable, individuals, whose actions are almost always believable and whose fates we truly care about. Cell is also one of King's bleakest and most daring novels since Pet Semetary, with King at his most brutal and graphic. A haunting, disturbing read. Highly recommended.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2016.

Book Review: RUNNING WITH THE DEMON (1997) by Terry Brooks

Brook's finest work, Running With The Demon is the best dark fantasy/horror novel you've never read. The prose is lean, the autumnal atmosphere hypnotic, and the evil strange and frightening. This is a grand tale of good versus evil, with terrific characters and a whopper of an ending. Unmissable.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2015-2016.

Book Review: BLOOD OATH by Christopher Farnsworth

Highly readable horror-action/thriller centering on Nathaniel Cade, an ancient vampire working for a secret branch of the US government to protect the world from "The Other Side", the place were monsters, demons, and other creatures of the dark come from. It's a fast-paced, fun read, with a good sense of humor. But it's also over-plotted, and at times reads more like a screenplay for a summer blockbuster than a novel. Nothing special, but it's energetic and diverting enough.

Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2016.