Slap Happy Fun Time

     Gore Carnival Book 3: Encore Various Authors 5/5 stars                                                                                                                                   Now we've made it passed the intermission, and so far this is one hell of a box set. If you like your horror sadistic and dark then you've come to the right place. There's been a wealth of great talent and all of these stories have been really well written. In a volume like this though you can only hold the momentum so long before you start hitting the clunkers. The confusing thing is that this is titled Encore but it differs greatly from the style and pace o...

     The  Intermission Book 2 (Gore Carnival Box Set) - Various Authors 5/5 stars                                                                 I have to tell you that when I think of an intermission I'm thinking about a break. A chance to stretch your legs a little, hit the bathroom, and grab the snacks. At the Gore Carnival it's not a break from anything. In fact, book one was really just a taste of what's in store for you in later books. Intermission is truly not for the easily offended and offers only one mild story in the form of Let's Go To The Circus. It's an interesting take on the already tired zombie genre and focuses on clowns. It's stories like these that I enjoy the most because it takes something we have fond memories of and promptly destroys it. This is not for those who have coulrophobia...

     The Gore Carnival (Book 1) - Various Authors  5/5 stars                                                               This is a massive box set that I thought about reviewing all at once but that would be a massive review so I am reviewing each book as I read them. Makes it easier for all of us. Delving into book one I was really stoked to read this because I'm a fan of quite of a few of these authors. Anytime you have authors of this caliber in an anthology called The Gore Carnival you're in for a treat and no one here disappoints. If you like your fiction filled with body fluids and bizarre sex practices you've picked up the right anthology. This one is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.       Kasey Hill has done an amazing job editing this so you get a bit of variety. Not a...

     Imperial Bedrooms - Bret Easton Ellis 3/5 stars                                                                      The question here is did we really need a sequel to Less Than Zero? If you haven't read that novel you should. It's a fine debut and one that some people regard as a classic. The answer is a resounding no because you can't really do a sequel to a novel like that. The characters just aren't that interesting. They're shallow, and boring so what would the sequel even be about? Then the question of why did Ellis do a sequel and the answers are easy to come by. Money, a career slump? Makes sense and as I began to read Imperial Bedrooms I wondered if I would regret it.       Bedrooms picks up after twenty-five years after the events of Less Than Zero and the char...

      Cemetery Girl - David Bell  5/5 stars                                                                       David Bell's debut novel is a dark disturbing tale that goes places that most novels won't go because they want to create this warm fuzzy feeling that leaves readers weeping and running off to their book clubs demanding that this be their next read. Let's be honest here and admit that the world is a messed up place so why should we read a novel that presents the dark side of human nature? Why should we read Cemetery Girl? The answer is simple. It's as close to reality as you're going to get in popular fiction. We've read the stories about kidnapped kids and everyone lives happily ever after. What if they don't? What if some writer decided to tackle the grim reality of what coul...

       James H Longmore is a talented writer that clearly doesn't follow any set genre or rules. No matter what you pick up you're in for one helluva read and he was willing to allow me to interview him. If you haven't heard of him you will. It's just a matter of time. Thanks James for taking the time to answer a few questions  First I have to ask where did the idea for The Erotic Sexual Odyssey Of Colton Forshay come from?  A: Strangely enough, I actually dreamt the opening line ‘it was raining bodily fluids again…’ and coupled that with a stray memory of a TV show I saw years ago about a guy who was in a relationship with his car (I remember to this day the abject look of sheer disappointment on the guy’s father’s face as his grown-ass son explained to him how he and the car made love. The book just kinda grew from there…   Was there ever moment while you’re writing it and think; “What the hell have I gotten myself into?”  A: I set out...

  Stephen King The Bazaar of Bad Dreams 5/5 stars                                                                          I’ve had Bazaar of Bad Dreams since November of last year but I avoided it because there were always other books that I needed to review or there was a story that I needed to write. If you’ve read my reviews before you know that I have a love hate relationship with the later releases that King has written. On my shelf are UK editions of Misery, The Dark Half, The Tommy Knockers, and Four Past Midnight as well shit I have yet to read. Lisey’s Story, Cell, The Dome, and more. King was a huge influence on my writing and it pains me to say that I’m more of a casual fan now and not the constant reader I used to be.      Bazaar of Bad Dreams is the latest i...