Book 62 of 2008: Vigilantes of Love by John Everson

Book Description:

The collection includes 15 dark fantasy and horror tales, including the title story, written especially for this collection and "Lovesong" a 5th Place winner in the 2000 World Horror Convention Fiction Contest. Included are tales reprinted from the anthologies TransVersions and Freaks, Geeks & Sideshow Floozies, and the magazines Sirius Visions, Crossroads, Eulogy and Plot, as well as a number of original works.

My Opinion:

Yet another great anthology by John Everson. This collection isn't as dark as his NEEDLES & SINS collection so I did enjoy it a bit more, but this one is still a great read! Several of the stories in VIGILANTES OF LOVE left me with a warm feeling in the heart as the stories were just rather "sweet", which is very different from what I'm used to reading by Everson (think sacrificial orgies, demons, etc...) Within this collection, I'd have to say that my favorite stories (I won't include AFTER THE FIFTH STEP since I read it within NEEDLES & SINS already) would have to have been (in order):

Lovesong
A Lack of Signs
Christmas, the Hard Way
Seven Deadly Seeds
Trick and Treat
Hard Heart

I enjoyed the other stories as well, but these really stood out to me.

The sad thing about finishing this book is that I just realized I only have 1 more John Everson book left to read. Outside of that, there are only a few odds 'n' ends short stories out there. So... hopefully he'll be writing some new stuff soon 'cause I need more books to read!!! (yeah, yeah... I have other authors to read, but I need more by my favorite! *grin*)

Book 59 of 2008: Sacrifice by John Everson

Book Description:

Ariana is on a killing spree. Dressed in a black vinyl catsuit, she lures men to hotel rooms, where they will leave their bodies behindin multiple pieces. That's the part of the story that the newspapers know. The "Sunday Slasher," as she's dubbed for her habit of leaving behind a corpse every Sunday morning, doesn't just have a wealth of misanthropic bones in her body. She's also got a hunger for ultimate power and control. Through ritual sexual sacrifice, she aims to open the door between this world and the domain of the powerful, but violently perverse Curburide demons. She will be their queen, and they will rape the world.

Joe Kieran is a young reporter who has just left the East Coast port town of Terrel with a demon on his back. Literally. Having forged a covenant with the demon, Malachai, to save the lives of two women, he now has a constant invisible companion, albeit one who is less than trustworthy. When Joe picks up Alex, a teen hitchhiker on her way to the Rocky Mountains, he soon finds that he's been setup by Malachai. Alex is more than just a perky runaway; she has the ability to talk to ghosts, something her right-wing parents forced her to hide. But now she will need that talent more than ever; as Malachai sets them all on the path that can only lead to... Sacrifice.

My Opinion:

After having chatted with John Everson, I knew to expect SACRIFICE to be a bit more intense than COVENANT was, but I didn't quite expect what I got. This book was simply amazing!!! I will warn that this is definitely not a book for those with a weak stomach or those that don't like graphic gore or sex in their reads because there are plenty of both in this book. If those things don't bother you and you want an intense, wild ride, well... this is definitely the book to read! (granted, I recommend first reading COVENANT since it is the predecessor to this one )

In COVENANT I grew to like all the characters who lived in Terrel, but in SACRIFICE... I *loved* all the characters! Everson did a fabulous job in really giving a background story on many new characters (especially 3 of the key roles in the book: Ariana, Alex, and Jeremy) and I really felt connected in some way to all of these characters.

The final chapter of this book disappointed me in for a couple of reasons...

1) I was saddened by the final "sacrifices" of the book.

2) I hated that my adventures with these characters was now over. I could've read on about their lives and adventures for a MUCH longer time.

With all that said, I have now found my new favorite book. Last in that spot was THE SINISTER MR. CORPSE by Jeff Strand, but my true love is actually erotic horror and that is what John Everson has provided me with SACRIFICE. I send many kudos John's way for such a fun-filled ride and look forward to all future releases. And to those that have yet to check out his books, I again say... what are you waiting for?!?!?!

Book 57 of 2008: Failure by John Everson

Book Description:

Raymond is such a failure, he can't even kill himself and get it right. Cindy just plain doesn't care; she'll get on her knees for anyone beneath the football field bleachers to score a nickel bag hit. And Sal is a frustrated goon with a hook nose and an attitude so sour he can't nail a girl even with the lure of free dope and a getaway car.

When these three desperate teens meet Aaron, a failed practitioner of the dark arts who offers them the best high they've ever smoked in exchange for some kinky sexplay inside his pentagram, things can only go from bad to worse. Aaron hopes to ensnare and re-birth the spirit of a late witch, to capture her power from beyond the grave for his own.

Soon, they'll all learn the darkest, bloodiest, most terrifying definition of Failure.

My Opinion:

John Everson is certainly NO failure!!! This short chapbook released by Delirium Books is both gorgeous and well-written. Everson both designed the cover art and wrote the story... a man of MANY talents! The story starts off introducing the reader to each main character in the book as well as to what is going on with them. From there it flashes back and forth between flashbacks to what happened in the past to get them to this point and what is happening in the present. Everson's use of such intense imagery makes you feel like you are there watching the scene first hand. The flashback scenes are so "wild" that some readers might not be able to handle them, but TRUE horror fans will appreciate the writing style as much as I do.

John Everson has "wowed" me more and more with each book I've read by him. I have always enjoyed erotic horror to a point, but he has taken it to a whole new level for me with his writing style. He has ultimately become my favorite author. To anyone reading this that is a fan of horror... if you haven't checked out John's work yet, I HIGHLY recommend doing so. If you are a fan of novels, start of with COVENANT. If you like short stories, track down NEEDLES & SINS. I promise you... you won't be disappointed.

Book 56 of 2008: Needles & Sins by John Everson

Book Description:

Roses scented with bitter deception, Oracles redolent in hidden redemption, a body-mod-obsessed ingenue with an amputee fetish and a demon gone soft on a bitter angel. Dreamcatchers, an alternate Nativity with a pimp God and a non-compliant Mary, Stupid Bitch the three-legged cat and the secret explanation of how Germany almost won the war with the devil on their side. These are just a few of the provocative sets in these 19 stories rife with "Needles & Sins"...

My Opinion:

I HIGHLY recommend this anthology to fans of horror! There is a variety of stories of all kinds and I found myself only disliking 1 story in the whole book and even that one I am considering re-reading as I think I may have been distracted at the time of. Definitely give this book a shot as Everson has created a mix of bizarro, eroticism, kink, horror, fantasy, etc... A must read for fans of dark fantasy, horror, and erotic horror!

Some of my favorite stories in this book include:

Something Inside
The Beginning Was the End
The Char-Lee
Bloodroses
Green Green Glass
Mutilation Street
And Then Some
After the Fifth Step

And if short stories aren't your thing... read this book anyway! I typically am not the biggest fan of short stories, but I LOVED these! The last 5 stories in this book are all circus themed and are all tied together so it's kinda like reading a short novella.

Book 55 of 2008: Candy in the Dumpster by Various Authors

Book Description:

The first Dark Arts Books release is Candy in the Dumpster, a compilation of 12 "new and used" horror stories by four Chicago authors: Jay Bonansinga, Bill Breedlove, John Everson, and Martin Mundt. This volume features an introduction by another Chicago horror veteran, Mort Castle.

Contents:

MORT CASTLE
Introduction: Candy in the Dumpster

MARTIN MUNDT:
A Perfect Plan
The Cure
Babies Is Smart

JOHN EVERSON:
The White House
Swallowing the Pill
Pumpkin Head

BILL BREEDLOVE:
The Lost Collection
Free to Good Home
Drowning in the Sea of Love

JAY BONANSINGA:
Animal Rites
Stash
Deal Memo

My Opinion:

As with all anthologies, there were some stories I loved and some I didn't really care for.

Mundt's A PERFECT PLAN had me laughing like crazy every time I read the word "shit" and even though I really, really shouldn't have found the story funny, BABIES IS SMART left me in stitches! It's a HORRIBLY wrong story, but written extremely funny so I still enjoyed it. On the other hand, I just didn't get the point of his story THE CURE. I guess it just wasn't the story for me. *shrugs*

Now... Everson's stories on the other hand... I loved 'em all! No surprise there really as I have yet to read anything by him I haven't enjoyed. THE WHITE HOUSE story did start off a little slow for me just because I was trying to figure out what was actually going on, but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. SWALLOWING THE PILL had me from the get-go wanting to know what was going to happen. And PUMPKIN HEAD, well... EVERYONE should read PUMPKIN HEAD! I mean, it's just a really "bad" Halloween story... LOL! (and I mean "bad" in such a good way... hee hee!!!) And if you act fast you can check out the story on John's website as he has it up right now for Halloween!!! Click below:

Pumpkin Head

Breedlove's stories... well, I wasn't really impressed with THE LOST COLLECTION, though the ending had a nice twist to it... and FREE TO A GOOD HOME was just a story. I didn't really get it I guess. However, I did really end up enjoying DROWNING IN THE SEA OF LOVE. It was VERY different compared to his first two stories and I was pleasantly surprised when I got to that one after being disappointed by the first two reads by this author. This just goes to show that I should never give up on an author based on just a few short stories!

Lastly, Bonansinga... ANIMAL RITES... meh... another story in the anthology that I just didn't really get the gist of I guess. However, STASH I ended up enjoying. I didn't think I was going to when I first started reading it, but as the story moved along I started getting into it and it ended up being quite a good story. The last "story", DEAL MEMO, I'm hesitant to call a "story" because it didn't have the feel of an actual story I can't really say whether I enjoyed or not because I can't say I totally got it. The reason being is, I haven't seen the movie THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. I guess had I seen it I might have been able to get this and laughed at it a bit more.

Overall though... I did enjoy this anthology and am looking forward to reading the other anthologies that Dark Arts Books has published.

Book 49 of 2008: Covenant by John Everson

Book Description:

To the residents of the sleepy coastal town of Terrel, the cliffs of Terrel's Peak are a deadly place, an evil place where terrible things happen. Like a series of mysterious teen suicides over the years, all on the same date. Or other deaths, usually reported as accidents. Could it be a coincidence? Or is there more to it? Reporter Joe Kieran is determined to find the truth.

Kieran's search will lead him deep into the town's hidden past, a past filled with secrets and horror, and to the ruins of the old lighthouse atop the tragic cliffs. He will uncover rumors and whispered legends - including the legend of the evil entity that lives and waits in the caves below Terrel's Peak...

My Opinion:

Horror... sex... suicides... sex... action (yeah, in the form of sex as well as other)... well... you get the idea!!! I'm an avid reader of both horror and erotica and when they are mixed together as well as John Everson has done with Covenant, well... that just puts a fan like me in "book heaven". Everson grabbed my attention immediately when I started this book and I had a hard time forcing myself to put it down in order to go to sleep at night or to go back into work after my lunch break each day. The scenes are compiled with such vivid details that I could truly visualize what all was going on. Of course, in some instances this might not have been the best of things. (John... if you're reading this I'm sure you'll know what I'm referring to!) I found this to be a great "starter" book for me into the works of Everson and am greatly looking forward to reading more works by him. (Especially the sequel to COVENANT... SACRIFICE... but do I REALLY have to wait until June of 2009?!?!?!?!?) I definitely recommend this to all fans of horror that don't mind a bit of sex put into the mix. Everson has quickly reached my top fave horror authors list, not only for his writing style, but also due to the fact that he is such an all-around great guy. I've conversed with him via email off and on for a while now and last weekend had the opportunity to meet him in person (see picture below) and get my copy of COVENANT signed. I like when authors take the time out to get to know their fans as I know at least one author that would probably be my fave author of all time if they were to do the same, but due to the lack of that I can't put them up at the top of the list. Sorry... I've gotten off on a tangent, but in conclusion... READ COVENANT BY JOHN EVERSON!!!!!!!!!!