I’m writing this blog post just a few-hundred metres from the great Cathedral of Cologne while on holiday in Germany. One of the great things about my day-job as a teacher is the regular holidays I’m entitled to every year. Every Christmas, my beautiful partner and I get to travel, and we usually go to …
Review: Zero Saints by Gabino Iglesias
In the short time I’ve been lurking on Twitter and hoovering up as much advice about writing as I can, it’s become very clear that Gabino Iglesias is one of the good guys. The dude is always dropping pearls of wisdom and reflections on his own experiences with an unfalteringly positive outlook and a compassionate …
Review: Ararat by Christopher Golden
With an ancient demon invisibly possessing its victims and sowing the seeds of animosity between characters and an isolated and snowbound setting, comparisons to Carpenter’s classic, The Thing, abound in Christopher Golden’s Ararat. Are they justified? Is that even a bad thing? Read on to find out... The first thing any review of this book …
Why we need a faithful new adaptation of Lord of the Flies
William Golding’s classic exploration of the darkness inherent in all of us, Lord of the Flies, is generally seen in one of two lights. It’s either that boring book packed as densely with prose descriptions of the rainforest as its figurative jungle is with liana vines and ferns, or it’s a timeless classic that drags humanity’s hidden evils …
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Bone Saw by Patrick Lacey
What happens when you throw a dodgy film director, a good-hearted kid with a love for old-school horror movies, a badass chick with Daddy issues, a haunted private eye and a homicidal pig-monster into an isolated town? Well, aside from the obvious insanity and gore, you get a rollicking good read, that’s what. Patrick Lacey’s …
Recent Readings: Bird Box, Bone Saw, Ararat & More
Lately I’ve heard a few people say horror is in a great place right now. Well, if some of my recent reads are any indication, they’d be one hundred per correct. Over the last few weeks, I’ve absolutely a blitzed a spate of books that have left me slavering for more. I’m not sure how …
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Scolopendra: Coming soon
My short story Scolopendra has been picked up by Kyanite Press for their forthcoming Halloween issue. I'm pretty excited about this one. It started as an exemplar short story for students at school, but I've since reworked it to incorporate more elements of body horror, extra gore, a few swear-words and a greater smattering of …
Shelley’s Frankenstein
What a novel Frankenstein is. Rereading it - particularly the hardcover Bernie Wrightson version - is such a joy. Admittedly, the epistolary style is a little archaic and the novel does 'tell rather than show' when compared to some of today's contemporary horror, but it's easy to see why it's a classic. Everything from the …
