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BOOK REVIEWS: ‘Unburied’ Anthology Edited by Rebecca Rowland

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Unburied: A Collection of Queer Dark Fiction was released earlier this month by Dark Ink Books. The anthology, edited by Rebecca Rowland features queer authors writing stories that cross and blend genres in 16 tales of the strange and unusual.

I really wanted to love this anthology unconditionally, and on a surface level, I do. I love that we live in a time where these anthologies not only exist but are embraced by a larger audience. That being said, like so many collections, the selections here are not created equally. It’s an assortment of very high highs and lows that are not terrible but suffer from pacing and other issues that make them a slog to complete.

None of the stories were terrible, mind you. Some of them simply failed to live up to the potential of their premise.

So, let’s talk about some highlights.

Unburied starts strong with an offering from M.C. St. John titled “Sweet Dreams.” The story is a classic monster-under-the-bed tale about two dads and their son who is being terrorized by something he calls the Underbed Witch. St. John crafts an expertly paced story that is both tense and entertaining. It strikes a nice, nostalgic feel framed in a gay narrative that so many of us did not have while growing up.

“Night Follows Night” by Greg Herren follows quickly on the heels of “Sweet Dreams” with the story of a young man who escaped a religious cult where he was sexually abused by the cult leader. His life is punctuated by anxiety that is driven into overdrive when he believes he sees the leader in his local grocery store. Herren masterfully builds tension as Zane’s anxiety mounts. It is one of the better examples of writing anxiety, panic attacks, and the PSTD of abuse survivors that I have ever read. And the ending? Complete terror.

“When the Dust Settles” weaves a sci-fi/horror tale about identity and autonomy. When Tara, an asteroid miner, wakes up after a horrific accident to find two of her limbs replaced by robotic appendages, she regrets not having reading her forms more closely when she signed onto the job. What happens next is so much worse as Sarah Lyn Eaton asks her readers questions about who we are and what our minds can and will do when approached with terrifying circumstances. I particularly enjoyed the moral and ethical questions in this particular story.

“Open Up and Let Me In” is a terrifying look at the damages our own actions can do to our mental health. The horror here is insidious and creeping. Our protagonist cannot believe her own eyes and oddly enough, neither can we as readers. This is one of the more gore-heavy tales in the collection so be prepared.

“Razor, Knife” by Elin Olausson might be my favorite story in Unburied. Bell and Twiggy are cousins who share a birthday. One’s mother is dead and the other’s is in jail so they both live with their aunt who is completely oblivious to the little games they get up to. When a new vicar moves into town, Twiggy becomes fascinated by the man’s son. He desperately tries to include Martin in some of their games, but Bell will have none of it. The story beautifully combines coming-of-age and self-discovery with the evil children tropes in a fascinating way. I was absolutely gutted by its conclusion.

“The Other Boy” by Laramie Dean is another tale that digs into identity and belief and things that go bump in the night. As a boy, our protagonist was visited by a boy who would appear outside his window like a dark version of Peter Pan, but that is only the beginning of his troubles.  This is an uncomfortable story that leaves the taste of dirt in your mouth at its conclusion. Reader be warned there are scenes that allude to childhood sexual abuse, as well.

These are just a few of the high points from Unburied and the stories that stuck out most for me.

Unburied: A Collection of Queer Dark Fiction is available on Kindle, in paperback, and on audiobook by CLICKING HERE. Check out this collection and let us know your favorites in the comments below.

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‘Alien’ is Being Made Into a Children’s ABC Book

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Alien Book

That Disney buyout of Fox is making for strange crossovers. Just look at this new children’s book that teaches children the alphabet via the 1979 Alien movie.

From the library of Penguin House’s classic Little Golden Books comes A is for Alien: An ABC Book.

Pre-Order Here

The next few years are going to be big for the space monster. First, just in time for the film’s 45th anniversary, we are getting a new franchise film called Alien: Romulus. Then Hulu, also owned by Disney is creating a television series, although they say that might not be ready until 2025.

The book is currently available for pre-order here, and is set to release on July 9, 2024. It might be fun to guess which letter will represent which part of the movie. Such as “J is for Jonesy” or “M is for Mother.”

Romulus will be released in theaters on August 16, 2024. Not since 2017 have we revisited the Alien cinematic universe in Covenant. Apparently, this next entry follows, “Young people from a distant world facing the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Until then “A is for Anticipation” and “F is for Facehugger.”

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Holland House Ent. Announces New Book “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

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Screenwriter and Director Tom Holland is delighting fans with books containing scripts, visual memoirs, continuation of stories, and now behind-the-scenes books on his iconic films. These books offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative process, script revisions, continued stories and the challenges faced during production. Holland’s accounts and personal anecdotes provide a treasure trove of insights for movie enthusiasts, shedding new light on the magic of filmmaking! Check out the press release below on Hollan’s newest fascinating story of the making of his critically acclaimed horror sequel Psycho II in a brand new book!

Horror icon and filmmaker Tom Holland returns to the world he envisioned in 1983’s critically acclaimed feature film Psycho II in the all-new 176-page book Oh Mother, What Have You Done? now available from Holland House Entertainment.

‘Psycho II’ House. “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

Authored by Tom Holland and containing unpublished memoirs by late Psycho II director Richard Franklin and conversations with the film’s editor Andrew London, Oh Mother, What Have You Done? offers fans a unique glimpse into the continuation of the beloved Psycho film franchise, which created nightmares for millions of people showering worldwide.

Created using never-before-seen production materials and photos – many from Holland’s own personal archive – Oh Mother, What Have You Done? abounds with rare hand-written development and production notes, early budgets, personal Polaroids and more, all set against fascinating conversations with the film’s writer, director and editor which document the development, filming, and reception of the much-celebrated Psycho II.  

‘Oh Mother, What Have you Done? – The Making of Psycho II

Says author Holland of writing Oh Mother, What Have You Done? (which contains an afterward by Bates Motel producer Anthony Cipriano), I wrote Psycho II, the first sequel that began the Psycho legacy, forty years ago this past summer, and the film was a huge success in the year 1983, but who remembers? To my surprise, apparently, they do, because on the film’s fortieth anniversary love from fans began to pour in, much to my amazement and pleasure. And then (Psycho II director) Richard Franklin’s unpublished memoirs arrived unexpectedly. I’d had no idea he’d written them before he passed in 2007.”

“Reading them,” continues Holland, “was like being transported back in time, and I had to share them, along with my memories and personal archives with the fans of Psycho, the sequels, and the excellent Bates Motel. I hope they enjoy reading the book as much as I did in putting it together. My thanks to Andrew London, who edited, and to Mr. Hitchcock, without whom none of this would have existed.”

“So, step back with me forty years and let’s see how it happened.”

Anthony Perkins – Norman Bates

Oh Mother, What Have You Done? is available now in both hardback and paperback through Amazon and at Terror Time (for copies autographed by Tom Holland)

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Sequel to ‘Cujo’ Just One Offering in New Stephen King Anthology

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It’s been a minute since Stephen King put out a short story anthology. But in 2024 a new one containing some original works is getting published just in time for summer. Even the book title “You Like It Darker,” suggests the author is giving readers something more.

The anthology will also contain a sequel to King’s 1981 novel “Cujo,” about a rabid Saint Bernard that wreaks havoc on a young mother and her child trapped inside a Ford Pinto. Called “Rattlesnakes,” you can read an excerpt from that story on Ew.com.

The website also gives a synopsis of some of the other shorts in the book: “The other tales include ‘Two Talented Bastids,’ which explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills, and ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,’ about a brief and unprecedented psychic flash that upends dozens of lives. In ‘The Dreamers,’ a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored while ‘The Answer Man’ asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.”

Here’s the table of contents from “You Like It Darker,”:

  • “Two Talented Bastids”
  • “The Fifth Step”
  • “Willie the Weirdo”
  • “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”
  • “Finn”
  • “On Slide Inn Road”
  • “Red Screen”
  • “The Turbulence Expert”
  • “Laurie”
  • “Rattlesnakes”
  • “The Dreamers”
  • “The Answer Man”

Except for “The Outsider” (2018) King has been releasing crime novels and adventure books instead of true horror in the past few years. Known mostly for his terrifying early supernatural novels such as “Pet Sematary,” “It,” “The Shining” and “Christine,” the 76-year-old author has diversified from what made him famous starting with “Carrie” in 1974.

A 1986 article from Time Magazine explained that King planned on quitting horror after he wrote “It.” At the time he said there was too much competition, citing Clive Barker as “better than I am now” and “a lot more energetic.” But that was almost four decades ago. Since then he’s written some horror classics such as “The Dark Half, “Needful Things,” “Gerald’s Game,” and “Bag of Bones.”

Maybe the King of Horror is waxing nostalgic with this latest anthology by revisiting the “Cujo” universe in this latest book. We will have to find out when “You Like It Darker” hits bookshelves and digital platforms starting May 21, 2024.

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