Short Attention Span Theater...A DOUBLE FEATURE!

So, I am rolling a double-bill today. Today you get my take on thirty minutes with James N. Cook's, No Easy Hope: Surviving The Dead (Book 1) and...The Booked.Anthology. I openly admit that I have a story, Faces on the Milk Carton in the Booked offering (where the proceeds go to literary charities,,,so grab one!). And My 30 minutes with that anthology will not be in the TOC order, so grab some popcorn and let's dive in together.

I will start off and just get this out of the way...No Easy Hope needs a little bit of editing. It is not terrible or too distracting, but it has some things that could use fixing.

Okay, with that out of the way, I am really enjoying this book. It wastes no time drawing you in with action in the opening scene. Eric gets some real quick character development so that you get to feel like you actually met the guy and are now getting more acquainted as things unfold. I will say that Gabe almost outshines him as a character and had become my favorite so far.

You get to hang with "normal" folks in the worst of situations. Cook does a good job at what I think is dropping some hints of what we can look forward to as the back story is revealed. It is early, but I would say this is a title you should pick up. If the series holds up, this will be fun. Sure, it's early, but Cook has a way with setting mood and sharing just enough description so that you can let your mind paint the picture.

Now, as for The Booked. Anthology...

 Anthologies are sometimes hard to review. You will always find stories you love and others that you don't. This review will be in installments as I pick through the tales included and write something about each one. The reviews will not be in the order of the TOC. I will not give away spoilers, just observations...so here it goes:

One Shot (Only God Knows) by Michael Paul Gonzalez: This is Soylent Green meets Twilight Zone. The tone is dark and puts you in a very "what if" state of mind. There is a lot to be said about the possible meanings the writer could be shooting for, but most people guess and only the author really knows. But here is a question...what if you knew the manner and date of your death? Can pre-destiny be defeated?

Two Dollar Beer Nights by Sean P Ferguson: Every guy who reads this will cringe, nod, and then wince. Perhaps in a different order, but still...very nasty.

The Removal Kind by Caleb J Ross: Cue the voice of the guy who does the heavy duty movie trailer intros... Every so often, you read a story and go, "Huh?" THIS is that story. Go ahead and read the end and then you tell me that was not straight out of Bizzaro-Land.

Bob the Zombie!

Ah, the hectic life a writer has when there is a new release in the pipeline. Before I skitter forth with this week's Short Attention Span Theater, I want to thank you all who made this release of Dead: Confrontation such a wonderful experience for me. It landed on the Amazon Top 100 in horror upon release and has flitted in and out ever since. Even more exciting, the FIRST book in the series, Dead: The Ugly Beginning has seen a sudden rise and for the first time ever book one has hit the Top 100 as well!!! To say that I am excited is putting it mildly. I know it might seem silly, but this is a thrill for me and, I must admit, it is also a bit of validation.

Some exciting news, a small group of us writer types were recently contacted by the amazing Tracy Tufo. And now, I am thrilled to say that we will be part of a horror conglomerate if you will. In the back of each and every one of my titles, you will find the above full page ad featuring John O'Brien, James N. Cook, Armand Rosamilia, Heath Stallcup, Shawn Chesser, and Mark Tufo. Each of us has a version of this page, the only difference is that my DEAD series will be in their ads. 

And now (imagine a heralding fanfare)...Short Attention Span Theater!

This week I am pleased to offer up a title that you can actually read in just about the allotted reading time for Short Attention Span Theater (aka 30 minute reader). Bob the Zombie by Jaime Johnesee.

This was a great break from all of the serious horror-style zombie stuff that I have been immersed in for the past few years. Granted, I read more than just the zombie stuff, but it does consume most of my reading since that is what I write (and love).

Bob is a normal guy with a pretty dismal life. Then he died. His family (is there no greater love than that for a mother towards her son?) brought him back and were less than pleased when he began the slow decomposition. Now, Bob has to find his way in a world that is just not all that excited when a zombie walks past. (A great job is done here of seeing how people react as if Bob is just a Walking Dead fanboy extremist.)

Anyways, this short read is a great tongue-in-cheek introduction into an alternate reality where ghouls and necromancers exist. It is light, funny, and has a very distinct charm. It is not laugh-out-loud funny, but it generates a lot of smiles which are good for your health. 

I can give this a high recommendation, It has a few editing glitches (mostly in dialog punctuation), but nothing that distracts anybody except for grammar geeks. So grab it, read it, review it, and implore Jaime to get busy on the next Bob the Zombie adventure.