Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Harlequin Teen, 2004
ISBN: 9780373210152
Available: New and used

Elphame, the Chosen of the Goddess Epona, is half-centaur and half-human. She leaves the luxury of home, and her mother, the Goddess Incarnate, to travel to a crumbling castle. Elphame is determined to revive the site, once the scene of slaughter, and find her place in the world. When she arrives, she finds the half-breed descendants of the Fomorians, the demons who destroyed the castle in the first place, recognizes one of them as her soulmate.
Elphame’s Choice is not horror, or even dark fantasy, but will still reach some readers in those audiences, particularly those who enjoy the kind of fantasy found in the Twilight books. Some readers, however, will find the pace slow and repetitive, the prose purple and the characters too perfect. There’s little tension here, little question that all will end well, and little action that explains why the characters deserve the adoration and love they seem to get. But there’s also no question that this kind of fantasy has an audience among teens and adults alike. As for the place this novel deserves in a public library collection–there are certainly worse books already to be found on the shelves, but there are more enchanting choices as well.
Contains: Explicit sex, masturbation
Review by Michele Lee

MonsterLibrarian.com Editor’s note: Elphame’s Choice was initially published for an adult audience. P.C Cast is also the co-author of the popular young adult vampire series The House of Night, so readers of those books may pick this up due to its location on the shelf. When considering reader’s advisory, librarians should be aware that the level of mature sexual content in the book has caused some controversy.

Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Snarl by Lorne Dixon
Coscom Entertainment, 2009
ISBN: 978-1897217870
Available: New and Used

Chev, a trucker, Ross, a grandfather and David, his ten year old grandson who just lost his whole family to a house fire, all have the bad luck to find themselves in a horror novel, the kind where the characters get lost and end up in a tiny town terrorized by a gang who also happen to be werewolves. The human townies can’t give the outsiders over to the beasts quickly enough, and the werewolves want to use Chev and Ross as excuses to break the pact made between human and monster fifty years ago.

Snarl is a tale that belongs with the best of werewolf movies: fast-paced, dark, and gruesome. Between humans willing to live complacently with the brutal deaths of many others (as long as it isn’t them) and shape shifters who might have motive to slaughter, there are no clear good guys. For werewolf and general horror fans, it’s a good, solid read and would make a quality addition to public and private libraries looking to expand the number of horror titles in their collection. Recommended.
Contains: Gore, language, violence

Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Bare Bone #6 edited by Kevin, L Donihe

Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2004

ISBN: 0974503185

Available: New and used

Bare Bone #6 is a solid collection of horror tales and poetry, all well written and entertaining to the point where it’s hard to pick standout stories. Inside, readers will find subtle and dark tales of unexpected killers, unspoken of traditions that befall children, as well as two holiday tales, “Daddy Didn’t Forget” by Mollie Burleson that mirrors The Nutcracker and “Don Huavaca’s Dia De Los Muertos” by Kendall Evans which offers a tongue-in-cheek, but dark look at the tradition of honoring the dead. Between the former story and “Momma’s Lesson” by Tanya Twombly there’s a delightful variety in cultural point of views as well.

Bare Bone #6 would make an excellent addition to private and public collections, and between the variety, solid writing and slim, but not skinny size it makes for an easy, enjoyable read.

Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Escape of the Living Dead by John Russo

Avatar, 2006
ISBN: 1592910343
Available: New & Used

This graphic novel is a sequel to Night of the Living Dead, written by the original co-creator, John Russo. The story picks up right where Night of the Living Dead leaves off. Three years have passed and life is finally returning to normal, although the survivors of the original breakout are still haunted by the events and losses that occurred then. The local sheriffs serve a warrant on a mysterious complex and find that some of the zombies from the first attack weren’t destroyed. Instead, they were preserved after the government’s experiments were supposed to be over. In an effort to escape the law, the scientist in charge has shipped all his zombie patients to a new location, and of course they just happen to get free and start running amok again.
All stereotypical aspects of a zombie tale aside, there are excellent visuals in this book, and even in such a small space the characters take on a life of their own (the near understanding of the lead zombie is particularly creepy). Readers will find all the standard bits in this book, from the unrealistically sexy useless woman in danger to characters related to said woman solely to amp up tension.
Contains: Graphic gore, nudity, language, violence