ISBN: 9780061625121

From the back cover of Amberville one might expect a cross between Sesame Street and The Sopranos. Eric Bear, years after leaving behind a life of drugs and a job as a runner for a mafia king, opens his apartment door to find his former boss, the mafia head Nicholas Dove visiting with a request—take Dove’s name off the infamous Death List (literally a list of those slated to disappear from the world) or he will have his gorillas tear apart Eric’s beloved wife, Emma Rabbit.

This kicks off the reforming of Eric’s small gang, Tom-Tom Crow, Sam Gazelle and Snake Marek, who have all moved on from their criminal pasts in their own ways, and a desperate hunt for the society’s biggest secret, the Death List and its writer.

But after finishing Amberville readers will find it to be a very peculiar book. Somewhere between a mafia mystery and a higher-brow literary work addressing the nature of good and evil in the world, Amberville balances a deep mystery and action with deep, soulful contemplations (by mad men, or mad bears as the case may be). In fact the literary, contemplative sections which can, at times come off as lagging bits in the pacing of the plot, genuinely serve to distract and set up the reader, a sign of some truly clever writing.

Yes, the characters really are stuffed animals, living in a world where many things are very clearly defined for them (such as the good areas of town literally being painted different colors from the bad ones). And that analogy doesn’t go very far, in that the type of animal a character is doesn’t necessarily define who they are. And there aren’t really any musing on the nature of man versus beast. But each animal is a full, fleshy—or stuffed—whole with a parallel personality type in our world.

Amberville is the kind of book you wouldn’t think about reading, or you’d expect to not like, only to discover it has a lot more to offer than can be explained on the book jacket. It absolutely keeps you guessing, up to the last sentence, and asks questions but never presumes to offer answers, making it a very good read indeed.

ISBN: 978-0981639000

Despite the flavorful title, Gene O’ Neill’s Taste of Tenderloin doesn’t feature eight stories dedicated to culinary tales, but instead it’s his ode to the San Francisco Tenderloin District, bent on making the area a vivid, magical place all its own.

The first story, “Lost Patrol”, is not necessarily a traditional story with a beginning, middle and end. Instead it’s a character profile, short, but vivid, with a delicate stretch of story surrounding it. Like an appetizer, there’s not much here, but enough to get a good taste of what’s to come.

Next comes “Magic Words”, an old school urban fantasy tale of dark magic and a mysterious homeless woman who one night, taking only a promise for the future as payment, gives a man the exact words he needed to move forward in his life. Unlike a lot of other stories, this one doesn’t try to present a “be careful what you ask for” moral. Instead it just presents itself as it is, adding an element of mysticism to the Tenderloin.

“Tombstones in His Eyes” tackles the overlapping tales of the junkies on the street, using some very interesting symbolism. Again, O’ Neill doesn’t so much tell a story as present a character and their tale, in the good and bad, for the reader’s viewing.

“Bushido” is also lovely, the tale of a man who finds salvation in the streets walking alongside doom. But the imagery and the climax bear a strong resemblance to the previous tale, and so it lessens some of the impact.

“Balance” follows a vet suffering from a disconnect with reality. It’s hard to watch Declan’s version of getting more control over the world around him, since he can’t seem to control his own brain functions. But this story, like the other so far, is present unflinchingly, with little effort to make the reader sympathize with the characters. Instead O’ Neill just beckons you to come and listen.

With “The Apotheosis of Nathan McKee” O’Neill ties the people of the Tenderloin and the stories in this collection together firmly, making each minor, barely mentioned character the owner of their own story. Nathan, interchangeable with the attack victim in “Bushido”, discovers a beating has left him not only for with a complete lack of desire for the booze he used to drug himself, but it’s given him a unique ability. Only he’s not quite sure what to do with it. The first overall positive tale, without a bittersweet touch, it possesses a delicate aspect of intriguing urban fantasy.

In “Bruised Soul” Mickey D, an ex boxer abandoned to the streets by time and suffering from damage taken through the length of his career, hits the streets after a stint in a mental facility, only to discover the good things have gotten that much worse in his absence and the bad things, of course, never change. It’s his new neighbor that piques his interest this time around, an exotic woman named Jenna who seems to have a peculiar ability. Threaded just as finely is an end question, what is real and what has Micky D imagined, without the heavy-handedness of other stories.

Finally is “5150”, the first first person story in the collection. Here the lead might not seem like a true member of the Tenderloin, but by the sad, shattering end of this cop’s life you can see every character story so far caught up in this one tale.

Readers should be warned that these characters seem fleshy and real, their tales often dark and hopeless. It is easy to get pulled into the hopeless feeling of this collection.

Taste of Tenderloin is a tight network of precise details and emotion presented, but firmly held back from influencing the reader in each story. A delicate balance of realism, surrealism and unique storytelling makes it a compelling read.

Eric S. Brown’s Season of Rot is a collection of five zombie novellas that from the first page demonstrates how well-versed Brown is in the zombie genre. In scene after scene, readers will find good guys and bad guys, women and children, all trying to survive the undead plague while holed up in hospitals, military bases and even luxury cruise ships converted for war against the undead.

What’s hard to find is a true sense of storytelling in any of Brown’s offerings…

Full Review at DarkScribe Magazine.

Dark Regions Press kicks off its New Voices of Horror series with a strong – and rotting – foot with this collection of tales from David Dunwoody. It’s clear from line one that Dunwoody knows what he’s doing when it comes to writing good fiction. Inside these pages we see every kind of savage inhuman monster, from the zombies Dunwoody is known for, to demons, werewolves, and things that have no explanation — even in the horror realm…

Full Review at DarkScribe Magazine.

ISBN: 9780061649691

Coraline Jones, ignored, unappreciated and outright bored, lives in a house with a crazy old man who trains rats in the flat above her, and a pair of retired actresses and their dog in the flat below her. In her flat there is a most wondrous door, which leads to nowhere, except at night, when it leads to a whole other world built just for her.

By now between the book and the movie, you’ve probably heard of it, if not seen or read it. But for those who haven’t met Coraline and her creepy, button-eyed other mother there’s a few things they should know.

Coraline isn’t Gaiman’s best work, or the prettiest as far as story or prose goes. What it is is incredibly imaginative and unlike any other scary kids book out there. The stand out element isn’t the true bizarreness, but Coraline herself, strong, courageous and most importantly a very smart little girl.

This book is as much about how a child deals with the bad things in life as it is about parental abandonment or the scary things that go bump in the night. Like the Harry Potter series faces themes of losing the people you love, Coraline contains a subtle, encouraging message about being strong, fierce and bringing your own bravery into all the challenges you face.

For this reason alone it’s a must-have addition to any child or child-oriented library. The other elements just add to the experience, making Coraline a potential children’s classic for years to come.