Glenn Rolfe's #ChasingGhosts - Review

My thoughts
First, let me make a confession. I love horror movies with inbred people as the killers. Who can forget the power and tension of the first Wrong Turn film (forget the sequels)? Texas Chainsaw Massacre...I believe there's an inbreeding story line in that one too. TCM is burned into any horror fans memory. Oh, and let's not forget Deliverance (not really horror, but horrific just the same). I'm sure there are more and I know I've pretty much seen them all. But let me get to my point...

What is more scary than a clan of inbreds who are also cannibals? Not much. There is something almost urban legend-esque about it. There's a reason why "Home" is one of my favorite X-Files episodes. It's just so damn disturbing. So, Rolfe comes along with Chasing Ghosts and his inbreds are some of the most disturbing I've ever encountered.

You know it's going to be a no-holds-barred, Game of Thrones style read when kids get killed early on. No punches are pulled and it makes for honest horror. Because what do a bunch of inbred dudes care about who they're killing? Not a damn thing.

Rolfe continues to impress me with each new book. Blood and Rain was a deliciously wild ride on the werewolf train and Things We Fear had me thinking along with the fear. You should not miss anything written by Rolfe. I promise. You will be thanking me later.

About the book
The Cobbs were ignorant woods-people that died off and left nothing to fear. Locals in Naples, Maine think they know this story. But are they wrong?

Luke Howard and his mom move to Naples and Luke’s eager to make new friends. When Jason and Davey invite him out to the abandoned Cobb place for a game they call “chasing ghosts,” he’s ready and willing. However, the boys will come to discover that some vacant houses are better left to die alone.

Meanwhile, a punk band set to play in a rented cabin out of town feel eyes upon them. Somebody’s watching, but not their usual audience. When their lead singer strays too far from the group and disappears, his band mates set out in the darkness to find him.

Police Chief Walt Henderson is about to discover that there’s more going on out in the woods of his town than he ever imagined.

Chasing ghosts is more than just some children’s game.

About the author

Glenn Rolfe is an author, singer, songwriter and all around fun loving guy from the haunted woods of New England. He has studied Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University, and continues his education in the world of horror by devouring the novels of Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Hunter Shea, Brian Moreland and many others. He and his wife, Meghan, have three children, Ruby, Ramona, and Axl. He is grateful to be loved despite his weirdness.

He is the author the novellas,Abram’s Bridge, Boom Town,Things We Fear, and the forthcoming, Chasing Ghosts; the short fiction collection, Slush; and the novels, The Haunted Halls and Blood and Rain.

His first novella collection, Where Nightmares Begin, was released in March 2016.

Praise for Glenn Rolfe

“Things We Fear is a compulsively readable tale of obsession and dark suspense, with one of the creepiest villains I’ve encountered in recent years.” — Tim Waggoner, author of The Way of All Flesh

“Glenn Rolfe’s new thriller is addictive. A quick, compelling read. Rolfe creates tension with a minimal amount of words. His characters are so well-drawn they come alive (before they die).” — Duncan Ralston, author of Salvage

“A major new talent rises from the Maine woods…Rolfe is the real deal, and Blood and Rain is a classic monster novel, full of blood and teeth and the kind of razor sharp writing that makes the pages sing. Small town horror is back, with a vengeance!” –Nate Kenyon, award-winning author of Sparrow Rock, Diablo: Storm of Light and Day One

“Fast paced and tense, with one of the most interesting monsters I’ve read about in recent times.” — Patrick Lacey, author of A Debt to Be Paid

“Glenn Rolfe is quickly establishing a name for himself as one of a number of excellent new writers to ensure the horror genre is kept alive and well.” — Catherine Cavendish, author of Dark Avenging Angel

“With slashing claws and blood-soaked fur, Blood and Rain will have you howling in terror and delight. A welcome addition to the werewolf mythos, and proof that we’re in the presence of a rising star in the genre. Highly recommended!” -Ronald Malfi, author of The Floating Staircase

“There is a definite old school feel about this novella. It isn’t an over the top gore fest. Instead, what we have is a tense, psychological thriller that builds steadily towards a fitting climax.” -Adrian Shotbolt, at Ginger Nuts of Horror

“Glenn Rolfe takes a swing at the werewolf genre and hits a home run.” – Russell James, author of Q Island and Dreamwalker

Buy the book

Amazon

For more information on this title and all Sinister Grin Press titles, go to:

Sinister Grin Press

Mayan Blue by Michelle Garza & Melissa Lason - Review #MayanBlue

My thoughts
Okay, Eli Roth, James Wan, Rob Zombie, or perhaps Guillermo Del Toro, you need to read this book and make it into a movie. Because it already reads like a movie. A really good scary, gory movie. (I think Eli Roth would be good fit for this one, but that's just my opinion).

I have always been fascinated by the Mayans. I long to visit Chichen Itza and the other Mayan archaeological ruin sites. Mel Gibson's Apocalypto is one of my favorite films. Many people are interested in the fact that the Mayans practiced human sacrifice. Yes, that is interesting...and horrifying. However, I find the fact of their vast knowledge to be far more interesting. The creation of their hieroglyphic script, the only known fully developed writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well their art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system, is what I find truly amazing.

The authors, known as The Sisters of Slaughter, have created a unique premise here with one of their characters, a professor and archaeologist, having a theory that some of the Mayan's scattered and found refuge in the mountain regions of the state of Georgia. I find this an interesting and even plausible theory. The Mayan's were so advanced...why couldn't some of them have broke away and migrated elsewhere?

The professor decides to explore his theory, along with his research assistant and a group of college students, traveling to the Blood Mountain area of Georgia. As you can probably imagine, it all goes down hill from there. I keep telling these archaeologists in movies/books...don't move or remove things, damn it. They don't listen. (and that's as spoilery as I'm going to get).

As I mentioned at the beginning, reading this is like watching a good horror movie. Edge of seat, nail biting terror at what is steadily revealed as the story progresses. Forget zombies. These entities (to use a nice word that doesn't even begin to describe them) are grotesque almost beyond description. Also, I love owls, but after this book,..I may have to think on that more. Oh, and don't forget the gore. This is a journey into Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. What can be expected but blood, gore and endless suffering in the world of Ah Puch, the god of death.

All I can say is that Mayan Blue is the BOMB. I was thrilled through every minute of reading it and I read it very fast...and I'm not a fast reader. I can't wait to read more from The Sisters of Slaughter.

About the book
File Size: 488 KB
Print Length: 149 pages
Publisher: Sinister Grin Press (May 25, 2016)
Publication Date: May 25, 2016

GoodReads

Xibalba, home of torture and sacrifice, is the kingdom of the lord of death. He stalked the night in the guise of a putrefied corpse, with the head of an owl and adorned with a necklace of disembodied eyes that hung from nerve cords. He commanded legions of shapeshifting creatures, spectral shamans, and corpses hungry for the flesh of the living. The Mayans feared him and his realm of horror. He sat atop his pyramid temple surrounded by his demon kings and demanded sacrifices of blood and beating hearts as tribute to him and his ghostly world.

These legends, along with those that lived in fear of them, have been dead and gone for centuries. Yet now, a doorway has been opened in Georgia. A group of college students seek their missing professor, a man who has secretly uncovered the answer to one of history’s greatest mysteries. However, what they find is more than the evidence of a hidden civilization. It’s also a gateway to a world of living nightmares.

About the authors

Melissa Lason and Michelle Garza have been writing together since they were little girls and were dubbed The Sisters of Slaughter by the editors of Fireside Press. They are constantly working together on new stories in the horror and dark fantasy genres. Their work has been included in FRESH MEAT published by Sinister Grin Press, WISHFUL THINKING by Fireside Press, WIDOWMAKERS a benefit anthology of dark fiction.

Find them on Facebook!

Praise for Mayan Blue

“From the outset, Garza and Lason let the blood spill, plunging their small cast of characters into the depths of Mayan hell. There’s plenty of action to go around as the group is confronted with a number of horrors, from the labyrinthine and booby-trapped maze of the newly discovered Mayan temple to the angry gods and their owl-headed, sharp-clawed servants.” –Michael Hicks, Author of Convergence

“Their short works are wonderful to read. However this book proves that they can tackle longer works without missing a beat.” –Tom, GoodReads

”These two show no quarter dragging the characters--and by extension, the reader--into the depths of the Mayan version of Hell. There's vividness to the scenes they craft that made me want to make sure I was reading in full daylight, or at least with most of the lights on.” –John Quick, Author of Consequences

Purchase Links

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Sinister Grin Press