Shades – Dark Tales of Supernatural Horror
Joseph Rubas
Parallel Universe Publications
January 6, 2017
Reviewed by Brian James Lewis

This an excellent book by an author who surprised me in a positive way. Joseph Rubas’ writing reads like that of an older, more seasoned professional even though he is pretty young guy. It feels a little like he is channeling the writers of the old horror pulps in the 22 stories that make up Shades. Think of a young Richard Matheson and early episodes of The Twilight Zone and you’ll have the vibe. Good stuff!

Things kick off with the, it-could-happen-to-you horror of “Passing the Buck.” A pleasant young woman is waiting for a friend at the mall when her life changes horribly and very finally. All because she tried to help. Anybody asks you to help them put a box in their car, you tell ’em to take a hike! Another cool and classic story is “The Warlock.” Some teenagers think they’re smart when they intentionally burn down the house of the local warlock, Kenyard Mays. “Ha-ha! We’ll show that creepy old man who’s boss in this town!” is what these stupid lads think, but they just screwed with the wrong guy. See, even though the burned up body of Mays is found in the leveled home, he’s not in it, thanks to his book of evil magic spells that allow him to shapeshift and switch bodies at will. Soon all the kids who “killed” Mays die horrible deaths, as do their parents and siblings. A local sheriff tries to shut the warlock down by destroying his spell book, but it’s way too late for that. As the story ends, we see that Keynard Mays’ reign of terror is just beginning.

Unlike many collections, Shades is really a different experience and a different kind of horror with each tale. Some people prefer to read books that are just zombie stories, or just vampires, or serial killers. That’s cool, everyone should read what they like. I like variety and the feeling that you’re not even reading the same book by the same author anymore. Joseph Rubas gives us that. From “AOKIGAHARA,” which is about a ghost forest in Tokyo, Japan that is full of the corpses of people who committed suicide, to “The Lake House,” a house rented by a writer in the New England area of the good old U.S.A. What is supposed to be a peaceful retreat turns into a nightmare! Well, the two locations do share one thing. They both want you dead so that they can consume you and absorb you into their very structure.

A few of the pieces are only a page long. “CHOMO” is one of these short shorts, but it still packs a punch. I sure hope that all child molesters DO go to the kind of Hell that Rubas shows us!

All in all, this is a cool read that is available in both trade paperback or as an e-book, and I highly encourage you to pick up a copy today! Shades – Dark Tales of Supernatural Horror can be read in short bites or you can binge out and read it cover to cover, just don’t miss out!

CROW SHINE
Alan Baxter
November 11, 2016
Ticonderoga Publications
Reviewed by Brian James Lewis

 This collection of intense speculative fiction from Alan Baxter is definitely one of a kind. Reason being, that Crow Shine is filled with all kinds of different stories that are not connected very much setting-wise, but are strongly connected by the concepts underneath them. What Baxter’s stories, and the novella length The Darkest Shade of Grey illustrate is that it is not always smart to take things at face value. There are a lot of forces controlling the world around us and while they are close by, it takes a little digging or sometimes a bad mistake to reveal them. Also, many of the people who seem lowest on the totem pole to our uneducated eyes are often the most powerful. Those of us who think we’re smart and know what we’re doing are often messing ourselves instead. A good example of this is Beat of the Pale Wing when the mobsters who are using the demon/entity to clean up their dirty jobs and abusing their power by hurting those that love them get schooled by a stronger, more passionate woman who turns the force they’ve been exploiting back on them.

The Darkest Shade of Grey shows us that angels are not just the gentle and peaceful creatures depicted on Christmas cards and in gift stores. Sometimes they operate like “company men” and have to handle a “problem” just like mafia hit men. They’re not so saintly after all! Tiny Lives is a beautifully sad story about a father who is sacrificing his life to save his youngest daughter by making toys that are alive. I took away some social commentary there too. The story showed that while many of the wealthy people were happy to spend a large amount of money on amazing toys, no one seemed very interested in paying for a life-saving surgery. So this selfless father had to sell his life in order for his daughter to live. Just kind of brings to mind some of the U.S.’s mega-rich families like the Kardashians or Trumps who make news when they buy a five thousand dollar outfit of see-thru clothing for Kim to wear (again) to display her expensively altered self, but not on a replacement kidney for a little child.

Crow Shine’s title story is a great mix of old and new. A young man learning to play classic acoustic blues guitar like Robert Johnson from his grandfather gets a horrible shock when the old man dies suddenly in a fire caused by his moonshine still. At first Clyde grieves, then he rebuilds and remakes the shine that his grandpa refused to let him have because it was “his curse.” Something Clyde just interprets as his grandfather was a bit of a boozer. So he’s real proud of himself when he’s able to cook up a batch of this magical brew. His companion for all this is an ancient old crow who seems to have a connection to it. The shine does more than just give a person a buzz. It gives the maker the ability to steal life force from other humans. Clyde kills his girlfriend via shine and blues playing because he takes too much of her away until she’s gone. That brings him to his senses and he tries to destroy the dangerous set up. But Crow stops him and sets things up to wait for the next customer. Very cool riff on the whole making a deal with the devil at the crossroads thing that is part of the delta blues legends.

There are nineteen stories in Crow Shine which means this review has barely scratched the surface of the treasure within this excellent book that I highly recommend this to all our readers! All the stories are strong and the variety is amazing but stays on target. This will be a pleasure that you will read for years to come. Remember, things move fast these days, so grab a copy or buy an e-book of Crow Shine while it’s available.

• About the Author
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About Brian J. Lewis

• Crow Shine – Book Review – March 10, 2017
• Burning Down Paradise – Book Review – February 27, 2017
• The Ripper’s Time – Book Review – February 17, 2017
• Shadow Out of the Sky by Brick Marlin – Book Review – January 17, 2017
• Clockwork Universe by John W. Dennehy – Book Review – January 10, 2017
• Hive by Alex Smith – Book Review – December 30, 2016

Burning Down Paradise
Eric Kapitan
February 14, 2017
Reviewed By Brian James Lewis

Okay, I know that I was supposed to review a few other titles before this one, but damn it, Eric
Kapitan’s new book stole my attention! All I did was peek inside the envelope to make sure it had arrived in healthy condition, when suddenly the book attacked and welded itself to my hand! Once I realized that it was horror poetry, I was unable to do anything else until I read the whole thing. Twice.

Honestly, I’m glad because Burning Down Paradise is a great representation of Horror Poetry and using a book of it to write a novel is tres cool. Unlike a lot of poetry that people try to cram into this genre of writing, Kapitan’s is right on the money and easily understood. You won’t encounter made up words or a lot of extreme rhyming. This is reading for real people with smooth flow that connects everything nicely. No dictionary required! Kapitan keeps you turning pages and not scratching your head. Bravo!

Before continuing, I just want to let those folks who are offended by graphic violence and sex know that this might not be their cup of tea. So if that’s the case, please try a different title instead of giving this man a hard time for what he does. These elements are required parts of the story. We need to see the depravity that conveys the evil so we can watch its path through the book. Turns out that evil forced into a teenaged girl multiplies as it is transferred to her child and keeps getting bigger and stronger as he grows up. Eventually the man is gone but the evil remains like Kapitan writes in the prologue. After death the new creature in Hell is so evil he takes on Lucifer himself with surprising results. I like it!

Maybe some of you are asking, “Why tell a story with poems when he could just write a regular novel with prose?” The answer is impact and power. Kapitan wants to drive those images into your head without watering them down with a lot of extra words. Think of it as the difference between a shot of good whiskey versus a big glass of cheap beer. Sure they’ll both get you there, but poetry is going to do it faster with some extra kick. Small but mighty!

Would I recommend Burning Down Paradise to my review readers? YES! Most definitely I do.

This book has some serious horns! A lot happens in forty pages. From theological concepts to the gross cruelty of human behavior, Kapitan has a lot to show us. Including the fact that not all evil comes from people who are white trash from trailer parks. The big government system of schools and correctional facilities is not any less to blame. People either get lost in the shuffle or are forced to follow rules and meet expectations that they can’t.

I think that we are going to be seeing more and more interest in horror poetry and short stories these days because people are in a hurry and they want to be entertained now. If that is true, then Eric Kapitan is right on the cutting edge.