Over the past few years I have met some awesome writers and made some really good friends! It is an honor to be part of the Hellnotes review team as well as The Horror Review. It has also been my pleasure to feature reviews here on Damaged Skull Writer and share my successes! This blog will continue to be about great writing and poetry regardless of label, but the majority will lean in the Speculative direction. This is also a safe, no haters allowed place. We’re put on this earth to create and not waste time being obsessed with sexual orientation, skin colors, genders, body types, and choice of religion. Those are things that make the world unique. The power of the written word can overcome a lot of stuff, including disability. Thank you to everyone for trusting me with their work!

See You On The Next Page,

Brian James Lewis

Damaged Skull Writer and Reviewer

On April 19th Apex Publishing is going to release the fiery apocalyptic thriller Breaking the World by author Jerry Gordon. Things kick off deep inside the Branch Davidian Church compound in Waco, Texas during the infamous 51 day standoff between cult leader David Koresh and the FBI. While that is exciting in itself, it’s just the beginning of a wild ride into a brand new world of danger for three teenagers who are running for their lives. Be sure to stay tuned for my review of this incredible book on Hellnotes. You don’t want to miss this!

Here’s the cool surprise that I was talking about on the back cover of Jordan Anderson’s second book For A Glimpse Beyond The Terminus. This blurb by yours truly for the Horror Review is a very good description of Anderson’s writing. It is deep and continues to surprise us with the unexpected. Big thanks to Jordan Anderson for showing his appreciation of my review by including on the back cover! What an honor! I am currently working on this review and should have it on soon. Thanks for reading. Here’s hoping your weekend is a good one!

Last year I reviewed an excellent collection of short stories from Jordan Anderson seeking a “fair review.” At first, I was a bit worried. But the more I read, more impressed I was! For a first book, The Things That Grow With Us was stronger than material I’ve read by more seasoned writers. Needless to say, doing the review was a pleasure!

To celebrate the anniversary of his first book, Jordan has released his second. For A Glimpse Beyond The Terminus is even better than his debut! I’m two stories in and have a feeling that we’ve got another winner on our hands! Be sure to check back tomorrow when I reveal something cool on the back cover! Stayed tuned! 

Snapshot
by Chris Helvey
Livingston Press-University of Alabama
December 30, 2017
reviewed by Brian James Lewis

The book I want to talk about today is Snapshot which was written by a fine fella by the name of Chris Helvey. He’s an award winning writer with a good number of books out including a great collection of short stories titled Claw Hammer that I highly recommend to anyone who wants to read some real solid writing that engages your brain while dragging your heart along for the ride. Helvey writes books about the true America. This is what happens between folks who are struggling along to make ends meet and find love, or at least some kind of reason for their existence. But since this isn’t a review of Claw Hammer, let’s get back to the latest and greatest from author Chris Helvey.

Snapshot starts off in a pure, simple way that might remind you of Hemingway, Steinbeck, or Kerouac. Helvey puts you right there with Eddie Burke as he walks out of the Kentucky coalmine where he works and runs smack into Turp Lawson on his way home. They aren’t friends, nor does Eddie want things to go there. But Turp forces himself on Eddie and asks for a favor. Since it seems harmless enough and Eddie doesn’t want to be stuck up, he approves. But that’s kind of unfortunate, because it isn’t long before Eddie’s good deed flings him into a mess of the blues.

Even what might seem like a kindness trips Eddie up when he goes to Turp’s place for supper and ends up with a whole lot more than he bargained for. Seems that Marta, Turp’s attractive wife, thinks lonely, divorced Eddie needs some cheering up and before he knows it they’re operating on a clandestine basis. Meanwhile, ol’ Turp keeps leaning on him harder for support and Eddie is thinking that he must’ve walked into an outhouse head first. Things come to a head the night that the boys get to drinking. Despite Eddie’s warnings, Turp buys his shine from a questionable source and drinks way too much of it, turning a mellow drinking party into a big old mess. Things spiral wildly out of control with horrible results that leave poor Eddie holding the shitty end of a stick that he would never have grabbed in the first place, except for kindness.

I guess that I don’t want to get much deeper than that into things. This is a story that deserves to be told by its author and eaten nice and fresh like fried squirrel. What I will say is what a great book Snapshot is and one you won’t walk away from untouched. Even in what appear to be simple places, life can get complicated in a hurry. When a person changes, regardless of whether they initiated the change or not, things cannot stay the same. Eddie wrestles with that a lot and is left with 20/20 hindsight about how a man he didn’t really want to know had such an impact on his life.

Snapshot isn’t a straight-on horror novel full of monsters and such. Yet, as William Quincy Belle pointed out, what is more terrifying than our everyday existence? One only has to check out the news to see that man is capable of doing horrible things. Chris Helvey’s writing makes you think on that a little and that’s a good thing. “How do I get a copy?” You ask. I was just getting to that. You can purchase Snapshot from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s Books, Livingston Press, and from Chris Helvey himself. You can contact him via e-mail at adobechris@hotmail.com Let’s support small presses and writers who make a difference!

EXCELLENT! Five Stars! So real feeling and written in such a believable way that you’ll be turning pages long after midnight! Kristopher Triana keeps building the suspense while pushing us slowly over the edge into no man’s land. The Detained will crush you with its truths, but redeem a lost soul with honesty. Holds up a funhouse mirror to show us that we’re still the scariest creatures walking the planet. You may never want to attend a high school reunion again after reading this book!  –

Brian James Lewis-Damaged Skull Writer

Parlour Tricks
by Carl Barker
Parallel Universe Publications
July 27, 2017
reviewed by Brian James Lewis

Wow! Talk about an interesting short story collection! Carl Barker’s Parlour Tricks is what you are looking for if you enjoy twisted speculative fiction with shocking endings. Not only does this book boast a highly divergent content level, it also ties the stories together by relating them to specific magic tricks in a section called The Inner Circle at the end of the book. At first, I was a little skeptical of that, but it works! The cover art by Luke Spooner draws you into Barker’s clutches and after that it’s time for the magic to begin. Kids, don’t try these at home!

Eater of Lost Causes is a cool tale about Leonard, a young dude who discovers an amazing ability to experience people’s lives by eating their ordinary household trash. Things like teabags, egg cartons, and cardboard yield up the lives of their previous owners to his wondering mind. Leonard likes the way his “trips” take him away from the disaster zone of his parents’ crumbling marriage and all the abuse his mother heaps upon him in her angry times. After an especially bad time, the boy hits the road and ends up in the giant landfill where all the city’s garbage is dumped off. The possibilities provided are unlimited and Leonard makes a very special friend, who helps him to understand his powers. But good things can’t last forever and an attack from a Cthulu type monster destroys Leonard’s new life. What will he do to survive?

Unlike Leonard, who is forced out of place multiple times, Bryan finds himself forced into place by the leader of his rock band. In With The Band Jukebox Willy wants Bryan to return to his position of guitar virtuoso in their former band and he’s not going to take no for an answer. Trouble is that the rest of the band died in a plane crash 18 years ago. So they can’t all just meet up in a pub and start grooving. No, the place that Bryan will have to go in order to join the others is a dank dark hell pit. He tries to ignore Willy, but Bryan finds that the ghoulish drummer is everywhere and his rampages are becoming more dangerous. Soon decomposing creatures are crossing into the world of the living and wreaking havoc. Bryan’s only chance for survival is in playing at least one concert. Will he make it out alive?

The Man Who Came To Dinner is a powerful piece undiminished by its brevity. Since I have used a similar approach to death in one of my stories, I totally get it. We all fear death, especially as young, single folk. There is so much we want to do yet-NEED to do! But, when a person is at the other end of the spectrum, death can bring mercy and relief from pain or loneliness. May we all be fortunate enough to have such a polite Ferryman taking us to the next world.

Since my aim is to whet your appetite and not spoil your meal, that’s it for the previews. Now it’s time for me to answer the big question. Would I purchase a copy of Parlour Tricks for myself or a friend? Indeed I would! Every book I’ve read from Parallel Universe Publications is better than the previous one. I’m not just saying that to be nice, either. There is definitely a positive evolution taking place as they grow their catalog of available works. As a reviewer, that is something enjoyable to watch. I totally encourage you to purchase a copy of Carl Barker’s Parlour Tricks in your favorite format today! Please keep in mind that this book is intended for adults and contains material best suited for them. As always, thanks for reading and remember: If you find yourself chained to a breakfast bar with no clothes on, it’s probably the work of a nutty ex-girlfriend. Good Luck!