Tag: Book Review

FANS OF HORROR CINEMA AND LIT WILL FIND A LOT TO LOVE IN “DEMO REELS AND ARTHOUSE MADNESS” A COLLECTION OF DARK VERSE BY AWARD-WINNING WRITER VINCE A. LIAGUNO

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DEMO REELS and ARTHOUSE MADNESS
Vince A. Liaguno
2/25/2025
Raw Dog Screaming Press
Reviewed by Brian “Skull” Lewis

Hey there horror fans, it’s your old pal Skull returning from the grave to clue you in about a most excellent collection of dark verse from Bram Stoker Award winner, Vince A. Liaguno! Just released by Raw Dog Screaming Press, Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness is a rollercoaster that’s ready to take readers on a wild ride through the dark side. So, buckle up buttercup, and hang on tight!

This a great collection of diverse dark verse that delivers a funky movie house vibe with its fan letter to horror flicks. “Summer Camp, Parts I and II” is a great example of this with playful verse about all the crazy goings on at camps we’re familiar with through the magic of cinema. “Epoch Rewound” transmits images of the 1980’s into our heads, the ones now referred to as “Pop Culture” but to those of us who were there, we were just walking though the endless malls, using lots of hair spray, and playing Trivial Pursuit. Many of the poems in Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness are about deep topics, but Liaguno presents them artfully, mixing in clips of pretty things to camouflage the horror chattering across dusty screens in musty abandoned theaters.

“Chatroom Hustler” opens the show by launching us into the dark side of online sex. “Ghosts of the Disco” transports us to the 1980’s dance clubs of NYC pumping with the sparkling, simmering, sexy intoxication of being out in a safe space. Unfortunately, the hot sweaty sex gives way to paralyzing fear and chilling terror in the 90’s. There’s a killer on the loose that’s silent and deadly. It doesn’t discriminate, but many neighbors do. This poem is followed by the sad and sweet, “Awaiting You” where a lover waits for their missing partner as the place they’re waiting is slowly revealed.

“Maternity Ward” is a poem that hit me like a well-aimed kidney punch and I’m pretty sure there are many readers like me who will read it and feel a sharp “click!” as it locks into place. Liaguno achieves the perfect blend of abstract and specific, so that he can be telling your story, too, of a parent you wanted to love and feel loved by. Instead, we ended up tossed along the wayside, only to be greedily snatched back up again by someone who refused to let us go and be ourselves. They often said, “I’m only trying to help/protect you!” but didn’t know how or were twisted by previous life experiences and maimed us instead.

Did you ever play the license plate game as a kid? Your family’s on a road trip and the adults tried to keep us busy by having us look for plates from each of the 50 states. New York and Pennsylvania are pretty easy, Louisiana a lot harder, and whoever sees an Alaska plate gets a candy bar! Liaguno plays a similar but much darker game with us in his poem “Missing Adults” where every license plate is a clue along with the back of a milk carton description. Winning this game is not for the faint of heart because connecting the clues brings about a chilling conclusion you can’t unsee once it’s in your head.

So, there is your peek into the darkness, my friends! Damaged Skull Writer and Reviewer’s rating of Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness-a collection of dark verse by Vince A. Liaguno is a blazing FIVE STARS. This is a fabulously cool collection that showcases Liaguno’s ability to mix big handfuls of pop icon imagery into his work without it seeming forced. You come upon it as you’re reading along, feeling that tingle of recognition, but not seeing the whole picture yet. So, we continue walking down that dark city street until everything hits us with the fizzing pop of celluloid burning and a brilliant flash of the marquee lights, changing everything forever.

To purchase Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness, please visit Raw Dog Screaming Press at: www.RawDogScreaming.com They have a lot of excellent titles available, including: Fever Dreams of a Parasite by Pedro Iniguez, and Beyond The Bounds of Infinity a diverse Lovecraftian horror anthology edited by Vaughn A. Jackson and Stephanie Pearre, which is amazing. Check out my review!

To learn more about award-winning poet, writer, anthologist and editor Vince A. Liaguno, please check out his site: www.vinceliaguno.com and be sure to dig the mind-blowing book trailer featured there! Vince is also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/vinceliaguno , Instagram@vinceliaguno, Goodreads, and Twitter/X

About your reviewer:

When darkness falls Brian James Lewis transforms into his undead alter ego, Skull, and burns the midnight oil reading and reviewing recent arrivals to his lair, the Skullcave. You can catch up with him on social media at: https://facebook.com/DamagedSkullWriterandReviewer where he’d really appreciate some follows to get more exposure for Indy horror writers and presses!

You can also find him on: X/Twitter@skullsnflames76

And we’re also on Goodreads and leave reviews on Amazon under the mortal’s name Brian James Lewis

Until next time, be well, stay safe, and keep reading independent horror!

Vince A. Liaguno

DO YOU LIKE STORIES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL THAT CREEPING SENSE OF UNEASE YOU CAN’T QUITE PUT YOUR FINGER ON? IF SO, “MEET ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AIR” BY ERIC SCHALLER IS JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

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Meet Me In The Middle of The Air
Eric Schaller
Lethe Press
7/1/2024
Reviewed by Brian “Skull” Lewis

Howdy horror fans, it’s your old pal Skull with a collection of strange miracles and dark comedies from Eric Schaller. Meet Me in The Middle of The Air is an intense book that requires readers to accept a certain level of unease to really enjoy the stories within. Things come at you hard and fast once you open the gate. Case in point, the first story Schaller presents to us, The Assistant to Doctor Jacob pulls us into a lovely hothouse full of exotic flowers curated by a young boy’s neighbor. It all seems quite innocent with the doctor’s encouragement of the boy’s interest in gardening, everything tucked away into the happy memories file of the brain, until the police come knocking on the now adult boy’s door with some very strange pictures and a lot of questions.

While The Parasite sounds like a truly terrifying title, it’s actually a pretty entertaining short story. When the snoring of a husband brings an unbidden guest into his body, not all the changes it causes are bad. Whilethat’s sort of a relief, some strange things do happen in the dark of night that will make sure that this urban neighborhood will keep on changing. Snoring sleepers beware!

What if all the angry words we said took up physical space and embodied their meanings? That’s what happens in Voices Carry where two couples argue about infidelity that has occurred between some of their members. As their angry words take on the forms of dangerous flying shapes that fill the room, it seems like it would be best if they could stop the flow, but will they? A great story to show readers the impact of bad deeds and refusal to accept blame or find a solution.

Crystal Vision is a melancholy but interesting tale about a group of addicts living solely for the crystal meth made by a fella named David. It all starts in a fun sort of party atmosphere, but things devolve rather quickly. Socially acceptable behaviors and hygiene go first. Valuable possessions follow until the few remaining people turn into a bunch of starving naked truth seekers who are ready to crack. This one hits home because so many neighborhoods are dealing with ice houses these days, ours included.

Damaged Skull Writer and Reviewer rates Meet Me in the Middle of the Air by Eric Schaller a solid 4 out of 5 stars. It is an intriguing tapestry of the uncanny and unusual that sometimes runs off the rails with a high degree of intensity. Luckily, there is a wide variety of material here that provides something for everybody to enjoy, even if the whole may be a bit too much for many readers to digest entirely. This is a collection of stories that will stick in your head whether you want it to or not and actually led to your old pal Skull having some nightmares, which is rare. Schaller’s work is based on many real places, people, and creatures which means that he is a master of the thin blurred line between worlds. So, if you’re looking for adventure, you’re in the right place. Meet Me in the Middle of the Air.

Thanks for stopping by the Skullcave and digging this week’s review! For more information about Lethe Press’ catalog of great books, artists, and the chance to save a little green, head on over to: www.lethepressbooks.com There you’ll also find more information about their authors, Eric Schaller included. To follow Damaged Skull Writer and Reviewer, please visit: www.damagedskullwriterandreviewer.com Until next time, be well and keep reading independent horror!

About your reviewer:

When darkness falls Brian James Lewis becomes his alter ego, Skull, and burns the midnight oil, reading and reviewing recent arrivals to his lair, the Skullcave! You can catch up with him on social media at: https://facebook.com/DamagedSkullWriterandReviewer where he’d really appreciate some follows to get more exposure for Indy horror writers and presses!

You can also find him on: X/Twitter@skullsnflames76

And we’re also on Goodreads and share reviews on Amazon under the mortal’s name: Brian James Lewis

NEED TO STEP OUT OF MODERN DAY REALITY FOR COUPLE HOURS? THEN READ “FADE TO BLONDE” BY MAX PHILLIPS TO VISIT HOLLYWOOD IN THE 1950S AND TAG ALONG WITH RAY CORSON AS HE ATTEMPTS TO HELP OUT A HOT BLONDE IN TROUBLE

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FADE TO BLONDE
Max Phillips
5/11/2011
Hard Case Crime
Reviewed by Brian “Skull” Lewis

Hello fans of speculative fiction, it’s your old pal Skull with a selection from Hard Case Crime written by the imprint’s co-founder Max Phillips, Fade to Blonde.  I enjoy a good detective/mystery/crime novel now and then. They help one to escape tedious reality for a few hours and take a walk on the wild side. Maybe even have a few “aha moments” or make a run for your life without leaving your easy chair. You know, that whole “portable magic” deal that another writer for Hard Case Crime, a real cool cat by the name of Stephen King spun in his book On Writing. Anyhow, enough gabbing from me. This ain’t King’s novel, it’s one by Max Phillips. Let’s go check out Fade to Blonde!

When we first see narrator Ray Corson, he’s doing odd jobs in Hollywood California, working on a housing development to be specific. Nothing points to his true love, which is writing screenplays, but he’s got a typewriter stashed back at the shack and knows how to use it. Things get interesting when a flashy dame with a pair of 45’s drives up in a cool car and asks Ray for help with a delicate matter. In his heart, Ray knows it’s probably a bad idea. But his wallet is thinner than a Band-aid, she’s got cash, and he hasn’t had a decent meal in a week. Plus, she’s got those amazing Dagmars pointing at him. So, he jumps straight into trouble with both feet. Don’t worry though, Ray’s an ex-boxer who’s over 6 feet tall and hauling 245 pounds of muscle around under his duds. Just in case that’s not enough, he carries a friend in a holster. Not the usual hit first and ask questions later, type, Ray’s a good investigator with some good friends in tinsel town who help keep him in the know about important matters. Unfortunately, some knowledge and too much confidence can get a guy in trouble faster than a Studebaker going full tilt. Especially when said guy has a conscience and isn’t a fan of cheesy creeps or liars. Things get too hot, and it looks like Ray Corson is about to get iced. Will this be the last time he works in Hollywood, or ever? Find out all about it when you read Fade to Blonde by Max Phillips!  

Damaged Skull Writer and Reviewer rates Fade to Blonde FOUR STARS. It’s a swell, fast moving read that has some nice twists and turns. The book does a pretty good job of transporting readers back to a time that did not include smartphones or google. A time when actual people had to work together and there were certain individuals in every big city, who knew a lot more than they should and were willing to share for the right amount of green or favors in return. As a bonus the ending surprised even your old pal Skull. This book made me think of the Perry Mason series by Earle Stanley Gardener, which I happen to enjoy. I couldn’t really decide if I liked Ray Corson or not by the time Fade to Blonde wrapped, but perhaps that was Max Phillips’ intention. Bottom line: This story was a fun read and I encourage you to grab a copy!  

About my mortal:

Brian James Lewis is a disabled poet and writer with PTSD who finds writing to be vastly important to his recovery. Working class to the bone, he writes inclusive, real-world prose and poetry that hits home. Brian’s work has appeared in anthologies from Smoking Pen Press, No Bad Books, and HellBound Books. He’s also appeared in online publications like The Sunlight Press, the Hook of A Book Poetry Project, and The Sirens Call e-Zine. Most recently issue #26 of Trajectory Journal included his short story, “Going to be a Long. Cold, Winter.” Besides writing, Brian enjoys bringing old typewriters back to life, including a Royal KMM formerly owned by Rod Serling. Visit him at: www.damagedskullwriterandreviewer.com for news and independent book reviews, or on X/twitter@skullsnflames76. Your old pal Skull also lurks around on Facebook, so follow him there and help more writers get exposure.