Book Cover for "The Venus Complex", Available on Amazon If you enjoy this review, consider signing up for my Patreon or click the Buy Me a Coffee button to the right. Supporters gain early access to reviews like this, as well as exclusives only available through these sites. Literary serial killers are a strange conundrum … Continue reading The Mind of a Twisted Killer – Review of Barbie Wilde’s “The Venus Complex”
I shall write it again for you, Doctor. My dog wouldn’t stop barking. I threw back the covers. The air cycled by the ceiling fan brushed my exposed torso. The chill in the October night raised small goose bumps. I fumbled a couple of times to put my sandals on, the dog barking incessantly. Wandering … Continue reading Closed Circle – Short Fiction
Cover Art for "Hellbound Hearts" Having recently reviewed Clive Barker’s The Hellbound Heart, I was informed that there were other print stories (none by Barker himself unfortunately). Hellbound Hearts is not a true sequel to Barker’s original tale of sexuality and brutality. Instead it is an anthology of stories from other authors tied into the … Continue reading All the Sins of the World – A Review of “Hellbound Hearts”
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0061452882/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0061452882&linkCode=am2&tag=thekingssquar-20&linkId=dcf9bc25ed0ee081b1041076c4f465a6 The line between pleasure and pain is often so thin as to be completely nonexistent. Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of sadomasochism knows that receiving and inflicting pain can be a singularly euphoric experience. Few books ever explore this dichotomy as openly as The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. Barker managers to plum … Continue reading The Horror of Depravity – A Review of Clive Barker’s “The Hellbound Heart”
Cover art for "Seed" by Ania Ahlborn Southern Gothic stories are tricky to pull off. On the one hand, they can be atmospheric in mood and tone. On the other hand, these stories can be the scene of high camp. An example of the latter would be the admittedly tongue-in-cheek Sookie Stackhouse mystery novels. A … Continue reading Nightmares in the Deep South – A Review of “Seed” by Ania Ahlborn
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51OFX0SEKmL._SX260_.jpg Madness in literature is as old as the art form itself. From the works of Jorge Luis Borges to Hunter S. Thompson to Clive Barker and Stephen King, the mind of a character fracturing into pieces is a compelling topic for a story. It also makes telling the story that much more difficult. Layden … Continue reading The Madness Spreads – Layden Robinson’s “The Havoc Tree”
