THE OUTSIDER by Stephen King a Crime/Horror Crossover

With his new novel, The Outsider, Stephen King has written a hybrid tale that begins in the Crime genre and then crosses over to finish wholly within the Horror genre. It's a dizzying switch for readers to make and the result may not be satisfying for some.

The novel opens with an impossible crime enigma. Flint City kids baseball coach Terry Maitland is arrested for the perverse murder of an eleven year-old boy. Fingerprint and DNA evidence from Maitland is conclusive that he is the killer. Eyewitness statements add confirmation it was him. There's just one problem. Maitland was with a group of fellow teachers at a conference seventy miles away at the same time the boy was murdered. Video camera footage at the conference confirms Maitland's alibi. He couldn't have been the killer. He couldn't be in two places at once. Or could he?

This is the compelling crime puzzle that King sets up. But to provide an answer, the novel has to shift radically into the supernatural realm of things such as doppelgangers and shape-shifters. It's a theme King has explored before in his work, notably in the novel, The Dark Half.

For readers looking for a straight Crime fiction story, The Outsider may be a disappointment with its sudden outright supernatural turn. For fans of the Horror fiction thrillers that Stephen King is best known for, the book may be just what they're looking for.

TWIN PEAKS Finale: What Does it All Mean?

The Twin Peaks revival series has ended, fittingly with a final scream of horror from Laura Palmer, just as the original series began with another scream.

The new series was uneven, with striking moments at times, and other scenes that seemed to add little and go nowhere. The series was overlong at eighteen episodes, where a tighter run of ten episodes could have been more compelling. Most enjoyable was the chance to return again to the town of Twin Peaks itself and reconnect with familiar characters, much older now, from the original series.

Key to understanding the storyline are some basic themes from director David Lynch:

1. The fluidity of time between past and future.

2. The link between conscious reality and dream world reality.

3. The existence of a transcendent evil force beneath the surface of the normal world.

4. The idea that individual selves may exist in multiple different time streams.

Twin Peaks is a surrealist narrative, driven by psychological/emotional meaning, not literal, conventional plot structure. This has the effect of floating through a disjointed, fragmented nightmare with no logical anchor.

The series ends with FBI Agent Dale Cooper returning to one happy time stream self as Douglass Jones with his family in Las Vegas. In another variation, Cooper finds Laura Palmer living as a different self in another time stream life and he tries to undo the events of her murder in Twin Peaks. The result is Laura's terrifying vision back to her murder that began the original TV series.

That final brilliant sequence was a fitting jolt back to the sinister mystery coiled beneath the placid, quirky surface of Twin Peaks.

TWIN PEAKS Return Doesn't Disappoint

It is happening again.

David Lynch's surrealist mystery Twin Peaks is back again after 25 years, on Showtime cable network, and it remains as eerie and disturbing as ever.

The narrative resumes where the original series left off. Familiar local characters return, much older now --- Deputy Hawk, Lucy Brennan, the Log lady. New characters are introduced in other locations. Beneath the surface, the transcendent evil that inhabited the woods around Twin Peaks has now spread through a portal to infect the wider world.

All the trademark Lynchian themes are present. The link between reality and dreams. The fluidity of past and future time. The synchronicity of seemingly separate occurrences. It's all a metaphysical jigsaw puzzle overlaid against a criminal investigation mystery.

We wait until FBI agent Dale Cooper can find a way to escape from the limbo place where he remains trapped. When that happens, Cooper can begin to oppose the shape-shifting evil that has been set loose. In Lynch's vision, gateways exist between different levels of reality, doorways often represented by the crackling of electricity.

The dreamy, disorienting spell of Twin Peaks pulls us in once more.

Stephen King's BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS a Dark Ride

Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King is a short fiction collection that ranges across genres from Horror and Fantasy to dark mainstream fiction. Running through the stories are the two common themes of fatalism and fear of the dark things that are always waiting somewhere in human lives.

The best tale in the collection is the outright horror novella, "Mile 81," about a monster in the form of a derelict car that sits waiting for victims at a deserted highway rest stop. The story has echoes of the straight horror shudders that King produced early in his career. Other entertaining tales are "The Dune," "Obits," "Ur," and "The Little Green God of Agony."

Less successful are a few of the mainstream fiction pieces like "Morality," "Under the Weather," and "That Bus is Another World." These are dark meditations that feel like they're reaching too hard for something and are ultimately unsatisfying.

That said, Bazaar of Bad Dreams is on the whole Stephen King's best story collection since Everything's Eventual. The stories are all told in the author's trademark earthy, colloquial, "Big Mac and Fries" style. Faithful King fans should be pleased with this new volume of his work.

Stephen King's REVIVAL a Tale of Dark Healing Forces

Revival by Stephen King is almost an homage to the classic Horror genre authors who dared test the boundaries of true darkness --- writers like Poe, H.R. James, Blackwood, and Lovecraft.

But most especially, Revival is a modern echo of the Arthur Machen classic, The Great God Pan, about a woman who undergoes a brain surgery experiment and then dies after glimpsing the monstrous shadow world of evil she is suddenly able to see.

The King novel revolves around another obsessive experimenter with the healing force of electrical shock therapy --- the one-time minister Charles Jacobs. The story is narrated by Jamie Morton, who was a child the first time he encountered Jacobs. Over the decades, the two of them reconnect intermittently. Jacobs becomes a carny show healer, whose fame grows as he appears to evoke miraculous cures with his secret electrical therapy inventions.

But the cures Jacobs provides may have horrifying after-effects for his subjects. As he ages in later years, Jacobs persists in his research nevertheless, pushing ever closer toward the ultimate boundary of revival from death itself.

Revival is one of the darkest novels in all of Stephen King's Horror fiction. It's closest precursor would be the grotesque Pet Sematary. The novel builds slowly to a truly hideous climax and the blackest of visions about human mortality. Even seasoned Horror fiction readers may close the last pages of this tale with an involuntary shudder.

New Horror Anthology Explores Human Fears

INCLUDES  EPIC AWARD NOMINATED STORY "The Lot"

Stories That Bite You by William Wilde - A short story collection that explores the most disturbing human fears:

19 chilling stories of Horror and Suspense that sink their teeth into you and don't let go. A murderous vending machine ... A marathon race that never ends ... Junk mail that kills ... A gigantic parking lot with no exit. These stories leave their marks long after you finish reading them.

"These 19 stories will leave you feeling haunted and sufficiently frightened by the most ordinary of things." - Nights and Weekends.com

"FOUR STARS! Highly Recommended!" - Huntress Reviews

Now Available at Amazon Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GCEEJYG


Also Available at:  Barnes and Noble Nook
                                Smashwords

Best Horror Novels of 2013

This year saw the release of two outstanding Horror novels, one by a long famous name in the genre and the other by a younger writer who may be the famous author's heir, in more ways than one.

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill - An epic struggle of Good vs. Evil, filled with dark, disturbing imagery and original characters who stay in your mind. Nosferatu is the German word for vampire. The vampire here is the inhuman fiend Charlie Manx, who abducts children, then feeds off their lives in order to keep himself young.

The hideous alternate world called Christmasland where Manx takes the captive children is a unique horror creation. Equally grotesque is the ancient Rolls Royce model called The Wraith, a car with its own malevolent powers, which is used to trap the trusting children inside it.

Beyond its scary story, the novel is also a profound metaphor for the real life crimes of abducted. abused, or exploited children worldwide.

NOS4A2 is a remarkable and unforgettable read for Horror fiction fans.


Doctor Sleep by Stephen King - A semi-sequel to The Shining, one of King's early and most popular supernatural Horror classics. Here the boy Danny Torrance is now an adult man, but he still possesses the paranormal psychic sense called the Shining.

Dan comes to the aid of a young girl named Abra, who has an even more powerful shining ability. Abra is the target of the True Knot, a ramshackle crew of psychic vampires, who feed off the vital essence of human psychics as they are tortured to death.

Stephen King has always excelled at the depiction of the existence of pure evil. His creation of the grisly, business-like malevolence of the True Knot is as chilling as any he has produced in his writing work.

Doctor Sleep is a compelling read and a new portrayal of a long time King interest in paranormal abilities. It also marks the author's return to the mainstream Horror genre, which his fans should be well pleased with.

DOCTOR SLEEP a New Stephen King Classic

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King marks the author's return to the supernatural Horror genre where many of his early classic novels appeared -- in a great run of titles from Carrie up through It.

Doctor Sleep is a quasi-sequel to one of those early classics, The Shining, and as such, does not disappoint. In this new novel, the boy Danny Torrance is now an adult man, but he still possesses the paranormal psychic sense called the Shining. He comes into contact with a young girl named Abra, who has an even more powerful Shining ability.

Danger arrives from the True Knot, a ramshackle crew of psychic vampires, who travel the country in an RV caravan, looking to feed off the vital essences of human psychic captives as they are painfully murdered by the True Knot. In their grisly search, they zero in on young Abra.

Stephen King has always excelled at depicting the existence of pure evil. His creation of the methodical malevolence of the True Knot is as chilling as any he has produced in his writing work. When Dan helps Abra to protect her against the attack of the True Knot, it evokes a favorite King theme: friends standing together against a force of evil.

Doctor Sleep is a compelling read and a new portrayal of a long-time King interest in paranormal abilities in novels such as Carrie, The Dead Zone, The Shining, and The Green Mile. Fans of the author's straight Horror fiction should be well pleased with this creepy, unsettling new work.

Highly recommended.

BEACH RATING:  4 Palm Trees

NOS4A2 By Joe Hill a New Horror Classic

Joe Hill has written a classic work of Fantasy and Horror with his new novel NOS4A2. The novel is an epic battle of Good vs. Evil, filled with dark, disturbing imagery and original characters who stay in your mind.

NOS4A2 is the license plate on an ancient Rolls Royce with the model name of The Wraith. Nosferatu is also the German word for vampire. The Wraith is driven by a diabolical, inhuman fiend named Charles Manx, who abducts children in the car, then feeds off their souls to keep himself young. Manx takes them to his hideous alternate world called Christmasland, which none of the undead children will ever leave.

Working to stop Manx is Vic McQueen, first as a young girl, then later as an adult woman. Trying to aid Vic is the touching figure of Maggie Leigh, a troubled, stammering girl librarian and offbeat psychic.

The conception of Christmasland is a nightmarish, original invention. So too are the garrulous, malevolent Charles Manx and his childish, sadistic henchman Bing Partridge. The most grotesque character of all is the car itself, NOS4A2, a unique horror creation in its own right.

NOS4A2 is a remarkable work of dark imagination. But the novel is also a profound metaphor for the real life crimes of child abduction, abuse, and exploitation worldwide.

It took Joe Hill two years to write this huge work. He put a lot into it and it shows. NOS4A2 is highly recommended.

BEACH RATING:  4 Palm Trees

Horror Movies - A Dying Genre?

Back in 2009, this blog did a post asking if the Horror movie genre had itself become one of the walking dead lately. Not much has changed since then.

We still get too much recycling of well-worn stereotype plots. How many more vampire and zombie retreads do we need to see? How many more formula slasher movies that kill off victims by ever-gorier methods?

Occasionally, a fresh new take on horror themes will appear. The creepy paranoia of The Ring, an import from Japanese horror films. The pandemic hysteria of 28 Days Later. The claustrophobic intensity of Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.

Sadly, these inventive breakthroughs are all too rare. Last year's Insidious was an unsettling portrayal of hidden demonic forces around us. 2012 has so far offered only Cabin in the Woods, a sardonic commentary on the empty nihilism of the whole slasher movie format.

If the Horror movie genre is to revitalize itself, it needs to get off a stale, dead-end road and find vivid new ways to portray the elemental fears of human existence in modern society. That's what the Horror genre is there for, after all.

The Stephen King Scorecard - Rating His Later Works

Three years ago, this blog did a post titled, "Stephen King in a Slump?" This was a rating of King's more recent work, finding some of it weak or worse. At that time, we reluctantly asked the question: Could Stephen King still write a really good horror or paranormal novel to match some of the great ones from his earlier career? Or was his best stuff behind him?

But then ...

Then Mr. King, in short order, uncorked two massive reads that can stand with the best of all his work: Under the Dome and 11/22/63. As a fan of King's writing and his amazing creative production over four decades, we offer kudos to him for finding his groove once again in such spectacular fashion.

Herewith, our updated scorecard for King's major works since 1998. (Note list does not include the Dark Tower series)

Pure Classics, no argument: Under the Dome, 11/22/63. These two are King writing at his red-line, hammer-down best. See this blog's past posts for full reviews of these novels.

Pretty Good Stuff: Bag of Bones, Everything's Eventual (collection), Mile 81 (Kindle book). Most of this material is mainstream supernatural horror, where King still shines. Entertaining, fun reads.

Just Okay: Just After Sunset, Full Dark, No Stars (both collections). No real knock-out stories here, but some interesting, offbeat angles.

Pretty Awful: Dreamcatcher, From a Buick 8, Cell, Duma Key. Please Mr. King, no more dumbness like killer cell phones, possession by evil aliens, or pirate ghost ships. Let's just pretend none of that ever happened.

All of which only shows that a writer who produces as much new material as Stephen King is bound to have some uneven work along the way. But given the contribution this author has made in his career over the decades, especially to the Horror fiction genre, we can readily forgive him that.

Ray Bradbury's Horror Fiction

Ray Bradbury was known for his science fiction work, but he wrote some fine horror stories too. Here are five of his best:

"The Jar" - In a seedy country carnival sideshow, something hideous is floating in a big glass jar. From the classic horror collection "The October Country."

"Zero Hour" and "The Veldt" - Two tales that portray the secret malevolent schemes of apparently innocent children. Both are found in the famous collection "The Illustrated Man."

"The Witch Door" - An unsettling tale of persecution in two different time periods. From the collection "Quicker Than the Eye."

"The October Game" - Grotesque story of a resentful husband and father and a Halloween game called "The Witch Is Dead." The whiplash ending is both ambiguous and horrifying. A Bradbury masterpiece. From the collection "Long After Midnight."

Thanks, Ray, for all the great reading you created!

Stephen King Writes A Classic With UNDER THE DOME

Stephen King's new novel Under The Dome is his best book in years, worthy to rank with his early classics in the Seventies and Eighties.

The premise of "Dome" is diabolical: A small Maine town is trapped underneath an enormous, impregnable dome that suddenly appears from somewhere.

The origin of the Dome is a mystery. But the real heart of the novel is what happens to the townspeople when the Dome comes down on top of them.

The Dome crisis brings out the inner strength and the good in some people. It brings out the ugly and the really crazy bad in others.

The Good Group and the Bad Group are pitted against each other in a struggle for power and survival inside the Dome. This conflict in essential human nature is a familiar King theme. King fans will hear echoes from The Stand, one of his early greats.

"Dome" is a long read, a thousand pages plus. Amazingly, King keeps the pace in the red zone all the way, building to a violent, horrifying apocalyptic climax.

Under The Dome is a sociological horror novel and a chilling cautionary tale that shows how easily ordinary humans can turn into moral monsters. All it takes is the right trigger.

This monumental creative effort is a true epic. Way to go, Mr. King.

BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees