2015 Bram Stoker Award Winners

"The annual for superior achievement in horror literature. Named in honor of the author of the seminal horror novel Dracula, the Stokers are presented for superior writing in eight categories including traditional fiction of various lengths, poetry, and non-fiction."

2015 Bram Stoker Award Winners


Superior Achievement in a Novel
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Superior Achievement in a First Novel
Mr Suicide by Nicole Cushing

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel
Devil's Pocket by John Dixon

Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel
Shadow Show: stories in celebration of Ray Bradbury

Staff Picks - The Guardians by Andrew Pyper

There is something sinister about an abandoned house. Houses are meant to be lived in. They silently carry history as they pass from one generation to another and from one family to another. Something terrible happened in the old Thurman House in The Guardians (M)by Andrew Pyper and four young men were to carry this burden into adulthood.

Trevor, Carl, Randy and Ben were typical teenage boys growing up in small town Ontario in the 1980s. They were nice enough kids whose lives centered around hockey and girls. Their friendship is tested early when Ben's father dies suddenly. They are a tight loyal group of kids. The town is shaken up when the young attractive music teacher disappears. Ben, who lives across the street from the abandoned Thurman House, has reason to be suspicious that something terrible happened to her there and the boys are compelled to act.

What they see, or believe they see and what they do, or believe they do is so traumatic that they suffer the consequences 24 years later. They all suffer in one way or another, whether from failure in career or relationships, illnesses both mental and physical, and drug addiction. Ben, who had been watching and guarding the Thurman House for decades, commits suicide and this act brings the friends back to their home town again. Once Ben's sojourn ends, another girl disappears.

This book is a departure for me. Horror is never my first choice, but with this book, I have to admit, I have never turned pages so quickly. Sometimes I turned the pages faster than I could read the words and had to go back and catch up. I'm not sure if the action was propelling me through the story or if I just found it so unnerving that I wanted to get through it quickly. Although never gory, it was creepy and disturbing to feel the characters' loss of control. The boys are compelled to make choices that you know are wrong and they know are wrong and as much as you yell at the book, they still make those choices. You never get the feeling that ok, now the worst has happened.

Although this is a haunted house story much in the tradition of Stephen King and Peter Straub, it is also a story about male friendships and about boys becoming men. The present narrative is told by adult Trevor and the past from his memories of his sixteen year old self. It is a coming of age meeting a midlife crisis.

I live across the street from an abandoned house and could not read this book from my usual spot by the window.

The Guardians themes of secrets, friendship and loyalty reminds me of I Know What You Did Last Summer (M) by Lois Duncan."They didn't mean it. They didn't mean to hit the boy. There was a party, and it was an accident...that wasn't who they were. They were pre-law, a football player, bound for New York. No one could know, so Barry, Julie, Helen, and Ray swore one another to secrecy. But now, a year later, someone knows. Julie receives a haunting, anonymous threat: "I know what you did last summer." The dark lie is unearthed, and before the four friends know it they need to outsmart a killer...or they will be the next to die." - publisher

2014 Bram Stoker Award Winners

"The annual for superior achievement in horror literature. Named in honor of the author of the seminal horror novel Dracula, the Stokers are presented for superior writing in eight categories including traditional fiction of various lengths, poetry, and non-fiction. In addition, HWA presents an annual Lifetime Achievement Award to a living person who has made significant contributions to the writing of Horror and Dark Fantasy over the course of a lifetime."

Bram Stoker Awards

Here are a few of the winners in our collection.

Superior Achievement in a Novel
Blood Kin by Steve Rasnic Tem

"A dark Southern Gothic vision of ghosts, witchcraft, secret powers, snake-handling, kudzu, Melungeons, and the Great Depression. Michael Gibson has returned to the quiet home of his forebears and now takes care of his grandmother Sadie – old and sickly, but with an important story to tell about growing up poor and Melungeon (a mixed race group of mysterious origins) in the 1930s, while bedeviled by a snake-handling uncle and empathic powers she barely understands. In a field not far from the Gibson family home lies an iron-bound crate within a small shack buried four feet deep under Kudzu vine. Michael somehow understands that hidden inside that crate is potentially his own death, his grandmother’s death, and perhaps the deaths of everyone in the valley if he does not come to understand her story well enough." publisher

Superior Achievement in a First Novel
Mr. Wicker by Maria Alexander

"Alicia Baum is missing a deadly childhood memory. Located beyond life, The Library of Lost Childhood Memories holds the answer. The Librarian is Mr. Wicker-a seductive yet sinister creature with an unthinkable past and an agenda just as lethal. After committing suicide, Alicia finds herself before the Librarian, who informs her that her lost memory is not only the reason she took her life, but the cause of every bad thing that has happened to her. Alicia spurns Mr. Wicker and attempts to enter the hereafter without the Book that would make her spirit whole. But instead of the oblivion she craves, she finds herself in a psychiatric hold at Bayford Hospital, where the staff is more pernicious than its patients." publisher

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel
Phoenix Island by John Dixon

"A champion boxer with a sharp hook and a short temper, sixteen-year-old Carl Freeman has been shuffled from foster home to foster home. He can’t seem to stay out of trouble—using his fists to defend weaker classmates from bullies. His latest incident sends his opponent to the emergency room, and now the court is sending Carl to the worst place on earth: Phoenix Island.  Classified as a “terminal facility,” it’s the end of the line for delinquents who have no home, no family, and no future. Located somewhere far off the coast of the United States—and immune to its laws—the island is a grueling Spartan-style boot camp run by sadistic drill sergeants who show no mercy to their young, orphan trainees." publisher

Vampires ... light on the romance

I was asked recently for suggestions of vampire themed fiction by someone who was not overly keen on the romance angle. Of course she had read I Am Legend by Richard Matheson and, naturally, Dracula and wanted more ideas. Here is what we came up with.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

"In this riveting debut of breathtaking scope, a young girl discovers her father's darkest secret and embarks on a harrowing journey across Europe to complete the quest he never could -- to find history's most legendary fiend: Dracula. When a motherless American girl living in Europe finds a medieval book and a package of letters, all addressed ominously to "My dear and unfortunate successor..." she begins to unravel a thread that leads back to her father's past, his mentor's career, and an evil hidden in the depths of history. In those few quiet moments, she unwittingly assumes a quest she will discover is her birthright: a hunt that nearly brought her father to ruin and may have claimed the life of his adviser and dear friend, history professor Bartholomew Rossi." publisher

The soon to be published Prince Lestat by Anne Rice

"A stunning departure, a surprising and compelling return…From Anne Rice, perennial best seller, single-handed reinventor of the vampire cosmology-a new, exhilarating novel, a deepening of her vampire mythology, and a chillingly hypnotic mystery-thriller. "What can we do but reach for the embrace that must now contain both heaven and hell: our doom again and again and again…" -from The Vampire Lestat. Rice once again summons up the irresistible spirit-world of the oldest and most powerful forces of the night, invisible beings unleashed on an unsuspecting world able to take blood from humans, in a long-awaited return to the extraordinary world of the Vampire Chronicles and the uniquely seductive Queen of the Damned("mesmerizing" -SF Chronicle), a long-awaited novel that picks up where The Vampire Lestat ("brilliant…its undead characters are utterly alive" -New York Times) left off more than a quarter of a century ago to create an extraordinary new world of spirits and forces-the characters, legend, and lore of all the Vampire Chronicles." publisher

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton which begins the Anita Blake series.

"Anita Blake may be small and young, but vampires call her the Executioner. Anita is a necromancer and vampire hunter in a time when vampires are protected by law--as long as they don't get too nasty. Now someone's killing innocent vampires and Anita agrees--with a bit of vampiric arm-twisting--to help figure out who and why. Trust is a luxury Anita can't afford when her allies aren't human. The city's most powerful vampire, Nikolaos, is 1,000 years old and looks like a 10-year-old girl. The second most powerful vampire, Jean-Claude, is interested in more than just Anita's professional talents, but the feisty necromancer isn't playing along--yet." publisher

You Suck by Christopher Moore

Being undead sucks. Literally. Just ask C. Thomas Flood. Waking up after a fantastic night unlike anything he's ever experienced, he discovers that his girlfriend, Jody, is a vampire. And surprise! Now he's one, too. For some couples, the whole biting-and-blood thing would have been a deal breaker. But Tommy and Jody are in love, and they vow to work through their issues. But word has it that the vampire who initially nibbled on Jody wasn't supposed to be recruiting. Even worse, Tommy's erstwhile turkey-bowling pals are out to get him, at the urging of a blue-dyed Las Vegas call girl named (duh) Blue. And that really sucks." publisher 

The Quick by Lauren Owen

"London, 1893: James Norbury is a shy would-be poet who takes up lodgings with a young man from the upper echelons of society and soon finds love where he least expected it. Just when it seems he is on the cusp of true happiness, James disappears. His sister Charlotte, who lives quietly near the crumbling country estate where they grew up, is determined to find out what happened. Charlotte is horrified at what she discovers, but love spurs on her efforts to save her brother from an unthinkable fate. Her quest leads both to the mysterious, centuries-old Aegolius Club, and to a crowded, chaotic neighbourhood where she encounters unforgettable characters, including a female rope-walker turned vigilante and a former slum priest who share a heartbreaking secret, and a young American who chooses decency, or perhaps something more tender, over his own safety. With them, readers are caught up in the breathtaking climax to an ancient battle being fought within a secret world hiding in plain sight, in the middle of the great city of London itself. As emotionally gripping as it is suspenseful, The Quick heralds Lauren Owen as a dazzling new literary talent." publisher

Stoker's Manuscript by Royce Prouty

"Joseph Barkeley has a gift. Without the aid of chemical testing, he can accurately determine the authenticity and age of any document, seeing details within the fibers the way a composer picks out the individual notes of a symphony. But rarely does Joseph get a job this delicate and well-paying. A mystery buyer has hired him to authenticate the original draft of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. When he travels to Transylvania to personally deliver the manuscript to the legendary Bran Castle, Barkeley, a Romanian orphan himself, soon realizes that his employer is the son of the infamous Vlad Dracula. Imprisoned in the castle and forced to serve “the Master,” Barkeley must quickly decipher cryptic messages hidden within Stoker’s masterpiece to find the Master’s long-lost bride—or risk wearing out his welcome. But as he delves into the history of Dracula and his own lineage, Barkeley discovers that his selection for this job was based on more than his talent with rare books. Now, he has a perilous decision to make—save his life with a coward’s flight, or wage a deadly battle with an ancient foe."

The Kings of Killer Cars

I don’t know what it is about the King boys, Stephen King and his son Joe Hill, but it seems that they are car freaks. I was reminded of this while reading King’s latest novel.

Stephen King started his killer car theme early in 1983. The novel Christine features a 1958 Plymouth Fury. Don’t you just love that the brand name is “Fury”? It seems appropriate: Christine is a truly killer car. The car itself is possessed by the spirit of her previous owner, a twisted person named Roland LeBay. Christine takes the soul of not only her new owner, teenage Arnie, but anyone who gets in her way.

From a Buick 8 is the second King novel to feature supernatural cars. King states he was inspired to write the novel after he slipped and almost fell into a stream of water while filling his car at a gas station in Western Pennsylvania. The thought that he might not have been discovered until much later lead him to the plot of this story. In this novel, a 1953 Buick Roadmaster is the key to mysterious events. While it appears to be a car, it is not a car at all. It gives off “lightquakes,”, grows mysterious plants and creatures, and causes people to disappear in the vicinity of the car.

Adding Misery to this list is sort of cheating, but a car crash is the impetus for the rest of the novel. When Paul Sheldon is rescued from his car accident by Annie Wilkes, she transports him to her home. There she discovers Paul is the author of her favourite books. When she finds out that he is killing off her favourite character, Misery, she forces him to write a new ending while keeping him prisoner. In the process Annie makes Paul’s life pretty miserable. One interesting bit of trivia is that Paul’s newest manuscript is a new crime novel entitled Fast Cars.

The short story The Road Virus Heads North from Everything’s Eventual follows Richard Kinnell. a successful horror novelist, who is driving home from Boston to Derry Maine. Stopping at a yard sale, he buys a bizarre painting entitled “The Road Virus Heads North.” It is of a sinister-looking man with filed teeth driving a Grand Am. This is the only surviving painting by a tortured genius who burned all his other paintings before committing suicide. Along Kinnell’s journey, he realizes that the painting is changing. Kinnell tries to get rid it, but the painting has other ideas!

Stephen King’s latest, Mr. Mercedes, is more of a traditional mystery. Retired Detective Bill Hodges, still troubled by an unsolved crime, is determined to find the killer named Mr. Mercedes who plowed into a crowd of hundreds of people waiting outside a job fair. The killer taunts him, hoping to force him to commit suicide. This only sparks a passion to solve this crime and stop Mr. Mercedes once and for all. The novel is an insight into a serial killer’s twisted mind and the mindset that stops it in its tracks. King announced in June this novel is the first in a trilogy. The second book, Finders Keepers, will be released in 2015.

Father and son joined forces in writing a tribute to the story Duel in the anthology He is Legend, Celebrating Richard Matheson. Throttle features a faceless trucker waging war against a tribe of motorcycle outlaws in the Nevada desert. It is like a blend of Breaking Bad with Sons of Anarchy. A bit of trivia about the original story: Matheson turned Duel “into a script for a young Steven Spielberg’s first movie, starring Dennis Hopper as a salesman fleeing a killer truck driver."

Joe Hill followed in his father’s tire tracks by featuring a 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith in his novel NOS4A2. Once again, how can you resist a horror novel car that is a “Wraith”? Who in the big automobile industry thinks of these names? In the novel Charles Talent Max drives his big, bad automobile around the country, and through time, kidnapping children. The final destination may have the fun name “Christmasland,” but it is far from a joyous place. In fact, it is deeply unsettling and scary as hell. The heroine of the novel, Vic McQueen, drives a pretty “wicked” machine of her own – Triumph motorcycle.

So as you go on your vacation road trip, I hope that you do not run into any of these cars.

2013 Shirley Jackson Awards

The nominees have been announced for the 2013 Shirley Jackson Awards.

In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic.

American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett

"Some places are too good to be true. Under a pink moon, there is a perfect little town not found on any map. In that town, there are quiet streets lined with pretty houses, houses that conceal the strangest things. After a couple years of hard traveling, ex-cop Mona Bright inherits her long-dead mother's home in Wink, New Mexico. And the closer Mona gets to her mother's past, the more she understands that the people of Wink are very, very different ...From one of our most talented and original new literary voices comes the next great American supernatural novel: a work that explores the dark dimensions of the hometowns and the neighbors we thought we knew." publisher

The Ghost Bride byYangsze Choo

"Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price. After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai." publisher

The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates

"Princeton, New Jersey, at the turn of the twentieth century: a tranquil place to raise a family, a genteel town for genteel souls. But something dark and dangerous lurks at the edges of the town, corrupting and infecting its residents. Vampires and ghosts haunt the dreams of the innocent. A powerful curse besets the elite families of Princeton; their daughters begin disappearing. A young bride on the verge of the altar is seduced and abducted by a dangerously compelling man–a shape-shifting, vaguely European prince who might just be the devil, and who spreads his curse upon a richly deserving community of white Anglo-Saxon privilege."publisher

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

"On a damp October night, the body of young, beautiful Ashley Cordova is found in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. By all appearances her death is a suicide--but investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. Though much has been written about the dark and unsettling films of Ashley's father, Stanislas Cordova, very little is known about the man himself. As McGrath pieces together the mystery of Ashley's death, he is drawn deeper and deeper into the dark underbelly of New York City and the twisted world of Stanislas Cordova, and he begins to wonder--is he the next victim? In this novel, the dazzlingly inventive writer Marisha Pessl offers a breathtaking mystery that will hold you in suspense until the last page is turned." publisher

The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper

"Professor David Ullman is among the world’s leading authorities on demonic literature, with special expertise in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Not that David is a believer—he sees what he teaches as a branch of the imagination and nothing more. So when the mysterious Thin Woman arrives at his office and invites him to travel to Venice and witness a “phenomenon,” he turns her down. She leaves plane tickets and an address on his desk, advising David that her employer is not often disappointed. That evening, David’s wife announces she is leaving him. With his life suddenly in shambles, he impulsively whisks his beloved twelve-year-old daughter, Tess, off to Venice after all. ... What follows is an unimaginable journey for David Ullman from skeptic to true believer." publisher

Wild Fell by Michael Rowe

"The crumbling summerhouse called Wild Fell, soaring above the desolate shores of Blackmore Island, has weathered the violence of the seasons for more than a century. Built for his family by a 19th-century politician of impeccable rectitude, the house has kept its terrible secrets and its darkness sealed within its walls. For a hundred years, the townspeople of Alvina have prayed that the darkness inside Wild Fell would stay there, locked away from the light. Jameson Browning, a man well acquainted with suffering, has purchased Wild Fell with the intention of beginning a new life, of letting in the light. But what waits for him at the house is devoted to its darkness and guards it jealously. It has been waiting for Jameson his whole life - or even longer. And now, at long last, it has found him." publisher

2014 Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement in Horror Fiction

The Winners of the Bram Stoker Awards have been announced. From the Horror Writers of Association website:

"The annual Bram Stoker Awards for superior achievement in horror literature. Named in honor of the author of the seminal horror novel Dracula, the Stokers are presented for superior writing in eight categories including traditional fiction of various lengths, poetry, and non-fiction. In addition, HWA presents an annual Lifetime Achievement Award to a living person who has made significant contributions to the writing of Horror and Dark Fantasy over the course of a lifetime."

For the full list of nominees and winners go to the HWA website.

This year's winner for Superior Achievement in a Novel is:

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

"On highways across America, a tribe of people called the True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky twelve-year-old Abra Stone learns, the True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the steam that children with the shining produce when they are slowly tortured to death. Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel, where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant shining power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.” Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of devoted readers of The Shining and satisfy anyone new to this icon in the King canon." publisher

Goosebumps for Adults- New Creepy Occult Fiction

The Homecoming (M)
by Carsten Stroud

"Somewhere in the American South, there is a town where something is very, very wrong. A place where malicious men may die, but malice...never. Kate and Nick Kavanaugh (lawyer and cop respectively) take in young Rainey Teague, whose parents have died under mysterious circumstances. Rainey is a handful. Well, actually, Rainey is turning out to be someone--or something--downright scary: a shape-shifting time-bending little boy who will have to resist being taken over by "Nothing." Will Kate and Nick be able to save him? Will the mirror they have kept up in the attic ultimately be their downfall? When more disappearances start to happen, where do they turn? No one can explain what is happening, but everyone knows that their sleepy, peaceful town, Niceville, is turning out to be anything but nice."

The Libertine (M)
by Saskia Walker

"Lennox Taskill is a dissolute rogue, a powerful witch who some say even trades his enchantments for profit when it pleases him. His only loyalty is to his coven, his disdain for humanity sealed by the searing memory of his mother burning at the stake. So when the wife of a wealthy landlord comes seeking his help, the beguiling Chloris Keavey unwittingly presents Lennox with his greatest opportunity for distraction - and retribution. By failing to produce an heir, Chloris faces a terrible threat: being turned out by her heartless husband. Now, she vows to get with child, even if it means surrendering her body and soul to Lennox's seductive magic. But with a witch hunt brewing, Lennox and Chloris are soon risking everything for their forbidden nights of ecstasy - and to protect the secret that could cost them their lives"

Reviver (M)
by Seth Patrick

"Jonah Miller is a Reviver, able to temporarily revive the dead so they can say goodbye to their loved ones--or tell the police who killed them. Jonah works in a department of forensics created specifically for Revivers, and he's the best in the business. For every high-profile corpse pushing daisies, it's Jonah's job to find justice for them. But while reviving the victim of a brutal murder, he encounters a terrifying presence. Something is on the other side watching. Waiting. His superiors tell him it's only in his mind, a product of stress. Jonah isn't so certain.... The first novel in the Reviver trilogy, Reviver is sure to appeal to fans of Dean Koontz and Justin Cronin."

An Inquiry into Love and Death (M)
by Simone St. James

"In 1920's England, a young woman searches for the truth behind her uncle's mysterious death in a town haunted by a restless ghost. Oxford student Jillian Leigh works day and night to keep up with her studies--so to leave at the beginning of the term is next to impossible. But after her uncle Toby, a renowned ghost hunter, is killed in a fall off a cliff, she must drive to the seaside village of Rothewell to pack up his belongings. Almost immediately, unsettling incidents--a book left in a cold stove, a gate swinging open on its own--escalate into terrifying events that convince Jillian an angry spirit is trying to enter the house..."

3 Chilling Stories

Cover of Snow: a novel (M)
by Jenny Milchman

*Starred Review* This superlative dark, wintry debut is set in a small town in upstate New York. Nora Hamilton oversleeps one morning to find that her husband, Brendan, has hung himself. Nora is bereft, and she struggles to reconcile Brendan's suicide with their seemingly happy life together and with his job as a cop in his hometown. Her mother-in-law, a cold, forbidding woman, blames Nora, who tries talking to his partner, a cop who was also Brendan's best friend, but he advises her to move on with her life. Nora can't move on, not without some answers, and as she starts digging, she uncovers secrets about her husband and the town, the kind of secrets that people will do anything, including murder, to cover up.

The ravages of winter impede her progress, but she plows on, determined to learn why Brendan never confided in her, but the answers prove more shocking than anything she might have imagined. These well-defined characters take us on an emotional roller-coaster ride through the darkest night, with blinding twists and occasionally fatal turns. This is a richly woven story that not only looks at the devastating effects of suicide but also examines life in a small town and explores the complexity of marriage. Fans of Nancy Pickard, Margaret Maron, and C. J. Box will be delighted to find this new author" - Booklist

A Cold Season (M)
by Alison Littlewood

"Once you open the pages of Littlewood's debut novel, the hairs on the back of your neck are not safe. This classic supernatural story with gothic undertones opens with Cass and her son, Ben, leaving behind the tragedy of losing a husband and father for a place Cass remembers fondly from childhood. Once they arrive in Darnshaw, Cass soon realizes it is no longer the idyllic town she remembers. The apartment building she rented, which looked cozy and populated from the brochure, is only partially finished, and they appear to be its only inhabitants. Then a winter storm knocks out phones, electricity, and Internet, and Cass' nightmares begin. Ben's moods start to become more volatile and explosive. Theodore Remick, the charming headmaster of her son's school, appears to provide a needed respite, but as winter wears on, she realizes he has an agenda of his own. Littlewood's story isn't perfect, and some themes are overdone, but it certainly hits some very high and scary notes." Booklist-

Beneath the Snow (M)
by Caroline Carver

"It's been a long, hard winter in the small Alaskan town of Lake's Edge - and things are about to get even tougher. Lisa McCall, a young and brilliant research scientist, has disappeared out in the Alaskan wilderness in the middle of a snowstorm. Lisa's sister, Abby - shaken by the news - flies out from England to join the rescue team. Abby and Lisa have been estranged for years, driven apart by a terrible row, both believing there would be time in the future for forgiveness. Now Abby must face up to the fact that her sister may be gone forever. As soon as she arrives at the freezing outpost, Abby knows there's something wrong..." - publisher

Staff Pick - The Wolf Gift Chronicles by Anne Rice

Anne Rice: after the vampires and religion, there are wolves.

Being an Anne Rice fan since the famous Lestat, I was excited when The Wolf Gift (M) came into print. I much enjoy reading paranormal, and the title itself screamed at me.

The story is set in the present day Northern California, and is filled with fantasy, romance, and the wonderful. The Wolf Gift tells of a young man, Reuben, who never really felt he had a place in the world even with his success. He stumbles upon a beautiful house on Nideck Point, as well as a beautiful woman. When tragedy befalls, he is attacked. Rueben survives, but is no longer the same man, but is not quite sure what happened. He is now part wolf; a new surreal world and family waits.

It was a large book, but didn't take too long to read. That is the trick with a good book, it ends too fast and you are left wondering, waiting for the author to write another. Or, at least that was how it was for me! Thankfully, Rice did not leave me disappointed, and hanging on the edge for too long.

The Wolves of Midwinter (M) picks up almost seamlessly. It is set around Christmas and the celebrations around the morphenkinder. Rice embellishes Reuben’s character; opening up family matters and romance in its rawest form. The second book also helps construct the other sub characters’ lives, giving them wholeness and thus, making this book even more whole.

The series, The Wolf Gift Chronicles, now include The Wolf Gift and The Wolves of Midwinter. As always Rice does not disappoint with great writing, great plot, and characters that you cannot forget.

Read a-likes for The Wolf Gift Chronicles:

The Last Werewolf (M)
by Glen Duncan (This is a must read!)

Red Moon (M)
by Benjamin Percy

The Pack (M)
by Jason Starr
 

Twisted Holiday Tales

For some people, Christmas time can be just too warm and fuzzy, a kind of sickly sweet experience.  Here are a few novels that can perhaps act as antidotes.

I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus: a Breathers Christmas carol (M) 
by S.G. Browne

Andy Warner has just escaped from a zombie research facility in Portland, Oregon, where he's been subjected to experimental testing for the past year. With Christmas just days away, Andy figures that donning a jolly old St. Nick costume to throw off his would-be captors is just the ticket. But he never expects to encounter a sweet, lonesome nine-year-old girl who not only reminds Andy of the family he's lost but who thinks he's the real Santa. He also doesn't count on being recognized as last year's national quasi-celebrity by a clandestine group of decaying supporters who look to him for leadership. For the living and the undead, this unforgettable holiday tale will truly put on display just who is gnawing and who is nice...

Krampus: the Yule Lord (M)
by Brom

"Returning home to his trailer one night, Jesse Walker is surprised to see some goons attacking Santa Claus as he tries to fly away in his sleigh. In the melee Santa's magic sack falls out of the sleigh and through Jesse's roof. Of course, possessing the sack only leads to trouble as Santa and the sack's original owner, the trickster demon known as Krampus, are both trying to get it back. Krampus seeks vengeance against Santa and enlists Jesse's help. Jesse is busy dealing with the corrupt cop trying to steal his wife and daughter and the local drug lord trying to kill him, but one doesn't say no to the Yule Lord. VERDICT This illustrated horror novel by acclaimed gothic fantasy artist, illustrator, and novelist Brom (The Child Thief) is perfect for anyone who disdains a cozy, sentimental holiday story" - Library Journal

When Elves Attack: a joyous Christmas greeting from the criminal nutbars of the Sunshine State (M)
by Tim Dorsey

Thrill killer and Sunshine State historian Serge A. Storms, the most endearing psychopath since Dexter Morgan, delivers his special brand of Christmas cheer. More outrageous than Santa Claus in a Speedo, this book serves up a Yuletide feast of "pure gonzo humor." This book is much like Bad Santa and National Lampoon's Family Vacation, and blended into the author's trademark appetite for destruction, it becomes a hilarious crime fiction black comedy.