Tagged: Book Review

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Epeolatry Book Review: You’re Not Alone in the Dark, ed. Eugene Johnson & Eric J. Guignard

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Title: You’re Not Alone in the Dark
Author: Various, ed. Eugene Johnson & Eric J. Guignard
Genre: Non-fiction, essay and interview collection
Publisher: Cemetery Dance Publications
Publication date: 22nd November, 2024

Synopsis: “The world can be an overwhelming and terrifying place. People often feel as if they are beaten, trapped, hunted-pursued by the very real monsters of mental illness, disabilities, abuse, loss, and countless other fears.

Featuring essays and interviews with some of the best writers in the horror genre, and compiled by the highly acclaimed Stoker Award winning editors Eugene Johnson and Eric Guignard, this non-fiction anthology lets people know that no matter how dark it gets, they are not alone. Contributing authors range from NYT best sellers to indie publishers, each sharing their own personal experiences, their struggles, their coping mechanisms, and what the genre community has meant to them.”

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Crimson Road by A.G. Slatter

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Title: The Crimson Road
Author: A.G. Slatter
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Publisher: Titan Books
Publication date: 11th February, 2025

Synopsis:  A captivating dark gothic fantasy set in the same universe as the award-winning author’s All The Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns and The Briar Book of the Dead. A tale of vampires, assassins, ancient witches and broken promises. By turns gripping and bewitching, sharp and audacious, this mesmerising story takes you on a journey into the dark heart of Slatter’s sinister and compelling fantasy world.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Behind the Shadows by Ray Van Horn, JR.

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Title: Behind the Shadows
Author: Ray Van Horn, JR.
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Raw Ink Earth
Publication date: 26th November, 2024

Synopsis: Conjuring ten haunting tales to bring a shiver down your spine, author Ray Van Horn, Jr. shares a mixtape blend reminiscent of EC Comics and 80s horror: unsettling narratives to invade your dreams and keep you up at night.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Creatures of the Night: Vicious Vampire Tales by Simon Clark, Kevin J. Kennedy, and Gord Rollo

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Title: Creatures of the Night: Vicious Vampire Tales
Authors: Simon Clark, Kevin J. Kennedy, and Gord Rollo
Publisher: Crystal Lake Publishing
Genre: Horror
Release Date: August 9, 2024

Synopsis: Immerse yourself in a world of terror and darkness with three vampire horror novellas.

“Return of the Blood-Feeders” by Simon Clark: Viking vampires, and their latest vicious recruits, swarm through tunnels beneath the present-day town of Leppington. The Norse gods have created a Vampyrrhic army to wreak vengeance on people that turned their backs on Odin. Just two fragile humans stand in their way—a down-at-heel drifter who is struggling to recover from a severe head injury, and a dreamer with a drink problem. Together, they must become extraordinary. Together, they must defeat something that is much, much worse than vampires.
‘Return of the Blood-Feeders’ is set in the world of Simon’s Vampyrrhic series of novels.

“Perspective” by Kevin J. Kennedy: “This is a story of my re-awakening, and vampires.” A couple’s lives are thrown into turmoil when a body is dumped at their door. The vampires are catapulted into a blood-drenched journey to the gates of hell. Fortunately, they have some werewolf friends who want to come along for the ride.

“Beneath Still Waters” by Gord Rollo: On May 16, 2020, disaster struck the small Canadian mining town of Beckley, Nova Scotia. An explosion deep in Shaft 3 unleashed a massive torrent of water from an underground stream, quickly flooding the lower levels and dooming the workers below. Sixty-five people lost their lives that night, the tragedy one of the worst mining disasters in the province’s history. The Red Spruce Gypsum Mine would never reopen.

The town tried to turn the heartbreak into something positive, converting the flooded quarry into a natural swimming hole for people to cool off in during the hot summer months. But something has awakened from within the abandoned mine shafts and staked its territory in the deepest part of the lake. Something ancient. Something savage. Something hungry…

If you’re a fan of extreme horror books, gothic suspense, and supernatural terror, this collection is your gateway to fear. Dive into these suspenseful gothic horror novellas and discover why this horror anthology is a must-read for lovers of vampire fiction.

Don’t miss out on this dark adventure. Order your copy now and let the nightmares begin!

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

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Epeolatry Book Review: One Smile More by Charlotte Platt

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Title: One Smile More
Author: Charlotte Platt
Publisher: Gendel Press
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: June 16, 2024

Synopsis: Ena Sinclair, a Scottish mage and spy, abandons her role in a prominent Edinburgh college and escapes to London to avoid an arranged marriage.

But London is not safe: a mage killer is on the hunt…

Abducted by vampires ‘for her safety’, Ena is terrified the nest owner will drain her to fuel his power but also curious to learn about his magic. Taking this once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn more about what her college had warned were dangerous creatures, Ena finds herself fond of the nest, particularly their bonded leaders, Addison and Tobias.

As survivors of the Immortal War, the pair still navigate a schism in vampire society that they are trying to heal. They now seek a peaceful life and offer Ena protection until she finds her own path.

…and dark things await them all.

Ena’s college seeks to forcibly return her to Edinburgh, and a killer is still on the loose. Hidden resentments surface, and Ena pays the price. Magically unstable and isolated, she must rely on her non-magical training to avoid being turned or used as a weapon to harm the nest she has grown to care for.

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke

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Title: The Book of Witching
Author: C.J.Cooke
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: Horror
Release Date: October 8, 2024

Synopsis:  Four hundred years separate them.

One book binds them.

Glasgow 2024: Clem waits by her daughter’s hospital bed. Erin was found on an idyllic beach in Fynhallow Bay, Orkney with catastrophic burns and only one memory: her name is Nyx.

But how did she get these burns? And how did her boyfriend end up burned alive?

Orkney 1594: accused of witchcraft, Alison Balfour awaits trial. The punishment? To be burned alive.

Separated by four hundred years but bound by the Book of Witching, two women stand imperilled. Can they unlock a centuries-old mystery? And will Fynhallow Bay give up its secrets before someone else dies?

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Epeolatry Book Review: Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Title: Service Model
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Genre: Sci-fi
Release Date: June 4, 2024

Synopsis: Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time.

To fix the world they must first break it, further.

Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service.

When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away.

Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose.

Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Exadelic by Jon Evans

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Title: Exadelic
Author: Jon Evans
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-fi
Release Date: September 5, 2024

Synopsis: When an unconventional offshoot of the US military trains an artificial intelligence in the dark arts that humanity calls “black magic,” it learns how to hack the fabric of reality itself. It can teleport matter. It can confer immunity to bullets. And it decides that obscure Silicon Valley middle manager Adrian Ross is the primary threat to its existence.

Soon Adrian is on the run, wanted by every authority, with no idea how or why he could be a threat. His predicament seems hopeless; his future, nonexistent. But when he investigates the AI and its creators, he discovers his problems are even stranger than they seem…and unearths revelations that will propel him on a journey — and a love story — across worlds, eras, and everything, everywhere, all at once.

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