Final Review of the Year — Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger by K. C. Grifant

Cover image courtesy of 
Brigids Gate Press
Illustrated by Luke Spooner

Who remembers that old sci-fi western Wild Wild West, with Will Smith and Kevin Kline? Or if you’re really into ancient entertainment viewing, who remembers the TV series that inspired it? Well, if either of those versions of Wild Wild West were ever your cup of tea, then Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger will be a treat. 

Granted, this is less of a sci-fi story and more of a pulpy horror western, but the crossover vibes are similar. This is a plot-centric piece of storytelling with a touch of steampunk flavor for fans of, say… Supernatural. And I am a fan of Supernatural. 

Author K. C. Grifant has woven a tale of monster hunters, pleasantly diverse ones, in an alt western world that resonates with parallels to our own American wild West history. She creates sympathetic villains and morally gray heroes out for justice—for themselves— and against an underworld they have yet to understand for its horrific power. It’s not necessarily deep, but it’s well written and fun. A welcome diversion for fans of multi genre pulp fiction. 

I want to thank the author for providing this ARC to potential HWA readers. Click on the cover image for a link to Amazon.

A Very Brief Review of Mr. Jacobs vs. the Demonic Clowns...(a very long titled book)

 

Cover Image courtesy of 
Evil Cookie Publishing

Thank you NetGalley, Evil Cookie Publishing and the author for providing this ARC.

Mr. Jacobs is a plot centric novella that focuses on the actions of the outlandish Mr. Jacobs and his happenstance crew trying to save the world from a takeover by the Unnamed Shadowlord through the possession of a few hapless party clowns. It sounds like fun, right? And it is fun, to a certain degree. If you’re a fan of the exploits of a Doctor Who type of lead, or a Dirk Gently genius, or the novels of Christopher Moore or Craig McLay, then you might indeed enjoy this story.

But there’s not a lot of depth to these characters. They are arguably quirky, but we don’t get to know them or feel for them in a deeper sense. You may say that comedy isn’t designed for that, but I disagree. In my mind, a character facing an external challenge, like saving the world, still needs to face an internal challenge too, like coming to terms with his or her own beliefs or fears. Hence, the three rating for me. But it passes the Bechdel test—something that’s been lingering at the back of my mind all year so far, so thank you for scratching that itch.

Also, the ARC draft I read was riddled with pushed together wordslikethis. Sometimes this happens with advanced copies of books, so I tried not to let it influence my rating. But if these errors shouldn’t be the case, I want the publishers to be aware of it. Thanks for the read!

Find access to the book here

Book Review -- A House With Good Bones, by T. Kingfisher -- A Horror Comedy Delight

 

Cover Image courtesy of
Tor Nightfire

Do you note how NetGalley asks if you would recommend this book to others? Well, I was talking about and recommending this book before I was finished with it. It’s horror lite, most certainly. But it’s clever and funny and well worth the read. I was reading this, also, upon a visit home to my mom after a bit of a health scare. My mom lives in my grandparents old house in a rather rural neighborhood. Her best friend is a gardener and bird enthusiast, and vultures are a common sighting. So maybe it was karma that led me to this book.

I’m also still viewing the world of entertainment with that Bechdel test lingering at the back of my mind, and T Kingfisher passes that metric without out batting an eyelash. Sam is a bug scientist. She's single, and while the story has a potential love interest in Phil the handyman, Phil is far from the center of attention. Because Mom has been acting weird. Sam needs to know what’s up because the house, that had once been filled with the bright eclectic flavor of her mom, has slowly returned to the "nice and normal" ambiance of Sam's grandmother who, in hindsight, turns out to have been not very nice at all in her quest for normalcy. Also, the local witch down the road has a haven for vultures, and those vultures are very keen on giving attention to Sam's mom's house.

As strange and suspicious events continue to unfold, involving a lack of bugs in the garden and mom's insistence to adhere to grandma's outdated ways, Sam embarks on an investigation that unravels a few unsettling truths about her family history that author Kingfisher masterfully connects to some outrageously true history connected to L. Ron Hubbard.

It’s such a clever and creative little horror story, with how it weaves the seemingly unrelated horror elements into a cohesive whole by the end. I want to give spoilers so bad with this, but I’ll refrain. Suffice to say that it gets five stars and is near guaranteed to entertain.