Review: Theater of Vampires, Volume 2 of Jason Dark Ghost Hunter

Theater of Vampires
Volume 2 in the Jason Dark, Ghost Hunter series
by
Guido Henkel
Available through Jason Dark - Ghost Hunter, Amazon in both print and Kindle editions, and Barnes & Noble in e-book for the Nook

If you like pulp horror in a quick and easy, enjoyable read, then this series is for you.

Jason Dark is a ghost hunter...and a vampire hunter...and a demon hunter...and a hunter of all things supernatural.  He is aided and abetted by his faithful assistant Siu Lin and his housekeeper Lady Wellesley.

Our story begins with the advent of Jason's friend Max.  Their reunion is a happy one, with a pleasant dinner with Jason's assistant Siu Lin in attendance.  Talk is turned to the new play being performed, rumoured to be in the Grand Guignol style, called Theater of Vampires.  Max persuades Jason to attend a performance and that's where our story begins to take off.  Jason suspects there is more than meets the eye to the performers of this harrowing stage show and sets out to investigate.  His suspicions are confirmed when Max is violently, and literally wrenched out of Jason's home by a vampire kidnapping.

Written in a pulp fiction style, there are lurid descriptions of blood letting, pale, red-eyed vampires with preternatural abilities, ambushes, confrontations, captures, rescues, action,...it's all here.
The story only runs 61 pages.  I found it entertaining, both for it's subject matter and the style in which it is written.  Some of it seems grand and a tad over the top dramatically speaking, but that's a hall mark of pulp fiction to begin with.  I spent an entertaining evening reading this, enjoying a genre I hadn't previously read too much of.  Pulp writing is a dying art these days to a degree, but Henkel writes with a sure pen, creating the shadowy streets of London in the winter, the dark and mysterious theater and the threatening vampires with ease.  I felt transported to Jason's side, be it as he dined with Max, attended the play, worked in his laboratory, took to the dark street, and entered the theater to engage in a showdown with the vampires.

There's a fair amount of blood in this tale, enough to satisfy the gore hound.  I liked the lab work Jason employed, a nod to the wit of Sherlock Holmes I suspect.  The pacing is sound, and the characters are brought to convincing life.

For a quick, atmospheric tale of the supernatural, this series is a winner.  There are 10 volumes currently available, with Jason taking on demons, witches, ghostly Kinghts Templar, a real doctor Frankenstein, wraiths, curses, and wrathful goddesses, to name but a few of the terrors he meets.

In January of 2011, Henkel was invited by Fangoria magazine to write an exclusive serial novel for their magazine, beginning with issue #302, entitled Food for the Dead.  Quite an honor, indeed.

For more on Guido Henkel;
Jason Dark on Facebook
Jason Dark, Ghost Hunter

Review: Armageddon Bound : Book One of the Demon Squad series

Armageddon Bound

Book One of the Demon Squad series

by

Tim Marquitz

Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble  in paperback and in e format through Damnation Books

Review by Dan Breen

Take equal measures of 50’s detective pulp fiction, a Carl Hiaasen central character, and The Omen, blend carefully then serve chilled with a good Metal soundtrack.

Now throw it away and read this instead.

In Armageddon Bound Tim Marquitz introduces probably one of the most likable anti heroes I’ve come across – Frank Trigg, (or Triggaltheron, depending on how far “south” you come from); Nephew of Lucifer, part human, and the only known character in any book to have turned down the opportunity to become the Anti-Christ.

The back story is that both God and the Devil have disappeared without trace, much to the confusion of their respective sides leaving the various choirs and minions to do what they do best – fight each other in a celestial Cold War taking place on earth. However, in the years since the disappearances of the respective heads, other factions have appeared, crossing the usual Demon/Angel lines, pro and anti Armageddonists, and it’s against these factions, and his estranged Succubi wife, that Frank, Scarlett, (an angel, his cousin), Katon, (Vampire), and Rahim, (mage), find themselves pitched in this rather different and entertaining novel.

The story itself starts straight into the action, but at a pace not to leave the reader behind, and while fast moving, is not too fast as to leave the reader struggling to keep up. The characters themselves feel rounded, fully formed and engaging while the settings are illustrated well enough to give the picture without distracting from the story itself. Thoroughly entertaining with some good humorous, if slightly wrong, moments thrown in, (remember though, he is part demon).

If you’re a fan of Good Omens, any of the Lazlo Woodbine series, (Robert Rankin), or are old enough to remember the “Oh God, you Devil” movies with George Burns, you’ll like this one.

For more on Tim Marquitz:
Tim Marquitz Dark Fantasy Author
Tim Marquitz on Twitter
Tim Marquitz on Facebook

13 Questions With...Carolyn & Mike Dubisch

Carolyn's Answers

1. You’re hosting a dinner party. What is the menu, and do you cook it yourself, or do you call a caterer?
I hate to cook, but I'm cheap so it's the only thing I do well. Spaghetti.
2. What is your beverage of choice?

I like wine, coffee, and sparkling water, not all at once or mixed together-separately.
3. Physical book Vs an E-Reader. Your preference and why?

Physical books most of the time. I don't have an E-Reader, just a computer, maybe that's why I prefer it.
4. What kinds of books make up your personal library?

Everything from "You are so Undead to me" by Stacey Jay, to "The Joy Luck Club". I read Stephen King, and Gail Carson Levine and of course Harry Potter- I'm always open to new writers. as well. I like fantasy, horror, science fiction, historical fiction, and tons of YA.
5. How and when did you catch the writing bug?

When I was a sophomore in High School my English teacher felt I should be a professional writer, but I never really pursued it until my daughter was born, when I began writing kids books.
6. What is your writing routine?

Unfortunately my schedule is too erratic for a regular routine. I write when I can squeeze it in or have a deadline. It's pretty lame.
7. If you ever encounter writer’s block, what steps do you take to get past it?

I write on my blog usually. That warms me up to writing fiction.
8. Do you have a hidden talent?

Does face painting count?

9. What was your best subject in school?

English and Art.
10. As in any entertainment, there are current trends. How much do these “current trends” influence what you write?

Somewhat. We added some steam punk elements to the original script of "The People That Melt in the Rain". However that was the first time I ever did anything like that.
11. Mac or PC?

Mac-we do a lot of graphics here in our studio.
12. Where do your ideas come from?

Mostly from fortune cookies.
13 What advice would you pass on to an aspiring author?

Just to write and keep a journal. Also joining a crate group can be an extremely valuable experience. There are a lot of groups online, and plenty if you check your local library.

Mike's Answers

1. You’re hosting a dinner party. What is the menu, and do you cook it yourself, or do you call a caterer?
Stir fry shoggoth and shrimp stuffed with chaos- from a caterer of course.



2. What is your beverage of choice?
Sparkling mineral water- a gift from the undergods.



3. Physical book Vs an E-Reader. Your preference and why?
Physical, reading e-books hurts my soul.

4. What kinds of books make up your personal library?
I have an obsession with a certain breed of comic creators and fantasy/surreal artists. I read a lot of fiction but am less attached to keeping a permanent collection of it.



5. How and when did you catch the writing bug?
Around fifth grade I began to be able to envision and then actually execute ideas for comics and stories, so I guess that's when.



6. What is your writing routine?
I let ideas stew in my head till they are nearly solid, then write them down when they tell me they are ready. Then I need absolute silence and concentration to write the prose or script.



7. If you ever encounter writer’s block, what steps do you take to get past it?
Since I don't put pressure on myself to write, I've never found myself blocked- Artist's block I deal with by working- and if I become so paralyzed I cannot move forward on serious art, I go to my doodlebook, take all the pressure off, and doodle carelessly till I rediscover the joy of creativity.

8. Do you have a hidden talent?
I'm a problem solver. I have an ability to focus and solve real world puzzles while others go to pieces.



9. What was your best subject in school?
Art and English, also weight lifting.



10. As in any entertainment, there are current trends. How much do these “current trends” influence what you write?
The character I write that has turned out to have most potential for mass appeal was conceived a bizarre anti-hero I didn't think anyone would understand: My flesh eating ghoul-hero, The Crypt Kid. In this case the publics hunger is for new concepts that kick sand in the face of the old but are still cute and iconic.



11. Mac or PC?
My family has been "mac" since 1987.



12. Where do your ideas come from?
Ideas are gifts. Hard to know where they come from, apparently from a storm of synapses, they feel as if they are just dropped in by an outside source and I'm just happy when they appear- often they just flow out of the tip of my pen and I'm as surprised as anyone else is.



13 What advice would you pass on to an aspiring author?
Read your own work critically and be sure it's your best. Find someone to help you fine tune your work. Do what makes you happy and excited, self publish and build your brand.