Lincoln Crisler

You can order issue nine of Shroud Magazine now. And you should, because my interview with Jeff Strand is in it. FTW!

Shroud welcomes the Summer with startling stories from the Brothers’ May, Lon Prater, Robert Canipe, Marie Brennan, Alethea Contis, Debbie Kuhn, Ty Schwamberger and many more! Brian Keene and Scott Christian Carr share their latest columns, I.E. Lester investigates the zombie phenomenon, Mark McLaughlin interviews a NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD icon, Derek Fox discusses the Art of Fear, an interview with Jeff Strand, and cover art and interview from Tom Brown. So much more!

The Passage is the third novel from award-winning mainstream author Justin Cronin, and the first in a projected trilogy set against the backdrop of America, post vampire-apocalypse.

The first twenty percent or so of the book covers the basics: a little girl abandoned at a convent, a Federal agent with a heart of gold, a gathering of twelve death-row-inmates-turned-guinea-pigs and the aftermath of a jungle expedition that raises more questions than are answered. This section, basically a prologue on steroids, culminates in the escape of an even dozen lethal criminals, all of whom have been deliberately infected with the Beta Test version of an engineered virus that could hold the key to eternal life, from the secret Colorado facility in which they are being held.

Then the blood-drinking starts and the virus spreads.

The second part, comprising the remainder of the novel, is a mind-jarring jump nearly a hundred years into the future. There are still humans, walled up inside a colony (in California, which seceded from the Union following the escape of the Virals), descended from children evacuated by the Army during the death throes of the nation. There’s a bare-bones Constitution, a small Parliament-style government, and an existence eked from the scavenged remains of civilization.

When a strange young girl saves Peter Jaxon’s life during a mission outside the colony, life inside the walls is disrupted, one of the original Virals incites several of the colonists to murder, and a small group risks everything to explore the origin of a radio signal from Colorado.

Colorado, where everything started.

While the first segment of the book initially seems like it could be pared down, possibly even stripped from the novel and used as bonus material on the publisher’s website, by the end of the book what originally seemed like extra padding is absolutely essential to the story.

Cronin stays away from any mention of the `V’ word (and truly, these aren’t traditional lords of the night), though his Virals do drink blood and are long-lived and nigh-impervious to damage. The Passage reads much like Stephen King when he’s being both expansive and good; the allure of the story isn’t the Virals at all, but the interaction between Cronin’s well-fleshed characters and their richly described world.

Even for those sick to death of vampires, The Passage will prove to be an addicting, and rewarding pleasure, and worth every bit of the hype it’s received to date.

Visit http://enterthepassage.com/. Buy it today.

Originally featured on Shroud Magazine’s book review blog.

“Tales of a High Planes Drifter” is a collection of four novella-length tales featuring the Merkabah Rider and his adventures in the 19th-century American West. The Rider himself is reminiscent of no one more than Stephen King’s Roland of Gilead; a gunman with conviction, who is prepared to kill but still has lines he won’t cross. Dropping an Hasidic Jew into the Wild West is a pretty gutsy move, but it just might make this one of the genre’s standout books this year.

Not only is the Rider a gunslinger, he’s also a potent Qabbalist (one skilled in the secret arts of Hebrew mysticism; seals of Solomon and the like) capable of astral travel and creating magical talismans. He uses his many talents in a series of battles against bigotry, attackers both supernatural and mundane, and his own tortured conscience.

The general thread woven throughout the stories in the book is that of a man, betrayed by his master, seeking justice in the name of his fallen brethren. In the course of the Rider’s search for the traitorous Adon he takes on a bloodthirsty cult (“The Blood Libel”), a group of bandits in league with a voodoo bokor (“The Dust Devils”), a demon-possessed, grief-stricken father and husband (“Hell’s Hired Gun”), and a cathouse staffed by the daughters of Lilith (“The Nightjar Women”).

Erdelac is a self-proclaimed history enthusiast, and “Tales of a High Planes Drifter” is packed with what must have been a staggering amount of research into Jewish history and mysticism. His descriptive skills are top-notch and he exhibits particular skill at knowing when to throw in a bit of extra gore. The second book comes out this fall, which only adds to the win.

Originally appeared on Shroud Magazine’s Book Review Blog.

on Shroud Publishing’s website, wherein we discuss his novels past and present, as well as the relative merits of robots, pirates and ninjas, amongst other things. Enjoy!

Abominations, Shroud Publishing’s second anthology, is currently halfway up the horror anthologies bestseller list on Amazon. This book features, among other fine stories, Old Stooping Lugh, my tale of Irish and Italian mafioso caught in the crossfire of an angry Celtic god. You should definitely check it out. If I get a few requests for it, I’ll even pick up a few copies to sign and sell through the site!

Hiram Grange and the Twelve Little Hitlers, the second book in Shroud Publishing’s Hiram Grange series of novellas, is, on the surface, a string of twelve vignettes, each dealing with the capture and/or extermination of one of twelve clones of Adolf Hitler that escaped from the World Trade Center when the towers fell. These vignettes are connected by a one-man opiate, psychedelic and alcohol binge unparalleled in the history of the planet. Hiram Grange, not the most sympathetic protagonist to begin with, has clearly fallen farther than he ever has before.

I gave the first installment in the series a modest review, but upon further consideration I realize that Jake Burrows, the author of the first novella, was operating from a distinct disadvantage: he not only had to tell his story, he had to introduce Hiram and the entire series at the same time. Scott Christian Carr, the author of Twelve Little Hitlers, doesn’t have that monkey on his back. He starts grinding Hiram into the dirt from the get-go: he’s lost his home, narrowly missed a conviction on stalking charges and is squatting in someone’s home while they’re on vacation. It keeps getting worse from there.

Carr’s writing style takes a little getting used to, but once you’re in, you’re in. The ending was a true, completely-out-of-left-field shocker, and was somewhat traumatic to read. I have to say I really loathe Hiram after this one. So far, the Hiram Grange series is delivering the goods: none of your assumptions are safe, and none of the standard storytelling conventions are sacred. 4.8/5.