A Dark Regions Double is Reviewed

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A Dark Regions Double

The Valley
William Meikle
Dark Regions Press
ISBN: 978-1-937128-10-4
Trade Paperback
149 pages
Western/Horror

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The Valley: Gold diggers of the old west meet the lost world…

Jake Stratford has put together a crew of reprobates, all apparently good with a gun. Do you think that just maybe he expects trouble?

Well, the boys turn the corner and find their destination, Ruby Creek, in ruins. This is where some nice cabins and Jake’s brother George and the rest of the original party were supposed to be. Instead, they find a giant scorpion, 8 feet long without counting its deadly tail.

The gold is apparently safe but Jake insists on going after survivors. So, into the mine they go… only to find a long tunnel that opens onto an enclosed valley. And there’s smoke from a fire on the far end. Could be survivors.

So begins a fine romp, as the cast of characters show their strength and weakness in battles between them and all sorts of prehistoric creatures—not one of them like the beasties we’ve come to know from the many stories and TV shows and movies that have explored this idea of lost worlds and societies.

But this is William Meikle, and he cut his eye teeth on stories like this. He knows exactly what to do: meaning his approach is everything one could want of a good western romp in a prehistoric world. There’s even a cowboy to ride off into the sunset. The Valley was a fun read, and what I’ve told you about it won’t spoil it at all.


The Invasion
William Meikle
Dark Regions Press
ISBN: 978-1-937128-10-4
Trade Paperback
109 pages
Sci-fi /Horror

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If you love apocalyptic stories that bring out the best in the human beings we root for, then you are going to love this story. With a nod to John Wyndham, our author drops the most serious “shit” I have ever seen on our poor little planet. I don’t want to spoil your fun, but just know that every time there seems to be some hope, the invaders adapt. Then, in the scariest segment of the story, the invaders don’t just adapt, they use an unexpected weapon that allows them to evolve past their human adversaries. This adaptation is a direct attempt to stop humans from executing a plan that might take back their completely devastated planet.

The monsters in The Invasion aren’t the in-your-face type you’ll experience in The Valley. These are  destroyers of humans and their civilization as a side effect of their terraforming and mining of the planet. Not to say these aliens care, something which is demonstrated quite gruesomely even as the last of humanity fights back in a one chance, winner take all dénouement.

There’s something I must say… I’ve read a few other William Meikle novels, and I believe The Invasion is the best of them all. It’s a great read!

Well done, sir. John Wyndham would have been proud.

Copyright © 2012 Clayton Clifford Bye

The Grace of God by Sam Cross

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The Grace of God
Sam Cross
Damnation Books
ISBN: 9781615721337, eBook
ISBN: 9781615721344, Print
59,972 words
Thriller/Horror

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“There but for the grace of God go I” repeated Lewis Cade’s mother. And so he learned to thank God every night for his life, for his place in the world. He grew older, became a Police Detective, married a beautiful woman who loved him and gave him a beautiful son. Everything was perfect.

Then came the accident—the one that killed his wife and son. And the trial, where he spent every dime he had only to watch the killer go free.

And now, after 6 months of insane grief, all Lewis Cade wants is to be left alone, because that is all he is now: by himself. Yet, slowly but surely, the girl from upstairs, Jenny, who is beaten most days by her drunkard father, manages to get under his skin. She plays the violin beautifully, like his deceased wife. And Lewis has taken to buying sheet music for the girl and leaving his apartment window unlocked, so she can come down the fire escape and into his home to practice.

However, Lewis Cade is about to find out that his mother’s saying goes much deeper and that one’s entire life can become nothing more than a single question. It starts when he’s proclaimed a hero for saving a hostage on the subway by shooting the man who was using him as a human shield (He also took out the fellow’s partner as they were robbing the riders of the train.). But Lewis doesn’t know this—even when he begins to get strange phone calls. It isn’t until things turn much darker that Lewis realizes he’s captured the attention of a very dangerous man.

Jack Raye has been a victim all his life. But when he feels the splatter of blood and brains when Lewis Cade shoots the man holding him hostage, something breaks free. He sees Lewis as someone who can do anything he wants because of the power of his badge, and he understands in a kind of revelation that there’s a way for him to acquire that kind of power.

Two men on a collision course. What will be the question and answer of their lives, and how many will die as they hurtle toward their twisted destiny?

Wow, what a thriller. I haven’t felt this uncomfortable in a long, long, time. Sam Cross has written a horrifying runaway that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go until the last page is turned.

I discovered Sam Cross a few years ago. This is the third of his books that I’ve read, each one better than the last. There’s no reason this author shouldn’t be on the best seller lists: his writing is that unique, that good. I hope a big publisher is listening.

Copyright © 2012 Clayton Bye

Book Review: BLOODLESS by Michael McCarty and Jody R. LaGreca

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Bloodless
Michael McCarty, Jody R. LaGreca
No publisher yet
Approximately 299 pages
Vampires/Cannibalism/Erotica

Bloodless is a collaborative effort featuring Michael McCarty and Jody R. LaGreca. Loyal McCarty fans will recognize the novel’s main character, Daniel Peck, from the short story “The Principal,” which was featured in the collection A Little Help from My Fiends.

The novel gives the background of Peck’s transformation from mortal runaway in 1915 to modern-day vampire using Baltimore middle school students as unwitting blood donors. Bloodless also has a darker underlying theme that authors do not very frequently address by name: Cannibalism. Sure, it is zombie fiction’s stock in trade, but it rarely features as front and center as it does in this novel, especially when there is no zombie in sight.

As the plot progresses, Peck slashes, slices, and dices his way through the neighborhood. He eventually meets a young widow who stirs his undead heart. It is here that the plot gets curious and, in my opinions, jumps the rails upon occasion.

For example, Peck has assembled a small group of middle school kids, the thralls, whom he introduces to the forbidden pleasures of cannibalism. It is unclear why he has this ragtag group and how they benefit him. Then there is the turning of his love interest from mortal to vampire; as she becomes a vampire, the author alludes to the warring factions of good and evil within her spirit, but this storyline component remains largely a loose end.

I must confess that I did not like Bloodless. While I loved the beginning and first quarter of the book, I was unable to connect with any of the characters in a way that would have me rooting for them to live (or die). Add to this the frequency of graphic sex scenes, which really did precious little to carry, strengthen, or move forward the plot as a whole.

Loyal readers know that I love Michael McCarty’s writing. Even so, in the case of Bloodless I would say that the plot could use a once over by an independent set of eyes.

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For the sake of full disclosure, let the kind reader please take notice that I received a copy of Bloodless, free of charge, from the author.
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Sylvia Cochran is a voracious reader and long-time book reviewer. She sinks her teeth into anything having to do with vampires, horror, steam- and cyber-punk. Of course, she never turns down a good post-apocalyptic read, either.