Christine MorganReseñas

I was beginning to think no one could top the brutal brilliance of Magpie Coffin, but there is a new contender in town! I may be becoming desensitized to gore as I read this series, but this book had me hand-to-mouth, fit-to-faint audibly gasping at its over the top insanity. This is my first time reading anything from this author (certainly won’t be the last), but I imagine this was written in a state of gleeful abandon. It’s FUN!

I was hooked from the moment the kids steal away in moonlight to spy on the traveling circus, where things go horribly wrong. Then they get better. Then they get worse again, in revolting and unimaginable ways. The story moves at breakneck speed, pausing only to wallow in scenes of vice and viscera. I truly couldn’t look away!

Though there were some moments I wanted to. Some icky scenes (including one with a baby and a bathtub, plus a character named Horsecock that I have conflicting feelings about). But I feel like this book best embodies the spirit of splatterpunk, more so than any of the others. And I love how the whole story unfolds over the course of just one night!

Do I wish there was more of the carnival crew? Of course! But I do like how the book acquaints us with a myriad of characters (the downside being not all are as fleshed out as I wanted them to be - I mean who really were those Truther kids anyway?)

Put up your boots and sit a spell. You’re definitely going to want to read this one. The pace is frenetic, frenzy-full of colorful characters and vignettes of violence. Silver River does indeed run red, and it bathes the reader in copious amounts of blood and a story they will never forget!

Man, Christine Morgan did a fantastic job breathing new life into what I considered to be a mostly dead genre about, well, the mostly dead. I'll be honest, I've mostly stayed away from zombie stories just because I feel like the genre had been overdone (at least for me). I enjoyed Train to Busan, Blood Quantum, One Cut of the Dead, and The Living Dead - and that's about it in the last few years. I think it's partly also because I feel like it's hard to bring anything new to the table. That is, until I read this collection!

The nine stories presented here are fantastically varied in their settings, style, and plots. You've got viking zombies, WWII zombies, stories from the zombie's perspective, and so much more. Short story collections are generally hit or miss for me, but this one was pretty much all bulls eyes. Below I'll give a quick, spoiler-free look at each story.

"Dawn of the Living-Impaired" - six months into the zombie apocalypse and humans are adjusting to new way of life; TV anchor interviews a zombie rights activist and then chaos breaks out on set; a fun premise but completely overshadowed by all the awesome stories that follow it.

"Seven Brains, Ten Minutes" - incredibly disgusting (even for this collection) story about a boy pretending to be a zombie to save a girl.

"The Barrow-Maid" - epic viking revenge story told from the perspective of the wife of a fallen hero; I was completely invested in all of these characters, and Hildirid is the best.

"Cured Meat" - possibly my favorite story; told from the perspective of a zombie as he goes about daily life in his "clain"; fantastic writing style with kennings galore!

"Be Brave" - set during WWII and switches perspective between a young girl named Klara and a embittered rebel named Jakob; great character building, but it felt like it was cut off when the story was just beginning (I need a whole novel about Klara's coming of age in the zombie apocalypse).

"Family Life" - a hilarious story told from the perspective of zombies a la a sitcom/comedy with an unexpected twist at the end.

"A Tower to the Sky" - interesting take on the Babylon story from the Christian Bible.

"Good Boy" - super sad story about a loyal dog (told from his, Baxter's, perspective) trying to protect his disabled owner; why is it always sadder when animals are involved??

"Thought He Was a Goner" - a fun/funny look at what young Herbert West might have been like in school, told from the perspective of a crush.

Christine Morgan’s Trenchmouth is a story about people, hubris, and that which lives in the unexplored depths. Part creature horror, part sci-fi thriller, this intense and bloody tale is not to be missed!

Hardcore fans of Morgan don’t need a review to tell them about how fantastic her characters are or how entertaining the character interactions. To newer fans and those who have yet to partake of her works, her characters are diverse, vivid, and realistic; and the character interactions are intense, often humorous, and wholly entertaining. The characters in Trenchmouth are no exception and may even be the finest examples of this yet. And that includes the things roaming the deep. Yes, they, too, are characters in this fast-paced and compelling tale.

I love everything about this book: the story, the characters, the suspense, the action, the writing, even the ominous and magnificent cover. And especially the deep sea creatures. This is a shelf-worthy and gripping read. Highly recommended.

Super entertaining story. Lots of Edward Lee references.

The Double Barrel series features two stories by each author, and these collected volumes put them all together in one handy paperback. Volume 3 features 6 authors, most of whom I've read before.

From Christine Morgan, (whose novel WHITE DEATH I've previously read and enjoyed), we have EYE SEE YOU, and it knocked my socks off. What a great way to kick off a collection!

From Robert Essig, (an author I have not had the pleasure of reading prior to this), we have FROM UNCLEAN SPELLS. I always have enjoyed tales about calling up ancient beings and/or casting spells and this one is a doozy.

Mark Matthews is an author I've followed for years now and his two stories were very different from each other, but GOODWIN wrecked me. It seems like it's easy for Mark to rip my heart out and it happened yet again with this tale of guilt, motherhood and death.

Theresa Braun is an author I've followed on social media for a while, but I believe this is my first exposure to her work. Both of her tales were AH-MAZING, but STILLBORN-wow. Just... WOW.

Calvin Demmer's short stories are nearly works of art. He's wonderful at toying with the feelings of the reader. Both of his tales here were great, but HIGHWAY HUNGER is one that's going to stay with me for a long, long time.

I'm familiar with and have even read some of Glenn Rolfe's work in the past, but it seems to me that he has grown as a writer since that time. THE HOUSE ON MAYFLOWER STREET was fun and creepy and makes me want to read some of Glenn's more recent work, and soon!

I liked the About the Author sections after their stories, and I liked that the covers from the previous individual issues were featured before each author's tales. The artwork on them is kind of cool and has something to do with the tales within.

Overall I had great fun with DOUBLE BARREL HORROR VOLUME 3 and I recommend it, especially to those readers looking for new authors. Collections such as these let you discover new voices in the genre without spending an arm and a leg, or investing lots of time buying and/or reading novels only to discover that a certain author isn't right for you. I know that I'll be adding novels, (if they've written them) from a couple of these authors, (Robert Essig & Theresa Braun, I'm looking at you!!), to my To Be Read pile. Honestly, I look forward to reading more from all of these writers!

Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/3bAMknY

*Thanks to Calvin Demmer and Pint Bottle Press for the paperback copy with no strings attached. I freely chose to review it and I'm glad I did!*

WHITE DEATH is the first book I've read from Christine Morgan and it was a winner!

Set during the Great Blizzard of 1888, it's apparent that Ms. Morgan has done her research. Set in the small town of Far Enough, Montana, this novel depicts what it was like for the inhabitants in a time when there were no weather forecasts, or warnings of any kind, before a storm.

At the same time, the author also weaves in some native American folklore in the form of a Wanageeska. In fact, it's the crossing of this creature that sets everything else off.

I loved the characters in Far Enough, Montana, except for for the founder of the town, who deserved everything that happened. The only problem I had was the large cast of characters, which are easier to follow on paper, than in audio. (I did find that jotting down notes on everyone helped quite a bit.) I thought the writing here was above average and detailed-if you ever want to know exactly what it feels like to have frostbite, or to debride the skin around your eyes trying to remove ice, than this is the book for you!

My only problem was that I didn't feel I got to know as many of the characters as I would have liked. However if I had, the book probably would have been much longer and the pacing slower. Perhaps a slightly smaller cast would have worked better and we could have become more familiar with people like Emma the schoolteacher, and a few others.

I listened to the audio of this story, narrated by the always excellent Matt Godfrey. In regards to excellence in audio, he never fails.

WHITE DEATH was entertaining and informative and caused me to want to learn more about the Great Blizzard of 1888. It was also quite a bit of fun where the Wanageeska was concerned and I would like to know more about that creature as well. Overall, it was a great time listening to WHITE DEATH and I definitely recommend it!

*Thanks to Matt Godfrey for the Audible copy in exchange for my honest review. This is it. Further, I consider Matt to be my friend, even though we've never met, but this did not affect the honesty of my review.*