D. L. SnellReseñas

Review based on free copy received in exchange for an honest review.

The plot was a big hook for me. Smart phones have advanced so much that they can now do things that seem like magic. Their new apps can diagnose car troubles, detect real-time popularity in a high school, and give an accurate lie detector test for cops, to name just a few. Oh, and yeah, maybe a couple people have reconnected with their dead loved ones as well.

But when the company in charge of the newest, smartest phone out there, the Tether, sets to open a new base in a small town in Montana, one father (Steve) thinks the phones and the Phone Company (PCo) have taken it all a step too far.

Not only do the apps seem to have abilities that defy logic and scientific understanding, but there almost seems to be some sinister plot lurking under the shiny new surface.

First, PCo offers free phones to all faculty and students at the school -- some sort of grant project that allows them to do research, perhaps. Steve declines the use of the fancy new phone---mostly because he is just stuck on his old phone - the phones he and his wife used before she died of cancer five years ago. But because of this decision, he's sort of "sober" while the rest of the town gets sucked under by the amazing new phone and its apps that seem designed JUST FOR YOU.

So yeah, it's a little sci-fi, a little horror, a little lovecraftian paranormal thriller. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I loved the creativity with regard to the apps and how they ended up playing out IRL (in real life ;)). It did drag a little in the 3rd quarter and there seemed to be a little repetition with Steve's a-little-too-slow realization that PCo may be quite a bit more than it appears, but overall, a great read. And just creepy enough to keep me awake late into the night...

FOUR of five stars.

A very interesting read about a Phone Company that suddenly comes into a small town and gives everyone new cell phones that begin to control everyone's lives. These phones have apps that seem to be designed specifically for that one person, no one else can get the same apps. These people also have the ability to control and do certain things anonymously through their phone that they otherwise would not do.

There is only one person in town that refuses to use his new phone which means he is the only person that notices the changes in everyone around him. Can he save the small town and everyone in it before it's too late?

DL Snell and Thom Brannon are like the Warren Ellis of apocalypse fiction. Diverse characters, insane violence, and cool twists frequent their books, and Pavlov's Dogs is no exception.

A very gruesome almost depraved book, the beginning had me wondering if I could continue, and I wouldn't want my mother reading this, nor some people knowing I have read this. However, it was a good book. The plotting was excellent, the two main female characters kicked ass, each in their own way. Writing was quite baroque at times, the author drawing a vivid image of guts and gore that at least twice made me giggle with the absurdity of words used to describe the violence, or the characters eyes, who often had very descriptive colors. Would have preferred a different ending but it did not spoil the book.

I won a copy through the Goodreads' Firstreads program!

Let's start backwards, with the only bad part of this book...it ended too soon. I think well-written novels about apocalypse-zombie-survivor ideas should extend to series, just saying.

My first thought was the idea seemed cheesy, but after reading a few pages I was hooked. Snell took a great risk heading into this genre, and I am now a fan! I will look for more books from Permuted Press as well!

Basically you have a team of scientists hunkered down on an island. The dogs are more like werewolves, and the science research behind it makes sense if imaginary. I appreciate when someone seems to have done a little research before writing.
Then we move on to a band of survivors, trying to escape the zombie hoard. Although a bit crude at times, you begin to appreciate the characters for who they are. I like that the auther did not make me care TOO terribly much about them though.

I don't want to give too much away, but just check this book out and you shouldn't be disappointed! Unless you're a sensitive were-human or zombie-in-training.

Gory, uneven compilation of short stories. Did I mention gory?

Alright book, some of the stories fell way flat on the worth reading scale, but a few were pretty intriguing, especially the one about the blind girl, quite a original take on the zombie yarn. All in all the book has a very varied amount of stories, running zombies, talking zombies, smart zombies, and your good old fashioned stagger around type as well, and various mixes in between. This anthonlogy covers a lot, I just felt that the stories themselves as a whole were a little lacking.

Alright book, some of the stories fell way flat on the worth reading scale, but a few were pretty intriguing, especially the one about the blind girl, quite a original take on the zombie yarn. All in all the book has a very varied amount of stories, running zombies, talking zombies, smart zombies, and your good old fashioned stagger around type as well, and various mixes in between. This anthonlogy covers a lot, I just felt that the stories themselves as a whole were a little lacking.

Most of us have read a zombie story or two: some good, some bad, and others that made us wretch. We hear the word "zombie" and immediately think of the slow shambling dead of Romero's films. Many of these stories are clichéd and spin tired stories with typical plots, with typical characters, and with predictable endings. Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines by D.L Snell is not one of those stories.

Roses of Blood brings together two of the more popular monsters in horror fiction today: Zombies and vampires. The story follows Shade (the vampire queen and daughter of the slain king), General Frost who is cold as his name would suggest, and Ann a human blood doll left deranged by the horror she has experienced. Shade fights to honor her fathers Kingdom (The City of Roses), while Frost pushes for relocation to the island to avoid the zombie hordes. Ann simply wants to survive, be free, and save her breeding slave sister. As the vampires attempt to fight off the zombies and keep there blood cattle (the humans) alive- betrayal, tragedy, and all-out fight for survival takes place.

The zombies in roses of blood are not your typical Romero style shamblers; they are the result of Nazi experiments. Instead of a virus, which is the common mode in zombie fiction these days, Snell's zombies are powered by parasitic creatures that infect the brains of their hosts. The parasites, tentacled Cthulhu like creatures, have appendages growing from the head of the bodies they invade. The zombies learn and adapt unlike most zombies and that makes them scarier.

Snell's vampires are akin to the vampires in Underworld, with amped up libido, one hell of a mean streak, and downright evil nature. They can be killed by wood spike or sunlight, but regenerate from most other injuries. Largely, the vampires are cruel and cold beings.

Humans are cattle used solely for their blood. Some are taken for breeding purposes and have their limbs amputated and are given a lobotomy. The Torsos, as they are called, are then placed in harness swings where they are breed. The non-breeding humans are used for feeding and repeatedly bitten and drained, but not to the point of death. The humans seem to have been dominated to the point of despair and have become docile pets of the vampires.

The novel takes place in "The City of Roses" which has been complete overrun with zombies leaving their fortified building as the only isle of safety. Snell does a great job weaving description of the setting in without being blatant, but instead by implication. I truly felt the sense of dread and hopelessness that is the existence of few remaining humans and vampires.

Roses of Blood's plot certainly hooked me and the action kept me on my toes. Gun-fu is the order of the day for the pistol, M-16, and Uzi toting vampires and the action scenes are excellently described. The pulse pounding action starts early and powers all the way through the novel. Fear not, if you are looking for character exploration and development, Snell wedged some of that in there as well.

It's hard to find a true weak spot in the novel because Roses of Blood is great example of a subgenre novel. However, I do have an issue with Snell's style. He describes it as a more poetic style ,and I can appreciated what he was trying to do, but in the end it just came off as a little overly metaphoric. The overuse of metaphors at times makes reading difficult and keeping track of what's going on a chore. It's not all bad though because, even if overused, the metaphors did add vivid images throughout the novel. The other minor complaint I have is that gratuitous sex in the novel is a bit off putting. I'm not against sex scenes in novels if they serve a purpose, but I could not find enough purpose to warrant the amount of sex represented. Indeed, Roses of Blood comes out swinging with a savage right hook of the erotic. If the erotic scenes in the beginning don't destroy your interest you should find the rest of the book quite enjoyable. After the first few chapters the sex tones down and the story gets back on the rails. I will admit that someone more into erotica will likely enjoy the same scenes that I found to be gratuitous.

Roses of Blood is a great new addition to the zombie and vampire subgenres. It's clear that this book should be an adult's only type of book with its absolute bestial, brutal nature and vivid sexual content. I can recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an excellent horror novel where zombies and/or vampires are not used in their traditional roles. Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines is a hard charging action packed book where the cruel and unusual are the norm: I liked it!

23 short stories - I could have done without 21 of them.