recent read; STORYHACK, Issue Two

STORYHACK, Issue Two, edited by Bryce Beattie

STORYHACK returns with nine stories of action adventure! Count 'em! Nine!

They run the breadth of pulp genres; horror, science fiction, sword-&-sorcery, crime, fantasy, steampunk, superheroes and more!

Personal favorites for me were;

David J. West's sword-&-sorcery "The Crawlers Beneath Avaris," a good old fashioned sewer romp with an exiled general who is on the run with a stolen book.

Keith West's "The Chronicle of the Gorgon's Island," which--yes--features a gorgon and has a strong extrapolation from mythic fantasy. This is also another tale with West's ongoing characters, Rodrik and his cursed liege prince, Balthar. (See issue #0 for their first adventure.)

"The Temple of Baktaar" by Jason Restick.  A jungle expedition leads to a cursed temple and horror. This tale is a WEIRD TALES throwback with strong vibes of Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft.

All nine stories are quality and worth your time.

Bryce Beattie continues to improve his editing chops with each issue. The story selection here was great. Also, not only do we get vibrant cover art, but each story gets its own black-and-white interior title art. This is a fun magazine, pure and simple!

(There were a few typos and one or two continuity blips but not voluminous or enough to throw a reader out of the stories.)

Grab your issue now!

(remember, if you order the print edition, Kindle matchbook offers the eZine for $1!)

recent read; A HELL WITHIN

A HELL WITHIN by James A. Moore & Charles R. Rutledge

A HELL WITHIN returns us to Wellman, GA where the veil between our world and strange other worldly horrors hangs thin and shredded. Sheriff Carl Price and private detective Wade Griffin again find themselves up against the supernatural. This time, a serial killer is on the loose--and his weapon of choice are summoned demons. You see, these demons allow him to enjoy the crime vicariously--safely keeping the killer away from the crime scene.

Further complications arise when the local organized crime erupts in a gang war over territory. Can the stalwart duo and their occult allies keep their heads down and catch the killer?

A HELL WITHIN is described best as horror-action or horror-crime-action and that is exactly what you get. Moore & Rutledge stay on target, delivering chills & thrills, gunfire, and hellfire. The action scenes are explosive. Characters pop off the page. The story clips along. I read this book in two or three sittings.

If you're a fan of the earlier books, BLIND SHADOWS and CONGREGATIONS OF THE DEAD, you'll want to return to A HELL WITHIN. If you haven't experienced Griffin & Price before, grab any of the three. You're in for a hellacious treat!

Welcome to the Jungle

Yesterday, I received my latest order from Amazon which consisted of three neo-pulp magazines;

• STORYHACK, Issue Two 
• AWESOME TALES #6 
• OCCULT DETECTIVE QUARTERLY, No. 4

It's not much of a secret--as I have signed the contract--I will have a story in the next issue of STORYHACK (#3)

Imagine my elation when I flipped over STORYHACK and found this on the back cover!

That's my story! I've been blessed with cover art!

So pleased with this!

This news update is not meant to detract from the current issue of STORYHACK (#2), featuring Keith West and David West among others. In fact, if you buy the print edition from Amazon, they will offer the Kindle Matchbook for $1. Win/win.

I can't wait to hold this in hand and when it's out I'll let you know--and maybe write a post or two about the behind-the-scenes on this tale.

In the meantime--

Support your 'zines!