Looking for Your Next Book, But on a Budget?
Looking for Your Next Book, But on a Budget?
I'm here to help! No, I don't have a coupon, but I have done you a huge favor instead: I've read 4 of publisher Silver Shamrock's new releases, as well as 2 of their upcoming releases and I'm here to report on the quality of all 6. This may save you some money. Read on.
A quick glance at Silver Shamrock's production schedule proves to me they really don't give a crap that I'm trying to save money. They also don't care about you saving your money.
So. Many. Books!
Judging from past publications such as Wormwood by Chad Lutzke/Tim Meyer and In the Scrape by James Newman/Mark Steensland, they are also quite capable of publishing some VERY high-quality horror.
Therein lies the "problem."
First, I suggest you buy those two books that I just mentioned. No risk there. As for the new and upcoming titles, see below.
From Death Reborn by Kenneth W. Cain (now available)
I love the subject matter of the story: philosophy of free will and good vs evil on a grand scale. The problem is, I just couldn't connect to the characters in the way I was hoping to, which kept the story an arm's length away. Grade: D
Farallon Island by Russell James (now available)
There is some B-movie type lighthouse-themed horror fun to be had here. I'm not against that, but I did find myself growing weary of the story about halfway through. I'd recommend Richard Chizmar's Widow's Point as an excellent counterpoint to this one. Grade: D
The Devil's Mistress by David Barclay (now available)
As implied by the title, this is a witch story and a good one at that. The premise is probably an overused trope in stories like this, but Barclay transcends some of that and wrote a fast-paced and fun story to read. Grade: C
Malignant Summer by Tim Meyer (out on June 1, 2021)
Conceptually, this is a great eco-horror novel, but at 556 pages, I think it just slightly outstays its welcome. I'm thinking that a 300-400 page version would probably have been a homerun. Grade: C
The Crucifixion Experiments by Gord Rollo (out on May 11, 2021)
An excellent and bold murder mystery. No spoilers. Grade: B
Gulf by Shelly Campbell (now available)
This is the one. The best of the 6. The internet tells me that this is the second fiction book that Shelly has written, and I don't believe that for a second (stop lying Shelly). I applaud her excellent character work and also the confident handling of this audacious plot. Great job. Grade: B
There you have it. Don't say I've never done anything for you. 🙂
Reviews by Jason Cavallaro
jcavallaro42[at]gmail.com
Twitter: @pinheadspawn
I received copies of these books from Silver Shamrock Publications for review consideration.
