House of Rain by Greg F. Gifune | Book Review

House of Rain is a horror novella from Greg F. Gifune.

Book Description

Gordon Cole is a tired and lonely old man. A troubled Vietnam vet and recent widower, he does his best to survive in an increasingly dangerous neighborhood while drowning in the nightmares of his horrific past and struggling with the death of his beloved wife Katy.

And then the whispers begin calling to him from the shadows, terrifying visions stalk him relentlessly, the sounds of angelic singing haunt his every waking moment, and everyone in his life seems to be conspiring against him for reasons he cannot yet understand.

As the rains come, soaking down the city, Gordon realizes he must face his past, and solve a dark mystery that has haunted him for nearly fifty years. Who was the mystifying woman he met in a bar all those years ago? What happened in that seedy motel they went to?

As Gordon searches for answers, something within the mounting rain watches and waits, offering Gordon deliverance from his nightmare. But the keys to Heaven and Hell come with a terrible price.

Welcome home, Gordon.

Welcome to the House of Rain.

Review

I am such a big fan of Greg Gifune. He writes what I would classify as intelligent horror. That's not to say other horror is unintelligent; he simply makes me think on a deeper level. His stories are not wrapped up and tied up; there is a lot to think about and there is always plenty left to your own imagination and interpretation. Other writers I would classify similar to Greg Gifune are Lee Thompson and Gary Braunbeck.

Over the last couple of years, Gifune has made his way on to my "must read" list. I featured House of Rain on my top anticipated books for Spring list, but I only just now managed to give it a read. I was pretty much saving it for the right moment because I knew it would be good, and I knew it would be a read-in-one-sitting type of situation.

This time it turned out to be a read-in-one-sitting-twice type of situation. I had to read it twice to get all of the pieces to fit in my mind.

If you don't like having to work for it, Gifune may not be for you, but there is something about writers like Gifune and Braunbeck and Thompson that make me feel like I'm seeing the world from a different perspective. There's a piece of my imagination no one else seems to touch.

If you are lucky enough to find yourself needing something to read on a stormy night, House of Rain will suck you in and give you plenty to think about.

7/10: Recommended Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Review | When We Join Jesus in Hell by Lee Thompson

When We Join Jesus in Hell is a new novella from Lee Thompson.

Book Description

Home, he thinks, Where the heart bleeds freely.

A hell of a boxer, he earned the nickname 'Fist' back in the day. But during the past eight years, he's transformed into somebody he no longer knows—a weak, pitiful, and passionless office drone.

Barely hanging onto the last thread of his self-respect, he returns home one night to discover Hell has truly crossed its threshold.

And Hell has lessons to teach him through what fragments remain.

Slivers of dark light.

Knowledge in blood.

Forgiveness, clarity and redemption in commitment.

Most of you know by now I'm a big fan of Lee Thompson. I have quite a few reviews around here from his epic Division series. When We Join Jesus in Hell is a notable departure from his Division mythos, but it is a testament to Thompson's awesome, dark imagination.

When We Join Jesus in Hell is a great read, but it is also a tough read. It is brutal and heartbreaking. It won't be for everyone, but for those of you who appreciate dark, unapologetic, and emotional stories, it will leave its mark and make you a fan as well.

If you've been wanting to check out Thompson's work, When We Join Jesus in Hell is a great stand alone place to start.

7/10: Recommended Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Free Read | Collected Songs of Sonnelion by Lee Thompson

The last chapter of Lee Thompson's serial novel Collected Songs of Sonnelion was posted to the Darkfuse website today. This means for the next few weeks the entire novel will be available to read for free!

Collected Songs of Sonnelion is part of Thompson's Division Mythos. Don't fret if you haven't read any stories from his mythos yet. They have all pretty much been written and published out of chronological order. Just jump in!

In this Division Mythos novel, which is being serialized on Darkfuse's website, Red Piccirilli has known madness and magic. They’re in his blood and bound to his soul as much as love and loss are. But when his family moves to the town of Division, Pennsylvania, his father grows distant, his mother troubled, and a murderer roams the countryside.

He searches for meaning and truth while battling his own darkness and rage and despair, but corpses whisper answers the dead only share with one another.

If you have trouble viewing Collected Songs of Sonnelion on the Darkfuse site, you can also access it on Issuu.

While I'm on the subject of Lee Thompson and his Division Mythos, Beneath the Weeping Willow has been published as a stand alone short story. (It originally appeared in Shock Totem 4.) It is an awesome glimpse into the Division Mythos and Thompson's uniquely dark and imaginative writing style. It is written in second person and well worth the read.

Lots of good stuff to check out folks.

Review: The Rain Dancers by Greg F. Gifune

The Rain Dancers is the latest novella from Greg Gifune.

Book Description

He arrives in darkness, in the middle of a violent downpour...an affable old man with tales to tell...

When Will and Betty Colby return to Betty's hometown to settle her late father's affairs and prepare his house for sale, they assume they'll be faced with some cleaning, basic repairs and making runs to the local dump. Will also hopes it will afford Betty a chance to reflect on the difficult relationship she had with her father. But something more is happening in this quiet little town, in this dark old house at the end of this seemingly deserted dirt road.

In the middle of a rainstorm, a man calling himself Bob Laurent appears in the night on their doorstep, claiming to be an old family friend. He seems harmless enough, only Betty has no memory of him. Yet he knows everything about her, her father and their lives. He even knows intimate details about Will and his life. While the storm rages on, a cauldron of tension, suspicion and fear builds between the couple and the stranger, dragging Will and Betty to the very brink of madness.

A vile and unrelenting evil has returned to claim what was taken from it long ago, and all the demons of the past, present and probable future have come home to roost. Before the storm clears and the sun rises, Will and Betty Colby will come to know the horrifying truth.

People live and die...but the evil they do is eternal.

The Rain Dancers was really fun to read. I love books that hook me right away and keep me in suspense until the end.

The basic premise is a stranger shows up in the middle of a rain storm claiming to be an old friend of Betty's family. This stranger is a sweet old man with wonderful stories about the family's past. He's seemingly harmless, but Betty doesn't remember him. At all.

The build up of tension and suspense in The Rain Dancers was awesome. I was glued to the story. In a horrible twist of fate, my Kindle battery died just before I got to the end. I woke up in the middle of the night and could not go back to sleep knowing my Kindle was now charged. I had to get up and finish reading it! The Rain Dancers was pretty impossible to put down.

If you've read Gifune, you know he is a master of atmosphere. If you haven't read Gifune, you should. He is taking up residence on my 'must read' list.

8/10: Great Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Live Event | Lee Thompson

There are some exciting things happening tonight on the Darkfuse website. Lee Thompson - one of my favorite authors - will be doing a live interview.

You can read all of my Lee Thompson gushings here.

The folks at Darkfuse will be giving one lucky winner a 1-year subscription to the Delirium Kindle Club. That's 24 novellas! They are also giving away some Lee Thompson limited edition hardcovers. Those are some wicked sweet prizes.

The event starts tonight at 8 CST/9 EST. Come hang out with me!

Book Review: The Dampness of Mourning by Lee Thompson

The Dampness of Mourning is the latest horror novel from Lee Thompson.

Book Description

A ringleader of phantoms and collector of souls, he played rhythms on bare flesh, hellish melodies on bone. Fifty years ago he disappeared as quickly as he came and the town of Division gladly swept his tortured acts from memory.

But John McDonnell and Michael Johnston have drawn him home—he hears their names in his sleep, tastes their blood on his tongue, and fantasizes about the rapture birthed of their mourning.

I keep wanting to say "for fans of Lee Thompson!", but no kidding, right? Seriously, if you've read and loved anything by Lee Thompson, you won't be disappointed with The Dampness of Mourning.

The Dampness of Mourning is the second book in the Division series after Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children. In Dampness we are brought back to Division - a pretty messed up town like Stephen King's Derry - for a deeper look at the evil that dwells there.

All of Lee Thompson's works are pretty stand alone yet they are all part of a much bigger mythos Thompson is creating. I personally recommend you read Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children before reading The Dampness of Mourning, but hooray for me for having read Crooked Stick Figures, Before Leonora Wakes, and Beneath the Weeping Willow, too, because all of these stories tied into The Dampness of Mourning. Awesome.

So... if you love Lee Thompson, The Dampness of Mourning will give you even more to love. If you've been wanting to read something by him but you haven't, you need to jump on board. I look forward to everything he writes.

7/10: Recommended Read