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Books for Review should be sent to: Don D'Ammassa, 323 Dodge Street,  East Providence, RI 02914

Last Update 12/31/24

Blood Tide by Saul Wernick, Dell, 1979 

A Nazi agent was sent to America during the final stages of the war, but was killed while trying to sneak ashore. He wore a bracelet which has somehow become the host for his personality. Thirty years later, a somewhat brutal police officer finds the bracelet, puts it on, and promptly begins channeling the personality of the dead German. He builds a corps of neo-Nazi followers and virtually takes over a town. The novel is a bit too long for its plot and is occasionally repetitive. I also find it hard to believe that all of the horrid events that take place in the town would not have drawn major outside interest.  12/31/24

Lily by R.R. Walters, Tor, 1988 

This is a very long, very boring novel about a female demon who moves into a Florida community and begins seducing some of the male neighbors. She also drains the life force out of infants and toddlers, killing some of them and seriously injuring others. Her main target is a man who is also romantically involved with a young woman who thinks she finds a parallel to historical events involving a demon. She manages to secure an amulet which is supposed to have power over the creature and eventually has a violent confrontation with her nemesis. Too many characters and too little plot for my taste. 12/18/24

Wind Chimes by R.R. Walters, 1991

Another reworking of a couple of common horror themes, the demonic child and the imaginary friend who turns out not to be imaginary after all. The young girl at the center of the novel spends all of her time at a tree where she has hanged a set of wind chimes. She talks about her friend Rosamunde, whom no one has ever seen, and an imaginary place called Wunderland. But when people who irritate her begin dying, she insists that they have simply gone to Wunderland. Irritatingly, we never learn anything about Wunderland, how it was created, what the wind chimes are or do, and who Rosamunde actually is – although she does eventually appear to the girl’s mother. The ending is ambiguous – it may be that Wunderland is actually a nice place. This was the author’s final novel. 12/18/24

Ladies in Waiting by R.R. Walters, Tor, 1986

This author’s third novel is much better than the first two, with only a couple of minor stumbles along the way. A famous painter made a deal with the devil, revealed in flashbacks, in which the souls of women whom he painted were imprisoned in the canvases, which disappeared when he was himself murdered. Almost a century later, the new owner finds the paintings hidden in window boxes – the fact that no one had looked there is not very plausible – and that accelerates a series of supernatural events – ghostly appearances, whispering in empty rooms, and so on. Rather too long for its story but a decided improvement. 12/5/24

The Ritual by R.R. Walters, Charter, 1980 

The first of five horror novels that appeared under this byline. As far as I know, the author never wrote anything else. This story of Aztec magic was not a promising debut. The dialogue is terrible, motivations are murky, people do not take even elementary steps to confirm what they are being told despite their concerns, there is no suspense to speak of, and the plot is constructed awkwardly. Apparently a psychiatrist is trying to re-establish the Aztec gods on Earth by tricking teenagers into performing forbidden rites including human sacrifice. There are several scenes of gratuitous, awkward sex. The novel has no virtues that I could find. 11/26/24

Ludlow’s Mill by R.R. Walters, Tor, 1981 

Walters’ second novel is absolutely awful. A lamia lurks around a small group of people, influencing them to have obscene and aggressive sexual feelings about people around them, even family members. The characters are described physically in immense and lascivious detail. Their behavior, even without being influenced, is reprehensible at times and there is not the slightest trace of suspense in the story. I had to skim through two thirds of the book because it was so actively dreadful. `11/26/24

Big Rock Beat by Greg Kihn, Tor, 1997 

This is both a prequel and a sequel to The Horror Show. The production of a rock and roll exploitation film is troubled by several deaths attributed to a strange car which is supposed to be repaired version of the one in which James Dean was killed. One of the investors seems to be the devil, although this is not explicitly stated. There is a psychic woman who appears a few times but never really advances the story. There is a lot of tension among the characters, some of it irrelevant, and the story moves very slowly. It also lacks an actual climax. The various story lines get mostly resolved in low key ways. Not very good, alas. 11/20/24

Mojo Hand by Greg Kihn, Tor, 1999 

Kihn’s final novel is a later adventure of the rock musician from Big Rick Beat. A mysterious man has purchased a dead man’s hand from a voodoo priestess. He uses the hand to bring about the deaths of several Blues musicians, after each of which he sort of absorbs their music. He is trying to wipe out that entire genre of music. An odd assortment of people come together to oppose him and ultimately succeed. The basic idea is actually quite interesting but the execution is not up to the task. There is very little tension, no suspense, and while the characters are nicely differentiated, they don’t really compel the reader to get emotionally involved. 11/20/24

The Horror Show by Greg Kihn, Tor, 1996 

Kihn’s first novel revolves around the creation of a cheap, over the top horror movie. It was filmed in a morgue and they illegally used dead bodies. One of those bodies was the former head of a Satanist church who had discovered an artifact that could genuinely summon some sort of demonic being, which could possess people or animals. He miscalculated and he himself was possessed, an experience which drove him to insanity and suicide. There are several subplots that revolve around those two main story lines. This was quite promising although his second novel would prove to be disappointing. 11/3/24

Shade of Pale by Greg Kihn, Tor, 1997 

This was a frequently interesting take on the legend of the banshee, who comes to New York to avenge various females who were abused or killed. There is also a serial killer who turns out to be one of the other characters in the story. The novel is, however, flawed by awkward sections that just don’t feel real. The psychiatrist, the police, and others act completely against their nature and professions. The Banshee is responsible for some horrible deaths, but is portrayed as a sympathetic character who is actually saved by the chief protagonist. This really could have benefited from another draft to smooth over some of the problems – including a statement on one page that is directly contradicted four pages later. 10/24/24

Lullabye by Patricia Wallace, Zebra, 1990  

Yet another child in jeopardy novel. A woman in a long term coma develops the ability to kill with her thoughts. Since she hates the people who attend her in the hospital, she begins to kill them by remote control. Only her eight year old daughter understands what is happening, although eventually the girl tells her father. He investigates further and decides that he needs to kill his wife with a fatal injection to protect the lives of his daughter and others, but also because his wife wishes that she was dead and wants to end her suffering. Routine, and actually rather boring. 10/10/24

Fatal Outcome by Patricia Wallace, Zebra, 1992

This was apparently the author’s final novel. It is mostly a medical thriller with SF overtones. A new drug is used to treat five patients who are terminally ill – one of whom is secretly a psychotic serial killer. The drug cures their disease but it also gives them the ability to eavesdrop on the thoughts of other people, and eventually to manipulate those thoughts. This does not go well and results in some inadvertent deaths, and in the case of the killer, some not so inadvertent ones. The low key climax does not help rescue a rather pedestrian plot and the villain is not very interesting. 10/10/24.

Among the Living by Tim Lebbon, Titan, 2024

A small team of illegal prospectors descend into a cave on an Arctic island and find a group of dead bodies that might be 40,000  years old. Then one of the bodies moved and all but one of them escapes in a panic. The last emerges later, but she is changed and then appears to die. A second team of militant environmentalists arrives at that point and one of them has long feared that the melting ice will release ancient diseases that could destroy the world. He believes that the dead woman has been infected with a kind of fungus that has a form of intelligence, and when her body begins to move, he shoots it until it stops. He then sabotages both parties' vehicles to prevent them from returning to civilization, but it is too late. The dead woman becomes animate again, and some very strange creatures emerge from beneath the surface. It's a kind of zombie novel variation. Relentlessly suspenseful with a sense of inescapable doom throughout. 10/8/24

Slither by Edward Lee, Macabre Ink, 2023 (originally published in 2002)

This is not among by favorite novels by Lee. It's a variant of the nature gone wild novels which were popular in the 1980s. Various parties converge on a remote island which was once a missile site, now supposedly deserted. But as it happens, someone is experimenting with genetics, creating gigantic versions of small parasitic worms so large that they can physically overwhelm a human being. Some of the sequences are pleasantly unsettling, but the characters are so overwhelmingly obsessed with sex that it became positively boring after a few incidents. 9/28/24

Monday’s Child by Patricia Wallace, Zebra, 1989 

I really got tired of demonic children reading this author. A woman vanishes in front of a doctor’s eyes after giving birth to a beautiful baby girl. But people who irritate the infant, and toddler, have a habit of dying horribly or suffering mutilations in freak accidents. Eventually the doctor realizes that she is not a human child but actually some sort of supernatural manifestation – we never find out her origin or nature – and after several more people die he is finally able to destroy her despite her power. The ending is unconvincing. 9/23/24

Thrill by Patricia Wallace, Zebra, 1990 

There is a lot of wasted potential in this novel, which varies somewhat from the author’s usual pattern, although we still have children in jeopardy. A gigantic, high tech amusement park has opened despite warnings from a local prophet that nature will not tolerate its existence spoiling the area. Almost immediately upon opening, it is plagued by bizarre “accidents” and other phenomena that suggest the prophet may have been right, although we never really find out what is causing the problems. It is clearly supernatural. Some of the incidents that occur in the first half are suspenseful and well done, but the book runs out of steam in the second half, becomes mildly repetitive, far less interesting, and struggles to an ending that should have been more exciting. 9/23/24

Water Baby by Patricia Wallace, Zebra, 1987 

Young Kelly survives when a sailboat accident claims her parents and younger sister. But the sister is somehow still animate despite having drowned and the two are mentally linked. Melissa is not old enough to understand her new powers and she causes the deaths – usually by drowning – of several adults over the course of the next few weeks. Ultimately she lures her sister into the sea where they can be united in whatever supernatural force has allowed her to become superhuman. That brings the sister’s interference with the living to the end. We never learn just why or how any of this happened. Not one of Wallace’s better books. 9/7/24

See No Evil by Patricia Wallace, Zebra, 1988 

A child with second sight dies and her corneas are transplanted into two blind children, restoring their sight. But the operation also transfers something of the dead child’s uncanny abilities. There is also a kind of tentacled creature that manifests itself in the hospital. The two children know about it, believe it to be a gift from the girl whose corneas they have, and they can direct the creature to kill people. The story does not make a great deal of sense and ends with the two children running off together, now under the protection of their supernatural benefactor. 9/7/24

Darkness, I by Tanith Lee, St Martins, 1994 

The third and final Scarabae novel is more fantasy than horror. A half breed and a Scarabae – they’re a kind of vampire – mate and produce a child which looks like an adolescent after only two years. The child is kidnapped by an immortal who lives in a secret city under the ground in Antarctica and he is one of the founders of the Scarabae. This was pretty dull. Lots of detail about Scarabae behavior, an extensive tour of the city and the pyramid adjacent to it, lots of decadence, but not much story.  The young girl turns out to be a monster and the appearance of the mysterious immortal is rather a letdown. 9/2/24

Twice Blessed by Patricia Wallace, Zebra, 1986 

Another demonic child novel, this time involving a pair of twins. One is in a coma and the other – the evil one – begins to use her powers to crash airplanes, manipulate hospital equipment, drain brains from bodies, causes fires, and wreak other havoc. I didn’t think this story made much sense and the victims are all cannon fodder we never get to know in advance. The ending is unclear and unsatisfying but somehow the good twin absorbs the other into his body. This one was definitely a chore to read. 9/2/24

Elephantasm by Tanith Lee, Dell, 1993 

Lee was adept at creating convoluted family settings consisting of various idiosyncratic characters held together by a sometimes not very explicit overall weirdness. This is possibly the best of her stories of this type. An impoverished young girl is sent to the Smolte mansion as a scullery maid and soon attracts the attention of the dissolute family, for different reasons in different cases. Sir Hampton Smolte made his fortune in India, but he also made enemies while he was there, and some of them are not human. They will eventually use the maid as their instrument of revenge. Intricately plotted and superbly written – falls somewhere between fantasy and horror. 8/24/24

Only Child by Patricia Wallace, Zebra, 1985 

This one is a combination of children in jeopardy and the demonic child. A young girl is the only survivor of a plane crash, which presents a number of problems since the aircraft in question had been destroyed months earlier. She is secretive and displays privately a number of supernatural powers – she burns down a playground, causes several children to disappear, operates a truck remotely and uses it to run people down, and so on. The story is actually rather slow moving despite the many deaths. 8/19/24

The Children’s Ward by Patricia Wallace, Zebra, 1985 

Another predicable horror novel with a demonic child variation. There was once a ward for mentally disturbed people in which one patient murdered all of the others. Years later, it has been converted to a children’s ward. One of the first children to be admitted is a young girl who – we learn at the end – is descended from the killer. There are several mysterious deaths. An engineer has a bizarre construction accident. A nurse is pulled into a therapy pool and drowned. A doctor has a stroke despite being in good health. The other children are aware that something is wrong. The plot advances much as you would expect and offers nothing new. 8/19/24

Traces by Patricia Wallace, General, 1982 

A young man suffers a brain hemorrhage and is brain dead at a hospital, where strange electrical events and mysterious deaths begin following his arrival. The reader is soon aware that another personality has taken control of the body. The invader can mentally affect electrical circuits and then actual matter, and quietly kills people from a distance. This wasn’t bad, although it is a bit too long for the plot and there is never really any explanation of how the bad guy managed to switch bodies. 8/14/24

The Taint by Patricia Wallace, Zebra, 1983 

A sailor sells some of his blood to a blood bank. People who receive transfusions undergo comas, personality changes, insanity, and other problems. One of recipients is in fact possessed by a supernatural entity that the sailor summoned and he kills a number of people before a doctor realizes the truth and convinces her boyfriend, the local sheriff, to help her track down and kill the man, expelling the entity from the world. A bit too long but otherwise okay. The premise is even reasonably innovative. 8/14/24

Blood County by Doris Piserchia (as Curt Selby), DAW, 1981

A remote county in Appalachia is dominated by a vampire and his demented wife. The local people believe that their loyalty to him - they donate blood in rotation - is the key to their continued success in life. The vampire had two sons, one of whom left after quarreling with his father. He supposedly is banned from returning, but he does so anyway when his brother dies, having been shot to death by a jealous husband. Although it is not immediately obvious, both sons are vampires as well. The "dead" one reanimates and begins killing people, completely free of the restraint of his sire. The older vampire is rather inept in his attempts to restrain him and is himself killed permanently when he rapes a woman from out of town. The returned brother then has to wage war against his brother and his newly converted minions, and finally takes his father's place. 8/9/24

Dark Resurrection by Michael Paine, Dark Horse, 2007

This was meant to be the first in a series of novels about Universal Horror figures, but the project never went past the first few titles despite the generally high quality. The premise of this is that the revived mummy, using the name Ardath Bey, is now a powerful and wealthy, though still mysterious figure. He has a grudge against the family that is currently involved in digging up the tomb of his lover, so he begins arranging fatal accidents for them, using mind control and animated corpses to do his bidding. The hero really has no chance against him. The story is similar to the movie, which was intentional, but seems rather tame by contemporary standards. 8/3/24

The Drowning House by Cherie Priest, Poisoned Pen, 2024

This is a good example of what we used to call quiet horror. Two old friends return to the island where they spent summers as children at the request of a third, whose grandmother just died after seeing a ruined house wash up onto the beach. When they arrive, their friend is missing. A series of slowly accumulating facts leads them to believe that something supernatural and decidedly evil is taking place. They discover that the house was washed out to see almost seventy years earlier by a violent storm. They also find runes on the basement wall in the dead woman's house and see a mysterious figure in the darkness. Very nicely done suspense with an exciting resolution. 7/26/24

Stage Fright by Michael Paine, Berkley, 2006

The author appears to have been caught in a rut because this is the third consecutive book about haunted structures, in this case an opera house erected on an island in the middle of nowhere, not recognized as being a part of any of the three surrounding states. A woman troubled by nightmares about the building finds it while she is researching the effect of the supernatural on theater. The story skips over any account of how she acquires ownership and the lack of legal jurisdiction makes it easy to keep the authorities away from the action. Predictably, people begin to die almost immediately, usually in horrible ways. The woman also has some kind of psychic link with the long dead owner of the building, which can sometimes be physical. I found the premise too unfocused and the setting too improbable to really enjoy this one, although it has some good moments. 7/22/24

A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand, Mulholland, 2023

This is the sequel to The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. A group involved in production of a new play rent Hill House for two weeks in order to have a secluded but large enough space to practice lines and resolve unanswered questions about the play. Despite the warning of a neighboring witch, they decide to stay. There are lots of odd events - sightings of a gigantic rabbit, things that appear and disappear including entire rooms, the day help who refuse to stay after dark, a woman who appears to have stopped breathing for several minutes, cold spots, the sense that they are not alone, a table cloth whose appearance changes at times. These all build to a climax that we know is coming right from the opening chapter. Hand does a fine job of capturing the innate strangeness of Hill House, and introduces a set of convincing characters into that environment in order to watch them implode. Great read. 7/20/24

 Sherlock Holmes and the Highgate Horrors by James Lovegrove, Titan, 2023 

A new adventure with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson facing off against various Lovecraftian monstrosities. The book is episodic, covering separate cases over the course of several years, although they are linked by a connection to an other worldly fungus. Irene Adler becomes the pawn of extraterrestrials subject to the Lovecraftian gods. A scientist’s attempt to cure cancer raises the dead. More conspiracies menace the human race. This was mostly a fun book, but it was hard to take the story seriously. We see a bit too much of the alien creatures – who become simply differently shaped people – and the episodic structure interrupts any building of suspense. 7/13/24

Smalltown Horror by Ronald Malfi, Titan, 2024

The plot for this one is pretty familiar - five teenagers inadvertently caused the death of another who was the son of a witch. Years later, they are all drawn back to that town by what appears to be the ghost of the dead boy. There are some creepy scenes although the story develops a bit slowly. The child in jeopardy subplot did not work for me. None of the characters are particularly likeable, which tends to blunt the reader's ability to identify with them or care about their fate. Despite these cavils, it was an entertaining story and I enjoyed it. This is about average quality work from the author, who has written some excellent horror novels.

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