ROCK 'N' ROLL HEAD CASE by Lee Widener

ROCK 'N' ROLL HEAD CASE by Lee Widener

Originally published in 2015 by Eraserhead Press

Revised & Updated Edition published May 14th 2020

by NeverEnding Wonder Books

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(from the book description)

When embittered fast food worker Chaino Durante finds Alice Cooper's severed
head attached to his arm, wielding magical powers and dispensing the world's
worst life advice, he sets off on a freakishly bizarre road trip to stop a literal
monster from becoming the President of the United States, learning questionable
lessons along the way.

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((Spoiler Free Review))

I have to admit that I have not read many books in the Bizarro genre. But when I read the book description, and saw the trippy cover, I was instantly hooked. I had to read it. If anything just to see how the author, Lee Widener would make it all fit together. Really he had me hooked at "Alice Cooper's severed head".

I will say right up front, I have never read anything quite like ROCK N ROLL HEAD CASE. This story has a little of everything. I when I say everything, I mean it. Not only do we get Alice Cooper's head, we also get giant eyeballs, monsters, pirates, giants, intense fight scenes, celebrity cameos and a surprisingly familiar political party. Lee does not hold anything back and you really do not know what will appear on the next page. I don't think Lee could have crammed anymore crazy into this 80 page novella.

Even with all it's wild trappings, ROCK N ROLL HEADCASE still has an underlying story that drives the craziness along. Chaino is a man with no positive outlook in his life, boring life, crappy job, and his encounter with Alice Cooper's head changes his life forever. It might not be for the best at first. To me this is a tale of discovery. Chaino is the reluctant anti-hero who sets off on a true herculean task. Find himself and at the same time stop a monster.

That monster brings us to another aspect of this story. This was originally written in 2015 (I have not read the original, so I am not sure which material was revised for this edition), which would have been right around the time a certain orange haired someone was gearing up for his run at the presidency. I have always made it a rule to not talk politics in a review, but we can all see which monster he is talking about.

Chaino is a great character, but the star of this tale has got to be Alice Cooper's head. Why is he just a head?? We don't know! But he is part teacher, part Buddha and still manages to be the rock n roll monster he has always been. The peppering of song lyrics and references are little surprises along the way.

The author has created an epic acid trip roller coaster ride of a story that will mess with your mind, but also make you think.

In the immortal words of Alice Cooper's severed head

"Welcome to My Nightmare"

You can purchase ROCK n' ROLL HEAD CASE in ebook and print on AMAZON.

(I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.)

THE DECEPTION OF KATHRYN VASK by Mark Steensland

The Deception of Kathryn Vask

by Mark Steensland

Published April 14th 2020

Published by

Broadway Play Publishing Inc.

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(from the book description)

Blaming herself for her son’s death in an accident, a grief-stricken woman wants to hold a séance to get his forgiveness from beyond the grave. But when her husband conspires with the family pastor to hire actors and fake the proceedings, things don’t go as planned…or do they?

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To keep this review SPOILER FREE I will not give any more story detail than what was shared from the book description above.

I have to admit that I was very excited when Mark contacted me and asked if I would like to read his new work THE DECEPTION OF KATHRYN VASK. This would mark the first solo piece of his I had read. His collaboration with James Newman on IN THE SCRAPE was one of my favorite books of 2019 and THE SPECIAL (now a movie) was one of the most cringe inducing.

Right off everyone should know that this is a script. It was written as a stage play. Some might find this off-putting due to the structure style of stage commands, stage dressing descriptions and of course character dialogue. This did not bother me at all. I used to act in plays so the script aspect did not hinder my reading. Also over the years I have read several other horror related scripts. But really no one should let the presentation style stop them from reading this story.

The story is so well written that you will find yourself reading through without even having to look at the character designations. Each characters voice is unique and you will find the flow of the story very quickly. Even the stage directions will read out as if you were reading a normal story. That is a testament to the Author's ability to create characters. He is writing for the stage, so all dialogue has to be direct and written to be heard, unlike a normal book were an author can embellish a scene with background material and inner thoughts. What you are reading is what you would be hearing from your seat in the theater audience.

In my opinion there needs to be more horror in the theater. Yes there have been several on and off over the years, but not enough. The two that stand out are GHOST STORIES by Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman, and my personal favorite horror stage play THE WEIR by Conor McPherson. (both have scripts available on Amazon). I can see THE DECEPTION OF KATHRYN VASK easily joining the ranks of these fine productions.

Mark Steensland has given us a masterfully written story of despair and loss with enough twists to keep you on the end of your seat till the final page. This is going to be an outstanding show when it makes it to the live stage.

You can purchase a copy of the book at Barnes and Nobels.

Kickstarter: Reanimator Incorporated - A Lovecraft-inspired Graphic Novel by Andy Perry & Lyndon White

Reanimator Incorporated - A Lovecraft-inspired Graphic Novel

by Andy Perry & Lyndon White

Kickstarter campaign ends June 17th at 1pm EST.

The other day I was flipping around Kickstarter. I do this from time to time to see if I can spot any new comics or books that grab my attention. So on this day, as I go page to page, suddenly the word "Reanimator" catches my eye.

If you are a horror fan like me, the mention of Re-animator brings you memories of the classic movie of the same name from 1985, which in itself was a tale from the H.P. Lovecraft. The story of a young scientist Herbert West and his quest to understand death.

Now to me the movie (ok, maybe the 2nd movie to) are classic and to this day remain one of my favorites to watch over and over again.

So back to Kickstarter. After seeing the name pop up in the thumbnail, I had to click on it and see if it was really a adaptation of the classic Lovecraft character. To my surprise it was, and so much more.

Written by Andy Perry and Art by Lydon White, Reanimator Incorporated is not a retelling of the tale, it is a re-imagining. This tale takes place in modern day. Gone are the dimly lit labs and basements, for Herbert West is a man of technology and his new gleaming machines of science surround him. This is West for the 2020s. The obsession to understand and beat death is the same, but now we have corporate greed and family struggles added in to make the story even more complex.

I had the pleasure of reading the complete Chapter 1 and it was a well written, fast-paced tale that left me wanting more. There are some very visually striking panels and it was fun to see little nods to other Lovercraft themes in the story. This is a well crafted story of life, death, rebirth and the dark things that live between.

The Kickstarter has been fully funded, but you can still get in on it until June 17th

The book is available in softcover and a special hardcover edition.

Kickstarter: Reanimator Incorporated