A dark short from this horror author. Willie, Melanie and Nina are ‘emotional vampires’, who have spent several lifetimes playing The Game – using The Ability to push humans into acts of atrocity/murder for which they get points, each vying to top the other’s acts of violence. Then Melanie tires of The Game and wants out…leading to all out war between her and Nina as they each use the humans around them as weapons to bump each other off. Darkly amusing, it reads better than it sounds.
The Infection – Craig DiLouie
Post- apocalyptic zombie horror. I'm such a sucker for these. First there was the Falling Down – as millions around the world collapsed screaming. The world was in a state of shock. Then three days later, The Screamers woke up…and they were hungry.
The first two thirds of this one spent more time on the characterisations and relationships between a small band of survivors rather than zombie massacres, which made it more interesting. I lost a bit of interest in the last third, which dealt with an epic battle between the two.
Bone House – Betsy Tobin
Elizabethan England and the death of a village woman brings long-buried, dark secrets to light. An intriguing historical murder-mystery. Very enjoyable.
Darkness – Belinda Bauer
A superb psychological thriller – focusing less on the gruesome aspects of the murders themselves, than how they and the investigation affects the police and villagers caught up in them and is subverted by the personal agendas of everyone involved. Excellent stuff. Can’t wait to read her other two novels.
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly. Aramis: Yes, sorry. Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
