Slasher Crasher by David Nora #BookReview

RATING: 5 STARS

SUMMARY:

It was the night HE tried to go home...but got caught in THEIR drama...

It’s Halloween. Nick Roesch, a towering figure of evil and stupidity, escapes from the upstate New York mental hospital he’s been committed to for the past five years. Planning to return to his childhood home, where he brutally murdered his babysitter’s boyfriend, his plans are halted when he crosses paths with an even more terrifying beast—two high school friends with some serious beef. Caught in a battle of loyalty that has been brewing for ten years of their friendship, the two girls, Kathleen Strife and Betsy Coleman, force the feud into a savage showdown, pitting the escaped monster against each other. Who will survive this epic deathmatch, and is it totally wrong to fall in love with the murderous lunatic who just tried to kill your ex-best friend with a machete?

Book Review

I’ve been craving a comedic horror read and Slasher Crasher didn’t disappoint. An escaped lunatic? Teenage drama? Epic deathmatch? Sign me up! From the first page to the last sentence, this book is a juicy festival of gore, perfect for slasher fans.  It playfully embraces classic horror tropes, tips its hat to iconic horror movies and references the soundtrack of my youth. What’s not to love?

Sure, this book revolves around a psychopath murdering everyone in site, but at the heart of Slasher Crasher are three teenagers coming of age, dealing with boy drama, bullying and absente parents. They must face Nick, the monster, as well as their own inner demons in order to become the ‘Final Girl’, a trope horror fans know and love. Each character arc undergoes a transformation fitting and realistic to their characters. In addition to the main cast, there’s an array of supporting characters, including Nick’s doctor (who could have walked straight out of The Exorcist and into this book), Betsy dad who is a recovered alcoholic, and a cast of homophobic bullies who make poor David’s life a living hell.

While the main theme of the book lies around the final girl trope, religion plays an interesting role in the plot. One of the police officers insists on ending every conversation with “praise be to God”, an interesting little quirk for an arguably insignificant character. But it adds to the character developments, especially Betsy and her father, who struggle with their faith. And, of course, Nick’s doctor is certain that Nick is no mere mortal, but the Devil arriving in their town to raise hell.

But don’t worry. There’s nothing preaching about this book. It’s a horror novel to it’s core complete with tales of Nick’s sadism that will make your stomach churn. But what makes it powerful is that it doesn’t stop with external horrors, but explores the things that scare us all. Loneliness, jealousy, abandonment, the fear we aren’t good enough and never will be. So while on the surface, this is a teenage slasher with a final girl theme, underneath it’s a brilliant tale of courage and self discovery, even if those realizations lead us down a dangerous path.

This is easily one of my favorite books of 2019, and an absolute must read. Buy it here!

Paperback: 358 pages

Publisher: Black Rose Writing; First Printing ed. edition (August 22, 2019)

ISBN-10: 1684333288

ISBN-13: 978-1684333288

My Top Three Authors of 2018

This was an incredible year for literature, especially indie horror and science fiction. As a member of scifiandscary.com, I got advanced reader copies of several amazing titles, many of which you can read about under my Books You Need to Read page. So for my last blog post of 2018, I wanted to share three amazing authors I discovered this year. I hope you’ll enjoy them as well!

Alan Baxter

Alan is an award winning British-Austrailian author who writes dark fiction, supernatural thrillers, urban horror, crime and noir all mixed into a blender of literary brilliance. He’s written around twenty books so far, including Manifest Recall which was the first book I ever gave a five star review to. There’s tension from start to finish of each of his novels, with high action and twisted characters that will make any eccentric heart beat a little faster. Check him out.

J. Barton Mitchell

I discovered award winning author J. Barton through his book The Razor, an intense science fiction plot with a unique and wild storyworld. He does a bit of everything, from YA to to comic books to selling screenplays to Warner Bros. and 21st Century Fox. I really hope The Razor ends up as a movie because it’s a fierce story. Check him out.

Scott Cole

I mean, who wouldn’t want to read more books by the author of Triple Axe, a story about revenge and porn actresses? Scott manages to depict a rather sensitive subject with a gore, grit and even a bit of humor, making him a wordsmith. I can’t wait to read more of his work! Check him out.

Five Incredible Dark Fiction and Horror Magazines

If you like the weird, the horrific, and the dark, these are five magazines you need to be reading:

cover art by Daniele Serra https://www.apex-magazine.com/issue-104-january-2018/

Apex Magazine : This is a monthly publication, available for sale the first Tuesday of every month. It features prose and poetry of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Get ready for stories about the weird, the twisted, and the beauty within the darkness.

Unnerving Magazine : While they lean toward horror, Unnerving Magazine also accepts works from the genres of dark fantasy, dark science fiction, thriller, crime and dark literature.

Lamplight Magazine : A quarterly magazine for dark fiction reminescent of "The Twilight Zone" or "Black Mirror". You can download a free edition from 2012

Nightmare Magazine : This is a magazine dedicated to horror and dark fiction. If you like zombies, ghosts, and haunted houses, check out this publication.

 Black Static : This used to be called The Third Alternative, a magazine that included some science fiction and fantasy. But they are now exclusive to dark fiction and horror.

Of course, there's plenty more horror and dark fiction magazines out there. Which are your favorites?