Leisure Book Reviews and Random Thoughts

I love late spring/early summer. The weather is getting warmer, I can sit out on my deck and read while the ballgame plays in the background. I can start hiking again with the dogs. And it seems like there's a party every weekend. But I hate it, too, because I end up going through three sets of clothes every day, thanks to it being cold in the morning, hot during the day, and cool in the evening. What does this have to do with horror? Well, much like the weather, this month we have two very different books, both of which can be cruel and cold, and also surprisingly full of angry heat. And, just like the time of year, I found things to both love and hate with both of them.

Pressure by Jeff Strand

Jeff Strand's books and stories have always had the ability to make me laugh and cringe at the same time. He's a master of humorous horror. Which is why it was such a shock to see him abandon that style for Pressure and produce a much more straightforward, serious book. Not that it's a bad thing, to paraphrase Seinfeld, just that it's unexpected and took some getting used to. In the end, I decided to give it a B, for balls.

Pressure starts off with one of the best lines in a psychological thriller:

"For a while, the bullets were the only things keeping me alive."

How can you read that and not want to find out more? And Strand doesn't disappoint, giving us a superbly-crafted thriller about a dangerous sociopath who also happens to be best friends with a 'normal' - if anyone in the world can be considered normal - fellow named Alex Fletcher. Alex forms a friendship in school with one of his roommates, Darren, who happens to be more than a bit on the odd side. Over time, Darren influences Alex in all the wrong ways, until Alex finds himself caught up in a world of depraved thrill seeking and danger. Pushed to the edge, he manages to escape, only to have Darren show up again years later, posing a murderous danger to Alex's family. Now Alex has to re-enter Darren's world, has to think like him, in order to find him before Darren puts an end to everything Alex holds dear.

Including his sanity.

After reading this book, I had to wonder if the folks at Leisure paired it with this month's other selection, a novel by Jack Ketchum, because the two have more than a little in common, especially in the tone of the writing. It's almost as if Strand channeled Ketchum for this one, eschewing his own well-established lighter voice in favor of something dark and cruel. If this is the first book by Jeff Strand you've ever read, you'll love every minute of it. If, like myself, you're used to the darkly humorous Strand, you might, as I did, find yourself a tad disappointed at first. But then you'll get sucked in by the story and appreciate it for what it is.

My real problem with seeing Strand write like this is that we already have a Ketchum, and several other writers of serious material. We have far too few writers who can seamlessly blend humor and horror, and I really hope Strand doesn't give up that aspect of his writing.

However, none of this takes away from the book's quality. So I'd suggest you read this one. Just don't expect to laugh.

***

Cover by Jack Ketchum

Cover is by Jack Ketchum. In a way, that's all I need to write for you to know what you're getting. If you've read anything by Ketchum, you won't be surprised to find tense situations, hard, cruel characters, and a relentless style of writing where Ketchum does his best to make you squirm. He also makes you feel for his characters even as they frighten you by the very idea they could be real. A solid B, because while the book is a good read, it's not breaking any new ground.

In Cover, we meet Ketchum's latest anti-hero, Lee Moravian (in my head, I kept thinking Lee Marvin, who'd have been perfect in the role if it had been made into a movie years ago). Moravian, like several of Ketchum's characters, is a Viet Nam vet who's retired to a life of peace and quiet deep in the woods. Until some rowdy campers decide to trek through his patch of the forest, and he reverts to an almost savage level as he uses his military training and animal cunning to defend himself against this perceived threat in the most violent ways possible.

As in many of Ketchum's books, the line between protagonist and antagonist is often blurred or overlapping, and you'll find yourself alternately routing for Moravian and the unwitting leader of the interlopers, a writer named Bernie Kelsey who finds himself unexpectedly fighting for his life.

Cover is a reprint of a book originally published in 1987, so some of the dialog and references are a tad dated. In some ways, it resembles other books about isolated individuals fighting back against representations of the modern world, such as First Blood and Deliverance. Personally, I'd rate it not quite as good as the former, and better than the latter, even though this particular genre isn't one of my favorites.

If you're a fan of Ketchum, this will be like settling in with an old friend. If you haven't read him before, it's not a bad introduction to his works. Either way, you can't go wrong with a Ketchum book when you're looking for something to read.

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JG Faherty is a writer of dark fiction. His credits include Cemetery Dance, www.wrongworld.com, Shroud Magazine, Doorways Magazine, and numerous anthologies. He writes regular columns, book reviews, and interviews for the Horror Writers Association newsletter, FearZone, Cemetery Dance, and several other online and print venues. You can visit him at JGFaherty.com