Horror Books

Already being a fan of Ito's work through titles such as Gyo & Uzumaki, I'd heard about the infamous Tomie manga he'd created. I have to admit that my expectations were high since not only was Ito's other works so great, but this was a character who spawned countless movie adaptations of the work. I was not dissapointed.

Much like the men that Tomie & her progeny lure in, the reader is drawn into the rich storytelling & artwork in this volume. Comprising solely of the first half of the Tomie manga, this volume does a very good job of displaying not only the character of Tomie, but also drawing all of the stories together. What I found interesting was that even as I saw Tomie as a villain, at times you couldn't help but feel sorry for a girl who was so beautiful that her lovers would eventually end up killing her. Even when she reforms herself, she is eventually doomed to die at the hands of one who loves her. It's an interesting scenario, basing a story such as this around an ultimately spoiled young lady who keeps dying & being reborn from any pieces of her that remain. Can the reader truly despise her? After all, even the ones of us that have the nicest personalities would eventually begin to sour to the idea of all humanity.

Would I recommend this to a friend? Most definately. Not only if Junji Ito one of the greatest manga authors around, but this is by far the best work he's ever put out.

I love the Tomie movies and i'm a huge fan of her! So, when I found this I was alittle skeptacle. I'm not a fan of manga, I haven't tried it before. I thought it was stupid reading a book full of comics, but haha that's defiantly different now. I loved reading this book! Tomie was great, and there are about 9 different stories. I loved them all, and I'm looking forward to buying the other Tomie Books also.

Tomie is the object of everyone's desires. Obsession would find her attractive, and desire would covet her hand. The problem with Tomie is that she's not only beautiful but she's also cruel, becoming the proverbial barb that claws at the skin of every one of this flower's bearers. Not able to part with - or even share - her, the men (and sometimes women) in Tomie's life are drawn not only into love but also into a cycle that hopes to possess her - even to the point of killing her and not really understanding why. Sometimes this leads to some really gruesome points, with some people not only dismembering her but also grinding her to pulp or becoming stagehands in even more novel acts of morbidity. The thing about that is that Tomie doesn't really take to being dead long - killing her only gives rise to more Tomies and they are never happy with each other or the offending party involved.

If you've never seen the work that Ito does, he is masterful with horror scripts and illustrates with a macabre sense of delight as shadow and depth crawl through a world of both light and dark and make something - beautiful. Few really seem to do black and white well but Ito excels at it, putting together a portrait of strange happenstance that are sometimes amazingly bleak and sometimes just amazing. I've been a fan of his work for a while now, really enjoying the three Uzumaki books he did, and I thought that I'd actually seen everything he had to offer when The Museum of Horror bombshells went off by me.
I was stunned, to say the least.

For anyone that read the older English collections of Tomie (myself included), you only found yourself reading partial variations of a much larger story. Ito himself attempts to explain this in the back of the 1st new book, saying that the old books had been put together by grouping what the Tomie stories were about more than when they came out. This led to many a confabulated look and many an incomplete piece of work, with stories not meeting in sequential order and whole panels missing. The variety of mistakes was huge, too, and might have been somewhat funny if not for the fact that, along with the missing pieces, there were also missing stories.
When I say missing stories I mean a missing volume; when you take the 1st collection of books and hold it to the new editions you can tell that both of the original Tomie books could fit into the first book. So, the Museum of Horror books are good buys.

The 1st book is basically a sequential volume that tells tale after tale of Tomie, beginning with a really twisted story and ending with some rather twisted means. The tales included in this volume are: Tomie, Tomie Vol. 2, Basement, Photo, Kiss, Mansion, Revenge, Waterfall Basin, and Painter.
While many of these connect outright, some connect in more subtle fashions and follow characters that are, for a lack of better wording, caught in the web that is Tomie. Of these stories I found myself really liking the beginning and perhaps Kiss the most, but really just enjoying the read all the way through. I also liked the fact that this was linear as a concept this time around, giving the reader what Ito was thinking as he was thinking it. That explained a lot - and disturbed a little more.

For people who enjoy stories with twisted spines, horror that could pass both as Pulp and as terror, and works that are different in a way and beautiful in black and white then this is something for you. The first two books, all Tomie, paint a picture of something that would be, in a word, quite terrible.
With the new work almost making these new stories, they are really worth the buy.

One has to wonder after reading anything created by the brilliant mind of Junji Ito just how stable that mind really is. Having been turned on to his work first through his Uzumaki series (which by the way is a fully engrossing and rewarding read) I was only too happy to by chance stumble into this, the first book in Dark Horse's Museum of Terror series.

Within these pages lurks the story of Tomie, a high school aged girl whose striking beauty is only matched by her vanity and lust for attention. The horror begins after Tomie is brutally murdered and dismembered when, only a few short days later, she suddenly reappears at school acting as though nothing had happened. What starts as a macabre mystery gradually descends into something much more gruesome as the chapters progress, and the secrets of Tomie's strange character are revealed. Many of the chapters have very little to do with each other save for Tomie's relentless reoccurrence, and you can almost guarrentee that, 4 times out of 5, you'll see her die (usually a more hideous death than the one before), regenerate, and come back again to torture all those whom she comes across.

Apart from the complexity of the stories as well as that of Tomie's sinister character herself, it is also a treat to see how Ito's illustrations evolve as he develops his own signature style. This development seems almost charted by Tomie's own physical transformation throughout the book. She evolves as Ito's illustrations do so that, by the final chapter, we are able to see Tomie in the way that Ito wants us to see her; as a hauntingly beautiful young woman.

Over all, it became clear to me after reading Museum of Terror that it is not just Ito's objective to write good horror; Ito it seems has striven to break our stereotypical assertions as to what the horror genre is. In fact, he's done something nearly unheard of. He's taken the blood-and-gore factor and made it genuinely scary again.

This collection includes most of the original Tomie stories, and gives a really amazing peek at Junji Ito's earlier art style. The lines are clear, and the characters are depicted in a deceptively simple and beautiful manner. But the story itself is a twisted virus-meets-vengeful ghost tale about a girl (Tomie) that never dies. More than that, she provokes the intense desire and fixation of the men she meets, which invariably ends in them murdering and mutilating her.

It's an amazing manga full of SICK STUFF and the plot and scares are very visceral; The story also hints at and vaguely throws around some gender politics (and gender violence!) in the subtext. With Tomie, Junji Ito doesn't just spin one linear tale, but a sortof MYTHOS around Tomie that unfurls with each chapter. Like, hmmmm-- is she like a parasite that encourages being killed and mutilated as a form of her own propagation? Is she more like a virus that infects and changes to suit the weaknesses of her 'hosts'?

Admittedly, it can get repetitive, but especially with the first volume, it's really effective in a big dose. The last panel of the final story in this volume is SO. SO. CREEPY. I yelped like a scared kitten and just threw the damn thing on the floor.

If you feel like you've seen Tomie around before, it's probably because the now-defunct publisher ComicsOne originally released some of Tomie in a two volume set. Yeah, previous to the Museum of Terror edition, the Tomie comics were VERY out of print, and cost a ridiculous amount to track down secondhand. Like a lot of ComicsOne editions, their printing of Tomie was shoddily translated, edited and the visual touch-up (signs in English, sound effects) were really awful. The company basically (as the rumor goes) packed up shop, stopped paying their bills and disappeared. The pieces and rights were later acquired by DR.Master and some of their more successful stuff got assimilated into the new company's catalogue.

As for the second volume: The SECOND volume is also entirely Tomie stories, but it's mostly previously unpublished stories from when Junji Ito revisited the character in 1999 & 2000. You can feel him really escalating the limits of the Tomie 'mythos' here, with the depravity hitting really nasty levels... Making SAKE out of Tomie's mashed up flesh? Slashing her face over and over with a RAZOR? It gets ugly, but I found it really fascinating to see him draw these stories in his later style-- the more detailed, shakier line style he explored in Uzumaki and his newer comics. I am ready for a new subject after hundreds of pages (and more than a dozen variations) on the Tomie tale, but it's pretty sweet to have the entire story in 2 hefty volumes.

As a final note note, the ordering of the stories in these two volumes reflect Junji Ito's own choice of how he wanted the chapters to be presented, as another reviewer has noted.

I was laughing my assets off!

I was in the music business for about two years, and these stories really capture the grit. Anyone who thinks the business runs on ART and that anyone in it is an instant millionaire, has been reading WAY TOO MUCH of the fodder from the promo department!

This book is the most fun I've had with music since taking piano lessons at 12 from a beautiful older woman of 18 -- but that's ANOTHER Horror Story -- which is GREAT, as this book invites you to ENTER YOUR OWN STORY at the end! PERFECT -- I only hope I am not limited to one.

J. Berry

It is a great book without a doubt, and in a way an unique too. The book stores are piling up with great-career books, "success in music business", "music business in plain English" ecc. This one is the "music business in true words". The stories, bitter and funny, angry and sarcastic, are exposing the every day musicians brotherhood as it is in real life. Excellent reading !

Janet wasn't kidding when she said " Don't read this book before going to bed". It's hard to sleep while laughing and crying at the same time. Once you start reading you won't be able to put the book down. Some of the stories are hilarious, some are tragic, but all are entertaining. The book provides a good insight into the world of musicians and how silly little things can make or break a career. It tells it like it is, from the people who have been there..

This is one great book..I about died myself, reading about the funeral singer... some of the stories are horrible, some funny, some outrageous, all are riveting! If you are a musician, know a musician, or always wanted to be a professional musician, get this one..can't wait for the sequels.

As bad as things may have gone in your music career, you'll find at least one story that tops your worst! Reading this book will make any musician feel a bit better, whether a full-time studio singer or weekend warrior clubdate/wedding band player - because YOU ARE NOT ALONE! My favorite stories are the ones about getting ripped off (which most musicians can relate to) and the one about the songwriter lured to a meeting with a music publisher, only to find out that it was a sales pitch presentation for AMWAY!? And then there's the one about SINGING AT THE FUNERAL...

T. Anthony Truax is a master storyteller. He grabs you from the first page and swiftly cascades you on a rollecoaster journey until its journey. I suspect we shall be hearing much more from this author in the near future.

PSGifford

Through this unexpected, yet well choreographed, explanation of the adventures of one college student, Truax provides a sympathetic perspective on something that the film industry has long considered a topic of horror. Carefully researched legends are woven throughout the story in order to create a more interesting and well-developed storyline that defies Hollywood's overused depictions of the characters. This is one nail-biting adventure that can't be missed.

You're young; with your whole life in front of you are you ready to fight for everything that you believe in? Begin to believe in things that you thought were fiction? Someone has to, take a read and enter a world that begins a fight between two very distinct worlds. Who's stronger and smarter? Take this book home and find out what two worlds exist in the dark that will begin a fight for control. Truax's research and ability to create great pictures in the readers mind help the reader become involved in the lives and the fighting of the characters- feel their discovery, transformation, pain and live their efforts in the pages as the story begins to unfold. Who will triumph? Who will be standing when the fight is over? This book falls outside my traditional realm of reading but captured my imagination and had me turning pages to find out the end only to be teased with the subtle hint that story/battle had just started. Thank you for introducing me to a new genera of book that I might not have considered before. I look forward to the next chapter. Truax asks the reader a question at the end, what will your answer be? Here is mine- What an interesting possibility/thought you propose.

A Whole New Breed is a great start for new author T. Anthony Truax. The book was filled with excitement and thorough descriptions throughout the text. Although the story is a part of the horror genre, the story is also a coming of age tale. The hero of the story is slowly learning what his path in life holds for him. The novel reads like a comic book with splashes of action in every turn of the page. The conclusion of the book wraps up with you still wanting more.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read! This werewolf story is wrapped in folklore at its finest. Read along to find out what happens when a college student finds out about his true nature and the death of his sister. Mark Collins will embark on a journey to not only find out about his true self but also for the killer. His friends will want to help but danger is in store for everyone.

Michelle Shealy
Reviewer for Myshelf.com

A story about two related families meeting together in the summer at a legendary Gull Island in the south. The protagonist is a child Beau, and tells of the stories kids play when they are young. And the stories are realistic and mean; killing rats, stealing, swearing, smoking and drinking a beer. These are all things many of us have done when we were kids, stealing a cigarette from your parents, et cetera, but they are not usually described in books. So this made for a believable story as the children get into trouble in their fort called Neverland, and spearheaded by the kid Sumter.

Not only are the kids believable, so is the setting. Douglas really comes up with a good believable background to Gull Island, and brings in a local character Julianne who is a Gullah. I have no idea if a Gullah is real or not but I believed it, and her background which is similar to a New Orleans' type of background. Supposedly they know voodoo.. Anyway, considering these strong setting and believable characters I thought it started off a little slow, but when the supernatural elements started kicking in, and especially the last 150 or so pages, I started turning the pages faster and faster as the book went along. Overall I've read better Clegg books, but this was still a real good book. Spooky..

Clegg does it again. He is one of the most consistently effective horror writers I have ever read. In Never Land, we meet cousins Beau and Sumter summering at their grandmother's home on Gull Island. While the grown-ups drink and fight amongst themselves, the kids explore the island in search of adventure. Unfortunately, Sumter isn't exactly the most mentally healthy child, and he drags his cousins into some bizarre, frightening and dangerous games in his secret hideaway called Neverland. Communicating with another world, Sumter calls forth evil forces that threaten to destroy the family and the island. In the process, family secrets are dragged into the open, and Beau finds himself as the single person who may be able to save his family. Clegg has a knack for creating believable child characters who act in ways and say things that you would expect from a child. I absolutely could not put this book down until I finished it. It's creepy, suspenseful, and wickedly fun to read. Do what you must to track down these out-of-print Clegg novels; you won't be disappointed.

Douglas Clegg is a master of fantasy and imagination. THIS plot is nothing simple; it turns out to be creative ,and unpredictable as hell, and I stand with applause for the hours he must have spent brainstorming this one.

Neverland is fun, twisted, gripping. I fell in love with the characters, I weeped with them, I feared for them. The setting with the old house, the creepy shack, the woods - all amazing, beautiful, unnerving. The pace is quick when it should be, slower when its appropriate, and overall ends with a stunning conclusion. Clegg writes with a hand that holds talent, knowing how to work its stuff.

Read Neverland for a good time, an imaginative roll in the hay. You won't be dissapointed.

Other reviews before this one have summarized the plot better than I can, but in a nutshell, the book is about creepy children. Creepy, creepy children. Beau (a bit creepy) and his sisters (not so creepy) visit their grandmother (kind of creepy in her own right) on Gull Island every summer. Their cousin Sumter (way creepy) visits at the same time. Beau and Sumter form a friendship mostly based on their secret place, Neverland, where they perform rituals and play increasingly bizarre games, and where Sumter grows ... well ... creepier and creepier.
This novel was chilling and very good. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for creepy-children-coming-of-age-stories, and this one does not disappoint. Sumter is an absolute little freak, so if you also like creepy children stories, then Sumter is your boy. A very worthy addition to the creepy, out-of-control children sub-genre of horror stories.

I'm a sucker for coming of age stories, where the main character (usually a young boy) steps out of childhood to enter manhood through a series of traumatic events that will leave him changed forever. This is exactly what happens to Beau in Douglas Clegg's brilliantly imaginative Neverland, a book that will leave you breathless and in complete awe.

Beau, his parents, his infant brother and his twin sisters leave for their annual summer trip down to the family island, where they will stay with Beau's aunt and her family and his grandmother for the following month. When he arrives, his cousin Sumter is already waiting for him. Sumter is a strange boy who has discovered something magical and yet terrifying in the old shack behind the house. A crate with something - or someone - trapped inside. Something that calls itself Lucy.

Soon enough, Beau finds himself trapped in a nightmare he can't get himself out of. They nickname the shack Neverland, the place where imagination runs free, a place where pain and sadness does not exist. But Neverland grows to be an entity of its own, and it wants something more than mere company. It wants blood.

Douglas Clegg's imgination is amazing, and he puts it to full use in this book. The things we used to dream as children - both good dreams and nightmares - come alive in this book. You soon find yourself trapped in playground from hell, where there are very few rules.

Beau will have to face his own personal demons as he will be pushed to the very limits of sanity by Sumter and Neverland. The last 150 pages of the book are a real roller coster ride, where everything goes to hell, and where Clegg really shows how great and brilliant his imagination truly is.

Not only is Neverland a great horror novel, it is one you won't soon forget. Douglas Clegg is the master of suspense, no dout about it. So do yourself a favor and pick on of his book up. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

I picked up the entire "Killer Crab" series from my local used book store for a nice price. The books were located in the store's "Pulp" section. I admit, I laughed for a good five minutes when I saw the covers. I love cheesy, funny, horror films... and that is exactly what this book series is like. Many characters continue in each book, just like a series of horror films. I believe all of the books in the series are (with original print dates):
#1 Night of the Crabs (1976)
#2 Killer Crabs (1978)
#3 The Origin of the Crabs (1979)
#4 Crabs on the Rampage (1981)
#5 Crabs' Moon (1984)
#6 Crabs: The Human Sacrifice (1988)

They are all short, and great quick, fun, reads. Not to embarrass myself too much, but I actually read these during my bathroom breaks at work. They are easy to put down and pick up again the next day.

Now I just have to find all of his other books like "Bats out of Hell" and "The Sucking Pit".

I winced even as I read the spine. I grimaced as I dragged all twenty pounds of guilt induced weight from the shelf to the register. I took my little book home, read it, and then something mystifying occurred; I liked it!

There's something ultimately fascinating and altogether satisfying about giant man-eating crabs invading a quiet English shore. It just tugs at your heart-strings and pumps your adrenaline! Each time you're sure the Crabs have been thoroughly dealt with, eradicated and happily eliminated, they reappear!

Get used to the format dear readers; there are seven more novels similarly structured awaiting you! Luckily, they're all deliciously fast reads.

And doesn't that King Crab just send shivers down your spine?

Night of the Crabs is perhaps one of the finest books I have ever read and I have read alot. Everthing you could possibly want is here in under 150 pages. Murder, mutations, crabs and Cornwall is here. The sex scene alone bought me to tears.

You will feel cheaper but happier for reading this book.

Possibly the most important Guy N.Smith book ever written, this was the bestseller which allowed him to give up his job and take up writing full-time.

The story is an absolute gem. The idea of giant crabs coming ashore to devour human beings may not be original but this novel is filled with spine-chilling suspence and thrills, well-thought-out characters, great dialogue and not so much as a paragraph of padding.

One of Guy N.Smith's best even after all this time and certainly one of the best monster-on-the-rampage books ever written.

The Night of the Crabs is an unsurpassed masterpiece written by a worthy preceptor to anyone with a penchant for penning perverse excellence. I last read this novel several years ago and only recently have I recognised its genius; how it has haunted me in the interim. Like 'Moby Dick' and 'Arnie the Darling Starling' we are confronted with an edifying treatise on its respective discipline - crustaceology. There are few better ways to include crabs in your life. Indeed it goes further! Every twenty-fifth rapt page we are taught, by Mr Smith the Amorist, how to indulge in the most deeply sensuous love - no Sade or Sacher-Masoch could ever have anticipated such a usurpation. The conformal structure of the novel will not trouble anyone, it is simply pure and purely simple. Positively sodden with sweat, blood and tears. Riddled with tribulations and triumphs. Gorged on sudden death and heroic sentiments. This is a towering triumph of whimsical reverie. My last utterance can only be one of whole-hearted recommendation.

This is a good reference for Nightmare on Elm Street fans and collectors. It contains both color and B&W still photos, lots of trivia and behind the scenes facts, etc.

I wish they'd update this and bring into a full-color format with a more modern media-centric look, and add material From New Nightmare and Freddy vs. Jason. As it is, it covers up through Freddy's Dead, the Final Nightmare, and is relatively complete.

It's hard to come by, but is great for the completist if you can get your hands on a copy.

This is the ultimate collectors item for any Nightmare fan. A good variety of pictures from each of the movies (Nightmares 1 thru Freddy's Dead), plus some good insight into some of the special FX that went into the movies.

The only real problem I had was, if your a devoted NOES fan like I am, you will notice a lot of minor mistakes throughout the book. For instance, Lisa, from Nightmare 2, is listed as Lisa Poletti, but in the movie her name is Lisa Webber.

Other than the few minor mistakes, this book is definetly worth picking up!

This book has everything you need to know about Freddy Krueger and all the Nightmare on elm street films! This book is not missing one detail! Its has a summary of every Krueger Film! It also has ever picture from all the Krueger films including behind the scene footage! It is the best Freddy Krueger book ever made!!!!

If you love Freddy Kruger then this book is a must! It shows many secrets of each films from 1-6.

This is a must with great pictures and biographies of each cast member and a large amount of pictures,charts and biographies on each film from: A Nightmare on Elm St -to- Freddy'd Dead

I'm a huge collector of Freddy Krueger and Nightmare On Elm Street stuff, and when I got this book, I was just blown away. The great pictures and behind the scenes made it excelent! email me if you wanna talk Freddy!

I got this book as a birthday gift. At first I was discouraged by the editing job, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Now it's one of my favorites and I'm gonna read it again!!!

I was in English class. This guy, who went only by his last name, "Faler" was there. He said he was a student of the Montgomery G.I. Bill, using the system to get paid to go to college. On the last day of class, he stands up and yells,
"I have a new job now."
The teacher goes, "Well that's great."
"It involves English, it pays well, but only once every six months, in the form of Royalties."
Every body is looking at him. He slams a copy of his novel onto the teachers desk, and walks away. Right before he leaves he says, "I just thought you should know, I'm a freaking Novelist. All that writing you gave me bad grades for, somebodies paying me for. Bye Bye."
He was such a character, I had to get his book. I'm glad I did. It was a trip. I definetly think it's worth reading.

I read this book,upon my daughter's recomendation. In grammar,it left much to be desired. However, it's content was very enveloping. The plot was one of the most creative endeavors I have engaged in.

I would like to see more titles by this author,he strikes me as a rogue novelist. His work could use polishing, but this imperfection could be accounted for by his youth.

This author says things with his work. This book could be a modern fable. The atmosphere in the book is fantastic, he draws you in with a creative world. It is through the book's human but unhuman characters that one gains introspection.

When I read this book, it haunted my mind for days later. The way it ended was unexpected. I brought it to work to read, and it drew me in. When I got home, I sat down and read it all the way to the end.

It was great. I hope to see more from this author. The man seemed so young. But, he had lots to say.

I originally bought this book for my son, but he enjoyed it so much I decided to read it for myself. What a treat! The writing is clever and grand and distinct and warm; wholesome and from the heart. The story itself is epitomized by a hilarious (and, oh yes, quite chilling) roller coaster story that author Dave Seymer tells brilliantly.

I heard a rumor that there a sequal is currently in the works...? Can't wait for that one!

My son is 8 - and a reluctant reader. Nevertheless, he has been waking up early to finish these chapters. The author has a way of making the ordinary and not-so-ordinary become completely magical, zany, and fun. He sure knows what appeals to boys - big fat bugs and plants that eat them, the scariest rollercoaster in the world. There's even a very funny caution against becoming a real TV zombie. We love this book, and eagerly await "One Wicked School Year!"

This is a quick, fun read for anyone. I can't wait to see what happens at school!

Mystery, Suspense and Humor! What a great little book - good reading for all ages. Looking forward to "One Wicked School Year"

What a cool book! I've read a lot of Goosebumps books but I liked this one even better. Especially that the book covered a lot of different adventures and the characters were more believable in the way they talked and acted. Very cool indeed.

And flying spiders? What a nightmare!

Bart

For any of those who crave the darker side of life, this is the book for you. It's a dark, sexy adventure that enables your imagination to fall deep into the heart of its surroundings. It's a very well written piece of work that captivates you to the very end.

Sian Holloway

Whitney Lakin displays an impressive mastery of the written word. The characters in this book are diverse and complex. This is a disturbing ride through the dark life of an artist who makes a deal with the devil. At times it was like being drawn into a painting by Hyramesh Bosche. Beautiful yet disgusting.

The writer portrays an outstanding portrait of her characters and their surroundings. The characters' flaws make them that much more impressive and real to the reader. Lakin's descriptions are tantalizing; making the ending feel like it comes too soon. A darkly beautiful read!

This is a worthy effort by an author who possesses an impressive vocabulary, which she sets off against deft use of colloquial patter. With reflections of Tom Tryon's "The Other," Lakin's horror sneaks up on the reader. A good read for horror fans.

This book kinda reminded me of Poppy Z. Brite. Dark but at the same time very funny.

Ordinarily, I'm not a big fan of vampire tales, either in print or on screen. Anne Rice's books leave me cold, and most of the vampire movies I've seen, including those based to varying degrees on Bram Stoker's "Dracula," leave much to be desired. But every now and then a vampire story comes along that totally breaks this mold. Don Ecker's "Past Sins: A Novel of Supernatural Horror" is one of them. What sets this book apart, aside from its engaging style, believable characters, and pace, is its premise: that in 1965 the CIA discovered a bona fide Hungarian vampire, and that its subsequent decision to turn the creature into a Cold War weapon ultimately went terribly wrong. This lifts Ecker's novel far above run-of-the mill, pseudo-Gothic vampire novels and fuses it with the kind of spy/Cold War literature associated with writers like Tom Clancy and John Le Carré. If you add in elements of a "police procedural," of the sort made famous by former LAPD detective Joseph Wambaugh, you have what amounts to a new literary genre: the techno-espionage-vampire tale, which, I hope, the author will soon augment by writing a sequel.

However, in addition to being a page-turner, "Past Sins" is a cautionary tale. Anyone who reads it cannot help but become sensitive to the possibility that experiments conducted in the name of "national security" can have monstrous consequences, and that the powers-that-be are not infallible. It has been suggested that the rapid spread of HIV in the early 1980s was a consequence of a top-secret germ warfare experiment that got out of control. While I have serious doubts about the validity of this suggestion, Don Ecker's novel certainly adds credibility to the possibility that something like it might have happened, and that we must take nothing for granted. I heartily recommend "Past Sins" to a broad spectrum of readers, from horror fans to techno-thriller addicts, as well as to anyone who is concerned with the sometimes pathological nature of what Richard M. Dolan has called "the national security state."

I liked the pace of this one. It kept me looking forward to the next chapter. Whether you are a Sci Fi groupie, militarily affiliated or a Flatfoot, you're gonna Love it. Maybe the "Don" (Mr. Ecker) will cut himself on the front porch more often and spurn another spookster!!!

Don Ecker's Past Sins makes a frightening and timely point that has nothing to do with the paranormal. When something really bad happens, it's the cops, soldiers, and ordinary citizens who can be counted on to do their best while the bureaucrats rush to cover their butts, if they do anything at all.

The something really bad in this case involves a series of vampire attacks in Los Angeles. The attacks are an enlistment drive, first salvos in a war waged by government-issue vampires and their recruits. The back story begins in the early days of the cold war when the CIA lucks into possession of an Eastern European refugee who happens to be a vampire and siezes the opportunity to weaponize the undead. Like so many government projects this one gets shelved when a trial run during the Vietnam War takes an unexpected ugly turn. Turns out, vampires don't respond well to authority. The book begins when one of the project subjects escapes with his own plans for how the world should be run.

The book is fast moving, compelling and frightening on many levels. Apart from the first order fear that a vampire war suggests, there's the underlying discomfort of knowing this is exactly something a government would do, given the chance. and this is likely how it would turn out. A charming feature of the book is that the only belief the reader is asked to suspend involves the possibility of vampires. That done, everyone behaves reasonably given the circumstances. Bad and good guys are equally likely to have horrific things happen to them, and no one can count on safety. Just like real life. The characters are well developed and there's a notable shortage of stereotypes, even among the undead. It's deliciously terrifying and will take you to a place that's hard to get back from, even during daylight.

Frances Anne Olson, D.D.S.

"Write what you know," is the mantra of countless creative writing instructors. Don Ecker has taken this advice to heart. Mr. Ecker's background as a cop, special ops member in Viet Nam and researcher of all things strange for UFO Magazine, one of the top publications of its kind, has well prepared him for his debut novel.

Past Sins is a multi-layered pager turner for several reasons. Mr. Ecker's portrayal of elite soldiers and weary cops has the authenticity that comes from someone who understands both the hardware and the unique cultures, the way only an insider could. There are no cardboard super sleuths or indestructible Rambos to be found. Set in contemporary Los Angeles, the story is populated by characters the reader comes to care about, people that doubt, bleed and sometimes die.

What Past Sins shares with many classic stories we remember long after the last page has been turned is an underlying allegory. This story suggests the sins of an individual or a government may return to haunt the sinner. Mr. Ecker has chosen a timely theme indeed. Our government's marriage of convenience to flesh and blood monsters, from Nazis to dictators to drug lords and terrorists is a matter of historical record. The results of some of those unholy couplings are painfully obvious to even the most casual observer of current events.


This bitter little pill is wrapped in a sweet, action-rich vampire vs. cop/soldier thriller that leaves you unsure of the outcome until the last page.

I can hardly wait to see what Mr. Ecker comes up with next.

Robb Leach is a Sergeant/Supervisor with the Maywood, California Police Department, and is a prolific free-lance writer in his spare time.

We've all heard the adage, don't judge a book by it's cover, and it has never rung more true than in the case of Don Ecker's debut novel Past Sins. It's tagline reads "A a novel of supernatural horror" and the cover art insights images of Transylvanian Counts and the same tired old vampire cliche retold again and again. But don't judge a book by it's cover, tired Counts it thankfully lacks. While there are certainly acts of unspeakable horror depicted in this novel, it doesn't fall neatly into the horror genre. Past Sins is certainly more of an epic action thriller laced with sweat-soaked gun-wielding law enforcement and top secret government...vampires!

We follow a group of characters through the present day battle with the undead and witness the true story unfold through vivid flashbacks to the 60's. It is here we learn of the CIA's top secret special weapon, a Hungarian vampire. But when the project goes awry and vampire converts escape their ultra guarded CIA housings, Hell comes to America as local and national law enforcement embark on the enormous and maybe impossible task of controlling the spread.

This is one novel that begs for, if not needs, a sequel. It's apparent the events in this novel are only the tip of the iceberg. Ecker breaks many barriers in Past Sins. He focused on the magnitude of the situation and not the life histories of every character introduced. He didn't shy away from shifting points of view, allowing the events to be seen through the eyes of several characters almost seamlessly and in turn further amplifying the danger present. And he certainly wasn't afraid to kill off a likable character. Sorry folks, but this is reality, no happy endings here.

But overall, Ecker has produced an original vampire story and twist on the Lilith myth. You won't find any latex clad half-vampire superheroes here, just real people in ultra realistic combat with a supernatural entity brought to life. Remove the vampire and the story still has immeasureable impact on a world where government conspiracy and the fear of terrorism are our reality. It's a gritty epic fueled by the scent of fear, testosterone, blood, sweat and the tears for the fallen.

If you're a vampire enthusiast or just an action junky, you'll enjoy the new life breathed on both genres. Don, bring on the sequel!