horror – Finious's Folly

Review: The Wind Through the Keyhole

The Wind Through the Keyhole
by Stephen King
The Dark Tower series #4.5
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My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
First Published: April 24th, 2012
Read from: July 1 – 7, 2019

A Storyteller’s Tale

It’s been a LONG time since I’ve read any Stephen King. Not sure why, as I’ve always loved his work. I read the Dark Tower series several years ago, and enjoyed it for the most part. With the books of the series ranging from 3 to 4 stars of 5 and at least one a definite 5. Anyway, for whatever reason I have managed to pick up other authors’ works instead of King over the last few years, and somehow never managed to read this story added after The Dark Tower series was concluded. I’m glad I finally picked it up and read it, as it is one of the best tales by an author who is undeniably one of the best story-tellers of our day.
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Review: Hellboy Vol. 3: The Chained Coffin and Others

Hellboy, Vol. 3: The Chained Coffin and Others by Mike Mignola
Hell Boy series #3
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My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
First Published: February 2004, stories first published in 1998
Read from: Apr. 1-13, 2016

A Number of Very Cool Short Stories. Possibly the Best of the Hellboy Graphic Novels So Far.

This is the third Graphic Novel collection of the original Hellboy comics I have read. The second volume I didn’t like too much. I had liked it so little in fact that I had decided if the next in the series was equally disappointing, what with so much other things to read, I would move on to something else. Well, I’m glad I gave the series one more chance. I think I may have liked this volume even more than the first volume. Read the Full Review

Review: Hellboy Vol. 2: Wake the Devil

Hellboy, Vol. 2: Wake the Devil by Mike Mignola
Hell Boy series #2
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My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
First Published: February 1994
Read from: Mar. 1-9, 2016

Better art, more characters, cooler bad guys… And ZERO story

I felt this graphic novel, the second volume of collected Hellboy comics, lay somewhere between “it was ok” and “I liked it”. While there was so much that was potentially great in this graphic novel, it was thrown in a barrage that had no consistent thread and did not stay long enough with any one element to build any interest in me with what was going on. In some cases I’m not sure what was going on even had any explanation. Read the Full Review

Review: Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction

Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola, John Byrne
Hell Boy series #1
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My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
First Published: 1994
Read from: Feb. 18-19, 2016

I liked the Hellboy movies, but had never read the comics from which they sprung. I decided I needed to correct that lapse. Read the Full Review

Short Story: Red Friday

I’ve been working on this short story off and on for about a month and a half. I just now finished it and am scrambling to publish it here today as it is of course very appropriate for the “season”. The original idea came from another writing exercise from my local writer’s group. The group was to meet this time just before Halloween, so the organizer decided we should all write a story that had to incorporate a specific quote from Stephen King. The quote in question made me immediately think of… well, Black Friday. The reason why is another story entirely.

But hopefully you will enjoy this story. It’s a bit of a tribute to Stephen King, the Evil Dead series, and basically incorporates the way I feel about the commercial nightmares the holiday seasons have become. Read the Short Story

Review: Odd Apocalypse

Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz
Odd Thomas series #5
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My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
First Published: July 31, 2012
Read from: February 19 to February 28, 2015

Could this be the End of the World as We Know It… Again?

“We love a series hero, but a series villain quickly becomes silly as he strives so obviously to shock us. Virtue is imaginative, evil repetitive.” – Odd Apocalypse, Page 23

This quote from Dean Koont’s “Odd Apocalypse” seems very apropos: the story of our virtuous hero Odd Thomas saving the world by stopping evil villains from destroying the world (as we know it) is getting a little repetitive. I think I liked this book of the series the least of all that came before. Which is odd, because the serial “novella” that was released before this book as kind of an appetizer, “Odd Interlude”, was one of my favorites because of both it’s short action-packed pace and a couple of fun, interesting new characters. But this book…
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Review: Leviathan Wakes

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
The Expanse series #1
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My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
First Published: June 2011
Read from: Jun 22 to July 3, 2014
Awards: Nominated for 2012 Hugo Awards for Best Novel and the 2012 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction

“Leviathan Wakes” My Appetite For Cool Space Opera

Spoiler: Book Blurb	Select Show
“Humanity has colonized the solar system – Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond – but the stars are still out of our reach. Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, “The Scopuli,” they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for – and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why. Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to “The Scopuli” and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything. Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations – and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.”

Spoiler: Book Blurb

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Leviathan Wakes on the whole was a VERY entertaining bit of space opera science fiction, with some tantalizing bits of “hard sci-fi”, “horror”, “detective story” & “military sci-fi” thrown in. The book is the first in the highly acclaimed Expanse series, written by James S.A. Corey – a pen name for the collaboration of Albuquerque, New Mexico authors Ty Franck & Daniel Abraham, the last of which also is known to work closely with George R.R. Martin. Read My Full Review →

Did I “Diss” the Dome?

Under the Dome Handprint — Talk to the hand...

When I got to work this morning, everyone it seemed was talking about the CBS TV series of Stephen King’s Under the Dome that I gave an opinionated “review” of in my previous post. I also read a “professional” review that gave it a better shake than I did. That got me thinking… Did I “Disrespect the Dome?” Have I become so inured that I was failing to perceive something that others were enjoying?

After some thought, I have decided: No, the pilot of the Dome really did suck. Continue reading Did I “Diss” the Dome?

‘Under The Dome’ Very Underwhelming

I kind of expected it, but I must say I found the CBS TV adaptation of Stephen King’s Under the Dome very underwhelming. While the book was okay (until the end) it was similar to, but not as good as so many other King novels which explore (at least in part) a group of ‘small town’ characters under the pressure of some mysterious threat. Such novels as ‘Salems Lot, Needful Things, The Tommyknockers, It, and much more. The only thing I found vaguely intriguing about the novel was the mystery of the dome itself, and the final reveal of that mystery I felt was disappointing. Continue reading ‘Under The Dome’ Very Underwhelming