The Morbidly Obese Ninja (Mellick, 2011 )

2/5. This book is only 60 pages. I'm glad i found that it was one of the ones he gave away free in eBook form for a few days because if i'd paid 8 bucks for a book that was a short story I would have demanded my money back. That being said it was enjoyable but nothing new and nothing really bizarre as promised. 2/5 for being enjoyable while doing nothing new.

The Wasp Factory (Banks, 1984)

This is a wonderful look into the mind of our protagonist, Frank, whose mind has been both tampered with by both nurture and nature. Told in first person, we follow a boy around the age of 17 who seems to have a type of schizophrenia. He finds meaning is strange objects. He thinks he can predict the feature by certain repetition of acts in a obsessive compulsive way. One of these compulsions is putting live wasps in self-built  murder "factory." The book reads like an insane Holden Caulfield, coincidentally also 17 years of age, from The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger, 1951.)

The novel, while only 150 pages, reads a little too long for my tastes with the excessive descriptions of outside environment. I think this is because i'm more interested in knowing the thoughts of the main character. That is just a small hang-up in an amazing story.

4/5

Desert Places (Crouch, 2004)

Blake Crouch's Desert Places. While this was a great read and had some nice twists, this book just didn't live up to JA Konrath's recommendation. Damn fine book, could hardly put it down. It just didn't have the shock value or emotional conflict I was expecting. Unfortunately, i have a feeling I'll forgot this one within a week.

3/5

Sparrow Rock (Kenyon, 2010)

4/5 The is the bleakest horror novel I've read in a long time.I might have to read something light and comedic after this. Kenyon breathes life into otherwise cliched teen character ensemble and the story just felt so real at parts that I felt that is really what an Apocalypse would feel like.
A point taken back for lack of interesting conversation, humor, and cliched flash backs.

Lot Lizards (Garton, 2009)

3/5 Nice entralling story, but maybe a little too business and not enough introspection to make it memorable.

Casket for Sale (Only Used Once) (Strand, 2005)

I read these three in the series back to back. Not sure if it is considered a series because you wouldn't have to know anything about the previous to understand the context.
Anywho, I enjoyed the shit out of this novella. They are just as nasty, as they are humorous. All are strikingly original and I would recommend to anyone that is a sick fuck like me. An element in this one that definitely struck a cord in me was the drug induced hallucinations that Andrew had when he was a Demon Slayer. It makes me wonder if Strand will take a break from everything being realistic(ish haha) to make a more of a burroughs-ish horror novel

Single White Psychopath Seek Same (Strand, 2005)

Almost as good as the previous entry. This time Andrew has to pretend to be a serial killer. This one is more concise and regrettably less engaging. Still a great novella, but not enough details in this one to really make for a 5 star baby. 4 stars for it for originality, but at the same time its almost forgettable for the lack of realistic situations.

Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) (Strand, 2005))

Such a great book. The mystery element was new to me in Strand's work. This worked as a Who-dun-it thriller. Which really added to this horror novel. Of course with the sarcastic wit of Andrew Mayhem. It is hard to classify and that is why the book gets 5 stars.
5/5

Room 415 (2007, Lee)

Short 42pgs

Dweller (Strand, 2010)

What a change of pace for Jeff Strand. Not the relentless menace from the villain I have come to expect with Jeff Strand's characters. This book is heartwarmingly frightening. Imagine being best friends with a creature that is just as much human as he is beast. If emotional conflict is something that Mr. Strand has left out before, consider it checked off the list. What a great book.

Slither (Lee, 2006)

Black Light (Melton, 2011)

Black Light by Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan, & Stephen Romano
3/5 Could it be my ADHD? I felt the noir-ish sentences dragged on and half of the analogies didn't make any sense to me even after rereading them multiple times. The prose at times seem a little redundant, especially when Buck was fighting the ghosts in his stomach. That being said, I do like the storyline and the concept. I can also see why they choose this medium as their output. There would be way too much CGI in a movie version of this and lots of it happens inside of the main character's body.
I liked the book overall, just wish they had cut back on the repetitiveness of pulling the ghosts and refined the analogies more.

Wolf Hunt (Strand, 2011)

4/5 A blast of a read, couldn't put this one down. That is actually saying a lot considering I'm basically ADHD. I'm in love with Jeff Strand's dialogue. Both Wolf Hunt and Pressure, the dialogue and prose almost read like a screenplay, not saying that they should or should not be screenplays. Just in the way that i didn't perceive any irritating filler. (Not like Black Light (Melton, Dunstan, Romano, 2011) who actually are screenwriters)