Horns by Joe Hill

Horns by Joe Hill

4 Stars (out of 4)

Whoa. That was my reaction to "Horns", a novel by Joe Hill. If you're unfamiliar with the author you may have heard of his parents, Tabitha and Stephen King. Maybe it's in the blood, but Hill's certainly got the talent. He's not just finding success based on his famous parents.

"Horns" is the story of Ignatius "Ig" Perrish, a young man who wakes up in his car with a hangover and no memory of the previous night's events. Also, he has horns. It's not a spoiler. Hill doesn't waste time introducing the element. The horns are there from the beginning.

Don't let the supernatural elements fool you, this story is a study of human nature. What do the horns do? Well, they give people the urge to tell Ig their deepest darkest desires. Often they even ask Ig permission to act on those desires. Also, if he makes skin contact with another person he absorbs their memories, often finding out things he didn't want to know. His friends, family, even his preacher has horrible secrets.

The Cabining: A Conversation with the Stars and Director

Melissa Mars as "Celeste"

A recently had a chance to chat with the directors and stars of upcoming horror/comedy "The Cabining". I've seen an unfinished version of the film and I think it's got a bright future. This is a very casual interview and I think my readers will enjoy it.

My subjects are: director/writer Steve Kopera, star Melissa Mars, star/producer Mike Kopera, and star Bo Keister.

I'd also suggest visiting "The Cabining's" YOUTUBE CHANNEL where you can find trailers and exclusive behind the scenes interviews.

Clockwork Phoenix 4 (2013)

Editor: Mike Allen

4 Stars (out of 4)

Order the book HERE.

Clockwork Phoenix 4 takes the reader on a journey through the outer reaches of imagination. You'll find threads loosely tying these stories together, not in plot but theme. That's not an accident. Editor Mike Allen has a fascination with the abstract notion of celestial clockwork. In one way or the other, you'll see that fascination manifested in each of the stories he's chosen.

Even without the author bios you'll recognize many of the authors. If you read the major markets like Analog, Asimovs, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons and so on, you've probably ran across many of these authors before.

I wrote an comprehensive story by story breakdown of this book a few months ago. Each review was written directly after reading the short story. Unfortunately my hard drive passed on during that time and the review was lost. I've been mourning it's passing for months now and I'm finally ready to move on and give Clockwork Phoenix 4 it's proper due.

The Evolution of DustyOnMovies

About a year ago I walked into this little brick building about five miles from my home. The sign on the front read Public Library. When I walked through the doors there were hundreds of shelves full of little rectangular things with interesting titles on them. Naturally I went to the person in charge and asked"What kind of device to I need to play these movies?" She informed that they weren't movies, but books. So I said, "What kind of device do I need to play these books?" To my dismay, the lady shook her head and walked away.

Fine, I thought. I'll just go check them out myself. So I opened the case expecting to find some sort of optical disc, instead there were a bunch of sheets of paper bound together and printed with words. They were sort of like those things that you read while waiting in a doctor's office or while taking a poop, only thicker and with harder words.

So I took one of these "books" to the counter and asked the lady how much it would cost. It was FREE! All I had to do is sign up for a free membership and I could hang on to it for a few weeks. Obviously, this "library" was a life-changing innovation that should have been around years ago.

Superman: Unbound (2013)

Directed by James Tucker

Starring Matt Bomer and John Noble

Runtime 75min. - Rated PG13

3.5 Stars (out of 4)

Available now on VUDU and Amazon Instant.

This ain't the kind of cartoon your kids watch on Saturday mornings.

"Superman: Unbound" took a little getting used to for me. For starters, I've watched every feature-length animated Superman movie and recently finished the animated series "Justice League Unlimited". So I have a certain idea of how Superman should be drawn. It's narrow-minded and unfair, I admit. The animation of "Superman: Unbound" is a pretty big departure from the D.C. Animated Universe. The characters have slender faces with less jawline than I'm used to. Also, when Kal-El changes back into a mild-mannered reporter his voice changes drastically. This is the first Superman since Christopher Reeve to make his secret identity believable. The change in voice was so major that I waited for the credits to who the other voice actor was. There was no other voice actor, just one talented guy named Matt Bomer.