Greg Sisco

You know those books that completely subvert your expectations? The ones that linger in the mind long after you finish, rolling around and revealing layer after layer of brilliance. Ones where the longer you meditate on them the better they are (and that's not discounting how great they were in the immediate reading)?

Well, if you haven't guessed where I'm going...THIS is one of those books.

All I knew going in was: this is a collection of three interconnected novellas, the stories span show more several different genres in horror, Sadie Hartmann (aka Mother Horror) dug it, and that Off Limits Press can do no wrong so I was likely to enjoy it. Happy to say it was all the above and beyond.

- Story 1: haunted doll torments young girl; brutal shocker of an ending

- Story 2: phony medium uses sex to fill a void and trees start growing from his fingertips; scenes of full on eye-averting body/eco horror mixed with meditations on relationships, identity, and fatherhood

- Story 3: older woman takes care of her mother who is terrified a malicious presence will take her if she's left alone; slow-burn dread and despair that rises into taunt suspense before falling into a reality-shattering ending; upends the whole collection on its head

All three stories have a basic premise structuring them, but did you notice how increasingly complex they got (and how much harder of a time I had distilling them into concise summaries)? I absolutely love the way the author did this. We begin with a child, move to a young adult, and end with an elderly woman. What starts as a straight-forward evil doll story ends as a cosmic, existential reckoning. I was not prepared to wrestle with such heavy philosophizing on the meaning of life, but it elevates the collection to a whole other level.

Another thing I loved is how the stories are all connected to each other. I'll try not to go into spoilers here, but each protagonist was a side character in one of the other stories. It was so cool to get insight on some of the overlapping scenes from a different character's perspective; to see how things affected each character differently and learn more about their motivations and personalities.

As mentioned previously, the author presents us with a variety of different genres in horror and nails each of them perfectly. The pacing is fantastic and the stories are very character-driven, full of emotion and complexity. I'm speaking in vague terms for this review because I went in blind and that's the best way to go. Just know that I loved this book and the more I reminisce, the more it creeps up my "best of" list for 2021. show less

You know those books that completely subvert your expectations? The ones that linger in the mind long after you finish, rolling around and revealing layer after layer of brilliance. Ones where the longer you meditate on them the better they are (and that's not discounting how great they were in the immediate reading)?

Well, if you haven't guessed where I'm going...THIS is one of those books.

All I knew going in was: this is a collection of three interconnected novellas, the stories span show more several different genres in horror, Sadie Hartmann (aka Mother Horror) dug it, and that Off Limits Press can do no wrong so I was likely to enjoy it. Happy to say it was all the above and beyond.

- Story 1: haunted doll torments young girl; brutal shocker of an ending

- Story 2: phony medium uses sex to fill a void and trees start growing from his fingertips; scenes of full on eye-averting body/eco horror mixed with meditations on relationships, identity, and fatherhood

- Story 3: older woman takes care of her mother who is terrified a malicious presence will take her if she's left alone; slow-burn dread and despair that rises into taunt suspense before falling into a reality-shattering ending; upends the whole collection on its head

All three stories have a basic premise structuring them, but did you notice how increasingly complex they got (and how much harder of a time I had distilling them into concise summaries)? I absolutely love the way the author did this. We begin with a child, move to a young adult, and end with an elderly woman. What starts as a straight-forward evil doll story ends as a cosmic, existential reckoning. I was not prepared to wrestle with such heavy philosophizing on the meaning of life, but it elevates the collection to a whole other level.

Another thing I loved is how the stories are all connected to each other. I'll try not to go into spoilers here, but each protagonist was a side character in one of the other stories. It was so cool to get insight on some of the overlapping scenes from a different character's perspective; to see how things affected each character differently and learn more about their motivations and personalities.

As mentioned previously, the author presents us with a variety of different genres in horror and nails each of them perfectly. The pacing is fantastic and the stories are very character-driven, full of emotion and complexity. I'm speaking in vague terms for this review because I went in blind and that's the best way to go. Just know that I loved this book and the more I reminisce, the more it creeps up my "best of" list for 2021. show less

Disclaimer - I have to start by saying vampires aren't my thing. No way, nuh uh, no vampires for this girl - strictly Zombies only.

However, after reading Greg's fantastic blog post on `proper' vampires I was intrigued. Maybe, just maybe, there's someone out there who doesn't think vampires sparkle and love kittens. So casting my long-standing vampire prejudice aside, I (reluctantly) picked up a copy of Thicker than Water.

Thicker than Water is the story of two brothers Tyr and Loki, and their show more recent (in vampire terms) recruit, Thor. Named after Norse mythological characters, the brothers have been around the block more than a few times, and have the whole vampire game pretty much down pat. After a disagreement over a child during one of their hell-raising, blood-guzzling escapades, they are no longer in contact - Tyr is in a relationship with a human and Loki is building up his empire with Thor within the sinful confines of Vegas.

Much of this book focuses on the tale behind the turning of Thor, in the late 19th century wild-west, and ends with the story behind the argument that has separated the brothers for the last 13 years.

Thicker than Water pulls no punches where these vampires are concerned - they are in the truest sense of the word, proper vampires. For me, the story started a little slowly, but after the first third of the book, the pace was ramped up quickly, climaxing with the story of their last raid together. The characters are strong and easily identifiable, which makes them very `likeable' (for want of a better word!) and intriguing.

There were some small spelling and grammatical errors, but not enough to bring out the Grammar Nazi's in full force. One other thing I found slightly difficult to get used to was the accents during the Wild-West chapters, but once I got into it, I didn't even notice it anymore.

Am I converted? Partially (I'm old and set in my ways!). I love that Greg isn't afraid to go all out with his vampires and paint them exactly as they should be - bloodthirsty and merciless.

Warning - the ending IS a cliffhanger! show less

Now, generally speaking I am not a fan of erotica (I mention this because Amazon lists this under erotica) and I despise books with misogynistic tendencies. I didn't find the book particularly erotic, but misogyny abounds! The dark humor kept me reading, despite the misogyny. There was only one character I might have liked if we had gotten to know him better. I pretty much despised all of the main characters, and thoroughly enjoyed despising them. This author is definitely dark and left me show more with a happy ending, pun intended!

Warning, Sisco takes a frank and dirty look at the Skud of the earth in this story. There is violence, sex, and lots of language. This is not a read for people with sensitive palates, but it does paint a morbid tale and takes a very philosophical look at people, cause and effect, and the dark underbelly that exists in humanity. A fascinating read. show less