Hey, hey, hey! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

That rustling noise you hear is not only the sound of falling leaves scraping against the driveway and the swishing noises of costume-clad children, but the sound of October having rushed past us as November rudely shoves its way in. And what a month it was!

Back in September, over on BlueSky, I asked followers if they had any questions, comments, or concerns they wanted to me address. One person did, but through alternate means, so let’s unwrap that here.

October really got into full swing with author Brendan Deneen going full Karen on me and emailing FanFiAddict site founder and Boss Man, David W over my “particularly (and unnecessarily) nasty review” of his book, Tracer. I didn’t like his novel, and although it got strong blurbs from a few authors I do enjoy, like Jonathan Maberry and Nicholas Sansbury Smith (authors who are also published by Blackstone Publishing, which not only released Tracer but for which Deneen is their Director of Media, TV, and Film), and a starred review from Booklist. Deneen wanted to make sure I saw that starred review, and I did. My opinion of Tracer remains unchanged. I’m not sure why my opinion of Tracer is so important to him given the enjoyment it’s apparently brought other readers. At the time of this writing, Tracer is currently sitting at a 3.58 at Goodreads. My guess is he’s irked my 1-star review is dragging his overall rating down and I’m supposed to be more generous and gracious toward a book I did not enjoy simply because Booklist liked it and, I guess, because he thinks he deserves, or is simply entitled, to favorable reviews only. Why else email David and try to rub my face in his good review?

Frankly, I don’t really give a fuck what Booklist likes or doesn’t. The opinion of that reviewer is not mine. My opinion is beginning to evolve, though, as I suspect that Deneen’s writing career peaked when he was penning Groot picture books for children. But that’s just my opinion, and one that did not make it into my review of Tracer. I do have a Kindle copy of Deneen’s Alien: Uncivil War in my digital TBR pile that I purchased when it came out last year, but I probably won’t bother reading it now, or anything else he writes, in light of his shenanigans. Deneen has given me enough Author Behaving Badly vibes, particularly after discovering issues surrounding Scout Comics (as reported in Comics Beat, PopVerse, and a massive thread at League of Comics Geeks), which he is CEO of, that arose in 2024. Hopefully this won’t all escalate to Kathleen Hale levels of nuttery. In the meantime, I’ll need to win a Pulitzer before we reach a potential Roger Ebert vs. Rob Schneider level of takedowns, but sadly I don’t think that’s too likely.

Here’s the thing about reviews, gang — they are but one person’s opinion. They are not gospel, nor should they be treated as such. While it’s true I didn’t like Tracer, you all might. I’ve hated books that have proved popular amongst other readers, and have fallen in love with novels hated and disparaged by others. I’m not a fan of Paul Tremblay’s work at all, which makes me an outlier in horror circles. I loved Nat Cassidy’s Mary, but DNF’d his most recent work, When the Wolf Comes Home, despite it also getting a starred review in Booklist and Publisher’s Weekly, and being hailed as one of this year’s biggest horror releases. I found it too silly and laden with too many tropes I don’t particularly like, but it’s got over a 4-star rating on Goodreads amongst 17,000+ ratings. A lot of readers and reviewers that I respect and admire have 5-starred it, but I couldn’t even make it a full third of the way through. I still have Nestlings and Rest Stop in my queue to check out one day, and intend to do so. You know why? Because if Nat saw my DNF review, he didn’t comment on it. He didn’t block me on BlueSky and then email David W to brag about how much other people liked it, inferring that I should to. As far as I can tell, he’s been extremely chill and normal. Odds are, though, he didn’t see it, and if he did he’s got enough other accolades and experience to know that one bad review isn’t the end of the world.

I’m guessing that Nat also did not make a fake Goodreads account under the name of Tomas Hayden for the sole purpose of one-starring several of my books shortly after my review of Tracer dropped. Did Brendan Deneen? Honestly, I have no idea. Based on the allegations posted at League of Comics Geeks, it wouldn’t be the first time Deneen has pulled such a stunt as he was alleged to have left numerous negative reviews for the books from former Scout Comics creatives. Those reviews have since been deleted, but have been archived nonetheless. Maybe the timing of the creation of that Goodreads account and the two minutes that were spent trashing my books on Sept. 30 is entirely coincidental. It’s genuinely possible I pissed off somebody else who then proceeded to create an account targeting me in retaliation. I have no evidence one way or the other. I do, however, find the timing to be pretty suspect. I’m not the least bit bothered by this behavior, whoever did it. Honestly, I think it’s kinda funny and ultimately trivial. It’s childish, petty-ass bullshit, and not much else. This is all pretty small potatoes considering everything else going on in the world right now. It is entirely possible, too, that this a legit reader who honestly hated one of my books, then proceeded to read three more of them, and found those equally inadequate enough that he was compelled to create a Goodreads account simply to tell the world he didn’t like four of my titles. Who knows?! Who cares?! Given the state of America, it’s all pretty trivial right now. Speaking as an author and a reviewer, I think we should just be thankful anybody is reading our shit at all.

At the end of the day, the bottom line is this: Reviews are not for the author. They’re for the reader. Once a book is out on the market, it’s fair game, and literally anybody can put their thoughts down and share it with the world. The key is for those thoughts to be honest and true, and they’re not always going to jibe with what others are saying. Back in October 2015, I published a 5-star review for an advance copy of Joe Hill’s The Fireman. Not long after its publication in May 2016, I got an email from an irate reader who hated the book and accused me of being a shill who must have been paid millions of dollars by Hill and his publisher to have propped it up with such praise. To that, all I could say was, Man, I wish!

Yes, it feels great to get starred reviews from valued, institutional sources. Yes, it sucks to get a poor review from anybody, especially nasty ones. But that’s the business. That’s the job. Your book is out in the world and it’s fair game for anybody with a keyboard. Reviewers aren’t here to hold author’s hands or to prop up their egos. We’re also not here to sell the book on an author’s behalf. We’re not their fucking customer support agents. It’s the job of the author and their publisher to sell the book. It’s my job to tell you if I think it’s worth your hard-earned cash and why. If I like a book, I’ll tell you so. If I don’t like it, I’ll tell you that too. As a reviewer, all I have are my honest opinions, and I’ll share those, fully and unvarnished, in ways meant to entertain myself first and foremost, and hopefully you as well. Having pissed off both authors, readers, and other reviewers aplenty with my opinions, and having been praised by just as many in turn, all I can surmise is that I must be doing something right.

Thanks for the email, Brendan!

And, hey, if any of you have read any of my stuff, and liked it or loathed it, I ask that you put up a review of your own and let other readers know your thoughts. Every review helps, good, bad, or indifferent.

And for all you fucking naysayers out there, at least Laurel Hightower thinks I’m a treasure, so at least I’ve got that going for me. Thank you, Laurel!

Last month, I had a newsletter-exclusive review for The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand. Here’s another, this time for the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman.

With the release of Book 7 in Dinniman’s series, my Goodreads and BlueSky feeds have been flooded with updates from people getting a kick out This Inevitable Ruin. I’m not generally a fan of the “dude sucked into a real-life video game” conceit, and worried that Dungeon Crawler Carl was just another Ready Player One rip-off: a steady string of pop culture references and nostalgia masturbation to make up for a threadbare plot (and, fuck me, I enjoyed Ready Player One at the time, too, so don’t at me). But then Rich, who I previously co-hosted the Staring Into the Abyss podcast with way back in the day, texted me in July to let me know it’s actually pretty good and I should check it out. He was on book six and listening via Audible. I had a credit to spare and grabbed the first audiobook, narrated by Jeff Hays. I figured, if nothing else, it could at least be some mindless stupid fun, and at worst it would just be a waste of an Audible credit. Live and learn.

Turns out, Dungeon Crawler Carl was indeed some stupid fun. It has pop culture references, but doesn’t use them wholly as a substitute for an actual plot or an endless string of “hey, you remember that movie from 45 years ago?!” contrivances. Jeff Hays brings a lot of heart, not to mention an impressive array of voices, to his narration, which is half the fun. Dinniman’s virtual exploits via meatheaded Carl bring up the other half, along with a welcome thread of omnipresent darkness.

While it’s told in a fun and hugely endearing way, Dinniman makes sure we don’t forget the overarching threat at the core of this series. Yes, it’s an RPG brought to life, but it’s also post-apocalyptic and maybe a smidge of space opera if you squint hard enough. Aliens have absolutely, positively destroyed humanity. Anybody lucky enough to survive find themselves trapped in a dungeon and thrust into a living, evolving video game that’s part of an intergalactic reality show. Think Baldur’s Gate meets Survivor by way of The Running Man. These unwitting and unwilling contestants are encouraged by the game’s AI to “Kill, kill kill!” because if they don’t, they’re gonna die, die, die in the most garish and disgusting ways possible to help ensure it’s all a ratings hit. And it’s also hilarious. In audiobook form, I can’t help but think it has a bit of a John Scalzi feel to it. The premise is straight up sci-fi with occasional smidgens of horror peppered in for added flavor, but it’s told in a way that is positively endearing and humorous. It’s some much needed fun.

Dungeon Crawler Carl might also just be the necessary bit of resistance fiction that we all need here in 2025. I’m only two books in, but as I was nearing the end of book two, I couldn’t help but imagine all the places subsequent books could take us. Dinniman gives Carl the opportunity to temporarily escape the dungeon for brief periods by appearing on talk shows and entering guild halls where he can briefed on not only the game but the larger socio-political context of the universe surrounding the game. Turns out all that “behind the curtain” shit hidden from the players is an intergalactic profiteering racket by a numerous corporations, one of which is going through bankruptcy and fending off competitors, who have made various shady business deals with various shady alien empires. One such king is an ugly, wretched pig-man with stupid children chomping at the bit to become the heirs apparent, and they’re all vicious bullies who loathe the people they rule over. It all sounds terribly familiar! I couldn’t help but cheer when, on one scheduled talk show appearance, Carl rightfully calls the king a pussy and encourages the people to overthrow him. That I was coincidentally listening to this segment on Oct. 18’s nationwide No Kings protest, hours before President* Rapey McPedophile, aka Diarrhea Don, aka Danger Yam, aka Mango Mussolini, posted an AI-made video in response depicting himself wearing a crown and flying a fighter jet (I guess those bone spurs healed up, huh?) to dump shit all over America (and only a couple days prior to literally demolishing the White House to begin construction on the Epstein Ballroom, because these metaphors have to be impossibly on-the-nose nowadays, and all that just prior to him, openly and candidly before a gaggle of reporters, on camera, planning to steal $230 Million in taxpayer dollars from the Department of Justice because they had the temerity to investigate this now-convicted felon for his crimes the last time he was in office.), made for an incredibly timely listen. What happens after Carl’s protestations calls into question the nature of the universe’s politics and the fragility of various interstellar alliances that have been hinted at. Now, I can’t help but wonder how Dinniman is going to handle all this through the filter of the many-floored dungeon Carl and his magically-endowed, talking cat, Princess Donut, inhabit. How are these rising stakes outside the dungeon going to impact what’s happening inside it, and what happens once Carl reaches the end? And yeah, that Princess Donut stuff… I know, I know, I know. I rolled my eyes at the idea too, back when Rich told me about it, but it’s honestly one of my favorite parts of these books. So much so that my poor, suffering, dear wife has had to listen to me recap the story and moments of hilarity to her for the better part of a month now.

There’s subtle shades of Star Wars and Flash Gordon in all this. Dungeon Crawler Carl seems to be existing in conversation with these pieces as much as it does Ready Player One, all the while showing the latter how it’s all really done. Book 1 was dumb fun. Book 2 was also dumb fun, but with some much-needed elaboration on the bigger picture that’s really helped to open up the possibilities for what this series could become. That I went straight into Carl’s Doomsday Scenario immediately after finishing Dungeon Crawler Carl, and am now eagerly awaiting my next Audible credit so I can grab book 3, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, kinda says it all, I think. That’s really the highest compliment I can pay it. I just wish these were available via Hoopla so I didn’t have to stay dependent on Amazon’s ecosystem to enjoy them, but alas, it is what it is, and I suppose even adds an extra bit of Evil Empire meta-narrative to the whole endeavor.

October was pretty damn light in terms of reviews, with only three published pieces for FanFiAddict. I typically cross-post my reviews to Goodreads, and certainly with more consistency than I do on my own website, so I figured I’d better start throwing in that link, too. To my credit, though, I did spend a few days this month getting the site up to date with past reviews previously published over at FanFiAddict and am finally, temporarily at least, caught up on that end! Phew! So, for as long as I can keep up with these things, you’ll get links to my reviews on my website, FanFiAddict, and Goodreads.

Of the three new October reviews, two are favorable, the other is not. Not too bad, overall! As I said up top, my opinions don’t always jibe with what’s popular or tilt the same way the general consensus appears to be leaning. The October Film Haunt is a great example of this. At the time of this writing, Wehunt’s latest is just barely scraping by with a 3.28 overall across 717 ratings. It has far less reviews on Amazon, but is faring a little bit better at this moment with a 3.6.

Honestly, this confounds me, particularly the response this book has been receiving over on Goodreads. Now, to be fair, a 3-star rating is not at all bad, and the bulk of the reviews for this thing are trending toward the positive. But scrolling through, I see a number of 2-star reviews from a few people with similar tastes and I just don’t get it. For me, this is one of the year’s best books, right behind Joe Hill’s King Sorrow. I think that if Hill hadn’t dropped that chonky bastard on us after ten years away, The October Film Haunt would most certainly be my book of the year. Right now, they’re virtually neck and neck for top spot and I could go either way depending on my mood for which is the better of the two. The October Film Haunt is certainly proving divisive amongst horror fans, though, which I ultimately think is a good sign. As always, my advice is to check it out and decide for yourself.

As for some of the other best books of the year, I’ve definitely got a few titles in mind, but you’ll have to wait a little while longer for the full list. It’s currently hiding behind a veil unless, I dunno, some crazy-ass night birds start playing weird games in yellow or something. Besides that, by my reckoning, there’s still two more whole months of potentially awesome reads that could still make the cut.

The October Film Haunt by Michael Wehunt [Website] [FanFiAddict] [Goodreads]

Shadowman [Website] [FanFiAddict] [Goodreads]

Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World [Website] [FanFiAddict] [Goodreads]

Before I started reviewing for FanFiAddict, the gang over there was busy putting together their own anthology of fungal fiction across the fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres.

The Book of Spores is a Kickstarter exclusive, and you can preorder your copy beginning Nov. 13. The Kickstarter campaign is not live just yet, but you can visit the pre-launch page and follow the project to receive a notification when it launches. Once it goes live, you can put in your order for an exclusive deluxe edition hardcover (which, based on the preview images I’ve seen, looks freaking phenomenal), paperback, and/or ebook.

As Adrian Gibson wrote in his announcement email:

The Book of Spores is a mind-altering fantasy, science fiction, and horror anthology, featuring stories by authors from the FanFiAddict book blog and SFF Addicts Podcast . It brings together an incredible array of writers whose words will spread across the multiverse like spores. Here’s the official blurb:

“Across dimensions, it creeps and consumes.

Hidden in the vaults of a world-spanning library lie the records of a mysterious book, one made of mold and magic. Varied accounts of its existence remain scattered throughout the multiverse, but when an archivist attempts to bring its pages together, she will learn how dangerous a book—and her own ambitions—can be . . .

Collecting fungal tales from across countless universes, this anthology spotlights the best of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Delve into sixteen strange stories that are seeped in spores, and prepare for your imagination to be colonized.”

One other Kickstarter campaign that I have absolutely nothing to do with, but which has definitely caught my attention, is the First In Fright: The Fangoria Compendium from, well, Fangoria!

This looks like one hell of a hardcover release, and the campaign’s stretch goals aim to make it even better. As the Fango team describes it on Kickstarter:

First in Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium takes readers through the biggest events that helped shape today’s horror landscape. This monumental collectible book is packed with over 300 pages of blood-soaked genre history, recounting iconic films and franchises, offering interviews with directors, stars, and special effects wizards, and going deep with features that track the evolution of horror filmmaking and explore the ways it has intersected with FANGORIA’s own history.

…

And this project doesn’t end with the book! An important part of First in Fright: The FANGORIA Compendium is a new initiative to develop the pinnacle in horror preservation: the complete Digital Archive of FANGORIA Volume 1, chronicling the entire print run of classic FANGORIA magazine issues (all 344 of them)! With every single page, picture and gory cover, we’re building the definitive academic resource for all serious fans of the genre.

Given that this project was fully funded in an hour, I suspect plenty of you on this mailing list have already backed the campaign. If you haven’t, I encourage you to go check it out and order a print or digital copy for yourself. As a backer myself, I’m really hoping this one keeps collecting funds so we can all get those extra stretch goal goodies.

Currently reading: Dropsite Massacre (Warhammer: The Horus Heresy) by John French

Currently playing: Baldur’s Gate 3 (PS5). Still an absolutely perfect RPG. No notes.

Currently watching: IT: Welcome to Derry Season 1 (HBO Max)

Man, oh man, oh man, what an opener! Frankly, I was a bit worried about this series given Andy Muschietti’s continued involvement after shitting the bed so badly with IT: Chapter Two and The Flash, but with “The Pilot” episode of Welcome to Derry we might be seeing a director looking to redeem himself. Unlike in Chapter Two, Muschietti seems to be reining in his worst instincts (so far, at least) by letting the horror be horrifying and letting it linger for viewers to marinate in the discomfort of it all, rather than undercutting every single instance of terror with a lame, jokey gag and pulling all his punches to deliver punchlines instead. He only allows it to happen once in “The Pilot” and I’m feeling gracious enough to let that slide provided Andy doesn’t make a habit of it here for the remainder of his time behind the camera.

I’ll admit, I was also a bit leery about young Teddy being a member of the Uris family and started to get worried that this 1960s iteration of the Losers Club was going to just be a remix of the ‘80s kids’ past family members. I know Mike Hanlon’s family has a colorful history in Derry, but didn’t think the rest of the Club did to any similar extent. Having another Uris pop up and be at the center of these shenanigans felt a bit too Skywalkery for me. Like, out of all the people in the universe, it’s only these particular family members that can sort out all the troubles happening here and now? I got over it by episode’s end, though. Nice shoutout to the turtle, too, I thought.

And that ending. Oh wow, did that ever fucking deliver in spades. I really hope the rest of this season’s episodes have the balls to deliver more shit like this and keeps us on our toes. Absolutely fantastic. I am fully on board and can’t wait to see what happens next! Thankfully, I don’t have too long to wait. Episode 2 is getting a special early release for Halloween and you can bet your ass I’m watching that tonight.

Currently listening: Hell Divers VII: Warriors by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

That’s it for now, gang. I hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween! Go watch some scary movies and load up on the candy.