Black Melt

by Indy McDaniel

A recovered meteorite from the heart of the Atlantic Ocean proves to be far more interesting when extraterrestrial fungal life is found growing within. Dr. Madison Davis, a medical mycologist, is brought in as part of a team to investigate the new-found life and determine what secrets it holds and what dangers it might present.

Descending a quarter of a mile underground to a top secret research laboratory, Madison discovers that sometimes the smallest things can be the most deadly.

Genres: Horror

227 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2013

About the author

Indy McDaniel does the weird stuff. From the Globally Acknowledged squishy horror of Black Melt to the bone-crunchingly fierce action of the Nadya’s Nights series, there’s no shortage of bizarre nonsense he won’t do. He’s got body horror, he’s got werewolves with tentacles, he’s got killer space fungus, and he’s got some books about those things, too. Commonly described as ‘that weird guy over there’, he’s all too eager to share his assortment of dark silliness with whoever’s interested.

Reviews

[Coyote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good lord, the Goodreads rating system makes you look like A Tremendous Asshole when you still think a book is okay. So in my own defense:

I'm happy that my partner and I took a gamble and picked up this book at Indy's recommendation at this past Spooky Empire; I really, really am. For a NaNo and for a first novel effort, though, by no means is this book *bad*, but I definitely psyched myself up for... a lot more content like the finale 50 pages of the book and found myself kind of blandly ingesting the first 120 pages of mundanity and exposition. In a lot of ways, I wish that this book could have had maybe another 50 - 100 pages of the depraved, decadent Barker-like content of the final chapter-and-a-half.
I think there's a lot of promise for future efforts from Indy, and I'll be more than happy to pick up another novel from his booth at the next Spooky.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vividly portrayed, cliched plot, competent writing

Vividly portrayed, cliched plot, competent writing. Interesting combination of healthy sex, relationship issues and horror. Felt rushed at the end.

[A. Sneve · Rating 4 out of 5]

There! I can finally say I've gotten to read "Black Melt." The meaning of the title is now abundantly clear.

ABUNDANTLY.

First off, Indy McDaniel has long been one of my favorite authors in the horror community. I bought this book hoping for the kind of filthy, gore-splattered smut McDaniel portrays with such artistry.

I was far from disappointed.

All I can say is thank God for fictional characters' non-self-awareness; were the opposite true, the poor cast in an Indy McDaniel story would--after blowing 'o' after britch-splitting 'o--' be wiping up more brown than white, terrified by the knowledge that, with that much gettin' lucky going on, someone (often their mate), is eventually due to dismantle their codpiece-fillers in the most creatively grotesque way possible.

I like this.

McDaniel is to the dildo what Melville was to wood on the frame of a ship. Case in point: heroine Madison Davis's six-page rendezvous with a vibrator. The DETAIL. He puts you right in there, man. This book is so dirty, you're gonna need a condom just to read it.

Smut aside, I've long appreciated the author's skillful narrative style, give-em-hell characters, and clever dialogue, not the mention the occasional descriptive that makes me laugh (or gasp!) out loud.

Initially, I didn't think I was going to like the lead character, divorced mother/mycologist Madison Davis. When she's summoned to a top-secret bunker to investigate an alien mold growth, she calls her philandering ex-husband to tell their daughter goodbye for her: "I've got to leave town for awhile. Tell Felicia she won't be able to see me...try not to make me sound like an insensitive bitch. I'll bring her a souvenir when I get back."

An insensitive bitch? Never! At that point, Madison's crotch-gobbling ex-husband seemed like the more sensitive of the two. Still, I was curious to shadow along on her journey, and as I plowed deeper into the story, it became clear Madison did have a heart. McDaniel is great at humanizing his characters, making the reader feel as though we really do know them and are are following along on the journey.

Also impressive was how credibly McDaniel handled the tricky subjects of science (of the mycological variety), and top-secret missions--two subjects that can easily render a novel into The Room-worthy discount book bins when mishandled.

Finally, the climax of the story is a smutty Vesuvius of an explosion.

Wait for it. I'm not telling.

Grade: A

[Chris Sachnik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read that is quite smutty and disgusting. The author has some narrative skill, and tells a decent story of a scientist who finds herself in a meat grinder. Other than the fact that he made most of the characters possess a wit that is uncommon in world, not to mention the scientific community, and a familiarity that springs up from nowhere, this is a decent read. The last 10% of the book is what you are reading for, anyway, and it is delivered as advertised. Just a sick sequence of events that will turn the stomach of all but the most jaded of horror fans. I was hoping to laugh a little more, though. Still, for 99 cents, I've read worse.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost as ridiculous as the title makes it sound, but no more so than some other genre mash-ups I've seen, and organized in an unconventional way; however, also fun, imaginative, and well-written (other than the occasional typo). Robert Rodriguez, have you noticed this one yet? :)

[Zurker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Melt, the heart-melting tale of a woman and her encounter with an alien fungus.

I went into Black Melt having a general idea of what I was in for. Scientists finds alien sample, alien does alien monster things, and it's up to them to kill it & save the world. And while that's what technically happens, there was so much more then that. The plot was B-Movie cliche, ridiculous but the fun kind of ridiculous. But where the story really shines is in the characters and the amount of detail given to the story.

Our protagonist in particular, Maddie Davis, was a likable, relatable, person. McDaniel's level of detail of her home life, her personality, as well as her part in the story makes her an fun character to be around. Sadly, the same can't be said for most of the cast. We just don't get enough time to really explore them as characters, particularly in the case of Carmack. Nonetheless, they serve their role fine, and the lack of character is mitigated by some of the most refreshingly amusing dialogue I've read in a while. Even the snarky nonsense of the characters just talking about the mundane helps to give the sense of actual human characters. Plus, some of it is just enjoyably funny.

One thing I feel is worth mentioning was, for a horror story, it's on a bit of a slow burn. However, what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in magnitude. Once shit hits the fan, the true horror of the alien threat is put on full display. And with the aforementioned level of detail the story displays, it is truly an enjoyably horrific spectacle right up to the end. It is well worth all the build up.

And lastly, there's the smut scenes. Again, the level of detail is astounding and makes for a fun read.

TLDR; If you enjoy some well-written erotic horror with some enjoyable humor, then this might be something for you.

[Jools · Rating 4 out of 5]

Splatter

I'm not totally sure I enjoyed this book - it definitely has multiple personalities and was more than a little disturbing, esp at the end - don't think I've grimaced so much reading something since Shaun Hutson's "Breeding Ground"

[Indy McDaniel]

I won't actually mark a rating as that would be ridiculously self-serving, but during the process of writing it and editing it, I sort of had to read it. Personally and trying to be as unbiased as possible, I think it turned out really good. I can't take all of the credit for it, as it wouldn't be nearly as good as it is now without the aid of the small crew of beta-readers I had. So official thanks go out to Britt, Kim, Bryce, Jeff, Stanfield, and anyone else I may be forgetting at the moment. If I made it good, you guys helped me beat it into greatness.

More to the actual novel, if you're a fan of dark sci-fi, twisted horror, or steamy sex, this thing'll probably have something for you. I've been told it has shades of William Gibson and Clive Barker, although I don't dare claim to be as good as either of those guys. But if you enjoy their work, you might just dig this. So give it a go. It's only $2.99 on Kindle.