Red Chalice

by Christopher Fulbright

She’s a tall, dark beauty who claims to be the last living descendant of Countess Bathory. When she hires ex-con Layne Drover to accompany her to a jungle-shrouded island seeking an artifact of legendary evil, all he really cares about is getting paid. But when they reach their destination, a hurricane ravages the island, trapping them in a decayed mansion. Their quest to find her unholy grail soon becomes a struggle to survive when they discover they’re not the only ones seeking the artifact … and these “others” are not entirely human. Occult forces clash with bullets and brawn in a menacing race to obtain the RED CHALICE.

Genres: Horror

104 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Christopher Fulbright is the author of short stories, novellas, and full-length novels of fantasy and horror. His short stories have appeared in many venues--webzines, magazines, and anthologies--since 1993. Fulbright received the Richard Laymon President's Award in 2008 from the HWA, and his short stories have received honorable mentions in "The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror" and "Best Horror of the Year."

Christopher is a former journalist turned technical writer, but his real job is raising four kids with his wife and sometimes collaborator, the Bram Stoker award-nominated author Angeline Hawkes.

Reviews

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the cover and blurb enticed me, the actual story did not. The characters really do make a read and if your story is short the plot and pacing need to be relentless, to the point, precise. I’d have to say the two MC’s were not fleshed out enough and I honestly can’t say that if they were, that I would like them any better. Layne Drover, the man hired to protect the supposed last descendant of Countess Bathory is purportedly “all about getting paid.” From what I could tell, he was all about getting laid. The many times that his mind wandered to the “Naughty Side” I kept wondering where this pent up desire came from as he so obviously disliked her.

I kept thinking that Victoria, the woman Layne was hired to protect, was hiding some secret and that it would be exposed on the island. There is a certain part where Layne is fighting some bad guys and when he turns around to check on her she’s not there. I thought this would have been a perfect spot for a plot twist.

The writing was good, the story just didn’t have enough impact. I know it’s hard to get everything to fit and work in a novella, but I still feel it could have been better.

[Gary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thus book was okay. The setting was a bit interesting. The writing didn't develop the characters or the settinng in any great amount of detail. Granted, it was painlessly short, which also made good characterization difficult.
Stories that are short like this have to grab you right away and hold your attention. They don't have the luxury of being able to drag the story for 30 pages since the book is 62 pages long.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

Vamp tale that has a connection to the legend of Elizabeth Bathory.

This was enjoyable enough but didn't offer anything new to the genre. The writing was good but although there was a lot going on in this short read it read quite densely and I found it took a few days to get it finished.

The ending was good although I would question the characters actions as being authentic.

[Jason Parent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red Chalice is a typical vampire story, and it doesn't offer anything new to the genre. In fact, one of its endearing features is its throwback to an earlier day, like something I might have watched on-screen in the late seventies if I weren't a baby sitting around in my own shit-stained diapers.

Despite its lack of novelty, Red Chalice is a clean story, very well written and paced. I moved through it very quickly. The ending was a delightful surprise, which kind of teases the reader with a cat-and-mouse scenario deserving of further treatment, either on paper or in one's imagination.

So, I enjoyed this read as simple entertainment. Even though its vampire through and through (and I generally don't like vampires - which makes the difference between 3 and 4 stars here), Red Chalice is definitely a fun read worthy of consideration.

[Dave Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An action-filled, supernatural romp through legend, history, and monsters pairing a bad-ass hit-man-for-hire with a mysterious, sultry young woman as they seek to reclaim the blood chalice of Elizabeth Bathory in the underground tunnels of a deserted mansion. Fulbright's prose and plotting are crisp, and the author doesn't waste any time delving right into the story, an essential component of writing in the novella form. It's gory and fun and throws in a nice twist at the end. Couldn't ask for much more than that!

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mix of pulp noir and horror. Very fine work. Novella length. I really like the writing in this and there is a lot of action. The ending raises it that extra star to give it five. It was a twist I didn't see coming but worked out beautifully.

[Addy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing was alright, but not really a great read for me. I was bored and it felt like not much was going on. On the plus side, it was short though it felt much longer to me. Not sure if id give this author another shot, unless someone were to twist my arm that is.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough tale that ties back to the Countess Bathory legend. However - some of the enjoyment was knocked out of it because the central character, bodyguard-for-hire Layne Drover, was such a knuckle-dragging neanderthal that it was difficult to pull for him to make it through the story unscathed.