Right out of the gate, I loved the tone of the book. The prose is crisp, always a touch playful or glib, and much of the more mundane happenings are clearly drawn from or inspired by the author’s real world experiences. I’ve occasionally written about how the word ‘fun’ is a near-pejorative in literary reviews, but as someone who reads a ton of dark fiction, I really enjoy when something in the genre also makes me laugh. The Fatal Mind flirts with being cozy at times, but never quite crosses that line, and would probably serve as an excellent title for the horror-curious to explore the genre.

Consciously or otherwise, Barbour understands the novella, keeping the pace steady and moving so that any details which might not be ready for scrutiny aren't dwelled upon by the reader. This is an instinctive talent, one of those things that is impossible to teach but which he does especially well. In a way many popular authors cannot, he makes his characters incredibly present in what they're doing, as Ronald not only takes up day drinking in public, but remarks on the pointlessness of retrieving an empty can when he misses the garbage bin. Many authors overlook the ways in which traumatic experiences might affect character behavior, and I want to credit Barbour on how we he constructs a believable progression of his character’s psyche as Ronnie struggles to come to grips with the bizarre cycling nature of his existence.

‘Fellstones has many brilliant elements affixed to a plot that doesn't quite do enough, and the ideas and levels of creativity that are showcased in the novel’s backstory are greater than the execution wherein they are presented.’

After a drawn-out divorce that ends with a whimper, Jonah Talbot leaves San Francisco to return to his hometown of Albuquerque. It’s a humbling situation that many will experience at some point: the recognition that a thing you’ve invested in, gave yourself to, trusted and loved, is no longer going to give back to you or be part of your life.

‘I thoroughly enjoyed Summer of Night as a reader. It’s a solid, well-worked novel with a lot of heartblood in its pages. Clearly a passion project and ode to Simmons’s roots, it should be read by all of his fans, even if it’s not his finest work.’

‘What Moves the Dead is an exceptional novel that shows its strengths in the areas that both critical literary circles and the reading public value. However, its roots are in the pulp publications of yesteryear, and for better or worse, these hold firm when tested by the winds of the modern reader.’

The passages are vibrant and forward-pressing, blessed with the energy that wells from a cast of mid-twenties characters with mid-twenties concerns, and I find myself struggling to put the book down

This feels like something Buehlman needed to get out of his system; a residual interest in vampire stories after penning the exquisitely excellent Lesser Dead, coupled with a love of all the Americana that surrounds Route 66 a decade after its decline began.