In the novels, the drying up of oil resources throws the population into an End of Days panic. Communities become more insular and technology stagnates, and in this environment the vampires arise to seize power. Humans are thrown into walled cities to breed and are watched over by terrifying thralls during daylight hours. In this slavery, Peter Harris and a small group of humans try to stand against the vampires and their thralls to free humanity against their new-found slavery. “Derek Gunn didn’t reinvent the vampire novel. Instead he stripped it back to its roots, in the process tearing away the pretensions other writers have used to humanize the fabled bloodsucking monster. His books are not comforting paranormal romances; they are violent and visceral supernatural thrillers.” says the International Writer’s Association.

The Kindle edition for A World Torn Asunder is on sale for $4.99 and the Kindle edition for Descent into Chaos is available for $9.99.

This post-apocalyptic novel centers around a covert Nazi mission, which we unfortunately don’t learn too much about other than it gives the people involved a case of the heebie-jeebies. We are immediately whisked away to the present day where we are brought into the life of John Pender and his family in the village of Whiteshead.

Soon the discovery is made of a metal object within the estuary of a large metal object. Upon further digging, more canisters are found, which in turn begin to leak a strange gas. This infects any person who came into nearby contact and create the living dead who are obsessed with feasting on human flesh. The survivors try to escape but find that they are trapped by the army who have quarantined the town. The last hope for them is to cross the estuary to reach an old fortress that juts out of the water, which means getting past all of the infected.

The one thing that really disappointed me was the fact that we get the short prologue involving the Nazis and the secret mission. I would have loved to read more about that, but it felt like it was rushed. The rest of the novel felt the same. Events seemed to unfold too quickly, and in the end I really didn’t care for any of the characters in the book. I will say that the action scenes that happen near the end of the book were written quite well and I really enjoyed those. But throughout most of the book I have to admit I was bored.

I think this was one of the more lackluster books that I’ve read from Permuted Press, but if you’re looking for some new post-apocalyptic horror I recommend checking it out. You can always see if your local library has it to borrow. And there’s always great deals on Amazon!

• Permuted Press
• Amazon US/UK/Canada
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• And Many Others

Imagine being free. Free from everything that defines you, that makes you easily recognizable as who you are. Inside you’ll find Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers alongside a knight of the Round Table. The stock market will crash in a whole new, terrifying way. You’ll follow along as heroes go head-to-head with eldritch horrors from Lovecraft’s universe. From Greek legends to Captain Nemo, from gangsters to brokers; from prisons to palaces, dead moons to South American jungles… No one is safe; nowhere is safe. This is a Mythos collection unlike any other. This is Lovecraft in many colors, many guises. This is Cthulhu-Unbound! Featuring:

• “The Tenants of Ladywell Manor” by Willie Meikle
• “Tomb on a Dead Moon” by Tim Curran
• “Passing Down” by Inez Schaechterle
• “The Hunters Within the Corners” by Douglas P. Wojtowicz
• “Surely You Joust” by Patrick Thomas
• “References in Cthonic, Eldritch, Roiling Creations are Recondite” by Warren Tusk
• “New Fish” by Kiwi Courters
• “The Long, Deep Dream” by Peter Clines
• “Santiago Contra el Culto de Cthulhu” by Mark Zirbel
• “Stomach Acid by David Conyers” and Brian M. Sammons
• “Sleeping Monster Futures” by Brandon Alspaugh
• “Nemo at R’lyeh” by Joshua Reynolds
• “What’s a Few Tentacles Among Friends?” by Sheila Crosby
• “An Incident Occurring in the Huachuca Mountains, West of Tombstone” by Gary Vehar
• “Abomination With Rice” by Rhys Hughes

The writing style varies with each author and this in turn keeps the book refreshing and making you want to come back for more. The characters in most of the stories are well developed, and it does make you care to a degree about their welfare in the fight against the unknown, or in one case a crazy ex girlfriend. Some of the monsters we have seen before (like the giant bugs or a massive sea serpent) but each of the authors manages to work a new story around them that makes the monsters just as intimidating and scary.

These are graphic stories, and definitely not for the faint of heart. I admittedly had to stop midway through a couple of stories involving giant bugs since I really do not like bugs, and giant ones are even worse. And there was at least one story that had me laughing out loud, even though the implications of what was going on was pretty unsettling. All in all this is a great book for those who love the horror genre and want to take a break from vampires and zombies and sit back to read about some good monsters.

You can find Monstrous on Permuted Press’ bookstore here.

Season of Rot looks to be a promising collection of short stories for those needing to sate their appetite for new zombie tales.  Full list of stories and synopsis below:

Season of Rot: Safe from the walking dead that rule the streets, a band of survivors holes up in a hospital. When their supplies run low, they must either migrate or trust a stranger who promises them salvation-except the stranger isn’t who he seems to be, and neither are the dead.

The Queen: To escape a plague that has turned most of mankind into ravenous cannibals, a crew of survivors takes refuge at sea. But supplies only last so long, and the crew must face their enemies on land in order to keep themselves alive and afloat.

The Wave: When a wave of mysterious energy from outer space washes over the earth, electronic devices fail worldwide and communications break down. Worse still, the energy alters human brain waves and turns billions of people into bloodthirsty animals. Only a small pocket of humanity is immune, but their only chance of survival may also be their grave.

Dead West: The Civil War is over. The Confederacy is gone. But in the West, a new threat is rising. Accompanied by a regiment of inexperienced soldiers, a journalist ventures into the frontlines of a war against the walking dead, and the truth he finds there is far more frightening than any living corpse.

Rats: Rats are everywhere and can get into anything. And now they are swarming mankind. Those bit rise again as undead pawns in the rodents’ onslaught, and no place is safe-no place except one. The problem is getting there before the rats’ next attack.

DEAD MEAT follows the stories of Gavin and Benny, two survivors of the town of River’s Edge which has been beseiged by a zombie infestation. The destruction of River’s Edge begins with an influx of rodents and “rabies” cases leading to a quarantine of the city. The remaining citizens of River’s Edge are attacked and fed upon by the zombies, or “bees” and Gavin and Benny nickname them. Unknowing of the conditions outside of the town, Gavin and Benny do their best to survive and try to escape the town to find sanctuary from the infestation.

New chapters are posted every Sunday, and there are already 11 chapters plus a prologue available to read. Begin the journey here!