#Saga Press

[brokehorrorfan]

Stephen Graham Jones (My Heart is a Chainsaw, The Only Good Indians) will publish The Buffalo Hunter Hunter on Match 18 via Saga Press.

Set in the American west of 1912, the 496-page horror novel follows a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice.

A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. This is an American Indian revenge story written by one of the new masters of horror, Stephen Graham Jones.

Pre-order The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones.

[lgbtqreads]

October 2024 Deal Announcements

Adult Fiction Author of the Lambda Literary finalist MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME Rasheed Newson’s THERE’S ONLY ONE SIN IN HOLLYWOOD, an examination of race, masculinity, and sexual politics within the glamorous world of old Hollywood, following a Korean War veteran turned backlot fixer and a closeted Black actor who dies at the height of his fame under suspicious circumstances, to Nadxieli…

[kitthenameless]

"Remy Pendergast and his royal vampire companions return to face an enemy that is terrifyingly close to home in Rin Chupeco’s queer, bloody Gothic epic fantasy series for fans of Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree and the adult animated series Castlevania."

Queer polyamorous vampires & court intrigue! Plus another beautiful cover ✨ I'm excited for this sequel, thank you to Saga Press / Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

(Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco)

[brightbeautifulthings]

The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar by Robin R. Means Coleman & Mark H. Harris

"Black horror's triumph is its ability to reflect more deeply on the ways in which Black history has been and continues to be Black horror. Black horror points a finger at evil because those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, just like those who forget the rules of horror are just plain doomed. When the twenty-four hour news cycle moves on to some Insta-influencer, and names like Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Atatiana Jefferson, and Botham Jean become fading memories for some, Black horror steps up to remind us that, like the vengeful dolls in Tales from the Hood, the past is never 'history.'"

Year Read: 2023

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: It took me all damn year to read this book, through no fault of its own. I received an invitation from the publishers to read it through NetGalley, got about a third of the way through, and decided I couldn't take the kind of notes I wanted on my Kindle. By the time my ordered copy arrived, enough time had passed that it seemed best just to start over. Then cue the Great Summer Reading Slump of 2023! I refused to start over again, and it still took me until December to finish. May I reflect on this before I decide to accept nonfiction again, even if it is about horror. But then, as my favorite professor always liked to say, "Struggling is productive."

This is all no reflection on the book itself, which is an in-depth look at the history of Black horror cinema. I'm an avid horror fan, and I still learned a hell of a lot, including where to fill in the gaps in my viewing (although… I'm still probably going to skip Spider Baby (1967), sorry. Even my boyfriend, Lon Chaney Jr., can't make that sound appealing). Seriously, adding films to my watch list was some of the most fun of this book, and I've already started chipping away at those by continuing with The Purge series. I gave up after having lukewarm feelings about the first, but in a weird twist, the series actually gets so much better. I'm planning to watch Event Horizon (1997) and Spiral (2021) at some point too, among others.

The writers are incredibly knowledgeable about the topics, one a scholar in the field and the other having had a hand in a number of popular culture projects centered on horror film. I think this combination is what really sets this book apart from others of its kind and gives it a more unique voice. The two of them balance the in-depth theoretical and social commentary with witty, sardonic asides. Horror has a long history of going hand in hand with comedy (horror hosts like Svengoolie are case in point), and they go well together here. Despite the fears in the acknowledgements section that the book comes over "too complainy," I didn't get that impression in any sense. A critique by definition should be critical, and it is. It spares no feelings in calling out the hugely racist film industry which, despite major strides forward, still has a long way to go. However, it's also clear throughout that the writers really love the genre, and there are points of borderline gushing over films like Get Out (2017), which had a revolutionizing effect on social-political horror in general and Black horror specifically.

The chapters are neatly broken up by Top Lists on various topics, from Frequent Dier Awards and Terrible Hip-Hop Theme Songs From Horror Movies to 10 Horror Movies About Black-White Race Relations Not Named Get Out. These work better than the sometimes long lists of films inserted into paragraphs, and are often quite funny. The first half of the book is very strong on the history of Black horror film, even to the point of feeling a bit repetitive at times, which I think is a byproduct of the essay-ish/doctoral thesis quality of some of the chapters. (We can credit academia with a lot of things, but being concise is rarely one of them.) It expertly links Black horror trends with long-held racial stereotypes and charts the often dismal numbers of Black actors, actresses, writers, and directors in horror film, and the (again, often dismal) quality of that representation.

The second half dips into the intersection of Black women and Black LGBTQ+ representation, and it's not quite as comprehensive there. In part, this is because there just isn't as much rep out there to write about, but my sense is that this is more like an overview of these topics. A dedicated scholar could spend an entire book delving into each one of those and still have more to write. The final chapter pulls together a moving rumination on how Black horror, like most media, is ultimately a reflection of the world we live in. Any minor quibbles aside, this is extremely well-done and a must-read for anyone with an interest in the history of horror film.

[thefandomentals]

2024 is already looking to be an incredible year for horror, so check out Cat's most-anticipated horror reads for the coming year!

[critical-quoter]

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephen Graham Jones ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm not sure how to begin this review to be completely honest. This was the type of book that has the purpose of making you entirely too uncomfortable to read in one sitting. It's not a long story; it's a heavy one. I can't say I enjoyed the story. I'm not sure you're really meant to enjoy it. It did evoke a multitude of emotions from me and by the end of it, I felt wrung out and used up. 

This is a vampire tale set in 1912. While it has horror and paranormal elements to it, I really don't think that this is a horror meant to frighten. At its core, it's a revenge tale. At no point should you sympathize or empathize with any of the characters within it. They are all flawed and honestly, not great people. That's kind of the point. And the scariest part of this book is the reality that it's set in. These are real events (barring the vampire revenge) and these atrocities were committed in real life. I wanted to cheer for Good Stab while still remembering that he wasn't all that great either. I know what side I chose in the end. 

My only issue with this book, and it's minor and easily solved, is that it's written like someone transcribe an oral history story. That's exactly what it was. But it made me not want to read it but to listen to it. I, personally, think this book would be a fantastic audiobook if done right. Because it reads like a story being told to you, I want to listen to as such. 

Trigger warnings were not included within the ARC and I feel like I should just put out into the world that this book does contain (obviously) death but specifically animal death (as well as humans.) It is graphic, and vivid, and I was immersed into the plot fully. So be aware and protect your mental health.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for providing me with an ARC of this book to review.

[allbookedupblogstuff]

The Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan

TL;DR: This one was a surprise in many ways, all lovely. Source: NetGalley and a physical copy via the publisher Plot: Sai ends up forced on a journey by the Emperor to find the last dragon and along the way he finds a lot more. Characters: I enjoyed all these characters and could see them vividly. I genuinely felt for them as well. Setting: A beautiful Asian inspired world, I will keep a lot of…

[thegirlwiththelantern]

2024 Science Fiction

I tend to group books with elements of fantasy into the fantasy releases posts. However there are a mix here. There are also…. a lot. Sometimes my brain blips. I genuinely thought that I was struggling to get to ten books but when I came to add the last four or so books I found that there were already over twenty books. Oh well. I was aiming to get into science fiction. Enjoy. Thirteen Ways to…

[lilibetbombshell]

[bookdivareads]

Book Spotlight: THE REFORMATORY by Tananarive Due

Get ready for "spooky season" with THE REFORMATORY by #TananariveDue, a mystery thriller blended with horror. #fiction #horror #mystery #thriller #historicalfiction #recommendedread #SagaPress #comingsoon

The Reformatory by Tananarive DueISBN: 9781982188344 (Hardcover)ISBN: 9781982188368 (eBook)ISBN: 9781797160139 (Digital Audiobook)ASIN: B0BHTN8L13 (Kindle edition)ASIN: B0BRNYV5GM (Audible Audiobook)Page Count: 576Publication Date: October 31, 2023Publisher: Saga PressGenre: Fiction | Historical Fiction | Horror | Mystery Thriller A gripping, page-turning novel set in Jim Crow Florida that…

[morganbritton132]

Eddie, casually: Hey, wanna get pictures taken?

Steve: It’s a bit early to do our Christmas cards

Eddie: Nah, not like that. Just pictures for us. For me.

Steve: …Jonathan said to stop asking him to take those kind of pictures.

Eddie: Again, not what I meant. Just some pictures of you and me together.

Steve:

Steve: Sure? I guess.

**

Trending on Twitter two days later are hashtags like, VMAS, and EDDIE MUNSON, and HE’S THERE. If you look under any of these hashtags, there are hundreds of posts of the same clip of Steve and Eddie on the red carpet together.

In the clip, you can see Eddie ask Steve if he’s alright and Steve respond that the cameras are bright. Eddie takes his sunglasses out of his jacket and slides them on Steve’s face, smiles, and then gives him a kiss before they go back to posing for the cameras.

Eddie tweets a different video of Steve suggesting that they go to karaoke instead. It’s captioned, “HE SAID YES TO PICTURES! NO TAKE BACKS!!’

[thornheartless]

I've been fighting for my life against autocorrect

[hoosbandewan]

EWAN MITCHELL - La Saga Interview

[mascotdang]

Short comic wip, and then Animatic

Trust me, I AM rushing

These sences broke my heart as an Athena lover

[brightbeautifulthings]

Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

"The real proof will be whether bullets can stop him or not, Letha supposes. If they can, then he's a serial killer. If it takes a final girl to put him down, though, then he was a slasher all along."

Year Read: 2023

Rating: 4/5

About: There are spoilers ahead for My Heart Is a Chainsaw. Four years after the Independence Day Massacre, Jade returns to Proofrock with the charges against her dropped-- the same day that escaped serial killer, Dark Mill South, wanders into town. A blizzard keeps the town trapped and cut off from outside help, and it's up to Jade and Letha to figure out who the final girl is and how Dark Mill South can be stopped. After all, they've aged out of the genre... right? I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Gallery Books/Saga Press. Trigger warnings: character death (graphic, on-page), child/parent/sibling death, animal death (graphic, on-page), suicide, implied pedophilia/statutory rape, graphic gore/body horror, skinning, poisoning, suffocation, drowning, fire, eye horror, guns, violence, severe injury, guilt, grief.

Thoughts: This book is a whole ride. Despite its size, I found myself happy to be back in this world with these characters, and I rarely found my interest flagging. Jones keeps the pages turning with a series of teen slasher style murders based on various popular horror films. In between, we catch up on Jade, Letha, and Hardy and what's changed for them over the past four years. I love the relationships among the three of them, the way they've bonded over past trauma but also just because they care about each other, and it gives the story more heart than My Heart Is a Chainsaw. If that book was about buried trauma coming to the surface, this one is more about living with it afterward.

Don't Fear the Reaper resolves some other problems I had with MHIaC as well. I struggled with Jade's rambling internal monologue about horror films in that book, but she's older and steadier here, and the narrative is likewise more coherent. It shifts characters often to keep things moving, and the only place it really slows down is in the essays on horror theory and town events from Galatea to the new history teacher, Armitage. I didn't love those, but it's a nice homage to Jade's essays to Holmes, and there's a plot thread buried in there that had me 😬. The whiteout blizzard sets a totally different tone from summer in Proofrock, calling up images of The Thing (1982), and the sense of place is practically a character of its own.

In spite of the Lake Witch being the major villain of the first book, I'm somehow always still surprised when Jones mixes the supernatural with regular slashers. The books seem so deeply entrenched in the real world, until suddenly they're not, and while it seemed to come out of left field (again--although I was able to look back and see the groundwork for it this time), I liked the additional thread it added to what was already a string of gruesome murders. Dark Mill South is a reasonably scary slasher addition, but I'll admit I enjoyed picking out the homages to horror film in the murders more than actually having him on the page. Much like the first book, the final showdown is a bit bonkers in scale, with lots of bodies, tons of gore, and killers and final girls alike who just won't stay dead-- you know, just as a classic slasher should be.

[thefandomentals]

Get ready for a beautiful, bloody spring with Cat's horror picks for the season!