Elderwood Manor - Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes

The set-up of ELDERWOOD MANOR, the new novella by Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes, is a classic one in horror fiction: protagonist returns to his creepy, tragedy-haunted childhood home, where things get even creepier and more dangerous.

Fulbright and Hawkes bring this tale to life with some fine writing, a brooding sense of overpowering doom, a nice pace, and the addition of the protagonist's four-year-old son to the mix, a character who rings absolutely true. The setting, the Ozark Mountains in the dead of winter, is a welcome change from some of the more traditional locales for stories like this. I also like the fact that the protagonist doesn't make a lot of dumb decisions just to keep the plot moving along. Some of his choices may be a little questionable, but they're also believable given the circumstances.

I've become a fan of this writing duo over the past few years. Writing both together and alone, they turn out a consistently entertaining mix of horror and adventure fiction, and everything I've read by them has been different from what I've read before. ELDERWOOD MANOR is another fine addition to their body of work.

The Devil Behind Me - Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes

THE DEVIL BEHIND ME is a new horror novella from Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes, and it's a good, gory yarn. In an opening scene set in Germany that reminded me a little of Robert E. Howard's "The Black Stone", young Alex Brandt and three of his friends spy on Alex's older sister, who is bent on some secretive mission in the woods. When Ilona Brandt winds up in a clearing complete with sinister alter and robed, chanting acolytes of the demon Krampus (the German anti-Santa who punishes bad boys and girls on Christmas Eve), you just know something terrible is going to happen, and boy, does it.

From there the story jumps forward to when Alex is grown and living in Dallas, far from Germany but still haunted by what happened there on that night so long ago. He decides he has to go back to his hometown and put all those old memories to rest, and his girlfriend comes with him so they can make a vacation of it. I don't think it'll come as a surprise to anyone that the trip doesn't quite go the way Alex intended.

Fulbright and Hawkes add murder to the mix, along with an old witch, some kinky sex, and ultimately a dramatic confrontation with evil itself. THE DEVIL BEHIND ME races along at a very satisfying pace, and it's creepy enough to satisfy any fan of horror fiction. I enjoyed it and think it's well worth reading.

Out of the Garden - Angeline Hawkes

I’ve known Angeline Hawkes and her husband Christopher Fulbright for several years. They’re both fans of Robert E. Howard as well as writers, but I’d never read any of their work until now. Hawkes’ new collection OUT OF THE GARDEN brings together a number of the heroic fantasy stories she’s written about Kabar of El Hazzar, a blacksmith, thief, and barbarian warrior who lives in a world modeled somewhat after the Middle East during Old Testament times. Kabar is a fine, compelling character, and the stories feature plenty of action as he is drawn into tales of sorcery, political intrigue, mystical weapons, monsters, and plenty of beautiful women, maidenly and otherwise. By turns eerie, lyrical, adventurous, and philosophical, all the stories in this book are good, but the title novella is a real highlight, a stunning blend of action, fantasy, and theology. If you’re a fan of heroic fantasy, this one is highly recommended, and you can order it here.