Sex Criminals #11 has the best subscription cover

On the left is the regular on the right is the subscription cover.  

Get Rising Dead and 20 other books for free

Biting Dog Press/Publications is having a massive Christmas giveaway!
For a limited time we have 21 e-books that you can download absolutely free!

Authors include Neil Gaiman, Nancy A Collins, Sara Brooke, John Paul Allen and Monica O'Rourke!

Sign up for our newsletter and be entered in a chance to win:

The Rhyme Maidens limited edition broadside signed by Neil Gaiman
8 Rules for Writing limited edition poster signed by Neil Gaiman and Keith Minnion
A grab bag of woodcut prints from our Neil Gaiman hand made books
2 trade paperback copies of Strange Roads by Steven Lloyd
$25 Amazon Gift Card

Free e-book giveaway ends December 28 so take advantage while you can!

Feel free to share, post and tweet to all your friends!

http://www.bitingdogpress.com/Bitingdogpub/free.html

Rising Dead Is Now Available

My new novella is oddly both lighter or more personal then my previous releases.  Ultimately if you want to stick nerdy philosopher who can't seem to shut up into a zombie tale, this is the book for you.  I hope you enjoy.  

To Win a Free Copy click here to and share Rising Dead, or for a second chance like on facebook.

Horns Book vs Movie for Ravenous Monster

As a very big fan of Joe Hill’s sophomore novel Horns, I was awaiting Alexandre Aja’s film adaptation with much anticipation. Piranha and Haute Tension are great movies, showing a diversity of ability.  Even his weaker efforts such asMirrors and The Hills Have Eyes remake are never dull, and his direction is always exciting and unique.

Horns follows Ignatius (Ig) Perrish after he wakes up hung over after desecrating the memorial placed where his ex-girlfriend, Merrin, was raped and murdered one year ago. He was never tried for her death, but nearly everyone in town believes Ig’s guilty of the crime.  The physical discomfort of his hangover is compounded by the horns now emerging from his forehead.  Ig soon makes a startling discovery, no one truly notices the horns, yet they now feel compelled to burden Ig with their most horrible thoughts when they see him...Click over to Ravenous Monster for the full piece.

Coming Soon

Unhappy, overwhelmed and needing to re-start his life, Simon Frost quits his job with Social Services and becomes a park ranger.  With no responsibility, Simon allows his days to pass by quietly reading while handing out pamphlets to the State Park patrons. 

When responding to a routine tree removal Simon Frost discovers horrors he never could have imagined.  As undead hordes begin to overtake the park Simon realizes he is the only person in a position to save the nine hikers still on the trail.

Forced to take the responsibility he tried to forgo and equipped with a chainsaw and an all-terrain vehicle, Simon plunges into untold horror and discovers who he truly is.

M.R. Gott’s Rising Dead is a tale of horror and redemption that packs a wickedly dark sense of humor. 

Sin City A Dame to Kill For Review

Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez return to Basin City after nine years to bring summer audiences A Dame to Kill For.  This film is mostly a prequel to the last flick and contains  two original Sin City tales.  Stories fans will already know are  A Dame to Kill For and the short Silent Night.  Co-Directors Miller and Rodriguez get most of their original cast to return, with a few exceptions.  Dwight is now played by Josh Brolin. (though it had to be a different actor for the plot) Michael Clarke Duncan's replacement for Manute  however is the most noticeable.  While  Dennis Haysbert does an admirable job, he lacks the physical presence that Duncan brought, and this hurts his character's credibility.  Devon Akoi is replaced by Jamie Chung for Miho and Chung has the screen presence to pull of the role.

A Dame to Kill For is a worthy sequel, though it lacks the excitement of the first, simply because this has been done before.  Long time fans will be pleased with the translation of the Dame to Kill For story with both Brolin and Eva Green turning in perfect performances, expertly balancing the tongue in cheek elements with genuine emotion.  Mickey Rourke's second turn as Marv is just as good as the first and continues bringing this cult favorite to the screen.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt again proves he can handle a pretty tough  role well.  The film's standout is Powers Boothe as Senator Rourke.  His maniacal speeches are performed with inflections that bring the heavy villain to life.  He is the man you love to hate.  

Both of the new stories are strong, and the Joseph Gordon-Levitt yarn was the most surprising.  The continuation of Jessica Alba's Nancy was a let down from what I was hoping for.  First and foremost there are multiple dancing sequences that stop the plot dead and provide the director's a chance to have the camera zoom uncomfortably close to Alba's crotch.  They are also distracting as stripping sequences where she does not remove any of her clothing.  Alba obviously is uncomfortable with onscreen nudity, but the directors could have worked around this in many different ways.  It is even more noticeable as both Brolin and Green spend large chunks of their story completely nude.  The bulk of her tale is also merely voice-over and dancing sequences.  I was eagerly awaiting to the the physically scarred Nancy from the trailers, which makes up a minority of the film.  Having her haunted by Hartigan is both a cool way to bring the character back to the screen and handled well.  The sequences also add well the the surreal feel of the film.

If you liked the original Sin City flick, you'll probably enjoy this film.  It is stylistic perfection with strong performances from most of the cast.  While the excitement of the first has definitively worn off, I would recommend you returning to Sin City one last time.

Dark Forest a New Anthology edited by Robert Dunbar

“You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path.”

~ Joseph Campbell

STAY OUT OF THE WOODS.

      Something deadly lurks among the shadows, and the trees themselves seethe with menace.

      Never believe you are safe. No one is safe.

      The dark forest is a state of mind.

DARK FOREST is the latest anthology from UNINVITED BOOKS.

These classic stories of the malignant wilderness come from the pens of illustrious authors like Ambrose Beirce, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, E. Nesbit, H. G. Wells and many others. Tales like THE WILLOWS, A VINE ON A HOUSE and THE PAVILION combine to create an intense atmosphere of surreal malignity. (Also included is Robert Dunbar’s novella WOOD.) Each tale is annotated by contemporary talents, and the insights and observations of writers of the caliber of Paul G. Bens, Ramsey Campbell, Sandy DeLuca, Robert Dunbar, James Everington, Greg F. Gifune, Kevin Lucia, Ronald Malfi, Lisa Mannetti, Elizabeth Massie, and B. E. Scully add a further level of erudition, deepening the reader’s appreciation of the work.

From the Introduction:

      The dark is where we live. The dark is all there is.

      We fear darkness. We fear eyes that watch from the foliage. Sometimes we fear the foliage.

      Perhaps we should.

      Long before haunted houses existed, haunted forests circled the globe. Homer knew it. The Brothers Grimm knew it. In legend, all the great mythic quests of self-discovery begin with a hero entering a forsaken wood.

      Some journeys also end there…

“Your soul is a dark forest.”

~ Marcel Proust

UNINVITED BOOKS is an independent press dedicated to celebrating literary distinction in dark fiction. All serious fiction deals to some extent with dark themes, and many great works of world literature have employed supernatural, surreal or existentialist elements. These books have power. They endure… because they appeal to serious readers and provide thoughtful entertainment.

Join us. Become one of the Uninvited.