"CHOPHOUSE makes me scream!"

              -- Linnea Quigley, The Return of the Living Dead

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Chophouse

by Horns

Reviewed by Ben Macnair

Black Bed Sheet/Diverse Media Books

Trade Paperback $16.98 / eBook $3.98

260 pages

Release Date: May 2010

　

HORNS [Terry Erwin] has opened the pages of his imagination, and invites you, yes you, the innocent reader to join him on a ride of unimaginable terror. Keep the lights on. Those noises you hear, they are only your imagination playing tricks again. These horror books are no good for anybody of a lightweight disposition, who is scared of monsters that hide under the bed, or the local myths that surround the single man in flat 4, above you.

 

All of those fears are made flesh in Chophouse. It is violent, visceral, it is also very good. As well as being a book of horrific happenings, it is also a book of humanity, of characters you feel for, of the dread that keeps a hold of you, and won’t let go until every single secret is revealed to the innocent reader. Every single secret.

     When night falls over the woodland community of Dominic County, many are sure that the Devil himself has arrived, with his evil minions intent on spreading their own terror and death.

     So, we have the usual suspects in terms of characters. The Sheriff with too much on his plate, and not enough men, and the tragic childhood that still plays with his mind; the lovelorn young woman, who has chosen the wrong place and time to make changes to her life; an ambulance driver who finds himself in mortal danger, as well as a myriad of other characters all looking for a way out of the town where they have lived their lives, and hope not to die their deaths.

     There is a rich and varied imagination at work in these stories, with enough details and character to keep the reader guessing, and scared at the same time. Things are never what they seem, and is it the devil and paranormal agents at work, or just the imagination and paranoia of the people at work?

     I will not spoil the ending for you, but it is fitting, and will keep you awake for a while after.

 

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Might be the best of the new wave Horror Authors

CHOPHOUSE 
Reviewed by 
B.L. Morgan 
5 Stars out of 5 

Have you been yearning for those days of Yore, a Long-Long Time Ago when Stephen King was a hungry young author eager to prove he was worthy of the millions he was getting for his advances, or when Dean Koontz was new to the best-seller list dazzling us (his fans) with his ultra-violent genre blending masterpieces of terror, or when we could point out Richard Laymon to our friends and proclaim, “You don’t know squat about horror unless you know Laymon,” who was little known in the US but was kicking major league ass overseas. 
Do you yearn for the days when horror was new, exciting and considered subversive by the major media? Do you remember way back when Vampires did not sparkle? 
Well if you’re like me and you miss those old days do not despair. 
There is a new breed of Horror Author on the rise and leading the way is a guy by the name of Terry “HORNS” Erwin. He’s been around awhile even if you haven’t heard of him. He was well known among horror aficionados years ago for putting out a large amount of short stories that would make the hair on your head stand on end or make your hair jump out and run for cover. HORNS was always really good and his shorts were reliable for some serious frights. 
Now with CHOPHOUSE, HORNS is putting out novels and I gotta say that the result is even better. 
CHOPHOUSE is a fast-paced blending of a maniacs-on-the-loose story with a supernatural tormented revenge tale and it’s got a real nice down to Earth realistic bit of romance thrown in for good measure. CHOPHOUSE hits all the spots that a great novel in any genre needs to hit to be successful and does it with gusto! 
It has wild, brutal, bloody action scenes, strange weird supernatural happenings, odd-ball off beat sex scenes and the plot brings it all together to an unexpected satisfying conclusion. There are twists and turns aplenty in this horror novel. CHOPHOUSE is a new book by what is likely to be a new and powerful force within the horror genre for many years to come. 
I have heard that HORNS has another book in the pipeline and is just about ready to unleash it upon the unsuspecting public. I would highly recommend you pick up a copy of CHOPHOUSE and get to know HORNS while he’s still the new kid on the block. It’s an excellent book and a good indication that more are to follow. 
Then you’ll be able to tell all your friends, “You don’t know squat about horror until you know HORNS.” 
HORNS is one of the new breed of horror authors who are changing everything you thought you knew about fright fiction and he just may be the best of this vicious bunch.



A Review of Stationhouse No. 1

Of all the myriad subgenres and sub-subgenres of horror, perhaps ‘slasher fiction’ (once popularly known as ‘splatterpunk’) most often gets the shortest shrift.  Particularly in film, where the usually formulaic nature of the beast is quite often mocked, but seemingly just as often yields wildly popular sequel after sequel.  In popular fiction, writers who have pushed—and deconstructed then refolded—the envelop in this field include such heavy hitters as Clive Barker, Poppy Z. Brite, Joe R. Lansdale, Richard Laymon, Robert McCammon, David J. Schow, among many others.  Plot twists and turns abound, but common elements of this subgenre often include a mentally deranged killer who has experienced some sort of trauma or injustice, a community of young people who become the target of the killer for whatever reason (revenge, typically), suspense, lurid sexuality, and gory acts of violence and murder.

Stationhouse No. 1 by HORNS is his sophomore follow-up to the brutal and satisfying Chophouse, both published by Black Bed Sheet Books.  In Stationhouse, a group of Lombardy City, Ohio high schoolers band together to renovate a decaying old fire house in time for a junior firefighters graduation ceremony, unwittingly reigniting a long smoldering blaze from the past and the demented, relentless fury of revenge.

The version I read of this novel was well-laid out, with thoughtfully subtle touches here and there and an overall retro feel of a 70’s-80’s novel in this genre.  Proofing and editing was well done, with no major errors interrupting the reading experience.  The cover art was unavailable at press time; the above image is a provided mock-up.

HORNS’ prose is accessible and effective; he takes his time building characters, infusing them with unique personalities and actions concurrent with personal motivation and experience. His characters shape and guide the story, not the other way around.  HORNS moves from past to present in his narrative extremely well, seamlessly and accurately transporting the reader throughout the story’s timeframe.  Another HORNS style element I particularly enjoy is his use of what I call ‘staccato phrasing,’ in which he uses terse, one-sentence paragraphs to heighten suspense.  Reminds me a little of the action sequences in a particularly taut screenplay.  The titular Stationhouse and the medium-sized town are so well rendered that they become ominous and important secondary characters.  Egregious sins of the past and suburban decay are well-realized and after a second reading, I came to the conclusion that Stationhouse No. 1 is not only a character and setting-driven slasher/revenge page-turner, but also a clever allegory for the generational impact on our rapidly changing times.

Whichever way you choose to read it, HORNS is at the top of his storytelling game here.

The book also includes an extra bonus:  an original short story entitled “Screamer!” the harrowing tale of an attempted break-up gone horribly wrong, culminating in a bizarre and breathtaking denouement.  Totally different in tone and style, but just as satisfying.

–Review by Walt Hicks

(In the interests of full disclosure {although quite irrelevant to this review}, HORNS and I collaborated on 2002’s Exit the Light, an unholy bible-sized collection of weird, gruesome and gory short stories.  One critic charged that HORNS and I reveled in violence and gore like two children gleefully “splashing through mud puddles.”  The critic was at least partially correct … the experience was great fun!)

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