Author Archives: Brian B Baker

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About Brian B Baker

I write horror stories, review books, and talk about depression, and how I get through all of it.

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I did a few things in the last year I wasn’t expecting.

I got books from NetGalley to review, I published a novella, and I put myself out there for something that I can’t talk about.

All of this scared me, but especially that last one. It’s something I wanted to do the last few years and finally did it. My wife said I should, and that’s all I needed.

The NetGalley reviews came about because I like doing reviews. I like to read, always have. I’d rather sit with a book for hours than do anything else. This has not always made married life serene. My wife reads, but for me it’s always been a way to escape my life.

My childhood had issues, as does everyone’s. I always dove into books when I had them.

I did not use a discerning view while selecting my books from NetGalley. I should have selected my reads more carefully. I did not and by doing this I had to return more books to NetGalley than I like.

I reviewed some great books this year. Some of which have yet to be released. One of them, This Wretched Valley, gave me a book hangover for a few weeks. I preordered it so I could read it again, and so my wife could read it. It’s a fabulous book that I hope everyone will be talking about. There are other books that I did not like. You can search through my reviews and find them. I’m not the kind of person to mention them here.

For the novella, which has gained more readers overseas than stateside, I wanted to publish it but felt it needed work. I spent most of the year getting it ready for that. I selected the publishing date in June. I hoped for more readers as it’s a personal book. Dealing with mental issues is always one of those things that I tend to write about. It’s a thing for me.

I feel this is enough for today. I’ll post something later.

Shifting

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I did a few things in the last year I wasn’t expecting.

I got books from NetGalley to review, published a novella, and put myself out there for something I can’t talk about.

All of this scared me, but especially that last one. It’s something I wanted to do for the last few years, and I finally did it. My wife said I should, and that’s all I needed.

The NetGalley reviews came about because I like doing reviews. I like to read and always have. I’d rather sit with a book for hours than do anything else. This has not always made married life serene. My wife reads, but for me, it’s always been a way to escape my life.

My childhood had issues, as does everyone’s. I always dove into books when I had them.

I did not use discernment while selecting my books from NetGalley. I should have selected my reads more carefully. I did not; by doing this, I had to return more books to NetGalley than I liked.

I reviewed some great books this year. Some of which have yet to be released. One of them, This Wretched Valley, gave me a book hangover for a few weeks. I preordered it to reread it so my wife could read it. It’s a fabulous book that I hope everyone will be talking about. There are other books that I did not like. You can search through my reviews and find them. I’m not the kind of person to mention them here.

For the novella, which has gained more readers overseas than stateside, I wanted to publish it but felt it needed work. I spent most of the year getting it ready for that. I selected the publishing date in June. I hoped for more readers as it’s a personal book. Dealing with mental issues is always one of those things that I tend to write about. It’s a thing for me.

I feel this is enough for today. I’ll post something later.

Hello, it’s been a while.

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I’ve escaped into a place. I don’t have social media on my phone, this is the closest thing I have.

I had planned on a break until January, but here’s January and yet, I’m still unwilling to break this sabbatical. It’s been enlightening.

On the writing front: I attained something that I wanted to do last year. I won’t speak of what it is, but I’m very excited about its prospects.

I’ve considered quitting writing often over the last month. It’s been a genuinely thoughtful process. At the end of it, I’ve come to realize I would be very sad to quit something I enjoy.

My book came out at the end of October and it’s faltered, which is another reason I considered quitting. We strive on.

Now I must go. I have things to do. You mustn’t worry and I’ll be okay. This year is going to be good.

Review for This Wretched Valley By Jenny Kiefer

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I read this based on Cynthia Pelayo’s comments about it. She was Jenny’s mentor. It did not disappoint.

It’s been a long time since a book truly freaked me out. Last Days by Adam Nevill is the last one I can remember wanting to stop because I was freaked out. This was like that.

I’m getting ahead of myself, so I’ll backtrack.

The opening of this book reminds me of At The Mountains of Madness. They stumbled upon something amazing, a rockface that appeared out of the blue and where it shouldn’t be. Much the way it happened in Madness.

I’d been around climbing as a kid. My biological father did technical climbing. He climbed Mt. Rainer and a few others. I never learned this, though I would like to.

This book starts with how many of the lost in the woods books do, but when it takes a turn, it’s a hard turn. There are elements of Jack Ketchum in the darker parts of this book, as well as The Woods Are Dark by Richard Laymon.

I nearly stopped this book at 65%. I was completely freaked out by what was happening. My brain needed a break. I chalk this up to the prose and how well Jenny writes. Luckily, my Kindle, which I use to read books from NetGalley, needed to be charged. It gave me a few hours of respite. I dove in as soon as it was ready.

There are so many things to say about this book. It does not come out until January, but I would order it now. It’s going to be one of my favorite books going forward. Jenny’s description, her knowledge of climbing, and her sense of knowing what to put that will scare you all coalesce into a story about survival. About wanting something bad enough to risk your life to attain it.

This underlying theme in the story, whether one character or another, stayed with me when I closed the book. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while. This will be my last review for a while unless something piques my interest. I do have other books to review through NetGalley, but I’ll be watching cartoons or reading comics for a while after this book. I need to wash my brain out for a bit.

Review for Never Dead by Joe Scipione.

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What is it about Chicago stories landing in my lap recently?

I reviewed Cynthia Pelayo’s Forgotten Sisters last week. You can read the review here. Like all of Cynthia’s books, it’s set in Chicago. I haven’t read any of Joe’s stories before. I came into this fresh, but the beginning drew me in.

The opening, and so much of this book, reminds me of Frankenstein. The gothic feel, the trips to the graveyard, and other things about the story. There’s a darkness to this story that’s unsettling. It’s a deep yearning in humanity to continue. So many of us fear death. The older I get, the more it comes to the forefront.

Joe brings this out. He doesn’t talk about it, except in small moments between characters as they’re being “fitted” with the devices that would change humanity. Joe could have taken a more graphic tone with the fittings and all it entails. He took a more tame path. It fits better with the story.

Behind the story of Creighton, the Doctor(who we never know his name), and Clyde, there’s the story of the reporter, Michael. I liked this part of the story almost more than the other three.

I care about Michael. I care about his family and what he’s trying to do in Chicago. I also understand his fear. He wants to dive into the mob stories in Chicago, but the fear of doing that and/or losing his family holds him to change what he does.

His journey and the journey of the other three collide. Michael’s investigation throws him into the crosshairs of the other three, unwittingly so. It’s in Michael, not Clyde, whom I grew to feel sorry for, that I wanted to see become triumphant. Clyde is the man who hides his intelligence, while Michael puts it on display, to his detriment.

In the end, Michael falls prey to the other three. It’s when the story recommenced after years pass that we see Michael become the hero he wanted to be. He does it to save someone from his fate. He chooses to become the hero. Clyde does the same by Michael’s side.

When we recommence with the story, it feels more like a vampire or zombie story. This turn of story lands perfectly, in my opinion. Joe does a great job of imagery throughout the novel. From the lightning, the graveyard, the catacombs under the house, there’s the monolith of the house itself.

I grew up in a town with great old houses. They felt intimidating, though their beauty was majestic. Creighton’s house is no different. If you’ve toured an old house, you know the feeling. The smell of the wood, the way the light pours through the front windows at certain times of the day. It has that reverent feeling, much the way the house in Forgotten Sisters does the same thing.

Both houses in the last two stories I’ve reviewed are characters of their own. Each of them holds secrets. And each plays a part in the greater story within the house itself.

I loved the feeling of this novel. I’ll be looking for Joe’s other books at my local library. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it.