The Good Father: On Men, Masculinity, and Life in the Family
By Mark O’Connell

Usually we’re not fond of self-help books or the latest pop psychology tomes, but O’Connell’s book was surprisingly free of those sugary-feel-good-moments that generally come with this type of fare. O’Connell, a Massachusetts psychologist, explores the myths of fatherhood and argues for a middle ground between the two arch-types of fatherhood: the strict disciplinarian and the detached go-ask-your-mother softie. O’Connell argues that fathers are important for establishing a child’s moral center and that authority in the form of a father is crucial to development. “The Good Father” uses lots of case studies and the first half of the book is a strong call to action for fathers. However, the second part of the book feels repetitive and the section of the father’s role in the sexual development of his children feels misplaced and out of context to the rest of the book.

Grade: C+

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
By Max Brooks

The only weakness is this remarkable novel is that it may read too much like a history. The story takes place 10 years after a plague renders the dead into flesh-eating zombies and takes us around the globe for first-hand accounts of the action. It’s this premise that makes Brooks’ novel seem so realistic, but it’s also the weakness as there are no central characters to watch, see develop, and continually root for. But there’s lots to like in the compelling and often horrifying vignettes crafted by Brooks (who may have found a niche as the zombie fiction king of the United States). “World War Z” is pulp fiction at its literary finest. Brooks has created a detailed and realistic world that could be real. It’s the kind of book that if in the wrong hands could convince rather gullible person that a zombie war actually did happen. You’ll find yourself streaking light speed across the pages of this one. It’s a fast, furious, and frightening read and comes with our full recommendation.

Grade: A-

99 Coffins
By David Wellington

“99 Coffins” falls on the other end of the pulp spectrum from “World War Z.” It has none of the sophistication or literary aspirations of the latter novel. “99 Coffins” simply wants to scare people – and it finds mixed success in that endeavor. Give Wellington major credit for being a novelist with a creative imagination. He starts with a fascinating premise – a cache of inactive vampires found beneath a Civil War battlefield. Did one side try to use the undead as a secret weapon to shift the balance of power? Then the kicker: one of the coffins is empty and one vampire missing. Does this rogue blood-sucker have the ability to revive the others? The story, unfortunately, gets bogged down in the flashbacks to the Civil War – which feel forced instead of adding to the narrative. Wellington can’t quite pull off the voice of 19^th century soldiers. “99 Coffins” has plenty of action and features a gory, gun-blazing battle between cops and vampires. So action fans will have plenty to cheer for. We wish Wellington had spent less time with the bullets and more time working on the horror aspects of his novel.

Grade: C-

DEMO: The Collected Edition
By Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan

“DEMO” is a graphic novel set up like a series of 12 short stories (it’s taken from the independent comic of the same name). The strength of this collection is Becky Cloonan’s amazing artwork that captures magnificently the alienation of young adulthood through shifting angels and perspectives and the heavy black-and-white line work. The stories by Brian Wood aren’t as powerful as the drawings. Some of the tales, which focus on young people forced into making crucial decisions in their lives, feel cliché. Yet Wood does manage to tap into the darkness and the struggle of many young people who feel alienated by their peers. Many of the stories feature characters with disturbing superpowers – such as being able to kill people with a word or living forever. So give Wood credit for creativity, but only a B for pulling it through all of the stories. “DEMO” has high expectations for itself and it pushes the graphic novel into places that it hasn’t often gone. So if you’re a fan of the genre – this is a must read. It’s also a good place for people who want to read graphic novels to start.

Grade: B+

Read about our favorite gunslingers from the Old West

Read our picks for some of the best books of the last few years

Read our last Cracked-Back column

Labels: Becky Cloonan, book review, books, Brian Wood, Cracked-Back, David Wellington, Mark O'Connell, Max Brooks

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An Interview with Horror Novelist David Wellington

(DaRK PaRTY is devouring David Wellington’s new vampire novel “99 Coffins.” It’s a lot of fun – and it’s packed with some damn creepy moments. We won’t give it away, but it delightfully mixes in Civil War history and vampire hunting. We love writers like David because he busted his hump getting a book deal by posting his fiction online and developing an audience first. What’s not to love about that? Especially when it turns into a book deal for said hard-working scribe? David is now the author of five novels, including a zombie trilogy – “Monster Island,” “Monster Nation,” and “Monster Planet.” He’s also penned two vampire novels: “13 Bullets” and “99 Coffins.” David resides in New York City with his wife Elisabeth and his dog, Mary. He runs a excellent web site that is worth a visit. David was kind enough to answer a few questions about horror writing for us.)

DaRK PaRTY: What is your attraction to the horror genre -- especially zombies and vampires?

David: I grew up on horror. I grew up in Pittsburgh, where George Romero made his zombie movies – the guy was a local hero back then, and everybody in town had seen “Dawn of the Dead,” because we all shopped at that mall. My mother got me interested in writing horror. She is a staunch opponent of censorship, and the most eclectic reader I know. She would bring home Stephen King and Peter Straub novels from the local library and when she was done with them she would show them to me and say, "I'm not going to tell you that yo

u can't read this, but I don't think you should. They'll give you nightmares." Well, of course anything your mother tells you not to do is the first thing you're going to try. So I got hooked at an early age. I don't have a special love for zombies and vampires as opposed to any other kind of monsters – I've also written a werewolf book, for instance – just for monsters in general. Monsters are interesting to me because they break the rules. That's what makes them monsters. They don't fit in.

DP: You break some of the traditional rules with your "monsters." Take vampires for example. How do your vampires differ from the traditional vampires most readers are used to?

David: The typical vampire you read about today wears fluffy lace shirts and drinks wine while he's out on a date with his vampire-hunter girlfriend. I wanted to get back to what made vampires scary. My vampires don't want to read you bad poetry. They want to rip your head off and drink blood out of the stump of your neck. They're predators, pure and simple. Stronger than us, faster than us, more often than not smarter than us. To me, that's scary.

DP: You broke into published writing through the internet. Can you tell us about how you got your start?

David: I started by writing my first novel, “Monster Island,” as a serial. I posted it one chapter at a time on a friend's blog, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It was just a way to get my writing out there where somebody might read it. Then a lot of people read it.

DP: Did your internet publications help or hinder you when you tried to break into traditional print books?

David: Well, without the online readers I would never have gotten a book deal. It's very tough to break into the publishing world right now unless you can prove people want to read your work. The internet let me prove that. I had to do a lot of work with no pay and no real hope of accomplishing anything, but it definitely paid off.

DP: What projects are you working on now and do you plan to revisit zombies again?

David: I'm working on a third vampire book – there will be at least four of them before I'm done. The next one is called “Vampire Zero” and it's a direct sequel to “99 Coffins.” I went back to zombies last year with a serial called “Plague Zone,” completely unrelated to my Monster Island trilogy, and for now I think I've achieved what I want to with zombies. Though you never know. I've got a great idea for a fourth Monster Island book, and if I ever get a chance I might have to write it down.

Read our picks for the scariest horror movies made since 2000

Novelist Kim Harrison writes scary detective books. Read her interview here

Labels: 5 Questions, David Wellington, Horror, interview, Writing

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