Reviews in the Machine: The Ridge by Jeffery X Martin
For those who know me understand, I will never win awards for the worlds fastest reader. I see other bibliophiles and their Goodreads accomplishments and marvel. My own wife can sit down and consume a 800 page mega-novel in the span of a few days. Its insane. I don’t get how its even possible. But hey, to each their own pace, right? So, when a fast read, and I mean a good fast read, comes along, its worth celebrating. Such was the case when I started Jeffery X Martin’s new book, The Ridge on a Saturday morning and finished that night. Continue Reading
We did it AND other thoughts on 2017
This final wrap up post for 2017 isn’t about one individual or even two, this is about our collective achievement. Machine Mean may have started with one nerdy guy talking about horror, history, politics, and whatever else crossed his mind, but it has GROWN way beyond that. From guest posts and interviews to a full on partnership between myself and Chad Clark, we have watched this little horror movie and book review site flourish. In 2017, we had over 17,000 readers, leaving over 200 comments, drawn in from all over the world–predominately in the United States, the UK, Canada, and France. Our most popular post was Chad’s article The Dark Tower And Toxicity in Modern Nerd Culture, ringing in nearly 2,000 reads. In 2017, we posted 137 articles totally nearly 190,000 words. But we couldn’t have done this alone. We’ve had a lot of help from some 31 really awesome contributors. Continue Reading
Fright Fest: Burial Ground, The Nights of Terror (1981)
Zombie fans come from every walk of life and every zombie fan has their own tastes when it comes to zombie movies. In fact, you could say that there are even sub-genres within the sub-genre of flesh eaters. Just this month alone during this year’s Fright Fest we have seen a wide variety of zombie flicks (saving the best for last, which will be tomorrows review). The only sub-genre within the sub-genre we did not allow into the mix were voodoo curses and “anger” viruses, like 28 Days Later which is not technically a “zombie” movie at all, just like The Crazies were not zombies, they’re “mad, insane, and otherwise still living.” Feeling very much like a bouncer at some classy (or not so classy actually) nightclub, we’ve allowed in a certain clientele. “Are you dead and are you eating the flesh of the living? Yes. Okay. You’re cool, come on in.” That’s right folks, we’ve got standards at this joint.
Be that as it may, even folks who consider themselves “fans” of flesh eating walking corpses are not necessarily all that well versed when it comes to the cabinet of zombie movies. Nowadays I’d say that’s a fair statement given the popularity of The Walking Dead and Z-Nation (not sure if that’s still popular, but I tossed it up anyway). There are some zombie fans who watch TWD and that’s about all she wrote. And there are others who delve into the Romero films, such as Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and I shall’t not name that dreadfully last one made. And some Romero fans haven’t even seen all the named and unnamed movies. And then there are the truly indoctrinated flesh eating fan, those who’ve peered into the depths of foreign film and came back to tell the tale. You think only the Americans have zombies in the bag, well…you are sadly mistaken. As Winston Zeddmore so aptly put it, “I have seen shit that’ll turn you white!” Continue Reading
Fright Fest: [REC] (2007)
[REC] (2007)
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza
Writers: Jaume Balagueró (screenplay), Luiso Berdejo
Release Date: 23 November 2007 (Spain)
Since its release back in 2007, REC has since become something of a modern horror classic, and is no doubt destined to be in the pantheon of greats in the many years to come. Like it’s found footage forebear The Blair Witch Project it elevates its limitations to enormous strengths – creating a building and palpable tension throughout that will have you creeping closer, and closer to the edge of your seat as it reaches its horrifying conclusion.
Co-written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, REC presents itself as ‘real’ footage recorded when a local TV reporter Angela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso) cover a fire crew about their day-to-day lives, and join them when they respond to a vague emergency call about an elderly lady in a local apartment building. Continue Reading
Fright Fest: Train to Busan (2016)
Let me start off by saying that the film cover for “Train to Busan” is so eye-catching that it made me want to watch it, even if it is a zombie movie. I wanted it NOT to be a zombie movie, because frankly, I hate zombie movies. I love trains though, and couple that with a thriller or horror movie, you’ve enticed me right there. I was happy to sign up for another year of this October Fright Fest and review a film, but silly me, I thought it would be something classic. I freaked out after I signed up, when Thomas, the host, said the theme was zombies. CRAP! What kind of zombie movie am I going to be able to watch? The only one I had seen before was “World War Z,” which wasn’t bad, but it may have been the eye candy. Continue Reading
Fright Fest: Invisible Invaders (1959)
From another planet comes the Invisible Invaders!
How can you stop what you don’t see?
The dead will destroy all the living!
The living dead threaten all life on earth!
I know, Invisible Invaders? you say. Aliens, you must be joking. Certainly, Tommy, anything Romero-esque would be post 1968 and here you have a review for Fright Fest: Zombies with a film released back in 1959. What gives? Well, I’ll tell you. Yes, the rules still apply, though truth be told this one does kinda skirt the line a bit. The reason I wanted to include Invisible Invaders is due to the ambiance of the film and how obscure it has become in recent years despite its obviously forgotten importance to the history of zombie lore. As per the “rules” and as per the formula of Romero films, the zombies or ghouls or walking dead are not living persons controlled through magic or voodoo, though I do enjoy that variation, it doesn’t quite fit within the spectrum of Romeroism. The rule is simple enough, a person dies, they get up and attack the living, that living person dies and they get up and attack the living, etc. etc. Continue Reading
Fright Fest: DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004)
I love horror movies. I love zombie movies. But more specifically, I love one very specific part.
I love the beginnings of zombie movies.
I love the inherent sense of dread at what we all know is coming. If the sequencing is done right, it’s a thrill to watch, with a few disparate, seemingly unconnected events and soon enough, it’s all going to shit. It’s quick. It’s brutal. It’s total. And best of all, you are never told why it is happening.
Zombies have often been painted as a metaphorical criticism of our own over-consumerism but I think it also functions as a demonstration of our own existential shelf life. That at any given moment, anything can turn on us and bring about a cruel and uncaring demise. The frailty of our own condition is really highlighted in the terrifying opening moments of any great zombie film.
Continue Reading
Fright Fest: Nightmare City (1980)
Nightmare City
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Also Known As: City of the Walking Dead
Runtime:
Are you bored of zombies yet? I am. I am thoroughly fed up of them. Sick to death. If a zombie horde wanted to kill us, they could just wander around and re-enact parts of 90% of the zombie films released in the last 10 years. We’d die of brain fatigue, being forced to watch the same troupes re-trod time and time and time again. I’m not saying all new zombie material is terrible, it’s just that the sub-genre is so flooded it’s harder to find. Continue Reading
Fright Fest: Day of the Dead (1985)
Day of the Dead is the third installment of the ‘Dead’ series from the late, great George A. Romero, and the final movie in what many consider the ‘original Dead trilogy’. It is, in every way, a masterpiece.
As the second sequel to Night of the Living Dead and part of a series, it is the perfect final third act. As a standalone horror movie, it is fantastic. As a zombie movie, it is divine. The special effects alone set this movie apart from most others, rivaled only by those in John Carpenter’s The Thing and Ridley Scott’s Alien (and okay, maybe also Tremors, directed by Ron Underwood). Continue Reading
Fright Fest: Night of the Living Dead (1990)
What? Were you expecting a Friday the 13th Jason Voorhees review? Keeping with tradition, with Part 3 playing in the background, I’ll do my best and not yarn too much over the movie I give credit as starting my entire fascination with not just horror, but zombies too. No, not Friday the 13th Part 3, come on people, stick with the program. I’m talking Night of the Living Dead. Imagine, if you will, that you’re a twelve year old boy and you have a big sister who by all accounts ought to be hanging out with her much more mature friends but instead decides to watch movies with you. That was me. And while not every Friday (because my sister did have a life), but on most Friday nights we would have a Friday Movie Night. I’m talking pizza, popcorn, soda, candy, and whatever other junk we decided to indulge ourselves with. We’d order Pizza Hut and drive down to the local video store (Blockbuster) and rent whatever we wanted. While I cannot recall every movie night, I certainly recall the night my sister rented Night of the Living Dead. Continue Reading
Fright Fest: Shock Waves (1977)
Shock Waves (1977)
[85 minutes. PG. Director: Ken Wiederhorn]
(It’s 40 years old, but I’ll give a SPOILER WARNING anyway)
There are literal and figurative streams of consciousness at work in Shock Waves, Ken Wiederhorn’s most well-remembered film.
It’s not a great film – at least not as great as my childhood mind remembers – but makeup designer Alan Ormsby’s suggestion on the Blu-ray commentary track, that the film is possessed of a “dreamlike quality” is not inaccurate. And that’s arguably where it acquires its power.
It’s a film that takes place primarily on water, with the midsection set in an abandoned hotel on a desert island.
There are scenes where characters paddle toward escape – through narrow, knotted thickets; through shallow ocean waters on the way out to sea – and don’t say much. They don’t need to, really – they know their situation is inexplicable and absurd, so what’s the sense in fevered rationalizations? By the end, the lone survivor of the ordeal, Rose (Brooke Adams) has been rendered catatonic by what she’s seen, reduced to writing gibberish in a journal. Continue Reading
Fright Fest: Night of the Comet (1984)
I’ve often written or talked about the first ever zombie film I saw, the eponymous Dawn of the Dead, by the legend that was, George A. Romero. The second was Return of the Living Dead II, the line, “His brains, they smell so spicy,” still sticks firmly in my head. The third, though unknown to me at the time, would probably have as big an impact as the first. It was Night of the Comet.
The film is basically a 50s/60s B-Movie, made in the eighties. It has a cheesy voice-over at the beginning which would not be out of place in Invasion of the Bodysnatchers or War of the Worlds. The setup is remarkably similar to Day of the Triffids. A once in a lifetime meteor shower promises an amazing light display, so the entire world and their dog hold street parties to have a few beers and take in the sights. Unfortunately, thanks to the heavy handed introduction, we learn that this very comet also made an appearance just as the dinosaurs disappeared. Continue Reading
Fright Fest: DEAD SNOW (2009)
The first time I saw the trailer for Dead Snow, I knew I wanted to watch the movie. It looked fun, exciting, and familiar. When I finally watched the movie, I wasn’t disappointed. By the end, I was giddy. Dead Snow had all the horror elements in it that I enjoy: carnage, blood and guts, and a super cool villain. As an added bonus, it also had humor. Continue Reading
A new era at Machine Mean
You may have noticed that a new name has been added to the banner of the Machine Mean site. I thought this would be as good a time as any to introduce myself. My name is Chad Clark, indie author of horror and science fiction. I have accepted the gracious invitation from the talented Mr. Flowers to join on as a partner on the Machine Mean blog.
I have been writing for most of my life, a passion which was forged in the incredible popular culture of the 1980’s. Whether it was the magic of Spielberg and Lucas or the grit of Stephen King and George Romero, I was quickly hooked on the art of storytelling. I was an avid reader from an early age and was fortunate enough to have parents who were willing to give me room to explore the areas that interested me.
After high school and as I got into college, I took some time away from writing as my 
passions went elsewhere. As was likely inevitable though, I found my way back to books, both to read and to write. After re-dedicating myself to the craft, I would have the honor to publish my first book in 2014, a collection of shorter stories titled, Borrowed Time : And Other Tales.
In 2013, I also launched my first blog, The Baked Scribe. The blog would start with featuring new short stories every week and as it grew, would also add essays on the craft of writing as well as book reviews. The Baked Scribe would last for several years and total two hundred stories before closing its doors earlier this year. In addition to my initial book, I have published a novel, Behind Our Walls, two novellas, Down The Beaten Path and Yesterday, When We Died and two collections of flash fiction, A Shade For Every Season and Two Bells At Dawn (due to be released on July 26). My short stories have been featured in various anthologies as well as on Amazon. In 2016, I also took on a position as a reviewer for the book blog, Confessions Of A Reviewer.
So that brings us to Machine Mean.
What will I be doing for the site? In addition to 
assisting Thomas with some behind the scenes stuff, I will be posting book reviews every other Wednesday. On the off weeks, I will post a piece of original short fiction. These will be either new stories or will be classic issues brought back from the Baked Scribe. I will also be sharing posts from my other online project, Tracing The Trails, an examination of the works of Stephen King as I read every one of his books in order and review each one along the way.
I am looking forward to this opportunity to work with Thomas on the site and to bring you
more of the great content you have come to expect. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or comments. If you are interested in seeing more of my work, you can click here to check out my official website and here for my Amazon author page. You can also follow me on Facebook. Look for the page for Chad A. Clark.
Thanks for your attention and for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here!
Creature Features in Review: COMING SOON!!!
Greetings folks! Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. As we begin this new year it is my great pleasure to announce the start of a brand new “In Review” series. Creature Features…beloved by many, loathed by some, irrefutable masterpieces that tell a tale of where the world is during each era of release. From the nuclear wastelands of Hiroshima in Godzilla and the radiated test sights in Them! to the hideous shadows in swamps and space fiends coming to terrorize quiet small town America in Critters and Swamp Thing to the worlds of mad science and mythology to humanoids and mutations, Creature Feature films have been at every turn in pop culture. Spanning decades, here at Machine Mean, thanks to our mob of talented and twisted guest writers, will bring to you beginning this Thursday and running until December, on every Thursday a Creature Feature in Review. Set your clocks and mark your calendars.
The fun begins this Thursday on Jan 5, 2017.
Follow the series on Twitter at #MonsterThursday
Hook of a Book
If you’ve been in the book writing and publishing biz for more than a minute then you’ve probably discovered that this journey of getting what you dream and scribe into the hands of readers takes more than fancy words. The creative process is but one step down a long road. At one turn you’ll need to edit. And you’ll need to format your work for both eBook and paperback. At another, you’ll need to promote through social media and other venues. Whether you’re pro or con regarding Facebook, Twitter, and all the other outlets does not matter. That is where the people are at. You might also want to think about advertising, either traditionally or through websites and blogs. You’ll need some graphics for those. So…perhaps you’re thinking how daunting this can be. Why isn’t publishing easier? Well, to be frank, publishing IS very easy. Tons of folks do it, but what they publish might not be up to snuff. Editing and formatting issues can turn away readers faster than a pizza disappearing at a Weight Watchers meeting. A boring crap book cover will have potential readers scrolling on to that other guys/gals novel. And the most fundamental headache of all? How are you getting YOUR work in front of people? Not just your friends and family, people you can con into supporting your dream, but actual readers, strangers, folks outside of your social bubble.
Now, you might also be asking at the moment how you’re supposed to find time for all this. Well…some writers fly solo and they work uphill. Some find success in this, some do not. No one in my humble opinion ever works truly alone. Even the loneliest of indie writers has someone they depend on. And some writers reach out to firms to help them on their journey. Hook of a Book is a mom and pop PR service that can help make your publishing goals easier.
Here’s some info about Hook of a Book:
Tim Busbey and Erin Al-Mehairi have a combined 40 years experience in creative writing, copywriting, communications, journalism, publicity, editing (editorial, copy, content, and line), marketing, social media, public relations, and media relations.
Services We Most Likely Offer (though we are all for trying anything new too):
Manuscript Development
Editing (line, developmental, copy)
Publicity/Book Promotion: Marketing or Publicist Duties, Media and Blogger relations, including what we call publicity tours, otherwise known as virtual book tours, online book tours, or we also do location book tours (or combine both!)
Media Kits and Packets, including press releases
Social Media
Book signings
Flyers
Book Covers
Advertising
Graphics and Copy for Ads, Social Media, Tours, Bookmarks, Postcards
Self-Publishing Set-Up
E-book Conversion
Print Set-up
Consulting with us: by 1/2 hour or hourly increments
Consulting with a best-selling author
E-mail us at hookofabook@hotmail.com to discuss your needs and budget.
Tim is an award-winning newspaper writer and editor with a never-ending love of using and teaching AP style to unsuspecting young peeps who have yet to master the allure of details, however his fondness seeps over into proper use of the Chicago Manual of Style as well, so whichever one Erin is forgetting at the moment she only needs to look his way. He can most often be found posting grammar rules to social media and laughing hysterically to himself as his Darth Vader gum ball machine looks on in glee. He’s also a creative fiction author, but uses his left brain and right brain in unison many mornings to copy write and edit ads and marketing materials for an assortment of companies. On other mornings, he is helping to manage the minds of young journalists in the newsroom, while trying not to show how excited he is over breaking news. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Bowling Green State University.
Connect with him on LinkedIn HERE.
Erin has so many interests, abilities, and levels of experience that she is avoiding writing this biography and keeps adding to Tim’s. Probably she should just go to her corner and practice her Yoda origami while simultaneously still running her mouth cracking jokes that keeps Tim in stitches. Already he is proofreading her bio. But if we must be serious, Erin is a lover of words. She likes to write and read and offer advice to others who want to write and read. She likes to see others succeed at their dreams as much as she dreams of her own. With Bachelor of Arts degrees in the several majors of Journalism, English, and History, she’s studied great literature and the meaning behind great writing and writing styles, while within the next hour learning editing and media law. How she did it she doesn’t know, but she also studied history and has a fondness for all time periods. She loves being a journalist, a writer, and an editor most, but has a knack, as well as over a decade experience, for publicity and marketing as her passion is a driving force behind many projects. Erin has spent the last 19 years in the journalism, public relations, advertising, and marketing fields. She is a community activist and an award-winning businesswoman and poet. However, her claim to fame seems to be within her baking skills, at least according to her family.
Connect with her on LinkedIn HERE.
Book Featurette: Nighthawks (Children of Nostradamus Book 1)
Twenty-six-year-old painter Conthan Cowan takes art to a shocking frontier…
His debut exhibit features the transformation of his high school friend, Sarah, as she went from a shy, soft-spoken girl to a Child of Nostradamus—an individual gifted with extraordinary abilities. Living in a society where the Children of Nostradamus are captured by the government, Conthan’s exhibit draws attention from officials and protesters alike.
A government psychic may be dead, but that doesn’t stop her from manipulating the future…
The deceased White House aide is only remembered for her failed assassination attempt on the president decades before Conthan was born. Foreseeing her own death, she scribed letters to bring together specific Children of Nostradamus on a mission that will change the world.
On the night of the gallery exhibition, Conthan receives one of those letters…
Whispers from the past direct him to visit Sarah, the subject of his paintings, who like many Children of Nostradamus, is being detained in a government research facility. It’s there he finds himself aligned with a rogue group of Children on a mission to prevent a dark future.
As a dark future unfolds, there’s only one hope to stop the destruction of the world…
The Children of Nostradamus.
What readers are saying about Nighthawks:
“This book was released my second day on my new job… I was busted reading it during orientation by the HR manager. I explained how addictive the book was and explained the plot so far and got a judgemental look that sent fear down my spine like only someone in HR can execute. She told me she would read this book and decide my future in the company based on how honest I was about the ‘good-ness’ of the book. I was fairly confident of my job security because I do have excellent taste. [Later] it was confirmed- I have kept my job and she also thoroughly enjoyed this book!” -Amazon Reviewer
“Finally, a tightly woven and highly intelligent dystopian story that breaks conventions in the genre. The characters are well thought out and the plot keeps you thinking throughout all the action and backstory. I’m really looking forward to how this series of books plays out. If you are fans of series like Divergent and Hunger Games, this one will surely elevate you to the next level.” -Edmond Jacobs
“All I can find myself saying after reading this is ‘wow.’ From the very beginning, the book hit the ground running and took me with it. I found myself encapsulated by the gripping plot and intriguing cast of characters with each member being fully developed. I truly got a glimpse into each of their backgrounds and was able to see who they truly were (or who I believed them to be). The world in which the novel is set is grim, to say the least, exactly what you would expect from the perfect dystopian novel. But the plot doesn’t stop there. Unlike many other dystopian novels that I’ve read in recent history, this one manages to weave in supernatural powers for the characters without it feeling like a cliche. The powers are so unique and truly add another dimension of personality to the people that have them. The only other thing I could have possibly asked for to put the icing on the already perfect cake that was this novel was some good action scenes. And let me tell you, I was left begging for more. Every fight and battle is PACKED with action, almost so much that you feel like you yourself have been punched in the face, but in the best way possible. This book is by no means a light read with its 372 pages but trust me when I say with that the pace of this book and how completely entranced I was by the plot, you’ll finish it in no time at all.” -Matt King
“In times like these, we need some heroes. In a dark and broken world, sometimes Fate is the only thing you can count on. Yes, often it seems that superheroes have been done to death, but as the old adage goes, no story is original, and NIGHTHAWKS by Jeremy Flagg is as fresh as they come. I’d love to see this on the silver screen.” -Amazon Reviewer
“Nighthawks is a fast paced high octane superhero story. Flagg takes his love of comic books and translates them from over the top comic book heroes to characters with depth in the first book of his Children of Nostradamus series. Overall the book is a quick read, great characters, and a good sense of what it would be like if you woke up one day with superpowers. I’m looking forward to the sequels in this series.” -Brenda J. Roberts
You can get YOUR copy of Nighthawks (Children of Nostradamus) for the mere price of $3.99!!!
Jeremy Flagg is a high school graphic design and marketing teacher, at a large suburban high school in Massachusetts. Working as a high school educator and observing the outlandish world of adolescence was the inspiration for his first young adult novel, “Suburban Zombie High.” His inspiration for writing stems from being a youth who struggled with reading in school. While he found school assigned novels incredibly difficult to digest, he devoured comics and later fantasy novels. Their influences can be seen in all of his work. Jeremy took the long route to becoming a writer. For a brief time, he majored in Creative Writing but exchanged one passion for another as he switched to Art and Design. His passion for reading about superheroes, fantastical worlds, and panic-stricken situations would become the foundation of his writing career. Jeremy participated in his first NaNoWriMo in 2006. Now he is the NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison to theMassachusetts Metrowest Region. Jeremy also belongs to a weekly writing group called the Metrowest Writers. You can check out Mr. Flagg’s impressive work on Amazon.
And as always, if you enjoyed what you’ve read here on Machine Mean, please subscribe to our mailing list by clicking on the image below to receive updates on new articles and book releases, but also the latest and greatest up and coming authors in the horror genre.
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