Cavallaro's Cavalcade of Carnage
March marks the beginning of the spring, which is the only weather reprieve that is offered to Louisiana residents. It also only lasts about 3 weeks before we are looking summer straight in its face.

March also marks the beginning of my Splatterpunk reading for 2019's Splatterpunk/Extreme horror awards to be held in Austin at KillerCon in August. Since I'm on the jury this year, I won't divulge ratings on those particular books. I expect to be knee deep in gore for April also, but I will try to at least review R.H. Dixon's THE CUNDY (thanks Rachel!)

Lets do this...

Books read in March:

1: SOME KIND OF HERO by James Kirkwood. **A** see below
2: OUT by Natsuo Kirino. **C** Decent enough mystery, but pacing was sloow
3: AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT by Arthur C Clarke. **C** Conceptually great. I just felt out-of-touch with the characters
4: HOLE IN THE WORLD, by Brian Keene. **C** Still a fast, fun read. But my least favorite of the three LOST LEVEL books.
5: BEARS DISCOVER FIRE by Terry Bisson. (collection) **B** Some excellent stuff in here. I LOVE the title story. But all of the stories were good
6: DON QUIXOTE by Kathy Acker. **D** see below
7: THROUGH THE WOODS by Emily Carroll. (graphic novel) **B** Sorta reminded me of the SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK series
8: ONE OF US by Craig Dilouie. **B** I also liked SUFFER THE CHILDREN
9: THE MONGREL by Sean O'Connor **splatterpunk nominee**
10:FULL BRUTAL by Kristopher Triana **splatterpunk nominee**

Worst: DON QUIXOTE by Kathy Acker

So, obviously this isn't Miguel De Cervantes's comedy. But it is sort of a modern bizarro re-imagining of it. What starts as a dark, bizarre satire-which was actually interesting-derails into philosophical ramblings. I was disenchanted by the middle of the book and had a hard time finishing it.

Best: SOME KIND OF HERO by James Kirkwood

SOME KIND OF HERO is a pseudo-war novel published in the 1970s that I discovered through Chad Lutzke's book SKULLFACE BOY (which is also very good). For those who think war novels are boring and/or emotionless, try this one. It will shatter your preconceived notions. It's funny, poignant, and genuinely fun to read. This book will stay with you.

Written by Jason Cavallaro
Jcavallaro42@gmail.com

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