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REVIEW: The Asylum of Horrors: Halloween Special #1
Book Title: The Asylum of Horrors: Halloween Special #1
Book Description: “The Asylum of Horrors: Halloween Special” is an anthology consisting of four short stories. The stories are independent of one another and take us through the course of time from the Bronze Age to 50 years into the future. “Wolf” tells us the story of a superbly gifted huntsman that has been given a special task by the king. He has been instructed to hunt down one wolf in particular and kill it. The job should be easy enough; but the huntsman quickly finds out that this job will be anything but easy. “Cicada” is a futuristic story about a nation where the rich get richer while breaking the backs of a starving labor force. With the advances in medicine coming so rapidly the rich are putting themselves in a cryosleep when they contract something that would be fatal. The plan being when there’s a cure they will come out of cryosleep and carry on. What happens when you’re in cryosleep and the world you’re familiar with is gone when you wake up? “Dead Ops” tells the story of a special ops soldier. He’s on a mission to recover a scientist that is trapped in an area that is teeming with a deadly contagion. The soldier comes to realize that there a no available hosts for the contagion in the area. That’s both a good and bad thing. “The Body” takes us to Sicily in the 1930’s. A young boy named Giancarlo is stricken with a disease. His mother takes him to see a healer many believe to be a witch. Giancarlo blacked out during his treatment. Years later he returns to learn the truth about what happened that day.
Book Author: Pablo Alvarez, Dwayne Harris, Grant Fraggalosch, Timothy E. Bacon, and Pablo Barbieri
Book Format: Paperback
Publisher - Orgnization: Asylum Press
Publisher Logo:
Illustrator: Pablo Alvarez, Dwayne Harris, Timothy E. Bacon, and Carina Altonaga
- Story(4)
- Interior Art(4)
- Cover Art(4.1)
- Dialogue(3.8)
- Mechanics(3.9)
- Editing(3.8)
Summary
I came across “The Asylum of Horrors: Halloween Special” when I saw their Kickstarter campaign. The campaign rewards had a good sized stack of books for a very reasonable price so I jumped all over it.
The stories in this book reminded me of what you would find in “Tales From the Crypt”. All four stories were very easy to fall into. We don’t necessarily get to the point where we know characters well. We do get enough of an understanding of them to feel enough of a connection to make one have a vested interest in what happens to these individuals.
The artwork on the cover is very intriguing. It piques curiosity and makes you want to learn more about the stories within. The blood on her lips is an especially nice touch.
I was very impressed with the interior artwork for all of the stories. Lines were crisp and detailed. The coloring was vivid and truly brought these stories to life. I particularly liked the amount of detail we got in “Dead Ops”.
You can find “The Asylum of Horrors: Halloween Special” on eBay for about $8 with shipping. As a geek on a budget I believe that’s a steal. You’re looking at about $2 a story for some entertaining rides. Enjoy!
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