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review 2018-03-06 20:31
HELL HOUND Review
Hell Hound - Grady Hendrix,Ken Greenhall,Jessica Hamilton

Ken Greenhall’s long-forgotten horror masterpiece, Hell Hound, is finally getting the recognition it deserves, thanks to a recent reissue. This was my first novel by this author, but it certainly won’t be my last.

 

This tale — one of a psychotic and cunning Bull Terrier — is bloody and mean and aims for the throat; told in precise prose, this is a terrifying hellraiser not concerned with sentimentality or sympathy. The obvious comparison is to Stephen King’s Cujo, though these stories are wildly different. Of the two, Cujo is perhaps better written, but something must be said for this book’s heartlessness.

 

This is a novel more horror readers should be aware of. The length of a long novella, this is a quick, effective read: one that is finally getting its due.

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review 2018-01-06 13:33
A rediscovered, beautifully written, horror classic
Hell Hound - Grady Hendrix,Ken Greenhall,Jessica Hamilton

Ken? Ken who? I thought, as I observed and read about this "brought back to print" horror edition from the amazingly brilliant Valancourt books. Reading the preamble to Hell Hound  (rather alarmingly a google search states that Ken Greenhall was born in Detroit in 1928 and is now aged 89. This is inaccurate as he died in 2014 or perhaps this being a horror publication there is a hidden message here.......) Hell Hound was published in 1977 and formed a very limited output by the said author over the next 11 years. At a time when horror paperbacks where beginning to assert and influence an ever increasing reader base Greenhall could find no publisher willing to support him in his venture until a long forgotten Zebra Books produced a limited run with a cheap and nasty front cover (when horror books were often judged by their outlandish, intricate and colourful covers)

 

HH is a neat, short, original story of a small community seen through the eyes of a number of residents in particular "Baxter" a bull terrier.." a head like a hatchet. Malevolent blue eyes, too small and misplaced."... with some rather worrying antisocial behaviours. When we first encounter him he is the much loved pet of the unassuming Mrs Eileen Prescott. Baxter soon becomes tired of this relationship as "there is never laughter in this house, only the dull sounds of age and weakness."....The sweet little old lady meets an untimely death following a close encounter with a staircase and the friendly pressure of a loving bull terrier.... Nancy and John a young modern couple are "gifted" Baxter whose demeanour and character changes when it is announced that Nancy is pregnant. Naturally Baxter is worried that the relationship with his new owner will be dramatically altered when a child is born and endeavours to recapture their affections by what he sees as a little act of kindness!.....Jason and Sara Fine are worried about their son Carl, his unpredictable sometimes withdrawn nature, and his obsession with Nazi Germany. Would the companionship of a dog help Carl feel more comfortable and accepting of his adolescence?

 

This is a highly original and understated publication that really should have been showcased many many years ago. It is criminal to think that such a neatly observed, satirical work of outstanding quality lay silent before this new edition was finally announced. Grady Hendrix, in his introduction, pays a fitting tribute to  the author Ken Greenhall..."He didn't aim to terrify, he wanted to undermine your sense of comfort. It's a harder trick , but it last longer.".... So here in the in writing of a newly rediscovered, and hopefully not to be forgotten  author are some delightful observations..."And never let a dog lick you. A dog uses its tongue as toilet paper."......"Then I lie on the sofa and think of the couple. I wait to hear the faint, peculiar sounds they make in the darkness."....."he deposited on the intricately patterned old rug a small rivulet of urine."......"They're like snails, he thought. They need the shells of their houses and automobiles. Not so much for shelter as for reassurance."....."Most humans have few virtues. But, of course, they have many disadvantages to overcome. Their peculiar bodies, for example. Tall creatures that walk on two legs must be in a constant state of anxiety."...

 

This exceptional piece of gentle, unassuming horror has only been made possible due to the great work of Valancourt Books, whose mission is quite simply to discover and publish rare neglected and out of print fiction. Many thanks to them for sending me a copy of Hell Hound in exchange for an honest review, and that is what I have written. Highly Recommended.

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review 2014-01-20 01:31
Hell Hound investigates a murder in a blizzard
Frostbound - Sharon Ashwood

Vampire, Talia comes home one evening to find her cousin dead on the living room floor. The police have a bad reputation of seeing a vampire near any murder scene and immediately deciding they're guilty. Talia knows, that despite her innocence, the police will look no further than her fangs and she immediately decides to run. Before she can make it out of the apartment building, she's intercepted by the hell-hound called Lore. Lore also knows that, if caught, Talia won't get a fair trial, but he's not entirely convinced of her innocence. Until he's positive she didn't do it, Lore decides to keep Talia locked up in his own improvised prison. Eventually, they both have to work together to find out who is killing supernatural beings.

Honestly, Frostbound was a good time. I've mentioned before that I hate captive heroine stories, but it was done pretty well here. Talia wasn't kept locked up for long and Lore caught a lot of shit from both her and his friends for doing it in the first place.


There were basically two things that really made this book for me. The first was the blizzard/winter setting. I love winter settings. I also really enjoyed the hell-hound mythology that went into the book. You don't see it done very often and I have to say the hell-hounds here were pretty kick-ass.

 

My only issue was that there wasn't a lot of world building, which made certain areas of the story confusing, as I hadn't read any of the other novels in the series. However, I think Frostbound still stood well on its own.

Fans of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series and Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series will probably find something to love in this book.

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