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Shield’s Shelf I designed and built a library… hang around to see what’s on the shelves

This was a tough book to get through.When it comes to Earthling Publications Modern Classics collection, I go in blind. ...
19/08/2026

This was a tough book to get through.

When it comes to Earthling Publications Modern Classics collection, I go in blind. I have full trust in Earthling to provide me with an amazing horror novel, but what I did not expect was the emotional toll of Ronald Malfi’s Come with Me.

This novel is a meditation on grief and instills that feeling so deeply that this was hard to read at times. Malfi depicts a husband talking to his deceased wife and carries the story through that narration. In this way, the words become intimate and draw you in on a personal level. It’s hard not to reflect the events into your personal life when Malfi brings you into the story as if you are a central character.

Vincent Chong did some incredible work illustrating this edition and conveying the ominous moments throughout the novel. I highly recommend this to fans of Mike Flanagan’s work. It’s a beautiful blend of horror and drama that deserves its place on the modern classics shelf.

“… I daresay our screams harmonized, at least in how much they pained us. This, I believe, is the story of America, told...
12/08/2026

“… I daresay our screams harmonized, at least in how much they pained us. This, I believe, is the story of America, told in a forgotten church in the hinterlands, with a choir of the dead mutely witnessing.”

The 2025 Bram Stoker Award winner for Best Novel, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. This edition by Paul Fry features art by François Vaillancourt and echoes the quality and craft of the novel itself.

There are a multitude layers to this story that I could not do it justice in one caption. One thing I loved was the opposing narration of Good Stab and the Pastor, two first-person perspectives written in such a perfectly biased way. The Pastor is a study in self-justification, finding any excuse to indulge temptation. Good Stab is a man changing physically and mentally under his burden, seeking purpose in his pursuit of revenge. Two characters justifying their means to an end for what is right and wrong in this new America.

Jones has breathed new life into the vampire genre and proven that if something can be done right, then it can’t be overdone… except steak.

On a mountaintop in Washington State, a wise man in a hooded cloak once told me, “You can never have too many First Law ...
06/08/2026

On a mountaintop in Washington State, a wise man in a hooded cloak once told me, “You can never have too many First Law books,” and ever since… I have lived my life through those words, but now I’m starting to think it might’ve just been Joel Daniel Phillips in a bathrobe, he’s got a way with words and with that paint brush!

This is the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie from Lit Escalates. This set features the painting works of Joel Daniel Phillips capturing the various backdrops of the trilogy through the central characters as part of the landscapes echoing the fresco styles of the classical Renaissance. Well, to be fair, there is a literal fresco depicted behind Glokta in the second novel’s dust jacket.

This trilogy will always have a special place in my heart as one of my first introductions to world building on such a vast scale. Having a project like this to breathe new life into the series is always fun and now I have this Bayaz guy on my shelf staring me down as I type this… he says I owe him money or something.

“Evil is not the opposite of good. It is what we call another man’s notion of good when it differs from ours.”A quote to...
05/08/2026

“Evil is not the opposite of good. It is what we call another man’s notion of good when it differs from ours.”

A quote to sum up the end of an age and as all things come to an end, it is only fitting to share the end at the beginning. The final novel in the First Law universe (for now… hopefully… please Joe… I’m begging you) and epic conclusion to the Age of Madness trilogy, The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie.

Subterranean Press presents this oversized edition wrapped and illustrated by John Anthony Di Giovanni, an artist whose unique perspectives and classical painterly style could not be more fitting to depict this harrowing amalgamation of Abercrombie’s words.

This novel finds its strength in paying off storylines weaved through a multitude of earlier First Law stories. Abercrombie brings together so much in the world he has built that his ability to find an ending is brilliant and somehow still leaves me wanting more after eleven books!

So here I am… just a boy, standing in front of a book, asking its author to bring us more!

“Our children shall bear a scar of consecration, in service of our holiest mandate; each year when the shadow comes, whe...
29/07/2026

“Our children shall bear a scar of consecration, in service of our holiest mandate; each year when the shadow comes, whether it demands one man or thousands, we will provide its due.”

Chills… I typically will wait to share a book on my shelf until after I have read its pages, but I decided to make an exception after unwrapping the July SF&F release from Broken Binding. Demon Star by Jesse Aragon was released yesterday and I am unreasonably excited to read this. John Ballaran’s epic illustrations are reminiscent of the retro pulp sci-fi novels of the 20th century, a vibe that bleeds into the sprayed edge design by Claymore Covers. Everything about this edition conveys that I will be having a great time reading this. Directly inject all things horror fantasy into my bloodstream, please and thank you.

I will be diving headfirst into this dark fantastical landscape and burden you with my thoughts on it!

A final girl, a sadistic killer, a reluctant detective, and a big ole bag of drugs… a recipe for the perfect campy B-mov...
24/07/2026

A final girl, a sadistic killer, a reluctant detective, and a big ole bag of drugs… a recipe for the perfect campy B-movie slasher horror flicks of the 1980s.

Or the latest novel by Philip Fracassi, Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre (say that five times fast!). This edition by Earthling Publications pays homage to the wild ride that is this novel through ominous artwork, which I got to see before reading it and was incredibly confused upon seeing an alien and a killer train. This edition also features bonus content depicting the Killer’s POV throughout the novel. A fun edition, but as Fracassi mentions, it does pull you out of the tone the story carefully builds.

The most surprising thing about this novel is how it earns the emotional weight. A story that seems like it’s just going to be wacky, and cheesy horror fun delves into a heartbreaking story. There’s this contemporary commentary on how the elderly are treated and Fracassi takes this very real narrative and uses it to trap the characters in the killing grounds that is Autumn Springs. We get some amazing characters and a protagonist that earns the title of final girl in all her glory (We love you, Rose). Now in slasher B-movie fashion, I’m expecting an unnecessary sequel with the return of the killer… in space!

As always, if grandma or grandpa say there’s a killer on the loose in their retirement community, just take them on the damn fishing trip.

As an enthusiast of all things horror that can be read, listened to, or watched, I had the pleasure of seeing a certain ...
22/07/2026

As an enthusiast of all things horror that can be read, listened to, or watched, I had the pleasure of seeing a certain trailer this weekend on an IMAX screen. As the overwhelmingly abrupt title card ended and chuckles of horrified surprise emanated throughout the theatre, I was inspired to capture the source material in this edition of Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman from Paul Fry. This edition is illustrated by , capturing the terrifying ever-changing look of the entity at the heart of the story, pun intended.

Before this copy was released, I listened to the audiobook. This is a horror story that begs to be listened to because this is a horror story from the perspective of a child. Hearing a child capture the horrific events from such an innocent perspective is equally heartbreaking and terrifying adding another layer to how this narrative structure enhances the story. Youthful ignorance instills some amazing scares I did not think possible in a book format by warping the events to fit a child’s belief. As with all adaptations, my only hope is they harness the strength of the narrative, in this case, guiding the story forward through the eight-year-old protagonist, Bela.
 
As always, read the book before watching the film and spare a heart if you have one.

“He had become a ghost, for there was no one left who saw him.”This edition of Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker from E...
16/07/2026

“He had become a ghost, for there was no one left who saw him.”

This edition of Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker from Evernight is a testament of why I love this subscription book service. A package arrives on my doorstep with a horror novel I know nothing about, and my introduction is this blood-soaked edition that begs to be read.

The amazing bloody cover art by Mary Metzger and

Ominous endpapers by Peijin

This was a wonderful intro to Kylie Lee Baker’s work. Baker weaves mythology and horror into a dark and beautiful tale anchored in two protagonists, Sen and Lee. With their relationship at the focal point, Baker does a phenomenal job making something meaningful and real that has stuck with me well after finishing it. Both are vivid reflections of adolescence in their time and convey what it means to be a prisoner to their beliefs… keep that one in your pocket for later.

I’m excited to read the rest of Baker’s work. Which of her books is your favorite?

“I always thought when I got older that God would sort of come into my life in some way. He didn’t. I don’t blame him.”T...
14/07/2026

“I always thought when I got older that God would sort of come into my life in some way. He didn’t. I don’t blame him.”

This edition of “No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy from Suntup Editions holds heavy and true as a reflection of the bold narrative of the novel. The materiality, typography, and illustrations each alluding to the modern western and moral gravity of the story. Joseph Zbukvic watercolor illustrations are a fleeting representation of the stark descriptive nature of McCarthy’s words.

Having just closed this book a day ago, its narrative is still holding tight inside of me. Before I delve into a lecture or podcast breaking down McCarthy’s prose and pacing, I wanted to share a few thoughts unencumbered by the literary elites, so here is my attempt at the most exaggerated run on sentence I can think of:

This novel is a master at suspense and its stark prose are the perfect example in their simplicity, McCarthy brings you into a stressful scene with minor detail and at the moment when I’m sitting and enjoying this book and I lean forward and my back arches and I rest my elbows on my knees as this impending doom is built up in the story and the understanding of what will happen is there because fate is an overarching narrative in this story and I can’t help but feel a bit of hope that is squandered as the chapter comes to an end.

What’s your favorite McCarthy novel?

And so, it was written, that The Broken Binding took it upon themselves to take a red eye flight into the pits of the un...
10/07/2026

And so, it was written, that The Broken Binding took it upon themselves to take a red eye flight into the pits of the underworld to bequeath to us  an edition that befits a tale as epic as this one.

This ominous edition of Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman encapsulates the medieval horror tale of a knight, his companion, and their trials… just read it, trust me. Devon Grey amazing artwork throughout encapsulates the dark tone of the novel in the best way. I don’t think I’ve ever been so torn on whether I like a dust jacket or a PLC board design better! The interior typography by Jeff Brown and illustrations have this antiquated feeling as if you are picking up an ancient piece of religious text.

Perhaps I’ll stand on my balcony and recite it as such. I must brush up on my baritone guttural chanting.

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