Customer Reviews (1)

love this anthology
I love these books. The stories are great and there are 5 of them. I heard there might be a sixth. ... Read more

Product Description
The Prophecies

The eyes of the Virgin Mother gaze out of the piece of stained glass, their expression wise and protective.From time to time, the Virgin "blinks," and words appear in the glass-cryptic prophecies which the Vatican decodes and discloses, carefully.

The Cabal

There are those outside the Church who believe that Mary's words will lead them to untold wealth and earthly power.They have stolen the glass, but not the code needed to unlock the prophecies.

The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways

A bloody message scrawled by her dying sister-pitches computer programmer Kate Hudson into a storm of conspiracies, assassinations, and espionage.Suspected of murdering her husband and her sister, Kate finds herself hunted by the police and the cabal alike.Can Kate's few allies keep her safe from the unstoppable assassin on her trail long enough for her to find the stolen glass?

And what will she do with it once it is in her hands?Should anyone really know the future?
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Action-packed
After reading eleven books of the LEFT BEHIND series, I have sought out Religious Thrillers. I have read "The Da Vinci Code" as well as Brown's "Angels and Demons," and I found "Eyes of the Virgin" to be a fast paced enjoyable read. There are enough surprising twists and turns in the narrative to keep readers attention and I would recommend it to my many reading friends.
Beverly J Scott author of RIGHTEOUS REVENGE and RUTH FEVER

Potential, but that's all
I don't know about the Da Vinci Code, I haven't read it. But it doesn't matter, even if it is a completely original work, The Eyes of the Virgin is a very poor execution of a potentially intriguing subject.

Monteleone starts with an interesting premise: that the Fatima chapel bombed in 1922 (an actual event) left behind a single piece of stained glass depicting the Virgin Mary's eyes. This glass has supernatural properties and has become the center of an international battle between religious spy organizations (the Knights of Malta mainly) and the Guild (an international shadow organization to whom nations and leaders are puppets in some amusing play).

The structure is very loose and lacks key elements. The heroine has no real goal, but to survive. She has no love interest. The death of her husband happens off screen and while it could be a major motivating factor (revenge) is curiously absent from her thinking. The guild is a poor adversary. It also has no real motivation for its theft of the eyes. It has no real interest in keeping it. Besides the reader can't identify with some vague international organization's hopes and fears and desires. They must be personified, they must be given a personal motive. The only character that is developed at all and who provides any interesting fodder for the reader is the villian. And his growth is incredibly suspect. He goes from ruthless, emotionless killer, to confused and simpering schoolboy in puppy love. Monteleone's rollercoaster ride has no climbs, no plunges, definitely no loops, just maybe an occasional wrinkle.

I would not recommend this book except to the most inexperienced of readers.

Skip Senneka is wrong!
Skip Senneka suggests Monteleone is ripping off DaVinci code, and nothing could be farther from the truth! If anyone is ripping anyone off, then it would be Dan Brown, who is travelling the same terrirtory as Monteleone has been writing about for 13 years.Monteleone INVENTED the religious thriller with his NY Times bestseller THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB more than ten years ago.EYES OF THE VIRGIN was published in hardcover a YEAR before DAVINCI CODE appeared. To suggest Monteleone is cheap rip-off hack is grossly unfair to a writer who has paid his dues and writes a very good book.

Eyes Of The Da Vinci Code
A very evident attempt to catch a ride on the coattails of The Da Vinci Code's popular success (check out the similarity of the cover art on the two books). Released as a mass-market paperback, this reads more like a fleshed out synopsis than a finished work.

Monteleone isn't a terrible writer and his characters have enough differentiation that you don't confuse one for the other (always a plus!).The story advances via the viewpoints of the central five characters and the author does an admirable job of maintaining VP integrity while doing this (i.e. we don't have VP switching back and forth within a particular scene or episode).

All the same, a goodly amount of editing could have been done, even to the cover copy which identifies the female protagonist as "Kate Hudson" while all through the book she is presented as "Kate Harrison". ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of 20 short stories which represent some of the author's science fiction and dark fantasy from the Seventies and Eighties. Each story has an entertaining and informative precis, and sci-fi writer John DeChancis offers up an Introduction that is an insightful and clever look at Monteleone as a personality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Not for the Vampire purists
Robert R McCammon is one of my favorite authors, I have practically all of his books and have enjoyed most of them.When I found that he was the editor of this collection of vampire tales, I had to buy it.

This is a collection of short stories from various authors, each one a separate tale unlike the Horror Writers of America collection called Freak Show, which was every author writing a chapter in one continuous tale.

The premise of these stories is what would happen when the vampires won.In all reality, I didnt care much for most of these tales.I am a vampire purist, and do not care for tales where *they* want to be like *us*.This entire trend towards vampires walking in daylight and having emotions and being scientists and conducting experiments and flying helicopters and holding courtroom dramas is nothing more than the response of the masses to the erotic, appealing nature of the vampire.To the purist, it would be just as silly to have Zombies suddenly stop craving fresh human flesh and to begin to hold decoupage classes.

The only times I can remember this working is in George R.R. Martins Fevre Dream and Whitley Stribers The Hunger.In The Hunger, Miriam was never actually called a Vampire though, and in Fevre Dream the only Vampire that wanted to change was hunted by both humans and by his own species for his aberrations.In all of these stories, the only one that was really gripping was The Miracle Mile.Enjoy.

The Miracle Mile by Robert R McCammon - The last vacation before the end of humanity

Dancing Nitely by Nancy A Collins - the hottest new club in the Vampire world

Stokers Mistress by Clint Collins - In a new world ruled by the Undead, the last traitor is revealed.

Does The Blood Line Run On Time by Sidney Williams and Robert Petitt - A commando type operation from a human familiar who turns traitor to order to rescue the young female victims of those who betrayed him.

Red Eve by Al Sarrantonio - This entry is an extremely boring and difficult to follow tale of a storytelling vampire.

We Are Dead Together by Charles De Lint - A tale of Gypsy revenge on those who feast on them.

Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage by Chet Williamson - Decent story of the last survivors and how far one will go for love.

Advocates by Suzy McKee Charnas and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Rather boring vampire courtroom story with no conclusion.

Special by Richard Laymon - tale of human betrayer to their vampire owners, in the name of love.

Herrenrasse by J.N. Williamson - One man's hunt for the killer of his entire family.Who will win out in the end?

Duty by Ed Gorman - Would your neighborhood hate you if you were the only one left that could do the right thing?

Midnight Sun by Brian Hodge - An almost agreement, a betrayal, and the end of hope as a young girl stands up as a hero.

A Bloodsucker by David N. Meyer III - A giver of gifts or a slave master?

Prodigal Sun by Thomas F. Monteleone - Another fairly pointless muse of vampires desiring humanity.

There Are No Nightclubs In East Palo Alto by Clifford V. Brooks - Another story of how they want to be like us.

Juice by Lisa W. Cantrell - Ranching human cattle

Behind Enemy Lines by Dan Perez - The last sunrise for a reluctant vampire

It's the end of the world as we know it?.
Under the Fang presents 17 stories that, while all separate and unique, take place in the same world, a world where vampires have taken over the globe. What happens when humans have little place in the world except to be cattle? Some of the stories are presented from the point of view of the now victorious vampires, many more are from the point of view of humans.

Most are very well written with new and novel plots.
A list of the stories is
The Miracle Mile by Robert McCammon
Dancing Nightly by Nancy Collins
Stoker?s Mistress by Clint Collins
Does the Blood Line Run on Time by Williams and Petitt
Red Eve by Al Sarrantonio
We are Dead Together by Charles dr lint
Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage by Chet Williamson
Advocates by Charnas and Yarbro
Special by Richard Laymon
Herrenrasse by J.N. Williamson
Duty by Ed Gorman
Midnight Sun by Brian Hodge
A Bloodsucker by David Mayer III
Prodigal Sun by Tomas Monteleone
There are no Night Clubs in East Palo Alto by Cliff Brooks
Juice by Lisa Cantrell
Behind Enemy Lines by Dan Perez

Of these, Behind Enemy Lines, Special, and Calm Sea, Prosperous Voyage all stand out as the jewels of this collection.

Whether you just like a well written anthology or you're a fan of vampire fiction, this book is a wonderful addition to any library!

Life on planet earth as run by vampires
This was the first HWA theme anthology and, from a marketing standpoint, it was brilliant.Vampires are always a hot ticket item and guarantee a certain level of sales and good sales means that there will be interest in another volume and interest in another volume means working writers continue to work.This is a good thing and Under the Fang is a decent enough theme anthology, if you love vampires that is (and if you do you've probably read it already and don't need my review to sway your purchasing opine one way or the other).I don't, in fact vampires bore me terribly.

Boredom with blood guzzlers from the grave aside, I found Under the Fang an entertaining diversion.There is little terror to be found, though McCammon's apocalyptic opening did come close to unleashing shivers up and down my spine.The only other stories that really did anything for me were the tales by J.N. Williamson and the late, great Richard Laymon.Strictly for vampire fans.

A book to sink your teeth into....
This book is broken down into a number of short stories with the same premise.That is, a post apocalyptic explosion of vampires.They rule our world.They've enslaved mankind as their food source.I found the storyof the freedom fighters in the antartic holding out against a military madeup entirely of vampires to be engaging.The tired vampire colonel whowishes to have the bloodshed stop was a great character that I wish couldhave been explored more indepth. The stories are unique and show a madworld where humanity is 'under the fang'.

Totally Exciting and Almost Believable
This book is by far one of the greatest anthologies of vampire stories I've ever read. Picture these blood-suckers taking over the world, and how you would re-act as one of the few mortal men left. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Would have given this 3 1/2 stars...fun read!!
So it started off as a 4 star book (since I'm more of a horror/dark fantasy guy, it would have been 5 stars if the book's direction was more along those lines and not action/thriller), and i was really into Father Carenza and the sexy reporter...but somewhere along the lines Carenza became a minor character and Mr. Monteleone stopped writing about him and started focusing more on the TV evangelist and other supporting characters.Towards the end of the novel, it would have been great to get more insights from Carenza.And I'm not really sure what the point of Sister Etienne was.Was that ever resolved?The big problem is that Mr. Monteleone sets up far too many questions for the sequel, rather than making this more of a stand alone book.At some point i'll track down the sequel and give it a read.OVERALL TAKE on the book - very enjoyable, quick read, raises lots of interesting questions...but too many questions and not enough focus on the main character towards the end.

Great plot, but poor ending
Here is a book which had all the makings for a truly great novel. It has a great plot, with a very believable storyline, i.e. the origins of the Anti-Christ. I think in many respects this view of the Anti-Christ's origins is highly plausible, and I give much kudos to the author for developing it.

However, the ending was very anticlimatic. Maybe the author ran out of steam towards the end. Nevertheless an interesting book to read for many individuals (Christians and non-Christians alike) who may also be students of Eschatology (the study of end-times theology).

Guts
It's nice to read a book by an author who has some guts. Monteleone's story is astounding. It fills you with hope, doubt, fear, joy and anger. This book really takes you on an emotional and spiritual journey with Vatican henchmen constantly on your tail. Think Robert Ludlum meets Dan Brown, although I think this book is by far better than anything the aforementioned scribes have penned. The ending is haunting and just plain out awesome. This is a book you wish never ended. I hated having to close the backcover. Luckily, there is a sequel called "The Reckoning". That's in my shopping cart!

blood of the lamb
This is an interesting book with a controversal subject. It does contain many errors in facts thatit uses as part of the story line, so the author should do better research ie: southern Indiana is as flat as a pool ( it actually is rolling hills, Northern Indiana is flat). May be controversal to those who are religious for it does show some of the not so pleasant sides of many types of Christian religions. Borders on medical science fiction for a basis to the story. Easy reading, not really scary, but controversal subject.

contrived & cynical, but fun
This is a prototypical high concept thriller.When thirty year old Father Peter Carenza seemingly wields lightning in fending off a mugger in Brooklyn, he is summoned to the Vatican.There we discover that, three decades ago, forces within the Vatican secured a DNA sample from the Shroud of Turin and decided to try to clone Christ.Now their dream is approaching fruition but they quickly discover that they can not control their own creation.And when Peter's behavior starts to become somewhat odd, there's little anyone can do to stop him, not even the Vatican's own ruthless assassin.

It's all exactly as contrived as it sounds, but Mr. Monteleone has fun with his premise.My main objection is that he's entirely too cynical and the portraits of religion and the religious border on bigotry.But taken on its own terms, its fairly entertaining.

GRADE: C ... Read more

Product Description
Bram Stoker Award-winning author Thomas F. Monteleone has brought 20 of his most powerful and dark fantasy and horror stories into one spellbinding collection.Enter strange worlds that are at the same time not too far off from our own, where religion, mythology, emotion, and terror combine for a mix that will keep readers up until all hours of the night. Includes an introduction by John DeChancie, and the stories Mister Magister, The Dancer in the Darkness, The Prisoner's Tale and many more!

Thomas F. Monteleone lives in Grantham, New Hampshire with his wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Olivia. (20021201) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Well Rounded Collection From a Great Writer
This book contains the following:
Foreward: Blinded by Science
Notes Toward a Definition of Tom Monteleone (by John DeChancie)
1) Present Perfect
2) A Spell For Jonathan
3) A Creature of Accident
4) The Curandeiro
5) Camera Obscura
6) Just in the Niche of Time
7) Mister Magister
8) Mister Magister (play version)
9) The Dancer in the Darkness
10) Taking the Night Train
11) Group Phenomena
12) The Way of the Cross
13) The White Man
14) Off to See the Wizard
15) Please Stand By
16) Get it Out
17) Changing of the Guard (w/ Robert Wayne McCoy)
18) It's in the Bag
19) The Prisoner's Tale

This book contains some powerful work by Monteleone, who is a writer in the ranks of Bradbury and King.Most of the stories here are from the seventies and early eighties, when the genre magazines were plentiful.The last few stories come from the nineties, and drift away from the science fiction themes Monteleone started out using.The later stories are just as powerful, though, as Monteleone does not rely on a genre to flesh out believable characters and dive into the complexities of the mind.

Among the best stories are "Present Perfect", a humorous tale which mocks bad writing; "Just in the Niche of Time", a time travel tale that makes you wonder what truly makes a person happy; "Mister Magister", a Twilight Zone styled story that Monteleone later expanded into the novel "The Magnificent Gallery" (and it's funny that he doesn't mention the novel in his introduction to the story...); "Off to See the Wizard", which appears to be an addition and an epilogue of sorts to his City stories, collected as a novel in "The Time Swept City" (although Monteleone doesn't mention this in the introduction to this one either... why the refusal to plug his novels to people who may not already be familiar with them?); and "Please Stand By" and It's in the Bag", two stories that mock television and reality shows.

strong anthology
This nineteen story collection contains strong tales that will excite readers of the horror and speculative fiction genres.The tales are all fun and fans of Thomas F. Monteleone as well any one who appreciates dark short thrillers will enjoy the collection.

Perhaps as fascinating to fans of the writer is observing the evolution of the author from fantasy/science fiction into horror writer, with the why explained in the introduction to this tome.The nine stories from the mid to late 1970s and the two from the 1980s timeframe fit more within the dark science fiction or fantasy genres.The eight contributions from the 1990s correspond more to the horror genre, still dark of course.Regardless of genre match, ROUGHLY BEASTS AND OTHER MUTATIONS is a solid subway ride on the dark side.

Harriet Klausner

great range of stories
Monteleone is a master of the short story. I love his variety of styles and great vocabulary.He is obviously very well-read and intelligent because there are so many cultiral, literary and historical references in his work. I will read ANYTHING I can find by this writer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Wonderful Mysterious Journey into Dark Places
Just a great little book about what lurks underneath the streets of New York. This is a fun, campy novel that should have been made into a movie. ... Read more

Product Description
Word count: 2195. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Chilling ride into the fantastic
"Brimstone Turnpike", published by Cemetery Dance and edited by Kealan Patrick Burke, is a chilling collection of five tales that deal with a commonly used motif: A ghostly stranger waiting on a lonely desert highway. In this case, it's the enigmatic Johnny Divine. Neither good nor evil, Johnny exists in all places and all times, and as portrayed by these five finely crafted stories, everyone's road eventually leads to him.

Tom Monteleone's surprisingly positive "The Prime Time of Spenser Golding" begins this collection with the refreshing theme that eventually, everyone has a choice between fortune and their own souls, and sometimes, folks actually pick the later. In this case, after jaded television reporter Spenser Golding takes a wrong turn in the fog and ends up at the broken down, deserted Joe's Gas N'Gulp - tended by a mysterious black man dressed in white, named Johnny Divine - he becomes a changed man and discovers that he can never cover the news the same way again.

"Behold the Child", by Harry Shannon, is the perfect mix of classic Noir and the supernatural, as a maverick, burned-out cop haunted by his last city case ignores advice from Johnny after he makes a "wrong" turn en route to his retirement gig in the isolated desert town of his youth. A perfect counter to Monteleone's story, "Behold the Child" is dark, brooding, and reminds us that unfortunately, not everyone takes advantage of divine second chances.

Scott Nicholson's "Burial to Follow" is a nice change of pace which not only takes the reader deeper into the mystery that is Johnny Divine, but also muses on the intricate family ties that bind...and sometimes strangle...loved ones in times of grief. In Nicholson's tale, we learn that though Johnny Divine has many people who owe him many things, he himself is not without debt.

Mike Oliveri's "Warning Signs" is perhaps the weakest story in the collection, if only because the setup falls a little flat: that of a couple struggling over one partner's infidelity, seeking respite on an adventure into the desert wilderness. We guess very early that one will become a danger to the other, but because of Johnny Divine's warning and gift, disaster will be averted. Guessing the ending, however, doesn't necessarily take away from enjoying the ride.

The collection saves its strongest tale for last, (though "Behold the Child" gives it a run for its money), in Tim Waggoner's "A Strange and Savage Garden". In it, Lauren is a wandering, lost young woman called to a home she fled for her father's funeral. Once there, old memories and other deep, hidden things bubble to the surface, as she slowly begins to suspect that nothing around her is what it seems. Also, a menacing thing stalks her in the night, hungry for her blood. As the strangeness grows, so does her realization that nothing about her life is what she believed it to be. In a fine touch, "Savage Garden" also ties off a narrative arc connecting all the stories. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Erudition, egotism, chutzpah and insight
Nearly a quarter century before Bill O'Reilly established his 'no-spin zone' on Fox, Thomas Monteleone (author of the stellar dark fantasy Blood of the Lamb) created a similar forum he blithely labeled "The Mothers and Fathers Italian Association" within the pages of Knights, a SF fanzine.Despite having had several homes over the years (it's been featured in Horrorstruck, The Horror Show, Mystery Scene, and currently resides in Cemetery Dance), Monteleone's column has always been a place where candor was king and debate actively promoted.Now, to the pleasure of many, and the dismay of quite a few more, twenty seven years worth of these columns have been gathered together in a single volume.

Virtuoso fusions of humor, anger, contempt, and informed opinion, any one of Monteleone's columns is likely to piss at least part of its audience off.Although one's enjoyment of a particular column often depends on whether you or a friend is a target, they always manage to provoke thought. Several leitmotifs run through the columns.First, Monteleone makes it abundantly clear that he loves his wife, the formidable Elizabeth.Second, he doesn't suffer those whom he considers fools gladly, skewering them with enthusiastic glee.Third, he thrives on stirring up controversy--you'll probably never encounter anyone so eager to throw gasoline on a fire.Fourth, there's a heck of lot of chest pounding going on--it's often hard to tell the difference between shtick and self confidence, but Monteleone probably prefers it that way.

Highlights of this long overdue collection include "The (Pretty) Good, The (Not-So) Bad, and The (Man-This-Is-Gonna-Get)Ugly," wherein Monteleone names those he considersd the most overrated writers in horror/dark fantasy, "A Heinous History of the Hardly Writing Association," his take on the HWA,and "The Shadow Over Bethel Park (and Other Tales of Unspeakable Dread)," where he relates a personal anecdote involving a retailer's illegal practice of selling stripped paperbacks.

Even after over a quarter century, the column remains vital.Ample proof of this lies in Monteleone's recent columns on UFOology, which, besides appearing in this tome, are now running in the latest installments of Cemetery Dance.Therein, he relates a tale so entertaining it's surprising he's saved it so long.The true story of a college prank taken to extremes, the columns collectively from a hilarious, biting piece which will provoke laughter (at the author's antics) and perhaps dismay (at the gullibility of so called experts desperate to prove their whacked out theories).On display in each are the erudition, egotism, chutzpah, insight and lively writing style which has kept his audiences following him from one venue to another.

Incredibly Good
There are few books that I've read that are as wickedly delightful as this one.Since I love the fields that Monteleonespecializes in, namely horror and dark fantasy, perhaps I'm more fond of this stuff than your average non-afficionado would be - although I can say I have read some of these columns to a relative who is not a fan of those genres and she seemed to think them as hilarious as I did.

What we have here is a large collection of columns that Monteleone wrote over a period of several years, and, in so doing, brought a lot of joy and laughter to a goodly number of people.It's hard to describe Monteleone's humor, but it is as trademark as that of Joe Lansdale, another brilliantly funny writer.Despite winning the Stoker Award in 2003 for this book, Monteleone, I feel, deserves even MORE acclaim for this collection because it is, by and large, the very definition of a "hoot."

A favorite of mine is entitled, if I remember correctly,"What'sA 'Hate Puppet?"It's about the author's wild, hilarious ride in script-writing for Hollywood.Moreover, his series on his experiences stemming from his phoning in to a radio talk show and his subsequent encounters with UFOlogy, were just about the funniest and most entertaining things I'd read in quite a while.

(There is one column I wish he hadn't written, but it is a small part of this massive, magnificent collection.)

Anyway, if you love reading both Mencken AND Lovecraft,and you take an interest in the fantasy and horrorgenres this book is almost certainly for you.It was worth every penny and then some.

Stoker Winner 2003
Just a quick note to the effect that this book won the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association for Best Non-Fiction Book 2003 (presented on 5 June 2004) ... Read more