MORTICIAN'S FOOD by Dustin Warburton and Alex Knight with illustrations by Nathan Gorman. Published by Bare Bones Publishing, page count 82, available at Amazon.com and finer bookstores. Approx, retail under $20.00.

Mortician's Food is a collection of 8 horrifying vignettes by Dustin Warburton and a gruesome short story by Alex Knight. The collection is lavishly illustrated by the macabre Nathan Gorman. This is a fun read. If there wee anything negative to say about the book it would be that it leaves readers wanting more. This gem gets two claws up.

MONSTERS, PIN-UPS & DANGER THE ART OF RIC FRANE by Ric Frane. Published by Michael Enoches, page count 40, available at Amazon.com and finer bookstores. Retail is $25.00.

Ric Frane is known by many for his beautiful program covers at the Chiller Theatre horror conventions. However, Ric's artwork has more depth and detail than those small covers allow one to see. In this collection, Ric's first, readers and art lovers will get to see a wonderful assortment of monsters and good girl artwork, some posed by famous models like Tiffany Shepis and Betsy Bosen.

More than 35 beautiful images are presented in this volume and every one of them is worthy of being framed and displayed in your home or office. This gem gets two claws up.

BOOK OF THE DEAD 2 Not Dead Yet edited by Anthony Giangregorio. Published by Living Dead Press, page count 226, available at Amazon.com and finer bookstores. Approx. retail under $20.00.

Anthony Giangregorio has been mentioned in this column before. He is the author of more than twenty zombie novels and known the world over as an expert in the living dead. It is only natural that he be chosen to edit an anthology of zombie stories by up and comers who someday hope to aspire to his ideal.

Book of the Dead 2 contains stories by 12 writers giving their take on the zombie nightmares we all have plus a bonus by Tony himself making this collection a baker's dozen of undead delights. Thrills, chills, and a little tongue in cheek are in store for the reader. This volume gets a resounding two claws up.

VOICES OF THE FANTASTIC 22 Eclectic Interviews by John Skerchock. Published by Michael Enoches, page count 212, available at Amazon.com and finer bookstores. Retail price $25.00.

Voices of the Fantastic by Zacherley biographer John Skerchock is a collection of 22 interviews that John has conducted over the past fifteen years. Some of the interviews have appeared in Scary Monsters Magazine and others in Chiller Theatre magazine. Six of the interviews are new to this volume because, as John points out, the monster magazines are fading away.

The theme of the book is about how the subject of each interview has managed to survive and adapt in a changing medium while helping shape our modern view of fantasy. Some of the people interviewed in this volume are Oscar winners Ray Harryhausen and Robert Short, comic book artist Neal Adams and his artist son Jason, adult film star SEKA, actors Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Jonathan Breck, and Daniel Roebuck, a new look at Zacherley and more. Each interview comes with author commentary before and after the interview. The book is loaded with photographs as well. Two claws up.

BULLET TRICK by Ray Bradbury edited by Donn Albright. Signed and numbered edition published by Gauntlet Press, page count 414, available through Gauntlet Press.

Once again Gauntlet Press has shown why they are the premiere publishers of the fantastic! Bullet Trick is a collection of never before published Ray Bradbury material collected in a signed edition. This edition collects seven of Bradbury's teleplays. Two are from the original Twilight Zone series while the other five are from programs that aired between 1955 and 1963. The volume includes The Gift which was a segment of the rarely seen Steve Canyon television series.

The book is masterfully edited by Donn Albright who went to great lengths to assemble and complete this massive project. Ra Bradbury adds commentary to the works. Some script pages and pictures are present. These are all goodies we like about a Gauntlet Press book.

And typical of Gauntlet Press, this book does come with some surprises. In this case, the extras come in the form of two short stories. One story is a version of the teleplay Bullet Trick, and then there is Hand In Glove based on the teleplay The Jail. Both are different from the script versions. All of the versions are somewhat disturbing. This volume gets our highest two claws up!!