Customer Reviews

A Red Dark Night: A Novel of Blood, Gore and Terror

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I'm glad that I read the forward by Mr. Fuchs before diving into A Red Dark Night, in which he explains his fascination with the B horror movies and his desire to translate this type of entertainment to the pages of a book.

Basing the storyline on beautiful young girls running through a woodsy summer camp, monsters chasing them, moving quickly from one bloody terror to the next, Fuchs's really has captured that B-Movie pace and passes these images on into the reader's brain with simplistic and direct prose.

I can't really pinpoint exactly how Fuchs managed, with so few descriptives, to trick me into really visualizing this book as a vivid horror movie flashing through my mind, complete with the screams of the girls and groans of the monsters, but he pulled it off.

In '82 when Mary attended Camp Silverway, something horrible happened that she was witness to; a fluid, bloodlike creature invaded the girls cabin and almost consumed her friend Shelly, but for the heroic rescuer Tarek.

Years later, Mary is back at Camp Silverway as a counselor, determined to confront her childhood fears. But her fears are back to confront her too, and as soon as the Blood creatures show up once again, so does the oddly dressed stranger who saved her before, looking as though he had not aged one bit.

Things happen at a rapid pace in this book, with a blood dome being built over the camp, terribly hungry creatures (called Bloodans) everywhere, absorbing and taking the shapes of those they have eaten, and an unexpected twist that throws in some time travel and alternate realities, all combine to keep the pages turning quickly.

Clearly sticking true to his word, Fuchs created a B-Horror Book as quick and flowing as a movie. Though previously published, Fuchs is still new in the field, and A Red Dark Night also shows that the potential is there for more entertainments from him. So grab some popcorn, curl up by yourself so that your imagination is unencumbered with outside noises and distractions, and enjoy the show.

A P Fuchs' latest Novel is perfect for those readers who like campy B horror. (And that's a good thing!) Although it would have been even better if it was longer and explained a little more. As a Novella, it's perfect and a quick read. The book is fast paced, downright disturbing, and the twist at the end is perfect. Look forward to reading the next one this scary guy has to offer. Keep up the spooky work!

A Red Dark Night
By A P Fuchs
ISBN: 0-9734848-0-2
Coscom Entertainment
Pages: 214

If you've ever been to summer camp ... this is the "stuff" of the best campfire tales! Just don't let your kids read it before heading off to Camp Silverway.

Fuchs leads us to a night decades ago where he introduces the nightmare of B-horror red syrupy goo, and then on to one tormented survivor's attempts to overcome the nightmare by re-visiting the camp--this time as a counselor.

Creatures of darkness and blood multiply rapidly to engulf the camp in a dome of blood, leaving our heroine and Tarek with no place to go.

Quick pacing, intense sexuality and believable characters, make this a quick read. We travel through time and on to another world--or our world in the future or the past?--before splashing down again to re-live the past, and just maybe the future, all over again.

Linda J Hutchinson
Freelance Writer

One night at summer camp Mary Thompson bears witness to a thing not of this world (or time). A red creature made of blood but having human features attempts to "merge" with, or consume, her friend. However, the creature, or Bloodan, is unsuccessful in its attempt. A man named Tarek who bears a silver gauntlet that fires blue flame saves the day, only to disappear off in to the night.

Years later, Mary returns to Camp Silverway to face her demons and lay the strange events of times past to rest. Unfortunately for her, the Bloodans have returned, and they are thirsty. Mary again meets up with the strange man, Tarek, and he doesn't seem to have aged as she has over the past several years. Together they must escape the gooey hoard that has massed around the camp and trapped them within a blood-soaked dome.

A.P. Fuchs set out to translate a B-horror flick, with all its cheesy glory, onto the page, and he definitely succeeded in doing so. At least for the first half of the book. The first half of the book maintained that "kitschy" B-horror movie feeling, complete with tension, gore, and an intriguing plot that pulls the reader in at a rapid pace right from the onset. However, the notion of keeping the plot flowing at an intense pace right from the start does not come without it's sacrifices. The characters come off as excruciatingly flat and extremely under-developed, leaving the reader not really caring what happens to them by the end. B-horror need not be quite so lifeless.

By the second half of the book, the B-horror feel is mostly gone and the book plunges into the realm of science fiction a la Michael Moorcock. The twists and turns throughout the ending are not fully explained, leaving a few questions unanswered.

Though this book was, for the most part, enjoyable with it's well drawn-out imagery and conviction, I would have liked to have seen a little more development all around. Fuchs is still starting out as a horror author, and has tremendous potential. I look forward to reading what he comes out with next as he further sharpens his skill and harnesses his talent.