Blood Lights

by Elaine Pascale

Paperback and Kindle
Publisher: CreateSpace (June 4, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1717177417
ISBN-13: 978-1717177414

Blood Lights

by Elaine Pascale

Review by Nancy Kilpatrick

Over my years of reading and reviewing horror and dark fantasy, I've found plenty of excellent novels, novellas and short stories written by women. This, despite a lingering attitude among some people that women can't write horror. Sadly, such comments always come from men. Not most men. Not most male readers. Not the top male writers and editors. Such anachronisms invariably bring a frown to my brow as I imagine the commenter having teleported into the present from a era that favored cave dwelling.

Needless to say, such opinions are ridiculously inaccurate. Personally, I get tired of dredging up the three generally-known XX entities by way of rebuttal--Mary Shelley, Shirley Jackson, Anne Rice. If women can read and enjoy male-written horror, men should be able to read and enjoy female-written horror. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of men can and do.
Which brings me to The Blood Lights, a well-written, scary, darkly humorous, perfectly constructed multi-point of view novella by a woman. Known for short fiction and non-fiction, this is Elaine Pascale's first longer work and hopefully she's on the way to writing a full novel by now.

I enjoyed this story. It features well developed characters of both genders struggling with a horror that preys on women--all sorts of women--and turns them into monsters. A private school student, a New-Agey wife married to a paranoiac, bitchy strip-club dancers, a glass-ceiling-breaking TV newscaster, and more--smart, entirely human female characters painted with a variety of emotions, none of whom have a black belt in a martial art, many of whom end up extremely vicious. That range alone is refreshing, what this reader doesn't see often enough in horror fiction in general. Kudos to Pascale for fearlessly stepping away from PC territory. Here's a read that shows you when, where, how and why.

The Blood Lights is a great first effort at a longer fictional work. It's an easy read that engages from the get-go through clippy writing in a modern plot. This novella is definitely worth checking out, and it's rated by me as suitable for horror aficionados of every gender, including those living in caves!

Buy the book HERE

About the Author

Elaine Pascale

Elaine Pascale has been writing her entire life.  She lives on Cape Cod with her husband, son and daughter. She is the author of the novella, The Blood Lights, and the collection, If Nothing Else, Eve, We’ve Enjoyed the Fruit.  Her writing has also appeared in The Sirens Call, Body Parts Magazine, Timeless Tales, Allegory, and Dark Fire, as well as the anthologies Alien Encounters, Expiration Date, The Last Diner, Voices from the Gloom, and Zombies: Shambling through History. She reviews books and graphic novels for Hellnotes, Horror Review, and Confessions of a Reviewer. Elaine enjoys a robust full moon, chocolate, and collecting cats. Find out more HERE

About the Reviewer

Nancy Kilpatrick

Award-winning author and editor Nancy Kilpatrick has published 21 novels, over 220 short stories, and 6 collections, and has edited 15 anthologies. She wrote the non-fiction book The goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined (St. Martin's Press) and contributes reviews of film and literature on a freelance basis to various publications. Her most recent project is Thrones of Blood, a six-book vampire novel series for adults, and book three has just been released: Abduction of Two Rulers. Join her on Facebook: nancy.kilpatrick.31