Movies
[Book Review] Author J. Lincoln Fenn Breaks Through With ‘Poe’
Even as Amazon’s focus turns to its bevy of beefed-up e-readers, its fledgling publishing imprints are quietly releasing some of the better genre books around. In the wake of the excellent Wayward Pines series comes J. Lincoln Fenn’s Poe (October 22; 47North), winner of Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award …which is sort of liking winning a “Best Child” award from your own mother. But I digress.
In Fenn’s engaging debut, college drop-out Dmitri is a masterful obituary writer for his local rag in New Goshen, but he’s a man without a rudder, still grieving the loss of his parents in a horrendous car accident, and desperately craving a girlfriend. With a stroke of dumb luck involving ass polyps, Dmitri is assigned to cover a local séance at the mysterious Aspinwall mansion on Halloween, where he has a gag-inducing meet-cute with his dream girl, Lisa.
Suffice it to say, the séance goes horribly wrong: after falling through rotting floorboards into a forgotten well, Dmitri wakes up in a hospital after being clinically dead for two hours. Hailed as a miracle of medical science, Dmitri attempts to reintegrate back into his life and reconnect with his dream girl, but harrowing nightmares/visions––along with the arrival of a spleen-eating serial killer––have him questioning his own sanity.
The tinder-dry wit of Fenn’s first-person voice carries the story through some grievously uneven moments. While it remains a fun read, Poe is tonally all over the place. The narrative vibe drifts from paranormal mystery to coming-of-age novel to mental health expose, rendering Fenn’s debut completely unclassifiable. But its imaginative vision remains undeniable. Hitting the high notes of multiple genres, her talent is wicked raw and proudly untamed. This is Fenn’s first novel––I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Movies
SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!
As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.
Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:
Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.
Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.
Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.
Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.
Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?
Also check out:
The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.
Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.
And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.
These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.
Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.
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