Edgar Allan Poe: The Master of the Macabre
Pocket Portraits series
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
Written by Levi Lionel Leland; illustrated by Kim Arrington
Publisher: Adams Media
Release Date: September 23, 2025

It was 176 years ago today that Edgar Allan Poe died under mysterious circumstances, with his reported last words being “Lord help my poor soul.” And a poor soul he was. Though Poe is now a household name whose works are world renown, during his own lifetime he lived a difficult, impoverished existence, constantly struggling to earn a living and make a name for himself as a writer. What little success he did manage to achieve was often undercut by either his rivals or his own self-destructive ways. Even after death, he was the victim of defamation, which led to many misconceptions about the man that are still held til this day. Yet it was after his passing that chilling short stories like “The Black Cat,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Pit and the Pendulum,” as well as the poem “The Raven,” became ingrained in our pop culture, rightfully securing his legacy as the “Master of Macabre.”

In Edgar Allan Poe: The Master of the Macabre, the first entry in Adams Media’s Pocket Portraits series, author Levi Lionel Leland not only provides a concise biography of Poe, but also sets out to debunk some of those enduring rumors surrounding the great poet.

Good Boy (2025)
Directed by Ben Leonberg
Written by Ben Leonberg & Alex Cannon
Starring Indy, Shane Jensen, Arielle Friedman, Larry Fessenden
IFC Films | Shudder
Release date: October 3, 2025

Dave3 and I just saw the new film Good Boy last night and here are my immediate thoughts about it. FYI – LOVED IT!!! If you’re able to, get out to see it in theaters and support indie horror.

Good Boy is a fantastic new indie horror movie filmed from the perspective of a dog. The movie follows Indy (played by Indy), a Nova Scotia Duck Toller Retriever, whose sickly owner Todd (Shane Jensen) moves them from his New York City apartment into his family’s rundown haunted rural home in a secluded woods. Once there, Indy not only witnesses the physical and mental deterioration of his beloved owner, but is also directly subjected to the menacing supernatural forces of the house.

But, “IS THE DOG OK?!?!?”, you ask. The answer is YES!!!!!!!

Play Nice
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Rachel Harrison
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 9, 2025

A social media influencer plans to turn the fixer-upper she inherited from her late mother into a moneymaking opportunity, but thanks to her repressed childhood memories, she doesn’t realize that the demon haunting the home is still there and is awaiting her return.

In Play Nice, Rachel Harrison‘s latest supernatural tale, 25-year-old Clio is a stylist living in New York City, enjoying the nightlife and the perks of her side gig as a social media influencer. She’s the youngest of three daughters, who were raised by their father and stepmother after their mother, Alexandra, had a breakdown and lost custody of them, leading to a lengthy estrangement.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Directed by Matt Shakman
Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson
Marvel Studios
Release date: July 25, 2025

Non-spoiler first thoughts (mostly written in the car on the way home from the movie theater) on The Fantastic Four: First Steps:

Marvel Studios churned out an enjoyable film that does justice to these classic characters, making them all likable and competent. I love the film’s retro-futuristic look (not a cell phone in sight) and color scheme. While this is the “first steps,” it’s not an origin story, with the groups’ superpowered circumstances summed up quickly at the start on the team’s anniversary. This allows the danger to present right away and the action to get going fast.

Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Delilah S. Dawson
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Release Date: May 13, 2025

All things come full circle. This was a saying when I was younger and I can attest that it holds true even to this day. I was ever a fan of the Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft setting, loving that it was able to bridge worlds thanks to the ever-changing Mists. The original source material for the Ravenloft campaign was one that I consumed again and again, as well as the novels that followed. That said, I was happy to see a 5e release for the game that I have always loved. I was not prepared for a follow-up book that whisked me back to Barovia and Castle Ravenloft, but Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd did just that. Here are my thoughts on the book itself, keeping in mind I am a diehard fan of the setting, and this is just my take on the book release itself.