Book Review: LITTLE THINGS BIG by David M. Slain

LITTLE THINGS BIG by David M. Salkin (Crystal Lake Publishing, April 17, 2026) Kindle Edition, 312 pages. ASIN # BOGSWHVLM6 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . . . 

When a lab leak unleashes genetically engineered skin mites, survival becomes a nightmare.

Global Tech believes it has solved world hunger.

Using revolutionary genetic engineering, the powerful Big Ag corporation has created livestock the size of elephants—cattle, pigs, and sheep engineered to feed the planet and make billions in the process. To secure political support, Global Tech hosts an exclusive showcase at its rural Pennsylvania headquarters, inviting senators, congressmen, and investors to witness the future of agriculture.

But not everyone believes Global Tech should control the food supply.

When eco-terrorists attack the facility, their sabotage triggers a catastrophic accident inside the research labs. What they release isn’t just dangerous—it’s monstrous.

From the earliest days of Global Tech’s experiments come the forgotten genetically altered skin mites that grow, multiply, and swarm with horrifying speed.

Within minutes, the party becomes a battlefield.

Scientists, Secret Service agents, and trapped guests must fight their way through a nightmare of crawling flesh-eating parasites spreading through the complex. And the deeper they push into the facility, the more terrifying the truth becomes.

Fast-paced, terrifying, and chillingly plausible, this biotech horror thriller blends corporate conspiracy, genetic engineering gone wrong, and relentless creature terror for fans of Jurassic Park, The Food of the Gods, and Michael Crichton–style science thrillers.

The lab leak was only the beginning.

MY FIVE-STAR REVIEW on the Goodreads website . . . .

We were trying to end world hunger." 

"Why would you ever create such a thing?"

"It was early genome experiments. We were unlocking the genetic codes for size manipulation and growth rates. It was easiest in the beginning to work on simpler organisms. We made little things big. Then we worked on bigger, more complicated animals."

One single word describes this page-turning novel best: INTENSE

Mixing a bit of social commentary, politics, and plausible bio-technology into the proceedings Salkin writes a fast-paced thriller where you can't help but worry and cheer for many of the main characters. 

Skin mites that can grow to the size of rats and dogs is extremely horrifying, and there are plenty of gruesome scenes throughout the novel. It's difficult not to feel your skin itching while reading this. 

There does seem to be one secondary, but loose, thread in the story that Salkin doesn't return to, and I was surprised not to see it referred to in the epilogue, as it would set things up for a possible sequel. I'm actually happy that it was left out; because I can use my imagination to fill in the blanks.

I received an advanced digital review copy from the publisher without further obligation.

MY WEEK IN COMICS - - - APRIL 12, 2026

166 =  DAREDEVIL #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Lee Garbett (Marvel Comics, May 2026) 

If not for the fascinating foreshadowing on Page 1 as well as the last 5 pages of this issue, I would be calling this an underwhelming debut. But those pages are strong enough to entice me back for more - -  and I’ve subscribed to this title. Daredevil is my favorite Marvel character.

    As can be expected when a new creative team takes over, especially if they are going to make some changes, the debut issue is going to have to dedicate most of the space to setting things up.

   In short, “Matt Murdock as a professor” as Phillips and Garbett pitched it to Marvel and received the green light. Matt is teaching contract law at Empire State University, and his first day is kind of rough as he is challenged by students as well as fellow professor Doctor Sari Ellison. She takes him down a notch and makes light of his credentials. (I also get a vibe that she may be a future romantic interest for Matt, despite the present indifference). 

   The action here is minimal with Daredevil confronting two different criminal gangs and taking them out easily. It does provide an opportunity to show how Garbett is going to depict action and the panels are fun to view. 

   It’s those last five pages that hold the most promise - - where Daredevil meets a new supernatural-like foe in garb similar to the Grim Reaper who warns Daredevil that Matt Murdock will die in the future. 

Also, it’s the very first page that has its’ hooks in me with a montage of dire images and premonitions in the captions:  , , , One mask will fall as another is raised . . . The hand that offers peace may strike first . . . And he who looks without sight . . . will see too much.”  THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

167 =  EVERYONE LOVES A JEWEL THIEF #1 by Aaron Campbell & Tim Seeley with art & cover by Aaron Campbell (Ignition Press, April 2026)

This is a bit different from the usual crime comic, which is why I’m anxious to see where things are going. Seely and Campbell do a good job with this set-up issue, including flashbacks and prior history of the “gang”. 

    Scott Fredriksson is a struggling novelist, about to lose both his agent as well as a teaching position. For some weird reason, he believes that pulling off a jewel heist will gain him celebrity and boost his writing career. His plan is to turn himself in, face misdemeanor charges, and parley that into interviews and a book deal. He’s convinced his friends, his former high school Dungeons and Dragons gamers, to assist him in his fool-proof plan. 

   We already know it’s going to fail, because in present time his gang members are being interrogated by a detective duo (with the female partner always correcting the verbal errors of her male counterpart). 

So far, I don’t care for a single one of this cast of characters. But the story-telling is good enough to hold my attention and the art and colors (Jordie Bellaire) help create that moody crime comic feel with expressive images and dark, earth tone colors (with a few exceptions). THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.

    

BALTIMORE COMIC CON September 25-27: GUEST UPDATE

Baltimore Comic-Con 2026 Welcomes Champagne, Green, Hall, Noto, Pham, and Richardson

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - April 13, 2026 - The Baltimore Comic-Con will be held on September 25-27, 2026 at the Inner Harbor's Baltimore Convention Center. The Baltimore Comic-Con is thrilled to welcome Keith Champagne, Randy Green, Bob Hall, Phil Noto, Khoi Pham, and Afua Richardson as guests of our 2026 event! You can purchase your tickets online today!

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Keith Champagne is a comic book writer and creator best known for several decades of work with DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and many more publishers. From Stranger Things to Superman to Uncanny X-Men, he's provided art and/or stories for countless characters and projects.

After graduating with a BFA in Painting, Randy Green worked for several advertising agencies as an artist/art director and did some comic book work on the side. During this time, he worked mostly for Dark Horse and Image. Eventually, Randy was able to get enough steady work to pursue comic book art full-time, working for Marvel, DC Comics, and others as well. Top Cow's Witchblade was his first long run as an artist on a title and opened the doors to many other opportunities, including Tomb Raider and a short-run creator-owned title, Dollz, which he hopes to do more with in the future. Afterwards, he continued on some more work at Marvel on Emma Frost and New X-Men Academy X, always managing to squeeze in a project or cover for some of the comic companies here and there. In recent years, Randy has been doing most of his work behind the scenes for Disney Parks, and has had several books come out through Dark Horse and Aspen Comics, as well as several indie creators, and is currently working on a title, Stopwatch, written by Beau Smith coming soon from Clover Press. Randy has been working comics full-time for nearly two decades now, and enjoys life in the country with his family, wife Amy, and children Haley and Max.

Bob Hall had a long association with Marvel Comics, where at one time or another he drew most of the major books and characters such as The Champions, Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, Conan, Thor, The Fantastic Four, The Submariner, Captain America, PSI Force, The Avengers, and The New Mutants. He was the artist for the West Coast Avengers mini-series and was the primary artist on the original Squadron Supreme. He drew movie adaptations of Willow, Dark Man, and the notorious first Captain America movie, as well as pencils and inks for the graphic novel, Emperor Doom. Bob was an editor at Marvel in 1979. For Valiant, he wrote and penciled the monthly series Shadowman, wrote Timewalker, and then created Armed and Dangerous, a black and white "comicbook-noir" series. For DC, he wrote and drew the Batman graphic novel projects Batman DOA, I Joker, and It's Jokertime. Recently, he has been creating educational comics that have tackled measles, mosquitoes, COVID-19, and vaccine hesitancy. Bob is a member of the National Cartoonists Society, Actors Equity Association, and the Society for Directors and Choreographers. His work can be seen at www.bobhall.com. Commissions and original art are available through www.catskillcomics.com. He can be messaged on Facebook.

Phil Noto is a comic book artist, painter, and illustrator best known for his work on Marvel Comics’ Black Widows series and numerous Star Wars projects. He attended Ringling College of Art and Design. After college, he began a career in animation at Walt Disney Feature Animation where he worked on such films as Lion King, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, and Lilo and Stitch. In 2001, Phil started his comic career as the cover artist for DC Comics' Birds of Prey. Some of his projects over the past 20 years are Danger Girl, Jonah Hex, Avengers, X-23, Uncanny X-Force, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Infinite Horizon, Poe Dameron, Daredevil, Cable, and X-Men. Besides doing comic art, Phil has illustrated middle grade novels for Lucasfilm Publishing and done work for Time Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and the Criterion Collection. He also does retro fine-art paintings with numerous shows at Stranger Factory Gallery in Albuquerque, NM and, most recently, Outre Gallery in Fitzroy.

Khoi Pham is an artist and mentor. His artworks include DC’s Teen Titans, Marvel’s Mighty Avengers, X-Men Legacy, Scarlet Spider, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Chaos War, Incredible Hercules, Gambit, Mighty Thor, and X-Factor, and Top Cow’s Cyberforce. He has done numerous cover illustrations for various publications. Khoi was an attorney and venture capitalist prior to switching to art and mentoring. He has a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University.

Afua Richardson (pronounced "ah-FOO-wah") is an award-winning American comic book illustrator best known for her work on Marvel's Black Panther: World of Wakanda. Some of her other works include The Wild Storm, Attack on Titan, X-Men '92, Captain Marvel, and All-Star Batman to name a few. Afua is also a musician, voice actor, activist, and mentor. As a recipient of the Nina Simone award, she is aptly called a Jane of All trades.

"We're so happy to have these folks joining us in 2026," said Marc Nathan, show promoter for the Baltimore Comic-Con. "With some truly spectacular works under their belt, and being nice people on top of that, we are privileged to welcome to this year's convention."

Tickets that are now on sale include: Weekend Friday only Saturday only Sunday only VIP Creator Fan Packages As always, children 10 and under are free with a paid adult admission!

Click to Buy Tickets

Book Review: IN THE DOLLHOUSE WE ALL WAIT

IN THE DOLLHOUSE WE ALL WAIT by Amanda M. Blake (April 07, 20Crystal Lake Publishing = ISBN #9781968532512) Paperback, 358 pages (April 10, 2026 Torrid Waters = ASIN #B0653KLLSZ) Kindle Edition, 311 pages 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

An extreme horror novel of privilege, cruelty, and survival—splatterpunk at its most unflinching.

“In the dollhouse, if you don’t play with Annie…she plays with you.”

Sam Frain thinks she’s found the perfect a live-in nanny position in a sprawling mansion owned by one of the wealthiest families in the country.

The job seems simple: Take care of Annie Lange.

Annie may look like a grown woman, but she lives inside a world built for a little girl—frilly dresses, scripted games, rigid rules, and what seems like every doll in the world.

As Sam learns the true nature of Annie’s games, she's forced into a waking nightmare of psychological domination, grotesque excess, and carefully curated cruelty. In this gilded cage where money erases morality, survival means choosing whether to resist—or become part of the performance.

Blending the social unease of The Nanny Diaries with the ruthless brutality of Hostel II, In the Dollhouse We All Wait is a harrowing work of extreme horror that explores power, complicity, and the terrifying truth that the rich really are different.

My FOUR-STAR Review on the Goodreads website . . . .

I don’t read extreme horror often, but when I do I like it in small doses. If there is too much graphic violence, torture, mutilation, dismemberment, etc. in the story I become numb to the effect and stop worrying for the characters. Sometimes, if I feel the book lacks a point and is just a platform for more of the same extremes - - - then I do not finish. 

     Consider this a friendly bit of information to share with those readers who are faint-hearted or become greatly disturbed or nauseous/sick when reading extreme horror. There are many bothersome scenes in this novel. In my experience with this genre of horror, IN THE DOLLHOUSE WE ALL WAIT would be a book that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone just dipping their toes in the water to see if the temperature is warm enough to go in further. However, it would be the one extreme horror novel I would recommend once they weren’t afraid to keep swimming in these waters. 

    I knew before I started reading this novel what I was getting into. But, once my sense of comfort with main character Sam (Samantha Frain) was in place it was the point at which the intensity began, and the scenes did not stop and the ferocity increased. But, I did not stop reading. Each scene revealed a little more of what was going on behind the curtains and provided more detail on the home, the character of the adult in middle-school clothing Annie Lange, and the purpose of it all. I had to know what would become of Sam and hoped for a happy outcome. 

  In an article written by author Amanda M. Blake for Crystal Lake Publishing she says: “DOLLHOUSE demanded an unflinching look at Annie’s terrible dollhouse. No matter where the story led me, I forced myself to look.”  That’s what happened to me - - I kept looking, right until the last page.

  Blake continued: “When I write stories like this, it can actually sink me deeper into my natural depression, so I have to be careful with myself. I’m sitting with all those awful feelings a lot longer while writing than you do while reading. DOLLHOUSE was no exception. DOLLHOUSE makes you sit with your discomfort a lot longer.”

   It’s hard to read this novel and not think of the current cover-up situation regarding Epstein Island. In the same article, Blake mentions this and reveals that she did not intend any social commentary. That was not the inspiration for the novel. It was her own collection and love of dolls and other factors that led to the novel being (in her words) “a dip into nihilism, childish tantrums without consequence, and wealth rot well before we got hit with the full consequences of the power these people have acquired and consolidated.” 

    Still, estate owner Harold Lange and his malicious daughter Annie reminded me of Jeffrey and Ghislaine Maxwell. However, by comparison Epstein and Maxwell’s immoral sex trafficking are quite mild when you consider the levels to which the Langes took this and treated human beings as possessions and toys. Children sometimes break their toys. 

   I received an advance digital review copy of this novel from Crystal Lake Publishing without obligation to review.