Something Different For Stephen King Fans

Just After Sunset
by Stephen King
Pocket Books
October 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4165-8665-4
539 Pages
Mass Market Paperback
Horror/Collection

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Stephen King’s latest offering of short stories, Just After Sunset, disappointed me when I first read it. I was expecting to be drawn into some horrendous places and to have any number of heroes sacrificed to the writing Gods. Didn’t happen. In fact some of the stories have what, considering this is Stephen King we’re talking about, I would call happy endings.

So, I read the story notes at the back, and I reworked each story. Turns out, for this offering, Mr. King has decided to do away with fairly straightforward horror and offer us stories with meaning. I find that King not only poses some interesting questions, but he suggests some unusual answers. My verdict after revisiting Just After Sunset? A thoughtful, mature and sometimes freaky collection he should be proud of.

Willa – I didn’t like this ghost story, possibly because I just finished a similar story by a different author. Both deal with emotions after death, obviously offering up the assumption that some part of us goes on living after our bodies die. Stephen King’s story suggests that love and compassion and loyalty could all carry over with the soul. Such happenings could lead to interesting situations when it comes time for each individual to cross over. Willa presents us with one of these.

The Gingerbread Girl – A story reminiscent of Duma Key, The Gingerbread Girl gives us a woman trying to literally run away from the tragic death of her baby and a marriage she no longer wants. Having moved into her father’s place on one of Florida’s many keys, Janet has complete freedom to run as much and often as she wishes. Deep down she knows this will be the place that heals her. She’s right, but not in the way she thinks. Because Janet is about to stumble upon a murder, and the murderer, who is very good at what he does, easily adds her to the equation, so to speak. What Janet learns from her captor is frightening enough to bring her back to life–if she can beat him at his own game.

Harvey’s Dream – Janet is analyzing her life and husband of thirty years. It’s not a pleasant set of thoughts. How could she know that in a few minutes she would give everything she has to return those boring, petty thoughts. You see, her husband, Harvey has had a dream. And as Harvey relates the dream, Janet is drawn into a very real nightmare she cannot stop.

Rest Stop – A frightening situation proves to an author that “under the right circumstances, anyone could end up anywhere, doing anything.” He also realizes this means there are endless stories he can write using his favourite character. How does this transformation come about? The author has to call on his alter ego, his pen name, for the strength and hardness of character to deal with the problem at hand. The results are surprising.

Stationary Bike – Richard Sifkitz creates art for dollars. Advertising, commissions, whatever. So imagine his surprise when he suddenly finds himself painting purely for himself. What brings on the change? High cholesterol, too much weight and his commitment to ride his exercise bike every day. Life is good… except there’s something weird going on with his paintings. Also reminiscent of Duma Key, Stationary Bike looks at art as a doorway into some very strange and dangerous places.

The Things They Left Behind – A man suffering from survivor guilt after 9/11 discovers that there is much about the world he doesn’t understand. Yet, his questioning in the face of quiet terror finally leads him past what seems to be a demonic (or at least a very hurtful) game to an answer so simple and beautiful it changes his and the lives of many others forever.

Graduation Afternoon – The rules regarding the pettiness and bigotry of the well-positioned in society continue to operate as a family watches (in brilliant detail) the end of their world, just as their guest (from the wrong side of several million dollars) turns to her own form of country simplicity and takes her usual pragmatic look forward. Are we really such rigid creatures of habit?

N. – Standing stones have long been associated with ancient ritual, power, magic and even as portals to other worlds. Stephen King bundles all these suppositions into one very strange tale about people who spend their lives keeping our world the beautiful place it is. This is a long piece that deals with the concept of reality as a very thin barrier between what we know and the endless, horrifying possibilities that await a chance to come on in.

The Cat From Hell – The best hit man in the business matches his skills against a strange cat in a battle that leaves the loser surprised, out of business and an empty shell of his/its former self.

The New York Times At Special Bargain Rates – An offer that won’t be repeated, just like the strange phone call Anne gets on the day of her husband’s funeral. What would you say or do if your husband of 30 years, dead for two days, called you on his cell phone, in which the battery is dying? Stephen King imagines for us.

Mute – The hitch-hiker: we’ve heard and seen every variation of this story, right? Not a chance! In Mute, Stephen King brings us an amazing, original and damned scary story of generousity and retribution, all wrapped up with a big red bow these kinds of pieces call the moral of the story. His bottom line? You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into when you pick up a hitch-hiker.

Ayana – Godless miracles that carry a strange price tag. Ayana is a commentary on what and how we label things we don’t understand, evoking the name of God or whispering about magic (as examples) when sometimes things… just… are.

A Very Tight Place – Stephen King has been spending part of each year in Florida for a number of years now. As you might expect, The Keys have become a risky place to visit or live. In A Very Tight Place an aging day trader learns (via one of King’s most gruesome settings) that getting along with one’s neighbour is much more than a friendly suggestion.


Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye

The Ghost Man by Michael J. McCann

The Ghost Man
by Michael J. McCann
Saga Books, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-897512-21-0
Trade Paperback
286 pages
Supernatural Thriller

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After Simon Guthrie’s car crash kills his wife and leaves him seeing ghosts everywhere, he decides an isolated home in the country is the countermeasure his ruined life requires. But it’s not so easy to leave a high society life behind. And he’s about to learn that his new abilities are even more persistent. Eight days in October are going to prove to Simon, and everyone else within his sphere of influence, that not only do ghosts exist, but evil isn’t just a societal invention or a philosophical idea. A door to hell has opened, and no one is going to like what’s come out.

The Ghost Man opens with a scene right out of Poltergeist, and it keeps moving along at a nice pace. You’ll also recognize more than a nod to The Exorcist. Yet, Michael McCann’s novel is uniquely his own. His ghosts, for example, don’t play. They can be seen, if they want to be; will damage your home if you don’t pay attention; and kill you if you get in the way. And his demon? McCann creates a truly scary adversary who isn’t going to lose what he’s after without leaving a slew of casualties as he passes through Simon Guthrie’s life.

I liked the pace of The Ghost Man, and I ran into just one sentence that pulled me out of the story. McCann writes well. Dialogue is nicely balanced with well-honed descriptive passages. His characters are fully developed for the roles they play. And I also enjoyed the little bits of Canadiana he worked into the story.

There was only one thing I didn’t like about The Ghost Man: it was the inclusion of the white wolves. While being unique props, the wolves are never explained in an adequate fashion, nor do they play a crucial role in the story. Did the author expect the reader to just accept them because one character says in an offhand manner that they are there to help? Writing doesn’t work this way: readers want all their questions answered by the time they get to the last page. If this doesn’t happen, they are often left with a nasty feeling that something was missing.

I don’t believe the above-mentioned error spoils the novel. As I’ve mentioned, I enjoyed the story. Just remember, Mr. McCann, readers are sometimes harder on an author than the critics. They are, after all, paying to be entertained.

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009

Bite Marks: a new breed of vampire just in time for Halloween

Bite Marks: A Vampire Testament
by Terence Taylor
St. Martin’s Press
Oct 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-38525-5
394 pages
Trade Paperback
Horror/Supernatural

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Christmas time, New York City in 1986 has very little to do with God. An insane vampire has carelessly begun a sequence of events that could reveal the existence of a large society of the undead to humans. He’ll stop at nothing to hide his latest debacle from the overseers of his kind, just as they’ll do whatever it takes to put an end to his troublesome ways—if he fails.

Meet Adam Caine, a relatively young vampire who has made the elaborate torture and eradication of entire family lines a form of art. His current crime? Because Caine likes to play with his food, the young woman he’s torturing manages to save her baby from certain death by turning him into a vampire. Now the creature is loose and is creating a nest of protectors and hunters. When the population of an entire neighbourhood disappears and zombies, spewing a terrifying mutation of the AIDS virus, begin roaming the streets of New York, someone’s going to notice.

What and who will stand in the way of the impending clash between humans and vampires? Not the ancient vampire, Rahman, who wants to use the newly turned baby to help him achieve true immortality. Not the brother of Caine’s latest victim, Nina. Sure, Jim Miller wants Caine dead, and he knows the abomination that was his sister’s baby must meet the same fate. But he’s so messed up, nothing else about these terrifying events matters to him. Ex-lovers Steve Johnson and Lori Martin, who are working on a book about vampires, are also pulled into the vortex of the growing storm (by the diary of the dead woman, Nina). But how can they help when they can’t even make their own lives work? The one real hope for humans and vampires alike appears to be Perenelle de Marivelle, one-time lover of Rahman and the creator/vampire mother of Caine. She brought peace and order to the vampires of New York once. Maybe she can do it again. Maybe… if her own secrets don’t destroy her first.

Bite Marks may be Terence Taylor’s first novel but his many years as a writer in the television industry shine through. He builds scenes and characters effortlessly. His writing is technically flawless. And once Taylor has your attention, he doesn’t let it go until the last page has been turned.

I give Bite Marks a solid recommendation, not just for vampire lovers, but for horror fans in general. Yet, I do have a few criticisms to offer. They come from the story itself and what Taylor was trying to accomplish with this book. In Bite Marks, Taylor gives us a fresh and scary look at vampires—he wanted to, and has, put the bite back into this kind of fiction. The novel portrays vampires as amoral demi-gods who use New York as both hunting and play ground. The history and motivations of these fiends are fleshed out in great detail as flashbacks (which also serve as breaks from the violence and gore). And here’s my first criticism: even though Bite Marks is about vampires, the central story is the unresolved break-up of Steven and Lori, and I believe Taylor should have spent more time building up these and his other human characters. You see, next to his vampires, Taylor’s humans appear as weak and ineffectual bystanders. Yes, this makes his monsters even more scary, but it’s my opinion that the choice weakens the reader’s connection to the story and will probably leave many people feeling like something was missing. Next? Taylor’s world construction was fabulous. In particular, I enjoyed his use of actual weather conditions from the winter of 1986 to finish off the metaphor of the storm. However, the way the baby vampire was dealt with at the end of the book didn’t quite fit in with the world portrayed in the rest of the story. Not only that—which brings us to my second criticism, the choice just mentioned also rendered the human participants useless.

I wanted to be impressed by Bite Marks, and, on many levels, I was. But no author should forget his readers. We want fulfilling human relationships and human heroes. In my opinion, Bite Marks just doesn’t provide enough of this.

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye

Truth Decay by William Meikle

I’ve discovered an interesting little publishing house in Weymouth, Dorset, England… “a small acorn of a publishing company specializing in supernatural and pulp fiction…with a little room for other good works.” They claim to embrace new methods of book distribution without forgetting the need for the printed word . Their stated goal is to combine new writers, published writers, new titles and published titles into one genre publishing house. The company is called Ghostwriter Publications, and my contact there is Neil Jackson.

Neil has been kind enough to send me several samples of what his company is up to. Some of you will already have read my review of None So Blind by Ian Faulkner. Over the next few weeks you’ll get to meet more of Ghostwriter’s authors as I review several chapbooks I have in my possession.


Truth Decay
by William Meikle
Ghostwriter Publications
2009
Chapbook
20 pages
Crime/Horror/Paranormal

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Jack Brooks is a drunk and a private detective. When a beautiful blonde throws 500 bucks on his desk and promises more, he decides to put the bottle away for a few days. But, in Jack’s life, things haven’t been going well. This case fits right into that pattern.

The blonde wants him to find a missing NYPD detective, someone Jack knows and never wants to see again. But the money…

So, Jack goes looking. And he’s good at what he does. Too good. Brooks not only winds up the case in record time, he solves the problem that put him at the bottom of a bottle. Read Truth Decay to find out if Jack likes the solution.

Truth Decay is a short story in the vein of old-time crime thrillers like Mike Hammer or Philip Marlowe, with a supernatural twist. The story starts off in exactly the clichéd manner you might expect, but it doesn’t stay that way. “Familiar but ever so different” is how I would describe this reading experience. Nicely Done!

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009

The Wolf’s Hour by Robert R. McCammon

The Wolf’s Hour
by Robert R. McCammon
Pocket Books, 1989
ISBN: 0-671-66485-9
603 pages
Mass Market Paperback
Historical Fiction/Horror

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What can I say about Robert McCammon? A brilliant 1980’s author who’s storytelling is not easily classified  (Mystery Walk, Gone South, The Wolf’s Hour, Boy’s Life), McCammon retired in the early 1990’s, “citing variously depression, exhaustion from overwork, a desire to spend more time with his family, and frustration with publishers, who insisted he limit himself to writing genre horror fiction when he wanted to explore other literary forms.” McCammon returned to the publishing world in 2002 with his intriguing historical novel Speaks the Nightbird.

The Wolf’s Hour (1989), one of my favourite McCammon books is probably his strangest work to date. Two stories in one, The Wolf’s Hour follows the exploits of intelligence agent extraordinaire Michael Gallatin as he frantically tries to foil a Nazi plot to emasculate the allied invasion of Europe in 1944, and it also chronicles the life of Mikhail Gallatinov, a boy who is saved from a Russian Death Squad in 1918 only to become a werewolf.

The two people are obviously the same, and what makes this story work is the amazing and heroic tale that takes an orphaned Russian and turns him into a British werewolf spy who is eventually able to answer the question “What is the lycanthrope in the eyes of God?”

The Wolf’s Hour is a treat. Every character in the book is painted larger than life, and each scene stands out clearly in the mind as it comes to a close. I’ve often wondered why the book has never been put on film.

Yes, some of the criticisms you’ll read are true: the writing does get better as the book progresses, and the distinction between the good guys and the bad guys is never blurred. There are even some situations that are so over the top you’ll laugh and shake your head in disbelief. Then you have the one item I really dislike, which is the unworkable explanation of how one becomes a werewolf (think about it as you read the book, if you wish: you’ll figure it out.). But The Wolf’s Hour is still unique in the writing world: it breaks the mold of the werewolf as a tragic but fundamentally evil soul, bringing the reader a complex, moral and intelligent creature with free will. No wonder the book became a New York Times bestseller and was nominated by the Horror Writers Association for a Bram Stoker award.

In fact, according to my research, during the period from 1987 to 1991, Robert R. McCammon received the following Bram Stoker nominations and awards:1987, Novel: Swan Song (Winner), Short story: The Deep End (Winner); 1988, Novel: Stinger (Nominated); 1989, Novel: The Wolf’s Hour (Nominated), Short story: Eat Me (Winner), Collections: Blue World (Nominated); 1990, Novel: MINE (Winner) and 1991, Novel: Boy’s Life (Winner).

The Wolf’s Hour, complete in itself, leaves two great openings for a sequel. It’s my hope that McCammon (who has spoken of doing so) will one day treat us to this story.

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009

Dark Tales 1: Vampyress by Shannon Leigh

Dark Tales 1: Vampyress
by Shannon Leigh
Wild Child Publishing
2008
ISBN: 978-1-935013-10-5
39 pages, Novelette
eBook
Paranormal/Horror

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A storm, wicked as Ivona Knight, has stranded the patrons of a rural tavern. To pass the time and win the right to the small amount of food available, it is decided that all will compete in a storytelling contest. Ivona is chosen to be the first speaker.

Calling upon the true history of Vlad the Impaler and with a nod to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Shannon Leigh introduces us to the tragic and strangely heroic story of Ivona the Vampyress.

This is a dark tale. Leigh goes to great lengths to set the tone with her excellent descriptive talents. And I was quickly captured by the thoughts of Ivona and the nonverbal but electric conversation between herself and the handsome stranger across the room. Then, as I realized her story was going to be a true one, that Ivona intended to reveal who she is, my pulse began to race. The story thus set was doled out in a suspenseful way that urged me to keep reading. All in all, Vampyress was a fine example of storytelling.

One problem did stand out: yes, the exposition created suspense and urged me to keep reading, but I feel there was a bit too much of it; the story tended to drag. Perhaps a little more dialogue, or as is the case in this tale, a little more monologue was necessary to hit the mark dead on.

While I suggest the author consider this in the future, I still heartily recommend that you, my readers, pick up a copy of the book. Vampyress isn’t perfect, but it’s a well-written, interesting, and unique read.

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009

None So Blind by Ian Faulkner

None So Blind
By Ian Faulkner
Ghostwriter Publications
Coming soon
ISBN: 978-1-907190-11-7
145 pages
Horror
ARC/PDF

NONE SO BLIND
Fanatics are blind to the thoughts and beliefs of others. What place will they find in the afterlife? Will the veil of self-deception part, or will the tortured soul continue along its cloudy and tragic path?

REWIND
Step inside the mind of a serial killer. Will you feel sorry for him or will your skin crawl and your guts churn? I wonder…

COLD BIRTH
Our actions have consequences. This story gives us a graphic and uncomfortable look at why we should never forget this simple truth.

NON OMNIS MORIAR
(I shall not altogether die)
What would happen to you if you lost a son or a parent? Would you fold in on yourself, or would you join together with the surviving members of your family to face the future? A terrifying look at the inside of a grieving mind.

GRANDPA BILLY
Meet a boy living in poverty with alcoholic parents who finds refuge in regular visits to his grandfather’s home. One day the old man moves away, and the boy doesn’t see him again until one tragic night when he and his siblings face certain death. A story about the power love has to raise us from the squalor and dangers of our lives.

EMMY
A young man interested in developing serious relationships and starting a family strikes up a conversation with an old woman out for a walk with her granddaughter. But she tells him an ever darkening story which takes him somewhere he could never expect.

AND THE HUNTER HOME
Observe a complacent man who discovers his entire life has been manipulated by his family. Will his discovery of their secret be enough to spur him into action, or will he fall victim to his habit of going with the flow?

DINNER FOR ONE
Have you ever watched a cat play with a mouse before killing and eating it? This may not be a behavior limited only to the feline species. Read Dinner for One to find out what I mean.

THE REVIEW

Ian Faulkner has put together a dark collection of tales examining the underbelly of life. It begins in a somewhat stumbling fashion with a story in need of more editing (for example, he makes the common mistake of overusing the word “that”). However, the rest of his short stories stand up better. In particular, Grandpa Billy, the only tale in the collection with a “lighter” side, is a fine example of short story writing. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

None so Blind was a read that left me with mixed feelings. The stories don’t try to make you feel better about some nasty people and experiences. Faulkner lays things out, warts and all; he writes horror without pretension. And he does it well. Hence my conflict…

The stories are so interesting, I read one after another: I gobbled them up. But there is little room for pleasure. Faulkner appears to be a writer who wishes to disturb, and he does so successfully.

True horror buffs should be pleased.

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009

Cursed by Jeremy C. Shipp

Cursed
by Jeremy C. Shipp
Raw Dog Screaming Press
Release Date: Nov 01, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-933293-86-8
ISBN: 978-1-933293-87-5
Trade Hardcover/Trade Paperback
216 pages
Horror

Cicely and Nicholas have discovered they are cursed. Cicely must forever hold on to a tennis ball, which mysteriously appeared in her hand one night, or the world will end. Nicholas’s curse is seemingly more benign but actually has the power to estrange every person in his life: someone is fated to slap him in the face before the stroke of midnight each day.

When the two compare notes, they begin to suspect their invisible tormentor is someone they both know. As the behaviourally challenged couple embark on a hunt for the monster, we are continually stunned by the strangeness of their lives but are also drawn in by their valiant efforts to embrace life. Cicely lives in an ever changing, self-made fairy tale, while Nicholas struggles to rise above his less than admirable past.

Written in minimalist fashion and relying heavily on dialogue, Jeremy C. Shipp’s new novel will both terrify and inspire.

I love Shipp’s writing. I’ve done so since the moment I read his short story, Dog (http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/dog/). His imagination is bizarre, upsetting, often humorous and always brilliant. This strange and often hard to understand style of writing is what I expected from Cursed. Instead, I experienced a more balanced and quite understandable story. Perhaps it was the constant lists created by his protagonist; maybe it was the continuous dialogue between characters; it could even have been the structure imposed by the clear plot line of the novel. Whatever the reasons, Cursed manages to stay true to Shipp’s Bizarro roots while also demonstrating a more even-handed or, dare I say, mature approach.

If you want to experience a different kind of horror fiction, something fresh and interesting, this excellent novel would be a fine choice. I highly recommend it.

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009

Water Witch by Deborah LeBlanc

Water Witch
by Deborah LeBlanc
Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
October 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8439-6039-6
290 pages
Horror
Paperback

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Dunny Pollock is a recluse. A woman with a special gift,  she was born with an extra finger which finds things. All her life, people have tried to use her to their advantage. Now she must come out of hiding to help her sister.

Something or someone has loosed malevolent spirits upon the small town of Bayou Crow, Louisiana. Her sister is being abused and two children have disappeared. With the help of a strange old Cajun woman, Dunny must overcome her fear of discovery and do what’s right. But she’s never tried to find ghosts. And how on earth can she hope to save two youngsters from the evil hiding them deep in the ancient swamp?

I always research authors and their books before commenting on their work. The two main reviews I read concerning Water Witch were less than kind. Having read the book from cover to cover, I feel these pieces were both unfair and inaccurate.

One reviewer complained about a quick and unexpected end to the main conflict. Tough! Not all battles must be long and drawn out. In fact, in real life (which fiction should at least mirror), physical confrontations are usually brutal and quick.

There were also complaints about character development and questions left unanswered. Both these criticisms are unfounded. Yes, LeBlanc leaves a whole area of conflict alone when she ends the story, but one of the main characters had already speculated this problem would disappear when the antagonist was taken out of action. Other related issues existed in the realm of the unknown and unknowable: why would a professional explain such mysteries away? As for character development? I think the hack reviewer missed the whole point of the novel…

Water Witch is a realistic look into madness and what makes us individuals. It’s also a solid and entertaining horror story. The horror was understated and presented in a believable way. I could see all of the scenes clearly in my mind’s eye. I also identified with the characters, even the tortured soul who was the villain.

Believe the review excerpts inside the front book cover, folks. Deborah LeBlanc is a storyteller of high caliber.


Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
Harper Trophy, 2002
0-380–80734-3
Children/Young Adult
162 pages
Supernatural Fiction
Paperback

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Neil Gaiman has been named as one of the top ten living post-modern writers (the Dictionary of Literary Biography). A prolific creator of comics, drama, poetry, prose and song lyrics, he’s also been called the new face of horror fiction. You can even find him active in other media such as blogging, film, journalism, radio and television.

Coraline has won an incredible roster of awards and is, of course, a New York Times Best-seller. I decided to review Neil Gaiman’s horror story for children because it was just released this past Tuesday as a DVD. This was a big deal in our household, as my 12-yr old daughter owns a copy of the book and the movie never came to our small city.

I can see why she was excited. Gaiman’s story reads effortlessly. And the scenes are a wonderful collection of darkness and light, of horror and comedy and, always, even in the evil, of love. Through it all we follow Coraline, a bored schoolgirl on holiday and in a new home.  The target of a wannabe mother from a sinister, alternate world, she too, is an interesting mixture of characteristics. Short as the book is, we delight in the growing understanding in the girl of what love means and of the sacrifices it sometimes demands.

Coraline is unlike Neil Gaiman’s other mind-boggling works. It is a compact, lean and fully comprehensive piece. And I think it showcases just how brilliant this author is.

Note: In my opinion, the movie is a disappointment. Much of the shadowy feel of the written work is gone, surprising since the director is Tim Burton. Additional characters were added and scenes were modified, not for the better. My daughter says the movie was OK, but claims the book was better and commented on the same disappointments as I.


Clayton Bye
Horror Editor, www.thedeepening.com

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009