book reviews
Book reviews for horror fans; weather a sleepless night with literary accounts of hauntings, possessions, zombies, vampires and beyond.
Book Review: "The Troop" by Nick Cutter
I have read a few terrifying books in my time which include the theme of the graphic depiction of violence. Books such as: “Exquisite Corpse” by Poppy Z. Brite, “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy, “American Psycho” by Bret Easton Ellis and even yes, “Haunted” by Chuck Palahniuk. Graphic depictions of violence in novels are often used not just for the effect of horror, but also to make the reader truly see what is happening as it is something that the reader has (hopefully) not witnessed in person before. To make a depiction of violence believable we need something more than just the way in looks, we need to way it truly feels to be in that position. The mixture of feelings of terror and descriptions of the physical in the violent act causes the scene to be even stronger than it would have been without the atmospheric description. Ideas not only surrounding darkness, but the deep and philosophical - possibly existential and absurd - have found to be even more effective in producing some incredible descriptions when involved in depictions of violence in a horror novel. Nick Cutter’s “The Troop” is no exception to this recipe for a brilliant horror book which is truly quite terrifying.
Annie KapurPublished 3 days ago in HorrorWe All Float Down Here
Hi, Georgie! Don't you want a balloon? - Stephen King, IT When I first laid eyes on Pennywise, the clown, my life changed. I couldn't shower for a week, terrified someone was actually in the drains, but I couldn't look away.
Shannon MoosePublished 11 days ago in HorrorA Definitive Guide To The 7 Princes Of Hell
All Demons Are Apparently Not Created Equal And they even have specialization in their sinister works, at least according to German theologian, scholar, and Bishop, Peter Binsfield.
Jessica BuggPublished 26 days ago in HorrorWomen Writing Horror
Many people believe that women writers of horror is a new thing and something subversive and original to the genre. If that person describes you then I would like to introduce you to people like Mary Shelley, author of "Frankenstein" (1818) and Mary Elizabeth Braddon, author of many ghost stories and salacious fiction of deviant women - one of my favourite stories by her is "The Shadow in the Corner". The idea the women are becoming more popular in horror is something that we take on the chin - of course, there are far more women writers of horror now than there have been ever since women are using their own voices so much more. But, we also have to remember that the 20th century writers of horror were not nearly exclusively men either - men were just far more active in the genre. For example: there are more books by Stephen King than there are by Daphne Du Maurier and Shirley Jackson combined, but that does not mean that Shirley Jackson and Daphne Du Maurier are in any way less of authors that Stephen King. All three of them are as credible as each other and all three can scare the pants off you.
Annie KapurPublished 30 days ago in HorrorFive Nights At Freddy's Fazbear Frights #1 Into the Pit Review
The books , Five Nights at Freddy's Fazbear Frights series is book series , made by Scott Cawthon , with either Elley Cooper ,Kelly Parra and/or Andrea Waggener, consists of three stories , set in the corners of the Fnaf Universe, each describing the suspense and horror of the unknown , in the third person point of view .
Aletze CastellanosPublished about a month ago in Horror10 Horror Novels I Adored in 2021 (so far!)
I really do believe that anything that plays on the psychological is far more terrifying than any amount of blood, gore or monsters than can possibly be in literature and film. This is why a film like 'American Psycho' is normally considered more frightening than a film like 'Evil Dead'. Even though 'American Psycho' is not technically a horror film, it is still far more horrifying than the movie which contains more blood and monsters. Why? 'American Psycho' deals with the psychological. It deals with the fact that you could be at your normal office job with someone who murders other people at nighttime and you will never know how close you really are.
Annie KapurPublished about a month ago in Horror
My Best Friend’s Exorcism: A Book Review
“The exorcist is dead.” That is the opening line of Grady Hendrix’s 2016 novel My Best Friend’s Exorcism, and if that doesn’t grab your attention, I’m not sure anything will. The novel is the follow-up to his hugely successful 2014 debut, Horrorstör, and cemented his place with readers who like their horror mixed with a little humor.
Paul CombsPublished about a month ago in Horror
Reed's Literary Horror Review of '3:33 AM' (2021)
I have to say, this book's characters are absolutely marvelously defined. This is probably some of the most detailed and engrossing characters and character development I've read in a long time. They're richly tangible and relatable with dialog that is both full and natural.
Reed AlexanderPublished about a month ago in Horror
Reed's Literary Horror Review of 'Son of the Right Hand: Ze'ev Book 2' (2021), by John Baltisberger
In my review of Treif Magic (2020), I mentioned that Ze'ev was a matured anti-hero that understood the consequences of his action, accepted his fate, and made the leap into darkness without hesitation or angsty whining. Unlike John Constantine from Hell Blazer who persistently refused to take responsibility for his own mistakes the whole while complaining about the consequences.
Reed AlexanderPublished 2 months ago in Horror
On writing horror
Grief, guilt, paranoia, and shame fuel the terrors of SHADES OF RED: a collection of stories that range from the eerie to the horrific, the private to the global, the mundane to the apocalyptic. Here, horror comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and shades.
Joe ShetinaPublished 2 months ago in Horror
Reed's Literary Horror Review of 'Fright Train' (2021) edited by Charles R. Rutledge and Scott T. Goudsward
Opening with a run-on sentence is a baller move. It's the reader's introduction (well... past the introduction anyway) to the anthology. That's a seriously "high risk" maneuver that could instantly throw off any reader. For me, it had damn well better be a declaration of how amazing every word that follows is. It stuck out so much I had to include it in my review.
Reed AlexanderPublished 2 months ago in Horror
Cirque Du Freak Review
I was first sucked into the world of Cirque Du Freak in sixth grade. At the time, I could read well above my grade level, but in no way shape or form, did I have a passion for reading. A friend in my class introduced me to the series. After reading the first few pages, I was completely hooked. The problem with reading a book by Darren Shan, especially with the Cirque Du Freak series, is that you get sucked into the world. You forget that you are holding a book in your hand, and you experience everything that the characters are going through. I couldn't put the books down until I finished the series, and even then, I would constantly go back to my middle school library to keep reading them.
Ethan SealeyPublished 3 months ago in Horror
