book reviews
Book reviews for horror fans; weather a sleepless night with literary accounts of hauntings, possessions, zombies, vampires and beyond.
If You Like V.C. ANDREWS - Book Recommendations
If like me, you are a fan of Gothic Horror and twisted family sagas, V.C. Andrews was the first proper dive into that genre. But what about authors who tackle similar themes while being thrilling reads. Fear Not reader, I have made a quick list based on the original VCA heroines - Cathy (Flowers in the Attic), Heaven (Heaven) and Audrina (My Sweet Audrina).
Book Review: "Earthlings" by Sayako Murata
I have read some pretty disturbing books in my time. From Chuck Palahniuk’s “Haunted” to Bret Easton Ellis’s “American Psycho”, from “The Girl Next Door” by Jack Ketchum all the way back to “120 Days of Sodom” by the Marquis de Sade. These books are some of the more extreme ones I have read. When we come more and more into our own times we see names such as Stephen King, we see names such as Lionel Shriver - author of the traumatising novel “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and we also see the more recent works of Cormac McCarthy. From the Sci-Fi terror of Harlan Ellison to the disturbing love stories of Vladimir Nabokov, Iain Banks, Joyce Carol Oates, V.C Andrews and many more - the world of the psychological thriller is filled with intense stories of absolute horror. But, I have to say that one of the most disturbing things I have read in the last five years has got to be “Earthlings” by Sayako Murata - the author of the famed “Convenience Store Woman”. It is not only a psychological thriller, it is a post-apocalyptic dystopian nightmare, it is a political system which regards itself as an overlord of the planet, it is a fight for survival when one defers from the path given to them. From murder to incest, from cannibalism to rape - this book is quite possibly one of the most disturbing things you will read to date. Her is a tip for doing so: make sure you are not eating anything at the time.
Annie KapurPublished 2 years ago in Horror
Flame and Ash by Morgan Brice - Audiobook Review
Morgan Brice cleverly weaves a Romeo and Juliet romance mixed with magic and a road trip. The witch mythology was really well crafted and fitted in well in this universe Brice has created. Seth and Evan's romance was so perfectly written so naturally and I enjoyed how Brice found a balance between the small intimate character moments and the danger being in a relationship for them is.
Reed's Literary Horror Review 'At The Gates of Chaos' (2021) Edited by Scott Dyson.
I think the first thing that was really fetching about this anthology wasn't just the solid collection of stories, but also the fantastic collection of artwork proceeding each story. Kinda gives it the feel of a Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark, except for adults. The artwork was fascinating and I appreciate the added effort.
Reed AlexanderPublished 2 years ago in Horror
Book Review: "The Dangers of Smoking in Bed" by Mariana Enriquez
“The Dangers of Smoking in Bed” is the second anthology I am reading by Mariana Enriquez and though I would not say it was better than “The Things We Lost in the Fire” - I will have to say that some of the stories inside were somewhat better or just as good. Now, I have read a lot of the gothic in my time and honestly, I cannot remember reading very much of the Latin American Gothic apart from some of the themes within Isabel Allende novels. Mariana Enriquez is a fresh, astounding voice of the new world of the Latin American Gothic and deserves far more recognition than she is getting at the moment. With these anthologies under her belt, she is proving to be a great and grand force of literature that will make for classics of our own times come the future.
Annie KapurPublished 2 years ago in Horror
Book Review: "The Last House on Needless Street" by Catriona Ward
I love gothic novels with weird twists. In my time, I have read a lot of gothic crime novels and have managed on some occasions, to guess the twists when they come around. More often than not, I take off marks if I am able to guess the ending and so, beforehand, I always write down my predictions so that I don't change them halfway through the book. When I predicted what was going to be the twist of this book, I thought I was right when I hit about a quarter of the way through. Then I realised I was wrong and finally, by the end of the book I do not think I could have been further from the truth if I had tried. When I say I was terrified, I mean it. I did not get anything right when it came to predicting the twist - not a damn thing. And guess what? I loved it.
Annie KapurPublished 2 years ago in Horror
Book Review: "The Dominant Animal" by Kathryn Scanlan
I have read some pretty uncomfortable books in my time, including the infamous short story collection entitled "Haunted" by Chuck Palahniuk. I've read a lot of Stephen King, Peter Straub, Paul Tremblay and Shirley Jackson. Well, if you took Virginia Woolf's writing style, mixed it with the unease of Stephen King's tension narratives and then reduced the size to a short story and blended in some body horror and psychological distress a la Daphne Du Maurier, you're going to end up with this book by Kathryn Scanlan - "The Dominant Animals". A nod to the culture of the plain uncomfortable, this book is written in the most realist and ordinary of ways. Kind of like what would happen if Hemingway and Bret Easton Ellis made some kind of collaboration (but alas, Hemingway did not live that long). Here is a professional life tip for all of you: make sure you’re not eating anything whilst reading this book. You’re going to have a hard time keeping it in afterwards.
Annie KapurPublished 2 years ago in HorrorThe Queen of Gothic Horror
Going to second-hand stores and finding battered and dusty novels is something I had been doing since childhood - well, before the global pandemic. I can talk about the many unusual finds that I have in the library that is my room - but one author in particular kept me going into those stores, hunting for their books. V.C. Andrews or better known as Virginia Andrews in the UK.
Call Me Mummy by Tina Baker - BOOK REVIEW
Glamorous, beautiful Mummy has everything a woman could want... except for a daughter of her very own. So when she sees Kim—heavily pregnant, glued to her phone and ignoring her eldest child in a busy shop—she does what anyone would do. She takes her. But little foul-mouthed Tonya is not the daughter that Mummy was hoping for.
Frannie Goldsmith’s Things to Remember: ‘Femininity’ is not synonymous with ‘Weak’.
{Disclaimer: Fiction is all subjective. I am not coming from a judgmental place nor am I saying that this is the only possible reason that anyone could dislike Fran’s character. I’m just hoping to raise a few questions.}
Jaime BurbattPublished 2 years ago in Horror
Ruby by V.C. Andrews - BOOK REVIEW
The only family Ruby Landry has ever known are her loving grandparents. Although her mother is dead and she has never met her mysterious father, Ruby is grateful for all she has, especially when her attraction for handsome Paul Tate blossoms into a wonderful love.
NEWS: The Woman Beyond The Attic - V.C. Andrews Biography
In my interview with Ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman, he hinted at an upcoming announcement on a long-anticipated biography of the Flowers in the Attic author. Now it has been officially announced, even with a title confirmed - there has been whispers of a summer release, but no date has been confirmed. The confirmation came from Publisher's Weekly yesterday:
