book reviews
Book reviews for horror fans; weather a sleepless night with literary accounts of hauntings, possessions, zombies, vampires and beyond.
Lock Every Door Spoiler Free Review
It’s no secret that I am a SUPER fan of Riley Sager. I preordered an American Copy of his latest book and it has arrived a whole year before UK release (and after this second lockdown announcement? It was a great decision).
Kit ala KatPublished 4 years ago in HorrorBooks to Check Out: October 2020 Reads
October has just ended, and it was quite a spooky one indeed. I only read two books during this month, but they both will help you carry that mysterious Halloween spirit with you whenever you sit down to read them. We’ve got a biography and a psychological thriller, so strap in folks.
Book Review: Queens of the Abyss: Lost Stories from the Women of the Weird
Watch out. I'm about to get petty. “Queens of the Abyss” was something by Mike Ashley I was patiently waiting for and when it came out, I had already pre-ordered it. When I began reading it, I was really happy to see that there was a story by Mary Elizabeth Braddon - the writer of books like “Lady Audley’s Secret” and the horror story “The Shadow in the Corner”. When I started reading it, I noticed that not all of the tales were very much ‘weird’ especially in the context of what the book is stating it as. When I read the other tales, not all of them matched up to the Mary Elizabeth Braddon story I read in terms of the contextual weird. The ‘weird’ portrayed by the story by Mary Elizabeth Braddon refers to what is suggestive and supernatural rather than something that is blatant and simply existing which were so in other tales such as the stories by Marie Corelli.
Annie KapurPublished 4 years ago in HorrorUnsafe Words by Loren Rhoads
Tagline: Once you’ve done the most unforgivable thing, what will you do next? Book Description Provided by the Author: In the first full-length collection of her edgy, award-winning short stories, Loren Rhoads punctures the boundaries between horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction in a maelstrom of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. Ghosts, succubi, naiads, vampires, the Wild Hunt, and the worst predator in the woods stalk these pages, alongside human monsters who follow their cravings past sanity or sense.
Spirit Guide Communication through the Art of DivinationPublished 4 years ago in HorrorBeneath the Attic Trilogy by V.C. Andrews - Series Review
V.C. Andrews "Flowers in the Attic" series has captivated readers for the last four decades. Five books explored the twisted Dollanganger family - Andrew Neiderman became the ghost writer for V. C. Andrews following her death in 1986. As well as writing his own V.C. inspired family series, he has delved into the Flowers series with a prequel and sequel continuation. These reviews are purely based on my opinion and focus on the prequel series.
Luck (a House of Night Short Story) by Kristin Cast - REVIEW
To say that the mother-daughter writing duo of the worldwide bestselling House of Night series have expanded upon their universe is a massive understatement - with twelve novels, four novellas, a graphic novel and a four-part sequel series exploring an alternative reality and an upcoming TV adaptation in the works - PC and Kristin Cast have been captivating readers for the past thirteen years.
Editorial Report – A Haunted House. Virginia Woolf. 1921
Virginia Woolf’s 1921 shorty story - A Haunted House, is a well written ghost story, with a strong central theme. Whilst it is not gothic, it is clear that the piece has been influenced by Poe, with Woolf’s use of poetic devices and descriptions. This is a perfect example of how Woolf has tried to experiment with genre expectations, whilst not deviating much from her central plot. The themes of love, loss, struggle and connection are explored well in this short story, with a twist on the ‘ghost story’ genre.
Rebecca SmithPublished 4 years ago in HorrorBreaking The Chains
Other than my discussion on the comparisons with “Bird Box” and this Pandemic, I haven’t done anything close to a straight forward book review as I’ve already been wanting to. Well, I never do anything straight forward, so here’s something to think about adding to your reading list, that oddly enough ties in, in a very frightening way, to the isolation we all feel right about now as we continue to more or less shelter in place during this Pandemic.
Coco Jenae`Published 4 years ago in HorrorSomeone SAW "Bird Box" Coming!!
In our current way of life, it's hard NOT to notice, how familiar it all appears. A cloth must always cover our face in order to survive an invisible monster. The only difference is, we're allowed to see, we just have to be careful what we breathe.
Coco Jenae`Published 4 years ago in HorrorBook Review: My Best Friend's Exorcism
"I love you, Gretchen Lang. You are my reflection and my shadow and I will not let you go." Rating: 10/10 Synopsis: Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, and don't expect that to change anytime soon. However, one summer in the 1980's when the girls are in high school, Gretchen starts to act like a completely different person; like, the old Gretchen Abby knew and loved so much isn’t even there anymore. And this isn't the typical changes everyone goes through in high school, this is something...abnormal. As if that isn’t weird enough, creepy things start to happen whenever Gretchen is around - birds dying by the hundreds, her friends getting injured in the strangest ways, and much much worse. Abby soon comes to the conclusion that there can only be one thing wrong with her best friend: she’s possessed.
Veronica TraggiaiPublished 4 years ago in HorrorReed Alexander's Literary Review of 'Trief Magic' (2020) by John Baltisberger
The first thing that caught me, is the primary character Ze'ev (Wolf), reminds me very much of John Constantine. He's a bit of a jaded todger and its difficult to tell if he's doing this because its a job, or if he in some respect believes in what he's doing. There are tons of fairly stark comparisons between the two, so I won't belabor the point. Needless to say, everything from the attitude to the talk, to the 'film noir' gum-shoe stylization, matches pretty closely.
Reed AlexanderPublished 4 years ago in HorrorReed Alexander's Horror Review of 'Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women' 2020, Edited by Lee Murray and Geneve Flynn
In order for me to consider an anthology good, it needs at least three solid stories that are worth the purchase. The only exception, my review of the Creeping Corruption Anthology, where I mentioned that The Being by J. M. Striker, was worth the cover price, alone!
Reed AlexanderPublished 4 years ago in Horror