|
|
|
|
|
I listened to an interview with Ray Bradbury in which he said this was his favorite book, which he read repeatedly and always loved. Since I'm a huge admirer of Ray Bradbury's work, I promised myself I would read A Christmas Carol this holiday season...more
I listened to an interview with Ray Bradbury in which he said this was his favorite book, which he read repeatedly and always loved. Since I'm a huge admirer of Ray Bradbury's work, I promised myself I would read A Christmas Carol this holiday season. I'm glad I did.
It's a ghost story. We all know that. In fact, we all know so many darned things about this tale you might be tempted to think it's pointless to read it. Alas, while much of it was familiar territory and I knew what was going to happen, I enjoyed reading this story quite a bit. Every now and then it's nice to come across something that enriches your life beyond simple entertainment, and that's something A Christmas Carol does very well. Also, the Ghost of Christmas Future was genuinely creepy, made a fitting last visitation for dear Mr. Scrooge.
This is a great story, a classic for good reasons. The prose is still easy to read, not terribly dated at all. It's a story everyone should read at least once. If you have any kind of a heart at all, it stirs things inside you that need to be stirred. Definitely recommended.(less)
|
|
|
I really loved this book. It was a blast to read, delivered action and gore and really evoked some 80s nostalgia for me. I loved the pop references, and all the creative ways people died slimy, gruesome, sluggy deaths. The sex scenes were ok, but sin...more
I really loved this book. It was a blast to read, delivered action and gore and really evoked some 80s nostalgia for me. I loved the pop references, and all the creative ways people died slimy, gruesome, sluggy deaths. The sex scenes were ok, but since I'm one of those people who gets to have sex in real life, I can take or leave them. I read this book from beginning to end with a grin on my face.
So, you're no doubt wondering, why did I only give this book three stars?
First off, the writing was pretty rough. It was clearly the work of Hutson early in his career, before he really had the chops to write good prose.
***SPOILERS***
Second, never, anywhere in this book, in discussing ways to get rid of these freaking slugs, does anyone suggest a bag of freakin' salt. Having sizzled lots of slugs to death as a child, salt would have been the first thing I suggested, at least to handle the smaller scale problems. Naturally, the vast proliferation of the things in the sewers required a heavier hand, but still, for no one to even mention salt in the book ... hmm, well, anyway. There was also the utter lack of any help from law enforcement or other agencies that would have been better equipped to deal with the problem which seemed kinda unlikely.
***END SPOILERS***
I recommend this book for folks who like fun, gory fiction rooted firmly in the 1980s. Despite its flaws, it was entertaining.(less)
|
|
|
|
This book looked promising in a schlock-cheese sort of way but ultimately didn't deliver for me. The male main character was whiny and unlikable. The writing was ok, but ultimately, all the main characters in this book did things I didn't feel like a...more
This book looked promising in a schlock-cheese sort of way but ultimately didn't deliver for me. The male main character was whiny and unlikable. The writing was ok, but ultimately, all the main characters in this book did things I didn't feel like any person with half a brain would do in similar situations. The setup for the story was entertaining, but the book didn't deliver much in the way of gore except for one scene near the end that made me laugh. All in all, it was predictable, and seemed to me pretty terrible. Disappointing.(less)
|
|
|
THE HOUR OF THE OXRUN DEAD is an intriguing read, the first book in what would become an ongoing, disconnected series of books set in the fictional town of Oxrun Station. It is very subtle in its horror, with some gripping suspense and main character...more
THE HOUR OF THE OXRUN DEAD is an intriguing read, the first book in what would become an ongoing, disconnected series of books set in the fictional town of Oxrun Station. It is very subtle in its horror, with some gripping suspense and main characters you can like.
As with all of Charles Grant's gothic horror, the prose weaves a spell of almost surreal gloom. In a few places, in an attempt to weave that spell, the prose gets awkward, with strange analogies that make you stop and have to think about them. That said, this is a minor gripe, as the book is very well written overall. In re-reading this book after 20-something years, it was much more readable as an adult than I found it as a teen. In fact, I eagerly read as many pages as time allowed in each sitting, and forged ahead to the end with a driving need to know what would happen.
A previous reviewer complained that the book needed some "80s decadence" to place it more firmly in its time. I have to disagree. The book was written in the mid to late 70s. As such, it is very much on par with other books of its time. Though it came almost a decade years later, I found myself thinking it was similar in some ways to Ira Levin's ROSEMARY'S BABY, leaning on the occult mystery, strange hinted-at conspiracies, and suspense to drive the story ahead. The 70s were full of novels that attempted to re-capture that creepy sense of occult horror Levin achieved, and this (intentionally or unintentionally) was one of them.
My only real gripe with the book was that I felt the conclusion was too brief. All of the elements didn't seem to come completely together and adequately explain, to my mind anyway, all that was going on in the town. Granted, not everything *has* to be explained in detail, so it wasn't a deal killer, just a personal feeling when I came to the end. I still really liked this book a lot, and enjoyed reading it so much I'd recommend it without hesitation to anyone with an interest in horror of the "creeping suspense" variety, in that late-1960s and 1970s style.
Charles Grant deserves to be remembered for his work in the genre, not only as an author, but as an editor. Other books by Grant that I'd recommend include THE PET, and his short story collection TALES FROM THE NIGHTSIDE. I also highly recommend the SHADOWS series, which he edited from the late 1970s through the 1980s.(less)
|
|
|
|
Kings of Infinite Space grabbed me from the description on the back of the book. A technical writer, in Texas, whose work life is hell? Hey, this main character and I have a lot in common! (Minus the part about him being haunted by his dead cat.) Aft...more
Kings of Infinite Space grabbed me from the description on the back of the book. A technical writer, in Texas, whose work life is hell? Hey, this main character and I have a lot in common! (Minus the part about him being haunted by his dead cat.) After I read the first page, I knew I was going to love this book, and it certainly delivered. Awesome character development, genuinely creepy goings-on, and real laugh-out-loud moments. The ending went pretty far into strangeland, but it was still a fantastic read, one of my favorites in recent years. There's a blurb on the back of the book that says "Office Space meets the X-Files" and I think that's about dead on. I loved it, and I'll probably read it again soon. Well done, Mr. Hynes!(less)
|
|
|
|
Michael McDowell's books sold well in his lifetime, but in recent years it seemed he'd not even on the radar of newer horror readers. This book is one of the reasons he *should* be. This is one of the scariest horror novels I've ever read. When a fam...more
Michael McDowell's books sold well in his lifetime, but in recent years it seemed he'd not even on the radar of newer horror readers. This book is one of the reasons he *should* be. This is one of the scariest horror novels I've ever read. When a family from old money travels to a remote Florida peninsula to escape the grief of a recent family death, they stay in one of three old houses that have been there for years. But one of the houses is ... different. It's buried in dunes of sand, as if the island has tried to swallow it up. And something is in there. Horror fans would do well to read any book by McDowell, but this one is my favorite by him. A genuinely creepy, southern gothic.(less)
|
|
|
|
There are a handful of books you’ll come across in your lifetime that are magic. They grab your hand and run with you behind them, dragging you down the dusty roads of your youth to worlds of adventure and imagination. They wrap themselves around you...more
There are a handful of books you’ll come across in your lifetime that are magic. They grab your hand and run with you behind them, dragging you down the dusty roads of your youth to worlds of adventure and imagination. They wrap themselves around you, they get inside of you and touch your heart. They make you laugh and they make you cry. BOY’S LIFE by Robert McCammon is one of those books. One of my favorite novels of all time. A couple years ago I re-read this book and was captured by its magic all over again. If you'd like to read the full review, the old blog post is here: http://christopherfulbright.com/?p=237(less)
|
|
|
|
I enjoyed Unto the Altar, so don't think the three-star rating is a slam. The reason I didn't give it four stars was because I felt it was a bit overwritten and could have been almost half the length it was. There was a lot of internal monologue, and...more
I enjoyed Unto the Altar, so don't think the three-star rating is a slam. The reason I didn't give it four stars was because I felt it was a bit overwritten and could have been almost half the length it was. There was a lot of internal monologue, and I didn't find the main character all that sharp. Yes, she's supposed to have been brainwashed, but there are some real bonehead moments here. That said, I am nostalgic for 80s pulp horror, and I love John Tigges books overall, so I did enjoy reading this book. Great occult horror, devil worshipers in a manor on an isolated island, sacrifices, orgies and a few surprises at the end made this a satisfying read for me.(less)
|