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Skulls

by Tim Marquitz (Goodreads Author)

4.5 of 5 stars 4.50 · rating details · 12 ratings · 7 reviews

Life held little interest for Jacob...until he found death.

Abused and neglected, Jacob's only solace comes when he is alone in the woods or in the arms of his new girlfriend. But when he stumbles across a hidden bunker filled with human skulls, he learns what true suffering is. Drawn to examine the skulls, he finds there is more than just empty blackness behind their lifel...more

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Published (first published March 27th 2011)

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Jul 26, 2012 Mihir rated it 4 of 5 stars

Full Review originally at Fantasy Book Critic

ANALYSIS: Skulls was an experiment of sorts for Tim Marquitz, who wanted to see whether he could bring his dark storytelling ability to a YA novel. Considering that the author’s previous books included the darkly humorous Armageddon Bound and the melancholy tinged Sepulchral Earth:The Long Road, I had no idea what to expect from Skulls...

Skulls begins by introducing us to Jacob Rile, an emotionally neglected and physically abused teen who happens up...more
Full Review originally at Fantasy Book Critic

ANALYSIS: Skulls was an experiment of sorts for Tim Marquitz, who wanted to see whether he could bring his dark storytelling ability to a YA novel. Considering that the author’s previous books included the darkly humorous Armageddon Bound and the melancholy tinged Sepulchral Earth:The Long Road, I had no idea what to expect from Skulls...

Skulls begins by introducing us to Jacob Rile, an emotionally neglected and physically abused teen who happens upon a bunker where he discovers a gleaming array of human skulls. Not knowing the reason for their existence, Jacob rapidly exits the bunker with trepidation, but also a hint of curiosity. Before long, Jacob develops a psychic link with the bunker and is able to see and feel the murder of each skull he picks up. This awakens a very dark nature in Jacob as he’s drawn continuously to the skulls and their morbid memories. At the same time, the killer learns about Jacob’s connection to the skulls and is debating whether to kill the teen or apprentice him, while Jacob’s friends start to withdraw from him except for Cassie who tries to rescue Jacob from his own dark nature. From here, the plot escalates as more murders occur and Jacob seems hell-bent on making himself a murder junkie.

Skulls is a dark tale, and even though there is a mystery occurring at the same time, it is not very absorbing. Characterization however, is a major attraction, particularly Jacob Rile, a young soul who is drawn into a vicious web of murder & sadism due to familial neglect and the allure of dark power. Jacob’s struggles are the heart of this tale, which includes a stunning choice he has to make at the end of the story.

Negatively, the identity of the killer is easy to guess which softens the mystery aspect of the tale, but since the killer’s identitiy is not a central thread in the book, it’s not a major issue. Skulls is also a bit on the short side, but increasing the page count would mean losing some of the narrative tension and rapid pacing.

CONCLUSION: All in all, Skulls was a different book from Tim Marquitz’s previous efforts. It was also different from the few other YA books I have read due to its grim content, but it is a very good book because of its characters and plot. In short, I’m glad Tim Marquitz took this chance with Skulls, because it allowed him to showcase his literary skills in a different direction, while providing YA readers with a grim, but entertaining thrill ride...(less)

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Apr 08, 2012 Ryan Lawler rated it 4 of 5 stars

Similar to the relationship between Sci-Fi and Fantasy, the lines that separate Horror from Fantasy have always been blurry with books such as The Stand and The Dark Tower by Stephen King often referred to as a hybrid of the two. With the emergence of Paranormal Fantasy as the new fiction powerhouse, those lines have now almost completely disappeared, and as more and more Fantasy-Horror hybrids start to appear on the fantasy shelves of my local bookstores, I find that I am starting to read more...more Similar to the relationship between Sci-Fi and Fantasy, the lines that separate Horror from Fantasy have always been blurry with books such as The Stand and The Dark Tower by Stephen King often referred to as a hybrid of the two. With the emergence of Paranormal Fantasy as the new fiction powerhouse, those lines have now almost completely disappeared, and as more and more Fantasy-Horror hybrids start to appear on the fantasy shelves of my local bookstores, I find that I am starting to read more of them in an effort to understand what has made these books so popular seemingly overnight. The latest of these hybrids to cross my path is a young adult novel named Skulls by Tim Marquitz, a book that uses just enough elements from both genres to create a mysterious story that at times will chill you right to the bone.

The story is a familiar one for those who read a lot of horror, a young boy new to town is exploring where he shouldn’t and makes a bone chilling discovery that dramatically affects his life and forces him to make some difficult decisions. In this case familiarity is not a problem as a strong protagonist and an intriguing magic element allows this story to create its own identity. The only problem I had with the story was that it became slightly predictable towards the end, killing the suspense for me, however, this is not a big issue as the clues that gave the story away for me may not be as obvious to the YA crowd who are the target audience.

The protagonist Jacob is a well written and interesting character who does a lot to differentiate himself from the curious young boys in other horror stories. He comes from a downtrodden family with an abusive father but refuses to let his circumstances define who he is, his optimism is a refreshing characteristic rarely seen in horror stories, and his internal conflicts are really well handled. Unfortunately the rest of the characters in this story are a bit hit and miss, with the strength of Jacob’s father Mike and his girlfriend Cass offset by stock standard support cast who really aren’t all that memorable. While it’s not a big issue as the story focuses primarily on Jacob and the relationships with his father and his girlfriend, the dialogue and actions from these support characters are at times unnecessary and often stall the flow of the story.

Characters aside, the story is very well written and does a fantastic job at creating and maintaining mystery, intrigue, and suspense. The best scenes are those with Jacob and the skulls; the memories stored within the skulls are perfectly written and created some powerful emotions as each new memory was unveiled and retold. There are times when exploring Jacobs back-story that the suspense is broken or just fades away, but these scenes often provide a necessary insight into Jacobs mind and the suspense is quickly restored. The story is well paced, the imagery is vivid, and it can be very easy to lose yourself in some of the more powerful scenes.

After reading Skulls it is becoming clearer to me why Fantasy-Horror hybrid stories are doing so well. By taking everyday people like the neighbour down the street and turning them into a monster you can create an incredibly chilling realistic scenario that can be off-putting to a lot of readers, but by adding a few supernatural elements the story becomes less realistic, making it more accessible to a wider ranger of readers while retaining that chilling essence. If you are looking to enter this genre for the first time, or if you are looking for something a bit more edgy than your regular epic fantasy, I recommend that you read Skulls and experience the piercing gaze of the skulls for yourself.(less)

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Jun 06, 2011 Monster added it · review of another edition

Shelves: human-killers-ya, reading-bites-ya

Jacob is a teen who hates his life. His father is an abusive drunk, his mother left him, and his stepmother practically ignores him (except when she leaves behind a mess for him to clean up). The only good thing in Jacob’s life is his girlfriend Cass, a goth-chick whose parents would never approve of Jacob because he comes from the “wrong side of the tracks”. One afternoon, Jacob accidentally discovers a bunker hidden in the earth on Old Man Jenks’ property. The bunker is full of skulls—human sk...more Jacob is a teen who hates his life. His father is an abusive drunk, his mother left him, and his stepmother practically ignores him (except when she leaves behind a mess for him to clean up). The only good thing in Jacob’s life is his girlfriend Cass, a goth-chick whose parents would never approve of Jacob because he comes from the “wrong side of the tracks”. One afternoon, Jacob accidentally discovers a bunker hidden in the earth on Old Man Jenks’ property. The bunker is full of skulls—human skulls. There have been rumors about Jenks for decades after the recluse moved to town. When Jacob looks into the eye sockets of one of the skulls he sees something that freaks him out.
Jacob doesn’t tell anyone of his discovery, but can’t stop thinking about what he’s found. As his life begins to spiral out of control, Jacob keeps returning to the bunker. Cass is becoming more concerned about Jacob, but he can’t bring himself to talk to her about his secret. Someone knows he’s going there, though, because one afternoon a box with a skull is left for Jacob at his trailer. Does Old Man Jenks know that Jacob has been sneaking onto his property? Is Jenks really a murderer? And what does he want with Jacob?
Skulls is a young adult title, but it has more than enough of a story to keep adults entertained. The setting is perfect for this rather unique story, and character development is dead on. I felt for Jacob and could also relate to him, as well as to Cass. The pacing is excellent, and Marquitz easily holds the reader’s interest: I didn’t want to stop reading the book. Marquitz keeps the suspense alive throughout, and the climax is a huge surprise that I never saw coming. Marquitz does that with every book he writes, and I have to say, that’s my favorite kind of ending. There’s nothing predictable about Skulls, and I love that in a book. Highly recommended.
Contains: some blood and gore, references to alcohol use
Reviewed by: Colleen Wanglund(less)

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Jan 15, 2012 Stacey Danson rated it 5 of 5 stars

BOOK REVIEW:

SKULLS by TIM MARQUITZ

Genre: Young Adult Horror.

Published: Damnation Books April 2011.

Amazon description: “Life held little interest for Jacob...until he found death. Abused and neglected, Jacob's only solace comes when he is alone in the woods or in the arms of his new girlfriend. But when he stumbles across a hidden bunker filled with human skulls, he learns what true suffering is. Drawn to examine the skulls, he finds there is more than just empty blackness behind their lifeless s...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Yolanda Sfetsos rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, ya-contemporary, kindle

I was intrigued by the concept of this story, and the cover's super creepy too. I also found myself totally engrossed in Skulls, as soon as I got started.

Jacob doesn't live a very happy or caring life. His father and stepmother don't have any time for him. The only things they care about are drinking, spending time at the bar, and making a mess of their trailer home so they can make Jacob clean it up. That's pretty much all his life involves--cleaning after his parents, waiting to find out what...more I was intrigued by the concept of this story, and the cover's super creepy too. I also found myself totally engrossed in Skulls, as soon as I got started.

Jacob doesn't live a very happy or caring life. His father and stepmother don't have any time for him. The only things they care about are drinking, spending time at the bar, and making a mess of their trailer home so they can make Jacob clean it up. That's pretty much all his life involves--cleaning after his parents, waiting to find out what other chores he's expected to do, and then putting up with his father's punishments.

At least he's got Cass. The girl he likes to spend time with. At least, at the end of the day, he can sneak out and visit her. Even if they seem to be from two different worlds, they enjoy being together and spending time with each other. Being with Cass helps Jacob get through the other crap in his life.

Until he stumbles on a bunker in the woods. A bunker filled with shiny, human skulls. Each with their own frightening tale of misery, fear, and death. After witnessing what one of these skulls can show him, Jacob becomes obsessed. Now, instead of sneaking out to see Cass, he longs to sneak out to the bunker so he can spy on another dead soul's last moments of life. It becomes so all-consuming that his life starts to spin out of control. All of a sudden he's paranoid about everyone, his friends think he's on something, Cass can't understand what's changing in him, and his father's had just about enough of him.

The skulls eventually become his only concern, leading him closer to a killer still lurking in the woods, and the loss of his sanity...

Skulls is a very creepy book that kept me guessing. The tension is wound so tight I kept expecting the worse case scenario at every step. And that's the awesome thing about this book, just when you think things can't get any worse for Jacob, they do. There's a very surprising conclusion to Jacob's obsessive behaviour over the skulls, and the path he decides to take.

I had a great time reading this story, and really enjoyed it!(less)

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Apr 26, 2011 Mayara Arend marked it as to-read

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Jan 14, 2012 Tyson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, scifi-fantasy

Review here.

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May 12, 2013 Roseann marked it as to-read

Apr 15, 2013 Shannon marked it as to-read

Mar 24, 2013 Abhinav marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Mar 06, 2013 Mike marked it as to-read

Jan 04, 2013 Cristian marked it as to-read

Dec 31, 2012 Deepshikha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dec 17, 2012 Kashish Kaur marked it as to-read

Shelves: horror-but-diff

Jun 03, 2012 Stacey Turner marked it as to-read

May 31, 2012 Jason Brawn rated it 5 of 5 stars

May 15, 2012 Kurisutaina marked it as to-read

Nov 02, 2012 Midu Hadi marked it as to-read

Shelves: premissing

Mar 24, 2013 Bastard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Apr 01, 2012 Tracey marked it as to-read

Feb 22, 2012 Missjay added it

Nov 04, 2011 Colleen Wanglund rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jun 05, 2011 Whitneye rated it 5 of 5 stars

May 05, 2011 Glenda Bixler marked it as to-read

May 05, 2011 Gale Stanley marked it as to-read

May 05, 2011 Al Boudreau marked it as to-read

May 05, 2011 Nya Rawlyns marked it as to-read

Apr 15, 2011 Chibineko marked it as to-read

Apr 11, 2011 Whitneye rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Apr 01, 2011 Damnation Books publisher rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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About Tim Marquitz

Dark Fantasy Author

"Horror becomes art when it flows from the pen of Tim Marquitz." ~ Bobby D. Whitney - BookWenches

"Witty, sarcastic and hilarious." Michelle - Publishers Weekly

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Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous

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