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361st out of 525 books
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634 voters
The Cold Spot
by
J.G. Faherty (Goodreads Author)
Clay Daniels is an outcast among outcasts. Cursed with a terrible birthmark on his face, his life is an endless misery of teasing and physical abuse from his classmates. Things only get worse when his parents die and he's forced to move in with cruel relatives who make the torture of school seem like paradise.
Then everything changes when he meets a boy named John in the wo...more
Then everything changes when he meets a boy named John in the wo...more
Kindle Edition, 174 pages
Published
2012
by Delirium Books
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The pains of adolescence are well known by everyone. The struggle to find one’s self and be accepted by their peers is usually one of the most harrowing events in growing up. JG Faherty’s, The Cold Spot, illustrates the vulnerability of youth and the manipulation of death with unnerving detail and motivation.
Faherty reintroduces one of the oldest horror stereotypes with gut-wrenching honesty. The youthful naivety in the search for acceptance is fully detailed in Clay’s derailing. Turning to some...more
Faherty reintroduces one of the oldest horror stereotypes with gut-wrenching honesty. The youthful naivety in the search for acceptance is fully detailed in Clay’s derailing. Turning to some...more
Horror monsters seem to go through trends. When I was little, it was the vampire. Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire found a new audience, Poppy Z. Brite gave us Lost Souls, and Francis Ford Coppola (with a major casting in Gary Oldman) turned the Count into one of the most romantic killers of all time. The 00s were the decade of the zombie. George Romero was still going strong as were Romero remakes. Max Brooks wrote World War Z and the undead were everywhere. Where have the ghosts gone? J...more
I love ghost stories, have ever since I was first able to read, something about them always gets under my skin and if they are as well written, twisted and creepy as JG Faherty’s “The Cold Spot”, well that just makes it even better.
This is the first book I have read by JG Faherty and if any of his other work is anything like this he is definitely an author I will be keeping my eye on.
“The Cold Spot” is a tale that will bring you back to the days of your youth, going to school, reliving those day...more
This is the first book I have read by JG Faherty and if any of his other work is anything like this he is definitely an author I will be keeping my eye on.
“The Cold Spot” is a tale that will bring you back to the days of your youth, going to school, reliving those day...more
This is my first Faherty piece and overall, I found it to be simply ok. Certainly, it was a competently told story, and I didn't find any major blunders in the work itself. However, I can't really say that I was entirely engaged by any of characters.
In particular, our protagonist, Clay Daniels, had a fairly bland yet whiny personality... one that was certainly appropriate for a teenager, but not one that helped him stand out as a character. I think I am giving this story 3 stars because I can ap...more
In particular, our protagonist, Clay Daniels, had a fairly bland yet whiny personality... one that was certainly appropriate for a teenager, but not one that helped him stand out as a character. I think I am giving this story 3 stars because I can ap...more
Clay Daniels was born with a terrible birthmark on his face. All the kids at school would make fun of him and call him names. Clay's mother and father were killed in a fire. Clay was force to live with an aunt and uncle that he could not stand. Things changed one afternoon while walking through the woods, Clay meet a boy name John. John accepted Clay for what he was and wanted to hang out with him, There was only one problem with John and his friends, they were dead. Clay was so happy to have fr...more
T.S. Eliot once wrote that "Youth is cruel and has no remorse." Well, this concept is brilliantly on display in JG Faherty's "The Cold Spot," a compelling, addictive read that will take you back to your formative school days and having you thanking the good Lord that they're over.
As if Clay Daniels's parents and his dog dying in a horrific fire just two weeks prior wasn't bad enough, he's now forced to move in with an uninterested aunt, a borderline drunk of a disciplinaran uncle, and three lous...more
As if Clay Daniels's parents and his dog dying in a horrific fire just two weeks prior wasn't bad enough, he's now forced to move in with an uninterested aunt, a borderline drunk of a disciplinaran uncle, and three lous...more
Positives: A ghost story!!! They seem to have vanished amidst werewolves, vampires, and zombies. Faherty explores the fear and evil that remains when someone dies. His ghost theories are fascinating and he uses them to lay the groundwork for a great tale. What you think… isn’t what you think… There is some gore and violence, but only what’s necessary to the story. It’s fear not stomach-turning horror. Clay is an extremely compelling character, particularly if you’ve ever been the outsider.
Negati...more
Negati...more
Ghosts have always been the staple of horror. They've probably been there ever since human beings first began telling stories! The Cold Spot takes some of the classic ghost tropes, tosses in a few new ideas to spice up the specter legends and out comes a very disturbing tale of childhood nightmares. The ending will leave your head spinning in its clever, subtle turn right at the last. The gore got a little out of hand toward the end. I would have preferred the more nuanced style Faherty built th...more
People just aren't doing ghosts anymore. I don't know why. Faherty brings them back with a vengeance. What you think isn't. What you believe isn't. By the end of the story, everything real is unreal and we're in a frightening world out of control. But do we know what we think we know? Faherty weaves a tale that twists and turns and makes you question your own sanity by the end. Fantastic.
GHOSTS! I love the old Gothic ghost story and there just aren't many around anymore. Faherty's story is a modern take on the classic spook in the graveyard tale. A lonely outcast meets his dreams friends, but the fairytale goes from bad to worse. Full of suspense, fear, and an amazing twist ending that makes you pause, think, and read twice.
3.5 stars.
Slightly better than "He Waits" although it suffers from the same problems. Once again, I feel that this book was written for a younger audience, based on the prose level, simple plot structure, and characterization. We do get a feel for the protagonist Clay Daniels and his motivation, but the outcast teenager who acquires a supernatural buddy(ies)/protector has been done so much better elsewhere with "Dweller" by Jeff Strand being pretty much the gold standard.
This novella does have a...more
Slightly better than "He Waits" although it suffers from the same problems. Once again, I feel that this book was written for a younger audience, based on the prose level, simple plot structure, and characterization. We do get a feel for the protagonist Clay Daniels and his motivation, but the outcast teenager who acquires a supernatural buddy(ies)/protector has been done so much better elsewhere with "Dweller" by Jeff Strand being pretty much the gold standard.
This novella does have a...more
Another great piece from J.G. Faherty. People are going to start thinking I am him in disguise, but Faherty's short works, particularly those focusing on children, are chillingly good.
A truly chilling ghost story with a blindsided twist.
Apr 28, 2013
Donna
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
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JG Faherty grew up in the haunted Hudson Valley region of New York, and still resides there. Living in an area filled with Revolutionary War battle grounds, two-hundred year-old gravesites, ghosts, haunted roads, and tales of monsters in the woods has provided a rich background for his writing. A life-long fan of horror and dark fiction, JG enjoys reading, watching movies, golfing and hiking with...more
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