Long Black Coffin

Dec 06, 2012 Justin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Well, you can officially add ghost stories to the types of novels that Tim curran is a master of. This one was my first official title since joining the darkfuse kindle club late last month and I hate to say that the subscription is going to Be all downhill from here but it is really going to be hard to top this one, At least until sow is released anyway. This wasn't nearly as gory as some of his novels but for a ghost story it was preaty dark and violent, it was a great story with alot of great...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Ann Sloan rated it 3 of 5 stars

When I started reading this book, I was, for some reason, under the impression that it was a YA horror novel. I got over that very quickly. Maybe it is “new adult,” the new term for readers 18-to-25-year-olds, the age group right above young adult. The New York Times said that some in publishing as describe this genre as Harry Potter meets 50 Shades of Grey.

I haven’t read, nor do I plan to read 50 Shades of Grey. Don’t misunderstand me; I read The Story of O a few years ago and even dabbled in A...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Criminal Reads rated it 2 of 5 stars

The first 88 pages of the book were pretty cool. Two people from the same family that decide to kill themselves in the same car, one of whom leaves behind a best friend wondering why he didn’t read the signs better even though together they spent their lives drunk off their rockers. Reading what went on in their minds as they spent their days doing nothing but seeing how much trouble they could get into without getting caught. But then his best friend kills himself in the same car the said frien...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Majanka rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, horror, read-2012

Long Black Coffin is a disturbing, twisted, dark fiction novel that managed to keep me up until the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately, that was more due to curiosity than to actual fear, but nevertheless, I enjoyed this gem. Mr. Curran has a terrific way with words and seems to have a magical wand for lyrical prose. The story itself ranks high in originality, and the characters were fun and enjoyable, at least up to some degree. There were some tidbits here and there that annoyed me endles...more Long Black Coffin is a disturbing, twisted, dark fiction novel that managed to keep me up until the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately, that was more due to curiosity than to actual fear, but nevertheless, I enjoyed this gem. Mr. Curran has a terrific way with words and seems to have a magical wand for lyrical prose. The story itself ranks high in originality, and the characters were fun and enjoyable, at least up to some degree. There were some tidbits here and there that annoyed me endlessly, but not enough to stop reading.

After Johnny’s best friend, Kurt, commits suicide in the same car his Dad killed himself in years prior, Johnny is left behind to pick up the pieces. Without Kurt and any real family to fall back on, his mother, Stella, is completely lost, and searches for love and support by reaching out to Johnny. But when the latter discovers something eerie in the basement of Stella’s house, he opens the door for something sinister to crawl through from the world beyond. Something is haunting Stella and her family, and somehow it’s related to the disappearance of several small children fifteen years ago. Stella starts acting strangely, utnil Johnny grows convinced she’s possessed. He discovers a tape in the basement, a tape showing Vic, Stella’s late husband, torturing a young woman. Johnny quickly jumps to conclusions about Kurt’s parents, but he may have to change his views when the girl returns from the death…

Our main character, Johnny Breede, is little more than a nobody in a town filled with nobodies. He spends his time drinking and doing drugs, and literally half of this book is filled with accounts of Johnny’s parties and interactions with people wasting their life almost as much as he is. It came up to the point I cared little or not about Johnny’s potential death – after all, he was just wasting his life away hopping from one wasted night into another. I know not every book needs a perfect protagonist, and in that sense, it was a relief to visit the opposite end of the spectrum for a change. There were little good qualities one could find in Johnny. He’s a coward, he’s incapable of truly loving anyone, and he leaves people at the first sight of trouble. When he kept leaving Kurt’s Mom alone to deal with whatever evil was harnessing power inside her home, he lost all my sympathy. He treats his sister like crap most of the time, although she’s the one who stood by him through it all. The only one he was half-decent to was Kurt, and Kurt dies very soon in the novel, so that shatters quickly. No, I didn’t like Johnny, and that actually counted for more than half of the characters passing the revue in Long Black Coffin. I somewhat liked Kurt, but like I said, quick dead, and then he’s gone. I disliked all Johnny’s party friends because they shared his attitude. Stella, Kurt’s Mom, is a mess after his death, and although I felt sympathetic toward her at first, I wasn’t so sure about that anymore as the story progressed.

I liked the story’s originality. It’s not completely original, but there were parts here and there that intrigued me and felt unique, like the involvement of Vic’s car, and the connection between the murders and the entity haunting Stella’s home. Then again, there are elements that scream ‘been there, done that’, but that are still executed nicely in the book. What I found a pity, was how quick everything happened. The tension built up as Johnny found the hidden box in the basement, but after that, everything went so far, and some things went over the top at record speed, leaving little or no tension. I didn’t even feel scared after that. Too much happened at once, and it came too fast, and it was too gruesome, too grotesque, too disproportional for me to be scared anymore. Also, the constant references to sex, sexual depravity, SM and other, much worse things, made me feel sick to the stomach rather than frightened. Johnny discovers a videotape at some point in the book, showing how Vic humiliates and sexually tortures a young woman. The videotape is so bad Johnny can’t even watch it, and Johnny seems pretty messed up in that department himself. Having to read through that, I felt nothing but nausea. Even when it’s explained later on, I thought the link between why the girl enjoyed being hit hard, until she bled, and the reason behind it, very weak, and the story could’ve done well without. Maybe these elements were added to shock the reader, but trust me, with all the gore and death in this book already, it didn’t need anymore shock factor.

That said, at times I did very much enjoy reading this book. There were elements of surprise here and there, and I loved how the author often hinted at the solution, but didn’t reveal anything until the end. Most of what I mentioned I didn’t like here are very personal things as well. I’m not a big fan of adding sexual depravity everywhere. I didn’t get it in The Exorcist, I didn’t get it here either. Why would demons feed on humanity’s supposed repressed sexuality? I think adding these elements to show the darker side of humanity might work in some cases, but then it needs to be the focus, not a side-thought just to make matters worse than they already are. I absolutely hated Johnny for bailing on Stella when she needed him the most, and I found the backstory of the evil thing threatening town intriguing, although maybe a bit much at times. Throw everything bad you can possibly imagine in one person or creature, and you come up with this thing. Not the most subtle of horror stories, but a nice read, once you look past the sex and gore.(less)

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Jan 31, 2013 Todd Russell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, darkfuse-publisher, first-person-pov

This was a different read from the other other two Curran novels I've read (the awesome Dead Sea and very good Biohazard). The other two were more action-oriented and offered more thrills, chills and gore. I can enjoy a slow and subtle horror atmosphere building, but this one is a bit off-pace, like shifting abruptly from first gear to fourth about a third of the way in. It starts with several character introductions (that are mostly partying scenes with little story or character value) and we d...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Sean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: darkfuse, horror, 2012-top-reads

Recently I stumbled on a horror bookclub subscription service put on by this book's publisher, Darkfuse. This was the first novel I have received from the club.

Tim Curran - I've never read anything by him. I have however marked a few of his books on various sites 'to read' and 'wish lists'. I just hadn't gotten around to actually reading him. This novel was the perfect opportunity to remedy that.

Going into this novel I didn't read any kind of summaries, synapses, etc. so I had no clue what type...more Recently I stumbled on a horror bookclub subscription service put on by this book's publisher, Darkfuse. This was the first novel I have received from the club.

Tim Curran - I've never read anything by him. I have however marked a few of his books on various sites 'to read' and 'wish lists'. I just hadn't gotten around to actually reading him. This novel was the perfect opportunity to remedy that.

Going into this novel I didn't read any kind of summaries, synapses, etc. so I had no clue what type of a story this was going to be.

The Long Black Coffin is a car. Great (stated sarcastically). I have absolutely no interest in cars, wouldn't be able to tell one part from another and well, yawn when people start to discuss them. There have been a few other car type horror stories, one of the more famous ones being Stephen King's Christine. I found that novel okay but nothing special so was a little worried.

Curran takes a long time to really develop his characters. Heck, by the time what I feel was the 'true' story came out, I honestly felt like I knew the whole bloody town and all of its citizens that the story takes place in. After finishing this novel, upon reflection I am just amazed that he was able to get the whole town's personalities and story across in what isn't that large of a book. Upon looking at reviews for this author it seems like that is his specialty, really great character development.

It's because of this character development that I really didn't know what was coming. By the time the story takes its mandatory horrific twist, I'd been lulled into a sense of secured realism with the characters but then... ghosts and stuff are introduced.

Initially the supernatural elements had their shock value but that ended quickly for me. Then for a period of time I had some difficulty suspending my disbelief. I'm just not a huge fan of ghost stories, I'm not used to reading them, and have a difficult time believing them (yet I'll fall for virtually anything else, killer puppets, monsters, madmen, et. al: who knows why?). Eventually though, the author develops the supernatural element as strongly as he has already done for his 'human' characters and it all comes together.

I find it odd that the author developed his human characters with such detail and then when the supernatural elements arrive he just slaps us across the face with it. Sure he catches up with the supernatural development over the rest of the book, however it drastically changed the mood of the book in the middle. The mood corrects itself though after the initial supernatural introduction chapters. Maybe it was a good thing though. Curran drags us along TWICE through this novel to really get to know two sets of characters and it ends up being a ton of fun.

When it all came together I loved it. You can see the detail the author put into this work with various small hints and foreshadowing littered throughout the novel. Long Black Coffin is really well written and I look forward to reading more Tim Curran.(less)

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Nov 19, 2012 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

After Kurt dies of asphyxiation in an old '67 GTO, also known as The Coffin, the same car his father shot himself in his best friend Johnny is left wondering, realizing all of this seems too coincidental. While cleaning out his friends room because his mother has completely given up he starts coming upon things that could only be said to be paranormal occurrences. As Johnny starts looking into the history of the car and his best...more I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

After Kurt dies of asphyxiation in an old '67 GTO, also known as The Coffin, the same car his father shot himself in his best friend Johnny is left wondering, realizing all of this seems too coincidental. While cleaning out his friends room because his mother has completely given up he starts coming upon things that could only be said to be paranormal occurrences. As Johnny starts looking into the history of the car and his best friends family he finds himself pulled deeper into the haunting of a strange women with red hair, and a car which survives on the blood sacrifice of others.

This book overall was very creepy and sinister. I can't say that is scared me and I wasn't able to sleep but it was very disturbing. I personally didn't enjoy the beginning of the book where all Johnny and Kurt did was party and get drunk, witness fights, and just BS about life. That being said the book started out slowly for me but after Kurt dies the story picks up and races towards the finish. The storyline was original where a car was the main focal point involved in the haunting of the family. There were some parts of the horror aspect that had been done before but with the originality of the main plot they didn't seem like old tricks. None of the characters are overall likable but ironically that is why I liked the characters. All of them were broken whether it be through death of family members, drugs, alcoholism, or their past, they all had skeletons in their closets (some literally)!

There were several things about this book that irked me. The main problem I had was the graphic sex scenes. I have never understood why ghosts in a lot of horror books/movies are obsessed with sex. Later in the book it is semi-explained that blood and sex go together for this crazy women but it felt overdone at points and sometimes totally pointless. Several times the character Johnny wakes up to Stella/the "ghost" giving him sexual pleasures… I didn't feel like these scenes were necessary especially since they occurred after a very graphic sex scene a page before. That point goes into the videotape that Johnny finds. It was, for lack of a better term, messed up. It made sense by the end of the story why this tape existed and the meaning behind it but it just seemed weak to the plot and without it the story would have still progressed as needed.

And then the main thing that bothered me. I feel like the author of this book has never actually smelled what a dead, decomposing body smells like but likes to describe what it smells like constantly throughout the book. How this women died and even with all the forest elements… that is NOT what death smells like, trust me. Especially the point when Johnny is having sex with a person that turns into a decomposing corpse it is a nauseating smell not one that keeps you turned on. Also just as a side note, it may happen I don't know, but I have never seen a dead body with moss growing out of its butt. Moss grows very slowly and with all the bugs it probably isn't even probable for it to grow until it is just skeletal remains. This wasn't even a plot point and just was a side note but it just bothered me the whole book. Sorry that was just a gripe of a forensic person there.

There were also many good things about this book though. Besides the sex part of the haunting I thought it was very well done. The violence and the whole connection to the forest was creative and the flash backs to the young girl I found very interesting and thought provoking when thinking about the rest of the book. I also liked how the child disappearances mentioned at the beginning of the book added into how sadistic and creepy the haunted spirit was. I will admit when Johnny first finds the tape and changes his mind about the spirit I was worried, the spirit tried to scare and almost kill you several times when you tried to gain possession and watch the tape but now you think it's all because you need to help the spirit find peace? Luckily that was not where the story was headed and Johnny found that out the hard way.

Overall I will give this book a solid 3/5 stars. It is a good horror novel and would recommend it for when you want a chilling story but not one that will keep you up at night. (less)

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Dec 29, 2012 Mallory Anne-Marie Forbes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Mallory Anne-Marie by: Charlene

Shelves: december-2012-reads, great-fall-challenge-lp-2012

Review of Long Black Coffin by Tim Curran
5 stars

Writing a first-person narrative, and making it work properly and flow smoothly, is not an easy task. Not every writer can do it. Tim Curran does, immensely well. There wasn’t a dropped stitch in this complex, multiply-motivated novel, which is completely viewed through the perspective of twenty-three-year-old Johnny (or as some friends call him, “Johnny Breed”). Johnny is a young man with a sad past, a sorry present, and not much concern about the...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Peter Schwotzer rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I first read the above synopsis about Tim Curran's newest book I thought to myself..."Oh, no...not another Christine." Christine being one of my least favorites of Mr King's work. But I needn't have worried with Mr. Curran at the helm.

Though both tales are about a haunted car, that is where the similarities ended for me and to tell you the truth I thought "Long Black Coffin" was much better than "Christine".

Even though "Long Black Coffin" is about a haunted car, it is much deeper than that...more

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Nov 16, 2012 Penni rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

A complex "ghost" story that unravels like a twisting dark ride where you will be shocked, confused, and disturbed by what you see through the eyes of Johnny Breede. Troubled with guilt and sadness over his best friends suicide and overpowered by desire for a woman that holds the key to understanding it all - Johnny begins to unlock the truth of what secrets are held by his friend before his death, perverse secrets buried deep in the cellar, horrific memories of sin and murder, and the mystery c...more

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May 11, 2013 Kim (Wistfulskimmies Book Reviews) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the story of Johnny Breede. A young man whose life isn't really going anywhere, content to goof around and get drunk and high with his best friend Kurt. That is until Kurt winds up dead, asphyxiated in his father's GTO. That same car that his father killed himself in some years previously. Now an evil has been unleashed and Johnny must piece together the mystery before anyone else dies. A mystery that will involve Kurt's family, the woods, Johnny's boss, some missing children and a malev...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels, reviewed, gr-wins

A disturbing read. Who knew ghosts had such a strong libido?
So basically, a nutty woman has sex with the American/Indian version of the Swamp Thing and that baby grows up evil, gets killed, haunts the couple that killed her from their car (a classic GTO, but still, wtf?), kills a few kids, has the husband commit suicide, kills the couple's son by asphyxiation, then the son best friend sets out for revenge... inhalling long breath....
Oh, and the best friend is basically a going-nowhere, chain-smo...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Lavonne Elliott rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is a ghost story on steriods. The characters are raw and down to earth, there is some language and sex in the book but all fits well in the fabric of the story, as yfeelou become familair with the characters you can feel that this how they would speak so it fits. The sex caught me a bit off guard after the first time the situation came up but as the writer moves you through the story you understand why it is a reocurring theme. I love the fact that the story is told by the main charact...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Andrew Reeder rated it 4 of 5 stars

A well written, real page turner filled with graphic horror prose steeped in both the supernatural and the true crime realities of modern monsters. Certainly one of the perks of belonging to the Dark Fuse Book Club is owning these fine quality signed first edition hardcovers at such an economical price. This is the second novel I have purchased and read written by Tim Curran-- a writer who can reach out and grab you and pull you into his truly twisted world. Great stuff.

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Dec 07, 2012 Grimgirl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A complex "ghost" story that unravels like a twisting dark ride where you will be shocked, confused, and disturbed by what you see through the eyes of Johnny Breede. Troubled with guilt and sadness over his best friends suicide and overpowered by desire for a woman that holds the key to understanding it all - Johnny begins to unlock the truth of what secrets are held by his friend before his death, perverse secrets buried deep in the cellar, horrific memories of sin and murder, and the mystery c...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Lisa L rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book had a great atmosphere, it was quite chilling. The book was well written, the characters were well rounded and developed well. Reminded me of The classic The Outsiders. the reader gets a feel for the characters and what they are all about. The sex scenes were quite graphic for a novel targeted to a YA audience. It was not my particular cup of tea, but it is well worth a read.

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Dec 04, 2012 Nikki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror-extreme-horror, go-to-reliable-authors, a-dark-read, lendable-kindle-ebooks, on-my-kindle-fire-ipad-samsung

3.5 Stars
A story of a dysfunctional family that has lost 2 of its members while being in a black GTO that sits in the garage. The story starts out slow, real slow, and builds to a somewhat intense conclusion with a family friend trying to put a stop to the madness that seems to be linked to this family. The why's and what-for are given to us at very strategic moments making this a one-sitting read for me. Great descriptions and creepiness from Curran as usual. Not really horrific. Recommended~

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Oct 27, 2012 Katharyn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-2012, to-review

Review to come

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