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Blood Vengeance
Laughter and screams echo from the abandoned apartment downstairs. Grey and rotting ghosts of murdered girls claw each other in sick imitation of their deaths.For twenty years, the raging spirit of the slain San Francisco Ripper has continued to torment his victims. Now time is running out, not just for Brennan and his friends, but for the souls of the dead girls, trapped for all these years with their murderer.
- GenresHorror
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 20, 2015
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 6, 2015
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A delightfully suspenseful and frightening book about a teenage boy who has no idea what he's getting himself into by moving in with his uncle.
The writing is smooth and gives just enough away without spoiling the slightly twisted ending.
The author writes in such a way that I found myself anxious and uncomfortable, but not outright scared. And I really like this approach. I didn't find it overly gruesome, although as a mother, the subject matter was difficult to read about.
Very eerie read. Well done.
A delightfully suspenseful and frightening book about a teenage boy who has no idea what he's getting himself into by moving in with his uncle.
The writing is smooth and gives just enough away without spoiling the slightly twisted ending.
The author writes in such a way that I found myself anxious and uncomfortable, but not outright scared. And I really like this approach. I didn't find it overly gruesome, although as a mother, the subject matter was difficult to read about.
Very eerie read. Well done.
March 6, 2015
I haven’t read any old school horror for what seems like the longest time. So when I was given the opportunity to read and review Blood Vengeance by Michael Schutz-Ryan, I jumped at the opportunity. I must say, this novel has made me crush all over the genre again (not that I ever really stopped liking it, just got distracted by new genres).
Seriously, usually I make a whole bunch of notes on the novels I am reading to review. They can cover such things as random thoughts on the story or characters, what makes me laugh out loud, typos, etc. With this book, I barely made a note. This is a book you need to read if you love the horror genre. If Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Saul are the type of horror you like reading, Blood Vengeance is a must read.
There were a few flaws; there seemed to be a time frame issue between how old the main character’s mother was when she conceived her son versus her attending university. Also, there is a whole scene where the main character and his friends go to visit ‘a mate’ (read: drug dealer) and it all goes wrong. As a result of this, one of the characters ends up in hospital. While this scene helped a little with the story line later on, it probably wasn’t necessary with everything else going on at the time. It tends to break the story up somewhat and makes it a little disjointed.
All in all though, these two flaws are minor in comparison to how much I loved this book. The characters are described perfectly, their stories woven together in such a way you are not trudging through back story but enriching your reading experience. The horror is described in all its gore and detail which is exactly how you want it in this genre. The suspense killed me (which is a good thing) and the humour woven through the novel was added just at the right moments.
Overall, I am giving Blood Vengeance by Michael Schutz-Ryan 5 out of 5 stars.
Seriously, usually I make a whole bunch of notes on the novels I am reading to review. They can cover such things as random thoughts on the story or characters, what makes me laugh out loud, typos, etc. With this book, I barely made a note. This is a book you need to read if you love the horror genre. If Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Saul are the type of horror you like reading, Blood Vengeance is a must read.
There were a few flaws; there seemed to be a time frame issue between how old the main character’s mother was when she conceived her son versus her attending university. Also, there is a whole scene where the main character and his friends go to visit ‘a mate’ (read: drug dealer) and it all goes wrong. As a result of this, one of the characters ends up in hospital. While this scene helped a little with the story line later on, it probably wasn’t necessary with everything else going on at the time. It tends to break the story up somewhat and makes it a little disjointed.
All in all though, these two flaws are minor in comparison to how much I loved this book. The characters are described perfectly, their stories woven together in such a way you are not trudging through back story but enriching your reading experience. The horror is described in all its gore and detail which is exactly how you want it in this genre. The suspense killed me (which is a good thing) and the humour woven through the novel was added just at the right moments.
Overall, I am giving Blood Vengeance by Michael Schutz-Ryan 5 out of 5 stars.
March 16, 2015
Incredible horror/paranormal book. This book read incredibly well and was extremely well written. The author definitely knows his craft and I enjoyed reading his work. The pace of the book is excellent with a well thought through plot keeping the reader at the edge of his/her seat.
I adored the main characters and thought they were well developed throughout the storyline. Brennan is such a good kid and really handles what is thrown at him better than most would. Tara and his friends are a nice addition to the mix. I was sad to read about Marc but all in all it was perfect. I really wouldn't change a thing about this book.
I would definitely read more from this author and can only highly recommend him.
I have received the book from the author for an honest review.
I adored the main characters and thought they were well developed throughout the storyline. Brennan is such a good kid and really handles what is thrown at him better than most would. Tara and his friends are a nice addition to the mix. I was sad to read about Marc but all in all it was perfect. I really wouldn't change a thing about this book.
I would definitely read more from this author and can only highly recommend him.
I have received the book from the author for an honest review.
June 10, 2015
At first, I thought the formatting was a bit off. I'm a bit old-fashioned in that regard, being used to wide margins and headers and footers and all that, but then I started reading this on my phone, and I found that the formatting made the book so much easier to read.
Here we have Brennan, the new kid moving away from his protective mother to live with his Uncle Marc in San Francisco to start afresh with life and grasp at new opportunities. School starts off great for him, partly because he does away with his usual shy, timid approach for a more confrontational one. It works in his favour, and he doesn't need to keep the act up long to attract a few decent friends: Alex, Carlos, and Gibby. He even piques the interest of a cute girl in his class named Tara. Life in San Francisco seems to be a step in the right direction for Brennan, with the exception of one thing: Room 213.
Yes. In the very apartment building he's now staying in (called the Montague), there's a hideous secret hiding behind closed doors. It doesn't take long before whatever possesses Room 213 sets its sights on him, harassing him with nasty gut feelings and even nastier nightmares that intensify as the book goes on.
Ghosts possessing hotels isn't a new concept, but that isn't the downfall of Blood Vengeance. Downfall? Well, frankly, aside from a few typos here and there, and some character logic that doesn't always make sense (to explain further would provide considerable spoilers), there are no major downfalls with the story. Characters' irrational judgments aren't necessarily the flaws of the author, but the characters themselves--made even more obvious by the author's 'voice' stating a brief neutral opinion on character choices through the eyes of Brennan.
I like the writing style. It doesn't go off the deep end with endless descriptions or pointless details. Most of the time, it stays on point. Keeping a consistent narrative voice for a story can be difficult--especially for the more outlandish genres like supernatural horror, fantasy, or science fiction. The narrative here only reveals what it has to, and nothing more to keep from revealing important story aspects until the time comes to reveal them. The story wasn't frightening for me in particular, but it can paint a gruesome and somewhat disturbing picture in your brain. The Hallucinations and nightmares are the highlights of this book (even though they do start to get a little repetitive in the latter half of the book--but once that starts to happen, the book throws plenty of new things at you for you to care), along with the budding relationship between Brennan and Tara.
It's a unique take on the 'haunted hotel' sub-genre, and I commend it for its (mostly) intelligent characters and continuous feeling of dread in the atmosphere, despite some occasionally silly moments (). I recommend this to any supernatural horror fans looking for interesting characters caught in an unusually interesting dilemma.
Here we have Brennan, the new kid moving away from his protective mother to live with his Uncle Marc in San Francisco to start afresh with life and grasp at new opportunities. School starts off great for him, partly because he does away with his usual shy, timid approach for a more confrontational one. It works in his favour, and he doesn't need to keep the act up long to attract a few decent friends: Alex, Carlos, and Gibby. He even piques the interest of a cute girl in his class named Tara. Life in San Francisco seems to be a step in the right direction for Brennan, with the exception of one thing: Room 213.
Yes. In the very apartment building he's now staying in (called the Montague), there's a hideous secret hiding behind closed doors. It doesn't take long before whatever possesses Room 213 sets its sights on him, harassing him with nasty gut feelings and even nastier nightmares that intensify as the book goes on.
Ghosts possessing hotels isn't a new concept, but that isn't the downfall of Blood Vengeance. Downfall? Well, frankly, aside from a few typos here and there, and some character logic that doesn't always make sense (to explain further would provide considerable spoilers), there are no major downfalls with the story. Characters' irrational judgments aren't necessarily the flaws of the author, but the characters themselves--made even more obvious by the author's 'voice' stating a brief neutral opinion on character choices through the eyes of Brennan.
I like the writing style. It doesn't go off the deep end with endless descriptions or pointless details. Most of the time, it stays on point. Keeping a consistent narrative voice for a story can be difficult--especially for the more outlandish genres like supernatural horror, fantasy, or science fiction. The narrative here only reveals what it has to, and nothing more to keep from revealing important story aspects until the time comes to reveal them. The story wasn't frightening for me in particular, but it can paint a gruesome and somewhat disturbing picture in your brain. The Hallucinations and nightmares are the highlights of this book (even though they do start to get a little repetitive in the latter half of the book--but once that starts to happen, the book throws plenty of new things at you for you to care), along with the budding relationship between Brennan and Tara.
It's a unique take on the 'haunted hotel' sub-genre, and I commend it for its (mostly) intelligent characters and continuous feeling of dread in the atmosphere, despite some occasionally silly moments (). I recommend this to any supernatural horror fans looking for interesting characters caught in an unusually interesting dilemma.
February 22, 2015
A Promising Full-length Debut
Brennan “Bren” Cooper’s having a rough go of it in his Midwestern high school. Learning that he has a relative – Uncle Marc – in San Francisco, his mother reluctantly sends him there for his senior year. At his new school, things are working according to plan: he’s made friends, established himself one not to be trifled with, and has a hottie for a girlfriend. At Uncle Marc’s apartment building, however, things aren’t so good: the apartment is small, his uncle starts drinking too much, and whatever’s in apartment 213 wants to kill him. The evil in the haunted apartment weaves its way into all of his new friends’ lives; no one is spared its deadly intent.
In Michael Schutz-Ryan’s debut novel, everyone has some sort of secret. In the end, all secrets come to light – for better or for worse. Most of the time, each character’s backstory serves to propel the reader through the storyline efficiently, but there are times when the backstory distracts, becoming excessive – notably those of the lesser characters.
Readers looking for a rich experience with prose will find a mixed offering here. At times, the writing excels, as in this description of the malevolent apartment: “Behind it, beaten and broken things lived. Behind this door, which had remained closed for many years, walked a presence that breathed the poisoned breath of the tortured and damned.” At other times, it reads simplistically, much like a popular young-adult novel, which – in this reviewer’s opinion – is probably the best voice for following the young protagonist. Indeed, the author struggles to some degree to maintain consistency with both voice and point of view. There are some technical errors in the writing.
The author is an admitted fan of Stephen King, and the horror icon’s influence shows through with rich, three-dimensional characters set against a realistic tapestry. The lively description and personification of the protagonist’s apartment building – especially “Otis,” the elevator – are a memorable touch.
In the second half of the book, horror fans will really get what they came for. The creative and descriptive scenes of carnage and the macabre show Schutz-Ryan at his best. Lovers of “haunting” and “possession” novels will find themselves right at home.
Sean M. Cordry, author of Kokopelli’s Thunder
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author for an honest review.
Brennan “Bren” Cooper’s having a rough go of it in his Midwestern high school. Learning that he has a relative – Uncle Marc – in San Francisco, his mother reluctantly sends him there for his senior year. At his new school, things are working according to plan: he’s made friends, established himself one not to be trifled with, and has a hottie for a girlfriend. At Uncle Marc’s apartment building, however, things aren’t so good: the apartment is small, his uncle starts drinking too much, and whatever’s in apartment 213 wants to kill him. The evil in the haunted apartment weaves its way into all of his new friends’ lives; no one is spared its deadly intent.
In Michael Schutz-Ryan’s debut novel, everyone has some sort of secret. In the end, all secrets come to light – for better or for worse. Most of the time, each character’s backstory serves to propel the reader through the storyline efficiently, but there are times when the backstory distracts, becoming excessive – notably those of the lesser characters.
Readers looking for a rich experience with prose will find a mixed offering here. At times, the writing excels, as in this description of the malevolent apartment: “Behind it, beaten and broken things lived. Behind this door, which had remained closed for many years, walked a presence that breathed the poisoned breath of the tortured and damned.” At other times, it reads simplistically, much like a popular young-adult novel, which – in this reviewer’s opinion – is probably the best voice for following the young protagonist. Indeed, the author struggles to some degree to maintain consistency with both voice and point of view. There are some technical errors in the writing.
The author is an admitted fan of Stephen King, and the horror icon’s influence shows through with rich, three-dimensional characters set against a realistic tapestry. The lively description and personification of the protagonist’s apartment building – especially “Otis,” the elevator – are a memorable touch.
In the second half of the book, horror fans will really get what they came for. The creative and descriptive scenes of carnage and the macabre show Schutz-Ryan at his best. Lovers of “haunting” and “possession” novels will find themselves right at home.
Sean M. Cordry, author of Kokopelli’s Thunder
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author for an honest review.
April 12, 2015
As an adult, I've read a lot of horror stories - Probably more than a well-adjusted and productive person should :p So I was looking forward to this one. And what we have here is a brilliantly eerie story by American author Michael Schutz-Ryan. "Blood Vengeance" had a fantastic storyline revolving around the main character Brennan Cooper and his teenage friends as they search for the “San Francisco Ripper" in a haunted apartment. The first half of this novel took a while to get going but the second half sure did make up for it. Something that I feel author did superbly was explain the detail of everything in the story. I was able to visualize the locations and details because of the fantastic descriptions. It’s dark and scary at times so its definitely worth reading.
March 28, 2018
Good YA horror. 4/5. From 20-40% of the book I got a little bored, ready for the answers. But after that it became much harder to put down. The ending was satisfying and there were some well-constructed sentences throughout. Sometimes though if I didn't have the Kindle dictionary feature on hand I may have been taken out of the story. Still, a high rating for this author who also wrote Edging, which I loved.
May 27, 2015
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Horror and teenagers. That is not always a promising mix in TV, film or literature. But Blood Vengeance is a lot better than most upper YA/NA horror I have read. While not as inventive or frightening as something like The Demonata, it definitely beats a lot of the other stuff I have read off of Barnes And Noble's shelves! I actually am a sucker for horror directed at younger people, and this did a pretty good job of holding my interest.
The plot is basic, as all the best ghost stories are, with murdered girls' ghosts haunting an apartment and two teens determined to set the spirits free. Brennan has an interesting backstory and that gives him a certain likability to readers. But there are times the narrative edges out of the horror genre and into a more generalized fictional account of a troubled teen and his friends.
The ghosts are as pitiful as they are frightening, trapped in an abandoned apartment for eternity. The descriptions are vivid and will leave an indelible mark on your mind, staying with you once you've closed the book.
I think that, in order for this to have been as awesome as it could, the author should have toned down the emotional backgrounds of the characters and focused more on the horror. I liked Brennan's story, and you needed that depth in order to give the story heart, but the others didn't need that much detailing, in my opinion.
You can see the influence of Stephen King shine through in some of the descriptions and in the way certain things just leave that chill on your skin. Mr. Schutz-Ryan has some amazing potential in the horror genre to be one of the greats. I am very excited to see what he comes up with next, and I will be keeping my copy to reread in the future!
Horror and teenagers. That is not always a promising mix in TV, film or literature. But Blood Vengeance is a lot better than most upper YA/NA horror I have read. While not as inventive or frightening as something like The Demonata, it definitely beats a lot of the other stuff I have read off of Barnes And Noble's shelves! I actually am a sucker for horror directed at younger people, and this did a pretty good job of holding my interest.
The plot is basic, as all the best ghost stories are, with murdered girls' ghosts haunting an apartment and two teens determined to set the spirits free. Brennan has an interesting backstory and that gives him a certain likability to readers. But there are times the narrative edges out of the horror genre and into a more generalized fictional account of a troubled teen and his friends.
The ghosts are as pitiful as they are frightening, trapped in an abandoned apartment for eternity. The descriptions are vivid and will leave an indelible mark on your mind, staying with you once you've closed the book.
I think that, in order for this to have been as awesome as it could, the author should have toned down the emotional backgrounds of the characters and focused more on the horror. I liked Brennan's story, and you needed that depth in order to give the story heart, but the others didn't need that much detailing, in my opinion.
You can see the influence of Stephen King shine through in some of the descriptions and in the way certain things just leave that chill on your skin. Mr. Schutz-Ryan has some amazing potential in the horror genre to be one of the greats. I am very excited to see what he comes up with next, and I will be keeping my copy to reread in the future!
April 15, 2015
This was an intriguing story from cover to cover. From the first day Brennan, the teen who goes to stay with his uncle Marc in San Francisco's Tenderloin district to the day the two face an incredible menace, the ride is an exquisite coaster full of twists and turns. Flavored like Stephen King without the gratuitous foul language, Schutz-Ryan plays a fiddle of emotions throughout. An unexpected treat to read! The real mixed with surreal made this a spine-tingling nighttime read that kept drawing me back for more. Excellent. Note: I received this book as a free copy for a review. My review would be the same regardless...yes, it is that good.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews