At Camp Blaze—a camp with a history of violent tragedy—a group of counselors are stalked and slaughtered by a masked killer. However, due to the missing bodies, the murders are treated as disappearances. ‘Perhaps they’ve ran off to elope,’ the authorities suggest. But, as the disappearances continue to mount, Regina Park—the head counselor—begins to suspect foul play and she fears the killer may be closer than they think... Jon Athan, the author of Night of the Prowler and Do Not Disturb , invites you to spend a night at Camp Blaze in this brutal throwback to classic ‘80s slashers. Rewritten and re-edited from the ground up, the 2021 Author’s Enhanced Edition of this book is an uncut extended version of the original story. It is the definitive Camp Blaze experience. This book contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.
Regina is the head counselor at Camp Blaze, and one night around the fire, a fellow counselor decides to tell the campers a scary story - the legend of Ash Palmer - and unlike most other campfire stories, this one is true. In 1975, two counselors who worshipped a demon needed a sacrifice. That sacrifice turned out to be Ash, and they burned him to death in the fire pit. The camp closed down for a few years and when it re-opened in 1980, things were normal again; until 1988 that is. That year, counselors and campers alike began to disappear. At the end of the summer the kids were finally found - dead, burned to death. They say it was Ash. This year is the 26th anniversary of his death and it seems something bad is happening again, when Alvin the owner, notices some of his counselors are missing. He confides in Regina, but tells her to keep it a secret, so as not to upset the camp. But as more and more of her coworkers begin to disappear, she knows there is something truly terrible afoot, and she feels as if she and her friends are in grave danger. One day out on the lake, Regina actually witnesses a killer for herself, and all her deepest fears are now confirmed: these people have not simply just disappeared, they were murdered. The night Alvin decides to shut the camp down, all hell breaks loose - quite literally. As the mayhem continues on throughout the night, Regina learns the legend of Ash is much more than a campfire story. Can Regina and her coworkers get themselves and the campers to safety before it's too late? ------------------- I love this author and I never have anything negative to say about his writing. Whether it's a slasher, a cannibal family, a scorned woman or an angry incel, Jon Athan knows how to make it a great read. I loved this; it was super fun and fast paced. I have major ADHD and actually managed to finish this in one sitting, which is astounding, and it definitely says something.
This one wasn’t my favorite from Athan, but still had all of the elements that make him one of my favorite extreme horror authors.
I’m not a big fan of 80s style slasher stories, and I knew that was the premise going into Camp Blaze. However, I wanted to give Athan a chance since I enjoy all his books.
Athan created a story with all of those iconic horror/slasher tropes that people love—teenage romance and sex, isolation, masked-killer, the final girl, etc. But, he did it in the style that Athan does best—turning up the intensity to eleven.
Readers interested in starting extreme horror might enjoy this novel. While this novel had the highest number of deaths (from what I’ve read so far), the book seemed rather tame compared to his other works. Many of his books made me squirm and wince from the details.
Overall, another good read that I’m glad Athan revisited and revised.
“Thirteen deaths . . . every thirteen years . . . thirteen deaths every thirteen years . . . “
The final girl in this story was kinda whiney but i got passed that because this story got me. It had twist abd turns. And boy it shocked me too with the kills. If u like Friday the 13th you would like this story but with a twist. I do not give spoilers or long summery in a review but i give you this. Pick this book up and you won't be disappointed. 5 slashers out of 5
When Regina last sees Taylor and Carol, they are sneaking off into the woods together. The next day they are gone and other camp counsellors are also starting to vanish. The camp owner is concerned and wonders about closing the camp and sending the kids home, and the police can find no trace of any bodies or serial killer. With mistrust rising amongst the remaining staff, night falls and hell is about to be unleashed again on Camp Blaze.
Camp Blaze has a very bloody history, which begs the question WHY would anyone open it up again. 13 years ago, a group of camp counsellors were murdered and nobody was caught. Prior to that, a young boy called Ash was kidnapped and tortured to death in a cult killing. Now a shady figure is lurking in the dark again, sights trained firmly on the counsellors and taking the chance to start picking them off as they stray into the woods alone. First Taylor and Carol are hunted down as they go to the tool shed for some privacy. Another is tracked and killed in broad daylight as he supervises the assault course stragglers and a third vanishes from the archery range. With no bodies, the police are at a loss to explain what is going on.
Things take a surprising turn when Regina witnesses a murder in front of her which nobody else seems to see and the police can't find the body. Some of her co-workers are scared about what might be happening while others suspect that Regina might have something to do with it. Now camp owner Alvin has no choice but to close the camp the next day. The problem is, there might be nobody left by morning to escape alive...
I liked the Friday the 13th feel to the camp with various people suddenly going missing, and menace stalking through the woods. I thought there was a nice level of tension building up through the book with a satisfying amount of deaths to keep the reader interested. Then the book explodes into a bloody night of fear and death for those remaining which I really liked. The plot was twisting and threw up a nice little surprise or two and it went along at a breakneck pace. It may have taken it's start from Friday the 13th but it certainly went into its own plot in the second half.
I liked the fact that there was never a dull moment in the book and the pacing throughout the book was certainly good. The writing is never going to win any awards but it just told the story and swept me along so I certainly have no complaints. I was happy with the mixture of brutal murder and tension, and I also liked that a real effort was made to develop the main character Regina, through her friendship with a shy teenager. These interactions were a good way to lead in and out of each murder episode. One of the most interesting plot choices was that there was none of the 'counsellors off having sex' trope that appears in these camp horror books. That was actually a refreshing change to see the plot stick to the horror instead of sex!
This was the first book I'd tried by the author and I was pleased to enjoy it. I've now downloaded another pile and hopefully there will be happy horror adventures to come!
It only makes sense that one of my favorite camp slashers was written by Jon Athan. Jon, you have officially become my new favorite author! So consistent with every novel.
Camp Blaze is fantastic! It is everything one can want in a slasher. The kills were very graphic, the premise was interesting, and there weren’t any slow parts. The final girl, Regina, was actually very easy to root for and I liked what Jon Athan did with his characters. I can understand someone not enjoying this book if they aren’t a fan of the slasher genre, but for what it is, I can’t see any author executing it much better than this.
I’m going to have to buy all of Jon Athan’s books now.
This was not your typical kill the counselors at camp novel, THANK GOODNESS!!!! It was not predictable and fooled me SEVERAL times and I am that chick that usually figures out the killer or the motive so I was VERY happy to be wrong, if you are familiar with Jon Athan, you can and better expect BRUTAL, SADISTIC and original killings ( I LUH them) Jon A than is one sick dude and I am SO happy I came across him; Jon's books are not for the weak at heart, if you are into blood, gore, sadistic, twisted kills THIS IS A BOOK YOU WANT TO READ!!
My first book of 2024! I asked the Extreme Horror subreddit for some extreme slasher recs and they came THROUGH. This was fast-paced, fun, and super gnarly! The kills were so nasty and creative ad exactly what I wanted in an extreme slasher. I loved the supernatural element in the last third it added a nice layer!
A super fun read and a good one if you wanna start dabbling in extreme horror without any of the heavier elements.
I always and forever will love the slasher trope, and I love it even more when it’s at summer camp and it involves teenagers getting murdered! It is so classic and fun. That’s exactly what this book delivers but with a bit of a supernatural/cursed element as well.
You’ll be trying to figure out whodunit, and no one is safe and everyone is a suspect. Love the final girl action we also get with Regina.
I get that’s it’s supposed to be like a “homage to classic horror”, but it just comes across as a cheap rip off. Basically just combined the villains and plots of classic 80’s horror movies into one book. Something a teenager would write for a school writing assignment
Dnf towards the end. I could not be captured by this book, it's probably ok if you really love throwback slashers, but i felt it did not offer anything interesting. Did not care for the horny counsellors, or the background story. Maybe it's just me.
the authors obsession with the texture of eyes is not okay , and i’ll be real if the audiobook narrator didn’t keep getting quieter at the end of every sentence i might have understood the nonexistent plot a bit more
Well about 'Camp Blaze' I have complex feelings to share. You see the tale got everything of total horror elements and disturbing, violence events colliding together. Obviously not for all readers who are uncomfortable to the gore horror read. I would say according the plot of this tale it was to me a fair and decent read that I find...
Carol and Taylor gone into the woods for their private moments and Regina has that knowledge too about these couples departure for a while. So it was completely normal but when the day passed and they didn't show up it was then something started smelling fishy. The thing got more intensified when a group of counselors too disappeared and later found all dead at the very spot and the side of their murder was disturbingly sick to witness. Most of the Regina unfortunately left alone to witness all of the murder and of course she did see the murderer while happened in front of her eyes. But at first Counselor Kenneth didn't believe her but while finally Kenneth met the killer it was too late tobdo something against that sick killer. The killer never revealed the identity but always wear a mask to fake everyone. So when the mask behind the person reveal out the massacre didn't stop immediately as there's more thing to consider before make any conclusion. Regina with her boyfriend Oscar, her friends and police force they need to work together as an unity to defeat this monster. Could they do it or say make the violence stop for forever? Dig it before its too late...
Second novel of Jon athan and I am truly enjoying his works. In the first one he throws a curve ball and get us to change our perspective on the characters. Here is a bit different but also throws us a soft curve ball and destroys a bit of the monster in a camp situation. We've are introduced a lot of characters, well I made a list and there 27 different named characters. Some are just named while others have different characterists and personalities.
As most slashers begin with a killing - this is not different. Then we get to be introduced our main villain tragic story and why stuff happen like that.
Here the main character is also a woman like Ashley (our main antagonist is ASH... hmmm) and is called Regina Park. She starts as a frightening kitty but as the deaths and disappearing start mounting and children become in danger our main character change into a badass girl.
I enjoyed the action scenes, the killing scenes and the overall atmosphere. I also enjoyed the way this killings started and why they did. very different as I said from the slashers movies - well not that different from the first friday 13th. I will not say much more.
I will say that it has room from a sequel and the author always write a couple of paragraphs telling the history of the tale he is telling.. in this he explains the reason behind expanding and updating the novel & room for the expansion which will be in 2029 if we are going the original date of 2016 after all it's every 13 years ;)
Inspired by the classic slasher films Sleepaway Camp and Friday the 13th, CAMP BLAZE is one of this author's milder reads. While there are plenty of gory kill scenes, this book was more character focused, and I really enjoyed how the story unfolded.
Camp Blaze has a violent past, but it's re-opened and ready for campers and counselors. Unfortunately, the counselors one by one become caught in the crosshairs of a masked killer. This is not your traditional slasher novel, however, especially when the identity of the killer is revealed. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and in his notes, he mentioned the possibility of a prequel, which I would be totally down for!
Slasher fans and 80s kids, this book is right up your alley. Available now!
Argh I honestly thought this was a 4 star read till the last maybe 20%. Again personal taste but the book just went in a direction that was good but could have been better.
I loved the story of Ash and everything that came from that. The murders in the camp were dark and graphic (I love me some graphic), I really enjoyed the opening counsellor scene with the shed. Honestly, this had so many tropes of classic 80s horror. Which is probably why I was loving it. But that ending, I felt it didn’t hit like it could have. In honesty it does leave the book open for a sequel (no idea if there is one or one planned I’ve not checked.
A solid 3.5 stars, I’d recommend this to those that love the classic 80s horrors, especially the ones with camps with counsellors. It is very graphic, so if you are easily offended by that avoid. I was always told the horror genre was dead but these books lately I’ve read prove otherwise and I’m all for it!!
Okay, so… Camp Blaze was my first toe-dip into the “extreme horror” pool, and wow, what a ride.
The setup is classic slasher: think Friday the 13th with a dash of Cabin in the Woods: familiar and fun. But let me tell you, that first chapter? Absolutely traumatizing. There was a drill… in a place no drill should ever go, and I genuinely almost bailed. But the tropey characters pulled me in, and despite the over-the-top deaths (looking at you, box grater), I found myself enjoying the chaos.
What knocked it down a few pegs for me was the pivot into the paranormal. I like my slashers grounded in reality with a masked killer, a final girl, and a mystery to solve. Once things got supernatural, my investment started to dip.
That said, this still scratched the slasher itch, and for someone who’s not into extreme horror, I survived. I may never look at power tools or box graters the same way again, but hey… scars build character, right?
They say he drowned in the lake. They say that about every kid who dies in camp. But, do you know how he really died?” <\b>
Regina park was the lead senior counselor at summer camp, Camp Blaze, and found herself haunted by the memories that began a lifetime before hers even began. With horrific tales of a young boy’s brutal sacrificial murder, she witnessed silently as counselor after counselor seemingly vanished without a trace, one after the next. With every passing moment the counselors and campers felt the wariness in the air, as a masked killer lurked through their woods bringing with them a rising death toll. Fearing the worst and a premature shutdown of the camp, everyone was at each other’s throats, yet it brought young camper, twelve year old Kimberly Morgan And Regina closer then ever imaginable.
I don't know why I torture myself to finish nearly every book I pick up but this was an absolute stinker.
I truly do love when authors tell and don't show nearly everything. One dimensional female characters, weird pacing, misogyny & excessive violence against girls/women (the ending of the first chapter???), unclear shifts of POV, and the deaths seemingly always had the grossest way of dealing with the characters' eyes? The killer being revealed essentially half way through the book took me out of the experience. I get that Athan tried to up the stakes, but it didn't feel like they were raised. This story isn't the worst; it just needed to be more fleshed out and written better. Violence was put over craft.
That is what I get for reading an 80s Slasher type novel I thought came out in the 80s when in reality it came out within the past few years.
This made me glad I never went to camp as a kid! A true slasher story at its goriest, Camp Blaze taps into all the fears we had growing up about what could go wrong at summer camp—and brings them to life in the most horrifying ways.
There were several moments that made me audibly squirm and tense up. The story overall was very entertaining, and true horror fans will be ecstatic to give this one a go. It’s fast, brutal, and keeps you guessing who’s next.
It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, so beware before checking it out—but if you do, I think most horror lovers will enjoy the ride!
A decent slasher novella with a supernatural twist. This gives off a nice 80s nostalgia vibe but is let down by word repitition (e.g the author obviously likes the word 'peers' and continually calls the main character 'the head councillor' or a variation on that) which becomes noticable and takes you out of the story. However, i liked the supernatural twist and the doom laden atmosphere created and will be happy to try more from this writer.