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Horror Book
This collection marks the ninth book by Fangoria / Dread Central writer, Thom Carnell. In this volume, we present fourteen tales—some old, some new—designed to mesmerize and astonish. From “high adventure” to quiet stories detailing the darkest corners of the human experience, Thom Carnell presents them all with an unflinching eye toward both terrifying and entertaining the unsuspecting reader.
Stories included in this collection:
Family Matters
The Promise
The Appeal
Homecoming
Esurience
Happy Together
Sovreignty
Tomb of the Living Dead
The Dagger of Golgotha
Hypoxia
Anamnesis
Collodi no Kikai
Sala-Ampujar
The Escort
Stories included in this collection:
Family Matters
The Promise
The Appeal
Homecoming
Esurience
Happy Together
Sovreignty
Tomb of the Living Dead
The Dagger of Golgotha
Hypoxia
Anamnesis
Collodi no Kikai
Sala-Ampujar
The Escort
238 pages, Paperback
Published February 22, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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June 30, 2022DNF
Weird to title something so simple as "Horror Book" on a collection of Mystery/Suspense
Weird to title something so simple as "Horror Book" on a collection of Mystery/Suspense
January 29, 2022
I kind of struggled with this one, to really understand it. From the title I was expecting individual short horror stories, what I got was not that.
Whilst the stories were good, more on those shortly, it just felt incredibly misleading to be called Horror Book and then not feature anything that would be classed as horror. I appreciate that some of these stories did feature some very scary and very real world horrors, but I was expecting more make you scared horror, make you sit on the edge of your seat horror, make you scared to look in the mirror horror... That kinda thing.
There is no denying though that some of the individual stories were well written and cleverly produced.
Family Matters was one that was well written, but I did struggle to see how it was horror related. It was an excerpt from a book so I didn't want to judge it too harshly as the rest of the book could well have been full on horror.
The Promise again had really good writing, I couldn't fault that. But it was very mundane and very same old.
The Appeal really stood out to me. I enjoyed this one a little bit more and liked how they used such a happy holiday to try and create some horror.
Homecoming. Now this was more like it! It was exactly the sort of story I was expecting to read in this book. While it was a little samey, it was definitely creepy!
Esurience - Trigger warning for discussions of food and extreme fasting and disordered eating.
I had to stop reading this one as I didn't feel like I could continue with the topic the story was discussing, especially without a prior trigger warning to prepare myself.
Happy Together just wasn't really horrifying at all, it felt really obvious and I guessed what was going to happen with it pretty much straight away.
Sovereignty was a DNFR.
Tomb of the Living Dead was another highly predictable story. I just felt it lacked any originality and was packed with a lot of unnecessary stuff that didn't add value or bring anything to the story.
The Dagger of Golgotha I was excited about! And I did enjoy it, it had the makings of a thoroughly good story but it just went on for a bit too long. It was well written and certainly grabbed my interest but I felt it dragged out just a bit too much and would have benefitted from being wrapped up sooner.
Hypoxia was a DNFR.
Anamnesis should have been another DNFR, it was possibly the most copied tale of the bunch...
Just overall this book was not what I thought it would be and because of that I did really struggle to enjoy some of the stories within it.
Whilst the stories were good, more on those shortly, it just felt incredibly misleading to be called Horror Book and then not feature anything that would be classed as horror. I appreciate that some of these stories did feature some very scary and very real world horrors, but I was expecting more make you scared horror, make you sit on the edge of your seat horror, make you scared to look in the mirror horror... That kinda thing.
There is no denying though that some of the individual stories were well written and cleverly produced.
Family Matters was one that was well written, but I did struggle to see how it was horror related. It was an excerpt from a book so I didn't want to judge it too harshly as the rest of the book could well have been full on horror.
The Promise again had really good writing, I couldn't fault that. But it was very mundane and very same old.
The Appeal really stood out to me. I enjoyed this one a little bit more and liked how they used such a happy holiday to try and create some horror.
Homecoming. Now this was more like it! It was exactly the sort of story I was expecting to read in this book. While it was a little samey, it was definitely creepy!
Esurience - Trigger warning for discussions of food and extreme fasting and disordered eating.
I had to stop reading this one as I didn't feel like I could continue with the topic the story was discussing, especially without a prior trigger warning to prepare myself.
Happy Together just wasn't really horrifying at all, it felt really obvious and I guessed what was going to happen with it pretty much straight away.
Sovereignty was a DNFR.
Tomb of the Living Dead was another highly predictable story. I just felt it lacked any originality and was packed with a lot of unnecessary stuff that didn't add value or bring anything to the story.
The Dagger of Golgotha I was excited about! And I did enjoy it, it had the makings of a thoroughly good story but it just went on for a bit too long. It was well written and certainly grabbed my interest but I felt it dragged out just a bit too much and would have benefitted from being wrapped up sooner.
Hypoxia was a DNFR.
Anamnesis should have been another DNFR, it was possibly the most copied tale of the bunch...
Just overall this book was not what I thought it would be and because of that I did really struggle to enjoy some of the stories within it.
February 5, 2022
“Loans taken had a way of coming due at the worst possible times…” Thom Carnell writes in “Family Matters,” the opening story in his newest collection HORROR BOOK. It’s a great summation (if one could do that so succinctly) of Carnell’s work. The reader is never safe, but there’s a flip side. The reader is also loved. Beyond romance or sex, Carnell’s writing evokes a great love: the kind that will die or kill for someone. The kind that can hurt because it feel so much.
Carnell loves his zombies, and we get a smattering of those stories here, some of which are enhancements to previous work. In this century, there have been a lot of horror writers tackle zombie stories and Carnell is better than all of them. Why? Love. Love for the characters: living, dead, and undead alike. Take any zombie story or movie you can think of (with the OG Night of the Living and Dawn of the Dead aside) and imagine it just a bit better. Carnell’s stories are like seasoning: something good becomes something memorable.
For example: the Blind Dead films. Good stuff, the first couple are classics and the rest you watch to be a completist. Add Carnell’s seasoning and we get his story “Tomb of the Living Dead.” Or, you want to spice up Christmas and The Godfather, check out “The Appeal.” Another: you like Stephen King’s “Survivor Type”? Here’s “Esurience.”
Is everybody going to like every story in this book? No, and that’s okay. Out of the 14 stories, I guarantee that two or three of them will stick with you for a long time. And they might not be the same ones that stick with a different reader.
That’s the spice. It hits everyone a little differently. Carnell knows just how much to sprinkle in.
Carnell loves his zombies, and we get a smattering of those stories here, some of which are enhancements to previous work. In this century, there have been a lot of horror writers tackle zombie stories and Carnell is better than all of them. Why? Love. Love for the characters: living, dead, and undead alike. Take any zombie story or movie you can think of (with the OG Night of the Living and Dawn of the Dead aside) and imagine it just a bit better. Carnell’s stories are like seasoning: something good becomes something memorable.
For example: the Blind Dead films. Good stuff, the first couple are classics and the rest you watch to be a completist. Add Carnell’s seasoning and we get his story “Tomb of the Living Dead.” Or, you want to spice up Christmas and The Godfather, check out “The Appeal.” Another: you like Stephen King’s “Survivor Type”? Here’s “Esurience.”
Is everybody going to like every story in this book? No, and that’s okay. Out of the 14 stories, I guarantee that two or three of them will stick with you for a long time. And they might not be the same ones that stick with a different reader.
That’s the spice. It hits everyone a little differently. Carnell knows just how much to sprinkle in.
December 11, 2021
Horror Book
[Blurb goes here]
This is the first book I've read by Thom Carnell, and while the man writes like an expert, all stories in this collection are, if anything, derivative.
There's nothing awe inspiring, there's nothing truly new. You've read this stories over and over again in different books. The setting and characters might change, but the rest is just same old, same old.
No matter. I still enjoyed Mr. Carnell prowess at the keyboard, even though, half of what I read was a bit stagnant.
I will certainly read more stuff by the author in the hopes that this anthology, was a just a minor fluke.
Thank you for the free copy!
[Blurb goes here]
This is the first book I've read by Thom Carnell, and while the man writes like an expert, all stories in this collection are, if anything, derivative.
There's nothing awe inspiring, there's nothing truly new. You've read this stories over and over again in different books. The setting and characters might change, but the rest is just same old, same old.
No matter. I still enjoyed Mr. Carnell prowess at the keyboard, even though, half of what I read was a bit stagnant.
I will certainly read more stuff by the author in the hopes that this anthology, was a just a minor fluke.
Thank you for the free copy!
December 16, 2021
The cover of this book and the title thrilled me at first glance. I've read many short horror stories that tingle down my spine, causing me chills and fright. Sadly, this one didn't. It's more of a mystery and suspense. As I have read each story, it didn't give me the satisfaction of horror stories. Two stories were great, the fasting one and the abandoned house. Other than that, it was a mystery and suspense reading. I wanted something to scare the life out of me, having me leave the lights on during the dark hours of the night. Even though, the stories were a fun read, as for being horror? I can't say it is. It is a different level of genre.
March 21, 2022
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A collection of short stories will always be hit or miss. Some are good, some are ok and some aren’t great. I am a fan of short stories though because there’s always something for everyone.
I will definitely try this author again!
2.5 stars.
A collection of short stories will always be hit or miss. Some are good, some are ok and some aren’t great. I am a fan of short stories though because there’s always something for everyone.
I will definitely try this author again!
2.5 stars.
December 4, 2021
This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Amazing collection of horror stories to read and absorb. As with any collection there are some that are extreme standouts however overall I found myself enjoying all of them and the entire book. Recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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