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Dark Forces #15
The Charming
Book by Polcovar, Jane
160 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 17, 2023
3.5 stars
April 13, 2022
A decent Dark Forces outing here!
Let's break it down in a nutshell: Kathy gets turned down for the lead role in the high school play from her lame boyfriend, the leader of the Acting Club. He gives it to some hot redhead instead. But no matter, for she soon meets Madame Dariel, who not only is an Agent, but also a Acting Coach! Woop, a two-fer! Ermm, but the sacrifices to be a 'GREAT ACTOR" might include letting demons take over your soul (MUHAHAH) 👿
My random thoughts and observations:
-Oh look, Mme. Dariel's address is on 666 Washington Street. For a successful agent, location is everything! 😈🔥
-Towards the end, Mme. Dariel furnishes her office with lovely inviting and decorative touches: lots of 5-pointed stars, the head of a freshly killed ram, a cross hanging upside down. Anything to make you feel more at home!
-Minor spoiler alert: Suddenly, for no reason at all, a small dog bursts into flames during an onstage performance. This made me belly laugh, which must mean I am a horrible person (Perhaps the demons have infiltrated my soul as well). 👿👿
-Minor spoiler alert: Perhaps the longest exorcism to take place in fiction, like ever, spanning many many pages 😅😅 Buckle up, you're in for a wild ride...TO HELL 🔥🔥
-If you are so inclined, check out the recreation I did of this book cover, with my black cat Wolfman 😹🐈⬛:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcTPhehPG...
3 out of 5 deals with the devil but what a small price to pay TO BE A GREAT ACTOR? I mean, it's just your soul, NBD 💀💀
Let's break it down in a nutshell: Kathy gets turned down for the lead role in the high school play from her lame boyfriend, the leader of the Acting Club. He gives it to some hot redhead instead. But no matter, for she soon meets Madame Dariel, who not only is an Agent, but also a Acting Coach! Woop, a two-fer! Ermm, but the sacrifices to be a 'GREAT ACTOR" might include letting demons take over your soul (MUHAHAH) 👿
My random thoughts and observations:
-Oh look, Mme. Dariel's address is on 666 Washington Street. For a successful agent, location is everything! 😈🔥
-Towards the end, Mme. Dariel furnishes her office with lovely inviting and decorative touches: lots of 5-pointed stars, the head of a freshly killed ram, a cross hanging upside down. Anything to make you feel more at home!
-Minor spoiler alert: Suddenly, for no reason at all, a small dog bursts into flames during an onstage performance. This made me belly laugh, which must mean I am a horrible person (Perhaps the demons have infiltrated my soul as well). 👿👿
-Minor spoiler alert: Perhaps the longest exorcism to take place in fiction, like ever, spanning many many pages 😅😅 Buckle up, you're in for a wild ride...TO HELL 🔥🔥
-If you are so inclined, check out the recreation I did of this book cover, with my black cat Wolfman 😹🐈⬛:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcTPhehPG...
3 out of 5 deals with the devil but what a small price to pay TO BE A GREAT ACTOR? I mean, it's just your soul, NBD 💀💀
July 31, 2020
I really think that many times the authors of these stories have no clue how to end them without an exorcism. Perhaps it was just what was trending back in the 80's? The clergy coming to the rescue really gets beaten into the ground with these Dark Forces books. Despite it losing it's creativity towards the end, I ended up enjoying this one more than I thought I would. The manipulation/brain washing process of the main character that took place over most of the story made it a fun read. Take an insecure drama queen in the midst of a meltdown and you've got a prime target for tricking them into Satan's grasp with promise of fame and fortune. If you ask me, she's lucky it was just Satan masquerading as a talent agency and not a sex trafficking ring... 4 Stars.
January 20, 2009
I read all of the books in this teen horror series over and over in junior high and high school. I'm sure if I read them now I would find them hideous (in the bad way), but because I loved them so much then, I'm giving them all five stars!
March 13, 2021
TFW you want to be a Serious Actress and accidentally get possessed by a demon instead. Lollll WHAT an ending. I wasn’t enjoying this at first; it’s really slow and Kathy is terribly vapid and uninteresting, but it picks up about halfway through once she starts going through ~changes. Entertaining and classic horror feels.
December 14, 2022
Kathy Anders really wants to be an actress, and she's sure she's going to get the lead in the school play, especially since her boyfriend Dennis is casting it. But then he gives the role to a new girl at school, and Kathy is furious. Her hurt and indignation eventually sees circumstances leading her to acting coach and agent, Madame Dariel.
Madame Dariel can turn Kathy into a star. Her classes don't even require money. She has to pay with something else! Uh oh! Dariel's lessons involve making sure that Kathy is more and more socially isolated from those that love her, so that possession can take place. School acting teacher, Josiah McHale is the only who seems to suspect what is happening to Kathy, and sets out to save her.
Pretty standard possession story from the 1980s Dark Forces line. I imagine the series didn't last much longer than this book, because they all seemed to end the same way - with an exorcism. The final act has a couple of okay moments (the standard vomiting), but it goes on for a bit too long and, well, we've seen and read this all before. The Charming doesn't bring anything new to the acting class, that's for sure.
Our main character Kathy is a bit of an insufferable bore, obsessed with being a famous actress. Your story is in a bit of trouble when your main character becomes more interesting once she has been possessed. While I still had fun with this, it basically hits the same story beats as the others I have read in this series, but it's certainly more entertaining than the last two books I read, and kudos for the bit where
Very interesting sidenote: the copyright page credits one of the writers as Hedda Nussbaum, a battered wife who was once prosecuted over the death of a child in her care. She claimed she was subject to abuse, manipulation and, yes, social isolation, from her husband. Apparently it was a big trial in 1987. You can certainly see some shades of that abuse in the relationship between Kathy and Madame Dariel! (This was published in 1984.)
Madame Dariel can turn Kathy into a star. Her classes don't even require money. She has to pay with something else! Uh oh! Dariel's lessons involve making sure that Kathy is more and more socially isolated from those that love her, so that possession can take place. School acting teacher, Josiah McHale is the only who seems to suspect what is happening to Kathy, and sets out to save her.
Pretty standard possession story from the 1980s Dark Forces line. I imagine the series didn't last much longer than this book, because they all seemed to end the same way - with an exorcism. The final act has a couple of okay moments (the standard vomiting), but it goes on for a bit too long and, well, we've seen and read this all before. The Charming doesn't bring anything new to the acting class, that's for sure.
Our main character Kathy is a bit of an insufferable bore, obsessed with being a famous actress. Your story is in a bit of trouble when your main character becomes more interesting once she has been possessed. While I still had fun with this, it basically hits the same story beats as the others I have read in this series, but it's certainly more entertaining than the last two books I read, and kudos for the bit where
Very interesting sidenote: the copyright page credits one of the writers as Hedda Nussbaum, a battered wife who was once prosecuted over the death of a child in her care. She claimed she was subject to abuse, manipulation and, yes, social isolation, from her husband. Apparently it was a big trial in 1987. You can certainly see some shades of that abuse in the relationship between Kathy and Madame Dariel! (This was published in 1984.)
October 4, 2019
This book was...pretty bad. I stopped reading after every chapter. But then I realized I wanted to know what was going on, so I'd read the next. Overall, it was an interesting story. But I despised Kathy. I'm pretty sure I was supposed to. I don't regret having read it, though I doubt it will have any lasting memories for me. Read it if you've read other Dark Forces books and liked them, otherwise, skip it.
October 26, 2024
This started off strong but I didn’t care for the antagonist nor did I feel that the “lessons” added to the overall story. The ending was very rushed but I enjoyed the writing and the cover itself is top tier.
June 17, 2015
I was expecting the typical creepy teenage horror story from the 80's, what I got was exorcisms and demons that scared the crap out of me. I had to skip some of the pages that heavily featured details of the possession. I could not handle it! Frightening stuff!
October 13, 2009
I remember reading this when I was about 14 years old. At the time, I really loved it. Not sure how I would feel about it if I were to read it now, so don't be fooled by the 5 star rating.
July 10, 2023
She just wants to be an actress, But when she gets someone to teach her how to improve, things get weird. Like, she has to eat raw meat, for one thing.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews