I usually enjoy a good book with a cult. Who knows why? I’m wired wrong, I guess. But there it is. Shaun Hutson’s book Chase is one of the rare exceptI usually enjoy a good book with a cult. Who knows why? I’m wired wrong, I guess. But there it is. Shaun Hutson’s book Chase is one of the rare exceptions. While not bad, it left me quite frustrated.
The two biggest issues had to do with plot.
1. Nearly the whole sequence of events which make up the thrilling middle and ending part of the book were entirely avoidable by going to either the police or the press. The reason for not going to the police is flimsy. There was never a reason given to not go to the press. And the protagonists has plenty of opportunity to do either. The fact that they are instructed a few times in the book to go to the police and that they see the press is aware of the events they get swept up in only made more frustrated with them.
2. The book has a twist ending that is meant to surprise and shock. Only problem is I that saw it coming from about half way in. I spent the last half of the book silently groaning “get on with it already” in my head.
Beyond these two points, the book was relatively well written. The protagonists seemed real. I would have personally liked more detail on the cult and why they had their usuals beliefs. It’s seems like a book of this length should have done some more story weaving on that point.
Finally, this wasn’t a problem with the book, but readers should be aware that much of the first half of the book is very hard to get through, especially if you’re a parent. In fact, it’s down right brutal. Bad things happen to kids in detail that will upset a lot of people. Just be warned. ...more
The Thorn Witch has the great virtue of being one of those short stories that doesn't have pretentions of being a book. It is short, does what it setsThe Thorn Witch has the great virtue of being one of those short stories that doesn't have pretentions of being a book. It is short, does what it sets out to do, doesn't stay around longer than needed, and wraps up at the right time. Many fantasy shorts have a tendency to get lost in doing world-building in their confined space. Oake just tells you what you need to know to enjoy the story. The bigger world is there, and you know it, but it isn't relevant and doesn't clutter up the tale that's being told. It's got a nice build up and a strong ending. I got this for free, but it definitely left me interested in reading more of Oake's works. ...more
I've heard Shepard's plays celebrated for as long as I have been aware of theater and playwrites. I have never read one until now. It is hard to shakeI've heard Shepard's plays celebrated for as long as I have been aware of theater and playwrites. I have never read one until now. It is hard to shake the impression that this was just page after page of two brothers yelling at each other. It gets tiresome after a while, that in spite of the fact that this is a short play.
It seems to me like it is almost certainly a retelling of the biblical Cain and Abel story. Two brothers of wildly different temperaments find themselves in their mother's home while she is away. Their lives have traveled very different paths and made them very different people. As the play progresses, in the space of a few days, their roles and temperament and outlooks slowly reverse. Where they actually always the same underneath it all and never knew it? Do fortunes determine who we really are and what we can become? These are some of the questions asked and pondered in this play.
The ending seemed much too strong and ultimately unfitting to the story. I assume it's the problem of fitting a thousands of years old story with strong mythic elements into a modern setting. The play ultimately didn't really speak to me and the issues it raised didn't seem well explored due to the dynamic between the two brothers.
Three stars, however, because while it didn't speak to me, it is clearly well written. Shepard deserves his reputation. I think the resolution and the inability of the format to explore the questions he raises are the most serious flaws on an objective level....more
This is the first book is a proposed series which at the time of my writing includes only one more. I am a big fan of action-adventure archeological m This is the first book is a proposed series which at the time of my writing includes only one more. I am a big fan of action-adventure archeological mystery trillers. Or, let’s just be honest here, Indiana Jones books without Indiana Jones. Since the DaVinci Code, these books have flooded the market and a large number of the them are atrocious. On top of that, the genre has, in my opinion, only been getting worse. (And in my humble assessment, worse than Da Vinci Code is pretty darned awful. I know I’m a minority on that one and I’m ok with it.)
What was refreshing about this book is that it did not suck at all. While it wasn’t a great book, it was downright enjoyable for what it was. The opening act was probably the best written. It looks like it is going to be an ensemble cast decoding Viking mysteries together, but the narrowing down to focus on the two main protagonists is the best moves in the book.
Most of what you find here is standard for the genre, but well written and executed. There are some plot holes, but they never distracted while I was reading. Only later did I see some things that didn’t quite match up, but the book is still so far above the rest of what’s published in this area that they are totally forgivable.
I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention two last things. Firstly, Mrazek misrepresents Viking religious beliefs to make his plot work. It bothered me the whole way through. They did not deify heroes in the way he states, nor did they mean remotely the same thing by “god” as most folks saturated in the Judeo-Christian would. He either did not do remotely enough research for this story, or fudged the historical information to make his story work. Either way, it is annoying.
Secondly, at least one reviewer seemed to think this novel was basically a treatise supporting Nazi-style eugenics and white domination. I cannot understand how they came to that opinion. The “baddies” in this book are definitely Nazi-style eugenicists, but every encounter they have with the protagonists highlights that they are monsters and evil and backwards and so forth. We read completely different books. For some reason, you cannot comment on their posted review, so I am writing this here. ...more
I should start this review by saying I’m a huge fan of Ambrose Ibsen. His stories are not exactly groundbreaking, radical, or genre shattering. HoweveI should start this review by saying I’m a huge fan of Ambrose Ibsen. His stories are not exactly groundbreaking, radical, or genre shattering. However, they are always an excellent exercise in first-rate, classical scary stories. His haunted house tales in particular always creep me out and satisfy, even though they don’t break new ground. They are well written and send a classic shiver down your spine.
When I first came across “The Splendor of Fear” I bought it sight unseen. When I read the description, I was even more excited. I felt a haunted state park would give Ibsen more options to play with in his storytelling. Sadly, this became the first Ibsen story to disappoint me and leave me dissatisfied.
The story follows a young woman (Penny) who goes for a romantic camping trip with her boyfriend (Jared). The park they pick was once the site of a Newsom’s Landing, a town abandoned for over 100 years. The town was the location of one of the last witch hunts in American history. The witch was killed by a mob of townies. Within a couple of years everybody in the town moved away due to “disturbances”. Every year, on the anniversary of the witch’s death, terrible things would happen.
So far, so good. Where the author loses meme is in a series of strange choices made by the protagonist of her boyfriend in the first half of the book. They arrive at the park on the anniversary of the witch’s death, to find it abandoned. Even the park rangers are gone. It seems everybody knows to stay away on this particular date. When the couple call the ranger station, they are told that the Rangers will not come. That no one will come. They are even told that they can get their money back, and it is suggested they should come back another weekend. So why the hell do they go in? I don’t know. I wouldn’t. That would have been enough for me to pick the next park with a camp ground over.
As the protagonist begins to “see things“ and tell her boyfriend, he routinely dismisses her feelings. Why? She is competent and sober. So, he’s either a fool or an asshole. Either way, time to leave. The boyfriend, in fact, it routinely dismissive of the protagonists’ concerns. He even plays tricks on her which accentuate her worries, laughing them off. I wasn’t a quarter through this book before I lost all empathy for him and his fate. And apparently, I wasn’t supposed to feel that way, because a lot of it was dedicated to fear about his well being.
There are a variety of other decisions made by the couple in the first half of this novel which were maddening. At one point, an abandoned house in the woods - which they’ve already had bad experiences with and seems haunted by the ghost of the witch - is found lit with candles in the middle of the night. And the protagonist decides to go in, because it seems “inviting”. That’s confounding to me. The other nonsensical decisions would give away spoilers, so I won’t go into them.
Another major problem with the story is the antagonist, the witch Ellie Pomeroy. It seems that Ibsen cannot decide if she is pure unadulterated evil or an malevolent entity to be pitied. The storytelling seems to swingly from one extreme to the other without coming down on either side. Is she the Joker or is she Mr Freeze? We never really know.
Equally problematic is the resolution. We get the typical happy but slightly ambiguous ending of horror stories. That’s fine. We are led to believe that the happy ending is brought about by the actions of Penny and Jared. But, when the story is considered, they don’t actually do anything. The happy ending is no precipitated by any set of actions.
I am sorry to say, for the first time ever, I didn’t like an Ambrose Ibsen book. It just seemed sloppy and confused. All the right elements were here for another homerun, but they just don’t come together. ...more
One of Lovecraft’s simpler tales. It’s the story of a man - native to Appalachia - who seemingly went mad and killed someone. He is acquitted by reasoOne of Lovecraft’s simpler tales. It’s the story of a man - native to Appalachia - who seemingly went mad and killed someone. He is acquitted by reason of insanity and sent to an asylum. The man has incredibly intense and vivid waking dreams. A young doctor there does experiments on the man, trying to link their minds, so that he too may experience these dreams. He suspects - rightly it turns out - that they may be much more than just dreams.
This is Lovecraft at his simplest and most effective. No frill, but creepy as hell. It bringing you a vastly expanded sense of the universe and an equally diminished sense of your self in it.
One thing to add about this tale is that is argues somewhat against HPL’s notorious well known racism. The dreamer in the tale is a white, poor, unlettered Appalachian. It is clear that Lovecraft has an equally disdainful view of these white folk. A fair amount of his racism may really have been an almost equally unpleasant classism or grotesque snobbery. Just a thought. ...more
It’s hard to know where to start when reviewing this book. Let me just start by saying it is awesome. You need to buy it. Like now.
Ok. Got that out oIt’s hard to know where to start when reviewing this book. Let me just start by saying it is awesome. You need to buy it. Like now.
Ok. Got that out of the way. Let me highlight a couple of things that really stick out as reasons why I feel you should part with your hard earned cash.
1. Prudence Osgood - formerly Pru, now Os. She’s a queer (very queer), smart-talking, paranormal investigator with a troubled past. She suffers from depression, has more than a few substance abuse issues, and I totally fell in love with her within a few pages. Her differentness from the stereotypical Raymond Chandler knock-offs that haunt most investigative novels is a breath of fresh air. 2. The Trio - Os undergoes her journey with two companions, Audrey and Zack. Audrey is the estranged bestie who comes back into Os’ life with a back story that adds depth and complexity to the mystery and Os both. Zack is the techie geek no investigator can be without these days. He is loyal, loving, and the perfect companion for Osgood’s witty and snarky repartee. It seems these three are here to stay for sequels and that only makes me want to read them more. 3. The Mystery - I won’t say too much about this. I don’t want to drop spoilers. Suffice it to stay that it involves 80s Rock, vinyl LPs, occult symbolism, conspiracy theories, possession, and trans-dimensional beings. Beckett takes you carefully through the unraveling, teasing you along the way, and the brings it to a crescendo that does not disappoint. 4. The Ending- This deserves its own number. While the mystery is really cool and compelling from the get go, Beckett takes it to a place that lives more in the horror genre than mystery novels. (Particularly, I smell some strong Lovecraft aromas in this brew.) For me, a confirmed Lovecraft nerd, that made the novel go from damn good to freakin great.
This novel was fun as hell. It had a great mystery and better ending. It will make you want to read the next ones (coming soon, I hope). If you love it half as much as I did, your time and money will have been well spent. ...more
This was - on the whole - an excellent book. It serves both as a good introduction to the thought of Arthur Schopenhauer for the lay person and an intThis was - on the whole - an excellent book. It serves both as a good introduction to the thought of Arthur Schopenhauer for the lay person and an interesting exploration of various personality types in group therapy with one another.
All the action for the novel takes places (with very few and short exceptions) during the group sessions of a therapist who has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. These are his last session with his favorite group. And, taking stock of his life, he chooses to invite his biggest failure as a therapist to join the group.
It’s gets surprisingly intense and dramatic for a novel constructed around therapy sessions. Kudos to the author for making that work. I wouldn’t have guess it could. (Maybe that’s why I am not a writer.)
My only criticism is that I think the novel rushed too quickly to tie up all the lose ends at the end. It felt rushed and it felt like everything got too clean too quickly.
This is a decent, creepy short book relating to the West Virginia Mothman sightings.
It is not the most creative book you could hope for. It seems toThis is a decent, creepy short book relating to the West Virginia Mothman sightings.
It is not the most creative book you could hope for. It seems to have three basic objectives: (1) write a story based upon West Virginia local lore and mythology. It is part of a series of books striving to write one story for each state. (2) Write a story which educates people regarding the Mothman legend and it’s many theories. At times the book seemed to be contriving situations in order to educate the reader. This can be annoying if it isn’t done well and it wasn’t always done well. Luckily, the Mothman is such a great topic it didn’t matter much. (3) Write a story which celebrates geocaching in all it’s many splendors. I get it. Geocaching is awesome. It’s really awesome. Kids who do it are awesome. Really awesome. I could have maybe done with a little less celebrating, to be honest.
That said, the book does alright. It hits all the marks and is enjoyable. I read through it in a single day, so it’s not a huge commitment. It’s like popcorn. Enjoyable, filling, and you’ll come back for more in the future- even if it won’t be remembered as one of the greatest meals of your life. ...more
A sentimental and schmaltzy story. It dramatizes an actual event from World War I where the German and British troops called a personal cease fire forA sentimental and schmaltzy story. It dramatizes an actual event from World War I where the German and British troops called a personal cease fire for Christmas and engage in acts of kindness and carol singing across "no man's land". The actual event is very compelling. This story was not. It is populated by stock characters going through the motions established for them from a hundred war stories, books, and movies. It is one cliche after another. The dialogue must have nearly written itself. That said, it is a bunch of cliches that work. There is a reason they are used over and over again as a part of our stock images for war stories. While somewhat perfunctorily written, the archetypes are still able to perform the magic required of them.
This is a story which - if you're in the right mood for it - is heartwarming. The trick is you have to strike while the iron is hot. If not, it will come off as overly corny, even annoying. ...more
This book was something of a special surprise to me.
From the description and marketing, I thought I had this book pegged: a ghost hunter reality showThis book was something of a special surprise to me.
From the description and marketing, I thought I had this book pegged: a ghost hunter reality show that did not take itself seriously, which lands a gig in a real haunted house, doesn't think it is really haunted, slowly finds out it actually is haunted, the body count mounts, and a few survivors get out just when you think all hope is lost.
Yes, in a way, that's exactly what you get. However, you get an awful lot more. It's that "lot more" that makes all the difference. In stead of supplying the perfunctory ghost story, David Longhorn spins a vision of reality and intersecting worlds which is squarely within the cosmic horror tradition. My short, run-of-the-mill haunted house story slowly turned into a dark world building exercise right before my eyes... and it was great.
This has all the hallmarks of the Lovecraftian spirit. Lovecraft didn't really write ghost stories and - it seems - did not really care for them all that much. But this is exactly the sort of meta narrative he would have loved. You're left going to bed with he distinct feeling that the world is not safe, not right, and not going to go on well either. ...more
This novella was without a doubt one of the sickest, most demented, and perverse things I have read in a very long time. It say a great deal abTimothy
This novella was without a doubt one of the sickest, most demented, and perverse things I have read in a very long time. It say a great deal about me (none of it good, mind you) that I adored every page of it. I need help.
This is a tale about a miserable, unlikeable, abusive man who does clown parties for kids on the weekends. Not because he likes kids, but because he lives beyond his means in order to more effectively womanize. One thing leads to another and the zombie apocalypse arises. In stead of the average zombie, Timothy remains conscious within but not in control of his zombie body. He and his body are at odds with one another.
What ensues is a series of events which are as perversely and grotesquely accounted as possible. This book is absolutely not for the faint of heart. But what makes is fascinating is not only the totally unlikeable protagonist (and he is never likable), but the fact that he somehow undergoes a process of self-self-realization and fulfillment made possible by his re-merging with his zombie body self. That self-actualization is even more awful and perverse a person. There is no uplifting tale of redemption in these pages. But the descent (which is somehow also an ascent) is like a traffic accident. You can’t look away. You are drawn to it, even as you know it if wrong for you to be drawn to it.
I could not put this book down. I am a bad, bad man. ...more
This was my second Meg Mackintosh book. I read it together with my 9 yr old daughter. She loves these books so far and is excited to keep reading themThis was my second Meg Mackintosh book. I read it together with my 9 yr old daughter. She loves these books so far and is excited to keep reading them. She’s got a notebook like Meg and enjoys writing notes as the mystery progresses.
This one is more of a classic who-done-it format. It involves a theft and an assault. (Nothing garish, parents. Don’t worry. A bloodless bonk on the head.) You have to follow the clues as you have to figure out who committed the crime before - gasp - an innocent man goes to jail.
It’s good fun. It helps kids develop observational and analytical skills. It also forces them to read more carefully. More than book 1, this has important clues in the written text. So, educational as well as fun. No downside there.
Young readers who enjoyed the first book because the clues were clearly numbered and set apart on the page for them may be disappointed that this one is harder. The clues aren’t so clearly separated and set out for you. You have to work harder to find them. On the other hand, there are many more and you don’t need them all to solve the crime.
These books seem to be good for around the 7-10 age range. I think this one in particular is better for the older and more mature part of that spectrum. I say that simply because this crime is a little more complex, involving numerous characters and (gasp!) more than one criminal.
Your little ones - if they’ve shown a budding interest in the mystery genre or you just want to give them a taste of it - should really enjoy this book. ...more
I read this book with my 9 year old daughter. It is perfect reading if your little one enjoys the Ever After High world.
I liked it more than I thoughI read this book with my 9 year old daughter. It is perfect reading if your little one enjoys the Ever After High world.
I liked it more than I thought I would. I will admit that getting into it was a bit of a struggle. That probably has about 90% to do with me being a 43 year old man. Let's face it, I am not their target audience. I was sold by the end of the novel, however. I enjoy the constant struggle with "big questions". That's not something you usually see in a lot of children's books based on merchandise related tv shows.
The book is predicated on the relationship of Raven Queen and Apple White, respectively the daughters of the Evil Queen and Snow White. They are destined to repeat their parents' roles. Raven, however, does not want to be evil. She is repulsed by evil. She wants, in stead, to carve out her own path in life. The plot revolves around their quest, as friends who are destined to be enemies, to figure out if choice is even an option.
To be honest, this isn't a book I would ever read myself. But reading it with my 9 yr old daughter was enjoyable. I liked how she got into the conflict, made connections with fairy tales she knows and doesn't know, taught me about a show she really enjoys, and the discussions we had about whether choice was a real thing or not. And if choice is option, whether it is better to surrender to the certainty of destiny (even if it isn't all that great) or opt for a life of choices which could go any conceivable way.
If your little monkey is into Ever After High, the books are worth it. Not just because they are better written than expected, but because they bring up interesting conversations with your little one and also (and here is the endgame, folks) it will help encourage a lifelong love of learning. ...more
I read this with my 9 year old daughter. It’s safe to say it was a huge hit. By the end of it, she had her own notebook and was taking notes on the myI read this with my 9 year old daughter. It’s safe to say it was a huge hit. By the end of it, she had her own notebook and was taking notes on the mystery just like Meg. The clues that had to be followed had a nice range from easy to hard and in between. That range kept her working hard, but never discouraged. The use of the pictures to accentuate the detecting work was a big hit for her. Depending on the precociousness of your little one, this is a good book for kids from about 7-10. It is fun, while giving a workout to their observation skills and critical thinking.
My only criticism has to do with personal taste. The characters are very under developed, two-dimensional. The book isn’t really set up for anything different. Few kids will notice this and it doesn’t effect what the book it trying to do. It just means that if you asked them about Meg’s personality, hopes, or fears they won’t have an answer. (Compared with Harry Potter for example. Or even Ivy and Bean, or Junie B Jones.) ...more
Andrew “The Weirdling”
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Books:
2019
(56)
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