Monsters of Horror Book Group (Hackensack) - 2006 Books Read Thread

[Phil]

This is the Thread for Books Read by the Monsters of Horror Book Group in 2006:


MANITOU BLOOD, Manitou 4....................Graham Masterton............11/02/06
A DARKER CRIMSON, Crimson City 4.........Carolyn Jewel....................10/05/06
OFF SEASON, Dead River 1.........................Jack Ketchum...................09/07/06
WAKING UP SCREAMING..........................H P Lovecraft....................08/03/06
MINION, Huntress 1.................................L A Banks.........................07/06/06
RELUCTANT MISS VAN HELSING..............Minda Webber...................06/01/06
SHARPER THAN A SERPENT'S, Taylor 6.....Simon Green.....................05/04/06
DEAD ON MY FEET, Halflife 2...................Wm Mark Simmons...........04/06/06
UNDEAD & UNAPPRECIATED, Betsy 3........MaryJanice Davidson.........02/02/06
BITE, Anthology......................................Uncredited Editor...............01/05/06

[Phil]

The following accounts are reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 2006 Philip J De Parto.



MANITOU BLOOD, Manitou 4
This is the latest effort in an intermittent series which began in 1976 with THE MANITOU (made into a bad movie with Tony Curtis and others).

This is a contemporary horror novel about an evil unleashed by the events of 9/11. A madman releases an evil spirit which results in a peculiar vampiric possession rapidly transforming Manhattan into an island of the damned. We liked it.

A DARKER CRIMSON, Crimson City 4
I was surprised to discover that the book is part of a shared world paranormal romance series begun in Liz Maverik's CRIMSON CITY and continuing in A TASTE OF CRIMSON by Marjorie Liu, THROUGH A CRIMSON VEIL by Patti O'Shea, SEDUCED BY CRIMSON by Jade Lee. Ms Jewel had previously written two non-Crimson romances, THE SPARE and LORD RUIN.

The Crimson City in question is Los Angeles, which gained its new name from the rivers of blood that flowed when a portal to another reality -- one ruled by demons -- opened. The outgunned authorities learned to their astonishment that a number of mythical creatures -- vampires, werewolves, paranormals -- were secretly living among us and had no use for the demons, either. An alliance of necessity pushed back the invaders and sealed the portal. A series of protocols was established to permit the defenders of the world to coexist. The treaty is now frayed, and an all-out war between fang, dog, and human seems inevitable. And across a veil of magic, the invaders plot their return.

Reviews of the book were mixed. In general it was felt that while individual scenes and chapters were well constructed, the transitions between scenes often left the reader lost.

OFF SEASON, Dead River 1
Barry had suggested this tale of a small group of vacationers under seige by cannibals at a remote cabin in Maine. Considering that the previous month's book had been a collection of Lovecraft stories set in New England, and that several of us were reading Sarah Langan's Maine horror novel, THE KEEPER, the northeast corner of the nation is not looking like prime vacation territory in our circle.

This Leisure Books paperback is the second mass market printing of the novel, and it contains several items of interest not in the original release. First of all, it restores the author's original manuscript which means that it is considerably more graphic than the original version. It also kills off a major character that Ketchum was ordered to spare in the earlier printing. The book also offers two bonus features, an author's account of the publishing history of the book, and a bonus story, "Winter Child," which he pruned from his novel, SHE WAKES, in order to improve the pace of that novel.

Barry and Phil did most of the talking as they had actually read the book. Barry is a fan of the author and felt that although the menace was not supernatural, the basic situation placed it squarely in the tradition of such works as NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Phil enjoyed the book as an adventure story, though gorier than his personal taste, and particularly enjoyed that the heroes thought things through rather than deciding to go out alone for midnight strolls.

WAKING UP SCREAMING
The book is a good value even if one has read the tales elsewhere. It includes the entire contents of the Del Rey paperbacks, THE LURKING FEAR AND OTHER STORIES and THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD, as well as a few additional stories.

The collection contained examples of the three basic types of stories Lovecraft wrote. "The White Ship" represents the author's surreal, lyrical Lord Dunsany-influenced fantasies. "From Beyond" is one of the author's most imaginative stand alone horrors. "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" is one of the cycle of tales forming THE CTHULHU MYTHOS, the author's most important and enduring creation.

There are some worthwhile stories in the book, but it by no means shows Lovecraft at his best. We had a good time, and even minor Lovecraft presents more ideas than the major work of most horror writers.

MINION, Huntress 1
The book is the first in a series of a young, black, urban, female vampire, a hip hop Buffy if you will.

Despite a promising premise, there were serious problems with the book. The plot required an awful lot of suspension of disbelief with vampires, demons, astrology, psychic powers, and all kinds of fantasy tropes to make the plot work. Most of the characterization was sketchy, and the writing generally had the feel of a screenplay--surface with little depth. The book didn't really end, but simply ran out of pages. Any kind of payoff will occur in later volumes. This one was simply set up (we didn't like this in Kim Harrison's DEAD WITCH WALKING and we didn't like it here).

The discussion was attended by Association members Philip De Parto, Pamela Webber, and Barry Weinberger, as well as newcomer Anthony DiPrima. Anthony's questions about what makes a good work of horror triggered a really interesting discussion which brought in authors like Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, H P Lovecraft and others, as well as movie adaptations of some of their works.

THE RELUCTANT MISS VAN HELSING
This is the second in a paranormal romance series by the author, the first being THE REMARKABLE MISS FRANKENSTEIN.

The conceit of the book is that Van Helsings have been slaying vampires for generations, but Jane Van Helsing would much rather be bird watching and husband hunting than sneaking through graveyards and crawling through underground chambers. But it IS the family business, even if she is no good at the game.

The novel starts slow, but picks up about 1/4 of the way into the book. Although the author hits you repeatedly over the head with some traits--like the heroine's weakness for chocolate--you slowly warm up to the characters. There a lots of puns, groaners and wordplay. This will not be for everyone but falls into the average to better than average range.

SHARPER THAN A SERPENT'S TOOTH, John Taylor 6
Comparisons were made of Green's Nightside to works by Neil Gaiman, Roger Zelazny, and various comic books.

DEAD ON MY FEET, Halflife 2
This is the second book in a series which began with ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE, and considerable time was spent discussing whether or not the book worked on its own. Feedback ranged from okay to very favorable.

UNDEAD & UNAPPRECIATED, Betsy 3
In between digressions, the gang examined UNDEAD AND UNAPPRECIATED by MaryJanice Davidson.

BITE, Anthology
"Biting in Plain Sight" by MaryJanice Davidson and "One Word Answer" by Charlaine Harris stories were judged the cream of the crop. Vickie Taylor's "Blood Lust" rated an okay. The stories by Laurell Hamilton and Angela Knight received a "thumbs down."