The Elementals

[Char]

Me too! :)

[Jon Recluse]

BUNNY!!!!

I don't mind waiting, either. I need to catch up on some review reads.
And do my ghost story recs.

[Kasia]

I'm sneaking in a short in comparison Agatha Christie ( At Beltram's Hotel which is #11 in the Miss Marple Series) when you guys are game for Cottage I'm in.

[Kasia]

Bunny is so funny, he's always chewing and munchin, his hairy little mouth works non stop.

[Jon Recluse]

Petrush is part bunny.

He loves nibbling on veggies.

[Layton]

Could I join in on the Herbert read? I've been meaning to read him for a while and hoped to start with The Fog, but this would be a great place to start too.

[Jon Recluse]

Sure!

[Kasia]

Jon Recluse wrote: "Petrush is part bunny.

He loves nibbling on veggies."

So sweet :) aww

[Kasia]

Layton wrote: "Could I join in on the Herbert read? I've been meaning to read him for a while and hoped to start with The Fog, but this would be a great place to start too."

Yes please!

[Addy]

Im game for both Charlene:) I have Magic Cottage, so whenever is good with me. Maybe a Farris read after this one? I do have to say that Im reading The Fog with another group and I was very skeptical because I thought fog was not scary....boy was I wrong!! Herbert has become a favorite!

[Layton]

What Farris book are you guys thinking about reading?

[Addy]

Wildwood

[Layton]

That looks very interesting. Everyone seems to like his other books but I still need to buy copies. I saw All Heads Turn When The Hunt Goes By at a used bookstore a couple months back but didn't buy it. I regret that now. :/

[Addy]

Ahh Layton! That one is suppose to be his best work. I grabbed it a few months back. If u ever come across it, make sure u grab it next time!

[Char]

The Fog was a blast! The Rats was good too. :)

All Heads Turn was a cool story, Layton. I think you would like it. :)

[Katy]

Still working on Elementals, I'm at about 40%. They are settling in at the house, falling into a lazy summer rhythm, which I suspect is about to be disrupted.

Looks like some of you are moving on to a Herbert book. I'll check that out.

[Char]

It will be a little bit yet, before I am available for the Herbert book. It seems that Kasia is happy to wait until then, thankfully. :)

I hope you're enjoying The Elementals.

[Kasia]

Of course hehe, I'm reading an Agatha Christie now, trying to pay really close attention maybe for once I will catch the darn killer.

[Char]

Kasia wrote: "Of course hehe, I'm reading an Agatha Christie now, trying to pay really close attention maybe for once I will catch the darn killer."

LOL Good luck with that! I loved her work as a teenager, and I loved Sherlock Holmes at that time as well. I never could guess the mystery correctly with either one. :)

[Katy]

Charlene wrote: "It will be a little bit yet, before I am available for the Herbert book. It seems that Kasia is happy to wait until then, thankfully. :)

I hope you're enjoying The Elementals."

I'm up to 82%, and the house appears to be moving into action...

[Char]

Now the good stuff starts, Katy! :)

[Katy]

Charlene wrote: "Now the good stuff starts, Katy! :)"

Yeah, once I got to 82%, the action did start. And it raced toward the conclusion.

There was a high body count among primary characters.

(view spoiler)[ I liked the image of the house surrounded by sand, in a perfect geometric shape, like an hourglass. <\spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[Layton]

I didn't actually know there were real spirits called Elementals until I found this today: http://leapcastle.net/?page_id=41

[Char]

Yeah, I looked them up while I was reading and found a lot of interesting stuff. :)

[Char]

Katy wrote: "Charlene wrote: "Now the good stuff starts, Katy! :)"

Yeah, once I got to 82%, the action did start. And it raced toward the conclusion.

There was a high body count among primary characters.

[s..."

Yeah there was, I love when that happens. :)

[Cathie]

Starting this today!

[Kirstin]

Cathie wrote: "Starting this today!"


Nice! I look forward to reading your comments, Cathie. I hope you like it! :)

[Char]

Layton wrote: "Could I join in on the Herbert read? I've been meaning to read him for a while and hoped to start with The Fog, but this would be a great place to start too."


Layton, there is a thread now open for a buddy read of Magic Cottage, Das Haus auf dem Land. I can't find a non-German version of a link! We're not starting for a little bit yet, but I wanted to let you know. :)

[Char]

Cathie wrote: "Starting this today!"

I hope you enjoy it as much as we all did, Cathie! :)

[Layton]

Thanks Charlene! I might join in I'm not sure yet.

[Cathie]

Kirstin wrote: "Reading this book is reminding me of how I felt when I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Like I've just di..."

That's how I'm feeling and still early in the book... as well as Beetlejuice.

[Kirstin]

Cathie wrote: "Kirstin wrote: "Thanks for the rec Tressa! I will be searching for those books at my UBS for sure.

Reading this book is reminding me of how I felt when I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle. L..."


It really does grab you! The book is wonderfully well written and creepy as hell! And it just gets better! :)

[Layton]

Finally put up my review of this book last night. I'm tempted to go ahead and buy the print copy of this too.

[Cathie]

Layton wrote: "I didn't actually know there were real spirits called Elementals until I found this today: http://leapcastle.net/?page_id=41"

Interesting read!

[Cathie]

Wow, strong sense of place, atmospheric as The Willows. Ugh, sand!!!

I really enjoyed the dialogue between India and Big Barbara. (view spoiler)[Poor Dauphin! And what is to be of the twins! (hide spoiler)]

Truly 80s creepy! Glad to have read this book! I haven't heard of him or this title... glad Valencourt Books returned this novel to print.

[Char]

Cathie, me too. I also picked up The Amulet. I'm looking forward to reading it. If you are too, or anyone else is, maybe we could buddy read it?

[Layton]

I've got it. I'd love to buddy read it. :)

[Pamellia]

Tressa wrote: "If you like the southern fried taste of this book, please read The Blackwater series. He hits the nail on the head with the small town southern gossip and class lines. I think Blackwater is superio..."

I know I'm not part of this group and I haven't read all the comments, by Tressa, I agree with you. I only 80% finished with The Elementals and am greatly enjoying it and unless something very odd happens to the writing skills or story telling, the book will receive 5 stars from me. HOWEVER, Blackwater is a more "entertaining" series, I think. The characters are more elaborate as in complicated, complex...a study of the family and it's members. The Elemental's character, while interesting and wonderful characters, are not as elaborate...it's more of a story driven novel. Does that make sense? One is character driven, one is driven by the Elementals.

I wish this author had not died the untimely death. I hate to think about how he must have suffered. He died when aids was young and those who succumbed to it had little relief. Any way, I would like to know which book was more difficult to write. I'm thinking BLACKWATER.

[Pamellia]

Charlene wrote: "[spoilers removed]
Last night I was curious, so I looked at a map. Here's the one I was checking out: http://www.almd.uscourts.gov/courtdir...

I was picturing them out on that little s..."

Char, are you looking at the little peninsula at the bottom of Baldwin county? It goes of to the west, right? I was thinking the peninsula was going to the east, so this is a help...I'm about 80% into the book (doing another buddy read , as you know) so I will begin to see the houses differently.

The two family houses are together and the third house that belongs to the Elementals is on the end, closer to the main land, right? It is confusing.

Wow! I'm going to be ahead of the game with the other buddy read I'm doing. Thanks for all your help, everyone! This is a good discussion so far. I can feel your excitement just reading your posts.

[Pamellia]

Layton wrote: "[spoilers removed]"

I think they are just that unique type that is comfortable in their skin. I'm sort of like that, but the remainder of the family, very modest!! LOL, I think it's sort of funny. Remember the 70s, people went through an openedness (is that a word) about their bodies...While unusual today, I think it may have been more common then.

[Char]

So, what did you think? :)

[Pamellia]

Charlene wrote: "So, what did you think? :)"

Greatly enjoyed it, Char. I came over here to check and see what had been said about the book. Some good points were made and I was commenting on the book and some of the participant's thoughts thinking no one would probably ever see them, but it keep me thinking. I have written a review, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to publish. I gave it 5 stars.

[Char]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I can't understand how Trevor did not? Maybe he just didn't connect with the characters?

[Kimberly]

I finally looked up the thread for this! I finished the ELEMENTALS today, and loved it! 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. Very atmospheric, and that sense of dread actually had me thinking about the scenes after putting the book away. Somewhere here I saw it compared to THE WILLOWS, as far as atmosphere...I thought the same thing myself!

I'm glad you enjoyed it, too, Pam!!!!

[Kimberly]

Charlene wrote: "I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I can't understand how Trevor did not? Maybe he just didn't connect with the characters?"

It does start out slowly; perhaps Trevor just didn't get into it in the beginning and lost interest ???

[Pamellia]

I've read a couple of places now that has mentioned the slow start. For me, it did not start out slowly. I think there was a lot of horror in that first part, actually, with that ritual. Maybe it's because I've worked so many, many funerals over the years...I think I started working at funerals when I was 16, so well over 40 years...I've very interesting in funeral ritual and etiquette...so that beginning was more of a personal thing for me, I suppose.

I still can't really justify the disconnect between the Elementals, the rituals and the ghostly sketch by India in the beginning. Any comments on that. You guys are so insightful

[Kimberly]

Good question about the ghostly sketch, Pam. I, personally, thought that the Elementals were attached somehow to the Savage family, itself. Possibly after the "mother eating her baby" event--that might have been the trigger that started it all.

I'd love to hear other people's opinions on that, too. :)

[Kimberly]

Adrian wrote: "So, what was the verdict on this one? Did people like it?"

Personally, it made my top 20 from last year--loved it!

[Kasia]

I'm with Kimberly, I loved this one as well. I was actually thinking of it yesterday, my eyes caught the cover when I was going over my reads from last year and I had to pause and sit for a minute or two savoring the memories of reading it.

[11811 (Eleven)]

Kasia wrote: "I'm with Kimberly, I loved this one as well. I was actually thinking of it yesterday, my eyes caught the cover when I was going over my reads from last year and I had to pause and sit for a minute ..."

I was eying this today on Amazon along with the Blackwater books. I know I gotta read both sooner or later. Not reading them would be an HA party foul. I'm placing myself on horror probation until I read at least one of them.