Horror Leisure Book Club! discussion
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COVENANT - Feedback and Hello!
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Glad to see you made it over here! I see that you have a few more coming out this year and I'm excited to read them. In case you don't remember me, I was the one who was going to come to your Chattanooga Book signing that was canceled.
I really enjoyed Covenant and recommend it to anyone here who enjoys a good oldfashioned haunted cliff tale. What fun!
Hey Kristen - yep, I remember you! Felt bad that we didn't at least get to say hi when I passed through Chattanooga -- but I was sleeping that night in Nashville, so couldn't stay in Chattanooga long. Anyway, thanks for all your support on Covenant -- I hope you'll enjoy Sacrifice as much (or more!)
Covenant was a top 10 books for me this past year. I liked the way the book paced itself from the beginning. I wasn't sure where it was headed at first but was pleased with the surprises.I really enjoyed the circle of friends and their interaction with the protagonist.
It was a great read while sitting on the porch in the late afternoon.
I look forward to your next book(s) John!
John,I listed Covenant as one of my top ten novels of 2008 on myspace. I loved the book because you got right to the point, were bold as far as the perversion between the group of women in Terrel was concerned and you were original and scary as I found out more and more about the spirit terrozing the town. I can see why you won the Bram Stoker Award. It had everything: romance, suspense, sex and brutal fright. Good job.
Hey Alan and Jason - thanks for the replies! I could use you guys on my newsletter street team :-)
Hi John,Recently finished Covenant myself and loved it man! Was really impressed and I'm looking forward to picking up Sacrifice now.
Cheers, my friend.
Gord
Gord - Sacrifice is even better than Covenant. I absolutely loved it!!! I love how John mixes all the erotica in with the horror though... that's my weakness when it comes to books. ;)
Hey Gord and Rhonda - thanks! I'm glad you both enjoyed Covenant.Gord, I'm really looking forward to reading JIGSAW MAN - you've gotten amazing reviews on that everywhere I turn it seems. Unfortunately, it also seems that I'm about a year behind on my reading LOL!
lol! I hear you, big guy. Every time I think I'm making a dent in the to-be-read pile, I blink and it's stacked to the roof again. Such is life!!!!Hope to see you at either WHC or the Stoker Weekend, John. I'd like to do both but I doubt I'll have the cash. I'm leaning towards the Stoker Awards.
Cheers,
Gord
Hey Gord - hope you'll decide on the Stokers... I just registered this weekend :-) Looking forward to catching up!
I know its been a while since anyone posted in here...but for all you GR horror fans out there who HAVEN'T read John Everson before...shame on you! I finished COVENANT a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Go pick up this original masterpiece of horror as well as the follow-up, SACRIFICE...you won't be disappointed!
Can I read SACRIFICE first before reading COVENANT? I saw SACRIFICE at my local bookstore, but not COVENANT. If it is a stand alone book, is it still better to read COVENANT first?
I think John stated somewhere (maybe here) that it CAN be read as a standalone....but from what I know of SACRIFICE it would be best to read COVENANT first because of certain plotlines.
Exactly Chris! SACRIFICE could be read alone, but if you then want to go back and read COVENANT you basically have spoiled the ending for yourself. I recommend reading both personally, but then again, Everson is my favorite author. ;)
Rhonda has a good point Xavier. There are certain "chills" you get when some ties back to COVENANT are mentioned. You'll miss out on those if you don't read COVENANT first. SACRIFICE stands alone just fine, but after you read it you will want to read COVENANT and then it will be more like a flashback (which could still be kinda cool).Ask the bookstore to get COVENANT for you. I'm sure they'll be happy to do so. Then you can have TWO great reads!
Exactly, Lon. And COVENANT is still in print and should be for a long time.
Lon wrote: "Rhonda has a good point Xavier. There are certain "chills" you get when some ties back to COVENANT are mentioned. You'll miss out on those if you don't read COVENANT first. SACRIFICE stands alone j..."Thanks for help sell my point Lon.
Both books are great. Sacrifice is amazing. I couldn't put it down and Covenant is even better, if possible!I can tell you now that I want to read more of the stories.
A personal whine here.
The 13th, a limited release from Necro Pubs, is a very cool book with a very cool cover. Only problem, for me, is that I'll never be able to get that edition since it's a limited (read expensive) release. The "public" release has a much different and much less cool cover.
I know, Envy is a Sin. Good thing it's not my only one or it would feel lonely! -grin-
The basic thing is that John Everson can write a damn good story and I will continue trying to get a hold of all of them for my permanent library.
I read Covenant earlier this year, loved it, and went and bought Sacrifice. I hear ya, Brett, about being able to afford the limited edition, specialty pub books. I used to buy ALL my Ed Lee books through Necro and Cemetary Dance (and others) but alas, thanks to the economic "downturn" and other reasons, that luxury was unfortunately, postponed for a while...but perhaps sometime soon I can afford those 40-50 dollar gems...(thank God many of my fav authors put out pb's from Leisure!)
I hear you guys about the limited editions. I only allow myself to buy those editions typically of my two favorite authors (one being Everson of course) due to the high prices. I wish they were more affordable. I do try to support my faves at least though so... plus the covers are just gorgeous!
Hey Brett, Chris, Rhonda - thanks for the support. And I wish the limiteds were more affordable too... Though, as someone who runs a small press on the side himself, I can tell you - at the low volumes these presses print at, they really have to be priced that way for the projects to be at all profitable. I'm just happy as a writer that I have had the opportunity to have gorgeous small press editions produced for the collectors who love those, as well as mass market editions that allow anyone to read them!And I'm very excited about this weekend -- Leisure has shipped the first box of THE 13TH directly to the hotel I'll be at in Milwaukee on Friday. So the paperback edition will officially debut at Zombie Con X in Wisconsin!
Dear John,So great to hear from you on here. Your story in "Poe's Children" is terrifying....
Thanks,
Michelle Mitchell-Foust
Dear John,Sorry, I was thinking of COVENANT (terrifying).... not Poe's Children... sorry about the mix-up...
CHEERS,
Michelle
John, thanks for the comments and have fun this weekend! I completely agree and understand what you mean about small, specialty publishers...and obviously you know all about it. That money--while some may feel is TOO much--is well worth it, because not only are you getting a highly collectible SIGNED and numbered book...but the quality is usually far superior to much of the mainstream "big" publishers.
Oh, I agree completely! I love the limited edition books. While the story is the most important part, the window dressing does help make feel even more special.I simply bemoan my own circumstances in that I can rarely get them. I feel that anything that can be done to support an author is well worth it. They tend to get shafted too often. writing is a passion, but it's also damn hard work!
Absolutely, Brett! I have said it for years and I do this on a daily basis in my job as manager for a large retail chain bookstore...I always steer my customers towards the Leisure authors because I feel they deserve a new reader, instead of someone always going for King or Koontz, etc....they already have the millions of readers. And many of those lesser-known authors write better novels than the Big Guys in some instances...
That's one of my big pet peeves. I get so frustrated when someone says they love horror books, yet then they go on to say that all they read is King and Koontz. I'm standing there thinking how much they're missing out on. Yeah, sure, King and Koontz are good writers, but there are SOOOO many better authors out there IMO and with such extravagant varities of writing styles. But most of those readers aren't even willing to give them a shot or listen to the fact that other authors exist.
Yeah...COVENANT was a killer book. SIREN will knock their socks off, though. Keep scaring the tourists, John!
And The 13th looks great, too! I already have it on reserve at work and will be picking it up SOON!
Here is the summary of COVENANT from Amazon:
Joe Kieran has found that unearthing the truth for a newspaper can be painful, and telling it, heartbreaking. Hiding from his past big city exposés in the quiet coastal town of Terrel, he stumbles upon a web of mysterious teen suicides that somehow connect a ring of five women. Is there really a malevolent presence inside Terrel Cliff that holds all of the town in thrall as Angelica, a fortune teller, suggests? Or is there a murderous covenant between five women to sacrifice their first-born? When Angelica is kidnapped right under his nose, Joe suspects that there is more at work in Terrel than a dark, tragic streak.
Deep beneath the remains of a long-demolished lighthouse on its tragic cliff, Joe discovers Terrel's secret history and salvation. And in his desperate bid to save two women, he forges a new covenant, one that puts his own soul in deadly danger.