Kill Creek, by Scott Thomas ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Horror Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkshares for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 31st, 2017

350 Pages

Synopsis: At the end of a dark prairie road, nearly forgotten in the Kansas countryside, lies the Finch House. For years it has perched empty, abandoned, and overgrown—but soon the door will be opened for the first time in many decades. But something waits, lurking in the shadows, anxious to meet its new guests. When best-selling horror author Sam McGarver is invited to spend Halloween night in one of the country’s most infamous haunted houses, he reluctantly agrees. At least he won’t be alone; joining him are three other masters of the macabre, writers who have helped shape modern horror. But what begins as a simple publicity stunt soon becomes a fight for survival—the entity they have awakened will follow them, torment them, threatening to make them part of the bloody legacy of Kill Creek.

Kill Creek is a spooky and creepy tale that’s perfect for this time of year. While it’s somewhat derivative, it still had some surprises and I found it quite entertaining.

The first half which follows the four horror authors was definitely my favorite part of the book. You get to know their backstories through their personal narratives as well as the events that lead them all to be part of this publicity stunt at the supposedly haunted Finch House. The tragic history of the house itself is also revealed, and with everything combined, it gave me an eerie and unsettled feeling. 

In the second half, the pace slowed down a little at first, with all four authors returning to their respective homes and dealing with the repercussions of their brief stay at Finch House. Once they reunite, at the house, realizing it’s the only way to put a stop to the evil that’s followed them, the pace picks up appreciably and the slow burning suspense turns into the epitome of slasher horror. 

Overall, I didn’t think Kill Creek to be the most original book I’ve read in this genre, but it kept my attention and I found it to be a fun and scary read. If you’re a fan of horror writers like Stephen King, Bentley Little and Peter Straub, I think you might enjoy this. I would definitely pick up any future horror stories by Scott Thomas.

 

Strange Weather, by Joe Hill ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Horror Fiction, LGBT, Post-Apocalyptic Fiction, Science Fiction, Social Issues

Thanks to Edelweiss and William Morrow for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 24th, 2017

448 Pages

Synopsis: A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill.

“Snapshot” is the story of a Silicon Valley adolescent who finds himself threatened by “The Phoenician” a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories snap by snap.

A young man man takes to the skies to experience his firs parachute jump…and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems to have a mind of its own in “Aloft”.

On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. “Rain” explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads out across the country and around the world.

In “Loaded”, a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it. When an out-of-control summer blaze approaches the town, he will reach for his gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.

Strange Weather is an eclectic collection of four tales which only has one theme connecting them, the weather. And this really only plays a major role in the last story, but it honestly doesn’t matter because Joe Hill’s writing is so brilliant.

Snapshot features a monstrous villain known as The Phoenician who stalks his victims with an instant camera which extracts their memories. The only one who can stop him is an eleven-year-old misfit. It’s a vintage horror story and somewhat reminiscent of Hill’s NOS4A2. I would say that out of the four stories, this was my favorite because I have a fondness for underdog kids battling evil. I give this 5 Stars.

Loaded tackles the horror of gun violence, and it a story that Hill has been mulling over in his mind since the Newtown massacre. Here, the shooter, Randall Kelloway, is a mall cop who’s been rejected numerous times from the police force because he’s psychologically unfit. He’s a gun fanatic who illegally carries one to work, which results in tragedy. Aisha is a reporter who has her own tragic history with gun violence. She’s suspicious of Randall’s account of what happened, and is determined to discover the truth. It’s a tough story to read and the ending ripped my heart out. Rather than being supernatural in nature, instead the story focuses on the real life monsters among us. I did think this went on a little too long which is why I’m giving this 4.5 Stars.

Aloft is quite different from Hill’s usual writing. It focuses on twenty-something Aubrey Griffin, who along with a small group are completing things on their friend June’s bucket list, that she was unable to do before her death from cancer. The first is a parachute jump, and Aubrey is panic-stricken, but he’s trying to impress his friend Harriet. Once they’re in the plane though, he finds he just can’t go through with it. That is until, the plane starts to lose power and everyone is forced to jump. Aubrey lands on this strange looking cloud. And of course this is not your average cloud. This isn’t a horror story per se, but instead, a quirky, poignant and thoughtful exploration of unrequited love and the question of whether it’s truly possible to have everything you want. There are some questions as to who and what the cloud is, and where did it come from, so I’m giving this 4.5 Stars.

Rain is the last story and is very reminiscent of some of Hill’s more post-apocalyptic fiction. The rain arrives in the form of crystalline needles that are capable of penetrating both objects and bodies. The heroine here is the kick-ass Honeysuckle Speck, and the journey follows her as she tries to get from Boulder to Denver to tell the father of her girlfriend and his wife’s deaths. In addition to trying to avoid further deadly outbreaks of rain, Honeysuckle also has a murderous doomsday cult after her. It’s a well-written story and the perfect way to end this anthology. I give this 5 Stars.

Strange Weather confirms why I’m such a fan of Joe Hill. Every story has characters that readers will connect with. Diverging from his more epic horror like last year’s The Fireman, this is more in keeping with his other short story collection, 20th Century Ghosts. I believe this quite literally has something for everyone and I HIGHLY recommend it to both long-time fans of Hill’s as well as new readers.

 

Alone, by Cyn Balog ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Family Relationships, Horror Fiction, Mental Illness, Mystery, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: November 1st, 2017

288 Pages

Synopsis: When her mom inherits an old, crumbling mansion, Seda’s almost excited to spend the summer there. The grounds are beautiful and it’s fun to explore the sprawling house with its creepy rooms and secret passages. Except now her mom wants to renovate, rather than sell the estate—which means they’re not going back to the city…or Seda’s friends and school.

As the days grow shorter, Seda is filled with dread. They’re about to be cut off from the outside world, and she’s not sure she can handle the solitude or the darkness it brings out in her.

Then a group of teens get stranded near the mansion during a blizzard. Seda has no choice but to offer them shelter, even though she knows danger lurks in the dilapidated mansion—and in herself. And as the snow continues to fall, what Seda fears most is about to become her reality…

Welcome to the Bismarck-Chisholm House—where murder is only the beginning of the fun! Stay in one of eighteen comfortable guest rooms. You’ll sleep like the dead. We guarantee it…

How bone-chillingly cool is that opening? If you think the premise sounds vaguely familiar, you’d be right. Alone pays homage to The Shining , even mentioning it during one scene, yet it has several unique twists of its own. 

Seda is an unreliable narrator and her actions kept me off guard throughout the story. She’s isolated in a creepy rundown mansion that used to be a hotel that held themed murder mysteries for their guests. Except for a general store twenty miles away there’s no other contact with the outside world as they have no cell phone service or landline. And to top things off, the father, fed up with his wife’s insistence that the house only be sold to someone who will stay true to its history, deserts the family. After four months of this, Seda seemingly goes from a once popular sixteen-year-old girl, to a socially awkward one who has a difficult time with even the most basic conversations. Part of this is explained by the secret she’s been keeping from everyone for years. I’d be sympathizing with her one moment, and left scratching my head at her puzzling actions the next. Every time I thought I had a handle on who she was, something would happen and I’d be right back at the beginning. It was infuriating yet mesmerizing at the same time. 

The rest of the characters didn’t stand out all that much, although I thought Seda’s younger siblings (two sets of twins), were adorable. The mother was a little out there and I wound up disliking her intensely. I thought her actions were selfish, neglectful and uncaring. She supposedly loved Seda and her siblings but aside from inventing entertaining games to keep them distracted, she seemed otherwise disengaged. The stranded teens pretty much fit the standard roles: romantic lead, mean girl, loner, etc. and didn’t add all that much until the end of the book.

The descriptive setting was the best part of the story. You can feel the eeriness and claustrophobic atmosphere creep off the pages and surround you. Each chapter begins with a heading that ties the crumbling ruin back to its heyday of being a popular hotel, which was an imaginative touch. The pace though, was extremely slow for about 70% of the book, and at times, I was ready to tear out my hair waiting for something, ANYTHING to happen! And then it finally did, and yikes! What a rollercoaster ride! There’s a huge twist at the end that I still can’t make up my mind as to whether I loved or hated it. Either way, I’m still thinking about it two days after I finished the book, which makes it a success in my mind. 

While Alone didn’t quite live up to my admittedly high expectations, I still enjoyed it and I think it’s a good read for teens, especially this time of year. It’s creepy and unsettling and I guarantee the ending will give you goosebumps!

 

Mirror Image ~ By Michael Scott and Melanie Ruth Rose – 2.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Greek Mythology, Historical Fiction, Horror Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 23rd, 2016

Synopsis: In an auction house in London, there is a mirror no one will buy. Standing seven feet tall and reaching four feet across, its size  makes it unusual. Its horrific powers make it extraordinary. For centuries, the mirror has fed off the lives of humans, giving them agonizing deaths and sucking their souls into its hellish world.

When Jonathan Frazier, the wealthy owner of a furniture and antiques shop in Los Angeles, buys the mirror at an auction, he believes he is getting the bargain of a lifetime. With its age and size, it is easily worth eight times what he paid for it. At this point, the mirror has sat dormant for years. But within days of Jonathan’s purchase, the deaths begin again. One employee is crushed when the mirror falls on top of him. A few days later, the corpse of another is found in front of the mirror, brutally stabbed. A third is burned beyond all recognition. All the while, an enormous man with a scarred face is following Jonathan, demanding that he give him the mirror and killing any police officer that gets in his way.

The police are becoming desperate. As the death toll rises, Jonathan himself becomes a suspect. He knows there is something wrong with the mirror. He knows it’s dangerous. But he cannot bring himself to get rid of it. Everyday he becomes more captivated by the mirror.

For the mirror is awakening, and its powers are resurfacing.

I first became familiar with Michael Scott through his YA series The Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel. It’s one of my favorite series in part because of the utterly brilliant way he takes mythological as well as real historical figures, mixes them seamlessly into a contemporary setting and creates absolutely fascinating stories with unforgettable characters. Unfortunately, what worked in those books didn’t quite mesh in Mirror Image, which made it a bit of a disappointment for me. I really enjoyed the first quarter of the book with its unique take on the cursed mirror myth. At this point it was pretty much a straight up horror story with loads of suspense and gory scenes. I liked Jonathan, the unassuming antiques dealer who finds he’s in possession of an ancient object of untold evil, and is completely bewildered as to what to do. I also liked Manny, his spunky eighteen-year-old daughter who finds herself slowly under the mirror’s sway. The scarred man menacing Jonathan, had a sympathetic backstory but lost me when he began murdering hapless police officers who had the misfortune to get in his way. Since he had no compunction about doing this, I never quite understood why he didn’t just kill Jonathan and take the mirror. After the first 100 pages or so, the historical origins of the mirror begin to emerge, told in alternating chapters. While including real-life historical figures the story is somewhat interesting, but I was never able to really buy into the characters motivations. To make matters worse, some of the scenes both in the past and the present made me a little uncomfortable. I don’t generally take issue with blood, gore, or sexual scenes, but the way these were written had me squeamish at times. And finally, there’s a huge twist near the end that made me scratch my head. I’m just going to say it involves Greek mythology and leave it at that. It was completely random and made absolutely no sense in regard to everything that previously happened, and it seemed like it was just tacked on as an afterthought. While Mirror Image wasn’t for me, it has received some good reviews on Goodreads, so if you like horror, I encourage you to check it out for yourself. Michael Scott is such a great author that even though I disliked this, I’ll definitely be reading future books by him.

Once Upon a Zombie (Book One: The Color of Fear) ~ By Billy Phillips and Jenny Nissenson – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Fairytales, Fantasy, Horror Fiction, Middle School Fiction, Mystery, Relationships, Siblings

 I received this book from NetGalley and The Toon Studio Press in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Unexplainablenews.com is reporting strange phenomena in cemeteries in Scotland, Germany, Italy, and America. Only one individual knows what’s happening–and why! This person also knows the one girl who can prevent an unspeakable and imminent catastrophe from taking place. But will she? When Caitlin Fletcher’s mom disappeared (or left?) Four years ago, Caitlin began suffering from breathless bouts of anxiety. Her new move to London, with her Dad and brainiac sister, threatens to lead to more situations that will trigger panic. Now she’s having anxiety over the possibility of having anxiety! Caitlin’s life takes a turn for the bizarre when she’s tricked into climbing down a “rabbit hole”, landing in a wondrous fairy tale universe–except it’s crawling with savage, starving, blood-eyed zombies. But what’s scarier – a blood thirsty zombie, a panic attack…or the painful truth? 

When I first saw Once Upon a Zombie offered on NetGalley, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! I mean what could be better than some of the most beloved fairytale characters being turned into zombies? Well, as it turns out, not much. Billy Phillips has created a positively perfect mash-up of horror and fantasy, while at the same time, sending an important message which should resonate with it’s readers.

With all these Zombie Princesses like Rapunzel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White around, it would have been easy for the character of fourteen-year-old Caitlin to get lost amidst all those strong personalities. While she’s always been anxious, since her mother’s disappearance four years ago, her anxiety has increased exponentially. When we first meet her she’s literally hyperventilating over the idea of attending a school dance. This beginning is the weakest part of the story as it deals with your typical high school drama, without adding anything new. However, once Caitlin and her younger sister Natalie slide down the rabbit hole, well, that’s when the incredible world-building begins, and the adventure takes off. 

Caitlin and the precocious Natalie are the perfect team. Where Caitlin is timid and overthinks things, Natalie is impulsive and adventurous. Their personalities perfectly balance each other. The Zombie Princesses led by the strong and determined Rapunzel, are a wonderful and funny supporting cast. Sleeping Beauty keeps having to take naps, although these wind up being quite useful as she has visions during them. Snow White is the one with the truly kind and generous heart, even when it comes to saving a zombie Big Bad Wolf. And finally Cinderella who interjects some of the funniest lines due to her voracious appetite. In smaller roles are such iconic figures as Belle, The Little Mermaid and of course Alice, and I’m hoping we’ll see more of them in subsequent books. 

There’s a nice little romance between Caitlin and one of her classmates, Jack. While he immediately jumps into danger to help Caitlin, he also appreciates her strengths, sometimes more than she does herself. He’s a sweet, supportive and caring guy with a secret of his own, and will have many tween girls sighing over him.

While all these elements plus a thoroughly entertaining plot make for a truly enjoyable read, what I loved the most about this book was how it addresses the concept of fear. You see, this is the core of the story. The different types of fear and which are beneficial, and which wind up crippling us. It’s brilliantly written as the central theme without taking away from the story itself.

While I first received the ebook from NetGalley, I also wound up with the print version from the publisher. I was originally planning on donating it to my library, but I wound up loving it so much I don’t know if I can part with it.

And let me tell you, the cover is absolutely exquisite and seeing it on your computer or e-reader doesn’t do it justice. It has equally beautiful artwork on the inside flap and the back cover. In fact, if you’re going to buy it I’d recommend purchasing the hardcover. While I’d say it’s written primarily for a tween audience, Once Upon a Zombie will appeal to all audiences with it’s exciting plot and unforgettable characters. It’s the first book in what will be a trilogy and I’m excited to see what happens in the next book.

A Christmas Horror Story ~ by Sebastian Gregory – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Christmas, Horror Fiction, YA Fiction

*This book was provided to me by NetGalley and Carina UK in exchange for an honest review*

“On the night before Christmas, lock the doors to the house,

For a creature is stirring, sly as a mouse.

He skulks on the roof, down the chimney with care,

Keep the fire burning, for the Child Eater’s here…”

As soon as I saw this offered on NetGalley my eyes lit up. Yes I’m a sick, sick woman! Seriously though, with that title and cover all I could think of was Neil Gaiman and Tim Burton. I was not disappointed. The majority of the story is centered around three British siblings Katie, Gregory, and Emily, who are home alone when their mother is stuck at the hospital where she works during a blizzard. The author shows how long the “Kinderfresser” has existed through flashbacks to former victims from an isolated farmhouse in the mid-1500s, to an orphanage in 1833, to a war-torn London street in 1940. No jolly Old Saint Nick, the Kinderfresser is a dark, hairy, sharp-toothed monster who visits on Christmas Eve but not with a sack of toys. Oh, he brings a sack all right, but it’s an empty one which he fills with supposedly naughty children and brings back to his lair where he can roast and eat them. In 16 year old Katie, 12 year old Emily, and 9 year old Gregory though, the Child Eater may have finally met his match. A Christmas Horror Story is deliciously creepy and is told with great glee by it’s author. Fast paced I read it in one sitting. All the children are sympathetic and none of them struck me as especially naughty. The historical flashbacks successfully add layers to this “legend”. The only reason why I didn’t rate this 5 stars was because I didn’t care for the ending which left a huge loose thread. This may have been intentional by the author, but it personally didn’t satisfy me. Otherwise, I think middle-schoolers, YAs and even adults will love this book with it’s sly sense of humor.

Revival ~ By Stephen King -4.5 Stars

Tags

Horror Fiction, Life After Death, Musicians, Religion, Science, Substance Abuse

 “In one way, at least, our lives are like movies. The main cast consists of your family and friends. The supporting cast is made up of neighbors, co-workers, teachers, and daily acquaintances. There are also bit players: the supermarket checkout girl with the pretty smile, the friendly bartender at the local watering hole, the guys you work out with at the gym three days a week. And there are the thousands of extras — those people who flow through every life like water through a sieve, seen once and never again. The teenager browsing graphic novels at the bookstore, the one you had to slip past (murmuring ‘Excuse me’) in order to get to the magazines. The woman in the next lane at a stoplight, taking a moment to freshen her lipstick. The vendor who sold you a bag of peanuts at a baseball game. But sometimes a person who fits none of these categories comes into your life. This is the joker who pops out of the deck at odd intervals over the years, often during a moment of crisis. In the movies this sort of character is known as the fifth business.”

Thus begins Stephen King’s latest novel. For Jamie Morton, his fifth business, or nemesis as it were, is the Reverend Charles Daniel Jacobs. He first meets the charismatic preacher when he is six years old and the two form an instant bond. Over the next three years the Reverend, his wife, and young son become fixtures in the small community of Harlow, Maine. Then one fateful day the unimaginable occurs. An unspeakable tragedy that will not only cause Reverend Jacobs to lose his faith, but also will send him and Jamie on a collision course which concludes with a horrific act beyond imagination. Some doors are better left unopened.

I finished Revival last night around 7:00 pm and was left so stunned I couldn’t put a string of coherent words together in order to review it. First, let me warn you not to finish this within a couple of hours of when you’re going to bed. You will either not be able to sleep, or you’ll have some truly nasty nightmares. That said, the majority of this book does not really fall under the genre of horror. Indeed, it’s pure Americana, from 1950s small town Maine, to the carnival circuit in the Midwest, to finally landing back in present day Maine where the true horror takes place in the last thirty something pages. The way Jamie’s and Jacobs’ lives develop over five decades, for better or for worse, is vintage King, which is why I loved this book so much. Both men are shaped by the tragedies in their lives and not for the better. Jacobs sets out on an obsessive and destructive path which winds up effecting so many lives, while Jamie is only set on destroying his own, yet once the two meet again when Jamie is an adult the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Jamie is a wonderful, albeit flawed hero whose life is defined by his experiences. You cannot help but sympathize with him even when he’s making the worst decisions. I also wondered if King put a little of himself in Jamie with his addictions and love of classic rock. Reverend Jacobs who begins as a sympathetic character ultimately lets his experiences shape him into a true monster. As this story unfolds you also are introduced to the main cast and the supporting cast who are almost as fascinating as Jamie and Jacobs. Without either the events that play out would never come to fruition. The actual “horror” at the end of the book is a decided homage to two classic writers of that genre, and it’s brilliantly done. When King is at his best, his stories are tapestries where all of the threads are interwoven, finally coming together in one spectacular picture, and this is what he has created with Revival. I’ve tried not to put any real spoilers in this review because if you’re going to read this book I honestly think you should do so with no preconceived notions. Hopefully I’ve succeeded in giving you a tantalizing peek instead.

My Top Ten Scariest Books

Tags

Halloween, Horror Fiction

  A lot of bloggers are doing lists of their scariest reads, so I thought I’d share mine.

10.                                                                 Adorable psychotic little girl. What’s not to love?

9.   

One of Dean Koontz’s early books when he was still writing straight horror. If you’re not a bug person this is not for you.

8. 

This technically isn’t horror fiction, but Ellis takes you deep into the mind of a serial killer in this controversial book. Good luck clawing your way out.

7. 

What would any scary book list be without this supposed “true story”. Fact or fiction, it certainly gave me nightmares!

6.  

Beautifully told, Peter Straub’s Ghost Story will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

5. 

Once again, this technically isn’t a horror story, but when I read it as a high school freshman it horrified as well as transfixed me. Sometimes the scariest things can be found within ourselves.

4. 

I loved going to the beach until I saw the movie and then read the book. Even now after all these years I get a creepy feeling if I venture out into the water further than my knees.

3. 

As excellent as the movie and Linda Blair are, nothing can hold a candle to this terrifying book and the reader’s imagination.

2. 

SCARIEST HAUNTED HOUSE BOOK EVER!!!!!!!!

1. 

Obviously my entire list could have been compromised of The Master of Horror’s books, but I was determined to do ten different writers. Then being a Stephen King fanatic, I had to try to figure out which of his books scared me the most. After much soul searching “It” jumped out at me. Naturally there’s the fear of clowns, and if you weren’t afraid of them before, well once you meet Pennywise you will be. There’s also the underlying theme of being afraid of fear itself. That’s why this is my number one pick for the scariest book I’ve read. So, do you have any spooktacular reads you’d like to share?