Horror – Page 3

Book Review: ‘A Night in the Lonesome October’ by Roger Zelazny

31st Oct 2023Leave a comment

Roger Zelazny’s ‘A Night in the Lonesome October’ is my thirty-sixth read of 2023.

People in the horror book communities had recommended Zelazny’s book a few times. Several people read ‘A Night…’ every October. Zelazny has divided the book into day-by-day diary entries leading up to Halloween. The idea is to read a chapter every day in the countdown to Halloween.

‘A Night…’ gives the reader excellent autumn vibes. The book follows Snuff, a dog who belongs to Jack the Ripper. Along the way, we meet all the classic monsters, such as vampires, werewolves, etc. We also meet their familiars—other animals with whom Snuff converses. We keep hearing about “openers” and “closers”, but Zelazny holds his cards to his chest. He drip-feeds us information in a way that is intriguing without being frustrating. All becomes clear by the time that final dawn comes to pass.

I won’t spoil much here, but I loved this story. It’s horror, sure. But it’s also wholesome. It’s not scary, per se. It’s more akin to a cosy murder mystery. Most chapters are short (the book is under 300 pages), so it’s easy to read. If you have less time to read than you’d like, ‘A Night…’ might be the perfect book.

I can see why ‘A Night…’ has such a cult following, and I imagine that I will reread it one Halloween in the future.

Book Review: ‘The Mist’ by Stephen King

30th Sep 2023Leave a comment

After my previous read, I reread Stephen King’s ‘The Mist’ as a palette cleanser for my next book of the year.

‘The Mist’ is a shorter book, perfect for my current mood. I needed something to remind me that I can enjoy reading when the writing style matches my reading style. Some things click with you; some things don’t.

And King very much clicks with me.

The story follows Dave and his son, “Big” Bill, in the wake of a storm for the ages. Trees have fallen, and wooden piers have sunk. Cars and garages have suffered damage. And an odd mist is creeping in over the lake. Dave heads a small group into town to pick up supplies for the next few days without power. They leave Dave’s wife and Bill’s mother alone at the house, which has suffered a smashed-in window. But whilst in the local supermarket, the mist closes in and traps them inside.

And there’s something awful in the mist.

I will keep the details of the story secret. You should read it (or watch the movie—it’s fantastic) and find out for yourself. But I recommend starting with the book and moving on to the film. I will say this for the film: it surpasses King’s ending on paper here. (Although that’s not to say that King stumbles on the landing.)

King’s style makes the short novella—a little under 200 pages—feel like a pamphlet. The pages fly by, making you wish he’d turned it into a full-length novel. He has the gift, after all. But, then again, King might have chosen this format for a reason.

‘The Mist’ is a short, sharp jab to the dome; it packs a punch.

Book Review: ‘Rätsel um das Schneemonster’ by Thomas Brezina

27th Sep 2023Leave a comment

Thomas Brezina’s ‘Rätsel um das Schneemonster’ is my next German read of the year.

My friend Bernie found out I was reading children’s books in German to improve my language skills. The kind soul he is, he donated a small library’s worth of kids’ books to me in my quest to speak the language. My first pick from these stacks of books was Brezina’s first Kinckerbocker-Bande book.

People have told me that these books mix Scooby-Doo with Austrian culture. And, what’s more, Brezina wrote these books in German. R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps books need translation, which sometimes makes for odd wording.

‘Rätsel um das Schneemonster’ follows the kids as they meet for the first time. Each child has won a drawing contest, drawing them together for the awards ceremony. But the man running the competition seems odd. And there are reports of a monster on the ski slopes of Tirol. The children investigate, like Mystery Inc in Scooby Doo. The plot is more complex, and the peril is sometimes more significant.

I found the German in Brezina’s book a bit trickier than in the Goosebumps books, but still manageable. Plus, increasing the difficulty to aid the learning process is good practice. Yet, that doesn’t mean I’ve moved on from Goosebumps. One thing I missed about Stine’s work was his monsters were real and not a man in a mask.

I can say that I enjoyed ‘Rätsel um das Schneemonster’ and look forward to reading more of Brezina’s work.

Book Review: ‘Reprieve’ by James Han Mattson

23rd Aug 2023Leave a comment

For my twenty-ninth book of 2023, I picked James Han Mattson’s ‘Reprieve’ off my shelf.

I’ve had a copy of this for a few months, as I couldn’t resist that cover while browsing in my local Tyrolia. When I read the blurb, I knew I had to have the book. Book therapy—it’s a real thing! Anyway, I finally finished reading this novel, and I loved it.

The multifaceted story follows several characters at different points in time. The central premise revolves around a popular tourist spot: Quigley House. Quigley House is a haunted house amplified to the extreme. It allows complete contact between the guests and the actors. This haunted house attraction is so intense if your group even reaches the end, you win 60k. But only one group in history has reached the end without calling the safe word that ends the session. That word? ‘Reprieve’.

When a second group nears the victory line, a madman breaks into the house and murders a contestant.

The story spirals out from there, following characters from all walks of life. We learn more about the owner of the house, the people who work there, the contestants. We also find out about friends and family of those associated with Quigley. It seems unconnected, but the dots converge as the story progresses. I won’t spoil much here, but the novel nails some timely points.

Part horror-thriller, part social commentary, ‘Reprieve’ is a fantastic book; I adored it.

Book Review: ‘Sleeping Beauties’ by Stephen and Owen King

31st Jul 2023Leave a comment

Stephen and Owen King’s ‘Sleeping Beauties’ is—checks notes—book twenty-eight of 2023.

This massive book slab took me quite a while to get through; I started it on one of the last days of my honeymoon. That does not mean the novel is slow or tedious. I wanted to give it the space to breathe. I’ve had a great time immersing myself in this dystopian world.

Reminiscent of his heyday (‘The Stand’, ‘It’), ‘Sleeping Beauties’ is classic King. It’s his old-school, multi-character, small-town America story. The setup is unique—all women, all over the world, are falling asleep. Once unconscious, the women grow a cocoon. If a foolhardy person disturbs the webbing, the women explode in a rabid attack.

For an older, straight, white, rich American, King is far more liberal than you’d expect him to be. Sure, some points could be a smidge more progressive, but at no point does King fumble the ball. The ‘Sleeping Beauties’ themes are on-point and relevant when taken alone. The story becomes even more extraordinary when considering the man who wrote it.

Each character is well-drawn and believable and contains the depth for which we all know King. Even insignificant side characters are multidimensional, and their motives are understandable. The story builds and escalates until it all collapses in a thrilling finale. Nobody does that ‘fate spiralling down towards its inevitable conclusion’ thing like him.

Oh, and the idea of father and son working together on a novel? It’s so wholesome, despite the bleak apocalyptic tale.

King is king.

Or should that be, the Kings are king?

Book Review: ‘Tomie’ by Junji Ito

20th Jul 2023Leave a comment

‘Tomie’ by Junji Ito is my ‘twenty-seventh’ read of the year and my first manga ever.

I’ve used quotations because I’ve been reading ‘Tomie’ for quite some time now. My good friend, Leander, gifted me ‘Tomie’ for Christmas about two years ago, if memory serves. Based on his recommendation, I read ‘Tomie’ in small bites. I alternated between a non-manga novel and a chapter of ‘Tomie’. (Each chapter tells a different story, for the most part. A few follow the previous story arc, but most are self-contained tales.) This way, it took me a while to get to the end, but boy, I enjoyed this way of digesting the material.

I don’t know how to summarise ‘Tomie’ other than it’s about a girl who has power over men. This power drives them mad and leads to them committing unspeakable acts of violence. They perform these deeds, more often than not, against Tomie herself. And herein lies the weird nature of this manga: Tomie cannot die. She returns and multiplies like the proliferation of a metastasized tumour. The twisted tales are pitch-black, the likes of which one rarely comes across in Western media.

I am a massive horror nerd and am okay with gross-out scenes and weird visuals. That might be why Leander gifted this tome—see what I did there?—to me. Ito’s art style is sublime. He shies away from nothing and gives the reader some horrific images. It’s a testament to his mastery that he somehow manages to achieve jump scares, even in the written form.

As someone who had never felt compelled to read a manga before, all I can say is: damn, I was missing out. I’ll check out more in the future—especially the other collections by Junji Ito. You might be like me and love everything creepy but have avoided mangas. If so, do yourself a favour and pick up ‘Tomie’; it’s a great place to start.

But here’s a fair warning: it’s not for the faint of heart.

Book Review: ‘Die Rache der unheimlichen Puppe’ by R. L. Stine

19th Jul 2023Leave a comment

R. L. Stine’s ‘Die Rache der unheimlichen Puppe’ is book twenty-six of the year.

I also read this on my honeymoon, along with a yet-to-be-finished King novel. If I want to keep progressing with my German language skills, I shouldn’t stop for a holiday!

The story follows Jessica and her friend. The pair aim to host children’s birthday parties for some much-needed cash. Meanwhile, Jessica’s younger twin sisters and their creepy ventriloquist dummy are causing havoc. And when a second dummy enters the picture, there’s no telling what will happen.

As with the previous Stine books, the threat is mild because the story is for children. Yet, there are some genuine scares, and the ending is quite a brilliant cliffhanger. Stine knows horror through and through, making him the master at aiming it at kids. It’s neither terrifying nor boring; a fine line to tread.

I’ll be reading another ‘Gänsehaut’ in German post haste!

Book Review: ‘Sphere’ by Michael Crichton

7th Jul 2023Leave a comment

For the final book I finished on my honeymoon, I read Michael Crichton’s ‘Sphere’.

Until now, I’d only ever read Crichton’s ‘Jurassic Park’ novels. But I’d seen ‘Sphere’ recommended in horror circles, particularly for water-based scares. Considering my wife and I were on our beach honeymoon, I wanted some oceanic terrors on the holiday.

The novel opens with a psychiatrist flying out to an isolated spot in the ocean. The navy has picked him up and flown him out without information. Our protagonist believes an aeroplane has crashed, and he needs to help the survivors. But it turns out that an alien craft rests on the ocean bed, and experts think it’s been there for 300 years.

The story races from there. In typical—from what I’ve read—Crichton fashion, there’s a lot of good science in the novel. Crichton is the master of the suspension of disbelief, and ‘Sphere’ is no different. The novel rockets past at breakneck speed, and the finale is breathtaking. I won’t spoil too much here, but the book met my marine horror expectations.

Crichton puts much research into his books, and I can’t wait to read more of his bibliography.

Given what I’ve read so far, I doubt he’ll disappoint.

Book Review: ‘Thinner’ by Stephen King

4th Jul 2023Leave a comment

So, I read Stephen King’s ‘Thinner’ for book four of our Santorini trip.

I’ve always had a copy of ‘Thinner’ but never got around to reading it. Other King premises, such as killer clowns, vampires, and apocalypses, drew me in better. Part of me reasoned that he wrote it under his Bachman pseudonym so that it would be worse than his ‘real’ novels. And the book follows a man with a gypsy curse to make him thinner. How scary can that be?

It turns out: very.

‘Thinner’ gets downright nasty at points, and quite a few plot developments shocked me. The story caught me off-guard in many places. And the ending? Beautiful in its ugliness. I cannot imagine how anyone read this—before the truth about Bachman came out—and didn’t know King had penned it. It’s got his fingerprints all over it.

Please don’t make the same mistake I made.

‘Thinner’ is a classic King novel that deserves your time.

Book Review: ‘Meg’ by Steve Alten

23rd Jun 2023Leave a comment

For book three of the honeymoon, I read Steve Alten’s ‘Meg’—rather appropriate for on a beach!

Sharks have fascinated me since childhood; something about their terror and beauty. ‘Meg’ has always been on my radar, even before the recent Jason Statham movie. I recall a made-for-TV movie about it from the late nineties that scared me, but I can’t find it now.

I had a great time reading ‘Meg’. Alten’s style lets the pages rip past, and the action is nonstop. The ‘science’ is like ‘Jurassic Park’. It’s not 100% accurate, but it’s close enough to suspend disbelief.

Anyway, this book posed quite a problem in reviewing it. Do you review a book in the context of other books, or do you judge a book based on its aim? Before ‘Meg’, I read King’s ‘The Dead Zone’. Does ‘Meg’ pack the same emotional gut punches as that novel? Not even close. But that’s not what Alten aims to do with his book. His story is about a giant shark and how scary they are. In this light, the book smashes it out of the park. The book is, in essence, a big summer blockbuster.

Don’t go in expecting your worldview shattered and your sense of self disturbed.

Go into the book expecting great setpieces where sharks eat people, and ‘Meg’ will please.