I enjoyed parts of this book very much. Andrew Pyper is a talented storyteller and I will continue to seek him out. He gets character development, und I enjoyed parts of this book very much. Andrew Pyper is a talented storyteller and I will continue to seek him out. He gets character development, understands the integrity of back story, knows how to draw out suspense and when to twist the knife in. All of these elements are on spectacular display in his latest novel The Guardians, but I did find them to be a little lacking here.
This is a good novel, and if you desire an original take on a whodunit mystery with some horror elements thrown in for good measure, there’s a chance it will read as a great novel. I’m not a mystery lover so much of what Pyper achieves here stylistically was lost on me. The long drawn out approach to the missing and murdered, the red herrings, and the process of making just about everyone equally suspicious started to lose its charm for me about three-quarters of the way through.
I will say that this is an expertly plotted piece that hits no wrong notes. It is a unique premise blending several genres together in an interesting way. I love Pyper’s insights into the psyche of aspiring novelists. The sequences describing the writing circle itself cast a spell on me that reminded me both of Ghost Story and Stephen King’s novella The Breathing Method.
I did appreciate the ending (view spoiler)[and the fact that the father was able to sacrifice himself for his son using such currency as his own dark story. I also appreciated that what was looking to be a supernatural story, turned out to not be that at all. At least, I didn’t think so. The villains were vampires alright, but of the human sort. The fact that they could disappear into the night had more to do with their sociopathic tendencies and lifestyle, not anything paranormal. (hide spoiler)]
All of this to say it’s my fault that this book didn’t get a higher rating, not Pyper’s. Recommended. ...more
Part of what we share is the knowledge that every small town has a second heart, smaller and darker than the one that pumps the blood of good intentio
Part of what we share is the knowledge that every small town has a second heart, smaller and darker than the one that pumps the blood of good intentions. We alone know that the picture of home cooking and oak trees and harmlessness is false. This is the secret that binds us. Along with the friends who share its weight. ~The Guardians
What is not to love about this book? It is a coming of age story about friendship. It is a story of ghosts and secrets. It is a tale of damaged men who discover the past cannot be outrun, but must be faced head on if one is to survive it. Best of all, The Guardians is a crystalline snapshot portrait of small town life wrapped in gorgeous prose that will scare the living bejeebers out of you.
The creep factor buried in its pages is huge and unrelenting. The story starts off subtle and small, like a soft tapping sound on your window at night, but by the end it has you by the throat and is screaming in your face. This is a genuine, honest to goodness haunted house story with teeth and I loved every minute of it.
I want to thank Sue for bringing this book to my attention. She promised epic heebie jeebies and she did not lie. How people live in houses with earthen cellars I do not know. ...more
Damn, this book is cold. Like, really, really, C-O-L-D. The language is magnificent; there is no doubt Whitehead can write, but he writes with no heatDamn, this book is cold. Like, really, really, C-O-L-D. The language is magnificent; there is no doubt Whitehead can write, but he writes with no heat. His writing here is like a perfect, shiny new Cadillac (but with no engine). Without the engine, what’s the point? You can sit and look pretty all the live long day, but you’re not gonna get anywhere worth talking about (or remembering).
Whitehead’s problem here seems to be that he gets so caught up in delivering the goods on literary stylistics and gymnastics that the story (what little there is) limps anemically along side by side with underdeveloped, emotionless characters. While there may indeed be a method to his madness, I’m not biting, because for me story trumps EVERYTHING. If you ain’t got a story to tell, what the hell are you doing writing a novel?
Not once did Zone One grab me by the throat and make me sit up and pay attention. I felt like a detached spectator, ambivalent, witnessing unfolding events in a clinical matter like the scientist who examines a bug under the microscope.
Whitehead gets too cerebral -- mining his material for metaphor and symbols, layering his post-apocalyptic landscapes with foreshadowing and poetic images. Beautiful yes, but nevertheless soulless and unsatisfying. Which brings me back to my original point -- cold.
I hate “big” ideas (insert jazz hands here) that don’t come wrapped in a gripping story that’s going to smack me in the face. Story. Comes. First. Always. You may be brilliant and have awesome insights into the human condition, but unless you can weave a tale that’s going to put me on my ass I don’t want to hear about it. And I’m not helping you along by faking it When Harry Met Sally style pretending you wrote a great novel because I’m keen to wax poetic on how the world is shit and then we die.
But that's just me.
If you want a literary zombie novel that will put you on your ass, read The Reapers Are the Angels. That book is everything this book is not.
"Let the cracks between things widen until they are no longer cracks but the new places for things. That was where they were now. The world wasn't ending: it had ended and now they were in the new place. They could not recognize it because they had never seen it before."
The Tower trembles; the worlds shudder in their courses. The rose feels a chill, as of winter.
I love this quote and I love this story! Not only is The Tower trembles; the worlds shudder in their courses. The rose feels a chill, as of winter.
I love this quote and I love this story! Not only is it a giant HEAP of fun, it's filled to the brim with Dark Tower references right down to an appearance by the low men in yellow coats - yes! more please!
The premise is pure King, and would have made an AWESOME Twilight Zone episode. I can just hear Rod Serling now:
Wesley Smith is a professor of literature and his mistress is the book. An unlikely impulse to purchase an electronic reader opens a window through which can be viewed infinite versions of time and space. If knowledge is power, then Wesley has just become the most powerful man in our universe. He has also just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.
Whether you're a fan of the Dark Tower novels or not, this is vintage King. ...more
**spoiler alert** Wowzers. Great premise, but it definitely lost its way somewhere around the middle. I felt myself getting frustrated and rolling my **spoiler alert** Wowzers. Great premise, but it definitely lost its way somewhere around the middle. I felt myself getting frustrated and rolling my eyes at some of the overwrought, earnest narration where too many things are told (repeatedly) rather than shown (or as I like to say, earned). A lot of what pained and disappointed me here is what let me down with Lauren Oliver's Delirium.
Juliette begins this novel as an intriguing character. She's almost feral, having suffered enforced isolation for 264 days. There is a touch of the autistic about her, the way she consistently breaks down her surroundings as a series of lists: 1 window, 4 walls, 144 square feet of space, 14 cracks, a thousand shades of gray. This is obviously meant to be a coping mechanism (but as a narrative device it did begin to irritate me).
While Juliette and Adam share great chemistry, it feels squandered in the second half of the novel. Their initial meeting and reaction to one another draws the reader in. There is mystery and we can sympathize with Juliette's overpowering reaction to Adam's physical presence.
For a young woman who is starved for a physical connection with another human being, Adam becomes her oasis in the desert, her oxygen in an air-tight chamber. She wants to touch him and keep on touching him. After years of neglect and the absence of touch on her own body, to now have someone touch and hold her is almost a religious experience for Juliette, at the very least a sexual awakening she never thought she would be permitted.
Once the pair escape, this tender exchange starts to feel like nothing more than two horny teenagers groping each other at the local drive-in. The finesse disappears. The context of what brought these two together in the first place forgotten. Suddenly, Juliette starts behaving like a "normal" teenage girl with a crush, worrying about her clothes and what she looks like and how others are perceiving her. I don't buy that. After everything this girl has survived (her way less than normal, abusive childhood), such superficial, vain behaviours would be beyond her I figure. That they're not, and on display here, disappoints.
The dystopian landscape is meh (which equals weak and derivative). And the whole X-Men rip-off? Where are you even going to go with this plot development now that the cat is out of the bag? I'm sorry, that skintight superhero uniform Juliette dawns made me gag a little, and when she punches through concrete and steel all I can think of is a Hulked out Lou Ferrigno.
Finally, even though all the characters spend a good deal of time in grave danger, I didn't find myself worrying about any of them. Not really. I didn't get emotional. I didn't feel myself tearing up. When that doesn't happen for me, something is fundamentally missing. Despite Mafi's florid, sometimes gorgeous, mostly purple prose, the reader is left with more style than substance.
I knew there was a reason the cover reminded me of Project Runway or America's Next Top Model!
This is my second go-around with this sprawling, epic compendium in preparation for tackling the follow-up. I'm so glad I did a re-read because there This is my second go-around with this sprawling, epic compendium in preparation for tackling the follow-up. I'm so glad I did a re-read because there was a lot I had plain forgotten and much more I had gotten tangled-up with the television series. Only reading the source material again, did I realize just how much the producers of the show actually changed from Kirkman's comic. The fundamentals of the story are essentially the same, but the devilish details have undergone quite a makeover. I have to say, as much as I'm a fan of the comic, most of the changes I approve of and in some cases, even prefer.
Carol's character is much more likeable and awesome on the small screen (certainly not as needy and neurotic as comic book Carol). The invention of Daryl (my favorite on-screen character) and his uber-violent, redneck brother Merle (played oh-so-convincingly by Michael Rooker), have been magnificent contributions to the ensemble cast.
(view spoiler)[I definitely prefer Lori's on-screen death (grisly and upsetting as it was), to the comic's quick gut-shot death (even though that was quite shocking in its own way with little Judith in her arms). I'm glad they didn't put Dale and Andrea together in the show, though I do wish they hadn't made Andrea so unlikable. Her character in the comic is kick-ass and great. On the show? Grrrrr... I want to smack her most of the time.
It remains to be seen what they will do with Michonne's character but I'm glad the show did not go as dark and disturbing as the comic with what happened between her and the Governor. That was some sick shit I did not need to ever read or see. Loved how the show handled it overall. Television Michonne seems more together and not as damaged. She's not talking to voices in her head either (at least not yet). (hide spoiler)]
The Walking Dead launched in the fall of 2003 and shows no signs of wrapping up. Kirkman has created a post-apocalyptic zombie soap opera, where the soap is made out of lye. The story is harsh -- almost nihilistic in its way -- extremely violent, and peppered throughout with characters hooking up in almost sure to be doomed relationships. Because really, no one is safe, and you come to terms with that pretty quickly. Kirkman is not fucking around here. He has a vision and you just know it’s going to involve a lot of gore and heartbreak. No one should feel safe with zombies gnawing at the door and the world collapsing in on itself -- and you will not feel safe reading this series.
Rather than take years to ingest this story -- painstakingly patient -- issue by issue -- I gorged unapologetically over a gluttonous three days. This 1088 page compendium weighs nearly five pounds, and it was a bitch to maneuver in bed at night, but to get so much of the story so quickly was worth it. I’m not one of those people that can eat her chocolates one a day; quite often it’s the whole box in one sitting stomach ache be damned! This first compendium collects up to issue #48 (Book Four in hardcover or Volume Eight in soft).
The Walking Dead is archetype apocalyptic zombie horror. The story gripped me, shook me, unsettled me and left me panting for more, but make no mistake, there is nothing original here (at least not yet). The zombies are your average grasping, gnawing, slow-moving creatures seen in any Romero movie. The survivors are shell-shocked, hardened, weary and a bit mad (as you would expect). At the collapse of civilization as we know it, people begin doing whatever they have to do to survive, and that ain’t always pretty. The strong begin preying on the weak, and when the worst of human nature begins to reveal itself, survivors realize the zombies are the least of their problems in this new world order.
I thought a graphic novel about zombies cast in black and white would look dull and lifeless on the page. I now think color would have been overkill in this case, detracting from the story. The art is simply outstanding – emotions and action, both subtle and in your face, are captured perfectly. The violence is extreme and I was not prepared for that (don’t ask me why). It takes a lot to shock me these days, and there are sequences that did just that. (view spoiler)[Totally did not see the rape and torture of Michonne coming. I really thought there would be a last minute reprieve / rescue. And if I didn’t see that coming, you know I didn’t expect Michonne to turn the tables on the Governor and mutilate his body. Gruesome stuff! But very well-presented. It felt earned not gratuitous. Lori’s death, along with the baby, shocked me too. Like holy moses batman, that was intense and so unexpected. (hide spoiler)]
While the unrelenting nature of the story appealed to me, I cannot say I’ve fallen in love with any of the characters. Don’t get me wrong – these are well-developed, flawed beings whose actions and motivations seem all too real. However, for me, there is a coldness present that prevented me from really warming up to anyone, even the “hero” of this story, Rick Grimes. I felt the same way when I read Stephen King’s The Stand – epic story by a master, but no character stole my heart.
This won’t keep me from reading on in the series though, because I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. Everything ends on such a OMFG note that I felt assaulted and struck mute. Sweet. ...more
Avoid reading plot summary here on goodreads if possible. Too spoilery!! The less you know what to expect, so much the better.
Many readers have been uAvoid reading plot summary here on goodreads if possible. Too spoilery!! The less you know what to expect, so much the better.
Many readers have been underwhelmed by this one: too short to be a novella, too long to be considered a short story, King fans have been left feeling he'd written a tepid, and ultimately forgettable, little piece. The reception has been split though, because many other fans enjoyed it immensely. I am lucky enough to fall into the latter category. This story really gripped me and I won't be forgetting it any time soon. I could be wrong of course, but I don't think so.
Certainly, before even picking it up I was predisposed to love it. It's King after all, and it's been a while since I've been able to indulge in my addiction. You could also say this story acted as one of the prime motivators for me to finally get myself an eReader, seeing as how I wouldn't get to read it otherwise. I'm sure it will be released in print at some point, but I didn't want to wait! And I am loving my touch Kobo. It is the bomb :)
Because a car features prominently in the story, comparisons have been made to Christine and even From a Buick 8. I wasn't really reminded of either of these though. If it felt familiar it was because it got me thinking about (view spoiler)[King's short story “The Raft” (from Skeleton Crew). I just absolutely love that story, it creeped me out and I never forgot it, not only because it’s just so simple and effective, but because I find myself re-reading it every few years. Like the mysterious oil slick in that story, the car in Mile 81 just appears out of nowhere to “feed” as it were, and then move on. Where it comes from, how or why it got there, doesn’t matter so much as the potential victims and their imminent survival or violent death. (hide spoiler)]
The story instantly engrossed me as did the cast of characters who all find themselves arriving, for one reason or another, at the deserted Mile 81 rest stop. King makes it look all so easy – the abandoned building is the perfect setting for a malevolent force to set its web and draw in all the victims it can. Almost immediately, we know there is something sinister afoot (it is King after all), but it isn’t immediately obvious from what direction the threat is going to come from. It’s hard to steel yourself when you don’t have that vital piece of information. The subsequent dread this creates is palpable. Then, when you finally know where the danger is coming from, the dread doesn’t cease, but escalates exponentially; by this time we have characters to care about and it becomes that desperate feeling of “watch out! Oh no! Don’t do that!”
Do I think this is the best thing King has written? Of course not. But I do think it’s memorable. It was also a whole BAG of fun. It tickled my heebie-jeebies bone and left me wanting more. Whenever I’ve been away from King for a while and I finally get to read something new, it is the best feeling in the world (like slipping into my beat up old Levis or that ancient pink sweater with holes I can’t seem to throw out even though my boyfriend has threatened to burn it). It’s comfort. It’s coming home. It’s sitting down with an old friend. I felt all of those things reading this little gem, and I hope if you do pick it up, you’ll feel some of that too.
I am judging this collection of short stories with an especially critical eye for several reasons:
1) it promises to deliver some of the best originalI am judging this collection of short stories with an especially critical eye for several reasons:
1) it promises to deliver some of the best original horror stories by authors at the pinnacle of their craft (including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Edward Lee and William Peter Blatty)
2) it received the 1999 Bram Stoker Award for Best Anthology
and 3) despite my commitment to finish this 700+ page anthology (and neglecting many other books while I persevered), it still took me too long to finish - almost 2 weeks! That tells me at no time was I ever so engrossed the pages turned themselves.
Finally, upon finishing, I'm hard pressed to remember salient details from any of the stories. The majority feel blurry. Not one punched me in the solar plexus and left me thinking about it for days. Even Stephen King's contribution, "The Road Virus Heads North" isn't one of my favorites by him (and one I had read before anyway when it was republished in King's anthology Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales).
I am particularly disappointed with the contributions from Neil Gaiman and William Peter Blatty. Gaiman's story is dark and crude, rough and profane, nothing about it even "felt" like Gaiman. Blatty offers up a very underwhelming haunted house story that borrows too heavily from other sources like Richard Matheson and Shirley Jackson. Blatty not only closes the anthology, his story is more the length of a novella. The extra pages don’t help in my opinion. It is an easily forgettable tale with a “surprise” ending that should come as no surprise because we’ve seen it too many times before.
Stories that did manage to stand out though include:
“The Owl and the Pussycat” by Thomas M. Disch: this one has a nice creepy feel and once you finally understand what’s happening, the “a-ha” moment is very rewarding. I’ve never read anything quite like it, and for that alone it gets high marks. A diamond in the rough indeed.
“Catfish Gal Blues” by Nancy A. Collins This one features a freeloading, womanizing pretty boy guitar player with a streak of greed that leads him down the path to a final comeuppance. There is a bluesy, southern feel to it all that I liked very much.
“The Entertainment” by Ramsey Campbell I haven’t read a lot by Campbell but plan on rectifying that as soon as possible. I’m not sure exactly what the hell is happening in the freakish hotel the main character finds himself stranded in one rainy night (I’m not sure I want to know). It’s bad news, I know that, and I was thoroughly creeped out the whole time and just wanted him to get the hell out of there post-haste. Parts of this story actually reminded me somewhat of how I felt reading The Pilo Family Circus. There is no humor in Campbell’s story though; it is all very deadly serious.
“ICU” by Edward Lee I don’t know if I should be surprised or not that my favorite story of the entire collection is this little diddy by gore master Edward Lee. My only exposure to Lee has been his notorious novel The Bighead (which I just couldn’t stomach and failed to finish). Here, he offers up his devilish version of a “just desserts” story. The ending isn’t completely original, I just love how Lee delivers it in his own demented style. For a guy who usually cannot hold back on the gruesome details, he is nicely subtle here allowing the reader to imagine the worst.
“Angie” by Ed Gorman I really liked this one too. It’s a simple story effectively rendered, a real snapshot of regular people and the choices made when driven by pure selfishness. There is no comeuppance here, no just desserts, which is likely much more a reflection of reality. I think we would be shocked to learn just what ordinary people would be capable of doing (and doing so without suffering any guilt). I think more sociopaths walk among us than we would like to think about or admit.
Okay, let me be up-front about this ...no bullshitting ... Endurance is some sick and twisted shit. Some of the sickest and twisted-est shit I've readOkay, let me be up-front about this ...no bullshitting ... Endurance is some sick and twisted shit. Some of the sickest and twisted-est shit I've read in a very long time. BUT ... and this is an important "but" folks ... Endurance is also solidly written, sublimely creepy in parts, with characters you can root for and other characters you can hate. And that's what saves this novel from the unsavory pit of mere torture porn.
In a recent documentary, Stephen King makes a very interesting point about graphic violence and horror. This is how he distinguishes 'torture porn': there are times when we are reading/watching to see the monster killed, and there are other times when we are reading/watching to see the monster kill. It may seem like a nebulous distinction, but I think he hit the nail right on the head. That's why the latter makes us feel so dirty; King refers to it as "morally queasy".
In most horror, we want the monster to be slain, we want the good guys to prevail. Bad shit can happen along the way, but the monster should not become the hero. We root for the victims, we do not root for the sick motherfucker and the pain and carnage he/she/it is inflicting. That's the difference between the first movie in a franchise, and the last movie in a franchise; in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy is the monster and we want him stopped. By number 5, we're there to see what kind of sick shenanigans he can come up with next, knowing full well that the victims are now fodder to support his starring role. Suddenly, he's the guy we're cheering for (well, sort of, but I hope my point is clear).
Don't get me wrong, I'm just as guilty as the next person. I've watched all the SAW movies as each has degenerated more and more into gratuitous violence. But none of them will ever be as satisfying as the original, when I really, really wanted those two guys to survive and slay the monster (before Jigsaw started getting top billing and the best trailer).
More to the point (and I've said this many times before), I don't scare if I don't care. Give me characters I can care about and suddenly I start fretting for their well-being and safety. I don't want to see them hurt (no matter how imaginatively), I don't want them to die. I want them to survive and for the monster to be slain.
Endurance has a surprisingly large cast of characters for this type of story, and I actually liked them all. I wanted them all to survive and I definitely wanted these freakazoid, in-bred monsters tormenting them to be stopped. There is nothing original here (it’s got Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Wrong Turn all over it, not to mention an unforgettable X-Files episode called “Home”), but Kilborn still manages to give it a nice, ruthless twist of his own. The devil is in the details, yes?
MABERRY, YOU BASTARD!!! I knew you would do this to me!! ::sobbity sob::
Review to follow when anger and choking tears subside.
In the first book Rot & MABERRY, YOU BASTARD!!! I knew you would do this to me!! ::sobbity sob::
Review to follow when anger and choking tears subside.
In the first book Rot & Ruin, Maberry spends a lot of time putting us into the world as it exists almost 15 years after a zombie apocalypse. We need to know about how things are now, how people live and how they relate to one another. This is Benny's world. Maberry also spends a lot of time and care developing a cast of characters he wants us to fall in love with before he puts any of them in peril. In this he shows a keen talent for details. I know I fell in love almost immediately, and when peril does descend I was sick with anxiety for everyone's safety and survival.
Rot & Ruin has its moments of high octane action, but it is primarily an emotional story about two estranged brothers who must learn to bridge the gulf of misunderstanding that separates them. In a lot of ways it is a coming-of-age story focused on 15 year old Benny as he learns about the world around him and what it is that his brother does out there in the Rot and Ruin beyond the safety of the fences. Benny discovers nothing is what it seems – cowards become heroes and heroes reveal themselves as villains. And zombies aren’t nearly as monstrous as living men
Because Maberry did such a fantastic job in the first book creating a convincing world peopled with convincing characters, he is able to let loose and go full throttle with Dust & Decay, which is dizzying in its action sequences. It is a white-knuckle read through and through, peril at every corner, imminent death sitting on the shoulders of every character we’ve come to know and love. I was an absolute MESS reading this. I just knew something horrible would happen, I just didn’t know what and how bad it would be. The very few quiet or tender moments in this installment work because they are in such stark contrast to the otherwise absolute chaos.
Dust & Decay has a very Western feel; the lawless and perilous Rot and Ruin is very much reminiscent of the American Wild West where heroes are made and villains thrive. The vast, emptied landscape is the backdrop for a battle waged among the good, the bad and the ugly. It is nail-biting, nerve-wracking stuff -- dramatic, cinematic, and totally epic.
Maberry still has a lot of story left to tell, and I’m definitely looking forward to that, but I will never, EVER, be able to forgive him (view spoiler)[for killing my Tom – NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Why oh why? (hide spoiler)]
I love, love, love, the slow, subtle creep of this one. Bugs of any sort represent the ultimate squick factor for me, and an entire story dedicated toI love, love, love, the slow, subtle creep of this one. Bugs of any sort represent the ultimate squick factor for me, and an entire story dedicated to a bedbug infestation was almost more than I could stand. I'm still scratching and feeling paranoid. I definitely won't be looking too closely at my pillowcases tonight for fear of actually seeing something I just don't need to see: ignorance is bliss on this account. The less I know the better.
In its setup and slow build, the book reminded me a lot of Rosemary's Baby: young, successful couple move into a fabulous apartment. Wife begins to see things, husband thinks she's crazy. Is wife crazy? Or will she be vindicated? At what cost will such vindication come?
I loved how long Winters is able to keep me in suspense on this count. I had my suspicions and theories, but I never knew with certainty until it all came out in the end, and what an ending! It totally made that slow crawl for the first three-quarters of the book worth it. I would love to see this story adapted for the big screen. That would be awesome.
I liked this book a lot. There is a nice slow build while the tension and suspense are allowed to simmer and tightly coil, ready for the great “unspriI liked this book a lot. There is a nice slow build while the tension and suspense are allowed to simmer and tightly coil, ready for the great “unspringing” if you will. That nice slow build is balanced by some manic action sequences, which are in turn balanced by some beautifully rendered scenes of epic creep. (view spoiler)[When the youngest victim of Flight 753 returns home to her grieving father, bloodied, muddy, catatonic and hungry I got that nice cold, tickle happening on the back of my neck. (hide spoiler)]
I’m not a huge fan of vampire stories, but if I’m going to read them, the vampires better be nasty and ruthless, and these vampires more than satisfy that criteria. Despite the splendid presentation, I don’t think Del Toro or Hogan are creating anything new here, though perhaps that was never the point. If they just wanted to tell a scary story about scary vampires then they have succeeded quite well. But they have also borrowed heavily from many other sources that left the story feeling kind of familiar and overwrought in places. This is a plague story with CDC characters featuring prominently as heroes on the run. The disease vector just happens to be vampirism, but a lot of the genre tropes for “pandemic dramas” are present and accounted for (and with the title The Strain maybe that shouldn't come as a surprise).
Also, (view spoiler)[just in the way the newly turned vampires attacked en masse in bloody, lunging, uncoordinated groups, reminded me more of zombies than vampires. (hide spoiler)] There is an undeniable “apocalyptic zombie” feel on and off throughout the novel. I had to keep reminding myself that these are vampires not the other reanimates of horror.
The vampire's pathology is quite dramatic and vividly described here, and that part of the novel did feel fresh and new. I can’t make up my mind about their feeding apparatus though. (view spoiler)[At first it seemed creepy and gross. Then it seemed like a frog tongue. Then it reminded me of those “sticky hands” from the 80s. Should I laugh or scream? (hide spoiler)]
The Setrakian character has some great back story, but since he is essentially the vamp killer extraordinaire – Dr. Van Helsing in other words – I couldn’t NOT picture Anthony Hopkins (a la Bram Stoker’s Dracula), so that became a little distracting.
Overall though, this was a fun read for October and I will definitely read on in the series. (view spoiler)[I'm rooting for Gus, poor guy! (hide spoiler)]
I expected to LOVE this collection, and while I mightily enjoyed a handful of the stories, others left me feeling cold, confused or just plain ol' mehI expected to LOVE this collection, and while I mightily enjoyed a handful of the stories, others left me feeling cold, confused or just plain ol' meh-disappointed.
Most of that meh is not Matheson's fault - I fully recognize him as a master of his craft. Stephen King (my favorite author) admits Matheson is the writer who has influenced him most (and the more I read of Matheson's work the more I believe that). The meh is my fault; short stories are not usually my bag and it takes a lot for one to really grip and engross me.
Several did inspire pure love however (blinding, passionate, irrational love). I consider these to be absolute must reads for anyone. The following are some of the best crafted short pieces of fiction you will find anywhere. Not to mention creepy as all hell!!!
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: I loved this as a Twilight Zone episode, but as a short story it totally kicks ass and takes names. The set-up is so simple but the terror of it draws you in and does not let go. I have a pretty sick fear of flying – flying at night is even worse. I WILL NOT, CANNOT look out the plane window at the darkness while I’m mid-air. I just cannot physically make myself do it. This is a primordial fear buried deep in the lizard part of my brain. It’s almost a psychosis (!) and it’s all thanks to Mr. Matheson. I mean, for real, what if you did look out there and there was some goddamn “thing” looking right back at you? ::shiver::
Dress of White Silk: Maladjusted, “weird” children just petrify me. I don’t want to help them come out of their shell, I don’t want to make friends with them, I don’t care if they are misunderstood I just want to run screaming in the opposite direction. The little gal in this gem of a story is weird personified. She is obsessed with her dead mother’s things, especially that white dress made of silk. The ending here blew my doors off. I was like “whoah”, did I just read that? Moses on a crutch. Best last line ever.
Through Channels: There is so much creeping malevolence packed into this tightly wound very short story I can scarcely believe it. It is THICK with atmosphere and dread. Set in that cramped interview room, the story chokes you with its claustrophobic feel. And that ending!!! Oh how I love that ending!
The Children of Noah: The feel of this one reminded me of Stephen King’s “Children of the Corn” (and not just because it has children in the title!). That sucker punch ending, POW! right to the solar plexus, also reminded me of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. This story is not as good as either of these, but it is still pretty freakin’ awesome.
The Distributor: Delectably evil. Reminded me a lot of Stephen King’s Needful Things. The havoc that can be wrought with just a few well-placed acts of sinister mischief!
For a tie-in novel, this one is pretty damn good. It turned out to be an excellent choice for my October reads. It's chock full of schlock, B-movie hoFor a tie-in novel, this one is pretty damn good. It turned out to be an excellent choice for my October reads. It's chock full of schlock, B-movie horror monsters and there are a few scenes that had me cringing and gagging (view spoiler)[The lady with a belly full of bugs who had them crawling up her throat and out of her mouth just about did me in. The attack of the rats scene was sublimely bloody and creepy. (hide spoiler)]
The writers for Supernatural the TV show are masters when it comes to presenting a ghoulish, creepy Monster of the Week. Author Passarella takes that formula and runs with it, giving readers a real monster-mash of just about every monster you could think of -- including Nazi zombies!!! I heard a spoilery rumor recently that this season may feature Nazi zombies, which makes me wonder if this tie-in novel will actually get adapted. I think it would make an awesome episode (who doesn't want to see Nazi zombies??? I do! I do!)
The one drawback for the book is that there just wasn't enough Winchester brothers, and what there is felt a little forced and stale. Still a great bit of fun though!
I'm sorry but bad, bad, baaaaad book. Way too much teen angst over "who should I choose?" -- the nice, safe boy? or the boy who makes my toes curl (anI'm sorry but bad, bad, baaaaad book. Way too much teen angst over "who should I choose?" -- the nice, safe boy? or the boy who makes my toes curl (and my genetically modified robot parts short out?)
Hmmmmm.... Do I care??? NO! Too much "telling" not enough "showing". Characters fall flat on the page, the tension is superficial, and the "dystopian" circumstances are a joke. Tepid, derivative teen romance packaged and sold as a futuristic dystopian drama. It is not.
Best thing about it is the cover. My advice: skip it and watch The Terminator movies....more
Imagine if Dr. Seuss got drunk off his ass one afternoon, did a few lines of coke, and decided to write a little somethin’ somethin’ for the grown-upsImagine if Dr. Seuss got drunk off his ass one afternoon, did a few lines of coke, and decided to write a little somethin’ somethin’ for the grown-ups. Welcome to World House.
How do you refrain from recommending that everyone read a book, when in your heart of hearts you know that not everyone is going to love it? In fact, there will be those who will hate it … or worse … be left bored by it. It takes a stronger person than me. I can’t stop myself recommending The World House as loud and as sincerely as I can … because those who will like it are going to like it a lot.
Here’s what I know for sure: Guy Adams is a writer of awesome audacity and imagination, who has retained his sense of childlike wonder. He infuses this story with all the charm and spectacle found in the best fairy tales, writing the utterly impossible with such conviction it reads as entirely plausible. Not as someone’s dream or a far-off fantasy landscape on some distant moon … but as something in our midst, impacting our world, happening to someone that could be us.
There were moments I was reminded of being inside the The Dark Tower itself, or the Agincourt Hotel from The Talisman. Having made the comparison, The World House is not that serious or frightening; in fact, if you come to this novel expecting terror and dread then you really will be disappointed. While the premise has all the potential to go dark side, it remains throughout a swashbuckling tale of whimsy, delight, and outright foolishness – more Indiana Jones than Hellraiser -- or Cube -- definitely more Clue (see karen’s review here) than House of Leaves. The premise is addictive, and even though the horror fan in me can't help but be disappointed I didn’t get the wits scared out of me, I surely did appreciate the originality, the silliness and the nonstop action. For me it became an intoxicating winsome brew.
As karen points out, like Clue, The World House is “a book about a bunch of strangers trapped in a house, trying to solve a mystery”. Adams has assembled quite the diverse, ensemble cast. As with Clue, or the more dramatic Gosford Park, to really enjoy this book the large cast has to please you, rather than become an annoying obstacle (and a fast way to eject you out of the story).
You won't find three-dimensional dramatic characters with in-depth histories and story arcs. It is true they are more caricature than character, but it works here in this context. Adams expertly juggles all his characters like a bunch of colorful scarves; each is unique enough to follow with ease. I love the voices he uses, and the frequent changes of perspective jumping from cliffhanger to cliffhanger is invigorating. It adds an element of suspense and tension that kept the pages turning almost faster than I could read them.
While Adams’ story may fall on the too fluffy side to be taken too seriously, within its pages he introduces a gargantuan idea and I really can’t wait to see where he takes it in Book 2 – Restoration. This is the second novel I’ve read coming out of the weird but ultra cool publishing house Angry Robot (the first was Slights). I usually don’t take notice of the publisher but these guys have got something exciting going on. I for one will definitely be keeping my eye out for more of their books. As for The World House, read it!!!! ...more
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