Stephen King has been the king of horror for so long, that people always seem surprised when he tries something else. A time travel story? "Can he do Stephen King has been the king of horror for so long, that people always seem surprised when he tries something else. A time travel story? "Can he do it?!?" A crime trilogy? "WHAT?!?!?!" Whenever he tries something different people seem surprised, and it's been that way throughout his career.
King initially wrote this book for his daughter, because she didn't like his "scary" books. As such, this is honestly the easiest to read King novel, it's a short fantasy and it's written in a way that may have some adult material, but is fairly easy for a younger audience to process… in other words, it's a fairy tale.
When initially published, this was not received well by many fans. In fact, I read an interview once where King said how fitting it was that this and Misery (a book where a fan loses her mind at the idea of her favorite author trying something different) came out the same year.
Honestly as fan of fairy tales, fantasy and King, I loved it. It very much is a young adult book, in fact I would honestly say middle grade if not for a few scenes. That said it's not condescending, and is very readable still as an adult. While I can't say it is my favorite of his books, this is definitely not anywhere the worst of King's writing and it would also be my suggestion as a good introduction book to King if you have a younger reader who wants to try him (or for someone intimated by horror but wants to give him a shot)
Also, Dark Tower fans, you need to read this one for a couple of the references. Trust me. 4/5 stars....more
In the state of Alabama sits three houses. They have a lovely view, one can walk along the sand and dip their toes in the cool water. Two famil[image]
In the state of Alabama sits three houses. They have a lovely view, one can walk along the sand and dip their toes in the cool water. Two families come to this little slice of paradise called Beldame, the Savages and the McCrays, who've been escaping to this lovely place whenever life gets rough. For some reason no one they've taken outside of their families seems to like the place, but they love it. After the funeral for one the Savages, the two families reunite and visit this lovely place; a place where they seem to repress the unpleasant events that happened there, like that time the hired help's daughter drowned there, or the time one of them visited the third house… the house that seems to be filling with sand.
Why did no one tell me about Michael McDowell? I mean, yes, I've heard of him in some horror circles as an underrated author, but why did no one tell me that his work was THIS good? I'll be blunt; I think this is one of the best horror novels to come out of the 80s… no, I'll go ahead and say it, I think this is my favorite horror novel to come out of the 80s. This is so good I don't even really know how to review it.
Let's get this out of the way; this book is genuinely unnerving. I love the genre, but I can't personally say that about too many horror novels. This book is unsettling. The idea of the title creatures… spirits… things… whatever they are, is unnerving because we never quite understand them. They seem to break rules that we think they are supposed to follow, and part of the brilliant aspect of this book is that it doesn't feel like the author is cheating with this. This is something completely unknowable and any rules it plays by are its own.
This book is filled with so much mystery, so many things that are not quite explained, but never feel as if they need to be. Much of it I wouldn't want to be explained. The mystery adds to it. It makes sense in its own weird way and I can't imagine that it would be improved with the blanks filled in.
I've rarely read a book I enjoyed this much from start to finish. It managed to be funny at times, terrifying at other and for much of it, such a well told southern gothic that I forgot about the horror aspects, just engrossed in the dynamics of these two families. When the horror crept back in, it was a welcome and terrifying surprise. A rare 5/5 stars....more
Okay, I generally enjoy Laymon. His books are sleazy and he writes like a (talented) middle school boy who just discovered what sex is and will worDNF
Okay, I generally enjoy Laymon. His books are sleazy and he writes like a (talented) middle school boy who just discovered what sex is and will work it into any topic he can... but he's generally fun and I can have a blast with his ridiculous ideas.
I couldn't even make it through 25% of the book. It's so repetitive and feels like he phoned it in. Also, I don't know if he felt he needed to hit a quota or something, but for those who are offended or can't handle such subject matter, as a heads up, our female lead gets raped not once, not twice but three times before the point I gave up on the book. It could happen again... hell, with the way the plot was going, I suspect it will. I'll not be finding out though. I’ve read more offensive books, and given them a good review, but here it feels lazy, repetitive and not worth the time. Not recommended even for Laymon fans....more
Werewolves; a classic horror monster typically found in the moors and going on rampages outside small villages until a rich nobleman comes along and sWerewolves; a classic horror monster typically found in the moors and going on rampages outside small villages until a rich nobleman comes along and slays it (or becomes a new one)… one does not typically see them on the big streets of Toronto Canada killing (in classic slasher fashion) scantily clad women. This book is something of a hybrid of a who-done it style police procedural meets werewolf story as we mostly follow two cops hunting down this killer.
I've been in a bit of a reading funk recently. Picking up book after book, only to put them down after around 10 or 20 pages. Nothing was holding my interest… and then along comes cheesy 80s werewolf horror to save the day. I don't ever really praise a publisher in my reviews, but bless Valancourt and the weird horror novels they find.
Let's get this out of the way, it is not a very "good" book. It has a lot of weird decisions (including third person narration, but one that changes point of view practically at any paragraph and sometimes almost a response to the last one, where one character thinks something and the next character's thoughts mirror and answer the other's). The mystery aspect is easy to solve, and I don't know what reporters ever did to hurt the author, but he makes it very clear that he has a grudge against them as does literally every character who has at least one tirade against them.
This book is so, so weird… and so, so fun.
It's over the top, it's at times ridiculous, but it is a blast on nearly every page. It's also very clear that the author is self-aware of this and also includes some extremely funny self-aware jokes about it (he also includes some wonderful genre meta-humor). Fun seems like such a copout way to review something; the lazy answer for one without a critique… but what does one expect from a book that is literally about a werewolf stalking a big city? Fun is the most I can ask for.
Well worth a read for horror fans, especially those who like a different sort of werewolf tale. 3/5 stars....more
When Trent Reznor heard Johnny Cash's cover of his song Hurt, he is on the record with the following statement: "I listened to it and it was very straWhen Trent Reznor heard Johnny Cash's cover of his song Hurt, he is on the record with the following statement: "I listened to it and it was very strange. It was this other person inhabiting my most personal song." He has since gone on to say "I wrote it, but it's his song now." I've always found this extremely depressing in a way. What was once the most personal of his works was taken away… while it will always be his in origin, for so many they will associate it with another. I can't imagine how that must be.
Tell me, how many of you all know the name Eiko Kadono? A few of you (the fact that you're looking at this book, probably a few more). Tell me, how many have heard of Hayao Miyazaki?
Kadono may have created the character, but until last year her novel was never available even in English. In contrast, Miyazaki's film has been well loved around the world for decades now. Yeah, Kadono created the Kiki character, but much like with Reznor, the work will be associated with another.
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Again, I find this a damn shame. Don't get me wrong, I love the Miyazaki film (pretty much everything that man works on is gold), but there's a wonderful little book here. The episodic adventures of Kiki are charming. Readers may be shocked to discover that most of the stories in the book were not actually in the film. Most are extremely silly tales (this is one that I look forward to reading again with my daughter when she is a little older), but there is a charm to the entire thing. Kiki's more realistic in the book to me. More like a real person and less, well, a cartoon character. Yes, it's all presented in a childish way, but her reactions and emotions are frequently relatable.
Also, Jiji in the novel is a delightfully snarky character at times, and I for one fully approve of that.
I was surprised to see this book finally translated, though very pleasantly surprised. I highly suspect we won't see the sequel novels, but hopefully I will once again be surprised. A solid 4/5 stars....more
Before we begin the review proper, I just want to thank Dawn for buddy reading this with me. While not the best McCammon book, I'm glad we did this anBefore we begin the review proper, I just want to thank Dawn for buddy reading this with me. While not the best McCammon book, I'm glad we did this and enjoyed hearing your thoughts as well!
What's the plot of this one? My friends, I have a one sentence pitch for you: Nazi zombies on a U-Boat.
Really, that's all you really need to know about this book. From one sentence you know if this is a must read or something to completely avoid for you. If that doesn't sound appealing, glad I could help you make up your mind fast. For those who do think "that sounds amazing" please read on.
I want to say first off that while I'm giving it a two star review, the book was a lot of fun, and if that plot description sounded appealing, by all means check it out, but I want to set you up here for what you're getting into.
Is the book fun? Yes, but disregard most of your notions of who Robert McCammon is as an author. Of all of his books that I've read (all of which I've enjoyed on at least some levels) this is easily his worst. Why? Because it's a mess. It really feels like he wrote the book, read it, said "Oh, I should probably put this one back" and then his publisher said that they needed a new book right now and he threw it to them because... well, why not?
The book is extremely uneven. McCammon's usual attention to detail and multiple characters starts up, and quickly gets disregarded. The book is both slow paced and extremely rushed all at the same time. A character is introduced in the prologue to only not show up again until over halfway through the book. Important characters aren't introduced until about 3/4s (maybe farther) of the way through. They're quickly given backstory and then we act as if they've been there the entire time. Characters seem to be set up for something only to be quickly dismissed... It just feels like McCammon had a different book planned and then decided to cut it down from say 500 pages to 340. Sometimes less is more... this time less is just less.
I liked the island setting but have a bit of an issue with how McCammon writes it. He’s a very talented author, but does he have a description other than skin tone here? Given that this book takes place in the Caribbean, it’s awkward that he only seems to be able to describe the characters as “the black”. Even when Moore (our only white character for a good portion of the book) is not around, he usually says things like “he stood beside the black” rather than naming characters or talking about any feature other than skin tone. I know this was an early book of his, but it feels less than just a modern reader issue with the writing, but more like an editing issue (again, this feels like incomplete writing).
The characters also make stupid decisions. I mean, like slasher movie "I heard a noise in the basement of the murder-house and I'm going down there without anything weapons or source of light and calling out 'anyone there?' shortly after doing drugs and telling my friends 'I'll be right back'" sort of stupid. (Slasher fans get that, I know you do.)
I won't go into all of them (it would take quite a while to do so) but my Favorite example is the constable who repeatedly goes into dangerous situations (including a crime scene that has most assuredly not been cleared) without backup or a weapon... MULTIPLE TIMES. He even points out he should have brought a gun on one of them. No kidding? No reason is given for him not taking one ever. He just doesn't.
Honestly my biggest issue with the book isn't even a dumb character moments, but how McCammon decides to use one character. (view spoiler)[Schiller was a wasted character and could have been removed with zero impact to the story. He was the only survivor of the U-Boat in WWII and here he comes back to the island with the crew zombies. He was introduced in the prologue and doesn't show up again until over the halfway point. I truly thought McCammon was going to do something special here. A former Nazi crewman having to confront his past (literally) with the undead crew. What happens to him? He gives a moment of exposition which we already pretty much knew and gets killed immediately upon seeing his crew. It even almost looked like there was going to be a moment between him and the old captain, but nope, completely disregard that.
While Schiller was the worst in my opinion as it could have been fascinating, Kip was another one. His entire backstory, the fact that the reverend thought he might be able to do something, the hints that he too had some sort of power... nope, he jumps off a boat and that is pretty much his entire addition to the final confrontation. (hide spoiler)]
Alright, I've practically ranted about this book. Surely people are sitting there going "guess I should skip it."
...
I honestly wouldn't fully say that. Don't get me wrong, this book is EXTREMELY problematic in so many ways, but come on... *said extremely quietly as if providing self justification, but slightly grudgingly as if it should be self evident without it being presented again* Nazi zombies on a U-Boat. I mean really, I'll get through a lot of problems for that sort of entertainment, and it IS entertaining. It's just McCammon at his worst (and seemingly indifferent). While casual horror fans and those who hate cheesy horror should skip it, others will find it hilarious or at the very least pretty entertaining. I personally debated on a 2 or 3 star rating, but feel I can't quite justify that extra star, and really, when we get down to it, while some will see a gem, it's really just kind of okay. 2/5 stars...more
Note: This is not really a review. It's more me just gushing about something I love... sorry. That's all I have to offer on this one.
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I'm not one Note: This is not really a review. It's more me just gushing about something I love... sorry. That's all I have to offer on this one.
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I'm not one who usually buys into TV show hype and has to read the book. Sure, I read the first couple of Song of Ice and Fire books, but I did it before the TV show. Same with Haunting of Hill House. I enjoyed Mindhunter, but never felt a strong desire to read the book. Just because I enjoy one version does not mean I will care for it in another
I completely admit that I have bought into the hype for The Queen's Gambit. I wasn't even interested in the show at first. I kept hearing people talk about it at work though and on one of the forums I frequently visit and kept seeing the damn thing every time I turned on Netflix until I finally said "I give!" and tried it.
...
I loved it. Honestly one of the best shows I've seen in some time. Flash forward to be beginning of this week when I was walking around Barnes and Noble on Sunday and saw a copy of this on display. I usually dislike media tie-in covers (again, see that first paragraph), but seeing Anya Taylor-Joy's eyes staring me down over that chess board, seemingly intimidating the player in front of her... I decided yes, I'd give the book a shot as well.
Yes, it was just as good. In fact, it was exactly what I needed. Since the year had started I've already finished three books, all of which I gave three stars. They were fun enough, but nothing that wowed me. This was perfection and is already a contender for favorite book of the year... and we're only two weeks into it.
I won't go over the plot. It's been discussed and now with the show pretty much everyone knows the basic idea, but the book is well told. Structurally it leads the reader into all its themes and ideas bit by bit. It's about genius, it's about addiction and while the drama is told remarkably well, chess is of course where it stands out and manages to somehow, through describing the moves, create more suspense than any thriller I've ever read.
This book is simply a joy from start to finish. A wonderful read and one I cannot recommend enough. 5/5 stars....more
Richard Laymon is one of the few author I can think of who actively shows disdain for the idea of heroic characters. In Layman’s world the characters Richard Laymon is one of the few author I can think of who actively shows disdain for the idea of heroic characters. In Layman’s world the characters who are sympathetic often show themselves to be monsters, whereas the vile (bullies and other abusers) often come to “save the day.” I won’t say that he hasn’t written a sympathetic hero (he has) but he loves twisting the idea that horrible people are sometimes what we need to survive horrible situations. This aspect is probably one of the reasons he never achieved the fame of King or Koontz (though both were fans of his work). Also, he writes like a very talented middle school boy who just discovered sex. All of his characters constantly think about it, both the good and the bad. It is the one thing that unifies them all.
Despite his many, many flaws, I genuinely like Laymon and always have a good time with his books. I don’t think I ever have (or likely ever will) give one of his books more than three stars, yet I find I consistently come back to him. His books are unashamedly cheap paperback horror novels. He would come up with a classic horror idea (be it vampire, mummy, invisible man or whatever) and run with it in every grotesque direction he could. They are not “good” books, but for a certain type of horror fan, they can be great fun.
This one is basically the literary equivalent of a B-slasher. The plot is simple; a Halloween party is being thrown at an old abandoned murder house. The killer has never been caught. Fill in the rest yourself. You know exactly where this is going, but Layman throws in just enough twists on it to make it a blast.
While I have many issues with Laymon, I must confess, this may be the quickest paced novel I’ve ever read, and I do mean that as a compliment. In keeping with the slasher film style, there is never a slow moment. He manages to place some (terribly laughable) drama in the book, but he does it quickly so he can get back to cliched characters getting picked off by the killer (while also throwing in a few genuinely shocking moments). The pacing really feels like a movie, and while that could be annoying in some novels, given the nature of this one, I feel it is appropriate.
That is not to say that there are not a few real issues with this one. I’m fairly certain he needed to meet a deadline and hammered out the ending in one sitting. It is way too fast paced (even given what came before) and feels like he just ended it as soon as he could. The playful nature of the previous chapters seems lost to a “just finish the damn thing” mentality. Without spoilers, I will say I was mostly disappointed as I wanted to know more about the author and what happened with him (it feels like Laymon completely forgot the character), as his brief time in the novel was an extremely clever highlight. If this tells you how fast the novel is ended, there is literally a 1 page epilogue that tries to resolve two plot lines.
So, is this a great book? Oh, hell no. Is it a good book? Honestly, almost. It’s Laymon, which means the reader probably knows if they are going to enjoy it before hand. It actually works better than a lot of his other works though, which leaves me surprised that this isn’t one of the ones I hear about more often. I can’t really give a full recommendation to it, but if you’re already a fan, you could certainly do worse than this one. 3/5 stars... but only for fans....more
A while ago, when I reviewed The Decagon House Murders, I found the most interesting aspect of the book not to be the story itself, but the introductiA while ago, when I reviewed The Decagon House Murders, I found the most interesting aspect of the book not to be the story itself, but the introduction by Soji Shimada in which he details the history and rules for a “Honkaku” mystery. This subgenre is what typically would be referred to in English speaking countries as a “locked room” or “fair play” mysteries; meaning all clues are given, so despite the improbability of the crime, you, the reader, could in theory solve it as well. I particularly liked the bit of info where he discussed that it’s looked less as a literary genre and more like a game between author and reader.
Keeping Shimada’s intro to the other book in mind, I went into this one expecting less of a story and more of a duel of wits between myself and the author. As such, I found myself having a lot of fun with this read. I like that he included diagrams, and layouts for the crime scenes. I liked that there was a logical reason behind many of the seemingly random bits in the crime, and as I also went in expecting less from the literary standpoint, I was pleasantly surprised by the gothic atmosphere he built up and the personality of the detective Kiyoshi Mitarai, who like many classic golden age detectives, is quite eccentric with his personality quirks, but quick witted and doesn’t miss a thing.
So, did Shimada play by his own rules as presented for Decagon’s intro? Yes and no. (view spoiler)[The clues are indeed all there, and I completely called who the killer was. That said, I solved it using a different thought process than he did (I figured it out based on the knowledge required of the Golem doll and going off the fact that the only person who could understand the house’s tricks would be the person who designed it, and thus the owner HAD to be the killer). From an English reading point of view, one clue involving a semaphore went completely over my head until explained. Some of the random clues that didn’t make sense to me didn’t make sense because they WERE random, with the killer doing them seemingly in a daze. Also, the icicle bit? Pure bullshit. Even perfectly planned, I feel there is too much room for error. It’s such a logic leap, that I feel more clues were needed to convince me that it was even POSSIBLE let alone the correct solution. I confess, I do love the interjection “On this point , the author feels he may have been unfair to the reader. However, he believes that it will not cause any lasting damage to those with a vivid imagination.” It genuinely made me laugh, both at the snark of the note itself and that he felt it needed to be included because of the lack of clues in regards to the method. (hide spoiler)]
From a stylistic point of view, I found many of the characters to be two-dimensional and cliché (which didn’t bother me too much, because again, I viewed this is less as a classic novel and more as a game based on the rules set prior) and was disappointed that the most interesting doesn’t show up until close to the end. I also had issue with the main police detectives and how they kept everyone under house arrest for the entire investigation. Maybe I just don’t understand how Japanese investigations work (though, I must say that I’ve read quite a few Japanese mysteries and have never encountered this before), but it seemed like a lazy way of keeping it a “closed circle” investigation. Usually in such cases, it requires a blizzard, or that the murder took place on an island or some such thing, but here the police close the circle, allowing for multiple murders simply by saying, “Alright, no one’s allowed to leave until the investigations over.” This seems shockingly forced.
Overall, I enjoyed myself with this one. The explanation was clever (though I feel the logic leaps needed to get all the clues to be just on the border of fair play, I concede he does at least give them to you), but the motive could have been worked upon (that one IS impossible to solve until it is given to you). 3/5 stars....more
A friend of mine saw me reading this book, and with a look of genuine shock said, “There’s a Psycho 2?”
Yes, yes there is. Here’s the thing tho[image]
A friend of mine saw me reading this book, and with a look of genuine shock said, “There’s a Psycho 2?”
Yes, yes there is. Here’s the thing though, I also knew there is a Psycho 2, 3 and 4. I knew of them, but only as films. I’ve actually even seen all the films (… I may have a problem when it comes to cheesy horror movies), and while they certainly have their own cult following, I will be kind and say they never had the popularity of the Hitchcock film. Hell, Bloch’s original novel didn’t either.
Here’s the thing I didn’t know though… I didn’t know that Bloch wrote a sequel to his own book; one that was completely different from the films, and is in fact, essentially him giving the middle finger to all of Hollywood and everything it stands for.
This book was written around 20 years after the film adaptation of Psycho came out. It was already abundantly clear to all that Hitchcock’s film had made cinema history. It was an important film, a bold film, and an entertaining one. The same could not be said of the original source material (though it was entertaining as well). Hitchcock took a somewhat clever little horror novel and turned it into something of a phenomenon. He saw something in it that Bloch only managed to find a touch of in the original, and no doubt there was a touch of bitterness on the author’s side that even though he created the novel, a good portion of the film viewers didn’t even know it was a book at all.
Here Bloch takes his revenge, as the plot involves Norman escaping the asylum, just as a film crew is about to make a movie about his crimes. Of course, on set hijinks ensue as violence hits the set. I could make a joke about directors yelling “cut,” but that would be too easy.
This is a book written out of pure malice for Hollywood, which not only took his story away from him, but made several sequels without consulting him or his consent. There is a deep hatred of all things Hollywood running throughout the book, with crooked producers, sleazy directors and actresses who will do anything to get a shot.
While I appreciate that the book is held together on malice and spite (really, in this case I do, as it makes for a humorous sub-text throughout the book), it is not a very successful endeavor. There’s nothing in this one as shocking as the infamous shower scene, and there’s surprisingly very little suspense or horror for a good portion of the book.
Another problem against it is Norman. One thing that made the original work so well, both the movie and the book (because yes, even though I think it barely compares to the film, the first novel is quick entertaining read), was that we cared about Norman. He was surrounded in his mind by events spiraling out of control and he was doing what he thought was best. He was interesting, and even knowing the twist, his actions remained sympathetic. Here the characters are damn near unlikeable. Norman had aspects of a voyeur in the original, but in the sequel is a flat out rapist with more than a touch of necrophilia added for shock value. All the other characters are assholes, and much like the slasher movies of the 80s, I just sat there waiting for them to be picked off (view spoiler)[and then being disappointed at the surprisingly low body count after the first couple of chapters. (hide spoiler)] There’s really no one to root for or sympathize with in this one except for Norman’s doctor and even he comes off having issue from the start (view spoiler)[making the twist really not that surprising). (hide spoiler)]
It also feels like Bloch was planning for the book to go one direction, then realized he needed to pull of something clever to shock the readers. (view spoiler)[So we get a scene of Norman supposedly killing someone, with even moments from his point of view, only to reveal that someone else did it while thinking they were Norman and that Norman was already dead! Clever, eh? Sort of, but it also begs the question “why should we care?” You killed off Norman at the beginning of the book “off screen.” So we got a Psycho sequel that is pretty much Norman-less all in the spirit of being clever. This seems a bit of a slap in the face to the readers who were interested in the character. You could have used any random killer and done the same trick, but instead the author basically decided to get a few more dollars by making it a “Psycho 2.” (hide spoiler)]
As I progressed through the book, I found myself liking it less and less. By the time it was over, there was only one thing I feel like I can still praise. It has an almost Scream-like meta quality to it, as Bloch is very aware that people associate the story with the film instead of his book and is playing up on that. Cinematic conventions are there throughout the book, and it’s not hard to imagine the camera angles even as he’s describing how a scene plays out. It also plays with what the slasher genre was becoming and acts of something of a critique against it (something that does seem a touch hypocritical as characters voice how you shouldn’t sympathize with violent characters, when the first book had you trying to do just that).
In sum up, it’s a mean spirited and unnecessary book. Made out of spite and to cash in on his previous work rather than just coming up with something new. 2/5 stars...more
A group of students arrive on a deserted island, which was the scene of a grisly murder one-year prior. .Obviously nothing goes wrong and they spend aA group of students arrive on a deserted island, which was the scene of a grisly murder one-year prior. .Obviously nothing goes wrong and they spend a relaxing week long vacation, talking about books they like and taking in the sun… oh, wait, no, this a mystery novel. Yeah, scratch that… bad things happen.
This is a book that notes its origins with pride. The plot kicks off with a reference to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, and continues with loving nods (including all the characters having nicknames based on American and European mystery authors) throughout. The novel is a part of what is referred to in Japan as Honkaku mystery. This subgenre is what typically would be referred to in English speaking countries as a “locked room” or “fair play” mystery. Meaning all clues are given, so despite the improbability of the crime, you, the reader, could in theory solve it as well. In fact, the book contains an absolutely fascinating introduction, giving a brief history of the Honkaku sub-genre and is well worth a read (I particularly liked the bit of info where they discuss that it’s looked less as a literary genre and more like a game between author and reader).
So, did I solve the case? Well, yes and no. I pretty much figured out who did it fairly early on, but I didn’t figure out how so much (and when the reveal hit, I had a moment where I could have applauded it) (view spoiler)[“I’m Van Dine” was one of the biggest wham lines I’ve read in a while, and genuinely had me flipping through pages trying to figure it out HOW that one happened. (hide spoiler)]
So, points for a clever solution. Sadly, I can’t really give full praise here. Remember how I said the Honkaku mystery is often thought of more as a game than a literary genre? You can tell it here and it hurts it. The characters are stock types, given little to no personality (seriously, you may as well call them victim 1, 2, 3 etc.). With the exception of Ellery, who is obviously set up as our official detective in the group, everyone else is pretty much void of a personality other than one or two emotions that they express when stressed. Even Ellery is such a cliché of a character that I didn’t really feel any real excitement about him. In one way, this made it feel less like your classic mystery, and more like a slasher movie, where you just watch with curiosity on how the teens will be picked off by our killer next.
This book when released was apparently one of the leaders in the resurgence of the Honkaku genre (which had lost popularity with the rise of noir and police procedurals). I don’t know if this is because of the clever conclusion or if there was something majorly lost in translation, but I don’t quite get why this would be one of the standouts. Would I give it a recommendation? Only to a very specific group of people. To really enjoy this one, you have to be a person who enjoys the deduction aspect of a mystery novel over the plot. You need to be the person who sits there puzzling over every line and trying to think outside the box… those here for the story will likely leave unfulfilled, those here for the “game” of it, they may find something special.
3 stars because I am the sort of mystery fan described above and the ending is clever enough to warrant a notation. Also, as mentioned before, the introduction to the book is fascinating enough alone to warrant a read....more
Well, this one is unique! This is something I can honestly say I’ve never seen before, at least inside the fantasy genre, though I’ve seen it quite a Well, this one is unique! This is something I can honestly say I’ve never seen before, at least inside the fantasy genre, though I’ve seen it quite a bit outside of it. This is a comedy of manners in the classic sense, and reads like Jane Austin and Oscar Wilde got together to write a fantasy novel. It’s funny, well executed and very witty (so much of the dialogue has double meanings or insults hidden behind kind words that I found myself laughing out loud on multiple occasions).
The plot alternates between two central protagonists. Michael a young nobleman with little interest in politics, but quite a fan of playing cards with those who are interested in such matters, who decides to take up the sword initially to cause a scandal, but finds himself in a rather… interesting situation.
The other protagonist is where the plot mostly focuses, as he weaves into Michael’s, but is following a much more dangerous path on his own. He is a swordsman named Richard. He is the best and most popular duelist in town. In his own words, he “doesn’t do weddings,” which in this case means he is not for mere entertainment or ceremony. He only will duel to the death and preferably with only those who will give him a challenge.
In the world presented here, duelists come off as glorified assassins. While someone else can accept the challenge for their target, swordsmen are typically paid to try to corner their opponent in such a way that they have no one to fight for them, making for an easier kill. This is presented as the norm in this society and seemingly the way most petty matters of honor are resolved.
Kushner has created a fascinating world here, and I can see why this book has such a loyal following. While it is not one of the best known fantasy novels, it is one that I see fairly consistently on “best of” lists, and I cannot disagree. The story is clever and almost perfectly presented. The characters are witty and the dialogue charming. It also has a fantastic opening (which at least in my edition is even praised by George R. R. Martin on the cover blurb) and if it doesn’t hook you immediately… well, then perhaps this isn’t the book for you.
I only have one complaint about the book, and honestly it’s a big enough one that it prevented a full five stars. (view spoiler)[Michael’s plot just kind of trailed off. There’s no resolution there, and while we can pretty much gather what will happen, he’s just temporarily stuck in a limbo like state… and I found that rather annoying as he was so central to the first half of the plot and then just seemingly cast aside. (hide spoiler)]
That complaint aside, this is an excellent fantasy novel and well worth a read. Highly recommended....more
Christmas was once known as a time for ghost stories (and in some places, still is). As we start this one, a family is sitting around the fire trying Christmas was once known as a time for ghost stories (and in some places, still is). As we start this one, a family is sitting around the fire trying to one up each other, all save Arthur Kipps who wants nothing to do with ghost stories. We will find that he has a pretty good reason not to enjoy them.
As a young man Kipps was sent on an assignment to attend the funeral of a client and then go through all her papers. Her house is old and filled with paperwork seemingly in every drawer and cabinet, and when the tide comes in, one is completely isolated, stuck inside the house until the tide finally releases you. This is an excellent set up for a haunted house story and it is fantastically delivered. It is a slow mover (which is rather tricky given its short page count of only 164 in my edition), but there’s a wonderful atmosphere of fear and subtle eeriness throughout.
The book is very clearly inspired by the stories of M. R. James (down to one of the chapters actually being titled after one of his more famous stories). As such it is trying to give us a classic feel, which is all well and good and works for the most part, but it does lead to one of my two problems with the book. Namely: when the hell does this take place? By the mention of automobiles and electricity throughout I would think early 1900s (around the same time as Dracula) but other aspects mention give it an older and also a more modern feel. There was a lingering annoyance as at some points I just wanted a date to end my internal puzzlement. I think this was supposed to give it a “timeless” feel, but I personally found it frustrating.
My only other complains requires a spoiler tag.
(view spoiler)[Okay,given the fact that a child dies every time the ghost is seen, I can see why the townspeople would not want to talk about it… but given the fact that this young lawyer is like, “righty-o, I think I’ll be staying at this house for a few days,” and given that the house is apparently ghost central (save for an appearance at the cemetery), wouldn't the people of the town try to dissuade him a little more than eerie hints, then essentially calling him a cab to take him to the house? I mean, one would think they would more actively try to dissuade him or at least not drive him to the front door.
Also, tied to that, if the ghost kills a random child in a day or two after being seen, why did it wait for around two years for Kipps to get married and have a son for a year before it decided to follow him to London and kill the child? Seems to be a touch of rule breaking in order to give a shock ending. (hide spoiler)]
Those complaints aside, I genuinely liked this book. It is a wonderful atmospheric ghost story, that is creepy just as much for what it DOESN’T show as what it does. There were plenty of points where it could have taken the classic cliché “boo” moment, that it avoided, leaving me hoping something would happen, not because I was bored, but because an actual event would relieve the tension. At least then we would know what we were dealing with, but no… the book works in its own sweet time, and is all the better for it.
Warning: this is less of a review and more of a rambling train of thought; highlighting interesting aspects, yet going very little into the plot.
WelcWarning: this is less of a review and more of a rambling train of thought; highlighting interesting aspects, yet going very little into the plot.
Welcome to a new edition of Tim is about to have an unpopular opinion. I’ll be your host Tim! And what is the unpopular opinion this time?
Misery is… okay I guess. That is the sort of response to this book I just don’t see. I see people who hate, I see people who think it ranks up as one of King’s best. For me this is completely the middle of the road King, nothing great, but certainly not one that I ever felt was wasting my time. Roger Ebert once said he hated reviewing movies which were only “okay” as he couldn’t rave about them, but didn’t have enough to complain about. I’m stuck in that spot.
I honestly debated on if I was even going to write a review as in my opinion this could be the very definitive 3 star novel… it’s fun, but I certainly don’t get why it is one of the most loved of King’s novels.
But after some thought, there is one aspect I can latch on to that I find interesting enough to talk about. It’s not the plot (well, not the focused plot), but how King gives insight into his own theories on writing on this one. The absolute best moments of the novel for me were all when King talks about writing. During these bits I forgot about Paul Sheldon, and just heard King talk about his love of creating. The pleasant, yet slightly disappointing feeling one gets when a book is finished. The warmth of creation and the love put into the work (view spoiler)[hell, some of the damage Annie inflects upon Paul could be viewed as a metaphor for an author editing down a book and cutting off unessential, but loved, parts (hide spoiler)]. I felt this same passion in King’s On Writing, but here, in the process of telling a story, King capture a more organic sense of these emotions.
My favorite part is when he talks about book dedications.
"The reason authors almost always put a dedication on a book, Annie, is because their selfishness even horrifies themselves in the end."
I love this line. I love the self examination of it, and how it made me reread the dedication of this book and smile.
For the most part I found the plot good, but a bit underwhelming. The one aspect I will praise is the ending. It is extremely satisfying, and a pleasant surprise as my one complaint about King usually is that he often seems to have trouble ending his books.
Much like how I’m having trouble ending this review. It’s not focused… how can I make it fit right?
The 1940s are over, and the second half of the century starts with a bang. Deputy Danny Upshaw starts his new year investigating a gruesome homicide oThe 1940s are over, and the second half of the century starts with a bang. Deputy Danny Upshaw starts his new year investigating a gruesome homicide of a jazz player, which is only the start of a series of murders. Meanwhile Mal Considine is working with the D.A. climbing aboard the Red Scare bandwagon, and trying to find some friendly witnesses for a small time recreation of the House of Un-American Activities’ big show. We also have Buzz Meeks, a former cop, now bagman and pimp for Howard Hughes (Yes, THE Howard Hughes) who’s going to be getting involved in both Considine and Upshaw’s cases, and really Meeks is noticing the odds are decidedly not in his favor.
The second book in Ellroy’s LA Quintet is more ambitious than The Black Dahlia, it’s bigger in scope giving us more “secret history” of LA, while also losing the first-person narration of the previous book and alternating between the three above characters. The three characters, all from different backgrounds and working different angles, gives us a broader sense of the world and the corruption in it.
It’s so delightfully ambitious that I’m sad to say I was disappointed. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid book and I don’t consider 3 stars to be a negative score. In fact I often recommend 3 star books if I think it may click better with my friends, as that score typically means I enjoyed it, it just didn’t stun me. Based on a plot description, I honestly thought I would like this one better than the first book as I find the HUAC to be a fascinating piece of American history… and somehow despite it being one of the main plot points and taking up a good portion of the book, it really feels like Ellroy didn’t care about that angle much. It’s important, but played off as uninteresting (admittedly, most of the people involved in it look at it only as a way to gain a promotion, so it’s not exactly as if the characters are that passionate about their task either).
The book is 406 pages, and I found a good bit of it dull. It takes a fairly decent amount of that time setting up everything, and over describing things. Yes, I say this knowing full well that Ellroy changes his writing style in the next book, taking a much more… succinct style to his prose, which frankly I think will work much better as there were moments in this one where I just wanted him to get on with it. I don’t want to turn this into a series of complaints, but frankly until around page 319 I just kept waiting for something interesting to happen.
A damn shame really, as when that something happens, it happens on a grand scale. A plot twist I didn’t expect sucker punched this reader and then the story went to some amazing places. It elevated what came before as pieces began to click into place. This one had an excellent ending that it almost raised the score up to a 4 for me, but those earlier sections were such a drag that I’m going to resist that urge.
Now away from the negative and on to the positive. Other than that stunning twist and the damn near perfect ending, I want to highlight two other things that this book does stunningly well.
First off, I love that we are getting more outlooks on the world Ellroy is creating. In many ways, other than a few brief mentions to the case and a few returning characters, this book and The Black Dahlia could be viewed as pretty much unrelated and not really that connected…. But from a stylistic standpoint they are perfectly matched. Not only do both books involve real life cases given a fictional re-examination, but both show time passing in LA; we see Hollywood evolve and we see the corruption in the ranks (from the standpoint of politics, the police and business) growing with it. We watch as Ellroy shows us history unfolding, and the good and bad that comes with the changing of the times.
The other thing it does well is Dudley Smith. Dudley. Goddamn. Smith. Smith is without a doubt the most interesting character that Ellroy has created (note, I did not say likeable or relatable). For most of the book Smith is a wild-card, you don’t know quite what he is after or what game he’s playing (let alone what the rules are to his little game), and by the end of this one we know more but not enough. He is a fascinating character who steals every scene he’s in… and I very much want to know what happens to him as the series moves along.
In closing: this is a solid novel. I can even see where some may like this one better than the first. Personally it just didn’t click with me the way the Dahlia case did. The Big Nowhere has a great cast of characters and so many plotlines that SHOULD have interested me more, but often left me cold. It’s worth a read, and sets up for the next book wonderfully, but I’m glad this wasn’t my first Ellroy novel, as I would have wondered what the fuss was all about. ...more
On January 15, 1947 Elizabeth Short was found in an abandoned lot, severely mutilated and cut in two. Nicknamed the Black Dahlia in the press, she becOn January 15, 1947 Elizabeth Short was found in an abandoned lot, severely mutilated and cut in two. Nicknamed the Black Dahlia in the press, she became a news sensation. It was a true crime, that was never solved. On the year of the 40th anniversary of the crime, James Ellroy gave a sense of (fictional) closure to the case with this masterful novel.
This is a story about obsession. People can be obsessed with many things; money, power… a good book, but in this case it’s a woman. A woman who most of our cast would never know until after she died. She becomes the mutual obsession of a select few who would always love her, and do anything to give her peace.
We follow Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert, a former boxer, now a warrants officer in the LA PD. He is new to the position and his partner (also a former boxer) Lee Blanchard is showing him the ropes. As they begin looking for a man name Nash who killed an old woman, they stumble upon another crime scene that will take them down a dark and twisted path.
After a somewhat slow start I became engrossed with this novel. On the second day of reading, I was lost in the Dahlia case, reading over 150 pages before I finally made myself stop to get some sleep. The next day after work I stayed up till 1AM to finish it. I didn’t get much sleep due to an extremely early day after that, but I regret nothing. This is a stunning work, the first in Ellroy’s LA Quartet, and a set up of themes to come.
There are no true “good guys” in this book, and it is all the better for it. Unlike many books or movies I’ve seen that focus on crooked cops, we get a sense that the majority here want this case solved. For the most part, they’re not looking for a patsy, they want the real killer, and if that means using tough interrogations, breaking and entering and using a few drugs on people to get them to talk… well, the ends justify the means. The characters are all rather fascinating, deeply psychologically scarred, yet realistic in most of their actions; able to make you root for them one page and disgust you in another.
It probably goes without saying, but I will place a warning here for any readers on the fence about the book. There are some extremely disturbing moments in here… and not just the Dahlia’s crime scene. Some of the twist and turns that our detectives come across during the course of the novel are extremely unpleasant. It also uses realistic views and language for the time, so do not expect PC dialogue.
If none of that bothers you, do yourself a favor and pick this up now. You will be getting a truly wonderful novel filled with clever twists and suspense in equal measure. It has a bit of a rough opening, but once the Dahlia shows up, things move fast and even the quiet slow moments have a tremendous amount of tension to them.
In closing: this is a fantastic read. A wonderful piece of historic fiction and noir. Highly recommended to anyone with even the slightest interest after reading the plot description. I would give it 4.5 stars if Goodreads would let me, but I’ll stick with the 4 star rating as I do find it to have a few minor flaws… nothing big enough though that it should dissuade a reader....more
Around two years ago I read McCammon's "They Thirst." It was my first experience with the author and it had mixed results. I enjoyed it but felt it waAround two years ago I read McCammon's "They Thirst." It was my first experience with the author and it had mixed results. I enjoyed it but felt it was overlong (my edition was 60o+ pages and I felt it would have worked a lot better had he cut 200 of them) and I was annoyed that many plot elements came up or characters were introduced seemingly for him to forget about them until maybe a two page moment 300 pages later on to kill them off. Yet despite my complaints I felt there were so many moment of brilliance that I wanted to give him another try.
Usher's Passing suffers from none of the problems that I had with They Thirst (rather humorously at 410 pages, it is about 200 pages shorter than They Thirst... making me feel correct in my previous statement involving page counts).
In the beginning of Usher’s Passing an agent tells our protagonist that his newest book is a jumbled mess with too many characters and a plot that feels like it goes too many places. I find this amusing as I think McCammon was a little afraid he was describing his own book (view spoiler)[it also serves as some nice foreshadowing of some future events in the book as well (hide spoiler)]. The book does have quite a few characters and the plot is all over the place… and it is pretty delightful from start to finish.
Like They Thirst, there were many seemingly random moments that felt almost like plot detours, but unlike the other book McCammon tied it all together by the end. The book operates as a sort of “what if” sequel to Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher (What if the Ushers were real people that Poe heard about, but the family line continued from another brother?). It’s a gothic story of hidden family secrets as the prodigal son/black sheep of the Usher family returns home for the death of his father and to see who his heir will be. It also involves the Pumpkin Man, a hideous entity who kidnaps children in the woods, also there's a panther like creature that acts as its familiar, also a coven of witches, psychics, magic, a cursed/haunted lodge… AND MORE! I did say it was a bit jumbled, did I not? But it is a jumbled mess that McCammon juggles beautifully. There were moments that I sat there thinking in retrospect how bizarre some of the turns were, but it flows so well that I didn’t notice until I put the book down for a bit.
This is a perfect October read. It captures so many classic Halloween tropes, but is so playful with them that it doesn't come off as cliche. It is a good read from start to finish and highly recommended to all horror fans.
As a brief sad note though, I feel that McCammon put a bit of himself in Rix our writer protagonist. Rix questions his choice as a horror novelist throughout the book and considering that McCammon seems to look back at some of his own horror novels with a bit of... distaste (keeping several of them out of print and focusing now only on historic fiction) it seems like a sad bit of realistic foreshadowing as if he already didn't care for some of his works.
Still, nothing to be ashamed of here. A solid 4/5 stars. ...more
This is one of those books that, depending on how I rated, it could go anywhere on the five star spectrum. It's ridiculously bad, but at the same timeThis is one of those books that, depending on how I rated, it could go anywhere on the five star spectrum. It's ridiculously bad, but at the same time, so over the top and silly that I enjoyed myself the entire time. I could give it a 5 based on pure entertainment, but based on some of the more dreadful aspects, I would find it quite difficult to live with myself afterwards. Honestly, the fact that I even finished/am reviewing this book...
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This is a book about killer slugs. Not only are they killer slugs that are larger than average, but seemed to have acquired quite the intellect. BORDERLINE GENIUS KILLER SLUGS. There is a scene where a man tries to poison them, instead of consuming the poison, the book describes them watching him go back to his house... you may as well cue the ominous music, as you can just imagine them staring at him, plotting a way to invade his home and eat both him and his wife.
Yeah, it's that type of book. It's the literary equivalent of one of those 50s horror movies with killer animals (Not one of the good ones though, think more Attack of the Killer Shrews or The Giant Gila Monster), but given that it was written in the 80s, it takes a more slasher philosophy towards its victims, and describes their deaths in gruesome detail.
This does not bother me personally, but I do take some offense that the kindle version calls Hutson the Godfather of Gore... there is only one man who should receive that title, and Herschell Gordon Lewis had it long before Hutson could, and he earned it by doing something new at the time.
The writing is poor as to be expected, and it seems Hutson must really like the word cryptically. He uses it repeatedly in sentences where it is not the word I could even imagine choosing. For example, a group of people kill some slugs, but realize that it’s not the breeding ground.
‘Two hundred down, 20,000 to go’ he said cryptically.
How about sarcastically, ominously... truthfully? Plenty of other ways to describe that rather than a word that by dictionary definition means “mysterious or obscure.” I wouldn't even bother pointing this out normally, but he uses it enough times that I became annoyed. All I could think of was this:
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So, all in all, is this a good novel? Hell no. Is it amusing? In the same way that I delight in Ed Wood's movies. Is it worth a read? That depends on your tolerance for squishy slugs, gore and the word cryptically. 3/5 stars... because how the hell does one rate this sort of thing?...more
Back in the 1950s, there was a director by the name of William Castle who made several cheap horror films, but always managed to boost sales by addingBack in the 1950s, there was a director by the name of William Castle who made several cheap horror films, but always managed to boost sales by adding gimmicks to them. You see, he felt like film going should be an event, something people would talk about even if the story wasn’t that great. One of my favorite examples of Castle’s gimmicks was in the film 13 Ghosts. It featured what he called “Illusion-O” ghost viewers, given to audience members, which allowed them to either view ghosts, or chicken out during select scenes. The viewers were outfitted with red and blue cellophane strips (in other words, classic style 3D glasses), and prompts on screen to let audiences know when to hold them up to their eyes. If you wanted to see the ghosts, you looked at the screen through the red strip. If, on the other hand, you were too scared to see them, you could look through the blue strip. Another great example was in the film Mr. Sardonicus where audiences were handed cards at the theater and allowed to hold them up for the cinema’s staff and vote for the fate of the villain (though rumor has it there was only one ending filmed, and they just kept in the vote as a ruse). These sorts of gimmicks were bound to keep people coming even if they knew Castle’s films weren’t that great.
I bring this up because I think King must have been a Castle fan. Though I would say the average Stephen King book is better than your average William Castle film, King seems to take the occasional delight in shaking up your conventional novel release. In 1982 through 85 he worked on an unfinished project called The Plant, sending chapters out as Christmas Cards to his friends and then eventually publishing them in serialized form (and later trying them out as e-book chapters).
More famously there was the finished serial novel, The Green Mile, published in 6 editions, each around 100 pages and then later collected into a single volume.
And let us not forget Desperation and The Regulators, two novels published the same day, featuring the same monster and similar characters (the original hardback covers even linked up to make a single picture) but one published under his Backman pseudonym.
My point is, Stephen King occasionally loves his gimmicks… and why not? As long as the quality remains, they’re fun and get people talking. Cycle of the Werewolf is very much a gimmick book and a rather fascinating one at that.
Apparently is started off as a calendar. Each month was to feature a drawing, and a short story by King. Now anyone who has read King knows he often doesn’t do well with confined writing (how many novels has he published over 1000 pages?) and evidently he wrote more than would fit on a simple calendar, so a new gimmick was born. The book would be a short novel, featuring each chapter as a month (with a few more illustrations) and would follow one year of terror in a small town.
The result of said project… was pretty good. While it is not King’s finest work, given its short length, it packs quite a bit of punch and the illustrations by Bernie Wrightson are quite wonderful. Wrightson was one of the origional creators of DC's Swamp Thing comic and is no stranger to horror art. His artwork is very reminicent of the old EC horror comics and really do add a lot to the overall book. What could have been a simple short story is given the full treatment with these illustrations, and given the origional calander format, it really feels like something unique.
The only real complaints I have are due to its length. King doesn't spend much time telling the story (with some months being only three pages) and no characters really seem to come to life. In many ways it's like one of those videos you see on youtube that are just a compilation of film scenes involving horror movie kills, in this case featuring werewolf scenes. Some of the scenes are admittedly quite effective (made more so by the illustrations accompanying them) but at the same time, we can only care so much about characters who are only shown for a few short paragraphs. It's like the book was still restricted by the calendar format, even though it was already too long for that idea to work. Would the book have been better if King had given it the full big novel treatment? Most likely yes, but flaws and all, I still concede that it's a unique reading experience.
In closing: While it does not rank up with my favorite works by King, Cycle of the Werewolf is well worth a read. This is the sort of book that, while nothing particularly amazing, feels at the same time refreashingly different. It feels, much like a William Castle film, like an event. Something that becomes a wonderful conversation piece and something you will remember for the novelty factor alone....more
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