book reviews
Book reviews for horror fans; weather a sleepless night with literary accounts of hauntings, possessions, zombies, vampires and beyond.
Coraline: The perfect horror book for kids
'Coraline' is a novella written by Neil Gaiman that was first published in 2001. It was adapted into a critically acclaimed stop-motion film in 2009. Now Gaiman is a household name amongst fans of fantasy fiction and rightfully so, with incredible works like the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, and The Graveyard Book, to say the least. With an ever-growing fanbase and multiple screen adaptations, let's have a look at the children's novella that helped catapult Gaiman into the spotlight.
By Paul Heder5 years ago in Horror
'IT' by Stephen King book review
'IT' is in King's top 5, without a shadow of a doubt. A lot would call it his best, over other classics like 'The Shining' and 'Misery'. It's macabre, nostalgic and terrifying but this doesn't mean it's without its flaws. Let's talk about IT.
By Paul Heder5 years ago in Horror
Book Review: Queens of the Abyss: Lost Stories from the Women of the Weird
Watch out. I'm about to get petty. “Queens of the Abyss” was something by Mike Ashley I was patiently waiting for and when it came out, I had already pre-ordered it. When I began reading it, I was really happy to see that there was a story by Mary Elizabeth Braddon - the writer of books like “Lady Audley’s Secret” and the horror story “The Shadow in the Corner”. When I started reading it, I noticed that not all of the tales were very much ‘weird’ especially in the context of what the book is stating it as. When I read the other tales, not all of them matched up to the Mary Elizabeth Braddon story I read in terms of the contextual weird. The ‘weird’ portrayed by the story by Mary Elizabeth Braddon refers to what is suggestive and supernatural rather than something that is blatant and simply existing which were so in other tales such as the stories by Marie Corelli.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Horror
Unsafe Words by Loren Rhoads
Tagline: Once you’ve done the most unforgivable thing, what will you do next? Book Description Provided by the Author: In the first full-length collection of her edgy, award-winning short stories, Loren Rhoads punctures the boundaries between horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction in a maelstrom of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. Ghosts, succubi, naiads, vampires, the Wild Hunt, and the worst predator in the woods stalk these pages, alongside human monsters who follow their cravings past sanity or sense.
By Spirit Guide Communication through the Art of Divination5 years ago in Horror
Editorial Report – A Haunted House. Virginia Woolf. 1921
Virginia Woolf’s 1921 shorty story - A Haunted House, is a well written ghost story, with a strong central theme. Whilst it is not gothic, it is clear that the piece has been influenced by Poe, with Woolf’s use of poetic devices and descriptions. This is a perfect example of how Woolf has tried to experiment with genre expectations, whilst not deviating much from her central plot. The themes of love, loss, struggle and connection are explored well in this short story, with a twist on the ‘ghost story’ genre.
By Rebecca Smith5 years ago in Horror
Breaking The Chains
Other than my discussion on the comparisons with “Bird Box” and this Pandemic, I haven’t done anything close to a straight forward book review as I’ve already been wanting to. Well, I never do anything straight forward, so here’s something to think about adding to your reading list, that oddly enough ties in, in a very frightening way, to the isolation we all feel right about now as we continue to more or less shelter in place during this Pandemic.
By Chloe Medeiros6 years ago in Horror
Someone SAW "Bird Box" Coming!!
In our current way of life, it's hard NOT to notice, how familiar it all appears. A cloth must always cover our face in order to survive an invisible monster. The only difference is, we're allowed to see, we just have to be careful what we breathe.
By Chloe Medeiros6 years ago in Horror
Book Review: My Best Friend's Exorcism
"I love you, Gretchen Lang. You are my reflection and my shadow and I will not let you go." Rating: 10/10 Synopsis: Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, and don't expect that to change anytime soon. However, one summer in the 1980's when the girls are in high school, Gretchen starts to act like a completely different person; like, the old Gretchen Abby knew and loved so much isn’t even there anymore. And this isn't the typical changes everyone goes through in high school, this is something...abnormal. As if that isn’t weird enough, creepy things start to happen whenever Gretchen is around - birds dying by the hundreds, her friends getting injured in the strangest ways, and much much worse. Abby soon comes to the conclusion that there can only be one thing wrong with her best friend: she’s possessed.
By Veronica Traggiai6 years ago in Horror
