I could reread this book with a notepad and a highlighter and a family tree and a timeline, and I think it would still be a heady, befuddling, gloriouI could reread this book with a notepad and a highlighter and a family tree and a timeline, and I think it would still be a heady, befuddling, gloriously symphonic confusion of ghosts, devils, and deaths. ...more
Cursed Objects is a strange delight largely due to J. W. Ocker's wry humor. Ocker mostly works to debunk or discredit the origin stories for cursed itCursed Objects is a strange delight largely due to J. W. Ocker's wry humor. Ocker mostly works to debunk or discredit the origin stories for cursed items, but he often concludes excerpts on individual items with something along the lines of: "This object isn't really cursed, but then again, it could be." Good times.
Now, more than objects can be cursed. People can. Places can. But for the purposes of this journey, I'm interested in objects that are cursed. I generally followed the terrifying maxim, "Could I inadvertently pick it up at a flea market or an antiques store and bring it into my home?" or, "Could I brush up against it in a museum and be forever damned?" And, with a handful of notable exceptions, that's exactly what is included in this book.
So, beware. Because it's not just ancient artifacts looted from old coffins buried deep in exotic climes that will ruin your life. It could also be the "I Hate Mondays" coffee mug on your desk that your mom bought you at a garage sale.
At first glance, The Things She's Seen looks like a morsel, just a slim bite of a book about an Aboriginal ghost, a heartbroken father who works as a At first glance, The Things She's Seen looks like a morsel, just a slim bite of a book about an Aboriginal ghost, a heartbroken father who works as a detective, and a strange girl who speaks in riddles. But upon closer inspection, it's a substantial meal, with meaty themes and a satiating mystery. What begins as the story of an unexplained fire unfolds into a layered, harrowing tale of tragedy and triumph with elements of magical realism in the vein of Life of Pi.
Easily consumed, but not quickly forgotten, The Thing's She's Seen is a keening cry for justice with enduring characters and a remarkable conclusion.
I am not glass thrown against a rock. I am the rock. I can endure. As long as I remember where I come from. Who I come from.*
- *Note: Quote taken from an Advanced Reader's Copy....more
They grew me inside of my mother, which was unusual, because she was dead.
There's a lot to love about Fine's debut novel, a book that blends magic
They grew me inside of my mother, which was unusual, because she was dead.
There's a lot to love about Fine's debut novel, a book that blends magical realism with lore. The opening chapters are among its most dazzling: a child with a peculiar, dare I say it magical talent; a foreboding, two-hundred year old house; and a tangled wood with a secret that spans generations.
Unfortunately, the narrative is weakened by the introduction of a secondary character whose presence disrupts an otherwise marvelous book. From that point forward, the characters shift into one-dimensional cutouts ensnared in an unoriginal love triangle and whose actions are wholly predictable.
And that ending. Whew! What a letdown.
Amusing pops of macabre imagery, an enticing mystery, and bursts of sumptuous prose hint at the wonders of Fine's imagination and make this a worthwhile read. All in all, a promising debut. I'm keen to see what Fine publishes next.
The stretches of wood that had marked the first leg of our travels had grown smaller and farther between, usurped by long laps of moorland, purpled with heather and spackled with rock. It was a landscape more lonesome and majestic than any I had known. If the forest filled me with awe at the earth, the strength of the life that burst through it, this country was the saga of the sky: its infinity, the way the clouds hung low like honey as it settled into tea. Even the walking could have been heavenly, were it not for thirst and hunger, and the boys' continued bickering about whether or not we were lost.
to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
Set in South Africa in the year 2064, The Prey of to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
Set in South Africa in the year 2064, The Prey of Gods unveils the otherworldly circumstances that draw five unusual characters together. Muzi is a teenager who just got his hands on a hallucinogenic drug that causes unorthodox side effects. Nomvula is a little girl with golden eyes and an epic secret. Stoker is a councilman by day and something entirely different by night. Riya is a world-famous pop singer with tremendous daddy issues. And Sydney delights in consuming the fear that emanates from dying humans.
Those old movies have become her escape from this dull excuse for an existence. She watches her television now, rapt in her hovel of an apartment as the corny, old-time music crackles through her stereo speakers. She laughs at the slapstick comedy and tries to put her crappy day at the nail salon behind her, while avoiding thoughts of the custodial overseer job she’ll go to this evening.
“Please,” comes a weak voice from the man currently stretched across her coffee table, “I beg of you. Let me go.”
And then there’s that distraction.
Sydney’s surprised he still has the strength to speak, much less the will to live with all the hell she’s put him through – skin flayed like a tuna, legs bent at half a dozen impossible angles. She tunes his moaning out and savors the fear lapping at his skin like viscous waves breaking on the beach after an oil spill. She absorbs it – foul, thick, and dark.
With wry humor and captivating plot pacing, Drayden blends science fiction, fantasy, mythology, an urban setting and paranormal entities to create an exceptional debut novel.
The Prey of Gods is the perfect read for anyone in the mood for something weird, something fantastic, or something that weaves the best elements of multiple genres into one spellbinding book. - Special thanks to for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Eurydice (Edie) works as a "body" for the Elysian Society, a private business that reunites paying clients with their deceased loved ones. By donning Eurydice (Edie) works as a "body" for the Elysian Society, a private business that reunites paying clients with their deceased loved ones. By donning items that once belonged to the dead and swallowing a pill called a lotus, Edie slips into a state akin to being unconscious while her body is overtaken by a dead person's spirit. Her latest client, Patrick Braddock, wishes to speak with his deceased wife, Sylvia. Edie obliges, but the more she gives her body over to Sylvia, the blurrier the line between their two lives becomes.
Kneading my hair during a shower one night, I become aware that I'm touching a stranger's body. As limp and heavy as an animal's stripped pelt. A corpse's hair.
The greatest element of The Possessions is the writing. Everything is sharp and sensory, concise and immediate.
I hesitated. "I'm single at the moment." "At the moment," she repeated. "But you'd like to meet someone." Her tone shifted into a glossy lightness, with an edge to it. A piece of shiny foil with a sharp tip. "I prefer to be on my own," I said.
The lipstick on my mouth is soft, intimate pressure. Its tip is blunted from use. There's a subtle taste lingering beneath the medicinal sweetness. Sour and human. I think of the saliva and skin particles that must linger on the lipstick's surface. Nausea clenches at my jaw.
The author is adept at depicting sexual desire in ways that are exquisite for being sublimely understated.
He lifts his sandwich to his mouth. When he lowers his hands, a dab of grease stays on his cheek. He flicks his thumb across the spot, then sucks his finger clean. I look at his glistening fingertip and cross my legs beneath the table.
As far as protagonists go, Edie is about as interesting as a blank piece of paper. On the one hand, her simplicity makes her dull and lifeless; on the other hand, her decision to work as a body - her willingness to gift herself to other people to help ease their grief - makes her a respectable martyr. However, any redeeming merit found in her sacrifice is faded by her eventual revelation that (view spoiler)[ she elects to be a body in order to escape her own tragic past (hide spoiler)].
Since I joined the Elysian Society, my emotions have evolved. They've gone from unwieldy to finely attuned. Ready to snap into nothingness. What used to be a struggle is now a reflex.
Carefully guarded secrets and mysteries are teased out and unraveled in slow and subtle steps, like a spider creeping over one's skin. If readers aren't paying attention, they may not even notice it. The overall pacing of The Possessions is so casual that it's liable to lower the blood pressure of its readers. It rarely feels as though the story is building toward anything. The stakes are low. And the payoff is minimal.
Sharp writing meets tepid pacing in this debut literary thriller....more
Lucy Carlyle has two special Talents: she can hear the voices of the dead and she can experience memories of the dead by touching belongings they onceLucy Carlyle has two special Talents: she can hear the voices of the dead and she can experience memories of the dead by touching belongings they once owned. Normally she puts her Talent to use for an organization that investigates paranormal phenomena, but when a tragic incident leaves her jobless, she wanders into the office of Lockwood & Co. hoping to find work. There she teams up with Anthony Lockwood and George Cubbins to tackle solving the mystery behind one of the most notoriously haunted houses in London.
With much talk of death, murder, and maligned spirits, The Screaming Staircase is worthy of its classification as a middle grade horror novel. Creepy events often arrive with an unnerving suddenness and evoke a satisfying sense of being spooked. Stroud brings numerous eerie settings to life with descriptions of dark hallways, whispered voices, slamming doors, and blood dripping from walls.
In fact, it wasn't at all an ugly hallway; in bright sunlight it might have looked quite pleasant. But not so much now, with the last light from the door panes stretching out like skewed coffins on the floor in front of us; and with our shadows neatly framed inside them; and with the manner of old Mr. Hope's death in this very place hanging heavy on our minds.
Ever since the Problem - an event that happened decades ago - supernatural beings have wandered the earth, roused by their own accord whenever night falls and reaching the apex of their power at midnight. Stroud's version of a ghost-riddled London is fleshed out and richly imagined with civilians wearing protective charms and herbs wherever they go, an extensive list of paranormal entities on the loose, and commonly known rules for tackling a varied array of supernatural phenomena.
When entering a house occupied by a Visitor, it's always best to get in quick. That's one of the first rules you learn. Never hesitate, never linger on the threshold.
And there was a switch on the wall, right there. But we didn't attempt to use it. You see, a second rule you learn is this: electricity interferes. It dulls the senses and makes you weak and stupid. It's much better to watch and listen in the dark.
Unfortunately, Lucy Carlyle makes for a dull narrator. She has no sparkle. Nothing that makes her special or memorable. She is regularly overshadowed by her gallant associate, Anthony Lockwood. Even dumpy George Cubbins, a gross boy who's the butt of every joke, makes a more amusing addition to the story.
Further, The Screaming Staircase is bloated with exposition. At almost four hundred pages, the book tends to drag at times. To be fair, this is the first book in a series, so hopefully the books that follow will require less time to establish backstory. Where the surplus of exposition is occasionally wearisome, the author makes up for it with his carefully crafted sentences:
Burning papers, ignited by the first surge from the canister, were plucked aloft, blown directly at my face. I batted them away, watched them whirl off, willed by something unseen. They blew in squalls across the room, landed on books and shelves, on desk and curtains, on curls of wallpaper, on bone-dry files and letters, on dusty cushions on the chair . . . Like stars at dusk, hundreds of little fires winked into being, one after another, high, low, and all around.
Finally, a glossary at the back of the book introduces young readers to related terms like ectoplasm, death-glow, ghost-lock, and more.
The Screaming Staircase is a promising start to a new series....more
to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
The Haunting of Hill House is a slightly spooky re to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
The Haunting of Hill House is a slightly spooky read that follows four strangers into the depths of a haunted house with a mind of its own.
"No one knows, even, why some houses are called haunted." "What else could you call Hill House?" Luke demanded. "Well - disturbed, perhaps. Leprous. Sick. Any of the popular euphemisms for insanity; a deranged house is a pretty conceit."
What makes The Haunting of Hill House compelling is the book's narrative voice:
This house, which seemed somehow to have formed itself, flying together into its own powerful pattern under the hands of its builders, fitting itself into its own construction of lines and angles, reared its great head back against the sky without concession to humanity. It was a house without kindness, never meant to be lived in, not a fit place for people or for love or for hope.
With skillful use of descriptive words, the author repeatedly invokes negative associations with places or objects that are otherwise mundane:
[The room] had an unpleasantly high ceiling, and a narrow tiled fireplace which looked chill in spite of the fire which Luke had lighted at once; the chairs in which they sat were rounded and slippery, and the light coming through the colored beaded shades of the lamps sent shadows into the corners.
As far as chilling elements are concerned, the book offers very little in the way of supernatural events. The Haunting of Hill House is more readily a psychological thriller than a ghost story. To say the book conveys the descent into madness is to use too scintillating a phrase to describe the plot. The effect of Hill House on the various characters evolve subtly, with infinitesimal shifts in their psyches.
Though it moves at a moderate pace, The Haunting of Hill House is a beautifully crafted tale about the dark corridors and locked rooms in the unconscious mind....more
Ghostland is a not-spooky, but thoroughly entertaining, examination of ghost stories and haunted locales throughout America with the express intent ofGhostland is a not-spooky, but thoroughly entertaining, examination of ghost stories and haunted locales throughout America with the express intent of debunking the paranormal and better understanding how ghost stories reflect on our past and present.
Given the book's dark cover and the timing of its release, it seems necessary to reiterate that there's nothing particularly creepy about this book. The author dug through family trees and historic records until he unearthed every inconsistency or blatant lie associated with famous ghost stories or well-known haunted locations. He actively debunks one ghost story after another.
The author posits that ghost stories are malleable, changing throughout the years to accommodate society's various needs:
Paying attention to the way ghost stories change through the years -- and why those changes are made -- can tell us a great deal about how we face our fears and our anxieties. Even when these stories have a basis in fact and history, there's often significant embellishment and fabrication before they catch on in our imagination, and teasing out these alterations is key to understanding how ghosts shape our relationship to the past.
In addition to stories of ghosts, the author examines several haunted locations, revealing details spanning from the evolution of their (sometimes) bizarre construction to their rise in popularity as a notorious haunt. The more unusual the house, the author states, the more likely it'll cause unease among its neighbors and the more we seem to require some kind of story to explain its construction. Additional locations explored include haunted bars and brothels, hotels and restaurants, asylums, graveyards, and more.
Though it doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the book, it sometimes feels as though the author drifts off on a tangent. For example, a chapter that begins by introducing a notoriously haunted house eventually segues to a discussion of Spiritualism, which ultimately leads to an examination of a woman's right to vote. These shifts in narrative are never a point of contention for the reader, because all of the information is well-researched and tied together seamlessly.
This is how ghost stories are born, after all: not from a complete story so much as from bits and pieces that don't quite add up, a kaleidoscope of menace and unease that coalesce in unpredictable ways.
Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places is a skilfully crafted and compelling book that will appeal to fans of American history, trivia, haunted locales and ghosts. ...more
When They Fade is the story of two girls -- one alive, one dead -- whose lives are about to intersect.
What sets this book apart is how the author payWhen They Fade is the story of two girls -- one alive, one dead -- whose lives are about to intersect.
What sets this book apart is how the author pays tribute to the little details that bring a story to life by evoking the senses, like the squelching of mud or the way fog coils around one's ankles:
As he killed me, the last thing I smelled was the wildflowers. The meadow was full of them. Millions. Seeds stuck in my hair. Flattened beneath my back, tickling my bare arms and legs, as my blood dripped down to nourish their roots. They'd be dead now. Wilted away as winter sucked the warmth from their stems.
I used to stand right in the shallow water and wiggle my toes until they were covered. The moist sand was grainy and cushy against my skin. It made a wet sucking noise when I freed myself. Perfect for a hot day.
This book is gripping from page one and remains thoroughly entertaining all the way to the final page. The tension is subtle but consistent throughout. Occasionally the book hits the creepy factor quite nicely. And the stakes are always high. This compelling read is highly recommended. ...more
Otherworld Chills is a collection of short stories where fantasy creatures abound, the women are sex-crazed, and the hunter often becomes the hunted.
TOtherworld Chills is a collection of short stories where fantasy creatures abound, the women are sex-crazed, and the hunter often becomes the hunted.
The stories varied greatly, such that individual reviews seemed necessary:
Brazen
This is the weakest story of the collection, but if the reader can push through it, an assortment of entertaining stories follow. Brazen is a difficult read due to its excessive exposition and the extensive reliance on telling rather than showing.
The strength of this story is the author's ability to craft a terrifying villain:
"He didn't release her. He let her run so he could chase her." "Why?" "Because that's his idea of fun."
Chaotic
The writing improves from this point forward. Chaotic is an entertaining heist story with a compelling first person narrative from the perspective of a paranormal female. There are moments when the writing is delightfully sensory: Everything went dark. Images, smells, and sounds flickered past, hard and fast, like physical blows. A forest -- the shriek of an owl -- the loamy smell of wet earth -- the thunder of running paws -- a flash of black fur -- a snarl -- teeth flashing -- the sharp taste of -
Amityville Horrible
This haunting tale is the star of the show.
The type of paranormal characters one can anticipate in this story hearken from a realm where anything seems possible: Luckily, I have a very effective watchdog -- my ghostly bodyguard, Eve Levine. Dark witch, half-demon, and ascended angel. Yes, angel, which might be the scariest of the three. She has only to show up, Sword of Judgement in hand, and most spirits decide they really don't want to talk to me after all.
Amityville Horrible is best read after dark, alone, with a flashlight.
Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word
This story has a promising start with the appearance of a mysterious woman, but the story fizzles thereafter. It's possible this story is too reliant on history of the characters developed in the preceding books (this is, after all, book five in the series). On it's own, this story feels a bit pointless. For those who've read the preceding books, this is likely a thrilling follow-up on a villainous character.
Off-Duty Angel
This story is fascinating for the nature of its supernatural characters, but the story makes a few jarring sharp turns -- pivoting entirely based on coincidence. It's the realm where the story takes place, and the creatures in it, that make Off-Duty Angel a page turner.
The Puppy Plan
There's a sweet simplicity to this heartwarming tail tale.
Baby Boom
In a surprisingly sentimental conclusion to the collection of stories, the topic of pregnancy and the prospect of parenthood are discussed in a fantasy setting. Multiple perspectives on the topic are explored with poignant open-mindedness.
Overall, Otherworld Chills is a sensual romp through a realm of fascinating fantasy creatures.
Special thanks to Penguin Random House, First to Read, and Kelley Armstrong for providing an ARC of Otherworld Chills in exchange for this honest review. ...more
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