SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES Review

Review:

Where I live it is still warm, and the leaves on the trees have yet to turn. Because of that, reading books like this is how I get into the Halloween spirit. There is a certain chill in the air here, yes, but it is not quite autumnal — yet. But while I was reading this classic novel about an evil carnival that has rolled into a small town a week before Halloween, and the two young boys who must fight the darkest fears they’ve ever faced, I felt the embrace of fall. And it was magical.

Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite writers, and perhaps my biggest inspiration. He was not just a wordsmith; he was a magician, dealing in whimsy and wonder and nostalgia and fear. In none of his works are his skills more evident than in this, one of his most notable releases. I don’t know of any author (aside from Stephen King, maybe) who writes about childhood with such accurate precision — and in such minimalistic language. In Bradbury’s writing is a certain economy of language that, I am sure, is much harder to pull off than it appears. Not a word is wasted here.

Perfect for the Halloween season (or any time of year, really), this is a landmark coming-of-age tale about friendship, fear, magic, and the strange alluring wonder that comes with small town carnivals. I am so glad I capped off my Halloween Bingo reading with this!

Read for ‘Classic Horror’ in Halloween Bingo.

Original post:
theguywholovesbooks.booklikes.com/post/1613087/something-wicked-this-way-comes-review

Reading progress update: I’ve read 1 out of 293 pages.

Final read of the Halloween season! Let’s go.

Original post:
theguywholovesbooks.booklikes.com/post/1613047/reading-progress-update-i-ve-read-1-out-of-293-pages

WE ARE ALWAYS WATCHING Review

Review:

After having read so much excellent horror in the last few days, this book just did not measure up. Perhaps I would have liked it more had I not binged on classics like Burnt Offerings and The Girl Next Door. Who knows. What I do know is I was intrigued for the first thirty percent or so of this book, but feel it quickly devolved into silliness. I found myself skimming, and so happy when I was finished.

I guess I just couldn’t buy into this one’s premise. A family hard on their luck must move in with Grandpa Abraham, a grumpy old man who lives in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, PA. The family, used to the city life in NYC, just adjust. From the start strange written warnings and notes are left everywhere: “We are watching you.” “We are the guardians.” Etc. Naturally, mother and son are upset but Dad (who grew up in this house and has dealt with this his whole life) just writes it off. And . . . they just kinda go along with it, let it keep happening? They don’t call the police, or anything. It just did not feel believable to me.

And I saw the ending coming from a mile away. It’s frustrating being able to predict a book’s ending.

I just don’t really have much to say about this one. The synopsis made it sound creepier than it is. And I don’t know if this really classified as a ‘ghost story’ but I’m using it for ghosts in Halloween Bingo because that sort of plot was promised to me. I am very disappointed. I’m still shaken by Burnt Offerings (a far, far, far superior scary house story!) and this just didn’t measure up. At all. And, sadly, I don’t think it’s good on its own merits either.

Original post:
theguywholovesbooks.booklikes.com/post/1613044/we-are-always-watching-review

Reading progress update: I’ve read 1%.

Thought I owned Hell House but I don’t. I’ll read this for ‘ghost’ instead.

Original post:
theguywholovesbooks.booklikes.com/post/1612758/reading-progress-update-i-ve-read-1

Reading progress update: I’ve read 1%.

Reading for ‘Ghost’ in Halloween Bingo.

Original post:
theguywholovesbooks.booklikes.com/post/1612744/reading-progress-update-i-ve-read-1

Bingo Card Update – TWO BINGOS!

Called
9/1/17-Ghost
9/3/17-Cozy Mystery
9/5/17-In the Dark, Dark Woods
9/7/17-Horror
9/9/17-Locked Room Mystery
9/11/17-Murder Most Foul
9/13/17-Witches
9/15/17-Werewolves
9/17/17-Modern Masters of Horror
9/19/17-Terrifying Women
9/21/17-Diverse Voices
9/23/17-Haunted Houses
9/25/17-Serial Spree Killer
9/27/17-Terror in a Small Town
9/29/17-Aliens
10/1/2017-Darkest London
10/3/2017-Gothic
10/5/2017-80s Horror
10/7/2017-Classic Noir
10/9/2017-Chilling Children
10/11/2017-Magical Realism
10/13/2017-Romantic Suspense
10/15/2017-Vampires
10/17/2017-Country House Mystery
10/19/2017-Amateur Sleuth
10/21/17-Demons
10/23/17-The Dead Will Walk
10/25/17-Monsters
10/27/17-Classic Horror
10/29/17-Supernatural

Key
Red = Called but not read
Green = Read but not called
Blue = Called and read

Books Read
The Bedding of Boys, Edward Lorn. (Serial Killer Spree)
Strange Weather, Joe Hill. (Modern Masters of Horror)
Pet Sematary, Stephen King. (In the Dark, Dark Woods)
The Devil Crept In, Ania Ahlborn. (Terrifying Women)
Cabal, Clive Barker. (Darkest London)
Blanky, Kealan Patrick Burke. (Witches)
The Omen, David Seltzer. (Chilling Children)
Sleeping Beauties, Stephen and Owen King. (Supernatural)
Turtles All the Way Down, John Green. (Amateur Sleuth)
Night Stone, Rick Hautala. (Haunted House)
The Cool Kids, Jason Pellegrini. (Free Space)
The Town, Bentley Little. (Terror in a Small Town)
Revival, Stephen King. (Horror Genre)
Bone White, Ronald Malfi. (Murder Most Foul)
They Thirst, Robert McCammon. (Vampires)
By Bizarre Hands, Joe R. Lansdale. (‘80s Horror)
The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum. (American Horror Story)
Suffer the Children, Craig DiLouie. (The Dead Will Walk)
Burnt Offerings, Robert Marasco. (Gothic)

WOW. Proud of myself! I’ve got two more books planned.

Original post:
theguywholovesbooks.booklikes.com/post/1612741/bingo-card-update-two-bingos

BURNT OFFERINGS Review

Review:

What scares me most, as a horror reader, is not gore or on-screen frights; what gets under my skin is the unseen. The imagination is a helluva thing, and mine is good at creating terrors worse than what is usually on the page. Perhaps this is why horror from the 1960s and 1970s is my favorite: it isn’t gratuitous or in your face with blood and screams . . . instead, it relies on the reader using his or her own imagination to fill in the blanks.

Burnt Offerings is one such novel.

This is quiet horror at its finest. The Rolfes — Ben, Marian, and son David, as well as Ben’s aunt Elizabeth — rent a “unique” summer home for two months at a steal. The estate is two hundred acres of water-front property. The mansion has tons of rooms, endless hallways, a pool, the finest furniture and dishes. It is a marvelous place, especially compared to the Rolfes’ cramped Queens apartment. But, of course, some things are too good to be true . . .

A rather unrelenting descent into obsession and insanity, this novel is a force to be reckoned with and should get more recognition. It seems to be largely forgotten these days. An obvious inspiration for stories like The Shining, this is an unnerving tale I won’t soon forget.

Read for ‘Gothic’ in Halloween Bingo.

Original post:
theguywholovesbooks.booklikes.com/post/1612733/burnt-offerings-review

Reading progress update: I’ve read 102 out of 277 pages.

Not yet sure which square to use this one for as I already have my ‘Classic Horror’ planned. ‘Gothic’ maybe?

Original post:
theguywholovesbooks.booklikes.com/post/1612597/reading-progress-update-i-ve-read-102-out-of-277-pages

SUFFER THE CHILDREN Review

Review:

One day, out of the blue, all the pre-pubescent children in the world drop dead. Three days later, they come back to life — and the only thing that can keep them alive is blood. Desperate to keep their young ones, parents and family friends and relatives donate as much blood as possible . . . but soon enough, civilization breaks down, for this is a vicious cycle. A pint of blood is good for only an hour or so of life. And in the meantime, the children’s bodies are decomposing, despite the fact that they are, in some form, alive.

Okay, this book is pulpy as hell. But I had fun. It’s an interesting take on the zombie apocalypse genre for sure, and I could not put it down. This one is tense from the first page (the reader can almost hear the clock ticking toward the inevitable). It is more than a little cheesy, but it also packs some punches.

What kept me turning the pages was the shifting perspectives. We get bits of the story from Joan and Doug, parents of two young kids affected by what is known as Herod’s Disease; Ramona, a single mother and career woman; David, a local pediatrician; and, from time to time, a couple of the children in their resurrected state. The story unfolds at a brisk clip, and I was never uninvolved. However, I really did not care for Doug. He was just obnoxious and bitchy. And the author pounds the reader over the head with the idea that Doug is sure everyone is out to get him, always has been — but we never really see why. I just didn’t care about him. He oozed with toxic masculinity and I found myself sighing when the nice shifted to his perspective. Blah.

This is a really fun, creepy read. I do feel the story’s potential was not fully realized (it could have been much gorier and scarier, in my opinion) and Doug drove me batty! But I had a nice time.

Read for ‘The Dead Will Walk’ in Halloween Bingo.