Book Reviews
Reviews for Horror/Thriller books, short stories and novels
Friday The 13th by Simon Hawke (Book Review)
It was going to be a fun summer at Camp Crystal. The young counselors were getting ready for it while they joked about the scary rumors attached to the isolated camp. But evil was waiting in the shadows as the sun set. The laughter turned to screams...the easy living to agonized dying. For the light had gone and the wind was howling and it was -- Friday The 13th. This is the novelization to the hit Horror movie Friday The 13th.
These novelizations to the Friday The 13th movies are one of the hardest items to win on Ebay. Unless you are willing to spend $75+ for a good copy... Continue reading
Funland by Richard Laymon (Book Review)
A growing group of leering, belligerent punks known as the Trolls are intimidating fun-seekers at the coastal amusement park Funland, and some of the local teens blame the Trolls for a series of missing persons and decide to fight back late one night. But what’s really behind the disappearances is waiting for them all in the funhouse. . .
I have read quite a few Richard Laymon books before I started reviewing novels here on the site and if you don’t know anything about the author or his books, then you should know that most of the time they involve multiple killers who love... Continue reading
Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomena from The Atlantic Paranormal Society (Book Review)
[rating:2.5/5]
The Atlantic Paranormal Society, also known as T.A.P.S., is the brainchild of two plumbers by day, paranormal investigators by night: Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. The duo can be seen on SciFi's Ghost Hunters. Here you can read the stories of some of their most memorable investigations. Featuring both cases depicted on Ghost Hunters and earlier T.A.P.S. adventures never told before now, this frightening collection will challenge everything you thought you knew about the spirit world. Continue reading
Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum by Stephen Prosapio (Book Review)
Zach Kalusky, host of Sci-D TV's Xavier Paranormal Investigators, is ecstatic when he's given the opportunity to explore the most haunted site in Chicago for a Halloween Special: Rosewood Asylum, a place plagued by decades of mysterious fires and unexplained events. It's Zach's dream investigation- but there's a catch: the network forces Xavier Paranormal Investigators to partner with their rivals, the Demon Hunters. Now, Zach must fight for both his show's integrity and his team's loyalty while trying to protect his own secret: that he, himself, is possessed.
About the only sort of movies these days that can scare me... Continue reading
Grave’s End – A True Ghost Story by Elaine Mercado (Book Review)
When Elaine Mercado and her first husband bought their home in Brooklyn, New York, in 1982, they had no idea that they and their young daughters were embarking on a thirteen year nightmare. From weird sounds and smells to creepy laughter, balls of light and suffocating dreams, this book is the true story of how one family tried to cope with living in a haunted house.
When it comes to movies, I don’t tend to read reviews before I go into it, unless the movie looks like it could be something stupid. When it comes to books I try to seek out... Continue reading
Haunted Houses by Edrick Thay (Book Review)
[rating:2.5/5]
With their blend of captivating history and ethereal residents, haunted houses have long been considered the most exciting haunted places. In this long-awaited collection, Edrick Thay explores the spirits in the most haunted properties, from poltergeists that have inspired major Hollywood movies to grumpy spirits awakened by renovations to historic homes. Continue reading
Haunted Massachusetts by Cheri Revai (Book Review)
[rating:3.5/5]
Massachusetts is home to many strange and ghostly stories handed down for generations, from vengeful witches and tragic ghosts to UFOs and monsters. This book tells the best stories of the state by region. Featuring: The Legend of Lucy Keyes, The Dover Demon, The Black Flash, The Lizzie Borden House and North America’s First UFO. Continue reading
Heart of Evil (Krewe of Hunters Series book #2) By Heather Graham (Book Review)
[rating:3.5/5]
Donegal Plantation is known for its captivating atmosphere, Civil War reenactments, haunting legends…and now a corpse swinging from the marble angel that marks its cemetery's most majestic vault. A corpse discovered in nearly the same situation as that of Marshall Donegal, the patriarch killed in a skirmish just before the Civil War. Desperate for help the plantation owner and his granddaughter, Ashley, turn to an elite team of paranormal investigators. Among the "Krewe of Hunters" is Ashley's ex-flame, Jake Mallory, a gifted musician with talent stretching far beyond the realm of the physical. Jake and Ashley are forced to risk everything to unravel secrets that will not stay buried—even in death.… Continue reading
Helter Skelter by Bryan Cassiday (Book Review)
[rating:2/5]
Evildoers run riot across the sun-drenched Southern California landscape in Helter Skelter. Zombies, vampires, and other wicked creatures wreak mayhem and carnage in these shocking horror short stories by Bryan Cassiday. Not all of these tales feature supernatural creatures. Some of the evil creatures are human--perhaps the most terrifying creature of all. These stories defy logic, yet they obey their own inexorable logic of fear. Continue reading
Incident On and Off a Mountain Road by Joe R. Lansdale (Book Review)
Chased through the woods at night by the maniacal Moon Face after a car accident, Ellen defends herself by rigging a series of booby traps she learned from her cruel survivalist husband. But her tricks may not be enough to stave off the creepy predator. This is a short story that was later adapted into an episode of Masters of Horror on Showtime in 2006.
I saw the Masters of Horror episode of this story back when it first came out. I watched a few more episodes and didn't like them. From my recollection, this one was the best one I had seen... Continue reading
Island by Richard Laymon (Book Review)
[rating:3.5/5]
When Rupert set out on a cruise with seven other people, he planned to swim a little, get some sun and relax. He certainly didn't plan to get shipwrecked. But after the yacht blew up, that's what happened -- he and his shipmates were stranded on a deserted island. Luckily for them, the island has plenty of fresh water and enough food to last until they get rescued. And luckily for Rupert, most of his fellow castaways are attractive women. But that's where his luck ran out -- because the castaways aren't alone on the island. In the dense jungle beyond the beach there's a maniac on the loose, a killer with a murderous heart, a clever mind and a taste for blood. Continue reading
Jest (It Waits No Longer) by David Warren (Book Review)
College student Nicole Carzon is stunned to find herself named heir to her grandfather's castle in England. When she and her friends arrive there, they are overwhelmed with the history and nostalgia pulsating from the 600-year-old Bodlum Castle. However, they soon come to realize, this castle has an ancient occupant that has been lying dormant and patiently waiting for hundreds of years. It waits no longer.
I was contacted by the author to give this one a shot, and quite frankly I had no idea what to expect from this one. The cover and name obviously had something to do with a Jester... Continue reading