gilda_elise

A little door that opens to a world of fairy tale wonders becomes the blood-drenched stomping ground for a gang of hunters in “Faun.” A grief-stricken librarian climbs behind the wheel of an antique Bookmobile to deliver fresh reads to the dead in “Late Returns.” In “By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain,” two young friends stumble on the corpse of a plesiosaur at the water’s edge, a discovery that forces them to confront the inescapable truth of their own mortality . . . and other horrors that lurk in the water’s shivery depths. And tension shimmers in the sweltering heat of the Nevada desert as a faceless trucker finds himself caught in a sinister dance with a tribe of motorcycle outlaws in “Throttle,” co-written with Stephen King.

I’m not normally one for short stories, but I do so enjoy Hill’s writing. And there were some in this collection that I enjoyed immensely. Throttle, which is the only story that doesn’t have a supernatural or sci-fi slant, is really quite good, but I enjoyed the stories that did wander off into strange avenues. Dark Carousel, Faun, and especially Late Return are favorites when it came to the supernatural, but it was the sci-fi story,You Are Released, that was my favorite.

Of course there were those that I didn’t care for, some not at all, mostly those whose endings were a bit too dark for me; YMMV on that.

Still, I felt the book leaned enough into the worth reading column. Maybe because many of the stories are quite long, sort of pushing out into novella territory, that I was able to overlook the stories that I wasn’t all that crazy about.

( Mount TBR 2025 Book Links 1-20 )

21. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
22. America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War by H.W. Brands
23. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
24. The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
25. A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen
26. Lost and Found by Marilyn Harris
27. Strange Weather: Four Short Novels by Joe Hill
28. Three Wild Dogs by Markus Zusak
29. Full Throttle by Joe Hill

Goodreads 30

A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative, Joe Hill

Snapshot is the disturbing story of a Silicon Valley adolescent who finds himself threatened by “The Phoenician,” a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories, snap by snap.

A young man takes to the skies to experience his first parachute jump. . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems animated by a mind of its own in Aloft.

On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. Rain explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads out across the country and around the world.

In Loaded, a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it. When an out-of-control summer blaze approaches the town, he will reach for the gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.

I’m loving Joe Hill’s work almost as much as his father’s (which he probably hates hearing.) I’ll read anything he writes. Haven’t been disappointed yet. Certainly not with this collection. I especially like that they’re more novellas than short stories. And while they tend to veer more toward science fiction, they all have touches of horror.

As I see them:

Snapshot: Creepy and horrifying, yet bittersweet, too, as the protagonist finds love in the most unexpected place. I was hoping for a different ending, but things don’t always work out the way we want. No matter my feelings about it, it made sense.

Loaded: Watching as, step by step, the inevitable happens. Terrifying how likely something like this could happen. Actually, may have already happened. I hated the ending, though.

Aloft: A unique story, more sci-fi than horror. I loved how the young man works out as to what’s going on, and how to deal with it.

Rain: Another more sci-fi than horror, though horrifying enough. I loved the main protagonist; she could definitely take care of herself, though a little help is always welcome. Didn’t see the ending to this one coming. I think it was my favorite story of the four.

From an author “destined to become a titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), a haunting debut—soon to be a Netflix original movie—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit.

As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel “is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it” (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).

Such an eerie, terrifying book. It’s been a long time since a horror story was able to creep me out so much that I was hesitant to turn off the lights. What was real and what wasn’t was so intertwined with things that do happen to people that you could easily start to wonder about your own reality.

The story becomes unsettling almost from the start, but slowly turns to horror for Eve. Because of her past, she does things that most people wouldn’t, and soon she’s caught in a maelstrom of terrifying proportions. I guess the main takeaway is never let strangers into your house.

Unfortunately, there is a downside to the book. A lot of what’s going on is never explained. Maybe the author wanted the reader to decide, but without that missing explanations it’s impossible to do so. And just when you decide that, yes, this is what’s going on, the author throws in another red herring.

I’m not counting on it, but a sequel would really help.

( Mount TBR 2025 Book Links 1-20 )

21. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Goodreads 21

Adapted as movie/series
1. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

As Labor Day approaches, four inhabitants of a New Jersey shore town are preoccupied with upcoming changes in their lives, as well as with questions regarding the death of their mutual friend, Julie Etler, in a fire in a horror house on an amusement pier. The questions multiply when one friend, Devin Graham, receives a message on his answering machine from Julie and when another sees her on the beach. Other inexplicable accidents and deaths compel Devin to explore the burned horror house.

The book starts out pretty slow, to the point that I almost gave up on it. I’m glad I didn’t. There’s a creeping horror connected to the old horror house that now sits, burned and abandoned, on the pier. Dread slowly builds, as the four friends confront the evil that has entered their lives.

There are many questioned to be answered, though unfortunately not all are, which is probably the greatest flaw in the book. I want to know why things are happening and why Julie is appearing to her friends. I want to know why the house burned down, and why it has suddenly turned evil.

I did like how the characters’ backgrounds and hopes for the future are intertwined with what is going on. Somehow, who they are is very much a part of that future, just in a way they have no way of knowing.

Mount TBR 2025 Book Links

Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
2. The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy #1) by Pat Barker
3. Withered + Sere (Immemorial Year #1) by T.J. Klune
4. The Traitor's Son by Wendy Johnson
5. All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin
6. You Like It Darker by Stephen King, Thomas Hayman (Illustrations)
7. The Fireman by Joe Hill
8. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
9. Lark Ascending by Silas House
10. Memorials by Richard Chizmar
11. The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History by Serhii Plokhy
12. Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
13. The Border by Robert McCammon
14. The 2084 Report: An Oral History of the Great Warming by James Lawrence Powell
15. Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
16. All Over the Town by R. F. Delderfield
17. The Last Days of Richard III and the Fate of His DNA: The Book That Inspired the Dig by John Ashdown-Hill
18. Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean #2) by T.J. Klune
19. Blood of the Children by Alan Rodgers
20. For Fear of the Night by Charles L. Grant

Goodreads 20

A Ghost Story
1. For Fear of the Night by Charles L. Grant

In the small town of Green Hill, all the children belong to an evil, magical, and entirely secret cult. For generations, every child in Green Hill has belonged to this cult until he reaches puberty. Then all evil, and all memory of evil acts committed, disappears. Only the children know of the ceremonies that take place on moonlit nights and in the caves that lie underneath the town's foundations...

Ben Tompkins has never seen a nicer bunch of people than the ones he met in Green Hill. That’s why he decided to move himself and his son, Jimmy, there when his wife had a horrifying mental breakdown. Ben doesn’t know about the children of Green Hill. But Jimmy is about to discover their terrifying secret…and pay the price for that knowledge.

Maybe not the worst horror story I’ve read, but it comes pretty close. I really could have done without the explicit torture. He especially seemed to have a thing about torturing animals, though the main character goes through so much I don’t really see how he could have survived. I had to skim a lot of that.

All that is too bad, because the premise showed promise. But much of it went unexplained, so the reader is left with some basic questions unanswered. Plus, the characters, the children especially, were pretty two dimensional.

I’ve read other books by this author and enjoyed them. So maybe this being his first novel has something to do with it not being up to par. Fortunately, it’s a fast read.

Frightening Cover
1. Blood of the Children

2025 Monthly Motif.jpg

APR- “Spring Cleaning”

Read a book that’s been on your TBR (to be read) list for two or more years.

Blood of the Children by Alan Rodgers

World Fantasy award-winning, bestselling author Robert McCammon makes a triumphant return to the epic horror and apocalyptic tone reminiscent of his books Swan Song and Stinger in this gripping new novel, The Border, a saga of an Earth devastated by a war between two marauding alien civilizations.

But it is not just the living ships of the monstrous Gorgons or the motion-blurred shock troops of the armored Cyphers that endanger the holdouts in the human bastion of Panther Ridge. The world itself has turned against the handful of survivors, as one by one they succumb to despair and suicide or, even worse, are transformed by otherworldly pollution into hideous Gray Men, cannibalistic mutants driven by insatiable hunger. Into these desperate circumstances comes an amnesiac teenaged boy who names himself Ethan—a boy who must overcome mistrust and suspicion to master unknowable powers that may prove to be the last hope for humanity's salvation. Those same powers make Ethan a threat to the warring aliens, long used to fearing only each other, and thrust him and his comrades into ever more perilous circumstances.

A major new novel from the unparalleled imagination of Robert McCammon, this dark epic of survival will both thrill readers and make them fall in love with his work all over again.

I love McCammon’s work. Whether historical fiction, science fiction, or horror, he always brings his worlds to life. This one, a blend of horror and sci-fi, is no exception. The plot, though not his first foray into a post-apocalyptic saga, is still imaginative and leads the reader into surprising twists and turns. But even more compelling are the characters; in that regard, McCammon is up their with King.

There is Dave McKane, a rough and taciturn man who hides a tender persona; John Douglas, or JayDee as he’s affectionately known, doing the best he can to doctor those injured, both physically and emotionally; Olivia Quintero, a strong woman who holds their fortress together. But best of all is Ethan, a young boy who doesn’t remember who he is, and wonders what he is. There are others, both good and bad (though even the bad ones had some good,) who move our small band of heroes forward to their ultimate destination.

There were clues as the ending drew nearer, yet it was (almost) a perfect surprise. I read the book almost ten years ago, so much of it was like reading it for the first time.

Cosmic Horror

1. The Border by Robert McCammon

1983: Three students from a small college embark on a week-long road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another.

But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can’t help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents…or is something terrifying at work here?

I really do have to remember to stay away from horror books whose protagonists are teenagers. Because, no matter if the book is noted as a YA or not, chances are the plot is going to be moved forward by those characters doing some really dumb things. And, boy, do they ever.

Would an adult have heeded the warnings given? I’m inclined to think so. I know I would have. And that’s what often made this book hard to read. It’s not that I didn’t like the characters, because I did. But too often I found myself wanting to shake them and yell, “What the hell is wrong with you?!!” But I knew what was wrong with them. Or at least I assume that’s what the author wanted us to think. That they were doing what they were doing because they didn’t know any better.

All that is a shame because I thought the basic plot of the book had potential. I have read horror books where the teenage protagonists aren’t all, well, dumb, so I know it can be done. I just wish it had been done here.

Another problem with the book is that I don’t like endings that aren’t endings. Either bring things to a conclusion, or note that there’s a sequel. Using a “there’s more to this story but I’m not going to write about it,” just seems lazy.

Folk Horror

1. Memorials by Richard Chizmar

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No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it’s Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies—before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.

Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she’s discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob’s dismay, Harper wants to live—at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.

Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads—armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn’t as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter’s jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.

In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman’s secrets before her life—and that of her unborn child—goes up in smoke.

Each time I read a Joe Hill book, it just gets better and better. This one was no exception. I loved Harper, John Rookwood, Allie and her brother, Nick, Renee, and so many others who shared their journey. And what a journey it is. There are so many ups and downs; I was hooked from the very beginning. Which is saying a lot, considering it’s almost 800 pages long. Just when I thought the story was going to settle down, off it would go again.

I thought the pandemic infection was quite original and thought out. And there is more to the story than just a good sci-fi/horror plot. There’s substance to it, as we read how different people react to their situation, whether as the infected or as one of those still clear of the disease.There are good people and bad people on both sides; it’s very much a tale of two worlds.

If you read the book, be sure to read the credits. The story isn’t complete without them.

Black, gray, orange, or red cover

1. The Fireman by Joe Hill

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FEB- “Emotional Rollercoaster”

Read a book that will make you feel all the feels! A romantic rollercoaster ride; psychological rollercoaster ride; any emotional journey works. Take your pick!

The Fireman by Joe Hill

You like it darker? Fine, so do I', writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel 'the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind', and in You Like it Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

'Two Talented Bastids' explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In 'Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream', a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. In 'Rattlesnakes', a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In 'The Dreamers', a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. 'The Answer Man' asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

King's ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.

King rarely disappoints and he certainly doesn’t with this collection of short stories. While some really are short, there are several semi-novellas in the mix. I found them to be my favorites, especially Two Talented Bastids, Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream, and Rattlesnakes, which is probably the darkest of the stories. Set years after Cujo, its connection to that story still resonates. And I loved the Duma Key connection.

The shorter stories have their great side, too. Laurie is a prime example. Though there’s a darkness to it, there’s also a sweetness to it, too. The other side of the coin is Willie the Weirdo. It truly surprised me.

I’m not usually a fan of short stories, but this collection was a true winner.

Katsu, Ketchum, King, or Koontz

1. You Like It Darker by Stephen King

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Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of a researcher who is either a genius or a madman.

Montgomery Laughton: A melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.

The hybrids: The fruits of the doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.

All of them live in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Dr. Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.

For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and, in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is both a dazzling historical novel and a daring science fiction journey.

Morena-Garcia has become one of my favorite authors, in a large part due to her ability to write women who come into their own, who have a hidden strength brought out by perilous situations. Carlota is such a woman.

Though her secret is likely guess at by any reader who has read The Island of Doctor Moreau, from where this book takes its base, how that secret is brought forward, and how the inhabitants of the estate take that information, is what makes the book so captivating.

There is Montgomery Laughton, who has made the estate his home, and who cares for Carlota, and the other hybrids. Among those hybrids are Lupe and Cachito, who are almost like siblings to Carlota. And there is Dr. Moreau himself, who has blinded himself to the knife edge on which they all live.

Inevitably, the truth must come out and all their lives are changed. The ending is bittersweet, yet there is room for hope.

( Mount TBR 2024 Book Links 1-50 )

51. The Upwelling (The Hidden #1) by F. Paul Wilson
52. Xeno by D. F. Jones
53. Grant's Tomb: The Epic Death of Ulysses S. Grant and the Making of an American Pantheon by Louis L. Picone
54. Wolfsong (Green Creek #1) by T.J. Klune
55. The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny by Michael Wallis
56. The Last Policeman (Last Policeman #1) by Ben H. Winters
57. Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom
58. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Goodreads 58

By BIPOC author
1. Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
2. Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
3. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Santa Claus, my dear old friend, you are a thief, a traitor, a slanderer, a murderer, a liar, but worst of all you are a mockery of everything for which I stood. You have sung your last ho, ho, ho, for I am coming for your head. . . . I am coming to take back what is mine, to take back Yuletide . . .

—from Krampus

The author and artist of The Child Thief returns with a modern fabulist tale of Krampus, the Lord of Yule and the dark enemy of Santa Claus

One Christmas Eve in a small hollow in Boone County, West Virginia, struggling songwriter Jesse Walker witnesses a strange spectacle: seven devilish figures chasing a man in a red suit toward a sleigh and eight reindeer. When the reindeer leap skyward, taking the sleigh, devil men, and Santa into the clouds, screams follow. Moments later, a large sack plummets back to earth, a magical sack that thrusts the down-on-his-luck singer into the clutches of the terrifying Yule Lord, Krampus. But the lines between good and evil become blurred as Jesse's new master reveals many dark secrets about the cherry-cheeked Santa Claus, including how half a millennium ago the jolly old saint imprisoned Krampus and usurped his magic.

Now Santa's time is running short, for the Yule Lord is determined to have his retribution and reclaim Yuletide. If Jesse can survive this ancient feud, he might have the chance to redeem himself in his family's eyes, to save his own broken dreams, . . . and to help bring the magic of Yule to the impoverished folk of Boone County.

The story starts slow as we get to know Jesse. He has a lot wrong with his life, much of which he brought on himself. He doesn’t seem too bright, but his heart is in the right place. As he becomes one of Krampus’ minion, he starts to see that maybe his isn’t the worst situation. And as he gets to know Krampus, so does the reader.

I had a vague idea who Krampus was, or, at least a bit of the mythology surrounding him. But Brom uses Norse legend, mixed with early Christianity, to create a full and well rounded persona. His is a tragic tale, which makes it that much easier to root for him. Of course, Santa doesn’t come off all that well.

This is no way near your traditional Christmas story, as it favors Winter Solstice and Yule over Christianity’s borrowing of their traditions. But it’s certainly an interesting one, and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Holiday horror (Christmas, yule, etc.)
1. Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom

International distress alerts are sent out when planes first seem to disappear, disturbing concepts of space and time and leaving a trail of death and disillusionment. This bizarre series of "cosmic skyjackings" is shrouded in secrecy by a baffled and frightened military. Intense surveillance fails to reveal the cause of a seemingly hostile yet invisible enemy. Aircraft continue to disappear, plucked out of the sky without warning, only to reappear months later, thousands of miles off course.

National and global security is under threat and the ICARUS committee is formed to investigate. Military officials, the government and the FBI work alongside physician Mark Freedman and Soviet scientists to uncover the supernatural mystery that lies behind these unexplainable events. Earth has been found by a horde of creatures that not even the wildest imagination could invent - sinister parasitic creatures that took to their human hosts with deadly speed and bloodthirsty precision.

The terror that unfolds has terrifying consequences for all involved, and the invasion reveals something much more frightening and final than ever suspected.

I thought too much time was spent setting up the situation, so that it dragged, but the rest of the story was rather rushed. No sooner was the enemy understood, than we’re at the end. And not a happy one. Given the ending of the other books I’ve read by Jones, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

The zeno are really creepy, but the people in charge are maybe too creeped out. They do stupid things like watching the creature come forth without any protective gear; fall apart after seeing them. And I thought the “let’s keep this a secret from everyone” a bit overplayed. Especially since, in the end, it was probably their biggest mistake.

And I didn’t understand the connection to god. Jones seemed to be under the impression that extraterrestrials means there’s a god, that the USSR will fall apart because there being a god will destroy the premise behind communism. He doesn’t explain how he got from one thing to the other, which makes it even more confusing. The premise of the book is an interesting one, but one undermined by Jones' going off in tangents.

( Mount TBR 2024 Book Links 1-40 )

41. Queen by Right by Anne Easter Smith
42. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan
43. Yankee Privateer (Lyon Family #1) by Andre Norton
44. Say Goodbye for Now by Catherine Ryan Hyde
45. Midnight Mass by F. Paul Wilson
46. Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
47. The Zero Stone (Murdoc Jern #1) by Andre Norton
48. Before Versailles: A Novel of Louis XIV by Karleen Koen
49. Boy’s Life by Robert R. McCammon
50. Caballero: A Historical Novel by Jovita Gonzalez, Eve Raleigh
51. The Upwelling (The Hidden #1) by F. Paul Wilson
52. Xeno by D. F. Jones

Xeno

CHALLENGE COMPLETE

Goodreads 52

Creepy character/object (House, doll, child, etc.)
1. Night Songs by Charles L. Grant
2. Xeno by D. F. Jones

“Oh, Mrs. Sirman, there’s a problem with your husband’s cremation.”“What sort of problem?”“It’s his body.”“What about it?”“It won’t burn.”

And so it begins for Pam Sirman…the first step toward learning that everything she thought she knew about her husband is wrong, perhaps even his humanity. But if he's not human, what is he? Pam is one of three lives that will be drawn together by the apocalypse of the Upwelling.The other two are Chan and Danni, but their worlds are already in chaos. A few weeks ago a fierce storm accompanied by an upwelling from the Atlantic abyssal plain tore into Atlantic City. When it receded, the city and its 25,000 inhabitants were gone without a trace. Chan and Danni remember being in the city that day, but the ten hours during which the Upwelling occurred have been wiped from their memories.They want those memories back. Or do they? Did they witness something so unspeakably ghastly that their minds can’t face it? Or was that ghastly thing something they did? And worst, were they responsible for the Upwelling?

The book shares many of the same plot points as Wilson’s The Adversary series. Both have unseen forces at work, both have humans who are more than human. But while The Upwelling is an interesting read, it doesn’t live up to the previous series. Though the Secret History of the World is noted and the books have been added to the History timeline, there are too many differences for me to see this book as part of that series.

Still, I enjoyed the book, but I think it would have worked better if it had been kept to its own universe. Another slight fault is that the characters aren’t as likable or compelling as those in The Adversary series. I sort of liked Chan and Danni, but found Pam to be too much of a cliché.

Yet, all in all, this combo science fiction/horror kept me interested, and I do look forward to the sequel (though, since it’s part of a series, it could be awhile.)

The year is 1964. On a cold spring morning before the sun, Cory Mackenson is accompanying his father on his milk delivery route. Without warning a car appears in the road before them and plunges into a lake some say is bottomless. Cory's father makes a desperate attempt to save the driver, but instead comes face-to-face with a vision that will haunt and torment him: a dead man handcuffed to the steering wheel, naked and savagely beaten, a copper wire knotted around his neck. The lake's depths claim the car and the corpse, but the murderer's work is unfinished as, from that moment, both Cory and his father begin searching for the truth.

The small town of Zephyr, Alabama, has been an idyllic home for Cory and his friends. But now, the murder of an unknown man who lies in the dark lake, his tortured soul crying out for justice, causes Cory's life to explode into a kaleidoscope of clues and deepening puzzles. His quest to understand the forces of good and evil at work in his hometown leads him through a maze of dangers and fascinations: the vicious Blaycock clan, who defend their nefarious backwoods trades with the barrels of their guns; a secret assembly of men united by racial hatred; a one-hundred-six-year-old black woman named the Lady who conjures snakes and hears voices of the dead; a reptilian thing that swims in the belly of a river; and a bicycle with a golden eye.

As Cory searches for a killer, he learns more about the meaning of both life and death. A single green feather leads him deeper into the mystery, and soon he realizes not only his life, but the sanity of his father may hang in the balance.

I debated giving the book only three stars, but eventually settled on four. Because I did enjoy the book; the writing was smooth and never dragged. I never looked ahead to see what would happen. And, mostly, I enjoyed the characters, They were fully formed and likable when they were supposed to be, and dislikable when they weren’t. especially Cory and his father, who were central to most of what was going on.

Cory and his friends acted like kids, sometimes to their detriment. But I could go along with that, knowing that kids aren’t the greatest of thinkers. Plus, what horror there was in the book usually revolved around Cory and his friends, though I would say there was more magic in the book than horror.

My problem with the book, and in the scheme of things it was rather minor, was all the things that were happening to the same boy, all in the span of less than a year. It tended to push the bounds of probability. And I wondered why his parents didn’t rein him in, though his father had his own difficulties to work through.

But, as I said, I did enjoy the book, and can easily recommend it.

NOV– Spice, Life, Hello, Keep, Truly, Couple, Joy, Young⁠

Boy’s Life by Robert R. McCammon

NOV - "An Oldie But A Goodie" - Read a Historical Fiction book or a book published before 2000.⁠

Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon (published in 1991.)

Vampires have always lived in Eastern Europe. But with the fall of the Soviet Union, they began to spread across the continent, then the world, turning whole populations into vampires--or human cattle. Having overrun India, the far East, and the great cities of North and South America, the forces of Night are now spreading into the countryside to consolidate their conquest.

In a town on the New Jersey shore, the vampires have just arrived, along with their human henchmen, the cowboys, who round up human cattle for the overlords in return for the promise of eternal life---later. For the vampires wish only a few of their own kind to rule, and feed. The rest of humanity are to be helpless herds, the source of the blood of life.

Falsely accused of abuse, Father Dan is drunk in a basement waiting for the end. His superior has betrayed the local Catholic congregation and become a vampire. Sister Carolyn has become a formidable killer of cowboys and vampires. Dan's niece, escaped from the conquest of New York, has made her way south to find him. Brought together by Rabbi Zev Wolpin, who is shaken by the vampires' fear of the cross and holy water, they plan their resistance. Against all odds, they discover that there just might be a way for humanity to really fight back. But first they will have to kill the vampire king of New York.

I became a fan of Wilson’s after reading The Keep years ago. There are similarities to this story, but differences, too. This book takes the vampire legend back to its roots, back to the vampires of Stoker and King. There’s nothing romantic about these creatures.

I loved all three protagonists. Father Dan, who reluctantly becomes the local leader in the fight against the vampires. Sister Carolyn, whose loss is what propelled her to take on their foe. And Dan’s niece, Lacey, who has made her way to her uncle’s side. Oh, and I guess the fourth of our intrepid band would be the rabbi, Zev Wolpin, who brings Dan back to his congregation, and who is his conscience.

What made the book so readable for me is that the pace is just the right speed; no dragging out of fights, yet the reader is given time to learn about the people, both those fighting against the vampires, and those working for them.

My only quibble would be the ending. It was satisfying, but I would have loved to know what happened next.

( Mount TBR 2024 Book Links 1-25 )

26. Just After Sunset by Stephen King
27. The Lighthouse Keeper Kindle Edition by Alan K. Baker
28. I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away by Bill Bryson
29. The Road Not Travelled : Alternative Tales of the Wars of the Roses by Joanne R. Larner
30. King's Fool by Margaret Campbell Barnes
31. The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
32. Taming the Street: The Old Guard, the New Deal, and FDR's Fight to Regulate American Capitalism by Diana B. Henriques
33. Seven Perfect Things by Catherine Ryan Hyde
34. Legends by Robert Silverberg (Editor/Contributor)
35. The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next 1) by Jasper Fforde
36. Echoes of an Alien Sky by James P. Hogan
37. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King
38. The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
39. The Hike by Susi Holliday
40. The Opal-Eyed Fan by Andre Norton
41. Queen by Right by Anne Easter Smith
42. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan
43. Yankee Privateer (Lyon Family #1) by Andre Norton
44. Say Goodbye for Now by Catherine Ryan Hyde
45. Midnight Mass by F. Paul Wilson

Goodreads 45

OCT - "Wicked Good Reads" - An ode to Girlxoxo's annual WGR event. Ghosts, Witches, Vampires, Creeptastic or Magical books.

Midnight Mass by F. Paul Wilson

In Derry, Maine, four young boys once stood together and did a brave thing. Something that changed them in ways they hardly understand.

A quarter of a century later, the boys are men who have gone their separate ways. Though they still get together once a year, to go hunting in the north woods of Maine. But this time is different. This time a man comes stumbling into their camp, lost, disoriented and muttering about lights in the sky.

Before long, these old friends will be plunged into the most remarkable events of their lives as they struggle with a terrible creature from another world. Their only chance of survival is locked in their shared past - and in the Dreamcatcher.

Though there is an Author’s Note at the back of the book where King thanks his time writing this book (in longhand!) for getting him through his near fatal accident, I’ve read that, since, he no longer cares for it, because of the difficult circumstances and his being under the influence of painkillers. He may feel it interfered with his ability to turn out quality work, but I think it’s one of his best attempts.

As with It the lives of the protagonists are woven together, as young boys and as men. The magic of their younger days is what allows them to come together as adults to fight off the evil that threatens them.

The years have not been kind to them; none have found true happiness. While Henry and Gary Jones (Jonesy) have found career success as a psychiatrist and a college professor, respectfully, Pete and Joe Clarendon (Beav,) have seen their dreams shattered. Pete never made it to NASA, while Joe’s marriage failed, and his drinking began.

Yet there still is that connection, through “Duddits,” the boy with Down’s Syndrome they saved from bullies; they’re “brave thing.” But, as with each other, time has weakened that connection.

It’s a huge book (coming in at over 600 pages,) and there’s a lot going on, but at its core it’s a story of friendship and how far believing can get you. I found it exceptional, and well worth the time it took to read. And, maybe at some point, read again.

Winter theme, or winter on cover
1. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

AUG - "Seasons, Elements, Weather" - Read a book where the season, weather, climate, or elements play a roll in the plot.⁠

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

In December 1900, three lighthouse keepers vanished without trace from the remote Scottish island of Eilean Mor.

An emergency relief crew was sent to man the lighthouse, and at the end of their month-long duty, they resigned from their posts, never to speak of what they had experienced.

The mystery of Eilean Mor has never been solved. Until now.

In the present, a group of environmental researchers arrives to observe the wildlife. While exploring the lighthouse, now deserted, one of the team discovers a manuscript written by one of the relief keepers, a man named Alec Dalemore. As a sudden storm cuts off their escape, the researchers come to realise that Dalemore wrote the manuscript as a warning to all who would come after him -- a warning of something ancient and powerful and strange beyond imagining…

The Lighthouse Keeper is a supernatural tale based on the Flannan Isles mystery, one of the greatest unsolved enigmas in maritime history.

The book has a lot going for it. I like stories based on a true event of the past, an event which has never been satisfactorily explained. And though I seem to keep running into stories which have taken the Lovecraftian world to heart, I think it was well done here. The island seems to exist out of time, drawing those who venture there, both past and present, into a horrifying place that should not exist but does.

It’s interesting how differently the two groups of people handle the situation; the three lighthouse keepers of the past, and the five researchers of the present. Oddly enough, it is the lighthouse keepers who are better at handling the situation. It seems easier for them to accept what is happening without being able to explain why it is happening. They see the danger, and react accordingly. The group in the present, however, appear less successful in their attempts to ward off that danger.

At the same time, the book has two major flaws: the beginning and the end. While the middle portion of the book is intense and kept me totally involved, the beginning portion was slow, and not as well done as the rest of the book. I nearly quit reading.

Conversely, the ending seemed rushed, in that the fate of one group happens suddenly, and is never explained. It was if the author was unable to come up with an explanation for what he had created, so simply pulled the plug.

( Mount TBR 2024 Book Links 1-15 )

16. Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt
17. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
18. The Plots Against the President: FDR, A Nation in Crisis, and the Rise of the American Right by Sally Denton
19. The North Woods by Douglass Hoover
20. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
21. Upon Dark Waters by Robert Radcliffe
22. Dread: 22 Tales of Terror by Kevin Bachar
23. Escape from Hell (Inferno #2) by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Jennifer Hanover (Illustrator)
24. Vicksburg: Grant's Campaign That Broke the Confederacy by Donald L. Miller
25. The Portent by Marilyn Harris
26. Just After Sunset by Stephen King
27. The Lighthouse Keeper Kindle Edition by Alan K. Baker

Lighthouse Keeper, The

Just after sunset, as darkness grips the imagination, is the time when you feel the unexpected creep into the everyday. As familiar journeys take a different turn, ordinary objects assume extraordinary powers.

A blind intruder visits a dying man - and saves his life, with a kiss.

A woman receives a phone call from her husband. Her LATE husband.

In the emotional aftermath of her baby's sudden death, Emily starts running. And running. Her curiosity leads her right into the hands of a murderer... and soon her legs are her only hope for survival.

Enter a world of masterful suspense, dark comedy and thrilling twists which will keep you riveted from the fist page.

Probably not his best anthology, but enjoyable enough. While many of the stories are not memorable, a few definitely are. They are tales of introspection, with a bit of horror, or at least the supernatural, thrown in.

My two favorites are Willa, and The Things They Left Behind. Both are rather melancholy stories of what comes after. Almost as good are N, which I saw as a paean to Lovecraft, but which King gives credit to Arthur Machen’s The Great God Pan, and Mute. The two stories are probably the longest in the collection, which added to my enjoyment since I’m not normally a fan of short stories.

Very much a middle of the road review of a middle of the road book.

Short story anthology or collection
1. Dread: 22 Tales of Terror by Kevin Bachar
2. Just After Sunset by Stephen King

The three couples had moved to the remote community of Tomis to "get away from it all." They were the first to find out the terror that was in store for all humankind. At first they couldn't believe it. And then no one would listen.

Who could believe in summer blizzards, children disappearing, men swallowed alive by the ground?

Who could believe that the Earth itself was angry after centuries of pollution and waste? That a holocaust of horror was rising from the depths? That Mother Nature was devouring her children and there was no place left to hide?

I don’t remember coming across any other book that dealt with this particular issue, not in the early 80’s, anyway. And having read and enjoyed some of her other books, I looked forward to this one. It didn’t disappoint. Not then, and not now.

Harris gives us a hint of what is to come, and then slowly builds the tension. The three main protagonists have their weaknesses; if they had been stronger, the outcome may have been different. But somehow it fits. Because the three couples are running away from the lives that weren’t working out all that well. Could a different place really change who they were?

There are some unanswered questions, mostly dealing with the fate of some of the townspeople, but it’s a minor quibble on my part. I guess its highest praise is that I’m keeping the book.

Nature gone wild (when plants or animals attack)
1. The Portent by Marilyn Harris

A child died in an avalanche, and she won’t leave me alone.

A woman plagued by blood-draining mosquitoes on the Alaskan tundra figures out a horrific way to scratch her unending itching.

There’s something outside my tent…and I think it’s hungry.

A collector of rare tropical fish, receives a new species that is both fascinating and terrifying.

DREAD - Thousands of people have gone missing out in the wild and here is a collection of tales that offer up some horrifying reasons why. Emmy-award-winning National Geographic cinematographer Kevin Bachar has swum with sharks, climbed the peaks of mountains, and explored the darkest of forests. In DREAD, he weaves together terrifying true stories from his real-life adventures with twisted fiction from the depths of his frightening imagination. Flip open the pages to indulge in the dark side of nature— haunted forests, tree demons, monstrous snakes, and a search-and-rescue team terrorized by the ghosts of those they couldn’t save.

Did I enjoy the book? Did I find it scary? Not hardly. Maybe because it’s obvious that all the stories will end the same way, with the protagonist not doing at all well, that it was hard to feel any, well, dread. Honestly, my first thought was that it was a second-rate EC Tales from the Crypt.

Perhaps if the stories hadn’t all ended somewhat the same way, I’d be more inclined to give the book a favorable review. But as it is, I couldn’t find much to recommend it. It’s not awful, but I’d be inclined to give it a pass.

Short story anthology or collection
1. Dread: 22 Tales of Terror by Kevin Bachar

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Entries tagged with books-horror

Full Throttle by Joe Hill

Strange Weather: Four Short Novels by Joe Hill

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

For Fear of the Night by Charles L. Grant

Blood of the Children by Alan Rodgers

The Border by Robert McCammon

Memorials by Richard Chizmar

The Fireman by Joe Hill

You Like It Darker by Stephen King, Thomas Hayman (Illustrations)

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom

Xeno by D. F. Jones

The Upwelling (The Hidden #1) by F. Paul Wilson

Boy’s Life by Robert R. McCammon

Midnight Mass by F. Paul Wilson

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

The Lighthouse Keeper by Alan K. Baker

Just After Sunset by Stephen King

The Portent by Marilyn Harris

Dread: 22 Tales of Terror by Kevin Bachar