I've loved horror almost my entire life
587572
Having been a Constant Reader since the start of Stephen King's career (Carrie in 1973), I've loved horror almost my entire life. I've grown up, and old, with names like King, Koontz, Saul and Straub. I have read the classics (Lovecraft and Blackwood), and have lately discovered some new authors (Dan Simmons, Joe Hill and Ania Ahlborn).
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Thanks to @the.nocturnal.readers.box, I received this book, with a different style of horror. The majority of these stories are gothic tales, written in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The writing is different than younger readers may be used to, but the themes are familiar. There are 14 stories in this collection, by authors I hadn't heard of, except for Michael McDowell, whose novel Cold Moon Over Babylon I gushed over recently. Valancourt posted a brief note before each story, with a short biography of the author and some of their other works, many of which are now on my TBR.
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Some of these tales aren't exactly horrifying, but for any horror fans who want to expand their horizons, Valancourt has given you a great selection to choose from.  My personal favorites were Halley's Passing by Michael McDowell, The Elemental by R. Chetwynd-Hayes and Camera Obscura by Basil Copper.
4230950
I've said it before and I'll say it again.  I have an affinity for scary stories.  And thanks to The Walking Dead, I really enjoy zombie stories.  I think because I'm more scared of zombies than any other monster or spook (except for demons), tales about them are particularly fun because I actually get scared.  I know it sounds like I'm rambling, but I have very strong, very mixed feelings towards zombies.
This collection of stories of the undead is the perfect read for your late, stormy night of fright.  Or any night, really.  There is no wrong time for zombies.  My favorite stories, I have to say, were Prisoners of Forever by Katie Jones and The Meat Lover's Special by Miracle Austin.  Both sent actual shivers down my spine.
I haven't read a whole lot of zombie fiction (again, I mostly get my fill from The Walking Dead), but this book made me want to read more.  Congratulations to all the authors on their delightfully frightening work.
4930822
David Jester's Little Terrors is a thrilling and fascinating amalgamation of literary genres and intuitive storytelling. The natural flow and provocation of the works within suggest that Jester possesses not only a brilliant imagination, but is a true and talented wordsmith.

While I would not label the collection as existing strictly or explicitly within the horror genre, I would agree that much of the content does appeal to elements and strategies commonly attributed to themes of horror. A few of the works, namely "When the Reaper Smiles," "Wipeout," and "The Sleepover," possess much more of that traditional edge of terror, foreboding, and a sadistic or sinister concluding twist that embodies what so many of us love most about the horror genre, some even showcasing a healthy dose of gore. Other stories in the collection, however, fall much more into the thriller/suspense genre, which is part of what makes this collection so wonderfully entertaining. The author writes just enough to raise the hairs on the neck and arms, before hanging readers on the edge of knowing, begging imaginations everywhere to fill in the blanks of whatever horrors or dread may lie ahead. One included work, "Little Man," accomplishes this effect especially well, being fairly short in length, but long enough to draw readers into what seems to be nothing more than the innocent curiosity of a sweet and endearing child, only to end swiftly on a note that strongly suggests otherwise.

Included works, such as, "Cold" and "Last Words," play more to the psychological elements of more modern horror and suspense, expertly feeding readers the art of morbid mind-play, demented fantasy, and delusional fear. Other works, like, "Ante Up" and "The Polystyrene Man," play on a different element of fear and horror--that of the darker sides of human nature and misfortune. In both stories, the main characters are riddled with misfortune, tragedy, greed, self-loathing, and disdain. Both delve deeper into these darker depths in order to attain success, revenge, or fortune. It is the type of story that, while it doesn't terrify you, it certainly manages to filter the mind and the body with a growing sense of unease and discomfort.

I found myself furiously flying through the individual works of Little Terrors as if I was trapped within the stories myself, and only the final page would set me free. These short works of creative fiction horror and suspense are addicting, to say the least, and one of the most riveting aspects of the collection is that of the actual writing style. The narratives as well as the portions of general description are so meticulous that it truly creates a three-dimensional reality for the reader, and the wording in the narrative is graceful and elegant, which is brilliantly cast in stark contrast to the often crass and profane speech and thought of many of the characters throughout. But for a few editing errors here and there, this collection is a true gem.

Artfully decorated with touches of humor and masterfully doused in the author's intuitive insights into human nature and the concept of fear, Little Terrors is sure to thrill, shock, and stun, and will keep you coming back for more.
622092
This book has convinced me that I need to create a new bookshelf: horror-romance. I haven't watched a true horror film since I watched The Exorcist by myself in the basement when I was a teen. Thankfully, I find reading horror slightly less scary. I think it is because there is no creepy music or shrill screaming upping the ante. The gore is still described but somehow seems less....oozy in print than picture. Veiled, by Karina Halle, is a demon-seeking-human type of terror that is tremendously high on the fright factor, but it also contains probably one of the hottest love scenes I've read all year. All I had to hear was, "You gorgeous girl," at just that moment in Jay's Irish brogue and I was sunk for this book.

Ada Palomino is the lead character. She is the younger sister of Perry Palomino, a main character in a slew of other Halle novels in the Experiment in Terror series. I haven't read those books, but there is a link and Ada's story is a spoiler for how that nine-book series ends. I was fine with how this was handled, but be forewarned. Ada is 18, coasting through the summer before college, publicly blogging about fashion, but privately barely hanging onto her mental health in the aftermath of the Experiment in Terror events. Things start going bump in the night, and Ada's hold on her psyche becomes even more tenuous. She is this interesting character transitioning from teen to adult because circumstances of life have forced her to, regardless of whether she is really ready or not. Luckily, the slang (twatwaffle?) and other new adult paraphernalia fall by the wayside as the horror envelops the plot. Ada is no child.

This novel managed to push all the right buttons for the kinds of things I find scariest. Demons are probably the most terrifying because they have such presence in Judeo-Christian religion and are directly sourced from the Bible. Halle immerses you in the horror version of this, complete with the Demon Legion attacking in multiple, disgusting ways. They want Ada, and are devious and determined to get her.

Her guide is a stranger in person but familiar in her dreams. Hunky Jay is a big brute of a red-head, with beautiful blue eyes. He is enigmatic and unconventional, especially for the hero figure of a paranormal book. He is there when she needs him....sometimes. The confusion about Jay is part of what keeps the suspense of this novel churning.

Probably my one complaint about this book is that we only heard the story from Ada's first-person perspective. I think Halle could have successfully incorporated Jay's perspective without diluting the suspense. I could see why Ada wants to "undo him as he undoes me." In turn, she is forbidden fruit to him.

"You're eighteen, Ada. Pretty sure you're allowed to have a man around you. Back in the day, you would have been my bride at sixteen." With that statement, I was thinking, "Who is this guy?" Well, read and find out.

I have to say I found myself impatient as I swiped the pages of this book, and I think that is the hallmark of a well-written suspense novel. 4.5 stars. [Plus, loved the book cover.]
2364582
So I recently finished a book that surprised me. It didn't surprise me that it was good, I already had that impression when I first came across the author and looked into it. No, It surprised me because I am not really a Horror fan. I mean, I like Stephen King but that was always more because I grew up knowing his name and, naturally, sort of just liked his stuff. As far as the Horror genre itself, I was always sort of meh towards it. They weren't bad feelings. Just indifferent. I appreciate the genre and what it takes to write and create it but I don't put it first in my life. I have friendzoned the Horror genre.

I like you, I just don't feel that way about you.

So, getting back on track, I came across Blood and Rain and pre-ordered a copy. Of course, I spent the cash before I was presented with an opportunity to receive an ARC (advanced review copy) but thats just the luck I have. I cant call it bad luck, though. This book was soooo not a disappointment.

This isn't the type of werewolf book youll find on the YA shelves, covered in teenage angst and glitter. The werewolves in Blood and Rain are the real deal. The real, blood-thirsty, savage, terrifying deal. Vampire-human-werewolf mnage  trois need not apply.

There was little to dislike about this novel and everything to love. However, I like to get the bad news out of the way as soon as possible. If there was one thing that I found difficult about Rolfes work, it was that there are SO MANY PEOPLE to keep up with! It could be just a personal taste of mine, but once you get beyond five people, I find myself spending far too much time reading back to make sure Im visualizing the right person in a given scene.

I love that he brought the whole town in on the terror after all, it always seems hokey when theres like two or three people dealing with a living monster yet no one else ever seems to take notice of its existence but there does come a point when there are too many people vying for the little spotlight. It doesnt happen too often in this novel, but it does happen.

As far as everything else goes? FAN-FRIGGING-TASTIC. There is just the right amount of character building, the right amount of realism, the right amount of blood and gore to keep me riveted throughout the read.

Rolfe manages to make you get to know enough about the many characters involved to care but not focus so much on their day-to-day lives that you feel like you're never going to get to the juicy parts.

I thoroughly enjoyed each and every attack on the township, though I will have to say that there seemed to be a little bit of repetition here and there. Like how the wolves seem to always attack by jumping on top of cars. It happened a lot. However, it did keep it fresh enough to satisfy and make me wince in sympathy.

Rolfe doesnt hold back. Like at all (other than gratuitous sex scenes. He seems to take the fade-to-black approach and I can appreciate that. I love gratuitous sex scenes as much as the next girl but this book had a focus and he stuck to it and I think it kept the story on track). If someone needs to be maimed, or even killed, for the sake of the story he lets it happen. I mean he is trying to compete with George R.R. Martin it seems, but I can respect that.

If you are a Horror nut, or even if you just dabble, you will not be disappointed in Blood and Rain. Rolfe brings the werewolf back to its monster roots and satisfies the bloodlusty monster in all of us.
2755472
Everyone who knows me knows I'm a HUGE horror fanatic, and this box set is just what I need to scratch that itch. Don't worry, it's a figurative itch. The Goosebumps series is FRIGHTfully good, and the TV show was even better, even if it did come on BEFORE Big Bad Beetle-Borgs and not after, which would have been the place of honor that it deserved. If only the TV studios weren't under the thumbs of certain political and religious groups which shall remain nameless. Anyway, this box set is SPOOKtacular, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to have a FRIGHTfully good time. Oops...I already did that one.
369391
I've always loved and hated H.P. Lovecraft stories.  Loved the dark, oppresive, detectively like stories set against overwhelming evils.  Hated the dark, oppresive, detectively like stories set against overwhelming evils  after hours in the dark quite of my room.  LARPing those stories just exasterbates these feelings!  A fun and creepy game.
2369253
This book gets four out of five stars for me.  I desperately wanted to give it five.  It's a great collection definitely worthy of my library shelf, and one that I'm sure to come back to from time to time.  There were some real whoppers in here, fantastic stories by fantastic authors, some of which followed me long after I'd closed the book.  Only one story in the book did not sit well with me, the rest were wonderful and well worth my time.  I don't regret a single minute spent exploring this book.

However.

Yes, sadly, you knew there would be a however in here.

My however is this: The book's premise is that Lovecraftian horror can be found anywhere, in the most unlikely places.  Many of the stories live up to this in spades.  However -- yes, there it is -- many of them don't.  A disproportionate number of stories were set in, around, or under Innsmouth, Miskatonic University, etc.  Now, don't get me wrong: these are wonderful settings for horror stories.  Innsmouth alone is a gold mine (literally) of eldritch horrors, terrible secrets, evil cults, and forbidden knowledge.  Which is all fine and wonderful.

But I thought the idea was to take us to UNlikely places, to get us OUT of Innsmouth, Miskatonic, etc.  As wonderful as this book is, it does not consistently deliver on its own premise.  One or two Innsmouth/Miskatonic stories, I could let pass, especially if they are well written, and these are certainly well written.  But there were simply too many of them, and I have to be honest here.

Now, all that being said, if I could have given this 4 & 1/2 stars, believe me, I would have.  In my own mind, I have.  I wish to Dagon there was a way.  This is a hell of a book, and I am pleased as punch to have it in my library.  I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone ever.  And if Matthew Carpenter decides to come out with another in the future, I'll be among the first in line for it.  I can't wait to see where he'll take us next time!  A modern-day amusement park?  A defunct nuclear reactor?  Your old home town?  A moving shoe box by the side of the road?  A seemingly abandoned radio station?  The empty lifeguard tower by the beach?  Who knows?
3023916
My education in classic horror has been sadly neglected.  I never read Frankenstein or The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and only short stories by Poe.  That said, these tales have become part of the pop culture lexicon, and I know the important parts of those stories because Ive seen them reworked in film, comics or in novel retellings.  I keep saying I don't like scary, but I do like dark fantasy, and much of it owes at least of piece of inspiration to the classics.  Jessica Verdays Of Monsters and Madness is a gothic/horror mash-up with a perfectly pitched sense of impending doom.

The year is 1826, and Annabel Lee has lived most of her life in Siam, far from her fathers influence and knowledge.  When her father finally sends for her just before her mother dies, Annabel knows she has no choice but to leave her home. When she arrives in chilly, dark Philadelphia, nothing is as she expected.  Her father is withdrawn and disproving.  Her surroundings are foreign.  And there are a rash of unexplained murders occurring nearby.  Annabel is determined to earn her fathers approval and learn the mysterious secrets of his house, but she doesnt count on being attracted to her fathers assistant, Allan, or frightened of his mysterious cousin, Edgar.  As sinister happenings strike closer and closer to home, Annabels intuition and suspicions will not let her rest until she knows the trutheven if it endangers all she holds dear.

Well!  If youve read the official synopsis, you should have a pretty good idea of what will happen, and which classic tale the book retells.  The storys surprises weren't of the plot-twist variety, at least for me.  What was compelling about Of Monsters and Madness then?  Annabel Lee, of course!  Shes an unrepentantly curious character with a strong stomach, a desire to practice medicine, and a history in an entirely different culture.  She doesnt fit the expectations of her sex for the time period or setting, and that causes disorientation and frustration, even though she tries to reign those feelings in.  The first person narration allows the reader to see it all through her eyes  and though she worries that she is cold like her father, in fact Annabel feels things deeply.  It is that deep feeling paired with curiosity that leads her into dangerous territory  and into the path of Allan/Edgar.  While the reader can guess what comes next, Annabel doesnt know the story, and that makes her vulnerable to it.

But back to the setting: historical! brooding! dangerous!  In other words, perfectly gothic, and a great backdrop for a tale of horror.  Speaking of horror, Id say this is on the lighter-ish end of the spectrum, as I wasn't scared away.  Still, there IS gore and murder so its not the book for those who prefer sunshine and happy endings.  Though Annabel does seem a bit prone to wander into dangerous situations, her actions are plausible and the set-up works.  Another thing to be aware of: this is the first in a new series, and there are a some (okay, several) loose ends and mysteries left for following books.

In all, Of Monsters and Madness is a well-written homage to classic horror, a strong first entry in a new young adult series, and an ideal pick for Halloween reading.

Recommended for: anyone interested in classic horror, dark first-person narratives, historical fiction mashups, and fans of Kady Cross steampunk series for young adults.
4046231
Everything I want in a horror movie and nothing I don't. Favorite Horror movie since The Shining.
2013027
I do not gravitate toward horror stories, but I do love good stories that are well told.  Underwood and Flinch is very well told, inviting you immediately to get to know the characters, and even as the horror theme develops, even its most gruesome elements seem to me to be more the stuff of action and adventure than the wanton violence that I normally associate with Horror.

It was very enjoyable dip into a genre I don't normally read, and I am looking forward to reading more about Underwood and Flinch if Mr. Bennett would be so kind as to continue the series.
4518120
well i think that all HORROR movies are so cool!
2650058
I have loved Stephen King for a long time, though I got out of the habit of reading his stuff a while back. This is one of the most engaging stories ever, and not just by the King (pun intended) of horror/thriller fiction. Not a horror in his normal sense, like Christine, a book that gave me nightmares all through high school or Bag of Bones that creeped me out for months, but seriously tense and darn fun to read. I also really like the ending, that even though it doesn't "work out" perfectly, it works in a realistic way. Gives the reader hope (to me at least) that inspite of all the crap and obstacles, there is a way to find peace with the crap that happens. Probably the best/most satisfying ending to a SK novel I've ever read.
262060
I love horror, especially the kind that is a little bizarre and out of the norm.  This book falls into that description perfectly.  All I can saw is that I did not want it to end.  I have become a fan of Joe Hill.
3199415
I love horror; the creature features, zombie books, creepy music, and Halloween!  I introduced our children to the classic monsters all the way through Halloween, Friday the 13th and the Chain Saw Massacre.  I also enjoyed reading about serial killers and their twisted minds but I was in no way prepared for the horror of Garden of Fiends.  Stories told from the perspective of addicts  alcohol, drugs and sometimes both, were much more than even I could handle.

Sometimes true horror lies in the truth and with addicts, their truth is true horror.  Having a daughter who has dabbled in Vicodin and more, having seen the results of a child impacted mentally by an addict mother, her withdrawal, and daily struggles, well this hit close to home.  There does not seem to be an end and each of these stories builds on that horror.

This is not a collection of stories for the faint of heart.  There are aspects of each story that is gritty and real.  I found this a difficult audiobook to finish because it was brutal and too realistic in portraying human nature and its frailty and selfishness.

The narrator, Rick Gregory provided an extra level of creepiness with his narration style.  His voice was smooth and emotionless.  You knew something horrible was coming but he never let the listeners know it until it happened.  The flow was flawless and did not rely on unnecessary dramatic flair.

There were no issues with the audiobook or quality of production.
1694589
Never Spoilers in My Reviews, so feel safer reading them.
Every time I read one of Tim Curran's books, I can't help but feel as if I am in a world of suspended reality. The storyline is well thought out, the characters are well developed, no noticeable typos nor errors in sentence structure to distract you from being engulfed in the world Tim has created. One of my biggest pet peeves are typos and sentence structure errors, it's like being yanked out of a dream (or in Tim's case, a nightmare) world because someone threw ice cold water in your face. Thankfully there's none of that in Doll Face.

The storyline is what would no doubt occur if The Puppet Master lived in Silent Hill. The descriptions of horrors each character is presented with is graphically detailed with enough of a blurb into each character's life history (or personal fears) to customize their horror for an even even greater effect.

Some might not enjoy the graphic horror of some situations, and others might not think it's graphic enough (like in a Black Cover Matt Shaw book for example), Doll Face is more of a happy medium, but then my medium is Nightmare on Elm Street.

I absolutely Loved it, but that's just me. It's awesomely creepy with a perfect amount of bone tingling chills that's even better when read in the dark.
3954117
I absolutely love horror stories, and this books was simply amazing. It was very easy to read, had great formatting, and the author had an amazing writing style. I recommend it to everybody who loves horror stories.