Category: Horror

‘Pet Sematary’ – Stephen King

Pet Sematary

 

Described by King himself as his scariest book, I did most of my reading of this book during daylight hours. I know my limits!

Horror is not a genre that I’m particularly comfortable with, for obvious reasons. I’m not keen on the slasher-style violence that seemed to mark my teen experiences of horror movies (Freddie Krueger still creeps me out), but I find myself completely sucked into King’s novels. He seems to tap into our greatest fears and voice what we never dare to. For these reasons I have found the few books of his that I have read compelling.

‘Pet Sematary’ focuses on Doctor Louis Creed, his wife and two children and what happens when they move into their beautiful new home in rural Maine. The woods behind their home harbour a terrifying secret, and power that you cannot imagine.

King tells us virtually straight away what is going to happen. He drops not very subtle hints about things that will turn out to be of utmost importance. This might suggest that there are no surprises, but that is definitely not the case. As we wait for what we know is coming, the tension is masterfully controlled. The horror comes from the contrast of the innocent and the corrupted, and the sense of inevitability that weighs heavily as you turn every page.

By the end I was desperate for things to end, just not quite as they did. I think I need to go and re-read something very different to just shake off that uneasy feeling I currently have (and I’ll not go into the woods behind my house today!)

 

‘Carrie’ – Stephen King

Carrie

 

This is a book that I feel I should have already read. I’ve seen the movie a number of times, so my reading of the book was marred at times by reconciling what King wrote with the images that were put on screen.

The story seems well-known: Carrie White is the victim of bullying throughout her life, and her mother’s extreme religious views do not make it any easier for her to fit in. Carrie’s emerging telekinetic ability wreaks havoc as she gets her revenge on those who’ve made her life hell.

As I read the novel I confess to finding myself waiting for key scenes. What struck me most about the novel was the fascination with the supernatural and the portrayal of small-town America. Cleverly structured and a rattling good story. I’m so pleased that I finally cleared this off my to-read pile!

‘Feed’ – Mira Grant

Feed

 

The common cold has been cured, but the after-effects are horrendous and the world has become plagued by zombies. The most obvious thing to say about ‘Feed’ is that this will not be to everyone’s tastes. If you like zombies, you’ll be disappointed by the lack of action; if you’re not that interested in them, you’ll find (as I did) large chunks of the book seem to drag.

Teenagers Georgia and Shaun Mason are part of the popular blogging community. In this futuristic setting, it is the bloggers that people turn to in order to find out what’s happening.While trailing the Presidential campaign, these two  uncover some awful information. Information that they are prepared to die for if it means they can ensure the truth comes out.

On the whole I found this a difficult novel to get into. The exploration of how power corrupts, and the concepts of truth and the media were fascinating – but I’m not sure the zombie setting really added much to this for me. Perhaps I’m missing out, but there wasn’t enough here to tempt me to sample the rest of the Newsflesh trilogy.

 

‘The Dead House’ – Dawn Kurtagich

The Dead House

 

For starters, this is one of the most intriguing covers I’ve seen for a while. Before reading the book, it got me intrigued; after reading, it captures perfectly the ideas within. If you want a flavour of what’s inside…

Three students: dead.
Carly Johnson: vanished without a trace.

Two decades have passed since an inferno swept through Elmbridge High, claiming the lives of three teenagers and causing one student, Carly Johnson, to disappear. The main suspect: Kaitlyn, “the girl of nowhere.”

Kaitlyn’s diary, discovered in the ruins of Elmbridge High, reveals the thoughts of a disturbed mind. Its charred pages tell a sinister version of events that took place that tragic night, and the girl of nowhere is caught in the center of it all. But many claim Kaitlyn doesn’t exist, and in a way, she doesn’t – because she is the alter ego of Carly Johnson.

Carly gets the day. Kaitlyn has the night. It’s during the night that a mystery surrounding the Dead House unravels and a dark, twisted magic ruins the lives of each student that dares touch it.

From the outset it is clear that this is an unusual book. I initially found the fragmented style of retelling the story quite disconcerting, and I had to concentrate hard to try and keep track of what was known for certain and how the events seemed to fit together.

Deliciously creepy, this book does get a little odd at times. It’s completely down to personal taste, but I found the supernatural references less interesting than the psychological aspect of the story. I felt that, on balance, they combined well to create a very different story.

Big thank-you to NetGalley for the digital copy.

‘Spooks: The Dark Army’ – Joseph Delaney

the dark army

 

The cover provides a tantalising glimpse of just how serious things have become. It also provides some reassurance that things are not – certainly in the beginning – as bleak as we thought they were at the end of the previous book.

It’s hard to talk about this novel without giving away crucial plot details. What I can say is that it was great to see some familiar faces again. Of course, things have changed since the last novel. The threat of the Kobalos is becoming increasingly concerning, and I really got a sense of Delaney turning the proverbial screw on this story.

As Tom is pushed into unfamiliar territory we are carried along with events occurring at breakneck speed. The descriptions of the battle scenes are, at times, more graphic than we’ve seen previously but in the grand scheme of things it seems to make sense. I’m not sure I’d forgive Joseph Delaney for an event that happened in the closing chapters, if it weren’t for the fact that there’s a sneaky peek of ‘The Dark Assassin’ included and it seems that we see more from one of my favourite characters.

Thank-you once again Joseph Delaney for a riveting read, packed with action and more than its fair share of surprises.

 

Dark Room – Tom Becker

darkroom

This series is touted as a must for horror fans. I’m not really part of the target market, but I am always looking for good examples of specific genres to recommend to my pupils so I was curious when I found this in the local library.

The cover grabbed my attention, and I thought the blurb promised a lot – teen girl at odds with her environment, strange supernatural visions, a creepy setting and a killer on the loose. I think if you like this kind of story you will race through Dark Room and love it.

The story begins with a macabre scene that explains – a little – the story of Saffron Hills and its terrible obsession with keeping up appearances. Ever since the brutal murder of its teen beauty queen, the townspeople have focused on looking to do the right thing and appearing perfect.

Fast forward to the present, and we meet Darla. She has always regarded herself as plain and something of a misfit. When she and her father end up in Saffron Hills she is immediately at odds with the selfie-obsessed beautiful teenagers of this environment. She finds some ‘outsider’ friends ( which did all feel a little ‘Mean Girls’) and things seem to muddle along tolerably. Then we are told Darla is having visions that give her an insight into the mind of the killer on the loose, slowly picking off the beautiful people in grotesque ways.

While this slasher style graphic violence isn’t the kind of thing I enjoy reading, I can see that this has all the elements you’d want if it is. My main gripe is that the big twist was rather obviously foreshadowed and I’d guessed the killer before we were told who it was. What I hadn’t managed to piece together was some of the finer details and these were all resolved by the end of the novel.

‘The Hollow Boy’ – Jonathan Stroud

the hollow boy

 

What can I say? Another great adventure in the Lockwood & Co. series.

This time, there is a supernatural outbreak that is taxing all the agencies in London. Old rivalries are put aside as the agents have to work together to keep alive.

Glamorous new assistant, Holly Munro, causes some upset and the skull in the jar is becoming more and more vocal.

The ending hints at a dark and terrible future. I personally can’t wait for the next in the series!

Demon Road – Derek Landy

demon road

An epic road-trip across the supernatural landscape of America. Killer cars, vampires, undead serial killers: they’re all here. And the demons? Well, that’s where Amber comes in…Sixteen years old, smart and spirited, she’s just a normal American teenager until the lies are torn away and the demons reveal themselves.

Forced to go on the run, she hurtles from one threat to another, revealing a tapestry of terror woven into the very fabric of her life. Her only chance rests with her fellow travellers, who are not at all what they appear to be…

This is what I knew about the book before I started. I also knew that, while I’d enjoyed the first ‘Skullduggery Pleasant’ I wasn’t a particular fan of Derek Landy so I wasn’t at all sure what to expect. Our school librarian passed it over to me with a knowing nod and just recommended that I ‘see how it goes’…

The opening section was odd, but just on the right side of odd to intrigue me and make me keep reading. Amber veered between being a fabulously strong heroine and a whining teenager, so my thoughts on her as a character varied greatly as I read. There were nods for me to ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ with the introduction of Glen and Milo, and the latter was definitely a character that I feel helped keep me interested.

The story became more and more outlandish as it progressed, but the evident humour in the writing kept me from abandoning this. This is definitely one that I’d suggest fans of Landy try.

Anna Dressed in Blood – Kendare Blake

anna dressed in blood

A beautiful cover and one that I wanted to love as soon as I read the description. I wasn’t disappointed.

Cas Lowood is a ghost-hunter with something to prove. When he moves to a new home he expects this latest kill to be the same as all the others. It isn’t.

I don’t want to give too much away, but this was what a good friend of mine referred to as “a cracking good read”. Witty, romantic and very well-written I can see this appealing to a wide range of readers.

The minute I’d finished it, I went and reserved a copy of part two – Girl of Nightmares – and wondered how I’d managed to not spot this series when it was first published.