Tag: Horror

Book Review | ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Posted on by Adventures in Polishland

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Published by Signet on October 17, 1975

Genres: Adult, Horror, Paranormal

Format: Paperback

Pages: 427

Source: Purchased

Goodreads: ★★★★

Something strange is going on in Jerusalem’s Lot … but no one dares to talk about it. By day, ‘Salem’s Lot is a typical modest New England town; but when the sun goes down, evil roams the earth. The devilishly sweet insistent laughter of a child can be heard echoing through the fields, and the presence of silent looming spirits can be felt lurking right outside your window. Stephen King brings his gruesome imagination to life in this tale of spine-tingling horror.

REVIEW

I continued on with my Stephen King project in March by reading ‘Salem’s Lot, his second published work. I went into this book blind, and I’m glad I did because there is a big build-up to the story. ‘Salem’s Lot opens with a man and a boy escaping to Mexico from a town in Maine called Jerusalem’s Lot. The reader knows they are both scared, and that they must return to the Lot in order to solve a problem. The book then rewinds to the start of the story when the man goes to Jersulam’s Lot for the first time since his childhood. This is a haunted house book that turns into a paranormal story, and one in which the writing is excellent.

Here’s the thing about my experience with ‘Salem’s Lot – it took me nearly three weeks to read the book, which is three times my normal pace. I had to force myself to continue on with the story, and at times I felt downright bored. That’s because King is creating a new world. Jerusalem’s Lot is a fictional town, and the true protagonist of this book. King writes in exceptional detail, describing characters in the setting in such a realistic way. So even though I didn’t like how slow the pace of this novel is, I can appreciate the work it took. I am really amazed at King’s ability to write such a developed novel so early on in his career.

In regards to the characters, I did struggle a bit in keeping up with the large cast featured in ‘Salem’s Lot. It became more difficult because so many of the characters have similar names, such as Mike, Mark, and Matt. Nonetheless, once I got into the story I was better able to keep track of everyone. If you have trouble with names, I would recommend keeping a character list nearby when you read, and simply jot down a quick note of each character’s role in the story.

Moreover, I was a bit disappointed that I never felt scared by this book. King is known for his horror novels, but I just was never creeped out or on the edge of my seat. I did find some of the real life scenes quite disturbing, but none of the paranormal elements got to me. Perhaps King is trying to make a point here, as I did sit back and wonder what was happening in my own town. Not including the paranormal elements, I’m sure people go through the same things that the characters in Jerusalem’s Lot do, and that is disturbing in and of itself. I’m interested to see if King’s next book The Shining will incite fear in me.

Overall, I’m glad I pushed through the slow pace of ‘Salem’s Lot. I did enjoy the story, and I think the book got better and better as I continued reading. The third-person narration was very well done, and I’m very impressed with King’s writing. If you are looking to get into King’s novels, I do not recommend starting here as it is a very long book. However, if you are familiar with his work, or really enjoy adult paranormal, this is a good book to read. I would love to hear your thoughts on ‘Salem’s Lot if you’ve read it, too!

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Book Review | Carrie by Stephen King

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Carrie by Stephen King

Published by Doubleday on April 5, 1974

Genres: Adult, Fiction, Horror, Fantasy

Format: Paperback

Pages: 245

Source: Purchased

Goodreads: ★★★ 1/2

Carrie knew she should not use the terrifying power she possessed… But one night at her senior prom, Carrie was scorned and humiliated just one time too many, and in a fit of uncontrollable fury she turned her clandestine game into a weapon of horror and destruction…

REVIEW

One of my lifelong goals is to read Stephen King’s work in publishing order, and I finally began my quest with Carrie upon finding a vintage and battered copy at a library book sale. While I knew the general story of Carrie already, I was still interested in reading the book. Carrie is a very quick and easy read, as the novel is under 300 pages. The story is immediately captivating. I really liked how the book is written. The story is written in the third person, and follows Carrie and her high school classmates. At the same time, the story is intermixed with fictional books and news articles that look back upon Carrie and her life. It makes the story feel real, and I wished I could go and read more from those fictional secondary sources.

While the writing is intriguing and flows well at the beginning, the story gets a bit jumbled at the end of the novel. The cadence of the book is upset towards the end, which definitely took away from the reading experience for me. That being said, Carrie is a debut novel, and I think it is a solid debut notwithstanding the disorganized writing.

Moreover, Carrie deals with the real life issue of bullying in a way that I’ve never read. It is so sad to see how Carrie’s classmates terrorize her, and it’s also sad to think that this bulling still occurs today over forty years later. Carrie is such a sympathetic character, and it is truly heart-wrenching to see how she is treated by her peers.

In the same way, Carrie’s mother is also a horrifying character. She is a fundamentalist Christian, and abuses Carrie. It is quite thought-provoking that King surrounds Carrie, the supposed monster, with such terrible people. It makes a great statement about what truly makes one good versus evil.

Overall, I enjoyed Carrie and am glad I decided to read King’s work in publishing order. It will be great to see the evolution of his writing over time. If you haven’t read Carrie I definitely recommend it despite the lackluster writing at the end of the novel. It is, of course, a well-known novel, and the bullying theme is an important one. I look forward to continuing on with King’s novels, and will be sure to share my thoughts on each in the future!

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Book Review | Horns by Joe Hill

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Horns by Joe Hill

Published by William Morrow on February 16, 2010

Genres: Adult, Fiction, Horror, Fantasy

Format: Paperback

Pages: 397

Source: Purchased

Goodreads: ★★★ 1/2

At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.

Once the righteous Ig had enjoyed the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician and younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, he had security, wealth, and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more—he had Merrin and a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.

But Merrin’s death damned all that. The only suspect in the crime, Ig was never charged or tried. And he was never cleared. In the court of public opinion in Gideon, New Hampshire, Ig is and always will be guilty because his rich and connected parents pulled strings to make the investigation go away. Nothing Ig can do, nothing he can say, matters. Everyone, it seems, including God, has abandoned him. Everyone, that is, but the devil inside. . . .

Now Ig is possessed of a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look—a macabre talent he intends to use to find the monster who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It’s time for a little revenge. . . . It’s time the devil had his due. . . .

REVIEW

Horns has been on my to read list for about a year now, and when I found a copy at an antique store for just $4.00 I decided to pick it up. I was instantly drawn in by this creepy story. Horns follows twenty-something Ig Perrish a year after his longtime girlfriend Merrin was murdered. Ig wakes up one day with horns on his head that give him devilish powers. He decides to use his new powers to find out who murdered his girlfriend and finally clear his name after being accused of the crime.

Horns is written in a nonlinear fashion. The book begins in the present day, but often flashes back to different times in both Ig’s life and the lives of other characters. While this means the writing was extremely well crafted, it also made the reading process very, very slow. I did really enjoy the flashbacks because they were integral to the story and allowed me as a reader to understand each character’s motives, but I had a very difficult time finishing this book! It was a very weird feeling, because while I was enjoying the book, I felt like it never ended. I really had to push through it.

In the same way, I wish we got to see more of Ig’s new powers in action. The fantastical elements of the story are really cool, and they are interwoven well with an otherwise contemporary setting. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of Horns, where Ig was just starting to use his powers. I really would have liked more of Ig in the present day using his powers because they were so intriguing!

Moreover, Horns features a good discussion of what makes someone good or evil. It is very interesting that out of all the characters in the book, Ig is the one that wakes up with devil horns. Similarly, Horns makes me wonder about my own life, and what the horns would reveal for me. I think these elements of the book make Horns the perfect book club pick, as there is a lot to discuss!

Overall, while I think Horns is exceptionally written, I’m left a bit underwhelmed because of its slow pace. I also wasn’t a big fan of the ending, which I won’t discuss further as to avoid spoilers. I definitely want to pick up Joe Hill’s other books, especially NOS4A2. If you enjoy creepy and somewhat disturbing books, I do recommend giving Horns a chance. It’s perfect during Halloween, or anytime you’re in the mood for something in the horror genre!

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Book Review | Shutter by Courtney Alameda (Shutter #1)

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Shutter (Shutter #1) by Courtney Alameda

Published by Feiwel & Friends on February 3, 2015

Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Paranormal

Pages: 384

Format: Hardcover

Source: Goodreads Giveaway

Goodreads: ★★★★ 1/2


Horror has a new name: introducing Courtney Alameda.

Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat—a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She’s aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera’s technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever.

When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain. As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn’t exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she’s faced before . . . or die trying.

Lock, stock, and lens, she’s in for one hell of a week.

REVIEW

If you are a lover of young adult paranormal, run to the nearest bookstore and pick up Shutter. This horror novel is the first in a new series by Courtney Alameda, and features a great cast of characters as they go on an epic adventure to kill the ghost who has infected their bodies and is literally killing them from the inside out. I raced through this novel, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a dark and thrilling tale.

My favorite thing about Shutter is Alameda’s writing style. She is able to create a dark aura surrounding her words that evokes a real sense of eeriness for the reader. The tone reminded me a bit of the Blood of Eden Series by Julie Kagawa, though the stories are quite different, of course.

Alameda also excels in character development. Shutter has four main characters – our narrator is Micheline Helsing, a descendant of Van Helsing who is trained to hunt the undead. Her reaping team is made up of three young men, Ryder, Jude, and Oliver, who each have a distinct personality. These four characters work so well together, and each is likable both individually and as a team unit.

My critiques of the novel are very few, and they are quite trivial. First, there are a few instances in the novel where traditional gender roles are accepted. However, these moments are fleeting one-liners, and probably only stick out to someone like me who is keenly aware of gender relations in all that I read. I also found the beginning of the novel to be a bit complicated, as the world building threw a lot of vocabulary and technology my way all at once. Luckily, as the novel progressed, I quickly grew to understand the world.

Other than those small issues, I loved everything about Shutter, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series to be released. Whether you love ghost stories, or perhaps you’re looking to break into the young adult horror genre, I highly recommend Shutter. It’s a dynamic read that is sure to keep you turning pages to the very end.

 
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