book reviews

Book reviews for horror fans; weather a sleepless night with literary accounts of hauntings, possessions, zombies, vampires and beyond.

Author Spotlight: Frank LoProto
It came from 1954. The beast of Sunny Florida. The thing from another world. No, these aren’t movie titles. They’re proper introductions for the first of many authors I hope to spotlight. He’s a horror factory from the East Coast, a lover of the supernatural, and a master of the written word. While you will know him as Frank LoProto, I call him dad. It may sound corny to spotlight a relative, but as I still struggle to find myself as a writer, it seemed appropriate to start this series off with an individual that means so much to my own career.
By Mark LoProto7 years ago in Horror
No Exit
Surface, surface, surface... The secret of this review is that it will be a little less than a review. Instead, I suppose it's simply another in a long line of my interminable essays. Whatever the case, I've been listening to an audiobook of American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis, which inspired the famous cult film, whose cliche lines, such as "I have to return some videotapes," have now passed over into pop-cultural points of reference.
By Tom Baker7 years ago in Horror
Horror in a 'Heart Shaped Box'
As an avid reader, I can easily go through three or four books a week, particularly during the summer months, and this particular book came into my possession as an impulse buy at my local second hand market. I had never heard of the author, or the title before, however while the brief synopsis on the back cover gave little away, the contrasts between the basic plot and the seemingly innocuous title—Heart Shaped Box—was enough to get my attention to give Joe Hill's debut novel a try.
By Becky Jimenes7 years ago in Horror
Book Review: 'NOS4A2'
Let me get it out in the open that Joe Hill's NOS4A2 is a brilliant book; it is a sheer irresistible page-turner packed with a fantastic story and characterization, it tells of Victoria McQueen, known as Brat to her father, finding out her unique ability to a bridge that brings together reality and thoughts/fantasy.
By Sarah Lee7 years ago in Horror
The Best Horror Writers of All Time
Who Are the Best Horror Writers? Most fans of horror writing would agree that one of the best horror authors of all time is Stephen King. King has written more than 58 full novels and hundreds of short stories that have enjoyed for decades, ever since his first published novel, Carrie, arrived on the scene in 1973. Despite being his fourth actual novel, it was the first one put out by a significant publisher and received high marks from critics and readers. King has won countless awards and prizes for his writing. He is often called the “King of Horror.” Several of his novels have been turned into big-screen hits, as well.
By Donald Jefferson7 years ago in Horror
'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley (Pt. 3)
The first text we're going to use is a controversial one. Heart of Darkness was written by Joseph Conrad in the year of 1899. There are multiple quotations in the text that suggest that Marlow has a lot more control over the narrative than Frankenstein in his text. Frankenstein's motives are controlled by his emotions, this can change events and retellings of other people's stories. Whereas, Marlow is able to control the emotions of others using the story. The most notable of these incidents is when he tells Mrs. Kurtz what Kurtz's last words were; of course, he doesn't tell her the truth and says that he said his wife's name instead of "The Horror! The Horror!"
By Annie Kapur7 years ago in Horror
'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley (Pt. 2)
"During this short voyage I saw the lightning playing on the summit of Mont Blanc in the most beautiful figures. The storm appeared to approach rapidly, and, on landing, I ascended a low hill, that I might observe its progress. It advanced; the heavens were clouded, and I soon felt the rain coming slowly in large drops, but its violence quickly increased… While I watched the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific, I wandered on with a hasty step."
By Annie Kapur7 years ago in Horror
'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a novel synonymous with the beginning of sci-fi, the high fothic novel, the beginning of the modern novel and even the start of the modern world. Written in 1818 and revised for over a decade after, Mary Shelley's novel was first published as a part of a competition set by the poet Lord Byron. The competition was that they had to write a frightening story and the winner would get funded for publication.
By Annie Kapur7 years ago in Horror
Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'Trigger Warning: Body Horror Anthology' (2019)
I can easily say form the first three stories, that this anthology is worth the cover price. Madness Heart Press has done it again. So far, I’m actually more impressed with this anthology than Creeping Corruption.
By Reed Alexander7 years ago in Horror
Thank You, Stephen King
“No good friends. No bad friends. Only people you want, need to be with; people who build their houses in your heart.” (KING, STEPHEN. IT. SCRIBNER, 2019.)
By Jaime Burbatt7 years ago in Horror
Why Stephen King Is the King
I am a person who really does not have a taking to horror. I have tried picking up a Stephen King book and getting through it, but it was a horrible experience where I had nightmares that were constant. I had to immediately rush to the nearest library and throw the book into the return slot and never thought about it again. Now, you might be asking me, how do I know that he is the best horror novelist out there? Well, for starters, he has sold 350 million copies of his books and he has written at least 88, and any author can tell you that is a lot of books to write. However, I was taking a class for creative writing and one of my profs, whom I admire to this day, has told me that if you are going to read any book, it must be Stephen King's On Writing:A Memoir of the Craft. So I bought it at Value Village and I started reading. He starts off with his childhood and how we grew up. There was a story of when he got an ear infection, and every little detail of the sounds of what he felt made it seem so agonizing and real, that I understood why he wrote horror. He took a simple childhood story and he turned it into a horror story of the ear infection. That's what made me realize that anyone can be a writer, anyone can be a horror writer. You take a simple story, and bit by bit, you add parts and words that make it terrifying—and there you go, you have a book.
By Ada Zuba7 years ago in Horror
Homage to Horror: A Review of 'Pumpkin Night'
In a effort to expand into other new horror manga, not just Junji Ito, I spent the last couple of months reading almost anything I came across. Some honorable mentions include Happiness (Shuzo Oshimi), Kiriko Kills' (Shingo Honda), and Killing Morph (Masaya Hokazono), but nothing entertained me more than Pumpkin Night. This manga is currently on-going and this review contains some spoilers!
By Samantha Sing7 years ago in Horror