Tag: Horror Books Review

“The Picture of Dorian Gray” By Oscar Wilde Review

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In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde’s most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind.

To be honest this book was okay. I had some high expectations for this book because I’ve heard amazing things about this book but of course this book didn’t live to all of my expectations. 

There are some parts in this book which dragged on too long and they really could have been cut down in my opinion. But I’ve found it very interesting, enjoying and engaging overall. And this book gotta be one of my favourite classics so far in my reading journey.

The characters here are okay. I liked them but nothing more than that. Some sides characters felt like the same characters but in different clothes. But they main characters in this book were amazing 

The main character is one of the best characters I’ve seen so far. Because we easily see his development from going being the nice and kind guy to his downward into cruelty.

The writing style here was amazing. It was very gothic which I always enjoy in horror books.

The ending here was very sad, but it was an ending which was very good to this book and it was an ending that the book and we as readers deserved.

I Give This Book 3 / 5

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” By Robert Louis Stevenson Review

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Robert Louis Stevenson’s masterpiece of the duality of good and evil in man’s nature sprang from the darkest recesses of his own unconscious—during a nightmare from which his wife awakened him, alerted by his screams. More than a hundred years later, this tale of the mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll and the drug that unleashes his evil, inner persona—the loathsome, twisted Mr. Hyde—has lost none of its ability to shock. Its realistic police-style narrative chillingly relates Jekyll’s desperation as Hyde gains control of his soul—and gives voice to our own fears of the violence and evil within us. Written before Freud’s naming of the ego and the id, Stevenson’s enduring classic demonstrates a remarkable understanding of the personality’s inner conflicts—and remains the irresistibly terrifying stuff of our worst nightmares.

I was very impressed by this book. Because I’ve expected to not like it like most classics but in fact this book is one of the best classic books I’ve read so far.

The plot in this book is a horror book but much rather a thriller / mystery book. Of course there are some murders in this book. But most of the book is about finding the mystery of Mr. Hyde and who he is. The plot itself pretty much reminds me of old timey schizophrenia, but it was super fun to read this book and see what will happen next. 

The characters here are good. Of course there are some characters who I didn’t like but the main character Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde very truly amazing and I loved them which I gave this book some extra points for.

There isn’t so much action here but there is a lot of wondering and mystery which I personally enjoy when it happens. 

The action taken place in old London, which is an amazing setting for any thriller or horror book or movie in my opinion.

The beginning of this books is a police investigation which it intrigued me personally and it really was an amazing start to this book in my personally opinion.

Dr. Jekyll is the good one here and Mr. Hyde is the evil one. And it pretty much shows the good versus the evil. 

The writing style here was amazing, it felt like going back in time and watching this all happen rather reading this book.

The end in this book is just as amazing as the beginning in my opinion. Because the ending includes psychological and philosophical apotheosis with Doctor Jekyll’s journal which explains how it all happened and how doctor Jekyll went to being mr. Hyde.

I Give This Book 4 / 5

“Grzesznik” By Artur Urbanowicz Review

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Marek Suchocki “Suchy”, the boss of the Suwałki underworld, learns that his most dangerous competitor is leaving prison. Without waiting for further developments, he and his faithful people decide to face him once and for all. The settlements end tragically – Marek falls down the stairs and suffers a strong concussion. When he regains consciousness after a week’s coma, it turns out that his group has been shattered and all the money earned through years of criminal activity is gone. His opponent, through his brutal and uncompromising achievements, once baptized as a Sinner by the media, makes himself known as a brilliant, incredibly intelligent psychopath who knows no mercy. He confronts Dry with a choice – he will either give in, or he will be taken from everything he has ever enjoyed. To make matters worse, Mark’s terrifying new abilities are revealed shortly after the accident

Another amazing book from the polish author Artur Urbanowicz. This was my third book written by Artur Urbanowicz and so far it was probably my second favourite but also it makes me realise that Artur Urbanowicz is criminal underrated. 

After reading this book I need to say that Artur Urbanowicz have surprised me with this book in a good way of course. Because it really felt like a masterpiece.

The description of this book is very misleading I need to say after reading this book because it really have taken a entire new turn after like 2/3 part of this book. Because this book started with a typical mob leader theme but then after like the 2 / 3 this book have taken an entire new turn to a different theme which I can’t revile because it will classify as a spoiler.

The plot of this book was very interesting and super enjoyable because it sort of was a typical mob plot but then it started to take more and more different turn which I really enjoyed. 

The writing style was amazing. The writing style felt like it was written by Stephen King and not like an author who only have written like 5 full books at this point. What Im trying to say is that it feels like it was written by someone who have bigger experience rather than just 5 books.

The ending have had an okay twist there, of course it could have been better but I can’t complain because it was good enough. But the really the ending made me give this book 1 star less than I intended to give it originally. Because it sort of killed of the eerie mood which this book was building up since the beginning which really disappointed me. 

I Give This Book 4 / 5

“The Institute” By Stephen King Review

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In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”

I fucking love this book is so fucking good. I had low expectations for this book which I shouldn’t have had because this book is banger.

This book isn’t the typical Stephen king book because there is no monster chasing the main character around but rather human nature is the monster in this book. The monster in this book is people who will go to great lengths for something they believe which will save their country and the entire world no matter how many people they kill in the process. For me this is more scarier than demon clowns, killer cars and vampires because in the end the true villains are the humans. 

The beginning of this book was very slow and kind of boring in a way because it was so slow and nothing exciting or interesting was happening. But after like 30 or so pages the book gets addicting because you won’t be able to put it down because it gets so interesting. That’s what makes Stephen King one of the greatest authors of all time because he can create so interesting and so addictive plots.

The main characters here feel like real human beings which makes me love this book even more. Even the side characters feel like real human beings. To be honest it all the characters feels like I wouldn’t have a problem being good friends with them if they were real human beings. Every character in this book has something which makes her or him to a unique character on their own and they really stand out from the rest. 

This book gives a huge mental asylum vibe especially the “back room” part of this book which I loved. It has something evil and eerie to it, even thou there are no clowns, scary serial killer or a boogyman running around in this book. It just the evil and fucked up things which humans can do to another human being to get what they want.

The writing style in this book the best thing ever, if you have read some of the most popular Stephen King books then you will know what I’m talking about. Because this book has the typical Stephen king writing style which is like the literature version of ecstasy. Once you start reading this book you won’t be able to stop or put it down is what I meant when I’ve said literature version of ecstasy.

The ending has the huge Stranger Things (Season 1) vibe to it which really made me love the book even more because I love this kind of vibe when it feels like a classic horror story with good plot, amazing characters and so much more to it. The ending don’t have a twist to it or anything, the ending is kind of obvious in this book but I personally didn’t mind this.

I give this book 5 / 5

“Dracula” By Bram Stoker Review

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A rich selection of background and source materials is provided in three areas: Contexts includes probable inspirations for Dracula in the earlier works of James Malcolm Rymer and Emily Gerard. Also included are a discussion of Stoker’s working notes for the novel and “Dracula’s Guest,” the original opening chapter to Dracula. Reviews and Reactions reprints five early reviews of the novel. “Dramatic and Film Variations” focuses on theater and film adaptations of Dracula, two indications of the novel’s unwavering appeal. David J. Skal, Gregory A. Waller, and Nina Auerbach offer their varied perspectives. Checklists of both dramatic and film adaptations are included.

I had high expectations for this book because it is a classic and I’ve heard dozens of good feedback and reviews about this book. And I gotta say that this book lived up to my high expectations.

The writing style was amazing. And the old English really helped to set the mood for this book and made the whole plot even better. 

The plot here was just amazing, I felt like a real life story in a way which I love when this happens in horror stories especially with Draculas and other classic monsters like mummies, Frankenstein and the non than the count Dracula himself.

The victorian horror is the thing I love the most in books and TV shows. And the fact that this is a classic made this entire book and plot even better.

This book is a masterpiece which everyone should read at one point. Because many horror books and TV shows have been influenced by masterpieces like this one.

I give this book 5  / 5

“Gałęziste” By Artur Urbanowicz Review

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Don’t believe anything you see or hear. There is a house where you don’t want to spend the night. For some reason, the darkness in it is different. Even more sinister than anywhere else. There is a lake where the undead live. Their advantage over you is simple – they don’t need to take a breath. There is a demon that you wish you didn’t know existed. An immaterial personification of evil that cannot be escaped. There is a place where this house is located. A place in the heart of which this lake is also hidden, and where this demon has always been. It’s a forest. A forest in which you would not want to get lost for anything in the world. Once you enter it, it won’t let you leave.

To be fair here I didn’t have any exceptions for this book. Which really made me enjoy this book more. All I knew about this book was that it had a cool cover and that it was written by an author which work I’ve read once before and I completely loved the book.

The plot in this book was just wow. It was amazing, it was like a regular horror story taking place in the woods but it had a very unique new perspective to it which I truly loved. And that it takes place in Poland makes it even more fun for someone like me who is from Poland. But there were times where the plot was too predictable which didn’t go well with me.

The writing style could have been better, which brought the atmosphere in this book down. Which really sucks because if the writing was better then this book would have been a banger. 

The most annoying thing with this book is that it was so slow, and true action didn’t really happen until the second half of this book. It really annoyed me because the first half was many times so boring and it was nothing but drama between the 2 main characters.

The characters were okay here. I don’t like them at all. The main characters really annoyed me because there were making so stupid choices some times. And I couldn’t really relate to them, because the main female character was to hardcore religions and the main male character was acting like a child for 90% of this book. But there were few times were I could relate to them. The 2 main characters are adults but in the fist half of this book were acting like teenagers who are in relationship but don’t want to break up because they have been together for couple of years. 

The ending had some good twists there. Which I truly loved in this book. But the main twist at the end was so god damn an obvious that even a child could have seen it coming. 

After all it was an okay read but nothing too extraordinary. There were couple of things which didn’t work for me and there were couple of things which I enjoyed a lot. 

I give this book 3 / 5

“Werewolf” By Ed And Lorraine Warren Review

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The legend of the werewolf is as old as man himself. From Ed and Lorraine Warren, the world’s most famous demonologists, comes perhaps their most incredible and horrifying case: the true story of William Ramsey, whose bizarre seizures terrified the English town of Southend-on-Sea. Believing Ramsey to be a victim of demonic possession, the Warrens arranged for the rite of exorcism to be performed. Not since the exorcist shocked the nation has there been such a such a horrifying account of a supernatural battle between good and evil within the soul of one human. 

So this was book written by none other than Ed and Lorraine Warren. Frankly I didn’t know about this case until I picked up this book. Ive watched all the movies in the Ed and Lorraine Warren Cinematic Universe and this book is a nice little additional resource to the cinematic universe of Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Ive mention it before on this website that I’m a huge skeptic so I don’t believe that the stuff which is written in this book is real and that it happen. I just treated it like a good horror story as it should be treated.

Im gonna believe in demons, ghosts etc when I see them with my own eyes without being under the influence of anything. Until then the Cinematic Universe of Ed and Lorraine Warren will just be for me good horror stories for horror movies.

The writing style in this one was super incredible, it really shows that Ed and Lorraine Warren were good writers and good story tellers if you will. 

When it comes to the highlight of this book which was the exorcism of William Ramsey then it was super short which really disappointed me because it could have been longer. 

However when it comes to William Ramsey then he felt more like he had schizophrenia not that he was possessed by a animal spirit or whatever you want to call it.

I give this book 2 / 5

“The Invisible Man” By H.G. Wells Review

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The story concerns the life and death of a scientist named Griffin who has gone mad. Having learned how to make himself invisible, Griffin begins to use his invisibility for nefarious purposes, including murder.

I had high expectations for this one, and yet again a book didn’t live up to these expectations which is sad.

This book had the potential to be much better than it actually was but it didn’t use that potential which it could have. Which is sad to see. 

The writing style in this book was amazing but it sometimes became too hard to understand which really throw me away sometimes and really took the wind and fun away from it. 

The way the story was told in was just super boring and I really had hard time focusing on this story. Which is sad because if H.G Wells have chosen a little bit different angle from which he should tell the story from, then this book could have killed it and got the full score everywhere. 

What I’m trying to say here is that this book has a very interesting premise but not such interesting execution.

When the main character was explaining how he became invisible make it seem like invisibility is a very easy thing to achieve. 

I give this book 2 / 5

“The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft” By H.P. Lovecraft Review

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The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft collects the author’s novel, four novellas, and fifty-three short stories. Written between the years 1917 and 1935, this collection features Lovecraft’s trademark fantastical creatures and supernatural thrills, as well as many horrific and cautionary science-fiction themes, that have influenced some of today’s writers and filmmakers, including Stephen King, Alan Moore, F. Paul Wilson, Guillermo del Toro, and Neil Gaiman.

This one is the second last book I’ve finished in last year (2021). And I’m reviewing this one because I didn’t finish to review all of H.P Lovecraft’s work until week ago. 

This one involves every short story written by the man himself. And with this book being read means that I’ve was able to read everything from Edgar Allan Poe and H.P Lovecraft in a year.

I had so much fun reading this book because every short story had something in it. And every short story has the biggest gothic vibe to it

If I’m gonna have kids in the future then they will be made reading this book no matter what. 

Of course every short story was different from the rest. Some were much better and some were much worse. But this book as a whole was fucking brilliant. 

Reading this book was like seeing the journey of horror, it was like seeing the first steps of the horror we know so well today. 

This book is completely worth the money and the time you will spend on it because this book is full of classics and while reading this book you are seeing the journey of horror.

I give this book 4 / 5

“Sleepless” By Lou Morgan Review

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Young, rich and good-looking, Izzy and her friends lead seemingly perfect lives. But exams are looming and at a school like Clerkenwell, failure is not an option. Luckily, Tigs has a solution. A small pill that will make revision a breeze and help them get the results they need. Desperate to succeed, the group begin taking the study drug. It doesn’t take long before they realize there are far worse things than failing a few exams.

I gotta be honest with you here, this book is the first YA book which I truly enjoyed. Which is pretty weird when it comes to me because I never liked YA books or anything close to it. I didn’t give this book the highest possible rating because there were couple of things which didn’t go well with me but overall it was an interesting and enjoyable read. 

I can summarise this whole book in 5 words which are = 1) teens. 2) studying. 3) drugs. 4) murder. 5) horror. And that’s pretty much the entire book. It wasn’t the most advanced book ever because after all it is a YA book but it was surprisingly good and enjoyable. And it had couple of moments where it was keeping you on the complete edge of your chair and waiting on what will happen next. 

However the ending here is completely awful. It really ruined everything which the author was trying to with this whole book. The ending here is the definition on a terrible ending and what you as an author should never do. 

The writing style here was okay, it was very far from good but it was on the level with the rest of the book. In which case I won’t take any points away from this book because it didn’t ruin anything.

The plot itself wasn’t that good however so far at least I didn’t read anything similar to this before and maybe that’s why I did enjoy it so much.

The beginning was pretty slow but after it got started it had no intentions of stopping which I really don’t mind. Because I prefer when things go faster than slower. 

This book had some creepy parts which I enjoyed and I think you will too. But don’t expect anything from this book because after all it is just a YA book which doesn’t mean that much in the end other than just giving us an entertaining read. 

I give this book 3 / 5