Tag: Horror Books Review

“The Complete Stories and Poems” By Edgar Allan Poe Review

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This single volume brings together all of Poe’s stories and poems, and illuminates the diverse and multifaceted genius of one of the greatest and most influential figures in American literary history. 

So this one is a complete works of Edgar Allan Poe which were realised. 

Let me just say it that I love the edition which I got which is super style-ish and looks extremely good in my bookshelf. It looks all fancy and I really love it.

I’m not gonna review each poem and story which is in it because if I did we would be here for at least 2 whole weeks.

I had so much fun reading this book because every poem and story had something in it. And every poem as well as story had the big gothic vibe into it which I love like nothing else in the world.

I read this book in one week which is very fast for me because this book has over 900 pages (at least the edition which I got) which is a lots to read if you want to read it in one week.

I love this book because it involves every Edgar Allan Poe poem and story which means I didn’t need to buy multiple books to read every work of Edgar Allan Poe.

This book is completely worth buying it because it Edgar Allan Poe we are talking about and who doesn’t love Edgar Allan Poe?

If I gonna have kids one day, this would be the book I would force them to read no matter what. 

Every poem and story in this book has a creepy, gothic, and thrilling vibe to it.

I give this book 4 / 5

“Salems Lot” By Stephen King Review

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Thousands of miles away from the small township of ‘Salem’s Lot, two terrified people, a man and a boy, still share the secrets of those clapboard houses and tree-lined streets. They must return to ‘Salem’s Lot for a final confrontation with the unspeakable evil that lives on in the town.

The famous Salems Lot by Stephen King, I finally read it and oh boy was it disappointing ? unfortunately it was. I had high hopes for this book which it didn’t live up to. This one is a Stephen King classic which oh boy I really wished to like but didn’t. Getting into this book I really wanted to love this book but it turned out to be a book which I didn’t care about so much. 

The writing style in this one didn’t feel like quit Stephen King which might have something to do with it being one of his early works. But it didn’t give the horror vibe which almost every Stephen King book does give the reader. 

There were some good moments which really made the chills run down your spine but there were very few of these moments which is again very disappointing at least for me. 

The plot itself is amazing but I really had a hard time with connecting it. I don’t know why because Im a huge fan of horror stories which involves something bad going on in a rural town.

The ending in my opinion was the best thing in this whole book. Need to say that the ending was very fast which is a typical Stephen King thing which happens in every book and story he writes. And which I love. 

However I need to give this book a lots of points for giving us a pictures how vampires should look like and not just some Twilight bull shit. 

This book isn’t so good as many other Stephen King books but it is of course a book which every Stephen King fan MUST read. 

To be fully honest with you, I need to say that this book is my least favourite book right after “Elevation” written by Stephen King (so far).

I give this book 2 / 5

“Frankenstein” By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Review

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Frankenstein tells the story of gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein who succeeds in giving life to a being of his own creation. However, this is not the perfect specimen he imagines that it will be, but rather a hideous creature who is rejected by Victor and mankind in general.

Let me just start this review with saying that this one is a fucking classic and if you are a book reader and lover you just must read this one.

You won’t regret reading this one as long as you are into horror and gothic story which will drag you into the story and wont let you go until you finish the book.

This one have surprised me a lot because I was expecting a super hard book with very difficult old english in it but oh boy it had surprised me. But in fact it is the full opposite of it. The language in this one was super interesting and enjoyable, it was easy and it seemed like a mix between Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King. 

This one is just an incredible tale of horror which wouldn’t be written in a better way. 

The writing style of the author is fucking incredible and probably the best I have seen in my reading journey which really speaks for itself when it beats Stephen King and the rest. The writing style is completely beautiful and it really brings a lot into the story.

There were moments in this book which seemed a little bit as a drag but they are survivable.

This one beats most of the modern day horror books which also says a lot about how good this one really is.

However there are people who wont like this one because it has a huge gothic vibe to it and it isn’t scary as you may expect. This one is rather a thriller book than a horror book.

This one is a classic for a reason and you will know why when you read this one. 

This one is so far in the top 10 books Ive read so far in my life and I have read over 350 books.

I give this book 4 / 5

“My Best Friend’s Exorcism” By Grady Hendrix Review

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The year is 1988. Charleston, South Carolina. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. . But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act… different. She’s moody. She’s irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she’s nearby. Abby’s investigation leads her to some startling discoveries – and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?

This book is probably one of the most overhyped books which are reviewed on this blog so far. Most of the people I follow in the book community on the internett have read this book and all of them have rated this book with 4 or 5 stars, which I don’t understand.

I need to give this book points for the 80s vibe in the design of this book, and for the 80s horror movie vibe to the whole story. An extra thing I have appreciated with this book is that there is a Spotify playlist to this book.

The characters in this book are flat, overdramatic and boring. The best way to describe the characters in this book is to say that all the characters are typical YA characters which not a lot of people will like. But in the end if you are not a fan of the YA genre you will not like this book as a whole. This book is a little bit surpricisng and harcorde for a YA book but in the end the way the story is written and the way all characters are presented you will instantly see that this book is a YA book.

The main character Abby really annoyed me annoyed me throughout the whole book. Because at the beginning she was the wannabe kid which wanted to be popular so badly that she could have done anything. And when the books jumpes in time when she and the other main chracter are teens, she is bascially making the stupiest decisions ever just as she had lost her brain somewhere when she was growing up.

The characters in this book felt like the author of this book really tried way too hard to create relevant teens which will make stupid decisions.

The ending is disappointed and you could feel it coming all the way from the middle of this book.

The main plot of this book is possesion, but there are also many (way too many) side plots like rape, some kind of personal vedetta, high school drama, boyfriend / girlfriend drama and other high school bull shit.

The book would be much better if the author cut hald of these side plots and stick to the main plot and dont just focus on the side plots in the middle of the book.

The excessive / gratuitous animal death doesn’t make this book better. If a book has a brutal / excessive / gratuitous aimal death just expect that, that book will get a bad review.

“I love you but not queerly, so don’t expect too much” is a recurring theme of this book so be warned.

I give this book 1 / 5

“Flight or Fright: 17 Turbulent Tales” by Stephen King & Bev Vincent Review

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Fasten your seatbelts for an anthology of turbulent tales curated by Stephen King and Bev Vincent. This exciting new anthology, perfect for airport or airplane reading, includes an original introduction and story notes for each story by Stephen King, along with brand new stories from Stephen King and Joe Hill.

It’s important to say that this book isn’t fully written by Stephen King, the best way to describe this book would be to say that Stephen King and Bev Vincent have edited this book. This book is a collection of 17 plane horror stories, however you will find in this book one short story written by Stephen King, one short story written by Bev Vincent and one short story written by the son of Stephen King aka Joe Hill. 

So if you are expecting from this book to be the typical Stephen King book you will be disappointed. This book I would say will be better for people who are starting their journey with books / short stories or for people who just want to read a relaxing book which don’t need a lots of brain power and work to it. 

For people who are already having a fear of planes and flying this book will only make their anxiety and fear bigger. But when it comes to people like me who loves to travel by plane will for the most part don’t create any anxiety or fear. It will for the most part give you stories to think about when you’re at the plane, flying somewhere. 

All the stories in this book are more or less different from each other. some stories are about zombies on the plane, some are about monster attacking the plane, some are about murder mysteries and all the way to the unknown demons in the clouds. And if you are a fan of time travel you will also find a story involving time travel in this book. So this book needs to get points for having at least one story for every one. It’s safe to say that each story in this collection are sort of related with other genres and styles, so this book also needs to get points for that as well. 

Each story in this book is some how introduced by Stephen King. And this sort of adds something to the stories and for sure puts another dimension to each of them.

In this book we have 17 different authors so it would be stupid to talk about writing style, because every author have some how different writing style. 

In the end this book is interesting and very fun to read. And for sure it has something which everyone will enjoy which doesn’t happen with a lots of books.

I give this book 2 / 5

“Inkub” by Artur Urbanowicz Review

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Two eras. Two stories. One village. One witch. One curse. Imagine you can do anything. Even cheat death. A young district attendant, who soon commits suicide, has a keen interest in the mysteries of the village. The case of his death is being investigated by Vytautas Česnauskis, a policeman of half Lithuanian origin from the municipal headquarters in Suwałki. He discovers that Jodozior’s dark history has its roots in the seventies

This book has around 730 pages, which may scare off some people. Because you will need at least 2 – 3 weeks to finish it. And this size scared me at the beginning and I needed couple of weeks to actually start reading it. But when I began reading it, I read this book in 2 weeks. 

The whole plot of this book felt to me at least really overrated because there are dozens and dozens of books about witches, curses and haunted houses. But Artur Urbanowicz in this books shows us that you can actually write something original, unique and good in the topics which now on days are overrated.

Ive done some research and I found out that this story is based on a true real life legend of a village in the Suwałki County in Poland. The whole legend is very similar to this book when it comes to the basics here. Which are allegedly a witch living in a small village who had create a curse on a village. But let’s go back to the book. 

In this book Artur Urbanowicz really shows that not only Stephen King can write brilliant, scary and creepy books with eerie moods to them. 

This book is written in a similar way to “It” by Stephen King because it involves two different time periods in it. And every chapter goes from 1971 to 2016 and back to 1971. However I personally felt that this was very annoying in “It” by Stephen King because it was too long and a lots of parts could have been edited out, but this book was different then “It” by Stephen King. Everything which is in this book feels like it needs to be there just to see the whole picture of this book which it presents to its readers.

Because of the reason that this book goes back and forth between 1971 and 2016, the reader feels like we are lost somewhere in time. Because of the reason that we see the two stories from two different points in life happening side by side. 

This book (at the time of writing) has not been translated to English or any other language except of polish. But I do hope it will be soon for all fans of the horror genre. Because this book is something which every horror reader and horror fan should read. Because this book shows that a you can get a different perspective on a topic which now on days with all these games, books and tv shows have been over used so many times.

I need to say that it is sort of hard to get into this book for the first couple of chapters but as the story reveals that there might be something more to the infamous village it sort of drags you in and you cant stop reading it.

The writing style itself can be compared with Stephen King. Because this book holds onto you until you finish it, and it really stays in your mind for a long time. The writing style in this book makes you feel like you are a part of the story and like you are following the main characters from 1971 and 2016.

The atmosphere in this book seems like a cross between Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King. Because you have the witch character which 

sort of gives you the gothic vibe because of the black dress she uses and as well as the demons, ghosts and hallucinations which Stephen King really loves you use in his books.

The ending is a banger. Because it ends with a juicy and big cliffhanger. Which really makes you want that this book would have a sequel to it, but you know after finishing this book that the sequel would ruin the whole fun you had with this book.

For a really long time I personally was waiting to read so good book as this one. Since “outsider” by Stephen King which was in November of 2020, I haven’t read anything that good.

I give this book 5 / 5

“Graveyard Shift” by Stephen King Review

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A young drifter named Hall has been working at a decrepit textile mill in a small town in Maine when his boss, a cruel taskmaster, recruits him and others to assist with a massive cleaning effort. The basement of the old mill has been abandoned for decades, and over the years, a monumental infestation of rats has taken hold.

If you don’t like rates, then maybe don’t pick up this story because it involves a lots of rates in it. 

This short story is pretty much a creepy read which takes place in an old mill. This story isn’t that unique, because in the end it is a basic horror story which isn’t that good as most novels written by Stephen King.

This story is enjoyable to read, but I would recommend to read it off you didn’t read all novels by Stephen King. Because in the end this story is nothing more than modern interpretation of “The Rats in the Walls” but written by Stephen King instead of H. P. Lovecraft.

This story really shows that some authors should stick with the longer novels and don’t write short stories and unfortunately Stephen King is one of them. Because the whole story lacks context to it and more depth into it, the whole story is sort of like a skeleton of a story without organs, meat, muscle, nerves etc. 

This whole story isn’t necessarily creepy and intense, but it still is a horror story in that it’s about things you don’t ever want to experience. Just as mutated rats. It’s more unpleasant than anything else.

The whole story is pretty too basic, all it is for the most part is people cleaning an old, abandoned basement and then something happens and shit foes down hill.

The ending could be much better than it actually was, but too late to change it now. The whole ending is more or less feels like squeamish than terrified. It implies what happens next to the men, which was a great ending but so horrid.

I give this story 3 / 5

“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe Review

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“The Fall of the House of Usher” recounts the terrible events that befall the last remaining members of the once-illustrious Usher clan before it is — quite literally — rent asunder. With amazing economy, Poe plunges the reader into a state of deliciously agonizing suspense. It’s a must-read for fans of the golden era of horror writing.

The whole tale is written in a very gothic and moody style, which a horror fan will enjoy. 

Characters, there are very few of them. There are only 5 characters if you count the narrator. Every character have something unique to it, and they are pretty much written in different perspectives which gives us a unique vibe to every character. 

This story predates the modern psychology that eventually is able to put a name to those illnesses which the main characters suffer from. Of course back then people knew very little about various illnesses and mental health which makes this story even more interesting.

Edgar Allan Poe takes us through the darkest corners of the human mind in this tale. Which we need to give him points for, because there are a lot of horrors / thrillers authors now on days who are failing to do so. However if you read other works of Edgar Allan Poe in the past you will have no problem with getting  in and getting out of this tale. Because it is written in the typical Edgar Allan Poe style. 

This tale is very good at showing the reader that our imaginations can always conjure up worse horrors than those we can actually see.

This story is at some point very unique because it is all about This short story the last days of two survivors of a prestigious family, which we don’t read a lot about in books. Of course it is fiction but it doesn’t make it less interesting or less realistic in your head while you are reading this tale. 

There is a huge dark atmosphere to this tale, and it is very clear to see that this tale is one of the best works by Edgar Allan Poe. 

This tale might be hard for someone people to get into, because it starts a little bit confusing, and you sort of don’t know what’s happening at the beginning. 

This tale can be read in one short sitting, which is amazing. Especially when you are struggling to focus on reading for some reason. 

Another thing which may be a little bit of topic is that this tale is perfect to read while quarantine. Because the story of this book focuses on a man who has been in isolation for an extended period of time and is deteriorating into madness. Which is always better to read about when you need to be in quarantine or isolated. 

There are some good and deep gothic elements in this tale. Which for the most part are a haunted  house, a mysterious illness, madness, death, entombment, a dungeon, a violent storm, a cursed family, resurrection and much more. There are a lot of elects in this tale which somehow Edgar Allan Poe puts together in a perfect way, where everything makes sense. 

I give this book 4 / 5

“The Phantom of the Opera” By Gaston Leroux Review

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95First published in French as a serial in 1909, The Phantom of the Opera is a riveting story that revolves around the young, Swedish Christine Daaé. Her father, a famous musician, dies, and she is raised in the Paris Opera House with his dying promise of a protective angel of music to guide her. After a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually teaches her how to sing beautifully. All goes well until Christine’s childhood friend Raoul comes to visit his parents, who are patrons of the opera, and he sees Christine when she begins successfully singing on the stage. The voice, who is the deformed, murderous ‘ghost’ of the opera house named Erik, however, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, until Christine suddenly disappears. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster.

One of these famous classics from way back in the day. There are a lot of good things about this book out on the internet and they aren’t wrong.

This book has around 360 pages, which are pretty much readable in around 3 days.

The old timely language makes reading this book to a pleasure, and it takes it to a whole another level. And together with the setting of the story is just priceless, and it is definitely a must read. The whole mystery of Opera Ghost who lurks in the shadows of an opera is amazing.

When you first begin to read this book a chilling paranormal tale with an element of friendship in it. In the end this book is a dark tale of a man’s descent into violence and madness, and the woman who forms the obsession at the centre of his life.

If you want to read a book about greatest tragedy in life then consider reading this book. Because this book is a fantastic ghostly tale of love with so much more depth and evilness to the storyline than you almost cant forget about it when you read it.

Most of these characters in this book felt like they were overdramatic but they are likeable and fun to follow throughout the story.

However if you decide to read this book then be prepared for murder by hanging and a lots of cries of terror from death in this book.

I give this book 3 / 5

"The Outsider" By Stephen King Review

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99An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories. An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

This book really shows why Stephen King is the best horror author in the 21 century.

Quality over quantity rule is of course here with us. The characters which we have in this book are so fucking good made. Every character is different from the rest and overall they feel almost like real people. Every character in this book make both good and bad decisions which may have consequences. All of these characters in this book are multilayered which makes this book even better. As an extra thing we also have Holly Gibney from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy in this book.

The story itself is super unique. I personally didn’t see anything similar to the story which is in this book. so this gives this book extra points.

The writing style of course is at a high level like in almost every Stephen King book. The writing style is so good that it felt like it was rather like watching a movie than reading a book.

This book is a page-turner which can be read in 3 days or more than this if you really try to do so. This book also leaves you on edge almost the whole time as it goes on.

This book is very moody and scary, and it might even give you some old school vibe. This book is both a murder mystery and supernatural. This book is different from other stories because it involves folklores and legend.

Descriptions in this book are amazing, and there are a lots of them in this book. We get a lot of details which brings the whole book to even a brighter light.

This book have all the best parts of murder mystery, supernatural and folklores genres and they are put together in this book.

I give this book 5 / 5