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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded inHorror book discussion's LiveJournal:
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| Monday, July 29th, 2013 | |
|---|---|
| _12:26 am_[lisagene] |
If You’re Scared of Me Now, Wait Till I’m Dead I am a lover of horror novels, and especially revenge novels. This is a great one by Gene Cox, If You’re Scared of Me Now, Wait Till I’m DeadWhat do women do when a man in their life destroys everything that is important to them, and any chance of obtaining what they really want in life? What is the ultimate revenge?The lives of four women are destroyed by a man in their life. They decide that nothing in life could be worse than no longer having any chance to attain what they truly want. A situation puts them in touch with each other. A psychic where they met informs them that he is in touch with the spirit world and knows how they can remain on earth as spirits after they die. The women make a suicide pact and make the lives of those who destroyed their lives way beyond hell. The men are driven to do anything, even seek their own suicides, to rid themselves of the vengeful spirits following them.https://gene-cox-books.com/if-youre-scared-of-me-now-wait-till-im-dead (4 Comments |Comment on this) |
| Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 | |
| _7:14 pm_[calico_reaction] |
October Review Round-Up  Here are the reviews posted during October. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list of books I read in October, but rather the books I had the time to review before month's end.1) Seanan McGuire, Ashes of Honor: Couldn't Put It Down2) Jo Walton, Ha'Penny: Good Read3) Richard Kadrey, Devil Said Bang: Not My Cup of Tea (DNF)4) Rae Carson, The Crown of Embers: Good Read5) Ilona Andrews, Gunmetal Magic: Worth Reading, with Reservations6) Ann Aguirre, Outpost: Worth Reading, with Reservations7) Laura Bickle, Embers: Worth Reading, with Reservations8) Sarah Langan, Audrey's Door: Problematic, but Promising9) Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There: ExcellentAs always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :) (2 Comments |Comment on this) |
| Sunday, May 6th, 2012 | |
| _9:23 am_[calico_reaction] |
April Review Round-Up  Here are the reviews posted during April. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list of books I read in April, but rather the books I had the time to review before month's end.1) Elizabeth Bear: Grail: Worth Reading, with Reservations2) Maggie Stiefvater: The Scorpio Races: Excellent3) Bill Willingham: Fables: Deluxe Edition: Book 1: Good Read4) Sean Stewart: Mockingbird: Couldn't Put It Down5) Patricia Briggs: River Marked: Good Read6) Octavia E. Butler: Bloodchild and Other Stories: Couldn't Put It Down7) John Green: The Fault in Our Stars: Couldn't Put It Down8) Bill Willingham: Fables: Deluxe Edition: Book 2: Couldn't Put It Down9) Kenneth Oppel: This Dark Endeavor: It's a Gamble10) Lois McMaster Bujold: Paladin of Souls: Couldn't Put It Down11) Ann Aguirre: Devil's Punch: Good Read12) Bill Willingham: Fables: Deluxe Edition: Book 3: Good Read13) Kit Whitfiled: In Great Waters: Good ReadAs always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :) (Comment on this) |
| Sunday, April 1st, 2012 | |
| _4:30 pm_[calico_reaction] |
March Review Round-Up  Here are the reviews posted during March. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list of books I read in March, but rather the books I had the time to review before month's end.1) Grant Morrison: Joe the Barbarian: Couldn't Put It Down2) Mark Budz: Idolon: Worth Reading, with Reservations3) Maria V. Snyder: Touch of Power: Worth Reading, with Reservations4) Gail Carriger: Timeless: Couldn't Put It Down5) Rebecca Guay: A Flight of Angels: Good Read6) Elizabeth Bear: Chill: Worth Reading, with Reservations7) Martha Wells: The Cloud Roads: Good Read8) Margo Lanagan: Black Juice: Worth Reading, with Reservations9) Seanan McGuire: Discount Armageddon: Couldn't Put It Down10) Rick Yancey: The Monstrumologist: Good Read11) Nick Spencer: Morning Glories: Deluxe Collection: Volume 1: Couldn't Put It DownAs always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :) (Comment on this) |
| Sunday, December 11th, 2011 | |
| _4:42 pm_[calico_reaction] |
November Review Round-Up  Here are the reviews posted during November. Please note, this is not a comprehensive list of books I read in November, but rather the books I had the time to review before month's end.1) George R.R. Martin: Fevre Dream: Good Read2) Brandon Sanderson: Elantris: Good Read3) Melissa Marr: Graveminder: Below Standard4) Alex Bledsoe: The Hum and the Shiver: Worth Reading, with Reservations5) Laini Taylor: Daughter of Smoke & Bone: Couldn't Put It Down6) Sam Cameron: Mystery of the Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure: Worth Reading, with Reservations7) Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: Not My Cup of Tea (DNF)8) N.K. Jemisin: The Kingdom of Gods: Good Read9) Richard Kadrey: Aloha from Hell: Good Read10) Carrie Vaughn: Straying from the Path: Couldn't Put It DownAs always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :) (Comment on this) |
| Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 | |
| _7:02 pm_[godtrip] |
Read the first part of my bleak horror/scifi novella The Quiet 1The garage door rose slowly as James Benton rushed to his car on the morning after the first darkness had passed. Once in the car and backing out, he lit a cigarette. He took note that it was one of those rare days when none of his neighbors appeared to be leaving at the same time. He flipped his ashes outside the window as he pulled out of the cul de sac. Then he leaned over and turned on the radio. The speakers crackled out white noise. He changed the station and found that anywhere he moved the dial, nothing came through but static. He shut off the radio and muttered to himself, wondering what would go wrong next with the old junker**( Read more...Collapse )** Current Mood:  busy (Comment on this) |
| Monday, July 18th, 2011 | |
| _12:31 pm_[rya_kelley] |
My first post will be one of shameless self-promotion Well, not entirely shameless. My name is Kat and I'm a self-published writer. Most of my story ideas fall into the horror or thriller genre, but I like for my stories and characters to have as many dimensions as I can give them. No matter how dark the tale, at least a little humor should be sprinkled in for balance. Protagonists are good and necessary to the plot and everything, but they're so much more interesting if they're flawed. I'll get bored and wander away from relationships that are perfectly blissful. In summation, if there is no genuine peril, there's no plot. I also miss the days--the 1980s--when monsters were still, you know, monsters. If a town relies on vampires and/or werewolves to protect them, their police department has utterly failed.Caged is my full length novel. It's about a secluded island town off the coast of Texas plagued by a werewolf and the manner in which the residents deal with aforementioned unbreakable curse. The list price is 2.99 and links are as follows:1. US Kindle store.2. UK Kindle store.3. DE Kindle store4. Paperback-coming soon.My 0.99 YA novella, Haunted, concerns three teenagers investigating a supposedly haunted manor in an attempt to settle the debate whether or not ghosts exist. 1. US Kindle store.2. UK Kindle store.3. DE Kindle store.4. Paperback version. (1 Comment |Comment on this) |
| Sunday, July 17th, 2011 | |
| _9:40 am_[yvonnenavarro] |
Self-Punishment! So, a contest as a form of Self Punishment: http://tinyurl.com/69sxakx. Seriously. (Comment on this) |
| Friday, April 15th, 2011 | |
| _2:13 am_[_ocelott_] |
The Enterprise of Death by Jesse Bullington Publisher: Orbit, 2010Genre: HorrorSub-genre: Historical Read the full, spoiler-free review here! Free to click!It's not the best day a young black slave has ever had when Awa is rescued from bandits by a necromancer who intends to force her to be his apprentice. He has a rather devious plan in store for her, which involves setting a curse on her just as she earns her freedom. Awa has ten years, and at the end of that time she will meet a fate more permanent than death, as her spirit will be completely obliterated.Naturally, Awa intends to spend her time trying to find a way to remove the curse, but the world is not a kind place for a black necromancer woman, especially while the Spanish Inquisition rages through Europe. She can use the undead to help her, but it's possible the living might be even more useful, if she could trust someone long enough to make friends.So not only is our heroine a competent black woman, she's a competent gay black woman. She's also not the only gay or bisexual character in the book, and "alternate" sexuality is never portrayed as something weird or bad. Monique and Awa are probably the strongest characters in the entire book, and what's better is they don't wind up in a romance with each other. That's right, there are two lesbians in the book, but they're allowed to decide they're not romantically suited to one another and move on. Had the premise not intrigued me in the first place, I'm pretty sure that would have been enough to convince me to pick up the book. (On the other hand, I'm not entirely sure this book passes the Frank Miller test but considering a sizable portion of the story happens in a brothel run by a gay woman who loves whores but is not interested in becoming one herself, your mileage may vary on whether that's valid or not.)I did, however, have a few issues with the book. It's all over the place. The only thread drawing everything together is Awa herself, as the story meanders from one setting to another. It tries very hard to make our protagonist a well-rounded character, and therefore wants to show everything in great detail. We get long chapters featuring Awa as a young slave, then the story changes completely to show her under the tutelage of the necromancer, and another shift to her on the road, running from religious folks intent on killing her as a witch. Whether she's searching for a way to break her curse with a pair of ghosts in tow or living in a brothel (as a doctor of sorts, not a whore), it's presented in great detail and while the lengthy passages are interesting on their own, they don't so much feel like they fit in together so well. It felt like reading a series of stories rather than one long narration, and as a result this book took me forever to get through. A few of them could have been trimmed or cut completely and very little would have changed plot-wise. That's right, there are long sections in which nothing happens to move the plot forward.It's also not the smoothest prose I've ever read. In the two paragraphs above, there are at least two nitpicky things I could get petty over, but since this is a review and not a critique group, suffice it to say the prose manages to get the point across but never approaches anything like beauty. (Comment on this) |
| Friday, March 4th, 2011 | |
| _4:21 am_[archica] |
In Need of Writers Knowledgeable About Horror Books If this post isn't okay, feel free to delete! I recently started a horror blog called  dailyhorrordose, where we introduce readers to something horror-related every day, be it movies, games, comics, books, anime, etc. The problem is, none of the current contributors are especially knowledgeable in the books area. I thought this would be a good place to ask if anyone would be interested in being a contributor (whether it be on a permanent or occasional basis). The blog has some readers on LJ, but most of them are on Facebook. Anyway, if anyone is interested in helping out, please go here, and maybe glance around the blog itself (dailyhorrordose) to see how we do things. Thanks! (Comment on this) |
| Saturday, February 19th, 2011 | |
| _8:26 pm_[quippe] |
Married With Zombies by Jesse Petersen The Blurb On The Back:Meet Sarah and David.Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they’re on the verge of divorce and going to couples’ counselling. On a routine trip to their counsellor, they notice a few odd things – the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counsellor, Dr. Kelly is ripping out her previous client’s throat.Meet the zombies.Now Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. But just because there are zombies doesn’t mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don’t eat their brains first, they might just kill each other ...Married With Zombies: a romantic comedy with ... Braaains!( The Review (Cut For Spoilers):Collapse ) **The Verdict:**The first in a new zombie rom-com series, this is a smoothly written zombie apocalypse novel but for me neither the romance nor the comedy elements quite came together. The premise is good and I’m enough of a fan of the genre to want to read on, but I came to it with hopes that weren’t quite met.Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.Cross-posted to bookish, books, and bookworming. (Comment on this) |
| Saturday, December 11th, 2010 | |
| _10:28 pm_[quippe] |
The Dead by Charlie Higson The Blurb On The Back:A terrible disease is striking everyone over the age of fourteen. Death walks the streets. Nowhere is safe.Maxie, Blue and the rest of the Holloway crew aren’t the only kids trying to escape the ferocious adults who prey on them.Jack and Ed are best friends, but their battle to stay alive tests their friendship to the limit as they go on the run with a mismatched group of other kids – nerds, fighters, misfits. And one adult. Greg, a butcher, who claims he’s immune to the disease.They must work together if they want to make it in this terrifying new world. But as a fresh disaster threatens to overwhelm London, they realise they won’t all survive ...( The Review (Cut For Spoilers):Collapse ) **The Verdict:**Although this bone chilling sequel to the excellent THE ENEMY is actually a prequel, it’s nevertheless a cracking YA horror read, with plenty of violence and death and a fascinating take on zombies. I’ll definitely be checking out the next book.Cross-posted to bookish, books, bookworming, cool_teen_reads and yalitlovers. (Comment on this) |
| Friday, December 10th, 2010 | |
| _9:10 pm_[quippe] |
Plague Of The Dead: The Morningstar Strain by Z. A. Recht The Blurb On The Back:The end begins with an unprecedented vital outbreak:Morningstar. The infected are subject to delirium, fever, violent behaviour ... and a one hundred percent mortality rate.But the end is only the beginning:The victims return from death to walk the earth. When a massive military operation fails to contain the plague of the living dead, it escalates into a worldwide pandemic.Now, a single law of nature dominates the global landscape:Live or die, kill or be killed. On one side of the world, thousands of miles from home, a battle-hardened general surveys the remnants of his command: a young medic, a veteran photographer, a brash private, and dozens of refugees – all are his responsibility. While in the United States, an army colonel discovers the darker side of Morningstar and collaborates with a well-known journalist to leak the information to the public ...( The Review (Cut For Spoilers):Collapse ) **The Verdict:**Although this contains many of the elements that I enjoy about zombie novels in general, it’s let down by a wide cast of cardboard characters and a plot that jumps around a little too much. For all this, I’m enough of a zombie fan to want to read the sequel, but those new to the genre may want to look elsewhere.Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.Cross-posted to bookish, books, bookworming and booky_talk. (Comment on this) |
| Thursday, December 9th, 2010 | |
| _9:48 pm_[quippe] |
The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan The Blurb On The Back:Vampires have arrived in New York City – and humans are no longer at the top of the food chain ... ( The Review (Cut For Spoilers):Collapse ) The Verdict:I thought that THE STRAIN was too clichéd and predictable but THE FALL is even worse. Frankly, the way in which each ‘twist’ is telegraphed makes for dull reading and while there are some sparks (notably the development of Abraham’s back story) the result was boring. It will take something very special to make me want to read the concluding book to this trilogy. THE STRAIN was released in the UK on 16th September. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC.Cross-posted to bookish, books and bookworming. (2 Comments |Comment on this) |
| Saturday, October 30th, 2010 | |
| _5:29 pm_[calico_reaction] |
Grant, Mira: Feed  calico_reaction. Hop on over! We'd love to have you!November: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. JemisinDecember: Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay (Comment on this) |
| Wednesday, October 20th, 2010 | |
| _6:25 pm_[calico_reaction] |
Kadrey, Richard: Kill the Dead calico_reaction. Hop on over! We'd love to have you!October: Feed by Mira GrantNovember: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. JemisinDecember: Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay (2 Comments |Comment on this) |
| Saturday, September 18th, 2010 | |
| _1:27 pm_[quippe] |
The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan The Blurb On The Back:In one week, Manhattan could be gone.In four weeks, the country.In eight weeks ... the world.At New York’s JFK Airport an arriving Boeing 777 taxis along a runway and suddenly stops dead. All the blinds have been drawn, all communications channels have mysteriously gone quiet. Dr Ephraim Goodweather – head of a rapid-response team investigating biological threats – boards the darkened plane ... and what he finds makes his blood run cold.Meanwhile, in a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, aged Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian knows that the war he has been dreading his entire life is finally here.Before the next sundown Eph and Setrakian must undertake the ultimate fight for survival. A terrifying contagion has come to the unsuspecting city – hungry, merciless, lethal ... vampiric?( The Review (Cut For Spoilers):Collapse ) The Verdict:There isn’t anything particularly new here with regard to vampirism, but it is good to see them cast as villains for a change. The characters are little more than stereotypes and there’s a lot of repetition with regard to portrayal of symptoms and transformation, but the action is fast moving and the book ends with an interesting scenario that makes me want to read the sequel. It’s not classic horror, but it’s entertaining enough for a few hours.Cross-posted to books, bookworming, and bookworming. (1 Comment |Comment on this) |
| Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 | |
| _10:49 pm_[quippe] |
Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist The Blurb On The Back:Twelve-year-old Oskar is an outsider; bullied at school, dreaming about his absentee father, bored with life on a dreary housing estate. One evening he meets the mysterious Eli. As a romance blossoms between them, Oskar discovers Eli’s dark secret – she is a 200 year old vampire, forever frozen in childhood, and condemned to live on a diet of fresh blood.Now a major feature film, Let The Right One In is a disturbing and brilliant reworking of the vampire legend, and a deeply moving fable about rejection, friendship and loyalty. ( The Review (Cut For Spoilers):Collapse ) The Verdict:A tense, chilling horror novel with a core central relationship between the two central characters that’s subtly portrayed and open to interpretation, this is a brilliant an absorbing read and holds surprises even if you are already familiar with the movie adaptation.Cross-posted to books, bookworming and bookish. (1 Comment |Comment on this) |
| Sunday, September 5th, 2010 | |
| _2:33 pm_[quippe] |
Day By Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile by J. L. Bourne The Blurb On The Back:START INTERCEPTArmies of undead have risen up across the U.S. and around the globe: there is no safe haven from the diseased corpses hungering for human flesh. But in the heat of a Texas wasteland, a small band of survivors attempt to counter the millions closing in around them.INTERCEPT COMPLETESURVIVOR.Day by day, the handwritten journal entries of one man caught in a worldwide cataclysm capture the desperation – and the will to survive – as he joins forces with a handful of refugees to battle soulless enemies both human and inhuman from inside an abandoned strategic missile facility.BUT IN THE WORLD OF THE UNDEAD, IS MERE SURVIVAL ENOUGH? ( The Review (Cut For Spoilers):Collapse ) **The Verdict:**Although there isn’t a huge amount of emotional depth to the story and the plot is a simple one, this is an absorbing story of survival against incredible odds and the author’s military background gives it great credibility. With the book’s climax promising a switch of location to China and a hunt for the cause of the outbreak in the concluding volume of this trilogy, I will definitely be tuning in to see how things turn out for the unnamed hero.Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.Cross-posted to books, bookworming, booky_talk and bookish. (Comment on this) |
| Friday, August 27th, 2010 | |
| _11:45 am_[matt_m_mcelroy] |
Apexology: Horror at DriveThruHorror.com APEXOLOGY:Horror1. The study of literature-based artifacts left by the authors and editors of Apex Publications, particularly dark or horrific stories.2. An anthology of horror containing disturbing, dark imagery and twisted fiction.Contained within are twenty-one stories to showcase the unique talents that Apex has published and employed in the past five years. Apexology: Horror contains work from two Campbell Award winners, a Hollywood screenwriter, a NYT Bestselling Author, Nebula and Hugo nominees, Stoker Award winners, and Mari Adkins!Get a taste of some of the best Apex has to offer. Study Apexology: Horror.This is a digital only release, available now at DriveThruHorror.com. (Comment on this) |
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