Horror Books > Bram Stoker Horror Books

Another Torday Triumph

Advantages: Excellent portrait of mental illness
Disadvantages: Issues with narration, too similar to last novel

...asks about a painting on the wall of the host's house, most particularly about the young woman in the painting. His host agrees that it's a rather striking picture but says there is no person in it and sure enough, later on, when Michael looks again at the painting, the girl is not there. During the journey home, his wife Elizabeth hears Michael say something she doesn't understand and when she asks him he insists he hasn't spoken. This is just the ...
...been happy; in fact, on the morning of their wedding, Elizabeth half hoped that Michael wouldn't turn up. She only really married him at all because she knew he would at least be reliable. Her father had abandoned the family when Elizabeth was young to live with a much younger woman which had somewhat coloured her opinion of men. Until now Michael has quietly trudged through life, rarely showing any enthusiasm for anything. He works part-time as ...

fizzytom 19.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Girl on the Landing - Paul Torday

There's a She-Wolf in my closet...

Advantages: dark, exciting, enjoyable
Disadvantages: other supernaturals made it feel like a childrens book at times

Stolen is the follow up to Kelley Armstrong’s “Bitten” which was the first in her Otherworld series about the only female werewolf in the world. I said in my review of Bitten that I didn’t think the book had whet my appetite enough to read the follow up, but this one came up as a swap and I thought I’d give it another shot. I’m really glad I did, as it provided a totally different vibe than the first one and as a result, I’m likely to read the next ...
...it!) Even if you haven’t read the first book, it doesn’t really take too long to catch up the narrator is Elena Michaels the werewolf herself, and she kindly and frequently briefs the reader when elaboration on a subject or sentence is necessary! However, I liked the fact that I already knew Elena’s personality, she is feisty and strong willed and it comes across strong in her narrative. She tells her story with wit and sometimes sarcasm and her ...

burtybookworm 12.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Stolen - Kelley Armstrong

Humanity Slowly Rotting Away

Advantages: Well-written, mysterious, captivating story.
Disadvantages: Long-winded, coarse language and repetitive dialogue.

Finally, having managed to survive the beach from hell with its three doors and monstrous lobster creatures from ‘The Drawing of the Three’, the second book in this extremely long-winded and time-consuming series, Roland and his new companions, Eddie and Susannah [aka Odetta – aka Detta], have taken a bit of time off their search for the Dark Tower in order to recuperate. During their brief ‘time-out’, Roland teaches Eddie and Susannah how to shoot, ...
...good thing, because lurking in the forest just within reach of them, is a bear, who like every other creature in Roland’s world, has grown beyond its ‘natural’ size and possesses a really bad temper. When Eddie is targeted by the humongous bear from hell, salvation comes in the unlikely form of Susannah… she may not have any legs, but she definitely knows what to do with a gun. With their lessons learned, the bear as dead as a doorknob and Roland ...

GoFigure 04.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Waste Lands - Stephen King

Another title from the author of "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

Advantages: different
Disadvantages: not as thrilling as I would have thought

"The Girl on the Landing" is Paul Torday's third foray into novel writing, and having thoroughly enjoyed his first book ""Salmon Fishing in the Yemen", it was one that I was really looking forward to reading. The cover description looked intriguing, explaining as it does that it is the story of how Michael, who has been married to Elizabeth for ten years, sees a mysterious picture, and then "begins to change". I was expecting to read a dark thriller, ...
...that satirises our own, from the resume it sounded like it would be a chilling and interesting tale. To some extent this book was what I was expecting, but in other ways I, personally, felt this novel failed to deliver. The story following Michael and Elizabeth, who have been rather unsatisfactorily married for ten years, and are approaching middle age, childless and in a rut until the changes in Michael start had potential I felt. However from the ...

azana 25.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Girl on the Landing - Paul Torday

The Dark Tower - A Pleasant Suprise!

Advantages: Plot, Imagery, Characters
Disadvantages: In my opinion too short.

...approached this book sitting in the shop I thought to myself "My God, this obviously isn't going to be some of his best work.". However, despite my reservations, I bought the book. When I got home and began reading this I was delighted to find my reservations were completely unfounded. Quite simply this book blew me away. King has managed to create a world with all the wonder and magic of Tolkien's Middle Earth mixed with his own personalised blend ...
...his worlds to life and The Gunslinger is no different. The world he has created here made me feel as if I were looking into our own post-apocalyptic world, yet I was always guessing as to the nature and origin of this world. The characters feel as real as the world they are in, and some of them are just as enigmatic. Finally the plot, although seemingly very simple, is filled with mystery and intrigue. It will keep you constantly guessing right up ...

paulywauly88 19.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Dark Tower - Stephen King