Horror Books > Charles Black Horror Books

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

Necropolis by Anthony Horowitz

Advantages: The language and the story-line is reallly intriguing.
Disadvantages: I honestly cannot think of any.

...written by Anthony Horowitz, is the fourth installment of the "Power of Five", 5 book series about 5 children who have the power to save the world from evil creatures called "The Old Ones". The book starts before "Nightrise" ends, but from the point of view of Scarlett Adams, the protaganist and the fifth gatekeeper. There is a brief review of all 4 previous books incase the reader cannot remember or has missed a book out in the series, which I found ...
...It starts off straight into the action as a 13 year old Scarlett almost gets hit by a van whilst not looking when crossing a road. She is saved by a mysterious chinese man who disappears before she can thank him for his actions. The book then moves 2 years into the future and Scarlett is on a school trip when she passes through a door and travels to a monastary in the Ukraine, where she is imprisoned. Scarlett then meets Father Gregory, a terrifyingly ...

i-love-jonas 18.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Power of Five: Necropolis - Anthony Horowitz

Where Dimensions Collide... In No Man's Land

Advantages: Well-written, mysterious, fascinating story with fantastic characters.
Disadvantages: None

After years of hunting down the man in black, things didn’t necessarily go as planned for Roland at the end of ‘The Gunslinger’ [book 1 in ‘The Dark Tower’ series]. His obsession with the Dark Tower is as strong as ever, however, there are other forces at play – forces far more powerful and dangerous than the man in black ever was – it’s no longer a question of what Roland wants, more is it a question of what he is prepared to do in order to get ...
...Drawing of the Three’. Having been told a bit of his future by the man in black during their ultimate standoff in the first book [The Gunslinger], Roland awakens at the start of ‘The Drawing of the Three’ on a desolate beach, not seven hours after this confrontation. His awakening is far from a gentle one… Roland is being attacked by a giant sea creature with deadly pincers. Obviously a mutated form of lobster, Roland quickly discovers that it may ...

GoFigure 13.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Dark Tower: Drawing of the Three Bk. 2 (Dark Tower) - Stephen King