Horror Books > J Horror Books > S

Advantages: Good storyline, interesting characters
Disadvantages: Nothing comes to mind

Reading has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, starting with Enid Blyton stories as a youngster and progressing through to the teenage horror novels. As a teen, a horror novel was only good if it grossed me out! Does anyone remember reading the early James Herbert stories such as The Rats and The Fog? I couldn’t read these now because I’m much more squeamish and prefer psychological horror to the blatant ‘blood and guts’ that I ...
...point you may well ask? Well, the reason I’ve mentioned these early stories is because I believe I made a natural progression to John Saul and then Stephen King; both authors seem to rely on psychological thrills rather than the blood and guts of old. This was the eighth novel written by John Saul according to what I’ve discovered. Some of his earlier work includes “Suffer The Children” and “All Fall Down”. ***Brainchild*** “La Paloma was once ... Read review

Advantages: A brilliantly written book that leaves you afraid to read more but unable to put down.
Disadvantages: Not for the faint hearted unless you want to give yourself nightmares!!

...terrorise…’ This is the opening sentence of a book that has kept me enthralled for the last week, I haven’t slept as night after night I have lived the lives of the residents of this town. The town of Blackstone is the fictional creation of master horror writer John Saul. It was first created as a serial novel, the first part launched in America in January 1997. It immediately became a New York Times bestseller and readers eagerly awaited the next ...
...five months until finally the conclusion was published in June 1997. The hardback book that I have been reading brings together all of these installments within one book and with 527 pages it is quite thick and I honestly didn’t think I would finish it. Despite it’s size it is very easy to read and I did find on several occasions, impossible to put down. Each section of the book is split up as originally published and each starts with an introduction ... Read review

Advantages: A compelling and suspenseful read
Disadvantages: Disturbing subject matter

...written over thirty novels and all of them have become worldwide bestsellers. He is an accomplished and critically acclaimed horror novelist dealing primarily with psychological terror rather than gore yet despite his numerous accolades surprisingly few people have heard of him. All Fall Down was originally published in the United States under the title "The God Project" in 1982. It is a compelling tale of conspiracy and fear that will have your ...
...terrifying conspiracy begins to emerge. All the children were being secretly studied by a mysterious group called CHILD and the study began at conception. All the mothers had become pregnant accidentally whilst fitted with an IUD and all IUD's had been fitted by Dr Wiseman, Eastbury's consultant gynaecologist. Subsequently all children had either died or gone missing. All the evidence points to Dr Wiseman but the reasons behind the experiment are ... Read review

Advantages: An excellent & imaginative story
Disadvantages: Waiting for the next book

As a children's story this is some seriously dark writing and may not be suitable of younger readers, but for adults it's an exceptionally good read. The heroine of the story, Candy, finds herself pulled into a parallel world by a strange sea, a world that consists of 25 islands. 24 islands represent a particular hour of the day with the 25th a dark place of murder and madness. This initial volume sees Candy's travels around a selection of these ...
...trying to stay out of arms reach of the dark servants of the Lord of the 25th hour. This is a place where friend and foe are never what they seem and many are out for the capture of Candy. The illustrations included in this book give it an extra and enjoyably warped depth. Clive Barkers visual take on his fantasy world is one where even the good-guys can be seen as ugly monstrosities. You'll definitely want to read the next instalment. ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to read, hard to put down, gripping, thrilling
Disadvantages: None

...he must face the demon Lord Loss. I am probably being vague here, but I do not want to give much more away as that will spoil it for readers. At 200 or so pages this is just right. I feel there is far too much padding in adult books at the moment. And reading Lord Loss has made me feel surprised just at how good kids' fiction is. I have read the Harry Potter books, like most adults, but it did not cross my mind to read other works written for children. ...
...is quite graphic. There are no holds barred here and the author gets away with a lot of stuff. Death, blood, gore… But it is written with tongue in cheek - and with plenty of sick humour that did surprise me. The style is straight to the point. And very well written at that! Darren Shan is English born, real surname O'Shaughnessy. His first book, 'Ayuamarca,' was published in 1999, but did not sell well. This was an adult work, and it is his subsequent ... Read review