If you’re looking for a big fantasy/horror novel you’ll get lost in for a while, this is a book to consider. It combines elements of many other stories — a gothic mansion in the Scottish highlands, a school for “unusual” children, a tormented villain, and brave heroes, both young and old. It’s one of those…
I had mixed feelings about this book, which generated a lot of buzz when it came out, but I continue to think about it. It’s an unusual blend of character-driven horror, something like Station Eleven. It’s a book where not much happens, but it’s still terrifying. I would have liked it more except that sometimes…
If you’re a fan of gothic horror, you will love this book. I’m not a huge fan of the gothic novel, although I did enjoy Rebecca and I like seeing how other authors take on this genre. I read it mainly because it’s by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, who wrote the fantastic Gods of Jade and Shadow. I…
As Halloween approached, I’ve been thinking about scary books and why we read them. With all the horror in the news, my work colleagues have been increasingly asking for “lighter” book recommendations (I’ve been recommending Less). I’ve written several posts with recommendations of good horror reading recommendations of good horror reading, but in this post…
One of my favorite annual blog events is Readers Imbibing Peril, or RIP. Because let’s face it, the real world is scary enough. This event runs from September 1 to October 31, and is all about reading things that are spooky, whether they are mystery, horror, thriller, fantasy, or supernatural. R.I.P. XIII is a fun way…
I read these books in September but didn’t have a chance to post any reviews, so now here we are at Halloween and these are three perfect Halloween-time reads. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire This series has been around for a while (since 2009), and most urban fantasy readers already know of Seanan McGuire. …
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I love reading scary books, and I’m clearly not alone in that. What makes horror so attractive? People who study children’s literature say that scaring ourselves is a way to process what’s truly scary in life. It’s non-threatening because it’s not real. That makes…
David Mitchell is one of my favorite writers, and this book didn’t disappoint. If you’re looking for a creepy haunted house story, this one is eerie and at times terrifying. This short novel is also a companion to his recent The Bone Clocks, and I think in that regard it’s a little less successful. But…
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, is our Fall To-Be-Read (TBR) List. I thought about not doing a Fall TBR List because I’ve had list burn-out lately, but there are two events this fall I want to participate in, so I built my list around those events. Readers Imbibing…
This is my last review for Halloween and the R.I.P. IX Challenge. Happy Halloween! Joyland is part murder mystery, part ghost story, part coming of age novel. There’s nothing ground-breaking about Joyland, but it’s the kind of novel that shows King at his best. He’s writing about real people experiencing real-life drama, it’s just in…
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I’ve always loved fantasy, and while I don’t always say I’m a horror fan, fantasy and horror are pretty similar genres. I practically grew up on Stephen King novels — the old ones like Firestarter and The Dead Zone. I think…
The Haunting of Hill House was written by Shirley Jackson in 1959. A finalist for the National Book Award, it’s considered by many to be one of the best horror stories out there, at least in the ghost story/haunted house category. It’s been remade into several movies, in 1963 and 1999, and spawned countless imitations.…
The Book Stop 