Home » Posts tagged "horror fiction" (Page 35)

Book Review: Death’s Dreams by Darryl Dawson

Death’s Dreams by Darryl Dawson

Darryl Dawson Books, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-7331921-4-9

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Death’s Dreams is the wildest, most original collection of short stories to come barreling down the pike in a long, long time.  If you’re looking for stories that are seriously OUT THERE, with a decent touch of blood splashed around the pages, this book is the place to be.  Why this wasn’t nominated for a Stoker award is beyond me, as it is certainly good enough to justify a nomination.

The collection is loosely held together by the idea that ol’ Death, the Grim Reaper himself, is losing it.  All the horrors he’s seen over the years while riding his figurative pale horse have started to get to him, so he finds a shrink to talk to and unload all his stories on.  Those stories make up the basis of this collection.  Make no mistake, what he’s seen in these stories would be enough to put any rational person in a padded room.   “New Identity” is a hellish look at what happens when one bad person makes a mistake and winds up the prisoner of a person who is a lot worse.  It’s a common plot device, but this story is truly terrifying.  “Night Train” may be the most original one, as it contains an actual phantom (or not?) train running in the storm drains beneath the city, that promises possible escape to those who need it.  Simply open the door to one of the train cars, and step into another dimension.  “There Really Are No Accidents” is a viciously ironic story concerning one woman’s attempt to take a brutal revenge on her scummer of a husband, and what befalls her.  This one also showcases author Dawson’s twisted sense of humor. The end of the story might well make you laugh, despite its nastiness.  Written with only dialogue, “The Claim” concerns a camera that causes the death of everyone it takes a picture of.  The author’s choice of format for this story makes it stand out from the others, as it can be a tough format to work with, but Dawson does it with ease.  “The Champion of Suffering” is a fantastic revenge story, as the evil killer starts the story already executed through lethal injection, and in Hell.  The protagonist has to decide if he is willing to sacrifice and condemn himself to Hell, just to go after the killer and inflict more punishment.  Is the death penalty enough?  How much is vengeance  worth to him?  This is an outstanding story that also raises some good questions about the nature of retribution.

The overall quality of all the stories is extremely high; there isn’t a bad one in the collection.  Some are better than others, but they all do a good job showcasing the author’s fertile imagination and skill.  The only drawback is the lack of dialogue between Death and the psychiatrist.  The first chapter was an excellent setup between the two of them, but that thread never really got explored to its potential, as they barely show up for the rest of the book.  If the interaction between Death and the doctor had been fleshed out more, this could have been an outstanding novel, instead of an outstanding collection of short stories.  Despite that minor quibble, Death’s Dreams is a book not to be missed.  Keep an eye out for this author in the future. Highly recommended.

 

Contains: violence, gore, profanity, sex

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

 

 

Posted on March 4, 2020 by , Reply

Reviews at Monster Librarian

Monster Librarian reviews horror, paranormal, and supernatural fiction for all ages, and scary stories for kids. I am getting a lot of requests for reviews of police procedurals, mystery novels, and political thrillers. I mean, it is becoming overwhelming. I had a reviewer ask me what had been sent to me lately and it includes a big stack of these. I’m willing to stretch the boundaries of genre a bit; as a children’s librarian, I know they are fluid. But our mission is to promote horror fiction and its close relations for librarians and readers, and through that, to engage people in reading.

Send us  horror, please!

 

 

 

Posted on March 3, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: The Institute by Stephen King (Dueling Review)

 Editor’s note: We previously published a review of The Institute written by Murray Samuelson. This review, by David Simms, takes a second look. 

 

The Institute by Stephen King.

Scribner, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1982110567

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

 

Reviewing a Stephen King book is always a mixed bag. Love it and people think it’s favoritism, hate it and they believe you are being contrarian. Some of King’s books deserve a tepid review, but even when it’s just an okay book by him, it’s usually better than most other writers. There’s a reason why he’s had over 20 books on the bestseller lists. King knows how to draw people: he understands them, inside and outside their heads, and the minutiae that make up our everyday lives. The Institute is one of his good novels of recent times. While it’s no Salem’s Lot or The Stand, it immerses the reader in the characters’ lives in a story that is successful in everything it attempts.

The plot is relatively simple: Luke Ellis, a talented young boy, is abducted in the middle of the night. His parents murdered, he is shoved into a black SUV and driven to the titular institute where children with telepathy and telekinesis are studied. This may sound similar to Firestarter, but it isn’t: If readers must compare this to another King title, it’s closer to IT than anything else. Luke awakens in the Institute, where he meets a group of other kids who fill him in on what happens in the “front half.” Keep your head down, follow directions, and earn tokens for everything from television to candy to other treats. Mrs. Sigsby is the evil woman who runs the institute with an iron fist. She is quick to dole out punishment to the kids, a true caricature of evil, the only weakness of the novel. The supporting cast of the story is much grayer in nature as the staff within run the gamut from caring to apathetic to downright sadistic. The purpose of the place is nebulous which lends a deft touch to the story. What’s in the “back half?” Is it death or something better? Worse? Once children leave the front half, there is zero communication with them. Only the youngest, Avery, has the skills to sense anything about the others at a high level, and might signal a solution to their captivity. Even Luke, brilliant for his age, is still just a kid at heart. For all of his skills and ability to read people, he’s still a child, stuck in an adult’s psychopathic playground. King is a master at painting kids, and this might be his best effort yet. IT is a masterpiece, but the Losers’ Club was closer to teenagers than true children.

In a side story, a mysterious ex-cop leaves Florida and heads north, only to make a strange decision to divert into a small South Carolina town where he accepts a job as a “knocker.” His assimilation into that community is fascinating, and it is curious to see how the pieces come together.

The final product is both thrilling and touching, frightening and timely.

A welcome addition to the King canon.

Recommended.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on February 22, 2020 by , Reply
First « 3334353637 » Last