Home » Posts tagged "occult horror" (Page 10)

Book Review: The Things in Heaven and Earth by Michael Scott Hopkins

cover art for The Things in Heaven and Earth by Michael Scott Hopkins

The Things in Heaven and Earth by Michael Scott Hopkins

Black Rose Writing, 2021

ISBN: 9781684337118

Available: paperback, Kindle ( Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com )

 

The Things in Heaven and Earth is a good read the first time around, but it may take another read in order to understand all the details; some of the early chapters make a lot more sense the second time through.  That said, it’s still a good, imaginative take on the conflict between God and Satan (although those names aren’t really used) being played out through intermediaries on Earth.

 

Nash Baxter is a character with a convoluted life.  He shot and killed his family as a child, became a personal injury lawyer, then quit to become a paranormal hoax-buster and best-selling author, and somehow he is the repository of some of Satan’s life force.  If that isn’t enough, Nash can see real ghosts, and the demons that bind the ghosts to this plane of existence.  Sound complicated?  It is, both to the reader and to Nash.  When explanations are provided, Nash has an engaging habit of telling characters to give it to him in plain English, instead of using metaphysical jargon.  Some parts may still not make complete sense to the reader, but there’s enough to get the gist of it and follow the story.

 

As twisting as the plot is, it keeps you engaged through the uncertainty, to keep turning the pages to see where the story goes next.  Nash is a good leading man, and you’ll find it easy to relate to his down to earth manner.  He meets an assortment of odd companions along the way: his supposedly dead brother, a doctor who is granted mystical healing powers, real people with phantom personalities… quite the eclectic collection.   Somehow, the story holds all of them, and threads together nicely, keeping the interest level high.  The adversity faced by Nash and Co. is also unpredictable; a lightning bolt alone can provide three instant demon enemies for Nash and his friends.  The reader won’t be sure who the antagonists are in the story until close to the end; the author does a good job painting both sides in mystery.  Eventually, all becomes (mostly) clear, and the story wraps up nicely with a final confrontation between Nash and his enemies.

 

It’s a strange, convoluted tale, but it’s an entertaining one, although it might be a bit much for readers who like their fiction straightforward and easy to comprehend.  If you want a story that veers all over the basepaths yet somehow still crosses home plate in style, The Things in Heaven and Earth is for you.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on November 3, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: The Son of Abraham (Diabhal #3) by Kathleen Kaufman

cover art for The Son of Abraham by Kathleen Kaufman

The Son of Abraham (Diabhal #3) by Kathleen Kaufman

Turner Publishing, 2021(to be released Oct. 26)

ISBN: 9781684425389

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition ( Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com )

 

Note:  The Son of Abraham is the third book in a trilogy.  I haven’t read the other two, but this book, for the most part, can be read as a stand-alone.

 

Cults are always good material for horror stories, since some of the ones seen over the past thirty years (Branch Davidians, Heaven’s Gate, etc.) have truly been stranger than fiction.  The Son of Abraham is a fresh take on the idea, if you like end-of-the-world tales, this book will make the grade for most readers.

 

The first 55 pages detail the hours leading up to a large-scale bombing of Los Angeles, by the Son of Abraham cult that kills 10,000 people, and this section is told from the perspectives of multiple people.  The rest of the story takes place ten years later, and is told primarily for the viewpoint of two characters.  One is Esther Robertson, the only surviving offspring of cult leader Alan Robertson; the other is Cooper Carlson, a news reporter who gets personally involved in the story.  Their adversary is the still-alive Alan Robertson, who is locked down at the Supermax prison in Colorado.  Cities start getting destroyed again, and signs point to Alan and his cult being involved, despite his being behind bars.  Esther and Cooper get pulled into a race to stop Alan Robertson from destroying the entire planet, and the big question becomes: are they really acting on their own to stop him, or are they simply puppets Alan pulls the strings on in his quest for domination?

 

The dynamic between Esther, Cooper, and Alan is a big part of the book, and is a lot of what makes the story fun.  Most people like to see the good guys win, but most readers of The Son of Abraham will be asking if Esther and Cooper even have a chance at all, as Alan is clearly no ordinary man.  Unnatural destruction and murder in his presence do a good job of driving the point home.  He’s a manipulative man, as the small character parts involving his followers, and the sacrifices they make for his ambition, demonstrate.

 

Esther and Cooper make excellent “heroes that don’t want to be heroes”, as they each have their own problems to deal with.  Cooper isn’t sure if his news coverage of Alan is helping or hurting the general population.  Esther is trying to save a world that has a lot of people that want her dead, only because she is Alan’s daughter.  She had nothing to do with the LA bombing and the general public knows that, but it doesn’t matter in the age of sensationalistic news and social media.  Their journey around the country chasing Alan’s web of destruction is fast-paced, striking a good balance between action and story development.  The author adds another level of intrigue by re-writing the whole concept of the afterlife with the “Night Forest”,  which ties into Alan Robertson’s desired goal of domination.  It’s a more creative scenario for a religious leader, and it lifts the originality of the story.

 

Short version: if you like fast-paced Armageddon stories, you will like Son of Abraham.  Recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on October 18, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: The Between by Ryan Leslie

cover art for The Between by Ryan Leslie

The Between by Ryan Leslie

Parliament House, 2021

ISBN: 9798741008720

Availability: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook ( Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com )

 

>telnetsimulato.interla.hu:4444

name or [ENTER] to play

>read review of the between

I don’t recognize the verb ‘read’

>examine review

WELCOME TO THE REVIEW OF THE BETWEEN

 

…and what you’ll find in this book is a wildly original story that’s also a homage to the 80’s computer games, when text-based ASCII games like ZORK were all the rage.  Combining adventure, horror, mystery, and a touch of nerdiness, The Between is one of the year’s best so far.

 

Mild-mannered health care executive Paul Prentice discovers a large iron door set in the ground while digging in his Texas backyard.  He and his carefree, wisecrack-a-minute buddy Jay wrestle open the door and descend the ladder underneath.  They find themselves in a maze of identical rooms, which eventually leads to other worlds of existence containing things like hellhounds of ash, killer robots made of scrap metal, and a vengeful god, Kosmaro, who imprisons souls.  Jay and Paul later learn that the world they entered is based on The Between, an old text-based computer game.  They try to escape, but eventually have to decide…do they want to escape?

 

The Between is a fast paced read, with a high level of depth and creativity.  With multiple different world levels and all of them having different entrances and exits, there’s no shortage of adventure for Jay and Paul.  The book does a good job tying back into the whole “computer game” theme; if you used to play those games, you may see where some of the inspiration for the worlds and characters in the book came from.   What made text-based games fun was that they allowed you to become another individual entirely, and The Between does a good job inserting that theme into the writing.  Many who enter The Between take on actual roles that exist in the computer game, and they keep the role until they escape, or are killed.  This allows for intriguing personality shifts within the characters, such as the “failure in life,” Jay, transforming into a murderous assassin, the stelisto.  The story occasionally flips back to Texas, providing a nice contrast to the insanity of The Between.  It’s a multi-layered story, and a true original.

 

A good setting is nothing without good characters, and in addition to Paul and Jay, the other players in The Between do a good job driving the story and keeping it focused.  The two female leads, star athlete Supriya, and the cold-hearted former ballet queen Corienne, provide good counterparts for Paul and Jay, and there’s enough backstory to fill out the characters and allow the reader to feel a connection to them.  Jay is particularly memorable; his “no worries” attitude helps give the story a dash of humor at times that helps lighten the mood.  It’s a wild ride from beginning to end, and one that readers won’t want to miss.  Highly recommended.

 

END REVIEW

Command?

<read the between book immediately

<[esc]

CLOSE PROGRAM

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on September 3, 2021 by , Reply
First « 89101112 » Last