Horror Books

To me, reading an Edward Lee novel is not unlike eating my favorite food until I'm bloated. I just can't seem to get enough. With this novel, Brides of the Impaler, it was like going to a buffet where the only food they had was my favorite and I ate and ate but still wanted more. Personally, this is my favorite of Ed's Leisure books. This may partially have to do with the fact that I have a strong fascination with Dracula and vampires in general.

Ed did a great job with the history of Vlad Tepes at the beginning of the book to kind of give the reader some background for things to come. Very interesting stuff! Seems to be accurate as well. I've read some literature on Vlad before and from what I remember, Ed is right on. I thought the characters were very well developed too. Of course, you can always expect that from Lee.

It's rare that I read a book in one setting. Well, that was the case here. Seven hours just disappeared on me like it was never there when I picked this one up. I'm not sure where the 2 star reviewer is getting that this book is boring. I found nothing about it boring. It's very intriguing and interesting! And of course people will always complain about the sex scenes in an Ed Lee book! I've noticed this quite a bit from his "regular readers". They know what to expect, so if you don't like it quit reading his books. It's not really rocket science!

The 2 star reviewer was complaining about the sex scenes being boring or nothing special. I thought they were interesting enough and don't see much difference between the ones in his previous Leisure titles. Let's not forget that this isn't one of this small press hardcore Necro publications type books where he's allowed to go all out. With Leisure, he's kind of corraled in on what he can write, because their books are supposed to appeal to a wider range of readers. No, this isn't hardcore Ed Lee, but it works very well because the story is really great.

Come on! What could be better for Vlad or vamp fans than a book about nuns resurrecting Ole Fang Face hisownself and all hell breaking loose? If you're expecting a literary masterpiece, then you will be sorely disappointed. If you're expecting a balls-to-the-wall, all out fun read that will have it's fangs sank in you from page 1 until the last, then you are in the right place.

Go pick up Brides Of The Impaler now and have a blood sucking, heart impaling good time reading it, I did!!!!!! Not to be missed!!!!!

Let me begin by saying that I read this book today, while very sick, so that my have tempered my ability to fully enjoy this book. Needless to say, I really didn't enjoy this book... I have actually been struggling to read through it for 3 days, which is a record for me since I usually read about 300 pages a day and this is only a 330 page book. As far as I am concerned, this story commits the ultimate sin that a horror novel can commit, it's BORING.

I would like to do a summary but it's hard since this book flips back and forth between so many different people. First we have the couple, Christina and Paul who have just bought a new house in NYC that used to belong to a Catholic Church... something that the church long ago forgot was hidden there. Then we have a pack of junkie prostitutes who suddenly have a new leader that is guiding them to commit strange acts, including murder. We've got the cop trying to figure out how the theft of Christmas tree stands and whittling knives combine to create murder, then we have the priest who remembers what's buried in Christina and Paul's house and doesn't know what to do about it... and we have an archeologist who shows up just long enough to get the ball rolling then to tell us what is actually going on later in the book.

Lee is famous for being an "Extreme Horror Writer" unfortunately there really isnt' anything extreme in this book. The gore is pitiful, never once did I even raise an eyebrow or consider what I was reading was gross. The sex, though plentiful is boring rather than entertaining. I would NOT advise this to an Extreme Horror fan.

For all that is going on in this tale, there is really about only 100-150 pages of the actual story, the rest is filled up with sex, sex and more sex... when it's not sex its someone playing with themselves or fantasizing. The problem is that it's not even GOOD sex, by the third time you're reading about it... it's boring, and you've still got about 200 pages of it to wade through. Perhaps Lee thinks we're all 14 and get a kick out of it... but more than likely he needed a lot of padding for what is actually a very short and sadly uninteresting story. The characters aren't entirely unlikable, but at the same time only two of them are worthy of our interest, but they are busy playing with themselves through most of the book so we don't get much meat on them.

I really wish there was more I can say, but I don't want to come across as a complete hater... the idea was good, the second coming of Dracula should have been an exciting topic... but it took a second seat to the padding of the story. I can't really advise this for Vampire fans, because there aren't any vamps until the last 20 pages, Extreme Horror fans will be disappointed in the gore level, people looking for story will be bored as I was.

I considered giving this a single star, but it did have a lot about Vlad the Impaler, which is a personal obsession of mine so it got bumped up to a 2 star story for that purpose only. I'm very disappointed because Lee is capable of so much more.

This series has inspired me to start saving money to tattoo my body red, get a stone hand, and surgically attach broken horns to my head. Thank you Hellboy.

The Right Hand of Doom is also a collection of stories, with the final few dealing with who and what Hellboy actually is, and why he is important to those on this earth, and those not.

To balance that at the beginning is a young Hellboy story, and through Hellboy versus a variety of supernaturals, from dragons to floating heads.

When hellboy came out I thought he was one of the coolest things to come into the world of comics in a long time. I was takin a liking from the first page to the last and I have alot of the hell boy editions but this one is just as good as the others but it's certainly not the best!

"Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom" is Hellboy at its finest. Like HP Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, it is in the short story that Mignola really shines with his hell-born characters.

This short story collection contains a host of odd and enjoyable adventures for Anung Un Rama, otherwise known as Hellboy. Making his way through the mythologies and folklore of several countries, he encounters beasties like Japanese vampires, King Vold and Roger. Well-researched, Mignola threads together these various traditionals into a cohesive story, with the Christian God and Devil at the center, and Hellboy bridging the gap.

By far some of the most intelligent and well-written stories in modern comics, Hellboy never disappoints. Non-comics readers as well enjoy Hellboy, and my copy has been well-read by many people. "Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom" is an excellent starting point, and can be read with no previous knowledge of the characters.

"He has eaten the pancakes. He will never come back to us now."

This collection includes the stories Pancakes, The Nature of the Beast, King Vold, Heads, Goodbye Mister Tod, The Varcolac, The Right Hand of Doom, and Box Full of Evil. There are also several pages of sketches at the end. The artwork is awesome, and the stories are usually pretty good. My favorites were Heads (Hellboy steps into a really freaky Japanese folktale) and Box Full of Evil, which is one of the longer stories of the bunch. Pancakes, one of the shortest, was pretty cute. This probably wasn't the best collection for a beginner like me to start with, but it wasn't bad. The only thing I really missed was a better insight into the characters involved - other than the Hellboy movie, I have absolutely not experience with any of the Hellboy characters, and I'm starting find out how different the movie is from the comics.

What can I say? Good for any Halo fan who likes a good comic.

I read through this book while on a short visit to the library. I had been looking forward to it and was amazed that it was even on the shelf. Once I "read" it I understood why it was there. WAY too short and WAY too hyped. I expected a lot more from the game that redifined the FPS, and has set THE STANDARD for online gaming. I am a huge fan of HALO, but I would be doing everyone a disservice if I recommended that anyone actually BUY this book. Maybe a second edition will prove a better tome.

From an outsider's standpoint looking in, they say one should never judge a book by it's cover but I will do as such nonpussed because the dynamics of the combative format is such that of such exclusite artful review that need I say more??

Wow was this a hard book to get. This was PLEASE mom and dad this is what I want for Christmas my son said. So to my dismay this is no longer in print. The first order I order through here but it was someone from the UK that ended up Cancelling my order 1 week before Christmas. Got back on and did another search for a new one it ranged from $45-$260 so we went with a slightly used book. You cannot even tell.. for $30...
The book so you all know is VERY COOL BUT it is a comic book not like the other halo books you are probably use too.

As a hardcore Halo fan, this is just downright disappointing. None of the stories follow Master Cheif, or Captain Keyes, or anyone remotely recognizable from the Halo universe except Sergeant Avery Johnson. The story with Sergeant Johnson is the only one worth viewing. This is an ok gift idea for someone you know who enjoys all things Halo, but if you really wanna get them something of value, go with one of the real novels instead.

So it is hard to go wrong with any Poe books, and especially for one this cheap. These Dover Thrift editions do not have the most amazing print quality or anything, but have some great writings in cheap, easy to own packages.

Really though, if you can spare it, spent the 15 bucks or whatever and pick up one of the many complete collections of Poe if you can.

This includes:

Ligeia
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Masque of the Red Death
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Gold-Bug
The Black Cat
The Cask of Amontillado

The usual suspects are here, and a bit of variety like The Masque of the Red Death. So, another fine collection from Dover.

First of all, I think it goes without saying that the stories collected here are wonderful. "The Cask Of Amontillado", "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Fall Of The House Of Usher" - it doesn't get much better (or more horrifying) than this. The price is also nice. A dollar fifty? What can you buy for a dollar fifty these days?

My sole complaint regards the absence of footnotes. Take "Cask Of Amontillado", for example. It's hardly essential to know that "motley" is the garb of a jester or a clown (or that a "pipe" is a wine cask) in order to enjoy the story, but that information would have been nice to have nonetheless.

In conclusion, this collection is a wonderful bargain, but if you have a little more money you may want to invest in an annotated collection of these tales.

Edgar Allan Poe is a master of words, wisdom and the English language in general. He sits high up with the greats of English literature and reading this book, you will know why. He is master of his words and moulds them with such love that leads the reader into thinking they are one with the author. Lead me on...

America was a young country; its age was measured in decades. America had few established colleges and had produced few writers, artists, and musicians. It is ironic that Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), living in poverty and suffering from alcohol and opium abuse, would be one of America's greatest writers, and one of the key creators of two genre of fiction - the deductive mystery and the horror story.

This inexpensive Dover Thrift edition - The Gold Bug and Other Tales - contains nine unabridged short stories arranged in chronological order. Two are classic mystery stories. Seven are superb horror stories.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) was not only innovative, but had lasting influence on later writers. Some fifty years later Conan Doyle closely patterned Sherlock Holmes on Poe's amateur detective, Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin, and Dr. Watson on Poe's unnamed narrator that had so much difficulty keeping pace with the brilliant deductions of Dupin. Would we have had Holmes without Dupin?

The Gold-Bug (1843) is the other deductive mystery story in this Dover edition. I still remember reading it for the first time years ago. I was a young, intense entomologist at that time; after reading this intriguing tale, I carefully reinspected every beetle in my collection. I will say nothing about the plot as it is best savored as a surprise.

Six of the horror stories - The Cask Of Amontillado (1846), The Black Cat (1843), The Tell-Tale Heart (1843), The Pit and the Pendulum (1842), The Masque of the Red Death (1842), and The Fall of the House of Usher (1839) - are among Poe's best known tales. They have all been adapted to films, often with considerable license on the part of the screen writer. Ligeia (1838), the earliest story in this collection, may be unfamiliar. These tales are usually told in narrative form, sometimes from the perspective of one not entirely sane.

Many years ago a teacher, Mr. McLeod, loaned me a thick, heavy book containing the complete stories and poetry of Edgar Allan Poe. I read it cover to cover. Poe remains one of my favorite authors.

This was a very quick read and, like the anime and manga of Death Note, is intense and exciting even with little real action. The silly names of some of the characters are a litte strange at first, but I got used to them. I would reccomend anyone who reads this book watch at least the first 7 or 8 episodes of the Death Note anime or read the first volume or two of the manga BEFORE reading Another Note. Anyone totally unfamiliar with Death Note just won't get the full effect of the story.

I ordered this book on july 31st, and got it the very next day. And I gotta say, it is an amazing book. There is so much mystery, puzzle solving, I felt like I wouldn't stop reading. For everyone who are Death Note fans, I recommend this book. You get to know a lot more about Beyond Birthday, I think he was mentioned in the manga; I'm not sure, cause I didn't read most of them, only 7 through 12. The story is also a bit funny, consisting Ryuzaki; going on all fours looking for clues.

Lots of twists and turns in a merely 176 pages novel! Stay true to the original death note spirit. Though with a few flaws as stated by other readers, I'm more than happy and excited to know more about "L". Beware of another "Death Note withdrawal syndrome", I finished this book in less than four hours at B&N, LOL!

Short and simple this is a very good book to just sit down and read but there's something about the item that just isn't very good. The place where this book shipped out of is 100 miles South of my house, guesse how many days the package took to arive at my house? It took 8, 8 days to ship a book 100 miles, I could walk that distance in 2 days if I tried hard enough. So in short, this is a good book but the shipping on this book is only something a saint could tolerate.

I love this book. It's a bit short but the whole mystery is entertaining to the last page and even makes you laugh out loud in some parts. There are times when I want to slap Naomi's head for missing the obvoius but sometimes that made her more fun. I'd like it if the other 2 cases mentioned in the book were made into novels as well. (weather these would be told by Mello or someone different would be the authors choice)

It was just a few months ago that Brian Keene's horror novel Dark Hollow came out. Although The Horror Review may have declared Keene the next Stephen King, that was a bit of hype: yes, they are both horror writers and at least Dark Hollow seemed to focus on the King-like setting of a small, superficially idyllic town in an Eastern state (King likes Maine, Keene Pennsylvania), but Keene is not yet ready to be declared King's literary heir. Keene is good, however and Dark Hollow was no fluke as its sequel, Ghost Walk proves.

Like Dark Hollow, Ghost Walk takes place around the wooded area known as LeHorn's Hollow, a forested region of Pennsylvania with a long tradition of being haunted. This doesn't deter a hunter from a little poaching in the area, a crime with unintended consequences as he accidentally opens up a gateway to another universe. Out of this universe comes an alien and malevolent force that is intent on destroying all life; all that holds it back are the remaining barriers in the gateway.

Fortunately for this presence, Ken Ripple is setting up a Halloween attraction known as the Ghost Walk right outside of the Hollow. Some of the volunteers setting up the site are disappearing, being lured into the Hollow to help take down the barrier. Furthermore, Halloween itself has certain properties that will remove the barriers.

Though Ripple has no clue what's going on, Levi Stotzfus does. This lapsed member of the Amish community knows certain magic and is aware of exactly what's going on. Levi will try and stop it, but he cannot do it alone. He recruits Maria Nasr, a freelance reporter investigating the Hollow's dark history. This, in turn, will lead to the involvement of the lead character from Dark Hollow, Adam Senft, currently locked up in an institution for the criminally insane.

With a tale of ancient alien monstrosities, Keene wanders into Lovecraft territory, and it's a successful venture. This book is well-written, solid entertainment; Keene keeps the pages turning. He may not be the next Stephen King, but Keene shows that you don't need that title to still produce first-rate work.

This quasi-sequel to Dark Hollow (aka The Rutting Season)is another writing sensation from one of the horror genre's most anticipated authors. Once again Keene intertwines characters from his previous novels into this story and goes on to explain a little more about the alternate realities that exit around us. I also noticed he managed to mention almost every title that he has written in this book. He didn't exactly mention the title of the books, but rather just included them in his narrative ie; in one scene, the lead character, Kevin, was mumbling to himself and said "No rest for the wicked, no rest at all" I found that rather interesting. Also, Keene enjoys writing in characters named after some of his bloggers that frequent his web site and message board (hope I make the cut some day).

The story itself moves along at a break neck pace. Great character development also. An enjoyable book sure to satisfy, and leave you wanting more Keene.

I found Ghost Walk to be full of childishly manufactured, shallow and foul-mouthed characters. (Practically every other word being an unlikely and misplaced cuss word of the lowest nature). And that is in addition to a far fetched and totally unbelievable story line that would fail to entertain anyone's imagination.

Ghost Walk initially tries to present itself as a stand alone novel, however as the narrative progresses the book reads more like a companion piece to Dark Hallow (also known as the Rutting Season in earlier print) rather than an independent work. The first problem (as pointed out by several others already) is the length, well shy of three hundred pages and padded by a lengthy preview for his next work. Condensed novels can have pro's, namely quick action, limited memorization, and etc., but Ghost Walk's inconsitant pacing prevents the story from ever generating much excitement. Conversations between the characters are lengthy in several parts and simply fail to drive the story. One specific area (there are many others but I don't want to give away too much for those who decide to pick it up) is in the middle of the novel where two of the main characters engage conversation in a car outside a mental health facility. Though it initially serves as meeting point for the pair, the scene drags on for thirty pages, it is interjected by two sub-narratives, however the plot stalls and because of a massive information dump on the reader, little of which is useful (or interesting for that matter). Exacerbating the pacing trouble is the complete lack of suspense. Soon as secondary characters are given ink a formula starts, and it repeats itself several times. Character is introduced, some kind of internal turmoil is revealed along with a little background, character dies. First off, the little bits of background are ineffective at making the character any more dimensional to the reader. They have background, but none of it matters cause the end result is the same. Secondly, and worse, the process is the same every time, and happens frequently. The result, an extremely predictable book. Short length and bad pacing are not a good combination.
There are a few decent qualities to the book, though they are buried in dull storytelling. Connections to many of Keene's prior works and mythos (again I wont spoil) pop up here and there and at times it's interesting to see how their elements play a role in the story. If you are new to Keene, I suggest picking up Terminal, the Rising, Dark Hallow, and maybe Ghoul, all of which are good books (especially the Rising and Terminal, both are among my personal favorites). His others are readable and decent, but aren't particularly memorable. Ghost Walk is the first I couldn't even finish, sad considering it's length. I'm still a Keene fan, but can't recommend it. Frankly there didn't seem to be much reason to write it in the first place, other than pressure from a publishing company. Dark Hallow is better off without Ghost Walk, and Ghost Walk is too weak to be it's own book.

Although the book is the standard Leisure length of 330 pages, "Ghost Walk" is only 275 pages with a short preview of Keene's next book at the end to bump it up to the 330. For those of you just meandering into the world of Keene, although it is not officially stated, this is a sequel to "Dark Hollow" which for full enjoyment, I suggest that you read first. Though the baddie in this one is not our half goat satyr, we do have the return to LeHorne's Hollow and the return of writer Adam Senft.

Short Summary: A hunter in the Hollow disturbs a circle of stones in the woods, opening the gateway to another world. As a big nasty starts creeping through the gate, we have the local charity ghost walk being set up right next door. Can the ex-Amish user of powwow named Levi fight back a being older than the Earth itself?

Before you begin with my review I want you to know that I truly believe that the skills of Brian Keene rival those of Stephen King. Only time will tell if he will gain the notoriety and voracious fan base of King, but the skill level is already there. That being said, this is not Keene's strongest work. It is obvious that he went into this with an agenda, which was to complete his pantheon and tie all of his books together. As such we spend a lot of time learning about pre-Earth history, the 13, the labyrinth, powwow magic, stone circles, etc. This is also the first time that Keene connects his book "The Ghoul" with the rest of his books, all of which had either intertwined or run in parallel universes with overlapping characters. Now I personally don't have any issue with the pantheon that he has developed and is playing on... however to get out the information and tie up the loose ends in the readers mind, we needed a much meatier book. The story felt like a thin vehicle for explaining the pantheon rather than an independent entry into the cannon of Keene.

Before you think I'm bashing this book, it was very good. The characters were interesting, as is standard in Keene's works, his writing is easy to read and very fluid, making for a pleasurable and relaxing reading experience. He is good at drawing the reader into his world and creating sympathy and concern for his characters. The character of Levi remained a mystery, as I assume Keene wanted, making him hard to truly latch on to as a reader even though he is the central character of the book. The story could have been huge, epic and complex to deliver Keene's concept of multiple worlds and concurrent histories, and nasties from before the dawn of time however the story told in this book suffered because of the compact method that he chose to deliver the message in. In the end the story was a bit of a downer (aren't they always?) but the ending was thin... we never find ourselves worrying, there is no foreboding sense of danger as we approach the final confrontation, I found myself more worried about our characters making it through the traffic jam in time than I was for them when they entered the Hollow. There is also no follow up (good or bad)to show the aftermath of what occurred that evening.

Do I think this was a bad book? Not at all - please notice the 4 stars, Keene is a magnificent writer. I would not advise anyone starting here if they have not read a Keene book before, this book may serve as Keene's Dark tower (not the series, simply the hub in the middle of the spokes of his reality). I hope that with his pantheon described and defined that we can now venture more fully into the horrors that can come from it. Once you have read his previous works, this book will answer many questions left behind from the other stories but it is not a good starting place, or one of the strongest works he has put out.

Quick shipping and the books is just as advertised. I would buy from you again.

If you remember Pulp Fiction or Playing by Heart for jumping between any of several plot lines and wondering how they relate, this story isn't quite that intense, but you get the idea. There are a lot of characters and you feel invested in all of them by the story's end... even the bad guy. This book wasn't as funny as Lamb, which is really great, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Christopher Moore's first book Practical Demonkeeping isn't exactly like his new stuff like Lamb, Fluke, or You Suck!, but it is an excellent book in my opinion. This book takes you to one of Mr. Moore's favorite places to take you, Pine Cove. The story is similar to Bloodsucking Fiends and A Dirty Job considering how it is very supernatural. The story starts off with The Breeze getting eaten which puts his friend Robert in trouble with the police. The culprit of the crme against The Breeze is Catch who is forced to follow around Travis who gets romantically involved with Robert's wife. While this is happening Augustus Brine encounters Gian Hen Gian king of the djinn, and Augustus is told to find and stop Catch. This book is great and if you haven't read it then you should read it very soon.

Christopher Moore may be know for the humor in his writing, but he is also a very good storyteller. This is evident in "Practical Demonkeeping", which was actually one of his earlier works. Sprinkled with great one-liners and absurd situational humor, it is tough not to enjoy this one.

Travis O'Hearn was trying to be a good seminarian when he accidently came to be the master of a demon from the underworld. The demon, known as Catch, has an insatiable appetite for eating humans. But Catch is only visible to other people besides Travis in his eating-size, which is three times his regular size. Travis has been trying to escape his obligation to Catch for a very long time. As Travis nears 100 years of age, he is running out of people that could help him as he searches for the candlesticks that may hold the solution. Love, aging, and theology cross pathes as the plot moves toward the solution. Yet I found myself surprised that Moore did not better exploit one potentially awkward romantic twist at the end.

Some readers have suggested that the story "jumps around" which is a product of the style of writing in this book. Readers see the story through the eyes of different characters. The format certainly does not take away from the story. If nothing else, it prepare the reader for when everything comes together at the end. The end will not be what the reader anticipated in the beginning of the book.

Christopher Moore's Practical Demonkeeping

This novel was a surprisingly quick read, it is short and although not action packed, it manages to keep your attention from beginning to end. The writing style is very casual and humorous, slightly vulgar but not so much as to gain an "R" rating or to turn off the casual reader. There are drugs, but they are not glorified, there is sex, but it is not explicit and there is profanity, but it is not overwhelming.

The story itself is simple enough, one man (Travis) is cursed with being the "Master" of a Demon by the name of Catch, who is not entirely under his control and tends to eat people when he so chooses. Augustus Brine, the small town owner of a bait, tackle, and fine wine shop is suddenly visited by the king of the Djinn who charges him with finding the Demonkeeper and sending Catch back to where ever it is that the Demon naturally inhabits. The story follows not only Travis and Augustus, but also most of the small town of Pine Cove. Although this is a short book, you will find yourself introduced to more characters than seems possible, and wonder how on Earth this litany of characters will intertwine and affect the story by the end of it all. In this Moore does a fantastic job of never spending too much time on the characters that go nowhere, and managing to include everyone in the ending.

As I stated before, this is a quick and easy read, my only complaint is that in order to get to the resolution, Moore does break down into a long and over involved exposition by one of the characters (Travis) that I felt could have been either broken up better through the story, or told a bit more naturally. In the end the resolution makes the story work and certainly doesn't let the reader down. The journey is a fun one and you have the opportunity to meet several very real characters along the way. No one is perfect, and no one is truly evil. In all it is a very human experience told through a very supernatural tale.

Hellboy Volume 3: The Chained Coffin and Others (Hellboy (Graphic Novels))excellent purchase, received on time for christmas, recipient was very pleased

A collection of seven stories, that range from being plain, straight out funny, to the more touching pathos of the Wolves of St August.

In 'The Corpse', Hellboy has to strike a deal with a dead man to help him find and return a child, and this is probably the strongest story in the collection.

If you like dark gothic fantasy stories, and great stylish artwork, then look no further, this Hellboy book has it all. This collection of short stories, contains some of the best drawings and stories ever printed, period. Dark fantasy has never been better. And Hellboy's black humour is really great, his remarks are both sharp and witty. Do yourself a favor, read this book and enjoy the superb artwork.

Mike Mignola Rules! If you like anything cool and somehow don't like Hellboy than there is something wrong with your brain. The Characters and concept is totally awsome. and the Art work is beyond compare. There is really nothing like it, It just has this totally unique style that is very cool and moody. Probably my favorite comic ever.

Mike Mignola's first compilation graphic shorts is titled The Chained Coffin and Others. The stories within were compiled from sources such as the Dark Horse Presents comic issues all the way to promotional issue of the comic catalogue Diamond Comics. The one difference between those issues and this compilation was the coloring. The illustrated shorts where in black and white when they first appeared in those issues, but in this compilation book they have been retouched with bold primary colors.

Mignola wrote and drew all the shorts included in Chained Coffin and Others. The coloring he'd done for all the shorts lives up to the previous Hellboy books. There's some inconsistency to the look of each stories artwork, but that's due to some of them being drawn early in Hellboy's history. Some of these stories were done even before the Seed of Destruction story.

All the stories are well-written and they range from laugh-out funny to classically scary. Stand out entries in Chained Coffin and Others are "Christmas Underground" (Mignola's take on the vampire myth), The Wolves of St. August (a werewolf piece) and "Almost Colossus" (the introduction of recurring character Roger the Homunculus). These three takes are great examples of why the Hellboy books are a joy to read. "Christmas Underground" is my personal favorite for combining both a genuinely scary tale with some genuine humanity to turn a simple horror tale into one of redemption and forgiveness.

For readers who have seen the Hellboy feature film, they will recognize a character in the film who actually appears in this compilation: "The Corpse". In the end, I highly recommend this graphic compilation to new fans of Hellboy and for old, loyal fans to pick it up if their old copy has been dog-eared and tattered from frequent readings.

If you like a good old-fashioned story with real characters and a terrifying ghost, this is for you. No B.S., no gratuitous twists, just a total page-turner!

The book is difficult to put down, it's engaging, but it's pretty shallow and doesn't leave a lot behind after you read it. The characters (of the living as well as the dead) are implausible and the plot devices feel forced and not very well researched*.

I read this right after The Kite Runner and a collection of stories by Jose Saramago. What struck me was the poverty of the narrative compared to the former and a literary aesthetic that's "teenager-at-the multiplex" compared to Saramago...

Hill's New York is *much* less horrific than Hosseini's Afganistan... Or I'm just not a big fan of this kind of horror novels.






*[SPOILER] The emergence of animal familiars is very "Deus ex Machina".

Well written, great story buy it. Much better than 20th Century Ghosts.

Joe

I really wanted to like this book. I bought a hardcover copy, just feeling it would become a favorite. I am sad to say I was disappointed. Such a great idea, buying a ghost on the internet, but the story never really went anywhere. Liked the first few chapters, great anticipation, but no payoff. Didn't care for any of the characters, escpecially the main character, Judas. Sorry all...not scary...not even a great story. But I did make it all the way through (more than I read some people did. And all I wanted was for it to redeem itself, it never did.

"Heart-Shaped Box" will not set any literary circles on fire, but I found the debut novel smart, imaginative and a scary ride from start to finish.

Joe Hill's first novel is a ghost story; plain and simple. He delivers a decent story that does not take the ghost story into uncharted territory, but he does make the ghost story fun and scary again. Hill creates a sustained atmosphere of tension with haunting vignettes and encounters with a ghost who has the best ghost name I have come across in a while: Craddock. The horror scenes seem to be staged at strategic intervals throughout the book, as if it was a television show and each segment between commercials was required to have a chilling moment. However, every time the story could have become repetitious, Hill surprises the reader with a smart twist to makes everything fresh again.

There is also a strong emotional pull within the story that affected me. There is an underlying theme about the loneliness of death and the horrors of suffering alone. Time and again characters experience horrors alone with no one to comfort them and help them with their physical and emotional pain or their passing from life to death. This is never truer than with the story of Ruth. Although a very minor plot line, Ruth's story was told simply and powerfully.

Hill's writing was a little bland and some of the imagery seemed to be taken straight from a Japanese horror film, but the story alone is worth the price of admission. It is not earth shattering in its uniqueness, but it is so well told with imaginative frights that it had me hooked and loving every mile traveled with these characters.

I bought this book mainly for the story by Jim Butcher and i was pleasantly suprised when i decided to read the rest of the stories, too. I now have new authors to explore that I may have never tried before. I could not put the book down, and spent a few nights letting the book hit me in the face before I would put it down and give into sleep.

I bought this because of Jim Butcher's contribution, and with the exception of the last story, the whole book was a lot of fun. The last story was kind of sachrine sweet and I must not have been in the mood for that kind of sweet when I read it.

My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon provides a delicious taste of some wonderful writing by a collection of writers you will definitely want to follow! The stories are short, but certainly enough to whet your appetite for more from each author.

If you're looking for a little supernatural romantic fun, this is certainly a book for you.

I recently purchased "My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon" which was edited by P.N. Elrod. I bought the book since it contained a short story
written by Jim Butcher. I juste wanted to say I loved the book.

What could possibly be more fun than a Big, Fat, Supernatural Wedding? The honeymoon of course! In fact, these stories were even more fun than the original stories. I can hardly wait for "My Big, Fat, Supernatural LaMaze class!!! Well, that may be carrying things too far, but these books are a hoot!