Horror Books

This is an amazing book! Get it- you will love it and want to read more of Mary Downing Hahn's ghost stories!

I first read this book when I was about eight. I had gone to the library and was first captivated by the cover art. I read the book and fell in love with it.
I became so involved with the story and the setting. I grew up always wanting to be an artist who lived in a converted church in the country with a cemetery in my back yard. (I am currently in artist who lives in a small town with a cemetery a block away...so it's close.)
After I read the book, I searched the library for other books by this author and found The Doll in the Garden (which I also quite enjoyed). For about 2-3 years, I checked this book out of the library every other week (alternating with the Doll in the Garden). I probably read it over 100 times. When I was in high school, I saw the book at a bookstore and bought it instantly. It has since become a book that I read at least once every other year.
I don't really know how to explain it, but there is something about the story/writing that just captivates me.

When Molly and Michael's mother remarries, they move to a renovated old church out in the middle of nowhere. Neither is happy about the move, but it is made even worse by their spoiled stepsister, Heather. She doesn't want to share her dad with anyone (her mother was killed in a fire) and does everything she can think of to try to break up the family.

Heather soon begins visiting an old graveyard on the property and Molly overhears Heather's conversations with Helen, a girl who died on the property years ago and was buried in the graveyard. Heather warns Molly and Michael that they'd better be nice to her. "Wait until Helen comes," she taunts. Michael is sceptical, but Molly is convinced that Helen is a ghost who means to harm them all.

The suspense builds into a delightfully creepy tension for most of the book, though I was a bit disappointed in some rapid developments (especially with Heather's character) towards the end. Overall, a creepy read that will appeal to fans of ghost stories.

This is one of my favorite young adult ghost stories. It's very well told and keeps the reader engaged and interested. It's one of the books I never forgot about and I decided to come back and give it another read as an adult. I'm glad I did.

This is an awesome book. I really like it because it is scary, but then has a happy ending. I got it at my school's book fair and read it all that day, it was so good! You should totally get it!!

Disappointed..........no where near as good as the other three in the series, it took half the book to even get into the story.

BAD GUYS GET DEAD - CARRIE GETS WED -SOUL EATER LOSES HEAD.
Thus ends (I think!) Jennifer Armintrout's very excellent 'Blood Ties' quadriligy. I loved everyone of these four books - unending excitement; ongoing suspense and a 'no wasted words' writing style.

And who of us does not relish the 'bad guy' getting his just deserts!?Moreover, our author has the ability to incorporate a dash of humour with all the gore.

With all of the supernatural, paranormal, subnormal and abnormal literature flooding the marketplace, it's great to 'hit' upon a skillfully written series such as this. Sure hope there are more!!!

Publishers Weekly in describing Book 1: 'The Turning': "This fast, furious novel is a squirm-inducing treat." Believe me when I say that this comment could apply to all four of these books.

I found this book a bit unbelievable but I did like the ending and the lack of crying that book two and three unfortunately had in abundance. Ziggy and his mate were hot hot hot, Bella and Max made a great family. I have no idea why Cyrus was even in this book but I enjoyed the ending for Carrie and Nathan. As for the series, I recommend the series if you are into paranormal romance with a ton of emotions and feelings. If you are into the fantasy story like myself, who prefers the romance/sex to be part of the story but not the focal point than this series will be speed reading for you.

In this final entry of the Blood Ties series by Jennifer Armintrout, we have a final showdown with Jacob Seymour, the Soul Eater. The Soul Eater consumes other vampire's blood and their soul. He has every intention of becoming a god. Carrie, Nathan and Max once again re-unite to bring about the destruction of the Soul Eater. I did not realize that this would be the final book. Jennifer, according to her website, is of the opinion that she would like the series to go down in a blaze of glory, not fizzle out. I have to agree that she definitely went down in a blaze of glory with this final installment. She took all the stories from the previous books and melded them into a fantastic last book. Carrie seems to finally come to a final decision as to whom she really loves. It is hard for her to separate the Sire/Fledgling relationship from the Man/Woman relationship. Does she love Cyrus because he sired her and later she sired him? Or does she love Nathan because she is his fledgling? All of the stories throughout the previous three books are nicely resolved. I never saw the ending coming. This book had a captivating story, wonderful action scenes and a touch of humor that I thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to her new series that will be out August 2009. If it's half as entertaining as the Blood Tie series, it will be good.

I've read a lot of paranormal romance and urban fantasy, and this ranks up there as one of my top favorites. First of all, I think it's great that Armintrout decided to end this at book 4 instead of dragging it out in an endless amount of installments, like some other authors do. It is the perfect balance for me of romance, action, and horror. This book had a satisfying and climactic ending which wraps everything up quite nicely. I won't give anything away in terms of plot, but if you have enjoyed books 1-3 then you must read this one, which I feel was the strongest of them all.

I purchased this book after reading Barker's "The Hellbound Heart" which was the book that Clive's directorial debut "Hellraiser" was based on. It was a short and sweet novel the showed Clive's ability not just to describe but to intimately visualize horror in great detail. Upon completing that I had high hopes for his greatly praised "Books of Blood." I was not disappointed.
First off I do want to say that there are a couple of dud short stories in this collection which is why I gave it four stars instead of five. I agree with one of the previous reviewers in that I feel "New Murders in Rue Morgue" is without a doubt the worst story in this collection. For some reason it felt as if an ambitious ten year old decided to write a sequel to his favorite horror story with the end result being a absurd retread of the original story. "Pig Blood Blues" and "Skins of the Father" are other stories for whatever reason either lacked Barkers' usual writing flair or ended to quickly for my liking.
With that said I really loved the following stories:

The Yattering and Jack:

A darkly funny story about a demon summoned from hell to break a man on earth who's soul has been promised to them. The battle of wits that ensues between these two is great fun and is the definition of dark comedy.

Dread:

A disturbing story of a young man at a college campus who begins a very bizarre friendship (if you can call it that) with another student who is obsessed with death and human dread. An obsession that will deeply change or take both of their lives.

Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament:

A few other reviewers have said that this is one of the weaker stories but in my opinion I will have to disagree. This is a beautifully written story about one womans newly acquired ability to manipulate her environment and those within her environment. What she does with this new power and where it takes her is very entertaining. Barker writes female characters very well and this is a very sexual story but as stated above beautifully written.

Cofessions of a (Pornographers) Shroud:

I really liked this tale of a conservative accountant who gets involved professionally and personally with shady customers that ends up costing him his life. He ends up possessing a shroud at the morgue and we are off on a bloody good revenge tale.

Human Remains:

I think this one has to be my favorite. A male gigalow comes in contact with an ancient sculpture that has the ability to mimic and impersonate with perfection any person it desires. Unfortunately the desired person ends up losing something in the process.

These are just a few that stand out in my memory but I think anyone who fancies horror and scary stories will get a good kick out of the majority of the stories written here. I will definately read volumes four through six.

Clive Baker, some call him the master of horror even Stephen King Called Barker "The Future of Horror," And someone to call him a master or the future wouldent be too far off. Clive Barkers "Books of Blood:Volume 1-3" were my first attempt at Barker, and I couldent have loved them more. Volumes 1-3 are in here there are five stories in each voulme.

Volume 1

Volume one had to be my favorite out of all three.

The Book of Blood: The book starts out with, well I guess you would call it the cover story or the frame story it's a short one only about 15 pages, but it is a good 15, it tells the story of Mary Florescu who has employed a medium who's a fake, she's hired him to investagate a hunted house. McNeal (The Medium) Fakes the visions at first but then they become all to real and Simon McNeal becomes a living Book of Blood

The Midnight Meet Train: When a man named Leon Kaufman falls asleep on a New York subway he dosent know that his life will never be the same. He wakes up to a living nightmare.

The Yattering and Jack: Jack is an avrage man but theres something in his house something called the Yattering, The Yattering is a demon and this demon will stop at nothing to make jack notice him, He will make jack's life a living hell doing whatever he can just to fullfill a promise made by his father.

Pig Blood Blues: Pig Blood Blues is one of my favorite stories out of the collection. Redman is a retired policemen who comes to work at a school, one of the first thing that happens is a fight or sort of a slaughter, Redmen finds out that a few boys are beating up another boy whos named Lacey, Lacy later tells Redmen the story of Henessey, a boy who's gone missing at the school.

Sex, Death and Starshine: This is a pretty good story by Barker it tells the story of a theter predution and it's actors that are going to preform there last play but when a man named Mr. Lichfield arrives and says his wife will be prefoming the lead things change fast.

In the Hills, the Cities: In The Hills, The Cites is one of the best stories in the collection because of how strage it is. When Mick And Judd go on a vaction they find that the rual area they go to in Yugoslavia has something very strage, something that will cause quite a lot of people to die.

Volume Two

Dread: which is probably my favorite story out of Volume two. Tells the story of Steve, Steve soon meets another student named Quaid, Quaid who is a smart student knows (As Steve will soon find out) what people Dread

Hell's Event: Hell's Event tells the story of a man named Joel, Joel will soon be running a race, but this race counts for a Hell of a lot more then Joel knows.

Jacqueline Ess: Her Will And Testament: When Jacqueline trys to commit suicide, she finds a strage power inside her, a power thats actully quite deadly.

The Skins of the Fathers: When Davidson's car breaks down in the Arizona desseret, he dosent know that he will soon stumble on to something very strage something or somthings that will stop at nothing to get a very special boy.

New Murders in the Rue Morgue: when Lewis (a Descended of the great dectective C. Auguste Dupin) comes to Paris to see a friend thats been convicted of Murder he will soon see that Dupin wasent the only one in the family to find a strange murder. . . a Pretty good take off "The Murders in The Rue Mourge" a Short storry by Edgar Allan Poe, It might be a good idea to Read (If you havent already) Murders in the Rue Mourge before you start on this stoy.

Volume Three

Son of Celluloid: One of my favorites out of Volume Three tells the story of a convict who dies behind a movie screen and later the strage things that happen soon after.

Rawhead Rex: Rawhead Rex was a Monster that was sort of put to death but when a farmer unearths the stone that he's been under, he's unearthing hell.

Confessions of a (Pornographer's) Shroud: Ronnie dosent know excalty what he's gotten into, he thought he had a good job but what he dosent know is that what he's doing is very wrong and now he has to die.

Scape Goats: When four people get shipwrecked on an island they soon find out that there lives wont ever be the same. And some of them will have to die.

Human Remains: a young male prostitute is hired by an archeologist, but what he dosent know is that somehing very strange will go on in the Archeologist's house.

Overall "Books of Blood" is a very good shot story collection it will keep you reading though the night and maybe give you a few nightmares in the process. 5/5

Being older now and still remembering every horrifying adn artistic word of Clive Barker's book of blood, I have to show respect for a great writer and artist. His stories are the best in horror and the most orininal ever. Barker tells with a uncanny and vivid eye. He tells stories that wether you like it or not, will last.
Enough said to the KING of horror and Imajjica.

I came upon the books of blood recently. I read it like 10 years ago and was really entertaingly disturbed. I think some of the short stories are classics that set imagination realms for other reader to follow. ( I noticed a couple of barker influences in Akmal Shebl's The Human Effect, and even the latest Gailamn) I don't mean any harm by this. But like Dracula is the inspiration of all time Vampire bestsellers. Barker is an inspiration for a horror and gleemly enlightened fantastique worlds.
The Books of Blood is like reading 10 bestseller horro books. Every story is original and steeping into gore. I like the story about the vegetarian woman the best, the train at the end of new york city. Hail Barker who doesn't write as sharp as this anymore these days.

This was my first venture into the world of Barker's short stories, and although I was very excited to read the book, I found that it was as many short story books are, hit and miss.

The book opens with a story titled "The Book of Blood" which I suppose would be an intro, though it is almost a short story in itself. It is a good intro, drawing the reader in lots of ghosties, a haunted house, paranormal phenomenon and lots of blood. Excellent intro to amp up the reader and get them ready to dive right through the book. I'd give this short 4 of 5 stars.

The first story is "Midnight Meat Train." I wasn't overly impressed with the title but what the heck, it was a good story. A serial killed of the most disgusting kind, an unwitting accountant who finds his way into that serial killers world, and then bam, strangeness abounds as the supernatural makes its appearance. Excellent story again, 4 of 5 stars.

The second is "The Yattering and Jack." I would in no way call this a horror story... it's closer to something you would find in a Christopher Moore book, in fact I think he based the entire book "Practical Demonkeeping" off of reading this short. This story was a humorous tale of a lesser Demon sent to torment a man to insanity... the problem is that the man just doesn't seem to care about anything the Demon does... including exploding a few household pets. I found myself giggling through this story. I don't felt that it fit all that well with the rest of the book, but it was highly entertaining. 4 of 5 stars.

Third you have "Pig Blood Blues" if I recall the title correctly. This one was strange, but predictable. An ex-cop goes to work at a school for delinquent boys and finds himself mixed up in a strange sacrificial mess. The story seemed familiar, sort of like the Wickerman meets "Children of the Corn." I can't say that it was my favorite, but every short story book has at least one mediocre story in it. 3 of 5 stars.

Fourth is "Sex, Death, and Starshine" and interesting story about the life and death of Theater. Sex, murder and ghosts abound in this story. I think Dionysus would be pleased. Though this may have been the longest story in the book, I enjoyed it. I like ghosts and the theater, and I was very happy that it didn't turn out to be another "Phantom of the Opera" which is what I was concerned with in the beginning. Though at times the story drug a bit, I think this was probably my favorite. 4 of 5 stars

The final story "In the Hills, The Cities" was completely bizarre. I can't even begin to explain it because I couldn't for the life of me comprehend it. I didn't find it frightening, or even disgusting... just perplexing. Two gay guys go out into the middle of nowhere and find... um... two cities? I tried with all of my might to picture what was being described in my mind... but it just wouldn't go together. I felt this story was by far the weakest in the book and a sadly pitiful note to end on. 2 of 5 stars.

All in all, I would say this is a 4 star book, the majority of which is very entertaining to read. I think the only scary stories in it were "The Book of Blood" and "Midnight Meat Train" but the others were good for what they were, except for the finale which was very disappointing.

This book represents the first of (hopefully many)DDP's HalloweeN comics series. Telling new tales of the original Michael Myers, this entry weaves together the stories of several people in and around a small town near Haddonfield. It's been years since Michael first came for Laurie, and although this town wasn't affected directly, Michael's name is still a dirty word all these years later. But Mikey will not simply fade into the night, allowing himself to become an urban legend. He still stalks people, this time going after both teens and 20-somethings.

The heroine of this piece, a girl traumatized by an incident several years before, is terrified of the dark. She sleeps with all the lights on, and refuses to leave her house after dark. Soon, though, she will be drawn into a confrontation with Michael, where she will have to face her demons. Can she put the past behind her? Can Michael be stopped?

Great writing, great characterization, amazing suspense, and gory kills make this a treat for all HalloweeN fans. Check it out. And get ready for another night HE came home!!!

The Thomas Ward Series is well written but not a good choice if you're looking for a few laughs. Everything tends to be pretty dark in these books although they are enjoyable.

Tom, apprentice to the aged and crabby John Gregory, or The Spook as Tom calls him, is charged with rounding up and neutralizing ghasts, ghosts, witches and other monsters that pester the good people of the County. The Spook's standard method for dealing with witches is to seal them in a pit where they exist on worms and bugs for decades at a time. (Wouldn't killing them be kinder? I'm just asking although yes, the plots do thicken when the witches escape and start looking for people to chow down on.)

"The Soul Stealer" features two such witches, sisters, that bring no end of grief to Tom and his master especially since The Spook is in love with one of them: Meg who easily walks through the iron cellar door designed to stop all other evil things. Delaney never explains how she does this but that's just quibbling.

This is an intriguing series and well worth reading for anyone who likes their fairy tales Grim.

Thomas Ward has been the Spook's apprentice for several months now. When the winter starts to roll in, the spook decides it is time to leave his home in Chipenden, to go to his house in Angelazarke. Thomas is forced to leave Alice, a young witch friend, behind in a town on the way to Angelazarke.
The Spook hides many things about his past, Thomas at one point read a personal diary of the Spook's which revealed he was and is in love with a domestic lamia witch, and Thomas gets the pleasure of meeting her in Angelazarke. Yet more secrets come out when Thomas leans about a trouble maker in a town near Angelazarke, a failed apprentice of the Spook's, named Morgan. Morgan, who practices necromancy, wants to raise an ancient and forgotten god of winter, Golgoth. If Golgoth is raised, then the entire county or maybe even more will fall under an eternal winter.
Morgan attacks Tom's recently deceased father, who is in limbo, and tortures him, so Tom will do Morgan's bidding. When the Spook catches Tom attempting to steal an ancient book with the summoning ritual for Golgoth, Tom's actions are stopped. Eventually Morgan captures Tom again and he steals the ritual book. As Morgan begins the ritual in an underground crypt Thomas ponders how he could escape, realizing that he can't. Unannounced to Morgan and Thomas, however, the Spook destroyed to original book and had it remade, with an extremely minute change but important change; he replaced a word in Latin with another. Now, instead of summoning Golgoth outside of a protective ritual circle, Morgan summons Golgoth inside the circle, which ends in Morgan's demise. Now Thomas is sure he is doomed, as the tunnel has collapsed, but soon he finds Meg, the Lamia witch and her feral sister coming to his rescue. With Morgan dead and Golgoth never to be summoned again, the worries of winter are over.
The Spook and Meg have come to an agreement; Meg and her sister are going back to their homeland via ship. This is the wisest choice because up until now the Spook has been feeding Meg some special herb drinks, making her forget who she truly is and what she can do. For the remainder of the winter the Spook and Thomas will continue battling evil on the Angelazarke side of the county.

The spook's last apprentice Tom Ward meets an old failed apprentice of the spook. Unfortunately the failed apprentice has turned to necromancy and is trying to revive an old evil god GOLGOTH. The failed apprentice blackmails Tom by torturing his father's soul and Tom feels helpless until he stands up to Golgoth himself. The feeling of a child's helplessness and the lives people led in pre-modern days come through very strongly. There is somewhat of a slower pace in this book than the others but the fear that Tom feels comes through very strongly. Tom lives in a much harsher world than Harry Potter and he has no wand or broomstick, only his wits ,speed and help from friends help him survive. We learn more of Tom's master the spook in this book and of Tom's mother but it is with a new understanding that soon they will be gone and Tom will be on his own.

i relly liked this book i thought it was very Creative i thought that it was scary i though that the Idea of a Monster huter was gerat, but there were some holes in the story and i thought that was a lack of an overall story though out the series and a lack of character development. and i think that the idea of a monster huter and some of the other ideas that Joseph Delaney has come up with are better ideas then he is a writer, so i think that if J.R.R.Tolkien had the some ideas that Joseph Delaney had his book would have been much better becaues j.r.r Tolkien was a much better writer then Joseph Delaney. so i would definetly say to buy this book.


joshua.

I have had the opportunity to purchase the entire collection so far for my two daughters. I have come to notice I highly anticipate the release of the newest addition to this series. This is an excellent series to get a resistant child to read. My eight year old is not fond of reading but once I began reading the first book to her I noticed she wanted to continue the story on her own. Delaney has a way of making the reading fairly easy and not too scary for the smaller ones who have outgrown The Spiderwick Series. Not only has my 8 year old read the books I have read them all and can't wait for the next release. So far Delaney earns five stars for all four books. We recently received the newest release (book four) four days ago and have completed it in just a few days. We are eagerly anticipating book five.

I usually dislike the horror genre in any of its forms, and have no liking for Lovecraftian fantasy. Though _The Atrocity Archives_ could be said to belong to this genre, I found it by turns hilarious, creepy, and tense. In short, I enjoyed it immensely. There's a lot to like about this book, and if you don't like some of the things you encounter in its pages...well, there is still a lot to like. There's the Cthulhu mythos, evil Nazi necromancy, office politics, computer in-jokes, spy novel tropes, all leavened by a refreshing dry wit that is subtle enough to leave you wondering why you are laughing at this stuff.

I particularly like Stross' penchant for strewing about historical and technical allusions so that his narratives are a minefield for the curious. I would have sworn there was never an "Ahnenerbe" SS, dedicated to strengthening the Third Reich by ferreting out ancient Aryan and Teutonic mysteries. I really didn't know that the Nazi party was descended from an organization created by the mystical Thule Society, but apparently it was so. (At least Wikipedia tells me that both are true.)

Of course, Stross cleverly mixes the truth with the not-quite-true and the outright nutty (otherwise this wouldn't be fiction, but a classified government document, and one would have to be shot after reading it). One example of how Stross shades reality is one character's idiosyncratic use of a "Memex" machine (allegedly because it is more secure than a mere electronic computer). The Memex was a proposal made in the 1950s by Vannevar Bush for we would today call an implementation of "hypertext". It was based on the technology of the day--data was to be stored on microfiche, and its operation was entirely mechanical. As I said, this was merely a theoretical proposal--no such machine was ever built. Or so they tell us...

My first exposure to Charles Stross was his short story "A Colder War" ... which he generously makes available for free, on his website. I emailed the author and asked for more of the same, and he took the time to recommend his "Laundry" series, "The Atrocity Archives" and "Jennifer Morgue." I've recently finished reading both, and eagerly await the third which is promised some time in 2010.

The only down side to his books are the inclusion of a lot of geek-speak, especially computerese that only an IT guy would appreciate. As it happens, I am an IT guy, so I caught most of his references! Still, I can see as how they may put off more 'normal' folk. [One mustn't annoy the muggles!]

After that, the books are a treasure trove of originality! His characters are interesting and complex, his plots are unique, the milieu they operate within is dark, in that government bureaucracy/operations group type of way. The main character, Bob Howard, isn't an 'everyman', he's an 'every-geek' and you root for him because he's so out of his element in the world of spies and assassins and action hero's. Yet, in a world in which "math IS magic" and "computational demonology" is a job title, the guy in the know is exactly the kind of hero you want on your side!

Also, the short story after the novel, "Concrete Jungle" is excellent and demonstrates just how twisted intraoffice politics can be, when everyone involved is 'used to' dealing with mind & reality warping technologies.

Finally, the essay at the end really opened my eyes to the reason WHY a horror / spy story cross over is so easy. Charles makes a convincing argument that Lovecraftian horror really is spy fiction - because it's more concerned with uncovering secrets then fighting monsters. And, why cold war era spy stories really are horror fiction - because they have total nuclear annihilation as their backdrop. I appreciated this essay and considered it an 'extra' in the sense that modern DVD's have extra's and interviews with the director's, etc.

Anyway, more then worth the time to read. I highly recommend this book and it's sequel, "Jennifer Morgue."

What makes this book particularly delightful is all the accounting and bureaucracy the poor protagonist must deal with before he's allowed to save reality as we know it. Stross makes clear that there are a handful of people in the Laundry who are really good at solving the supernatural problems threatening to destroy the world, a lot of people who are really good at making the first group fill out time cards, and a much-too-large group that really doesn't seem to understand anything that's going on around them, and that should definitely not be allowed to take continuing education credits in demon summoning....

For those of us who can understand the depth and layers of writing here, it doesn't get much better than this. One need only be steeped in Lovecraft, Howard, Mythos Lore, Newton's Telecom Dictionary, video gaming, techno gadgets and James Bond to begin to scratch the surface of the little gems found in this collection and The Jennifer Morgue. Truly unique, kind of like reading a Brian Lumley / Ian Flemming / Neil Stephenson novel?!

Clever writing highlights this novel. Recommended for those who enjoy well-crafted plots, likable main characters, with references to the grand masters of science fiction, supernatural fiction & spy fiction.

A good read kept me on the edge. Great plot well written. Worth the price of admission.

Joe

I first was introduced to Matheson's work by the novella "I Am Legend", which I loved. I got this book from the local library and it kept me up for two nights. Matheson's a skilled storyteller and he never lets up on the action, even during smaller passages that he uses for character development. I can see why Stephen King calls him a great influence. I'd place Matheson on equal footing with HP Lovecraft any day.

Richard Matheson, well his name alone is a trademark. To be totally honest I picked up Hell House just because of the reviews and the authors name. I just wanted something to read and pass the time. I never imagined that a book could be scary at all, and let me tell you.

Once you start reading and get familiar with the characters you will difinetly, at least at one point, get a bit scared. It's the basic formula of the horror genre. A haunted house, a terrible past, a place where all the excess and degradation of society took place. So horrible that the first team that tried to "clean" the house from it's spirits went crazy (homicide, suicide and then some).

Now a new team is assembled to make the house normal again. Hell House is a great ride and if you prepare the mood (read at night, in a quiet place with a good tea or perhaps a good scotch) you might get scared. This is a no brainer, pick it up, read, get scared and enjoy!!!!!

Interesting little homage to Shirley Jackson, Matheson's "Hell House" gives us a walloping premise (I, too, loved the whole 'back' tale of Emeric Barasco above everything else in the book) but just doesn't follow thru with characters a reader can feel for. By the end of the book, I cared not a whit who was left standing, and almost began to cheer for the house to win. Compare Florence to Jackson's Eleanor (from Haunting of Hill House) and by Jackson's concise use of words, and significantly less action, I found myself far more mesmerized by Eleanor's character than I could have believed possible. Florence falls flat for me. Her "internal struggles" were so completely laid out for us in the book that there was no subtlety to her actions at all. Nor did I care at all about the doctor and his wife, finding their relationship completely unrealistic (surely he'd have KNOWN she was dying for a little physical love at some point before their venture into Hell House, and they would have worked through that little problem long before then? How long were they married? It hadn't come up in a single conversation in their life together? She was such a doormat that she'd never expressed even a hint of interest in physical love, out of respect for his "condition"? He had never been concerned about the lack of intimacy's effect on her before, or given it much thought? Gee, I think absence of sex is the least of their problems together then.) And who cared about the other guy, who was too frightened to even participate until the last 5 pages of the book? What did we really know about him, since Matheson chose not to elaborate much on the time he'd been in Hell House before? C'mon, if he's going to spill his guts about the wicked history of the house, let's hear the sordid details of the 1940 expedition inside! Others have spoken here about the soft ending, the overuse of the verb "hiss" (everybody and everything, living or dead, animal or vegetable in this book hisses, and repeatedly - that is all you need to keep in mind!) and the weirdly boring "salacious" details - I don't have to elaborate on any of those, except to say that I agree.

One can see the progression from Jackson's novel to Hell House and then on to Stephen King's homage to Matheson's book in "The Shining", however, and from that perspective, Hell House ought to be read if you are a fan at all of the other two books. But it is the weakest link of those three. I am a huge fan of "I Am Legend" and "The Shrinking Man", which are both far superior in character development, among other things. I'm sure Matheson intended well, but this just doesn't stand up to either of those other two books of his. Again, if you start with "The Haunting of Hill House", sandwich in "Hell House", then finish up with "The Shining", you may find yourself with a suitable progression of terror on your hands - it would make an excellent weekend of scary, leave-the-lights-on reading. On its own, "Hell House" needs Dr. Barrett's cane to struggle about on its own legs, moreso than the poor doctor does.

In order to fully appreciate and enjoy this book, you should really try to read it prior to watching any of the movies made about it. Unfortunately I had seen "The Legend of Hell House" back many years ago, so I was familiar with what would happen. Although the book and the movie were different in parts, the truth behind the haunting was the same, which took some of the shock out of it for me.

Short Synopsis: An eccentric dying millionaire commissions a study to prove that there is life after death. Offering On hundred thousand dollars to three people to go and stay the week at "Hell House" and report back to him whether or not there is an afterlife. The three people who go include a psychic medium, a physicist, and the lone survivor of the previous expedition into the house. The four of them go to the house (they fourth being the Physicists wife) and are scheduled to stay there for a week; right away the chills begin crawling up your spine as you learn the depraved history of the house. The windows are bricked up, fog and mist surrounds the house, and the tales of what when on inside are sick and evil.

As I stated before, I wish that I had read this book before having seen the movie, because I believe that having seen the movie detracted from my enjoyment. Still this book is very well written, and was groundbreaking for the time. The problem is that this book was written in the 1970's and has been ripped off or blatantly copied in so many books and movies since then, that when you read it.. it's not shocking anymore. I imagine that this book was quite chilling for it's time. Though I was never terrified, I was interested from beginning to end. And the ghosty in this book is smart... that is probably why this book was so frightening to so many... the battle versus the house was both physical and mental. Certainly we can all duck a few flying dishes... but how do you combat madness? How do you fight an enemy that can see into your very soul, and twist your memories, desires, and hopes into weapons against you?

This could have very easily been a 5 star book, however I found the writing to be very sparse and the characters to be somewhat unsympathetic. At times you almost feel as if you are reading a TV script, the blocking and dialogue are there, but the emotion hasn't shown up yet. In the opening of the book this is at its worst, to the point of my not even being able to distinguish between the two men even by name for much longer into the book than it should have taken. About halfway into the book, Matheson seems to hit his stride and goes from telling to showing the reader what is going on. The second half of this book is 5 star material, without a doubt. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good haunted house tale.

This collection is basically an anthology. A different creative team on each story, and a one and done type of tale in each.

Naturally, one is set in Venice, and handled by Michael Avon Oeming.

Abe and Roger have to go to a 'small New England town.' That is never going to be fun.

A small appearance by Lobster Johnson in a Geoff Johns story with Liz and Roger.

Abe has to stop some toy monsters doing bad things to kids.

It ends with your garden variety zombie cull.

What do three accused witches, a train blown up by a Nazi saboteur, the patron goddess of love and waterways, plush toy monsters, and zombies have in common? The answers can be found in this second B.P.R.D. collection of stories.

B.P.R.D. stands for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, a secret U.S. agency that protects the world from supernatural threats. It is a spin-off title from Mike Magnolia's popular Hellboy comic book series, and details the adventures of the agency's other "special" operatives.

The team includes Abe Sapien, a blue-skinned gill-man with a mysterious past; Liz Sherman, a neurotic pyrokinetic; Johann Kraus, a German psychic whose body was destroyed while his spirit was visiting the astral plane; and Roger the Homunculus, a medieval golem with tremendous strength and a child-like personality.

This collection has a completely different flavor from the previous one. Instead of one main story and a few back-up features it showcases five individual stories written and drawn by five different creative teams.

The Soul of Venice is written by Miles Gunther and Michael Avon Oeming and drawn by Michael Avon Oeming. Something is fouling up the canals of Venice, and the entire team is called in to solve the problem. This story is the most Mignola-esque, as it features all manner of strange creatures and a special appearance from a demon tied to the Hellboy mythos. Oeming's drawing style is very blocky, mirroring Mignola's artwork.

Dark Waters, by writer Brian Augustyn and artist Guy Davis, features Abe Sapien and Roger the Homunculus. They are visiting a New England town that has just literally dug a dark secret from its past. This is my favorite entry. There are red herrings, strange monsters, and theological debates all rolled together into a nice little story.

The Night Train, written by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins and drawn by Scott Kolins and Dave Stewart, features Liz Sherman and Roger the Homunculus. These two characters have an up-and-down history together, and this story explores those issues while also incorporating a mini Lobster Johnson adventure. The art for this story is very different from the usual dark style one would expect. I liked the contrast, and actually think the use of color enhanced the feeling of otherworldliness.

There's Something Under My Bed, by writer Joe Harris and penciller Adam Pollina, features Abe Sapien versus toy monsters that have somehow sprung to life and are terrorizing little children. This is a nice little story that makes you wonder what exactly makes a monster. I didn't like the art in this one so much, the figures looked too lanky and their faces looked too unfamiliar.

Another Day at the Office, written by Mike Mignola and drawn by Cameron Stewart, is a special piece written just for this collection. It features Abe Sapien once again, this time partnered with Johann Kraus. This story seemed way too rushed to make any sense or have any impact. It's just the guys fighting some random zombies. (But then again, maybe that's the whole point.)

Like the previous BPRD book (and the Hellboy books), this is a collection of stories. Abe Sapien, Elizabeth, Roger and Johann must continue to fight the forces of darkness, and their own inner demons, without Hellboy by their side.

In The Soul of Venice, the team journeys to the title city where the waters have gone bad and worse. An interesting look into some of the characters.

In Dark Waters the team is called when a New England town finds the bodies of witches at the bottom of a pond they have drained. The team must fight the supernatural, mud worms and fanaticism.

Night Train spans decades and includes Lobster Johnson and a train destined for the Manhattan Project. Roger must do some real soul searching.

There's Something Under My Bed has the team investigating a pattern of child abductions. You may not look at your toys the same way again.

Finally, in Another Day At The Office (a short story), Abe and Johann look into a town beset by zombies. Just another day in the offices of the BPRD.

A nice collection of stories, but not one appropriate for someone unfamiliar with the characters. Past demons are stirred up and a knowledge of earlier Hellboy stories is a necessity. The artwork is typical of the Hellboy/BPRD stories of the past and is, in my opinion, nothing to write home about.

Still, it is a nice collection of eeriness for fans of the genre. Check it out.

Visceral horror and subtle ongoing character serial combine to make "The Walking Dead" one of the most engaging comic-book series currently being produced. This initial volume, "Days Gone Bye", takes the first six issues of the Image Comics series and edits them together into one seamless (no easy feat when it comes to compilations) 130-plus page epic. Subsequent volumes collect later issues, with new volumes coming out like clockwork once there are six new issues of the monthly comic book to collect.

With its realistic looking characters (no abs-of-steel guys or buxom bimbos here) and gritty day-to-day situations (often horrifying but never over-the-top with silly horror movie situations), "The Walking Dead" is a comic book that doesn't feel "comic-booky", and would be a good title to recommend to friends who don't normally read comics. If they enjoy horror stories, that is.

Quibbles? Robert Kirkman is telling a great story here, but sometimes the word balloons can be a little dense with verbiage. These characters DO go on a bit. But that's really about it.

As this is a comic book, I guess I should touch on the visuals. Tony Moore's art is wonderful: detailed, subtle, yet fast-moving, if that's way to describe comic book art. What I mean is that the art makes your eye fly from panel to panel, drinking in the action. But his detail and subtlety make the quiet scenes resonate the way they should, too. Though Charlie Adlard's art in future volumes is perfectly fine, and has its own plusses, for my money the series never looked better than in this initial collection.

Give "The Walking Dead" a try. Its unusual mix of subtle artistry and firing-on-all-cylinders outright horror will grab you and keep you coming back for more.

just like lays potato chips . the best zombie saga that george r. never wrote . all the books are compelling . i don't even miss the color . kirkman rocks .

Adds nothing new to the zombie genre and yes it starts out exactly like 28 Days Later (Widescreen Edition), convieniently makes the main character a cop so he has access to weapons ad nauseum. Add simpering weak-willed wife and 'Jonny Boy' cookie cutter son and you've got yourself the Walking Dead vol 1. And you think the drawings might even be okay. I hate manga pop a lot less than this black and white rendered blob.

This zombie fan gives it a big MEH.

I'd give it a negative star if possible for the crappy steriotyping alone. And the whole male cast is straight out of a Budweiser/Coors commercial complete with the token ethnic characters & square-jawed main manly characters.

Volume 1 (of 8 so far) collects 1-6 of Robert Kirkman's ongoing series for Image Comics. I had been recommended this book by many people so I snagged the first 4 trades cheap and ate them up like a plate of warm brains. Zombie humor. Of course, there is really no humor to be found in this series. It's gritty, rough and deeply interesting. This book is not so much about the zombies as it is the human condition - and how quickly it corrodes under apocalyptic circumstances. As is typical of Kirkman, the writing is excellent, building suspense and establishing characters while moving the story along at a satisfying pace. If you read the first trade, you'll want at to have the next few handy.

Some of the more negative reviews of this first Walking Dead book are quite merited. In many ways it feels derivative, even a bit lazy. I'd only like to add that the series does get better, a whole heck of a lot better. Read this first one just so you can get to know the characters, but if you're feeling put off, do yourself a favor and keep going. By the time I was halfway through the second book I was hooked hooked hooked, and I devoured the rest of them as fast as I could. These have some of the best character development I've ever seen in any media, let alone in comic books, which are NOT known for their depth.

Kirkman has made a decent name for himself in this business, and The Walking Dead series is a fantastic testament to his deserving respect.