Horror Books

Unlike the many ghost stories collections that just want to be outlets for new writers trying to write something scary, this book goes for the great ones, like Poe and Stoker. They're unknown, but brilliantly written and wonderfully freaky.

Stay with the classics and read this book!

Classic short stories from some of the best writers. good for a quick collection, read them, adapt them, commit them to memory, then tell them to a whole new generation

A whole different type of Ghost story. Keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times.

I purchased this book because I like to read ghost stories. I am also a teacher, and my kids read them as well. I was somewhat disappointed when I perused the book after receiving it. Most of the stories I had already read...in college courses. My kids didn't like them either; unless you have an exceptionally bright child, the stories are a little deep and complex for anyone under 16. Also, if parents knew the true symbolism of "The Yellow Wallpaper," they may not want their child to read it. I had a hard time with this story being in the context of a children's book.

These stories are also a little too long and out-of-date to capture a child's interest. I teach 7th and 8th grade, and if they got bored with the stories, I'm sure anyone younger would too. If you are an older person, you may enjoy these stories a little more, as we tend to appreciate and understand "classics" a little better. But, like I said, if you have a bright child that enjoys multifaceted stories, by all means, buy the book. That's my .02.

Contents:

***The Empty House by Algernon Blackwell......1

***The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs......21

***The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving......34

***The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe......70

***The Judge's House by Bram Stoker......78

***A Ghost Story by Jerome K. Jerome......100

***The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman......108

***The Romance of Certain Old Clothes by Henry James......128

***The Story of Clifford House by Anonymous......152


*** *** ***
An excellent collection of very spooky ghost stories from authors who were known for their ability to write them.

I recommend this book to you!

I read this, the first Simon Green book I've encountered, on a plane flight.

The setting - Nightside, London's evil twin - was amazing, with shades of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. I wanted to stare as I got off the train, too. The protagonist, a private eye with supernatural powers and a Nightside past, was a good series character. These two things carried the book for me, and I may look for more in this setting.

What put me off was the cliched characterization of the woman client, Joanna. She reminded me of a James Bond girl, and felt very dated, as though she'd come out of a time-slip, too. I actually checked the publication date to see when the book was published.

The plot didn't quite hold the book together. The set-up was pretty good: he has to go into the Nightside to find a runaway teen. But the bit that felt like the climax - a time-slip into a grim, empty, post-apocalyptic London - wasn't. It was just an interruption, and one that trivialized the actual climax when he finds and rescues the teenager.

It felt as though all the elements were there, but they just weren't properly arranged. I'll probably look for other Nightside books by Green. The weaknesses of this book might not carry over to others in the series.

This is the first book of the Nightside novels by Simon Green. I think as of now there are 12 planned books for this series. The most recent book is book 7 "Hell to Pay".

I read somewhere that this is Simon Green's homage to the detective stories of old. I suppose that is a good description of this book but with a lot of twists.

The main character John Taylor is a finder, he can find things, anything. When Joanna Barett shows up requesting that John help find her daughter Catharine, John accepts the job. The only twist is that rumors are Catharine has been seen in the Nightside; the twisted evil center of London. John fled from the Nightside 5 years ago to save his own life. For some reason though the return back there feels like home to John.

This book was a fun and quick read. I liked the character of John Taylor; he has a lot of depth and some interesting abilities. There is a lot of history hinted at in John's past that will make some interesting fodder as the series continues. The descriptions of Nightside are very dark and horror-like. I would classify this book maybe more as a horror novel; although it still is part of the alternate reality fantasy genre. Some parts of this book reminded me of the Sonya Blue series; although this book wasn't quite as vicious as those books were.

There was a ton of well written action, some fun twists and surprises. This book is not for the faint of heart though as all the gore in the action scenes is visited in ...well...gory detail.

My only complaints with this book would be that 1)It was a really short book and 2) sometimes descriptions got a bit wordy and kind of took over the story. Otherwise it was a great book and I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

The landscape of the Nightside is everything Jim Butcher fans have come to love but more. A vivid world where you'll experience more monsters, more character angst, and much more raw violence. A quick exciting read that you will not want to put down.

Having just read the Man with the Golden Torque (pretty good book by the way) by the same author I was interested in reading more of his work and came by this series. The story and characters really have a lot of potential for being really good. I like what the characters could be though the bottom line is they never really reach their potential.
John Taylor is a Private Eye who has a gift for finding things when he's working in the inner heart underground supernatural world of Nightside which he has of course exhiled himself from for the past 5 years. He's down on his luck when he's approached by a woman with a daughter who has been missing for a month. The whole book is really a prolonged search for the daughter while explaining all the wonders and terrors of nightside. This is what all the conversations are about including 5 minute explanations for every person that John Taylor introduces to his client.
The bottom line is it's not a story with characters that you can connect with because there really isn't anything deeper to them than what's on the page. But if you really want a 30 minute read to pass some time and like the neon noir urban fantasy scene you're probably going to like this book. I'm just hoping that he digs a little deeper in the following books.

Green is clearly influenced by the success of Jim Butcher's excellent Harry Dresden books and this book is the first in his own series featuring the Nightside. The universe is moderately interesting but Green's brutally overwrought writing style ruins any possibility of enjoyment. John Taylor is a demonic B-movie gumshoe who speaks in cliches and "lives" in a world of stale ideas - viz. his girlfriend/bounty-hunter Shotgun Suzie- a killer with a heart of gold and a serious mad-on for our boy. Bleah.

Jim Butcher's series is marked not only by a relatively inventive take on urban D&D but by sympathetic characters who are well-written and interesting.

Don't get sucked in by this book- instead, go to George R.R. Martin, Joe Hill or Peter Straub.

The characters get into full form and the plot is inticing. I'd never have seen the finale coming.

Blood Pact begins with Vicki getting a call from her mother and ignoring it, not wanting to talk to her due to the very bad day she's had and just not wanting to deal with her mother at the moment. This goes on for a day until Vicki does pick up the phone ready to talk to her. Only to find out it's not her mother on the other end, it's the other secretary that her mother works with at Queen's University in the Life Sciences Department over in Kingston, Ontario. Her mother has just died, apparently of a heart attack, rather quickly, twenty minutes ago.

Vicki goes down to Kingston (along with Mike and Henry) to begin the arrangements and meets Dr. Burke, her mother's boss. Everyone tells her how sorry they are, if Vicki needs anything just ask, how great her mother was, etc, etc. During the funeral Vicki goes to say goodbye one last time and her mother's body is gone, it's been stolen.

Meanwhile around campus there have been a report or two of attacks and that the attackers look like they're dead...

I enjoyed Blood Pact, this one and the first one Blood Ties, are well worth reading again and are still my favorites. I like this one because it can be used as a zombie story but it is also a Frankensteinish story as well, all having to do with cheating death and reversing it.

I am just fed up with this series! It isn't even about vampires - it's more about demons, werewolves, mummies and zombies and a woman with a violent, immature temper. The only vampire we see throughout is Henry Fitzroy, "Bastard son of Henry VIII of a not-so-tall height and a scattering of red-gold hairs on his arms glinting in the light" - that's the description we get of Henry ALL the time. Ms. Huff, we get the point!

Basically, the most exciting part was the first book, Blood Price, when Vicki finds out about Henry. Otherwise, we just have a woman with a degenerative eye disease who had to leave the police force, she pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose all the time, throws things, has a vampire and a human lover whom she yells at a lot, and she chases around supernatural creatures but really relies on her own personal vampire to do the real detective work.

In this novel, Vicki's mother dies then disappears, amid descriptions of Dr. Burke and the grad students she has in a secret lab doing experiments with bacteria that bring the dead back to life. This was the most interesting part, learning about the process that goes along with the bacteria and what's going on behind the decaying eyes of the zombies they have created. Otherwise, Vicki pretty much has a lot of breakdowns and Henry and Mike Celluci have dominance contests at every turn.

My preference is MORE VAMPIRES! If you're going to have a series with Blood in every title, you'd think you would see more than one vampire who isn't described much beyond how I described him at the beginning of this review - oh, and he writes cheesy romance novels as "Elizabeth Fitzroy" ugh. And I like my heroes sexy and female-oriented. Reading descriptions of Henry's exploits with the street-rat Tony and some other random men just doesn't do it for me. The most we see of him and Vicki is Henry licking her wrist or kissing her or rubbing a thumb down her wrist. There isn't much interaction beyond that besides them arguing or working on a case. There's nothing in between shivers going up and down her spine and then her sleeping soundly in bed. So, Vicki knows that Henry goes other places to feed and "find pleasure" - eww! Nothing romantic.

I get tired of brass-bound-b****es who run around having temper tantrums and throwing things. A strong female lead, one whom I can relate to, isn't such a mental case! The only real reason I've read this far into the series is I was given 4 of the 5 books in a box of used books and I'm curious as to how it ends. But, I've never been enthralled and if any of the characters had died at any time, it wouldn't have bothered me at all.

This is not a vampire series, it's an unbalanced detectives series where the detective keeps running into supernatural cases and has a vampire sidekick. *YAWN*

Just finished this book. I liked the first three, and this fourth one, I liked as well... but maybe not as much. In Blood Trail and Blood Lines, I thought the mystery was a little too simple and too easily solved, although I did enjoy them. This book was definitely not a simple and easy read. The whole story was complicated, and the continuing triangle with Vicki, Henry and Mike added even more complications. The ending was definitely a surprise. I didn't see it coming at all, and for some reason I'm disappointed in what happened. Partly because I wanted to see the whole love triangle resolved in another way, but more so because it just changes too much. But I am looking forward to the fifth and final book of the series to see what happens next.

Excellent Series - This is the fourth novel in Tanya Huff's excellent vampire series. This book and the entire series gets 5+ stars. Although I must admit I liked the first three books more, this still is an excellent continuation of the story involving Vicki, Mike and Henry. (If you have not read the entire series, you must read it, you will not be disappointed. The series order: Blood Price, Blood Trail, Blood Lines, Blood Pact and Blood Debt).

This fourth book continues with Vicki, an ex cop turned private investigator, who had to leave the police force because she is losing her night vision. From previous novels you met Henry, a 400 year old vampire who is also a romantic writer, and Vicki's friend and lover. Also, you met Mike, Vicki's ex-partner, who is also involved with Vicki.

As the fourth book begins Vicki receives the telephone call that no one wants to receive. Her mother has died unexpectedly. Vicki has to come to grips with her mother's death, and at the same time if you have been reading the earlier books of the series, also has to finally deal with her relationship between Mike and Henry who both love her.

This book has some surprise twists, namely the fact that even though her mother is supposed to be dead, While Vicki is staying at her mother's house, she sees her in a window. Is she dead, or isn't she?

This fourth book had some surprise twists, and I must say I felt a little saddened for Henry in this series, who for so many centuries has been alone. But I won't give away more, you will have to read it to find out. A very excellent book if you are into the Tanya Huff series. I recommend.

I am a big fan of Permuted Press and I also reside in the Cincinnati metro area so it was a double whammy when I saw this book title. When I got into it another point of interest to me was that the Werewolf Apocalypse starts on my birthday. Since I am turning 40 this year, I figure it would be a hell of a send up if I had a Werewolf infestation take place in my city the day I start my midlife crisis ; )

I will state that I do not know William Carl at all, though of course I do recognize quite a bit of Cincinnati in his story. He remains fairly accurate as far as landmarks and such and I appreciated that as a resident.

All that aside, this is a solid effort in a genre I have read very little on. Stephen King's Silver Bullet is the limit of my werewolf reading in book form. I have seen quite a few werewolf movies though and I like the strain of wolves that Mr. Carl has created here. They are big, brutish, and raw with physical power and rage.

Having the entire city essentially transform into these creatures makes for a very intense and nerve racking experience for our main characters, which consist of a bank teller, bank robber, street kid, and his wealthy mother who is not only coming to grips with the fact that her hubby has turned into a monster but that he was already a monster who abused their son, causing him to flee long before the advent of the Lycanthropic infestation.

We do get plenty of violence and action going here and I particularly liked the first night, when Rick, our bank robbing buddy, and Chesya, the teller he is forcing to open the bank vault, get to witness first hand the transformation of everyone around them as they turn into rabid monsters. It is quite a gripping scene. Since we are apparently in a Blue Moon stage, we get two (well, two and a half) nights of full moons so we have our folks running through downtown Cincinnati during the daylight hours along with a whole lot of bewildered people who changed and remember what they did while they changed into werewolves, which is quickly causing them to go insane.

There are plenty of other plot details related to the reasons for this outbreak but suffice it to say that this is a fast 300 page werewolf infested blast of a novel.

If I have a criticism here, it is not a huge one but has to do with our four main characters. Each is given a good size of personal baggage, issues such as being molested, being a criminal, struggling to break the grip of poverty, etc. It is hard to pin down, but with all of that it seemed like things came too easily in this story for them. They worked together well, they had only minor squabbles and seemed to sync up nicely with one another. With as many issues as they all had I would have expected more personality clashes and conflicts. Perhaps that is just my own expectations that should not be expected when we are talking about a werewolf book but I felt compelled to mention it. Even with this commentary I feel the author did a solid job of creating four real people who do not become superheros but do what they have to so they can survive an unbelievable set of events.

Good storytelling and a fun read, for sure.

Bill's work is an amazing little romp through a werewolf takeover of Cincinnati. It has the feel of an old monster movie - with science run amok, and enormous action sequences and military engagements - but as the other review points out, it is the carefully and lovingly drawn characters that set this apart as something special, something above the norm. I highly recommend it.

I don't say this often about a book, but I could not put this one down. I devoured it in a night. This book has all the best of horror, unlikely heroes, intriguing villains, science gone wrong, the military, of course, and just the right amount of devastation, and general mayhem. What a great summer read.

What would you get if Michael Crichton, Douglas Preston and Brian Keene had a baby? The creative genius of William D. Carl. Carl takes an old cliche, the lunarly-challenged manimal, and spins it brilliantly into something wonderfully new.
The premise: One ordinary night in Cincinnati, OH, the citizens are stricken with...something. They undergo painful physical changes and their behavior turns violently, sadistically animalistic. A small percentage of the population seems immune to the change. The novel follows four main characters, their efforts to survive and their reactions to the horrific events around them.
There is so much more to Bestial than death, destruction and mayhem. Carl's characters are believable people behaving in a believable manner. They could be your brother, cousin or neighbor.
So why did I title the review "why you should never judge a book by its cover"? Because, the cover does not do justice to this impressive piece of literature. It does not convey the mystery/thriller mood of the book that goes along with the horror aspect.
Look beyond the cover. This is one that is well worth a read. I cannot wait to see what William Carl does next.

BESTIAL takes the basic premise that lycanthropy becomes an airborne virus with only a few people whop are immune, and it makes a thrilling read out of it. This is cinematic stuff. I am Legend with werewolves instead of vampires/zombies. It reels from one rip-snorting set piece to the next without so much as pausing for breath. Hollywood take note!

Also, there's a real depth of character here, something you don't usually see in a horror / action novel. These feel like real people, and the react in ways real people would when faced with a hopeless situation. They don't turn all Rambo. They hide, scream, run, and defend themselves in ways I could see myself doing. Also, I cared about these characters. I really wanted them to make it out alive.

I highly recommend BESTIAL:WEREWOLF APOCALYPSE, especially to anyone who loves the thrill rides of Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton (the early works, not the new crud), F. Paul Wilson, or James Rollins. It's about as exciting as it can get, and I hjope there's a sequel in the works!

DS

Amelia Atwater Rhodes was 13 when she wrote her first book in the forests of the night a vampire story about Riska an underdog vampire with a lust for revenge.
In the "sequel" we are introduced to Jessica the writer who knows too much, but doesn't know she knows it. Caryn a witch, and Aubrey is back.
Jessica loves to write about vampires; she knows things that she shouldn't about them. their greatest weaknesses, their presents and their pasts.
The vampires aren't happy. How does she know.
Aubrey one of the strong vampires comes to dispose of her, but she is not what he expected.
Not as good as shattered mirror, but much better then in the forests of the night.
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, writes a strong story with mystery, a little romance, and of course vampires!
The story is well written and interesting. I hated to put it down. Amelia Atwater Rhode's world of vampires is original and captivating.
I really wanted more details and wished to know more about how the character's were feeling. I felt a little distant from the story.

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes's In the Forests of the Night was written when she was only 13 years old. In it, she chronicled the unlife of Risika and her tangles with Aubrey, a fellow vampire whom she believes killed her human brother. In Demon in My View, several characters from her debut novel are back, with Aubrey front and center. This time, the novel's protagonist is Jessica, a conveniently depressed Goth who secretly publishes fantasy novels under the pen name Ash Night that revolve around vampire culture. The inspiration for her characters comes to her in her dreams, or rather, her nightmares. Adopted Jessica is a loner and quick to anger, so when a new boy enrolls at school who looks, sounds, and acts just like Aubrey, her world is thrown into confusion.

Atwater-Rhodes displays skill at building atmosphere and of creating a viable backstory and genealogy for her vampires. However, the plot is thin at best, and the writing of the flashbacks seem stilted and juvenile. The many secondary characters are fleeting at best; we're never really given their motivations, such as the brief appearances and disappearances of vampire hunter Dominique Vida and witch Hasana Rashida. The vampires' lives are much more fleshed-out than the humans, including Caryn and her family, witches and descendants of powerful Healers. As I've read elsewhere, there is no clear motivation for introducing Wicca, as spells are never cast nor is magick brought up.

Although Atwater-Rhodes attempts to create a standalone universe through her vampire and witch genealogies, but the writing felt juvenile at at times self-centered (gorgeous teen author has a body to die for and is talented, strong...we get it already!), and many plot twists were predictable (her uneven attempt at foreshadowing gave away one of the major "surprises" early on). However, it was a quick, entertaining read (I breezed through it in about 45 minutes) that, although not original, was generally well-written, especially from one so young; it's certainly no worse than a lot of young adult vampire series on the market.

Im very well into vampires, and witches, werewolves and things of that nature. I'm always looking for new and interesting stories to red, and movies to watch where they re all over scene and completely throughout the book, or movie. I really loved this book "Demon In My View". I just wish it could have been a little longer, stretched out a little more. I wish that Jessica and Fala could have had that fight. I wish the book would have ended with perhaps Aubrey, and Jessica hunting together, and maybe being more romantic with each other, since it was clearly obvious that they were attracted to each other, and was connected on that level. I wish the book would have gone into talking about what happens to Caryn after she went home. Are her and Jessica friends now? do they talk since the incident. Seeing as Caryn is the true reason that she is indeed alive. What happens now? Jessica has been changed, Caryn has done something her mother will surely disapprove of. Will she tell her? or will her mom pick it up. Will Jessica ever talk to Caryn again? Will Jessica and Aubrey be long lasting lovers, and grow to have kids of their own one day. I think "Demon In My View" is a great beginner book, of many sequels to come. A great foundation and the author Amelia Atwater-Rhodes should take it and run. We only know through Jessica writings all the things that happened in the past with Aubrey, siete, her mother, and the other vampires. but now we have the chance to actually follow it book by book, and watch the whole thing unrattles. This could be an extraordinary foundation, and the beginning for many many eye bolting, end of the chair, very high anticipation, and mental hunger for other books to follow using these characters. Overall without given too much of the book away hopefully. This book is amazing. Though im far from a teenager, I will be looking out for books that have Amelia Atwater-Rhodes name as the author. She is a talented writer indeed, and I hope she will be able to keep it up in the years to come. AWESOME BOOK...!!!

Once again, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes delivers in "Demon in My View". With every new book, her characters grow and evolve into people we could relate to. Though still young, she has potential to create amazing works like "Shattered Mirror" and the "Kiesha'Ra" series. Highly recommended, one of my favorites!

Don't let the summary fool you. It sounds interesting, but it's horrible. The plot is pointless, the characterizations are unrealistic, and the main character is definitely not likeable. The entire time I was reading the book, I kept waiting for the good part to start, and then I read the last page and realized it never came. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

I am a huge Stephen King fan, but I found this book to be one of his weaker efforts. The story centers on a woman named Rose Daniels, who escapes the wrath of her husband, Norman, after being subjected to extreme abuse for 14 years. She moves to a new city, and falls in with a group of women at a halfway house while Norman hunts her down with murder on his mind.

In my opinion, the best parts of the book were told from Norman's point of view. He is one sick individual, and King masterfully intertwines Norman's inhumanity with black humor. Norman's thoughts will make you laugh and cringe at the same time.

All the characters in the book, including the minor ones, have their own personality and depth, which is one of King's many great talents. The suspenseful and terrifying climax of the story(when Norman finally catches up to Rose) was excellent, and Norman's gradual degradation into pure insanity is both believable and horrifying.

Despite all this, "Rose Madder" is a very flawed book. King does an overall good job at portraying how inept Rose is at interacting with others after being kept prisoner at her house with Norman for so long, except for the fact that she so readily dives into a relationship with another man.

My main complaint however, is the magical/haunted/cursed painting, which is one of the main factors in the story. There is a large chunk in the book where Rose goes into the painting, and I found this to be tedious and dull. I thought the book could have done without the painting side story, as it seemed to be hastily tacked on the the rest of the story so that the book could have a supernatural aspect. Frankly, I thought Norman was much creepier than the painting.

After more than a decade, stuck under the power of her abusive, high-tempered husband, something inside Rose Daniels's brain pops, and she makes a break for it. She flees to a new city, some 800 miles away, to start a new life, hoping to be rid of her husband, Norman, for the rest of her life.

But Norman Daniels is a cop, and tracking people down is what a cop does best...

I have read most of King's work up to this point, and this was definately one of my favorites. The pages fly by, and the plot never seems to slow down, even when there is not much in the way of action going on. While the introduction of fantasy elements into the book was a unique twist, it did hamper the story, somewhat.

Rose herself is a very well-portrait ovyed character, and easily the best of King's female leads. Norman was a pretty wicked bastard as well, but I think his actions were, at times, a bit over-the-top, especially towards the end. The whole "Ferdinand the Bull" thing was pretty darn creepy, though.

But despite its faults, 'Rose Madder' is another great effort by King, and it's definately something I'll read again. The audio recording of this book was also very impressive.

This was one of those Stephen King books for whatever reason I missed or skipped. I read it recently for the first time and I was very pleased. The story was fairly tight good characters, all in all very entertaining. One detractor is the "world" thru the painting is clearly Mid World or the world of the Dark Tower. While this is apparent to Tower fans, the casual SK reader will probably go "Huh?!" and "Whassit?" What the heck does "Ka is a wheel" mean?? - Grins. Well WE know, and I loved the subtle DT references, I had not know they were here before or I would have read sooner.

Other small complaint is Norman, while scary, doesn't make much sense. He functioned as a cop and all around regular person (tho abusive husband) for decades, and then his wife leaving him and taking his bank card turns him into a savage, cannibalistic monster? Why? Yes he was abused a child but - well its a stretch that we just have to accept. That this abusive husband of Rose could snap into a monster unlike we have ever seen. Recent SK novels spend more time "showing" the descent into madness of his villains rather that just have us accept they are mad. But this novel was 1994 I think?

The character of Rosie, however, is wonderful. I would love to see her again. We root for her from the first page to the last. She is one of his best crafted characters. We cheer every good thing that happens to her.

Rose Daniels is a woman who has been married to a policeman for 14 years. Unfortunately, he has subjected her to abuse of the most extreme variety for that entire time until she is finally spurred to leave him and begin a new life. After taking a bus to a new city, she starts to build a new life but her husband, Norman, hunts for her with murderous intent.

The first half of this book is pretty strong. There were a few unlikely plot developments such as Rose being ready for a relationship with a man just a month or so after escaping 14 years of living hell with her psychotic husband. But the characters and story largely carry you along and make you want to see what happens next. The most compelling and scary parts of the book, not surprisingly, are the scenes where Norman hunts for Rose. He is one sick puppy and King is a master at wringing both suspense and humor from characters like this.

Then, the story gets hijacked by a lengthy interlude that carries Rose into a world of Greek mythology by means of a magical painting. I enjoy supernatural elements in a horror story, but in this case it feels completely out of place and tacked on to the rest of the plot. I also didn't care for King's choice to basically reveal the ending during this interlude and tell us what will happen to resolve the situation with Norman.

All in all, Rose Madder is not one of King's best books. Some parts are riveting, but I found myself struggling to get through some chapters and generally found most of the second half to be predictable and weak. If you've never read one of Stephen King's books, then you should start with one of his stronger works such as The Shining or Misery. If you're a long time fan, then go ahead and give it a try, but keep your expectations modest or you'll probably be disappointed.

Rose Madder
This was another one of king's great books,I love every one of his books.This one just shows women living like that can get out and survive.Some women die in those situations,They dont have to.I'm used to his horror stories(of course this is one in it's own way).I didnt think it would be as good but I was entranced to finish every word.He is truly one of the best Authors,I've been reading his books since i was a teen.I have not found one i dont like.

Mike Carey, Lucifer: Devil in the Gateway (Vertigo, 2001)

Lucifer was always one of the more interesting characters in the Sandman universe, though he didn't get much screen time. Enter Mike Carey (John Constantine: Hellblazer), who takes the threads Gaiman left in Sandman and runs with them. Lucifer, having abdicated his throne, is now the owner of a small bar/club in Los Angeles, playing the piano and mingling with the natives with his longtime companion Mazikeen. That, however, does not stop him from messing in mortal affairs every once in a while. But there's more to it than that-- it seems Heaven will, with distaste, use Lucifer as a hitman when it doesn't wish to get its own hands dirty. And thus we meet Amenadiel, an angel with a mission: to hire the Lightbringer. Wheels within wheels within wheels; the Gaiman legacy is in good hands.

As much as I enjoyed the all-too-brief Death spinoff, the stories never held the complexity that was both Gaiman's atmosphere and his greatest strength. Carey, on the other hand, is a perfect channel for it. I admit I like this book a great deal more now, having read volumes 2 and 3, than I did when I first read it; so much of this is setup that it doesn't feel like a great deal actually happens. Rest assured, though, the series takes off quickly just after this. *** ½

I've been reading mostly manga over the past two years, so what surprised me most about this comic (aside from the most obvious differences, ie., color, dialogue-heavy, etc.) was that the illustrators in American comics appear to be disposable, exactly opposite from the Japanese system.

The first story in this comic is illustrated by Scott Hampton who draws a beautiful, lucid version of a Mephistophelean-type, world-weary Satan bored by the absurdity & impermanence of this universe. His beauty is matched by his exquisite courtesy.

The second story is drawn by Chris Weston (I guess...it is not always clear who is responsible for character design amid all the pencillers, inkers, and colorists listed) who draws Lucifer as a thug with the expression of someone who has bitten into something really sour or is, alternatively, in need of a really good laxative.

I found Lucifer's expression jarring enough but then he has been graced with a hairstyle reminiscent of Barbie's Ken. I mean, I know Japanese illustrators are far more concerned with a character's hair than their American counterpart, but come on people, do you really think even the ex-King of Hell would settle for hair that looks like a plastic bottlecap?

Apart from these quibbles about the graphic part of the graphic novel, the story is excellent. The plot is involved but precise and never insults the reader's intelligence. I've only read this first book, but there is obviously much more to come & I'm looking forward to Lucifer's struggle with the angels & whoever else comes up. I plant to read the whole series.

Mike Carey brings back Lucifer from the Sandman series for his own storyline complete with uncooperative angels, a girl who sees her best friend's ghost, a teen unsure of a unusual roadtrip with Morning Star and a tarot deck gone postal. Can't wait to read more!

If you like your literature dark, lurid and intense, feel free to indulge in Lucifer. The mere concept is rewarding to think about but seeing the personification of the prince of darkness as he goes about his day is as gratifying as it can get. Cool and cruel best describes Lucifer but he's mainly just trying to enjoy life since he got fed up with his dayjob so to speak. If you've read and loved Sandman, Preacher, or Kid Eternity, you're going to love Lucifer. Get ready for one hell of a ride.

This is collection of comic books for mature readers that starts here in the year 2000 and the series recently ended a couple months ago so you know it's modern and current. Lucifer first appeared in the critically acclaimed Sandman series, and like its source, is very racey for a comic book featuring nudity and swearing, right up my alley for someone who prefers R rated horror films if only out of curiosity and familiarity with the R rated- 18 and over. This is very similar to Vertigo's source The Sandman for those reasons, only in here Lucifer appears as a sympathetic character, a hero who appears like an angel- a blonde man with wings. I was surprised this was not very scary at all, as Lucifer is the hero does no mad deeds. Now, these are not your typical virgin 12 year old kiddie comics, DC published the Vertigo imprint for mature readers to suit a variety of literary tastes. After buying 3 or four issues and then finding Lucifer comic number one for cheap at local stores, I found the series to be addicting. The swearing and nudity became predictable as did the dark, brooding atmosphere, made me want to come back for more only if for the same thing. I think that it takes balls for a mainstream comic publisher like DC to make comics that bo beyond your basic super hero in soandex saves the day.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Frontiersman but this was too much data - I enjoy Eckert's descriptives and narratives - should have known as it is described as a chronicle of events.

Regardless of the Indian slaughters people kept moving west. They were not innocent in their fight to populate the frontier west of the Alleghenies. Indians took scalps and sold them to the British. The settlers given the opportunity also took Indian scalps for revenge. It took a long time before the people east of the Alleghenies to become concerned about the troubles in the west. In this book "Grity" is a troubled frontiersman rather than a monster. I agree with the author's viewpoint. By Ruth Thompson Author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River"

I bought this book about two years ago. The last book by Eckert I had read before this was "The HAB Theory", published in the 70's. Overall, I enjoyed the book; however, much of what Eckert wrote about my family, the Zane Family, is innacurate. That's because he took what Zane Gray--a distant cousin--wrote in "Betty Zane" as gospel. The first Zane was NOT a Danish nobleman; he was an Englishman named Robert Zane, who came here in 1687 with William Penn (the Zanes were originally Quakers.) Robert's grandson, William, was kicked out of the Society of Friends for marrying a non-Quaker. William's children were Silas, Ebenezer, Jonathan, Andrew, Isaac, and Elizabeth. These are the 'famous' Zanes. Ebenezer founded Wheeling WV; Zanesville OH is named after him. Isaac, my direct ancestor, was raised by the Wyandots and married Myeerah, daughter of Chief Tarhe. Elizabeth--Betty--saved Fort Henry (Wheeling) in the last battle of the Revolution (NOT Ebenezer's wife, Elizabeth, as Eckert wrote). Many present day Zanes, including me, wrote to Eckert to protest what was written (I, personally, am miffed he made no mention of Isaac and Myeerah). He promised to make all corrections when the book comes out in another edition.

Eckert combines a great veracity for historical accuracy with a spellbinding ability to weave too-often dry history into a narrative form. This is a wonderful book, full of history and adventure--so much better than anything Hollywood could come up with!

I bought this book because I found out on the internet that it chronicled an ancestor of mine that I knew very little about. I was not disappointed. My ancestor, Capt. Sam Brady, was one of the main characters and his life story was made clear to me for the first time. If you thought the main Indian wars were held in the west you need to read this and have your eyes opened. It's nothing we should be proud of but we need to be aware of it anyway. It is brought to light in such minute detail it's a wonder it could have been written in a lifetime. Great book by a great author.

Christopher Golden manages to maintain the good quality of the other two 'Odd' Hellboy anthologies here, this one coming in at 3.61, thanks to another fine lineup. Lansdale at the start, and Mieville at the end, not too shabby at all. Nix, Braunbeck kWilliams and Hambly come up with good stuff, too, and Hughes goes for bizarre but cool in a Farmeresque homage.

A cool cover, too, with Hellboy in Daredevil-style gargoyle pose, and there are Mignola illustrations at the start of stories as an added bonus.

Everything Hellboy continues to be good quality, so those that like the Big Red Guy and friends should definitely give this book a try.

Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 01 Jiving with Shadows and Dragons and Long Black Trains - Joe R. Lansdale
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 02 Straight No Chaser - Mark Chadbourn
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 03 Second Honeymoon - John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 04 Danny Boy - Ken Bruen
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 05 Strange Fishing In the Western Highlands - Garth Nix
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 06 Salamander Blues - Brian Keene
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 07 The Thursday Men - Tad Williams
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 08 Produce - Amber Benson
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 09 Repossession - Barbara Hambly
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 10 In Cupboards and Bookshelves - Gary A. Braunbeck
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 11 Feet Of Sciron - Rhys Hughes
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 12 Monster Boy - Steven Volk
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 13 Evolution and Hellhole Canyon - Don Winslow
Hellboy Oddest Jobs : 14 A Room Of One's Own - China Mieville


Hellboy and a werewolf reverend vs the Obsidian Giant, who has a lot of horror pulp influence to draw on.

4 out of 5


Hellboy has to find Robert Johnson's shoes for a dead-not dead wedding.

3.5 out of 5


Titan family time for Hellboy and the BPRD.

3 out of 5


An ordinary decent criminal, and another problem for Hellboy.

3 out of 5


A Scots doctor gets a fast, druidic initiation as part of his dad's defense unit, and a new big, red fishing buddy.

4 out of 5


Revenge of the mermen means an egg hunt and a lot less pancakes for Hellboy.

3.5 out of 5


BPRD poker story of cross-dimensional defense.

4 out of 5


The tail's the thing, lost in the supermarket, at least until Hellboy notices.

3.5 out of 5


Hellboy has to sort out some sixties demon collecting in Egypt.

4 out of 5


Hellboy is asked for a favour by the Reverend, for some brave children.

4 out of 5


A rogue planet counterpart, ectoplasmic sex rituals with the Carnacki institute, and a Journey To the Centre Of the Earth for Liz and Abe. Plus some help from a dead Philip Jose Farmer, on a long river.

4 out of 5


Working out if King Kong would beat Mothra, then delivering some hand of doom action thanks to Hellboy inspiration.

3 out of 5


Desert attacks for the Big Red Guy.

3 out of 5


Perkins vs James apparition dressmatch, and don't mention the crossdressing, says Hellboy.

4 out of 5