Category Archives: Horror

Public Library, Goodreads, Horror, 1 Trash Can, Book Review

Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz

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This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Frankenstein
Book Review
Book Review

Book Review of Dead and Alive: 1 Trash Can
Frankenstein, book 3
Publisher: Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (July 28, 2009), (352 pages), ISBN-10: 0739317172, ISBN-13: 978-0739317174

Dead and Alive continues the story of the modern day Doctor Frankenstein. The premise is that Doctor Frankenstein, now known as Victor Helios, has created a way to prolong life, including his own and that is why today he still appears to be relatively young. Not only has he created a way to prolong life, but he is also creating an army of genetically modified humans. 

I was not able to finish this story. I found the writing atrocious, and the story improbable, as well as gruesome. But what I disliked the most was how undeveloped the characters were, especially Victor Helios, who was one-sided, all evil. I do not recommend this story, I thought the book would be better used as tinder.

To purchase: “Dead and Alive” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Public Library, Goodreads, Horror, Book Review, 2 Treasure Boxes

City of Night by Dean Koontz

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This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Frankenstein

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
Frankenstein Book 2
Publisher: Random House Audio, Listening Length: 8 hours and 29 minutes (400 pages), ASIN: B000ALAL5S


The creator of Frankenstein is creating and enslaving his own private race of super beings. The only problem is he is crazy and his beings are starting to break down. It is now current day and police detectives Carsen and Michael with a little help from Deucalion are trying to stop this insanity, but Victor’s influence is causing the evidence to disappear and no one believes there is a problem.

Dean Koontz has written numerous books, primarily suspense thrillers, but City of Nights falls into the horror genre, it is the second of five books written in his Frankenstein series. He co-wrote the first novel in this series with Kevin J. Anderson and City of Nights with Ed Gorman.  It is told in the third person narrative from the point of view of the various different characters in the book.

Victor is the ultimate in evil. In the original he was a good guy and suffered greatly at the hands of his creation. But 200 years of power has corrupted him, or perhaps the adjustments he did to himself to prolong his life have caused him to become insane. His creations are all self destructing but there’s no real explanation as to why and why now. We get an inside view of some of the characters that Victor has created.  There was some amusing banter between Mike and Carsen and they are both great characters.

There is still no conclusion to the story, this novel is more like the end of a part than the end of a book.  It definitely falls into the horror category with some pretty gruesome scenes but it also had lots of action and an intriguing story. I am wondering how Carsen, Michael and Deucalion are going to stop Victor.  I will be reading the next installment to see what happens next and how this tale unfolds.

To Purchase: “City of Night” from Amazon, click here or on picture above
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Book Review, Public Library, Goodreads, Horror

Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson

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This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Frankenstein

Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
Frankenstein Book 1
Publisher: Books on Tape (January 27, 2005), Listening Length: 10 hour(s) and 21 min. (496 pages), ASIN: B0007OB4F4

Frankenstein, the monster,  now called Deucalion,  is hiding in a monastery and after more than 200 years of life and has found a sort of peace, until he learns that his creator is still alive.  Dr. Victor Frankenstein has remade himself and is now Victor Helios and he is creating pod people who are genetically modified to be his slaves.  Throw into the mix a crazy man who is carving up pieces of  women and keeping what he considers the perfect female attribute from each one in his freezer and you have an intense story.  Detectives Carson and Michael are on the case trying to track down the murderer of the missing women but once Deucalion comes to the detective and lets them know what is really going on, they get pulled into a far more complex situation than they ever imagined.

Dean Koontz has written numerous books, primarily suspense thrillers, but Prodigal Son falls into the horror genre.  It is told in the third person narrative from the various different characters in the book.

I liked the concept of the story, especially the idea that Frankenstein the monster is still alive after 200 years.  I thought his character was great and I loved how he evolved into a caring and interesting person. I liked the two detectives, especially that each is sweet on the other, but not willing to act on it. I found Victor Helios to be extremely evil and what he was doing was repulsive.  I did not like the ending, I felt it stopped in the middle of the story. There is lots of action especially towards the end which I found exciting.

I did enjoy the story and I am curious to find out what is going to happen to all the various characters, since nothing was really resolved in the first book.  I will be reading City of Night, the next book to find out.

To Purchase: “Prodigal Son” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Book Review, 3 Treasure Boxes, Public Library, Goodreads, Horror

What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz

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Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD; MP3 Una edition (December 28, 2010), ISBN-10: 1441818375, ISBN-13: 978-1441818379

What the Night Knows is more than a ghost story. It is the haunting tale of a psychotic killer (Alton Turner Blackwood) who has returned twenty years after his death. He has returned to torment homicide detective John Calvino who shot and killed Blackwood when John was only fourteen years old and found him standing over the dead bodies of the Calvino family. Now, John is terrified for his wife and kids, knowing there is no way to stop the dead man.

Dean Koontz has written numerous books, primarily suspense thrillers, but What the Night Knows falls into the horror and thriller genres. It is told in the third person narrative from many different characters throughout the book including the main protagonist; John, his wife, children and the evil ghost as well as the many different people the ghost possesses.

This was a very scary book, in fact at one point while I was reading it late at night, I got so frightened, I had to close the book until the next day, to read it in the daylight! There were numerous scenes where Blackwood’s psychotic personality came through with explicit gruesomeness. Some of my favourite scenes were the ones between John’s two young daughters; I thought they were well written and believable. I liked how the story unfolded, and I thought the insight into Blackwood was intriguing and interesting.

This is a standalone story, with a great ending.  I highly recommend this book, if you like horror and enjoy being frightened; you should read What the Night Knows.

 

My favourite quote from the book:

Or if it continued to seem crappy, often it was the kind of crappy that had the potential to be transformed into something quite wonderful if only she could shift her sluggish talent into a higher gear, find that sweet spot between bitter self doubt and dangerous overconfidence and get it done.

Questions to ponder:

What did you think of What the Night Knows?
How do you think it compares to other Dean Koontz Books?
What is your favourite Dean Koontz book?

 

To purchase: “What the Night Knows” from Amazon, click here or on picture above

Book Review, 3 Treasure Boxes, Kindle, Goodreads, Horror

The Butcher’s Boy by Michael Robb

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Book Review: 3 Treasure Boxes
Published December 8th 2010 by Michael Robb Mathias Jr., ebook, 325 pages, ISBN: 139781452413655


How would you deal with sadistic ghosts possessing your house and those you love? Michael is an eleven year old boy who has this problem and he’s compelled to discover why they are in his house.   He does research and learns that a gruesome murder was committed in his new home.  Michael is aided by his faithful dog, the fierce Rottweiler Lucy, his kind baby-sitter and a recovering handyman. They decide to hold a séance to communicate with the ghosts and find out why they are there and how to get rid of them. Bit by bit the story unfolds.

The Butcher’s Boy was written by M. R. Mathias under the pen name of Michael Robb. M.R. Mathias has written a total of six books, five fantasy and one horror. This book falls into the horror genre, and it contains many paranormal themes. It is told as a third person narrative from many different characters point of view, but primarily from that of the central protagonist, Micheal.

The Butcher’s Boy catches your attention from the first page and keeps you on the edge of your seat for a wild and scary ride. A variety of things happen in this book including possession, murder, kidnapping and redemption. I really liked all the characters, especially Michael. They were well developed and I thought their actions and reactions were realistic. The ending was exciting but brutal and I thought maybe a bit cheesey.

This is a standalone book with a well thought out plot that builds to a crescendo. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading scary, gruesome books.
To purchase: “The Butcher’s Boy” from Amazon, click here or on picture above