BOOK BLURB:
Contestants on a Survivor-like reality TV show find the dangers are too real when they-re stranded on a deserted island with inhuman creatures out to kill them.
REVIEW:
OK, a horror book from the US that after my experience with Found You, I thought would be pretty descent. Alas the book had more flaws than Buckingham Palace. The major problem with this book was that the cast were pretty transparent, some characters were just names and the ones that had descriptions you knew were pretty much survivors. I hate that sort of approach, yes they were proverbial redshirts but hey they’re people too. Add to the mix that the ending pretty much summed up how I felt with the word Sell outs added and the author really didn’t do themselves any favours with this novel. It contains graphic rape scenes that the author in his afterward tried to validate although personally I felt that if he “had” to write the scenes like that he didn’t have to be quite so graphic. There was no substance to this offering as it’s a pretty standardized plot and a guy risking his life for a woman who five hours prior had barely any interaction with other than a brief chat after spending a couple of weeks on an island together was just a joke. I really do wonder who Keene knew to get it published. A real sorry excuse for a tale especially given the ending that went on to emphasise America’s pursuit for the Mighty Buck and lack of moral consequences for those concerned.
LE
BOOK BLURB:
At an old manor house on a remote Scottish island, six managers of a large corporation arrive for a week-long stay. Within days they will all suffer horrifying deaths and their bodies will never be found. The government assigns the case to Department 18, the special unit created to investigate the supernatural and the paranormal. However, this is no mere haunted house. The evil on this island goes back centuries, but its unholy plots and schemes are hardly things of the past. In fact, while the members of Department 18 race to unravel the island's secrets, the forces of darkness are gathering...and preparing to attack.REVIEW:
With a kick ass beginning I had high hopes for this offering especially as there were paranormal themes within including a lead psychic protagonist. However as the tale carried on it became a tad too formulaic and sadly petered out as it continued with all the gusto of the beginning seeming to have lost its direction and ability to keep you interested. It went from a top notch read down to merely mediocre which was a great shame as if dragged along, long after its life expectancy into its undeath and beyond. Perhaps it may have been better had Maynard and Sims written a series of short stories as they have a talent to bring you straight in at a level that sustains itself and would have had a greater impact upon the reading market.
BOOK BLURB:
In the small town of Lakehaven, Sally, stalked by a creature straight out of her nightmares that thrives on her fear and guilt, desperately tries to stop the madness before others perish at the hands of this faceless evil. Original.
REVIEW:
When I got this book I took one look at the front cover and just left it as it looked tacky and cheap, add to that the novels short and uninspiring title put it firmly to the bottom of my reading pile. After a while and after having drained the reading selection to the absolute slush at the bottom I decided, out of pure desperation that I’d give it a go noting in the first few pages that this was a sequel and without having read the first novel I nearly put it straight back into Dante’s book hell for another time.
However I persevered and when it came to the description of the “Hollower” I noted that the character appeared to be similar to Freddy Kruger. This made me pay attention as to be honest with you I’m a huge fan of the Nightmare series and what unfolded after those first few pages was a fast paced, well written and damn scary book. I have never been scared of a book before but this gave me the creeps. The characters in it were excellently put together, the torment that they suffer is terrifying and whilst it isn’t gruesome the author went for the psychological aspect through the use of things like dead relatives. Add to the mix a classic cross reference of society within the social group and right from the start it swept me off my feet. I definitely will be reading the other books in this series and will bookmark this author for immediate reading upon landing. If this is a sequel I really can’t imagine how good the first one was. Binn Bear has never been the same since.
(REVIEW BY LADY ELEANOR)
