Category Archives: Frightful Friday

Frightful Friday: Red Moon by Benjamin Percy

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week. The featured title this week is Red Moon by Benjamin Percy:

  • Hardcover: 544 pages
  • Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; First Edition edition (May 7, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 1455501662
  • Source: Publisher (via Netgalley)

Set in an alternate world, Red Moon describes a world in which lycans walk among us. Infected by prion called lobos, the protein spreads through the human body like an infection.  The contamination is wide-spread: an entire region called Lupine Republic is set aside for those infected.  Those forced to reside in this large-scale containment camp survive by mining the uranium that was discovered after the containment zone was created.

There are other lycans that maintain a fairly normal life. They work with us, go to school with our children, ride planes. They are forced to take a highly addictive drug called Volpexx to control the “change.” Yet in some instances they attack and these situations are what have caused the strong feelings of hate toward the lycans.  Now, once they are discovered, American lycans are treated like criminals despite never showing any evidence of threat.

Narrated by three individuals, Percy shows three unique aspects to this story. Patrick Gamble survived a lycan attack on board a plane by hiding beneath a body of one of the victims.  Claire Forrester is a teen lycan striving for a normal life, seeking revenge after her parents are killed in a government raid.Chase Williams is a politician who is adamantly anti-lycan, even after he himself is infected.

Using these three vastly different characters, Percy shows how our country has consistently treated various subsets of the population different, throughout the generations and continuing into modern times. It isn’t hard to draw the connections between the world within Red Moon and our current cultural climate.

While I would claim this is truly a horror novel, Percy does add some…literary tones to the story that makes it hard to classify it in just one genre. The writing is extremely descriptive and detailed, toning down any overly harsh or graphic segments within the prose. Percy’s novel has truly take the typical werewolf tale outside of the box, beyond the typical comfort zone. He clearly wants this to be much more than just a horror novel, but a story with a lasting and pervasive social message. The thing is, there is a lot of horror out there (Stephen King’s The Stand) that does this, yet people can’t see past the horror category to accept it as anything of substance.

While I commend Percy for his work, there is a great deal of meat (pun possibly intended) to this novel, both in word count and in message. There were parts that I felt seemed to drag on a bit and then also things that I felt could have been detailed further. It almost feels as though this is two novels condensed into one. Perhaps if they had been two individual pieces, Percy could have expounded upon some things without having to restrain his word count. While I appreciated the entirety of this novel, the potential for readers’ interest to wane is great simply due to the page count.

I do plan on listening to the audio book; reviews of Percy’s narration have steeped my interest. Perhaps this is a novel meant to be listened to as opposed to being read. Perhaps I’m just rambling and have no idea what I’m talking about.

In any case, I do recommend this book due to the social commentary and the “out of the box” thinking regarding werewolves and lycans. Do bear in mind the page length; your patience will be ultimately rewarded. Recommended.

Listen to a clip of the audio book. Yep, sounds like horror to me!

Tags: , , , , ,

Frightful Friday: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week. The featured title this week is The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey:

  • Age Range: 12 and up
  • Hardcover: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (May 7, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 0399162410

When the first wave hit, it wiped out electricity.  The second wiped out entire coastlines. The third spread a deadly plague. During the fourth wave aliens known as The Others sought to destroy all surviving humans. The fifth wave is far more deadly and destructive.

Cassiopeia (Cassie) Sullivan has survived the first four waves. Quickly adapting to her new survivalist life, toting a M-16 her only goal is to rescue her younger brother, Sammie, from The Others. Along the way she is rescued by Evan Walker, a quiet and mysterious loner. His involvement in the fifth wave seems completely innocent at first but the more Cassie learns of The Others plans, the more she begins to question everything and everyone she has ever known. She must do anything she can to survive the alien attack and reunite with her only remaining family.

I’m purposefully being quiet vague in my synopsis of this novel. The beauty, and intensity, of this story is discovering the chain of events as it occurs. A long time fan of Yancey myself, I was once again rewarded with a truly remarkable and engrossing tale of horror and the unknown. Cassie is an incredibly strong protagonist; it is refreshing to see a young girl cast in this role. Secondary characters are so well-crafted that you will forget they are just that, secondary pieces or pawns in a larger scale story. Yancey varies the point of view allowing each of the key players to give readers a truly unique and unaltered portrayal of what could be the end of human life as we know it.

At nearly 500 pages, one would think that this book would take forever to get through. Completely untrue, for I couldn’t tear myself away from this book for a moment, eventually reading it in one afternoon. In addition to the incredibly compelling and terrifying storyline, Yancey writes a truly intelligent and thought-provoking read. While readers are asked to dispel belief in some cases, a large portion of this novel is completely plausible.

Plot twists scattered throughout the novel add intensity to the already fast-moving storyline. You will want to stop, shocked about what was just revealed yet you won’t be able to tear yourself away for one moment, a hunger for more that won’t be satisfied until you turn the last pages.  While this is geared toward young adults/older middle-grade, this is the sort of novel that adults would find to be compelling and enjoyable as well.

Bottom line: The 5th Wave is an intense, tremendously chilling and terrifying read. Highly, highly recommended.

Be sure to check out The 5th Wave website for additional information and content!

Tags: , , , , , ,

Frightful Friday: NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week.

This week’s featured title is NOS4A2 by Joe Hill:

  • Hardcover: 704 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow (April 30, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 0062200577
  • Source: Publisher

Like many children her age, Victoria (Vic) McQueen enjoys taking off on her bike, exploring new frontiers. Unlike other children, however, Vic’s bike can transport her to wherever she needs to go…in a matter of seconds. All she has to do is ride her bike through an old, decrepit bridge, coincidentally named the Shorter Way bridge, and she’s transported miles away. These journeys aren’t made without consequence, however, for the act leaves Vic weak and feverish for days.

On one of these adventures, Vic meets a young girl, Maggie Leigh,  who has her own special talent.  She is able to seek answers by reading Scrabble tiles. Like Vic, Maggie’s “talent” has a side effect.  In her case, it is stuttering. She started of speaking normally and without impediment but her talent has caused her speech to deteriorate over time.

It is Maggie who tells Vic about Charles Talent Manx, a man who drives a 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with a vanity plate that reads “NOS4A2.” Manx is an incredibly evil man. His “talent” is the Wraith. It can transport him, and the children he abducts, to a terrifying place known as Christmasland. Manx uses the energy and essence of the children to stay alive; a soul-sucking vampire of sorts.

He takes children for rides in his car and it does something to them. He uses them up – like a vampire – to stay alive. He drives them into his own inscape, a bad place he dreamed up, and he leaves them there. When they get out of the car, they aren’t children anymore. They aren’t even human. They’re creatures that could only live in the cold s-s-space of the Wraith’s imagination.

Maggie stresses that Vic should avoid Manx and the Wraith at all costs, yet after an argument with her mother, Vic treks out in search of Manx.  She finds him but is able to escape, the only child to have done so.

Fast forward a few decades. Vic is now an adult and has a child. Her life has been pretty messed up, largely in part to what happened when faced Manx. She is no longer the young and innocent girl she once was;  Substance abuse and mental illness have caused her to spiral downward. All these years, Manx has been incapacitated in a coma-like state. He hasn’t forgotten the child who got away. He’s out to seek revenge, going right to Vic’s weak spot: her son. Aiding Manx is Bing Partridge, a truly sick and demented individual. Bing, affectionately (or not) referred to as the Gasmask Man steals dental-grade anesthesia (which smells coincidentally like gingerbread) from his place of employment and uses it to incapacitate the children Manx abducts.

I’m going to warn you…the paragraphs that proceed contain a great deal of gushing about Hill’s brilliance. Please note this text has been trimmed down considerably. My original review was novella length. Figuring no one would want to read all that, I did a bit of editing.

Joe Hill is absolutely brilliant. I have been an avid follower of his for years, before it was known he was the son of the incredibly talented Stephen King. I have loved everything this man has ever written, but he has really outdone himself with NOS4A2. In it, he not only grants readers with a truly outstanding horror novel but a truly remarkable examination of good vs. evil and the strength of families.

At the heart of Manx’s abductions is the idea that he is rescuing these children from abuse of some sort (whether actual or imagined). In the case of Vic the intensity of one mother’s love for her son is what wins out in the end. Speaking of family, Hill gives a few nods to his father’s work and names a character after his mother. In the past, I have mentioned that King’s talented writing has been passed down to his son. I’m going to take that back. Prepared to be shocked…for I believe that, with NOS4A2, Hill has exceeded his father in horror genius. An “amusement park” with a Christmas theme that serves as a prison of sorts to captured children turned evil monsters. That terrifies me much more than any demonic clown might.

Additionally, it’s the depth Hill has added to the characters that really makes this novel stand out. It’s not only the protagonist that stands out in this case, but also a majority of the secondary characters as well. Hill takes the time to develop each and every one of them individually. The fact that the protagonist is a very, very flawed yet incredibly strong young woman pleases me to no end. Unlike many novels with female protagonists, Vic needs no saving. She’s kicking ass and taking names!

Some might think this novel (and perhaps this review even!) is too long. I disagree; for each and every word, every sentence, Hill puts on the page has value and meaning to the story. He isn’t liberal with his writing; he doesn’t insert a bunch of unnecessary, flowery text just to reach his word count. Each.and.every.word.counts. I’ve read this novel twice (and I’m about to start the audiobook, narrated by Kate Mulgrew ) and each time I just revel in Hill’s truly tremendous talent. So kudos to you, Joe Hill, for gifting your readers with a truly brilliant piece of art. Highly, highly recommended.

 

Tags: , , ,

Frightful Friday: Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week.

The featured title this week is audiobook production of Jonathan Maberry’s Extinction Machine:

  • Listening Length: 14 hours and 58 minutes
  • Publisher: Macmillan Audio
  • Release Date: March 26, 2013
  • Source: Personal copy

*Note: this book is the fifth in a series. Reading this review, I assume you have read/listened to the other books in the series*

When the President of the United States disappears from the White House, the only evidence left behind includes a crop circle on the front lawn, the Department of Military Science (DMS) is called upon to investigate. Unfortunately with the President missing, Joe Ledger and his team are under the harsh criticism of the Vice President, now assuming the role of Commander in Chief in the President’s absence. Still obsessed with destroying the DMS, he begins an investigation into Ledger’s past, desperate to bring him and the rest of the team down. Meanwhile, during a test flight, a top-secret prototype stealth fighter is destroyed by a craft that immediately fled at impossible speed.

Despite everything that is transpiring around them, Ledger and the Echo team must focus on rescuing the President. His “ransom” is a mysterious “black book” that contains very detailed information on alien technology. Something unworldly is definitely amiss and, using their cunning and creative investigation and recovery skills, the Echo team is once again responsible for the safety and future of a nation.

Admittedly, when I heard Maberry was taking a stab at aliens I was a bit hesitant. Never a fan of UFO stories involving little green men, I was worried that one of my favorite authors was crossing a line I would not be able to follow.  I don’t know how I doubted Maberry’s talent because Extinction Machine may very well end up being my favorite in the Joe Ledger series.  As with nearly everything he writes, Maberry adds a completely unique interpretation of aliens and alien hybrids that left me completely entranced. Not even adding a love story (yep!) diminished my love and adoration of this novel.

What I particularly liked about the Extinction Machine was that it showed a deeper, more emotional side to Joe, the Echo Team, and Church himself. In this novel, we see them at their darkest and most vulnerable. It shouldn’t surprise any fan of this series that the team rises above the devastation, guns blazing, taking no excuses.

I listened to the audiobook production of this novel. What can I say? Ray Porter is outstanding always.I have listened to every single Joe Ledger title and can’t imagine reading the print at the risk of missing out on one of the best narrators I have ever experienced. Ray Porter is Joe Ledger, at least in my mind.  He picks up on the emotional cadence of the characters and is expertly able to vacillate through the multitude emotions of the characters.

All in all, Extinction Machine is a tremendous addition to an already outstanding series. It is by far one of my favorite series, particularly in audio, and one I find recommending quite frequently. Fans of science fiction, paranormal, military, and more will be handsomely rewarded if they opt to join in on this adventure. Highly, highly recommended.

Tags: , , , , ,

Frightful Friday: Lovecraft Middle School-Professor Gargoyle & The Slither Sisters by Charles Gilman

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week.

This week, I’m pleased to welcome my oldest son, John-John, for a special review of the first two books in the Lovecraft Middle School series, Professor Gargoyle and The Slither Sisters:

Picture1

Okay, when I started middle school I knew things were going to be a little weird. My experience couldn’t compare to seventh-grader Robert Arthur’s experience at Lovecraft Middle School.

In the first book, Professor Gargoyle, Robert finds himself assigned to Lovecraft Middle School in the south part of town While all his friends were assigned to attend another middle school. His mom raved about the school, talking about all the great technology and the fact that it was built using all recycled material. What makes it worse is that when he walks into school on the first day, Robert runs into Glenn Torkells, the bully who tormented him in middle school. Could it get any worse? Definitely.

On the first day, students find rats running down the halls and in the classroom. His science teacher, Professor Gargoyle, is a bit odd. Robert gets lost (literally lost, not just losing track of time or getting lost in a book) in the school library. All of this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Within the first few days of school Robert discovers his mother was right; Lovecraft Middle School isn’t your average middle school. The story (and secrets!) behind the school are far darker and deadlier than can possibly be imagined.

In the second book, The Slither Sisters, after barely escaping the creatures that lie waiting in Lovecraft Middle School, Robert discovers that two of his classmates, twins Sarah and Sylvia Price, are actually horrible and hideous monsters in disguise. If that isn’t bad enough, one of them is running for Student Council President, determined to take control of the school.  Once again Robert and his “unique” best friends, the strange group of heroes must put an end to their campaign and prevent the monsters from taking control of his middle school.

Ok, so let’s start out with the covers. I admit, a cover of a book can persuade me to read a book. These books are holograms! At first, the faces on the covers look like normal people but when you walk past the book or tilt it at an angle, you see the true image of these horrid monsters! Awesome, right?

It doesn’t stop there, though. I’m a middle-schooler and I found myself relating to Robert’s character. Although he’s in middle school, he hasn’t gone through a growth spurt or his voice hasn’t changed like the other kids. He pretty much looks the same as he did in elementary school. This is the second selling point for me: I can relate to the main character.

Thirdly: Man, is this book spooky!  I don’t typically like spooky or scary stories like my mom and younger brother do. But something about these stories allowed me to overlook these feelings. I think it has something to do with the things I list above: the epic covers and a character I understand. Without telling you too much, the middle school Robert attends is built using the materials of a mansion that burned to the ground years ago. A mansion that was home to a pretty evil guy who performed some pretty crazy experiments. Using the materials of this supposedly haunted house allows the creatures that once roamed the mansion to now walk the halls of Lovecraft Middle School. And I thought some of my teachers were monsters!! But what I like about these books most of all is that Robert, a pretty uninteresting, normal kid winds up being the hero. Who doesn’t love a story like that!?

Best of all is that there are more books in this series that focus on some of the other creatures of Lovecraft Middle School! I have the third one, Teacher’s Pest, already even though it doesn’t come out until May. Mom says I need to wait a little longer before I review it but trust me, you are going to want to read all three books in one sitting.

Ok, Mom says I should also mention that although this series is set in a middle school, kids younger than that age can read and enjoy these books as well. Like my brother, Justin, for example. When these books arrived we had to wrestle to see who got to read them first! I won’t say who won….

So, I hope I made you want to read these books. I plan on donating my copies to my middle school so that other students can read them. THANKS!

Tags: , , ,

Frightful Friday: Children of the Underground: The Children of Paranoia Series by Trevor Shane

Posted on by — 3 Comments ↓

Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week.

This week’s featured title is Children of the Underground by Trevor Shane:

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: NAL Trade; 1 edition (April 2, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 0451239296
  • Source: Publisher

In this follow up to Children of Paranoia, eighteen-year-old Maria has just witnessed the brutal killing of Joseph, her lover and the father of their infant son, Christopher. The killer, Joseph’s best friend, Jared, claimed he did it for “the cause.” After killing Joseph, Jared tears Christopher from Maria’s grasp. Maria is now on a mission to locate her son, now nearly a year old. She attempted to contact others like Joseph, those fighting in this nameless war, but they shunned her, told her to forget she had a son and to get on with her life. Unable to do so, Maria tracks down Michael, another of Joseph’s friends involved in the cause, as well as a group known as the Underground, dedicated to “cleaning” the lives of those no longer interested in participating in the war. Together, they must carefully cross the lines waged by war, risking their lives in order to track down young Christopher.

Interspersed throughout the story are journal entries, reminiscent of the entries from the previous novel, that fast forward in time to Christopher’s youth and adulthood. Readers get a glimpse of the life Christopher led, immersed in a war that continues to have unknown causes and no indication of ending. Shane has crafted a truly terrific and chilling concept: a silent war rages, millions of citizens clueless to what is going on around them. Those involved in the war don’t have clear enemies or allies. It is rare to find someone you trust.

This sophomore book has absolutely no inklings or hints of a sophomore slump. As a matter of fact, I think this novel is more intense than the previous. Perhaps, because I am a mother myself, I found it easier to connect with Maria’s character than Joseph’s in the previous novel. Although she is still a teen in age, Maria has been forced to endure a lifetime worth of loss and pain. One wants to feel sympathy for her character, but Maria’s strong will and emotion will not allow it.

The character of Michael was an incredibly unique one as well. Despite being scarred by the war he reenlists, fighting for a cause he does not believe in because he knows it is the only way Maria can get her son back. A killer by trade, on the surface he appears cold and emotionless yet his dedication to finding Christopher shows a softer side.

As mentioned, this is the second book in a series. While Shane does provide a bit of back-story and history of the characters, I do believe it is best to start this series from the beginning. It is imperative to see the progression of the characters and their motives, to truly comprehend the depth of the battle they are fighting.

Fans of a wide range of genres would appreciate this series, from action and adventure to thriller. I see great things ahead for this truly talented writer. Highly highly recommended.

Tags: , , , ,

Frightful Friday: Helsinki Blood by James Thompson

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week.

This week’s featured title is Helsinki Blood by James Thompson:

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Putnam Adult (March 21, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 039915888X
  • Source: Publisher

In the fourth book in the Inspector Kari Vaara series, readers are greeted with a version of Kari that is darker and colder than any of the previous novels. Recovering from several shootings including one that destroyed his knee and jaw, leaving him in a tremendous amount of pain, Kari is still devoid of emotion after brain tumor surgery months earlier. Even tranquilizers and constant drinking only dull the horrific pain.  Kari’s wife Kate has abandoned him, taking their infant daughter Anu with her. Kari is barely functional, yet when he is approached by Estonian woman, begging for help, he can’t turn her down.  Her daughter, diagnosed with Down syndrome, has gone missing. The police are short-handed and could care less about the case. Kari sees it as an opportunity to help the victims who he failed to help during his black ops work. And, selfishly, he hopes that saving this young innocent girl will prove to his wife that he isn’t a monster.

Kari calls in his old crew, Sweetness and Milo, and they immediately begin an investigation into the girl’s abduction. Soon they find themselves delving into the world of elicit prostitution, discovering that those responsible for the young girl’s abduction are tied to the Russian mob. Kari’s past comes rushing back at him when this case becomes more of a vendetta than he could have imagined. Most paramount to him now, of course, is his family’s safety.  The trio of to put an end to the past that haunts them using the sort of vigilante justice Kari and his crew are known for.

I’ve been a fan of this series from the beginning (see my reviews of Snow Angels, Lucifer’s Tears, Helsinki White) and it has been quite an interesting journey watching Kari’s character devolve into a cold, uncaring and incredibly flawed character. Yet, despite all this, one can’t help but feel sympathy for long-time fans can remember the warm, caring individual he once was. It isn’t until this novel that readers see the icy exterior begin to chip away, the individual we learned to respect and value, shining through. That isn’t to say that there isn’t a dark side of Kari that pervades.  His family, his loved ones, have been threatened and despite the semblance of menacing monster,  no one messes with those who are close to him without suffering the devastating consequences.

The majority of this novel is quite dark which seems to be a trademark of Thompson’s writing, the cold Finnish climate seeping into the souls of Kari and his crew. Admittedly, I did have a hard time reading a great deal of this novel, purely due to the level of violence. I’m not one to shy away from that sort of thing, either, yet for some reason it seemed overly pervasive in this novel. That said, my faith in Thompson’s writing prevailed and ultimately I was rewarded with a promise of hope and recovery in Kari’s character. While I wouldn’t say this is my favorite novel of the series, I am hopeful that Thompson has plans to return Kari’s character to what he was before.

Despite my issues with this novel, I do recommend it, along with the other books in the series. My strong feelings/response to this novel simply indicate how skilled Thompson is at involving his readers in his writing, eliciting a strong response in me that not many writers can.  Recommended.

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Frightful Friday: Evil in All Its Disguises by Hilary Davidson

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week. This week’s featured title is Evil in All Its Disguises by Hilary Davidson:

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (March 5, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 076533352X
  • Source: Publisher

Travel writer Lily Moore and a group of other journalists go on an all-expense-paid trip to Acapulco, Mexico. It isn’t long after she arrives that Lily realizes the paradise she is expecting is instead replaced by death and doom. The hotel they are staying in, the Hotel Cerón, is remote and far from the rest of town. Despite the hotel’s supposed popularity there don’t seem to be many guests and the armed guards and extremely watchful staff are disconcerting.

Another journalist on the trip, Skye McDermott, picks up on the ominous feel of the hotel. She asks Lily for her help on writing an article, eluding to revenge. Shortly after she speaks these words she goes missing. Lily informs the hotel staff who don’t seem to be concerned about Skye’s disappearance. They insist that she’s checked out of the hotel but Lily is hesitant to believe them. It is when she herself attempts to leave the hotel that she realizes that she is prisoner, involved in something much more than just the fraud and corruption that Skye alluded to.  Lily must confront her painful past and summon all her inner strength in order to escape, saving not only her life but the life of others as well.

Evil in All Its Disguises is the third in the Lily Moore series. While it’s not necessary to read the series in order, it is best to in order to truly grasp the history of pain and loss dealt to young Lily. This is by far my favorite of the series, only because Davidson is so visual and detailed in her writing that she has the reader questioning Lily’s sanity. Is she truly bait in a plot for revenge or is her past with the hotel’s owner tainting her feelings and observations about what is transpiring? Additionally, while the actions that transpire take place in the span of a few days, the intensity in the plot makes it feel as though a lifetime has passed since Lily has walked through the doors of the hotel.

Davidson excels at creating a protagonist that is both incredibly strong but also has a weak, vulnerable side.  The truly rewarding part of this series as a whole is Lily’s ability to rise above her painful past to rise above and overcome the challenges dealt to her. Lily Moore has come to be one of my favorite female main characters in thriller fiction, one that I continue to root for as long as Davidson continues to write about her. What stands out for me about Davidson as an author is that, with each book, she continues to impress me with her talent, proving to be an author I can rely upon to truly entertain me with her writing. I know each time I pick up one of her novels that I will be transported to a truly breathtaking setting, captivated by a truly intense plot. If you are looking for a truly addictive thriller series with a incredibly genuine protagonist, this is the series for you. Highly, highly recommended.

Tags: , , , , ,

Frightful Friday: Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week. This week’s featured title is Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines:

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Broadway; Reprint edition (February 26, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 0804136572
  • Source: Publisher (egalley)

A zombie outbreak has devastated the Earth. A year later, in Los Angeles, a band of superheroes attempts to protect survivors sheltered in what remains of Hollywood. As if fighting zombies, known as exes (ex-humans), wasn’t enough, the heroes are also forced to battle a rabid street gang known as the Seventeens over remaining supplies.

Told in alternating chapters of “Then” and “Now,” Clines successfully executes a pretty tremendous feat of combining two very different worlds. The heroes he creates are unique, ranging from a human electric current (Zzap) to a man who cannot die yet can heal others (The Regenerator). Each of these individuals have only recently discovered their powers, in most cases many just woke up with these extremely unique talents. Each of the chapters covers the viewpoint of these heroes, allowing readers to both piece together the events that lead to this devastation as well as get a unique viewpoint with each chapter.

It would be easy for a novel like this to crash and burn, but Clines is such a skilled writer (and obvious fan of comic book heroes) that he pulls it off successfully. Down to the origin, physiology and behavior of the zombies/exes, Clines creates a wholly unique spin on a subject matter (zombies) that seems to be exploding lately.

What makes this such a stand-out novel is the cross-over appeal, both fans of comic/super heroes as well as fans of zombie fiction clambering over one another to get their hands on this truly tremendous title.  I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of the next book, Ex-Patriots.

 

Tags: , , , ,

Frightful Friday: Domino Falls by Steven Barnes & Tananarive Due

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week. This week’s featured book is: Domino Falls by Steven Barnes & Tananarive Due.

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Atria Books; Original edition (February 19, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 145161702X
  • Source: Publisher egalley

In this continuation of Devil’s Wake, Kendra and the other survivors finally reach Domino Falls, a secure town in California run by new-age guru Joseph Wales. After a period of quarantine, the conditions they discover in Domino Falls are almost too good to be true: clean bathrooms with running water, hot cooked meals, and a mechanic to help repair the shoddy bus they have been driving for thousands of miles.

It isn’t long before they realize that the Domino Falls is, in fact, too good to be true. Wales is implicitly involved in the apocalypse that caused the infection that turned everyday people into monsters.  When what the group of survivors thought was the cause of this wave of infection is disproven, an unworldly source is revealed.

Domino Falls is an extraordinary follow-up to what I thought was an incredibly unique and remarkable first book in a series. In this novel, the characters experience a tremendous amount of growth and revelation. Additionally, readers will be floored when the true cause of the “infection” is revealed, adding a completely astounding science fiction spin on this zombie series.

As with the previous book, the action is intense and the pacing fast so don’t be surprised if you finish this book in one sitting.  While I thought the cliff-hanger at the end of Devil’s Wake was powerful, it holds nothing to the ending of Domino Falls. I cannot wait until more is revealed in this series. Highly recommended.

 

Tags: , , , , ,