Werewolves, Ghosts & A Christmas Ball: The Wolves of Midwinter by Anne Rice

The tale of THE WOLF GIFT continues . . .

As lush and romantic in detail and atmosphere as it is sleek and steely in storytelling, Anne Rice brings us once again to the rugged coastline of Northern California, to the grand mansion at Nideck Point—to further explore the unearthly education of her transformed Man Wolf.

The novel opens on a cold, gray landscape. It is the beginning of December. Oak fires are burning in the stately flickering hearths of Nideck Point. It is Yuletide. For Reuben Golding, now infused with the wolf gift and under the loving tutelage of the Morphenkinder, this Christmas promises to be like no other . . . as he soon becomes aware that the Morphenkinder, steeped in their own rituals, are also celebrating the Midwinter Yuletide festival deep within Nideck forest.

From out of the shadows of the exquisite mansion comes a ghost—tormented, imploring, unable to speak yet able to embrace and desire with desperate affection . . . As Reuben finds himself caught up with the passions and yearnings of this spectral presence and the preparations for the Nideck town Christmas reach a fever pitch, astonishing secrets are revealed, secrets that tell of a strange netherworld, of spirits—centuries old—who possess their own fantastical ancient histories and taunt with their dark, magical powers . . .

Before I start this review I have some confessions to make. Firstly, I requested this from NetGalley thinking I would have time to read the first book in the series beforehand – I did not. And secondly, those of you who have read some of my previous posts will know that I just was not in the mood to read ANYTHING for like two weeks. Major book funk.

So, it’s quite hard to review this objectively. It has never taken me so long to read a 400 page book, and I honestly don’t know if it was because of my book funk, or because I just couldn’t get into it.

But, I can tell you one thing for sure, Anne Rice writes beautifully.

From what I’ve read about the first book, The Wolf Gift, Reuben, a young reporter heads to the magnificent mansion Nideck Point to interview a woman about the estate. While he’s there he is attacked by a group of Wolf Men and in turn, receives the Wolf Gift himself, becoming one of them, The Morphenkinder. He struggles with his new animalistic, vicious side throughout.

In The Wolves of Midwinter, Reuben is now the owner of Nideck Point, pursuing his love for Laura (who is in the midst of also becoming one of the Morphenkinder), and trying to keep the wolf attacks underwrap from the village.

There were things I liked in this book that convinced me to not give up on it despite really not being in the mood to read. For one, being set at Christmas is a big win for me this time of year. In the hopes of being accepted by the village, The Morphenkinder plan a grand Christmas ball. The descriptions of the lavish festivities, decorations and food had me seriously pining for Christmas and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

However, I was expecting something terrible to happen at the ball when it eventually came about, but it didn’t.

And that’s kind of the way this book went for me. I kept expecting things to happen but they just didn’t materialize. The main conflict in the story was that of Marchent, a ghost (who I assume was a main part of book 1) whom the Morphenkinder are being haunted by. They clearly loved her once, and seeing her ghost upsets them, especially Reuben who tries to help her despite being scared of her appearences. But that never really went anywhere either.

And then there’s Reuben’s Dad. I really enjoyed their relationship and thought it was quite refreshing to see a man’s relationship with his father in a genre like this. It doesn’t seem to happen very often. But, I found the rest a bit predictable – Reuben’s dad comes to stay with them at Nideck Point and he finds out that they are Werewolves. Didn’t see that one coming. And again, not much happens. It turns out that his dad already knew what he was and doesn’t care!

Overall, I think if I’d read this at a different time, and after having read the first book (usually helps) that I might have liked it a bit more, but there just wasn’t enough conflict or surprise in this for me. I loved Anne Rice’s style, and the beautiful way she has of describing her opulent worlds, but the story fell a bit flat.

Disclosure: I received a copy from the Publisher via Netgalley for an HONEST review. Many Thanks!
Details: Hardcover, 400 pages. Published November 7th 2013 by Chatto & Windus (Random House UK)
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Unicorns
If you liked this try: Second Nature by Alice Hoffman

Happy Halloween! (Best Buffy Episodes for your Halloween viewing pleasure)

If you’re celebrating today, I hope you have a great Halloween!

I kind of wish we celebrated it more in the UK. I mean there are still parties and stuff, because y’know any excuse to get drunk, but it’s nowhere near as widely celebrated as it is in the US.

I’m celebrating by having a get-together on Saturday to watch Horror films, eat a lot of badness and drink a lot of witches brew. So that leaves tonight free, and what am I going to do I hear you cry…I’m going to watch my favourite Halloween Episodes of Buffy of course!

And here they are:

Hush (1999, S4E10)
This isn’t an official ‘Halloween’ episode but it has to be the scariest, right?
In “Hush”, a group of fairy tale ghouls named “The Gentlemen” come to town and steal everyone’s voices, leaving them unable to scream when The Gentlemen cut out their hearts. Buffy and her friends must communicate with one another silently as they try to discover why no one can speak and find whoever is murdering the townspeople. They must also find ways to express their feelings about each other and keep some semblance of control as the town descends into chaos.

The Scary: The Gentlemen are seriously freaky, floating around the streets of Sunnydale with permanent grins on their freaky faces looking for hearts to tear out. Not to mention the eerie silence…
The Funny: The ‘Giles’ Slides’ scene as I like to call it has me in tears of laughter every time without fail. How is this whole scene not on you tube? Ack. Here is the gist:

[no one can speak; all written or mimed]
Giles: Who are the Gentlemen? They are fairy tale monsters. What do they want?
[Willow points at her chest]
Xander: [cups hands at his chest and mouths] Boobies?
Giles: Hearts. They come to a town. They steal all the voices so no one can scream. Then…
[Giles shows drawings of Gentlemen ripping out the heart from a person in bed]
Giles: They need seven, they have at least two.
Xander: How do we kill them?
[Buffy mimes stabbing, but looks more like masturbating; Giles, Willow and Xander look at Buffy with disturbed faces; Buffy mimes again with a stake; they all look relieved]
Giles: In the tales no sword can kill them.

The Best: The fact that there is no dialogue at all for 3/4 of the episode but it is still one of the funniest (and scariest) episodes proves just how much of a genius Joss Whedon is. It was the first Buffy episode to be highly praised, earning various Emmy nominations.

Fear Itself (1999, S4E04)
This has to be the best episode for costumes!

Gachnar, a fear demon with the ability to materialize terror, is accidentally conjured and wreaks havoc on a Frat Halloween party.
The Scary: A fear demon sounds pretty terrifying to me….
The Funny:…unless he’s only a few inches tall
The Best:

Giles: Oh, bloody hell. The inscription.
Buffy: What’s the matter?
Giles: I should’ve translated the Gaelic inscription under the illustration of Gachnar.
Buffy: What’s it say?
Giles: Actual size.

Halloween (1997, S2E06)
The first Buffy Halloween special!

On Halloween, Buffy and her friends patronize an unusual costume shop where customers turn into whatever costume they are wearing.

The Scary: It’s kind of freaky to imagine that all the things you could dress up as has Halloween could come to live, plus, there’re little kids inside those demons so you can’t even kill them!
The Funny: SMG’s Victorian noble woman accent is pretty hilarious.
The Best:

Tabula Rasa (2001, S6E08)
Again, this isn’t an actual Halloween episode but it might be my favourite ever.

Willow tries to solve too many problems with magic, accidentally making herself and the others forget who they are just as a demon loan shark and his boys come looking to collect a debt from Spike.

The Scary: There’s nothing too scary in this episode I don’t think, it’s just hilarious
The Funny: Due to Willow’s spell fail, the gang don’t know who they are and so hilarity ensues. I think my favourite is Spike assuming that he’s Giles’ son.

The Best: I can’t choose! UMAD!

Spike: *Randy* Giles? Why not just call me Horny Giles or Desperate-For-A-Shag Giles? I knew there was a reason I hated you.

Dawn: So, you don’t have a name?
Buffy: Of course I do. I-I just don’t happen to know it.
Dawn: You want me to name you?
Buffy: Oh, that’s sweet, but I think I can name myself. I’ll name me… Joan.
Dawn: Ugh.
Buffy: What? Did you just ‘ugh’ my name?
Dawn: No. I just – I mean it’s so ‘blah.’ Joan?
Buffy: I like it. I feel like a Joan.

All the Way (2001, S6E06)
This episode isn’t all that great because it was back when Dawn was really annoying, but it’s still a good Halloween watch. “Mist, cemetery, Halloween… This should end well.”
Dawn lies to Buffy and goes out with a boy on Halloween, but when the boy turns out to be a vampire ignoring the Halloween-no-killing rule, Buffy and the guys must save her…again.

The Scary: The beginning is pretty freaky with the creepy old man with his big knife, who we’re clearly supposed to think is the baddie, but then Dawn’s new boything gets fangy. Poor old man.
The Funny: Buffy – “Did you know about this?”
Giles – “No. Unless I blocked it from my memory, much as I will Xander’s vigorous use of his tongue.” [takes off his glasses and starts wiping them]
Buffy – “Is that why you’re always cleaning your glasses? So you don’t have to see what we’re doing?”
Giles – “Tell no one.”
The Best:
Xander’s pirate costume, which shows us things to come in the next series when Xander loses an eye. 😦

Nightmares (1997, S1E10)
Parts of this episode still really CREEP ME OUT.

The students at Sunnydale High beginning to experience aspects of their worst nightmares while awake, leading to the Scooby Gang’s investigation to a young boy with a secret. However, before they can get to the bottom of things, they must face their own nightmares, which are rapidly taking over reality.
The Scary: CLOWN
The Funny: Willow’s operatic debut!
The Best (WORSE):

Have a great time everyone!

Sources: Wikipedia & IMDB

WWW Wednesday (30/10/2013)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading? • What did you recently finish reading? • What do you think you’ll read next?

I have had a serious lull in reading this past week or, I just can’t seem to stick with anything. It happens sometimes. I don’t think it’s a reflection on the books, I’ve just not been in the mood. Hopefully, it won’t last long!

Here’s what I’ve been up to:

Currently Reading: The Wolves of Midwinter by Anne Rice. I’m still reading this and have barely even scratched the surface. Last week I didn’t get much reading time, and this week I just haven’t been feeling it. But it’s a NetGalley review so I will persevere. I also picked up City of Ashes which is a reread. I thought something light and familiar would help me get back in the mood…I’ll get back to you on that one.

Recently Finished: I finished Human Remains by Elizabeth Haynes (Review here) and I didn’t finish Good Omens.

I was travelling at the weekend and you know what the worst thing EVER is? When you’re stuck on a 4 hour train journey with a book that you don’t want to read. Seriously, I think I have some hidden hatred for Neil Gaiman or something because I just CAN NOT READ HIS BOOKS. The only one I managed to get through without hating was Stardust. I tried really hard to get into Good Omens but it just sounded like the ramblings of two mad men to me and I gave up just past the 100 page mark.

Up Next: Hopefully I can get geared up for this ARC of Orbital Kin by James E. Parsons!

After an unusual disease breaks out and begins to threaten the country, a group of postgraduate students at a British university focus their research upon it, aiming to find out the cause and the cure.
The experimentations move out to space stations soon enough, in hope of a cure being produced while more mysterious events take place. The two graduate students find success, breakthroughs and the sudden spreading illness takes them in directions they never expected.
Can university graduates Steven and Alan save the country from the spread of the disease? Only time will tell… (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Leave a comment with your link and I’ll check them out!

TTT: Top Ten Halloween Reads/Covers

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish (Click the image to visit them). This week the theme is Top Ten Halloween Reads or Scary covers.

I’m going to cheat a little bit this week because I have had ZERO time to plan or write any posts. Boo. So that’s why most of these books have already featured here during Horror October. They are all books that I think are great Halloween reads AND have scary/awesome covers though.

Click the Images to view them on Goodreads.

1. Point Horror books are great for those of you that don’t really like scary books, and I totally love the covers.

2. This is kind of the opposite to what I said about Point Horror. Adults only!

3. I haven’t actually read this but dolls freak me the hell out so I had to include it.

4. The only thing worse than dolls are clowns!

5. This is one of my favourite vampire books. The cover is creepy too!

6. I really want this version of the collection of Poe’s work.

7. I loved this, and I love this cover.

8. This has been my favourite read from Horror October so far, and the cover is stunning!

9. Creepy house, creepy babies, creepy cover!

10. This is one of my favourite books full stop.

Horror October: Where it all began (Point Horror, boiii)!

My love of all things horror was spawned from two main things.

1. My family, who never really censored what we watched and me trying to get one up on my older brother by swearing I wasn’t scared of any of the films he put on. Somewhere along the line, I got a taste for it. I also remember trips to the video shop (RIP VHS) on Friday nights in which I would usually have a friend over (the promise of horror films at the age of 13 was always good for the popularity ratings) and my dad would let us pick any 3 of the bargain nasties (50p for 2 nights!!), any our hearts desired. Some that spring to mind are, Salem’s Lot, Amityville Horror, and Child’s Play.

2. My discovery of Point Horror books. I love these books. Reading them now they are silly and a bit of fun but back when I was 10, I thought they were the best thing ever. And they really got me back into reading when reading wasn’t considered cool. I stupidly sold all of my original copies when I thought I’d out-grown them, but I’ve been slowly building up my collection again.

Here’s what I have so far:

And here are some of my favourites. I haven’t reread them all yet but these are the ones I remember the most!

The Snowman – R.L Stine
Heather feels cold all the time. Alone. Her guardian hates her. He’d like to see her dead. He’d like all her money. But for now he settles for controlling it, and making Heather’s life miserable.

Poor little rich girl, just like Cinderella…

Then the gorgeous, ice-blond guy shows up at the crummy restaurant where Heather works after school. He understands about Heather. He’s her Prince Charming. No one can get to Heather now.

Heather feels so safe. So loved. So warm…

The Cemetery – D.E Athkins

When an innocent game played by a group of teens leads to the death of one of them, the surviving friends must figure out who among them is the killer

The Cheeleader – Caroline B. Cooney

Cheerleaders are beautiful, popular and exciting – girls that Althea longs to be. But Althea is nobody – she gets no phone calls, shares no laughter and has no friends. Then one day she meets him, a vampire who offers to make her a cheerleader in exchange for a simple bargain.

The Window – Carol Ellis

It should have been the skiing holiday of a lifetime. But Jody sprains her ankle and finds herself alone with nothing to do but gaze out of her cabin window.

Gazing into the cabin of a beautiful neighbor she witnesses the fight, the murder and the killer…or does she?

And if the murder is real, has the killer been watching Jody?

The Girlfriend – R.L Stine

Scotty has the perfect life. And the perfect girlfriend. But one weekend while she’s away, Scotty goes just a little…astray. Suddenly he has a new girlfriend. One who won’t go away. His one wild night has become a nightmare.

Because his new girlfriend has decided that she loves Scotty…to death.

The Boyfriend – R.L Stine

Sometimes, love is murder. Too bad about Dex. He was in love with Joanna. She broke up with him. And then he died.

Joanna’s sorry, of course. But it’s not her fault he’s dead, is it? Besides, she never loved him. Boys are just toys, to be used and thrown away.

But this time, Joanna’s gone too far. Because Dex is back. From the dead. For one last date with her….

I really want to find this one next:

When the Devil’s Elbow roller coaster goes off track, killing one teenager and maiming two others, everyone thinks it’s just an accident . . . except Tess. She saw someone tampering with the track. Then another “accident” occurs in the Funhouse and Tess may have been the intended victim.

Favourites Friday #16 (Horror October Edition): Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite

I first read this book when I was maybe about 15, and I’d never read, or imagined I would read anything quite like it. There’s gay sex (shock horror!), cannibalism, necrophilia and a whole lot of gore & death. But there’s something of substance here too.

Brite has this great way of vividly encapsulating a certain time and place. Exquisite Corpse deals with the aftermath of the AIDS breakout and the hopelessness felt by the young gay community in New Orleans. Brite writes for a generation, and it’s stayed with me the same way as my own teenage years have.

You’ve probably heard that this love story about two cannibalistic serial killers (loosely modeled after Dennis Nilsen and Jeffrey Dahmer) is over the top. You’ve been warned about the lovingly meticulous descriptions of murder and necrophilia. But the novel also features a keen look at the AIDS plague, in a setting almost worth dying for: Brite’s doomed aesthetes dance in a sweet, heady New Orleans of milky coffee and beignets, alligators, Billy Holiday tunes, scented candles, pirate radio, swamp French, andouille sausage and one bar for every 175 people. And the structure is the tightest of Brite’s books so far”. (From Goodreads)

Full Synopsis:

To serial slayer Andrew Compton, murder is an art, the most intimate art. After feigning his own death to escape from prison, Compton makes his way to the United States with the sole ambition of bringing his “art” to new heights. Tortured by his own perverse desires, and drawn to possess and destroy young boys, Compton inadvertently joins forces with Jay Byrne, a dissolute playboy who has pushed his “art” to limits even Compton hadn’t previously imagined. Together, Compton and Byrne set their sights on an exquisite young Vietnamese-American runaway, Tran, whom they deem to be the perfect victim.

Swiftly moving from the grimy streets of London’s Piccadilly Circus to the decadence of the New Orleans French Quarter, and punctuated by rants from radio talk show host Lush Rimbaud, a.k.a. Luke Ransom, Tran’s ex-lover, who is dying of AIDS and who intends to wreak ultimate havoc before leaving this world, Exquisite Corpse unfolds into a labyrinth of murder and love. Ultimately all four characters converge on a singular bloody night after which their lives will be irrevocably changed — or terminated.

Oh, and I’m still totally in love with Tran!

Horror October: Human Remains by Elizabeth Haynes

Human Remains is a deeply disturbing and powerful psychological thriller that will have you checking the locks on your doors and windows.

When Annabel, a police analyst, discovers her neighbour’s decomposing body in the house next door, she’s appalled to think that no one, including herself, noticed that anything was wrong.

Back at work, she feels compelled to investigate, despite her colleagues’ lack of interest, and finds data showing that such cases are common – too common – in her home town. As she’s drawn deeper into the mystery and becomes convinced she’s on the trail of a killer, she also must face her own demons and her own mortality. Would anyone notice if she just disappeared?

So, this is one of those books that’s really hard to review without giving away the whole shebang, so I’ll keep it brief.

I absolutely loved Haynes’ first book Into the Darkest Corner but somehow managed to miss the release of her second one. When I saw the synopsis for Human Remains (her 3rd) though I knew I had to read it, especially considering I was doing this Horror October thing.

I have to say, I started off being bit disappointed. The novel is written from the perspectives of Annabel, a woman who has somehow managed to isolate herself from everyone apart from her elderly mum and her cat, and Colin, an intelligent but clearly unhinged individual. I think the main reason that this started off so slowly for me was that it was clear from the start that Colin was going to be ‘the killer’.

At first, I thought it was just an obvious plot-line but as soon as it became clear that we’re supposed to know who he is I felt I was really able to get into it. There was one moment when something just clicked, the inciting incident if you want to be poncy about it, and from then on I was hooked. It just wished it had happened sooner.

Human Remains reminded me a little of the likes of the film Se7en, and to some extent the Hannibal books. Mainly because of Colin’s character. He’s intelligent, articulate and lives a somewhat normal life on the surface, but underneath he’s completely psychotic. And that’s the thing I love about these kind of thrillers. I’m totally fascinated by how serious criminals and serial killers’ minds work.

Colin was a great baddy, even if he didn’t feel that original to me. I guess certain things he did were though. The creepiest part wasn’t even his obsession with the bodies, it was his complete lack of remorse. There was no remorse, because he didn’t feel like he was doing anything wrong, and therefore he felt invincible.

I wish we learned more about ‘his method’ too, I was really intrigued by that – such a scary thought. If you weren’t wary of the likes of Derren Brown before, you will be after reading this!

Disclosure: None, I bought it!
Details: Paperback, 368 pages. Published February 14th 2013 by MYRIAD EDITIONS
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Unicorns
Is it a keeper? Probably, but only because I’ve kept Into the Darkest Corner.
If you liked this try: American Psycho

Horror October: Must-See TV!

The main thing I have loved about Horror October is the opportunity to branch out a little. I am, and will remain a BOOK blogger, but like most of you reading this I’m sure, I have other interests too. TV and Film are also great source of enjoyment in my life.

Autumn is always such a great season for new TV shows and this year has been no exception. So I wanted to share with you some my favourite new horrorish shows, and those I am really excited about *squeal*!

1. DRACULA!

OMG I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this. I have loved Jonathan Rhys Meyers since I saw him in Gormenghast, and then Velvet Goldmine where he played a character based on David Bowie. He was so perfect in both of those so him being cast as Dracula is just a bit amazing. Also Katie McGrath from Merlin plays Lucy Westenra…BONUS!

Synopsis from IMDB: Series introduces Dracula as he arrives in London, posing as an American entrepreneur who maintains that he wants to bring modern science to Victorian society. In reality, he hopes to wreak revenge on the people who ruined his life centuries earlier. There’s only one circumstance that can potentially thwart his plan: Dracula falls hopelessly in love with a woman who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife. Written by NBC

Dracula starts on NBC on Oct 25th in the states and shortly after on Sky Living in the UK.

2. American Horror Story: The Coven

My excitement for this is on par with Dracula although I didn’t enjoy the last series anywhere near as much as I thought I would! I just felt it fizzled out a bit and I lost interest. This, however, looks crazy good!

AHS: Coven started on Oct 9th US, and will begin on FX in the UK on the 29th…just in time for Halloween!

3. The Tunnel

Synopsis from Sky.com:
The Tunnel is a gripping new thriller from the makers of Broadchurch, set against the backdrop of Europe in crisis.

When a prominent French politician is found dead on the border between the UK and France, detectives Karl Roebuck (Games of Thrones’ Stephen Dillane) and Elise Wassermann (Harry Potter’s Clémence Poésy) are sent to investigate on behalf of their respective countries. The case takes a surreal turn when a shocking discovery is made at the crime scene, forcing the French and British police into an uneasy partnership.

As the serial killer uses ever more elaborate and ingenious methods to highlight the moral bankruptcy of modern society, Karl and Elise are drawn deeper into his increasingly personal agenda.

Inspired by Scandinavian drama The Bridge, it’s an original production for Sky Atlantic HD and the result of an entente cordiale with France’s CANAL+

The Tunnel started on Sky Atlantic on Oct 16th

4. The Originals

I used to LOVE The Vampire Diaries although I never read the books. The thing is, the last few series of TVD have been rubbish. Sad Face. So, I don’t really know how to feel about this spin-off but I am looking forward to finding out!

Synopsis from IMDB: A spin-off from The Vampire Diaries and set in New Orleans, The Originals centers on the Mikaelson siblings, otherwise known as the world’s original vampires: Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies), and Rebekah (Claire Holt). Now Klaus must take down his protégé, Marcel (Charles Michael Davis), who is now in charge of New Orleans, in order to re-take his city, as he originally built New Orleans. Klaus departed from the city after being chased down by his father Mikael, while it was being constructed and Marcel took charge. As Klaus has returned after many years, his ego has provoked him to become the king of the city. “Every King needs an heir” says Klaus, accepting the unborn child. The child is a first to be born to a hybrid (part vampire, part werewolf) and a werewolf (Hayley). Written by Anaya Miller

The Originals started on Oct 3rd in the US and begins in the UK 22nd Oct on SYFY

5. Bates Motel

This has been a surprise for me. I wasn’t sure it would work, but I’ve loved it so far. Vera Farmiga is amazing as Norma Bates and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

Synopsis from IMBD: A modern re-imagining and prequel to the movie Psycho. This story begins with the earlier years of a teenage Norman Bates and his mother Norma who live in an old house overlooking the adjoining motel which they are renovating. The house and hotel both come with secrets of their own as does the new town which the Bates’ now call home. Written by Alton Tyre

Bates Motel is currently on Universal in the UK, Thursday Nights. Sleepy Hollow is also worth a mention, so far I’ve seen 2 episodes and it’s been good, I hope they crank it up a notch though!

New Find for Horror October: House of Small Shadows by Adam Nevill

I saw this in the review section of The Guardian this morning and thought it sounded like a pretty promising Horror novel from a British author, which is nice. Taxidermy and dolls…ugh. Also, THE COVER! Creep-tastic!

Catherine’s last job ended badly. Corporate bullying at a top television production company saw her fired and forced to leave London, but she was determined to get her life back. A new job and now things look much brighter. Especially when a challenging new project presents itself — to catalogue the late M H Mason’s wildly eccentric cache of antique dolls and puppets. Rarest of all, she’ll get to examine his elaborate displays of posed, costumed and preserved animals, depicting scenes from World War I. When Mason’s elderly niece invites her to stay at the Red House itself, where she maintains the collection, Catherine can’t believe her luck. Until his niece exposes her to the dark message behind her uncle’s ‘Art’. Catherine tries to concentrate on the job, but M H Mason’s damaged visions raise dark shadows from her own past. Shadows she’d hoped had finally been erased. Soon the barriers between reality, sanity and memory start to merge. And some truths seem too terrible to be real.

Title: House of Small Shadows
Author: Adam Nevill
Details: Hardcover, 320 pages. Published October 10th 2013 by Tor

Read the review here.

Favourites Friday #15 (Horror October Edition): The Pilo Family Circus by Will Elliott

Now, I don’t know about you, but clowns freak me the hell out. Whether it’s Pennywise or Ronald McDonald..they are just not right. So naturally, I seem to think it’s a good idea to read books about evil clowns, because I’m weird like that.

I don’t think this book is very well known, but whenever I think of freaky books it always stands out for me. If you want a creepy but fun Halloween read I definitely recommend it.

You have two days to pass your audition. You better pass it, feller. You’re joining the circus. Ain’t that the best news you ever got?” Delivered by a trio of psychotic clowns, this ultimatum plunges Jamie into the horrific alternate universe that is the centuries-old Pilo Family Circus, a borderline world between Hell and Earth from which humankind’s greatest tragedies have been perpetrated. Yet in this place—peopled by the gruesome, grotesque, and monstrous—where violence and savagery are the norm, Jamie finds that his worst enemy is himself. When he applies the white face paint, he is transformed into JJ, the most vicious clown of all. And JJ wants Jamie dead! Echoes of Lovecraft, Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and early Stephen King resound through the pages of this magical, gleefully macabre work nominated as Best Novel by the International Horror Guild.

What People Are Saying About The Pilo Family Circus:

What a wicked, intoxicating combination of weird, creepy, horrific and funny; the last thing I expected when I picked up this book was to laugh my ass off in parts, doing so was such a bonus.

– Trudi (Gooodreads)

Will Elliot’s debut novel is a horror story that will make you wary of carnivals and the nefarious creatures who lurk within.

– Sarah (Goodreads)

Will Elliott’s first novel taps into an established tradition born out of coulrophobia, or fear of clowns. From the murderous jester of commedia dell’ arte to the sadistic Pennywise in Stephen King’s It, the masked man with the false grin is both a reliable bogey man and a subversive social critic. Elliott’s clowns are as unnerving as they come, but their weirdness is more than just an act: this particular circus has pitched its tent in the underworld.

The Guardian

Just beware of the Northampton Clown!