Deathbringer by Bryan Smith

First sentence:

"Hannah Starke watched a fly make its slow way up the length of her slim, tanned leg."

Description:

"Hannah Starke was the first to die. And the first to come back. In the small town of Dandridge they all come back. The buried claw their way out of their graves. The recently killed get up and kill. As the dead attack the living, the number of the dead continues to grow. And the odds against the living get worse and worse.

In the middle of it all stands a dark, shadowy figure, a stranger in town with an unspeakable goal. If he is successful, death will rule Dandridge and the terror will continue to spread until all hope is lost. Who can defeat an army of the living dead? Who can stand face-to-face against the . . .DEATHBRINGER" -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I don't read much in the zombie genre so I wasn't sure if I would like this book, but I did. I think what made this book a little different was that the zombies retained some of their memories and were aware of what they had become.


Date read: 10/24/2016
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10:  0843956771
ISBN-13: 9780843956771
Imprint: Leisure Books
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing
Year: 2006
# of pages: 342
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

First sentence:

"The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas eve in an old house, a strange tale should essentially be, I remember no comment uttered till somebody happened to say that it was the only case he had met in which such a visitation had fallen on a child."

Description:

"A young governess is left in sole charge of two charming and beautiful orphans. As she begins to see and hear strange things, she grows increasingly uneasy, and is swiftly drawn into a frightening battle against unspeakable evil. Forced to take action, the governess will soon discover terrible consequences."

My thoughts:

I liked this chilling book about a haunted house and its inhabitants. I especially liked the interactions between the governess and the boy.

Date read: 10/10/2013
Book #: 29
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0141194375
ISBN-13: 9780141194370
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Year: 1898; 1994 [this edition]
# of pages: 121
Binding: Trade Paperback
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The Museum of Horrors edited by Dennis Etchison

First sentence:

"It is not on any map."

Description:

"Here for the first time in paperback are eighteen original tales of terror and the grotesque from the greatest modern masters of the macabre selected by award-winning editor Dennis Etchison. Step inside the museum and gaze upon the dark works of . . ."

PETER STRAUB	JOYCE CAROL OATES
RICHARD LAYMON	RAMSEY CAMPBELL
WILLIAM F. NOLAN	CHARLES L. GRANT
ROBERT DEVEREAUX	GORDON LINZNER
S.P. SOMTOW	TOM PICCIRILLI
MELANIE TEM	PETER ATKINS
DARREN O. GODFREY	JOEL LANE
CONRAD WILLIAMS	TH. METZGER
SUSAN FRY	LISA MORTON

-- from the back cover 

My thoughts:

This was a good collection of horror tales. Ones I liked included "Piano Bar Blues" by Melanie Tem and "Hammerhead"by Richard Laymon.

Date read: 5/12/2013
Book #: 9
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0843950773
ISBN-13: 9780843950779
Publisher: Leisure Books
Year: 2003
# of pages: 369
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Lullabye by Patricia Wallace

First sentence:

"Wyatt English had been a doctor long enough to know that bad things happened even on the most beautiful of spring days, but until today the bad things had always happened to someone else."

Description:

"Eight year old Bronwyn knew she wasn't like other girls. She didn't have a mother. At least not a real one. Her mother had been in a coma at the hospital for as long as Bronwyn could remember. She couldn't feel any pain, her father said, it was just like sleeping - only she never woke up.

But on visiting days, when Bronwyn sat with her mother, she knew it wasn't true that she couldn't feel anything. Her mother was angry. Angry at the nurses and doctors for the way they treated her. Angry at her own helplessness.

But soon, very soon, she would be helpless no longer. And then she would show them all the true meaning of suffering." -- from the back cover


My thoughts:

This was a good book about revenge, grief, and moving on. I liked the relationship between Wyatt and his daughter Bronwyn. 

Date read: 3/31/2012
Book #: 15
Challenges: TBR Challenge 2012, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, New Author Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0821729179
ISBN-13: 9780821729175
Publisher: Zebra Books
Year: 1990
# of pages: 287
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Restless Dead by Hugh B. Cave

First sentence:

"Aboard Barracuda II, inbound off the east coast of Florida, a small white man with a pimply face thrusts his head up from the boat's engine room and says in a whine, 'Joe--jeez--I can't find out what's wrong with this thing!'"


Description:

"A curse lingers over the Everol mansion--a voodoo curse, born of evil, steeped in blood. The tormented family who lives in this house of horrors is beset by insanity, visions. . .and death. They have shut themselves off from the world, allowing no one to trespass on their blighted property. No one except Jeff Gordon, a university professor with a special knowledge of voodoo and the occult. Reluctantly, in desperation, the Everol family has permitted Gordon to enter the mansion. But all Gordon's experience could never prepare him for the unearthly creatures that await him thee--or the ultimate terror of the mysterious caves beneath the house." -- from the back cover


My thoughts:

I liked this voodoo horror story. I especially liked how Jeff helped the Everol family get rid of the creatures that were haunting there home.

Date read: 3/26/2011
Book #: 14
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0843950832X
ISBN-13: 9780843950823
Publisher: Leisure Books
Year: 2003
# of pages: 339
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Dark of the Eye by Douglas Clegg

First sentence:

"He had never killed a child before."

Description:

"A tragi accident left eleven-year-old Hope Stewart with an extraordinay power that is both blessing and curse. Her touch alone can heal those suffering from horrifying afflictions. . .or subject them to an unspeakable fate. Now, a once-innocent child has become the prey in a monstrous hunt. Her scientist father is determined to exploit her frightening gift, a relentless government agent is out to kill her--and a damaged soul called Monkey vows to deliver her to the mercies of the fiendish forces he serves. . . ." - from the back cover

My thoughts:

This book was more than a typical horror tale of monsters. Every character had reasons for their actions, even if I did not always agree with them.

Date read: 3/2/2011
Book #: 8
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 067173539X
ISBN-13: 9780671735395
Publisher: Pocket Books
Year: 1994
# of pages: 325
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

First sentence:

"Snow tested his regulator, checked both air valves, ran his hand along the slick neoprene of the suit."

Description:

"Hidden deep beneath Manhattan lies a warren of tunnels, sewers, and galleries, mostly forgotten by those who walk the streets above. There lies the ultimate secret of the Museum Beast. When two grotesquely deformed skeletons are found deep in the mud off the Manhattan shoreline, museum curator Margo Green is called in to aid the investigation. Margo must once again team up with police lieutenant D'Agosta and FBI agent Pendergast, as well as the brilliant Dr. Frock, to try and solve the puzzle. The trail soon leads deep underground, where they will face the awakening of a slumbering nightmare." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this sequel to Relic with its mix of horror and mystery. I especially liked how different events all intersected in interesting ways.

Date read: 7/21/2010
Book #: 41
Series: Pendergast, #2
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0812542835
ISBN-13: 9780812542837
Publisher: TOR Books
Year: 1998
# of pages: 457
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Forbidden Zone by Whitley Strieber

First sentence:

"To the middle of a perfect summer afternoon came a long, trembling scream."

Description:

"The mound, a quiet town gathering spot...until now. Now something undeniably evil is hiding beneath it. A powerful darkness, terror with unfathomable needs and desires, spreading its roots in secret, transforming all that the good townfolk love and cherish: their past, their hopes, their souls.

Courageous physicist Brian Kelley and his beautiful, very pregnant wife, must confront the horror. They will band together with their neighbors to battle a power transcending their worst imaginings. And only an impossible gamble will give them a chance to survive. The Forbidden one -- master storyteller Whitley Streiber's breakneck journey beyond the cutting edge of terrifying suspense." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a suspenseful book with horror and surprises from unexpected directions. Just as I thought the characters would be ok, a new horror appeared and made things worse.

Date read: May 3, 2010
Book #: 30
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2010, Celebrate the Author Challenge 2010
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0451404874
ISBN-13: 9780451404879
Publisher: Onyx
Year: 1994
# of pages: 415
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Contagious by Scott Sigler

First sentence:

"It had to be a joke."

Description:

"From the acclaimed author of Infected comes an epic and exhilarating story of humanity’s secret battle against a horrific enemy.

Across America, a mysterious pathogen transforms ordinary people into raging killers, psychopaths driven by a terrifying, alien agenda. The human race fights back, yet after every battle the disease responds, adapts, using sophisticated strategies and brilliant ruses to fool its pursuers. The only possible explanation: the epidemic is driven not by evolution but by some malevolent intelligence.

Standing against this unimaginable threat is a small group, assembled under the strictest secrecy. Their best weapon is hulking former football star Perry Dawsey, left psychologically shattered by his own struggles with this terrible enemy, who possesses an unexplainable ability to locate the disease’s hosts. Violent and unpredictable, Perry is both the nation’s best hope and a terrifying liability. Hardened CIA veteran Dew Phillips must somehow forge a connection with him if they’re going to stand a chance against this maddeningly adaptable opponent. Alongside them is Margaret Montoya, a brilliant epidemiologist who fights for a cure even as she reels under the weight of endless horrors.

These three and their team have kept humanity in the game, but that’s not good enough anymore, not when the disease turns contagious, triggering a fast countdown to Armageddon. Meanwhile, other enemies join the battle, and a new threat — one that comes from a most unexpected source — may ultimately prove the most dangerous of all.

Catapulting the reader into a world where humanity’s life span is measured in hours and the president’s finger hovers over the nuclear button, rising star Scott Sigler takes us on a breathtaking, hyper-adrenalized ride filled with terror and jaw-dropping action. Contagious is a truly grand work of suspense, science, and horror from a new master." -- from the publisher

My thoughts:

Having listened to Sigler's books Ancestor and Infected as podcasts, I knew to expect a gripping story in Contagious - and I was right. In fact, I could hear Sigler in my mind reading the words and encouraging me to turn one more page and then another page and another. But the book is more than one exciting scene after another. Sigler builds in-depth characters that you care about and root for them to fight the alien invasion. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Date read: 1/17/2010
Book #: 4
Challenge: Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge
Series: Infected, #2
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genres: Thriller/SF

ISBN-10: 0307406318
ISBN-13: 9780307406316
Publisher: Crown Publishers
Year: 2008
# of pages: 436
Binding: Hardcover
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The Transition of H.P. Lovecraft: The Road to Madness

First sentence:

"The horrible conclusion which had been gradually obtruding itself upon my confused and reluctant mind was now an awful certainty."

Description:

One of the most influential practitioners of American horror, H.P. Lovecraft inspired the work of Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker. As he perfected his mastery of the macabre, his works developed from seminal fragments into acknowledged masterpieces of terror. This volume traces his chilling career and includes:

IMPRISONED WITH THE PHARAOHS--Houdini seeks to reveal the demons that inhabit the Egyptian night.
AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS--An unsuspecting expedition uncovers a city of untold terror, buried beneath an Antarctic wasteland.

Plus, for the first time in any Del Rey edition:

HERBERT WEST: REANIMATOR--Mad experiments yield hideous results in this, the inspiration for the cult film Re-Animator.
COOL AIR--An icy apartment hides secrets no man dares unlock.
THE TERRIBLE OLD MAN--The intruders seek a fortune but find only death!
AND TWENTY-FOUR MORE BLOOD-CHILLING TALES -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this collection of short stories and novellas by H.P. Lovecraft. My favorites included "Herbert West--Renanimator," "Imprisoned with the Pharoahs," and "At the Mountains of Madness." The first one I liked because of the way the narrator told the story - first a little bit, and then it repeats with more and more detail. I liked the second story because it was told from the point of view of Harry Houdini. And finally, I liked the third story because it was a good mix of discovery, adventure, and horror. Plus, it takes place in one of my favorite literary settings, Antarctica.

Date read: 12/19/2009
Book #: 61
Challenge: 999 Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0345384229
ISBN-13: 9780345384225
Publisher: Del Rey
Year: 1996
# of pages: 379
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Dead City by Joe McKinney

First sentence:

"There's an empty parking lot near the corner of Seafarer and Rood where I used to go to fight with my wife."

Description:

"Battered by five cataclysmic hurricanes in three weeks, the Texas Gulf Coast and half of the Lone Star State is reeling from the worst devastation in history. Thousands are dead or dying - but the worst is only beginning. Amid the wreckage, something unimaginable is happening: a deadly virus has broken out, returning the dead to life - with an insatiable hunger for human flesh...Within hours, the plague has spread all over Texas. San Antonio police officer Eddie Hudson finds his city overrun by a voracious army of the living dead. Along with a small group of survivors, Eddie must fight off the savage horde in a race to save his family...There's no place to run. No place to hide. The Zombie horde is growing as the virus runs rampant. Eddie knows he has to find a way to destroy these walking horrors...but he doesn't know the price he will have to pay." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

While the battle scenes got to be repetitive after a while, I enjoyed this horror book about a virus which turned people into zombies. I only wish that the zombie portion ended earlier in the book so that the story would move onto how Eddie and others dealt with the aftermath.

Date read: 7/25/2009
Book #: 39
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0786917813
ISBN-13: 9780786017812
Publisher: Pinnacle
Year: 2006
# of Pages: 288
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Renfield: Slave of Dracula by Barbara Hambly

First sentence:

"I've filled many notebook pages and scraps of paper with these daily reckonings."

Description:

"Renfield -- confined to an asylum -- obsesses in his diary, pens letters of insane passion to his wife, and still answers his Master's calling. Ordered to hunt and kill Van Helsing, Renfield complies, setting the stage for the ultimate battle between good and evil, the living and the dead. It will take him from the dark crypt of Dracula's castle to the more personal darkness of his own descent into madness, and the shocking truth of where it all began." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book which looked at the events described in Bram Stoker's Dracula from Renfield's, John Seward's and Van Helsing's point of view. I especially liked the interactions between Renfield and Dracula's wives.

Date read: 7/9/2009
Book #: 37
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0425217892
ISBN-13: 9780425217894
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2006
# of pages: 291
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Rising by Brian Keene

First sentence:

"The dead scrabbled for an entrance to his grave."

Description:

"Nothing stays dead for long. The dead are returning to life, intelligent, determined. . .and very hungry. Escape seems impossible for Jim Thurmond, one of the few left alive in this nightmare world. But Jim's young son is also alive and in grave danger hundreds of miles away. Despite astronomical odds, Jim vows to find him -- or die trying.

Joined by an elderly preacher, a guilt-ridden scientist and an ex-prostitute, Jim sets out on a cross-country rescue mission. Together they must battle both the living and the living dead. . .and the even greater evil that awaits them at the end of their journey." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a very gripping horror story with lots of graphic details. Jim and his friends face not just human zombies but animal ones too. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, City of the Dead.

Date read: 12/16/2008
Book #: 90
Series: Brian Keene's Zombies, #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0843952016
ISBN-13: 9780843952018
Publisher: Leisure Books
Year: 2004
# of pages: 321
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Attraction by Douglas Clegg

First sentence:

"Out on an empty highway, it called."

Description:

"The signs all along the desert highway read Come See the Mystery! But some mysteries should remain buried forever. Charlie Goodrow, owner of the Brake Down Palace Gas and Sundries, tells anyone who stops for a fill-up about the mysterious attraction in back. It’s the mummified remains of an ancient legendary flesh-scraper, whose job had been to scrape the flesh off the bones of human sacrifices…

When a car filled with teenagers gets a flat tire out in the middle of the Arizona heat, the kids figure they have time to check out the Mystery. Behind curtains, in a glass case, lies a small, withered corpse with very long fingernails. Above it, tacked on the wall, is a sign: Do Not Touch. Do Not Feed. But it has to be a hoax, right? How could the kids know that feeding the Mystery will be the worst mistake of their lives? How could they know that the flesh-scraper is hungry for flesh?" -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

Although some of the scenes and dialogue in "The Attraction" were clichéd, I liked the overall story of teenagers lost in the desert confronting an ancient monster. I also liked the second story, "Necromancer," especially how the narrator discovers the truth about his twin's death.

Date read: 4/22/2008
Book #: 24
Challenge: Celebrate the Author Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0843954116
ISBN-13: 9780843954111
Publisher: Leisure Books
Year: 2006
# of Pages: 321
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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lost boy lost girl by Peter Straub

First sentence:

"Nancy Underhill's death had been unexpected, abrupt -- a death like a slap in the face."

Description:

"A woman commits suicide for no apparent reason. A week later, her son– fifteen-year-old Mark Underhill–vanishes. His uncle, novelist Timothy Underhill, searches his hometown of Millhaven for clues that might help unravel this horrible dual mystery. He soon learns that a pedophilic murderer is on the loose in the vicinity, and that shortly before his mother’s suicide, Mark had become obsessed with an abandoned house where he imagined the killer might have taken refuge. No mere empty building, the house whispers from attic to basement with the echoes of a long-hidden true-life horror story, and Tim Underhill comes to fear that in investigating its unspeakable history, Mark stumbled across its last and greatest secret: a ghostly lost girl who may have coaxed the needy, suggestible boy into her mysterious domain."

My thoughts:

This book was a good mix of mystery and horror. I liked how the point of view switched from Mark while he was obsessed with the house and his uncle Tim trying to figure out what happened to his nephew.

Date read: 9/17/2007
Book #: 84
Genre: Horror/Mystery
Rating: 3* = good

ISBN-10: 0449149919
ISBN-13: 9780449149911
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year: 2004
# of Pages: 368
Binding: Paperback
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The Book of Shadows by James Reese

First sentence:

"In 1812, I went to 'the Stone,' the holy house at C____, a village straddling the ill-drawn borders of Brittany and Normandy, dependent upon the grace of the Church."

Description:

"Alone among the young girls taught by nuns at a convent school in nineteenth-century France, orphaned Herculine has neither wealth nor social connections. When she's accused of being a witch, the shy student is locked up with no hope of escape ... until her rescue by a real witch, the beautiful, mysterious Sebastiana. Swept away to the witch's manor, Herculine will enter a fantastic, erotic world to discover her true nature -- and her destiny -- in this breathtaking, darkly sensual first novel. "

My thoughts:

This was a mixed book for me. It was beautifully written - at times evocative and at times poetic. I especially liked the description of the French Revolution as seen through the eyes of the witches and other characters. I also liked the characters Herculine, Madeleine, Father Louis and Sebastiana. While there were parts that dragged, especially chapters concerning the convent and Sebastiana's first coven meeting, the crossroads scene towards the end made the read worthwhile.

Date read: 9/12/2007
Book #: 82
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: Historical Fiction/Horror

ISBN-10: 0066210151
ISBN-13: 978-0066210155
Publisher: William Morrow
Year: 2002
# of Pages: 480
Binding: Hardcover
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Necroscope IV: Deadspeak by Brian Lumley

First sentence:

"Christened Harry 'Snaith,' in Edinburgh, 1957, Harry is the son of a psychic-sensitive mother, Mary Keogh (who is herself the daughter of a 'gifted' expatriate Russian lady), and Gerald Smith, a banker."

Description:

"A new vampire stalks the earth, and only Harry Keogh can defeat him! The silence of the grave is not silent at all. In their millions, the dead are screaming....but no one can hear them! Atop a perilous cliff, deep in the Balkan mountains, rises the castle of the Ferenczy. Once it was a stronghold of the Vamphyri....and now it will be so again, for Janos Ferenczy, vampire and black magician, has risen from his ages-long sleep. Powerful and evil, Janos conjures dead men and women into a semblance of life and subjects them to fiendish tortures.But the shrieks of the dead do not satisfy Janos's lust for blood-- for that he needs living humans. His terrifying armies of the risen dead will soon overwhelm a helpless, defenseless mankind......Helpless and defenseless because a terrible battle against the vampires has destroyed Harry Keogh's deadspeak, leaving the Necroscope deaf to the teeming dead....and to their warnings of Janos's reign of terror. To save the world, Harry must join forces and link minds with the most powerful, and deadliest, vampire of all!"

My thoughts:

It's been a while since I read the Necroscope books which are a riveting blend of horror and espionage thriller. I liked the way the dead find ways to help Harry regain his powers in time to defeat the vampire Janos.

Date read: 9/6/2007
Book #: 81
Rating: 3* = good
Series: Necroscope, #4
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0812530322
ISBN-13: 9780812530322
Publisher: Tor Books
Year: 1992
# of Pages: 496
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green

First sentence:

"Private eyes come in all shapes and sizes, and none of them look like television stars."

Description:

"John Taylor is not a private detective per se, but he has a knack for finding lost things. That's why he's been hired to descend into the Nightside, an otherworldly realm in the center of London where fantasy and reality share renting space and the sun never shines.

For John Taylor, there's no place like home..."

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this gritty mix of mystery, horror, and fantasy set in a hidden world close to our own. There were times when I could anticipate what would happen, and other times when I was totally surprised. I look forward to the next book in the Nightside series, Agents of Light and Darkness.

Date read: 7/18/2007
Book #: 63
Rating: 3* = good
Series: Nightside, #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0441010652
ISBN-13: 9780441010653
Publisher: Ace Books
Year: 2003
# of Pages: 230
Binding: Paperback
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Shadows Over Baker Street edited by Michael Reaves and John Pelan

Description:

"Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is among the most famous literary figures of all time. For more than a hundred years, his adventures have stood as imperishable monuments to the ability of human reason to penetrate every mystery, solve every puzzle, and punish every crime.

For nearly as long, the macabre tales of H. P. Lovecraft have haunted readers with their nightmarish glimpses into realms of cosmic chaos and undying evil. But what would happen if Conan Doyle’s peerless detective and his allies were to find themselves faced with mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but of sanity itself.

In this collection of all-new, all-original tales, twenty of today’s most cutting edge writers provide their answers to that burning question."

My thoughts:

This book brought together two of my literary interests - Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft horror. I especially liked the story "A Case of Royal Blood," narrated by H.G. Wells.

Date read: 2/28/07
Book No.: 19
Rating: 4* = great
Genre: Mystery/Horror

ISBN-10: 0345452739
ISBN-13: 978-0345452733
Publisher: Del Rey
Year: 2005
No. of page: 464
Binding: Paperback