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zraitor's review
4.0
Incredibly, incredibly violent, and gory. After a young woman is raped and murdered in a snuff film she comes back as a vengeful ghost.
She's mostly just in the background until its time for one of her over the top gore fests though. We follow another young woman who gets caught up in this and has to force herself to love a criminal to stay alive, and the heroine junkie that is tricking these women into these films to get his fix.
It gets a bit silly at times as it really has to stretch out some reasons to keep these characters alive. They go through so many crazy situations that I just don't believe they would have made it through.
The character work is great though, albeit there was way too much romanticizing the gangsters as noble despite the awful things they get up to into this story. The junkie was the most interesting as he used to build up most of the world with his inner dialogue and comments.
As the worlds of the normal people, gangsters, and the junkie collide we throw in another one out of the blue towards the end. Magic is real and not only does one of the main characters just randomly blurt out that of course he has seen ghosts before in his line of work... but he also has a gypsy sister who can deal with it. Yeah sure. I felt it was a little too convenient of a way to handle it all and I didn't like the change into magic being completely real; the ghost stuff mixed with gangsters doing snuff films was already enough.
But at any rate, this is a fun and gory ride from beginning to end with some great characters carrying it through even when it gets a little too much and silly.
She's mostly just in the background until its time for one of her over the top gore fests though. We follow another young woman who gets caught up in this and has to force herself to love a criminal to stay alive, and the heroine junkie that is tricking these women into these films to get his fix.
It gets a bit silly at times as it really has to stretch out some reasons to keep these characters alive. They go through so many crazy situations that I just don't believe they would have made it through.
The character work is great though, albeit there was way too much romanticizing the gangsters as noble despite the awful things they get up to into this story. The junkie was the most interesting as he used to build up most of the world with his inner dialogue and comments.
As the worlds of the normal people, gangsters, and the junkie collide we throw in another one out of the blue towards the end. Magic is real and not only does one of the main characters just randomly blurt out that of course he has seen ghosts before in his line of work... but he also has a gypsy sister who can deal with it. Yeah sure. I felt it was a little too convenient of a way to handle it all and I didn't like the change into magic being completely real; the ghost stuff mixed with gangsters doing snuff films was already enough.
But at any rate, this is a fun and gory ride from beginning to end with some great characters carrying it through even when it gets a little too much and silly.
friedatweehuysen's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
5.0
Uhm, I'm not sure how I'm going to sleep tonight after this, I should not have finished it just before my 4 hour 8pm loadshedding slot. The beginning of the book freaked me out and I battled to get back into it. But it is such an evocative story and pulls you into its clutches.
It was also cool knowing the places where it happened, never thought about it much before, but it was nice.
It was also cool knowing the places where it happened, never thought about it much before, but it was nice.
ciannareider's review
5.0
Holy cow! Literally read this book in a day, because it was fantastic. Joan is a new to me author, but thanks goodness she sent her book to be reviewed, because I was in the mood for some horror.
From the very beginning, this book is twisted. It is not for the faint of heart, but as the beginning sets the scene for an amazing journey that the characters go on. Vengeful ghosts, mobsters, priceless pain painting, and long lost siblings may sound like a thriller, but this one goes down a long dark road that I completely enjoyed. I couldn't stop reading this book. I enjoyed that her characters weren't just black and white, but has real depth and made you really think about what is good and bad.
Overall, this book was FANTASTIC! Horror tends to be a hard genre. Some people only go to the gore, and others don't dive dark enough, but Joan dived to the darkest places and came back with a story that is both horrifying as well as almost uplifting. Sometimes people do bad things, and they deserve to be punished. Outstanding! I hope to read more by this author in the future because she has jumped to the top of my author list! Wow!
*thus review has been done in conjunction with NerdGirl Official. For more information, feel free to visit us on FB. All opinions are my own, and not influenced in any way!
From the very beginning, this book is twisted. It is not for the faint of heart, but as the beginning sets the scene for an amazing journey that the characters go on. Vengeful ghosts, mobsters, priceless pain painting, and long lost siblings may sound like a thriller, but this one goes down a long dark road that I completely enjoyed. I couldn't stop reading this book. I enjoyed that her characters weren't just black and white, but has real depth and made you really think about what is good and bad.
Overall, this book was FANTASTIC! Horror tends to be a hard genre. Some people only go to the gore, and others don't dive dark enough, but Joan dived to the darkest places and came back with a story that is both horrifying as well as almost uplifting. Sometimes people do bad things, and they deserve to be punished. Outstanding! I hope to read more by this author in the future because she has jumped to the top of my author list! Wow!
*thus review has been done in conjunction with NerdGirl Official. For more information, feel free to visit us on FB. All opinions are my own, and not influenced in any way!
lilyn_g's review
4.0
I’ll admit to a bit of initial distaste towards this book that showed itself soon after I started reading. Simply put, drug dealers and drug users (much like alcoholics who are unwilling to seek help) disgust me. They’re right below rapists, pedophiles, and child killers in my book. Still, even with that bias in my head, Joan De La Haye’s Fury was almost impossible to put down.
The imagery in Fury is graphic. There is no skirting around the violence that happens. There’s everything from detached dangly bits used as gags, to a spirit stalking around on stumps. The worst parts of heroin withdrawal are splashed across the page in all its fetid glory. It’s not a book for the weak stomached or easily disturbed. De La Haye’s easy and unflinching display of the explicit brings to mind the more interesting (and disgusting) of Richard Laymon’s work.
This is a story of vengeance sought and delivered. A young woman’s spirit cannot rest with the atrocities committed against her. Her insane rage knows no bounds, and that is how a young girl – Alice – finds herself in the mix. She’s survived by wit and will, and even found herself caught up in an attraction that makes no sense. It is perhaps her very survival which puts her in the spirit’s path of devastation.
Fury is the definition of paranormal horror in the violence that the vengeful spirit wrecks, but it is made even worse by the evil acts of humans. The two together combine to make a story that horrifies even as it entertains. I wouldn’t recommend Fury for everyone, but instead for people looking for a bit of a darker read than they usually get.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this work from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The imagery in Fury is graphic. There is no skirting around the violence that happens. There’s everything from detached dangly bits used as gags, to a spirit stalking around on stumps. The worst parts of heroin withdrawal are splashed across the page in all its fetid glory. It’s not a book for the weak stomached or easily disturbed. De La Haye’s easy and unflinching display of the explicit brings to mind the more interesting (and disgusting) of Richard Laymon’s work.
This is a story of vengeance sought and delivered. A young woman’s spirit cannot rest with the atrocities committed against her. Her insane rage knows no bounds, and that is how a young girl – Alice – finds herself in the mix. She’s survived by wit and will, and even found herself caught up in an attraction that makes no sense. It is perhaps her very survival which puts her in the spirit’s path of devastation.
Fury is the definition of paranormal horror in the violence that the vengeful spirit wrecks, but it is made even worse by the evil acts of humans. The two together combine to make a story that horrifies even as it entertains. I wouldn’t recommend Fury for everyone, but instead for people looking for a bit of a darker read than they usually get.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this work from the author in exchange for an honest review.
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