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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
DNF 71%
I loved the premise of this book and the writing style seemed reminiscent of the eighties thrillers. Sadly, it became a chore to read.
The only female character, Magda, was written badly. She put herself in danger for no logical reason. Everything with her was emotions - impulses toward self-preservation only occurring to her AFTER she'd done something stupid. Other than that, she seemed to dwell mostly on her nascent attraction to the manly and mysterious hero from places far away.
The one honorable German soldier did almost nothing up to the point I stopped reading. His inner monologue was hand-wringing and justifications for his inaction.
The hero of the piece, (maybe?), was an ass. If there was a plan to defeat the big-bad, the reader was not given even a hint... except perhaps that it involved a sword.
The book stalled after a third of the way through. I was eventually left with no POV character about whom I could care.
I loved the premise of this book and the writing style seemed reminiscent of the eighties thrillers. Sadly, it became a chore to read.
The only female character, Magda, was written badly. She put herself in danger for no logical reason. Everything with her was emotions - impulses toward self-preservation only occurring to her AFTER she'd done something stupid. Other than that, she seemed to dwell mostly on her nascent attraction to the manly and mysterious hero from places far away.
The one honorable German soldier did almost nothing up to the point I stopped reading. His inner monologue was hand-wringing and justifications for his inaction.
The hero of the piece, (maybe?), was an ass. If there was a plan to defeat the big-bad, the reader was not given even a hint... except perhaps that it involved a sword.
The book stalled after a third of the way through. I was eventually left with no POV character about whom I could care.
adventurous
medium-paced
Probably a five star but I can't quite get it there. A masterpiece of this sort of horror and a premise I'd die to have thought of first.
A bunch of Nazis are sent to a Romanian castle to guard a pass, and so of course they start getting picked off one by one by what can only be a vampire. Honestly such a fantastic premise, there didn't need to be much else going on for this to be a winner, but there are some really spoopy twists and turns and fun explorations of the myth. A little draggy in the climax due to some unneeded and poorly-timed exposition, but still a lot of fun.
This book was one of those ones that took me awhile to really get into, but I knew if I kept with it I would be sucked in. I was right. German soldiers are assigned to set up watch in an old abandoned (but meticulously maintained) keep in Romania. Each night one of them is brutally murdered. A Nazi commander is sent to remedy the situation on his way to set up a new concentration camp.
Is it a vampire? That's what everyone thinks, but of course they cannot send that to their superiors. When they bring in an old, crippled scholar and his daughter, who are known as experts on the place (and who ironically are Jewish), the killings stop for awhile. A stranger appears in town about the same time.
Then things really get interesting.
I loved the twist on the vampire lore. That alone is worth reading this. I would have liked the epilogue to maybe explain a little bit more, but otherwise I really, truly enjoyed this story. It even gave me some really bizarre dreams, which books do not usually do. So kudos to Mr. Wilson. I'm looking forward to reading more of his work.
Is it a vampire? That's what everyone thinks, but of course they cannot send that to their superiors. When they bring in an old, crippled scholar and his daughter, who are known as experts on the place (and who ironically are Jewish), the killings stop for awhile. A stranger appears in town about the same time.
Then things really get interesting.
I loved the twist on the vampire lore. That alone is worth reading this. I would have liked the epilogue to maybe explain a little bit more, but otherwise I really, truly enjoyed this story. It even gave me some really bizarre dreams, which books do not usually do. So kudos to Mr. Wilson. I'm looking forward to reading more of his work.
Ok, since I don't normally read horror, this book was a new experience for me. This book was actually recommended to me by a family member who promised it would scare the socks off me. It did! The plot is really interesting. It's set during WWII in Romania. The Nazi's are occupying this Keep at Dinu pass and one by one the men start dying in fantastic ways. An old professor and his daughter have been brought in to try to figure out the history of the place and what is killing the men. The first 3/4 of the book gave me nightmares especially since I'm not accustomed to reading horror. There is a sex scene in the book which didn't need to be put in there. All in all, I'm giving it 3 stars because the last section of the book was kind of a let down, but the first 3/4 were really scary!
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
A less-than-chilling but thought provoking monster stalks a Nazi-occupied keep. The keep's owners, an ailing Jewish man and his daughter, are summoned to help explain and confront the entity. The more they learn about their predator, the more religious and moral questions they ask themselves. Like Blatty's revised Excorist, The Keep plumbs the philosophical quandaries that arise from the existence of an undying presence of evil. The ending gets a bit too sword-and-dragon for my taste as well as the entire character of Glenn, but I really appreciate this kind of approach to horror.
This was one of the most chilling little books I've ever read. Totally creeped me out. Loved it. Set during Nazi occupation of a Keep and all the strange happenings around them. This is actually a part of a long series of books called Repairman Jack. This would be a pre-quel