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shaxx's review against another edition
4.0
Tady jsem byla rozpolcená při hodnocení.
Takže stručně:
Mínusy:
neskutečně nudná první polovina, kde tesař Mike opravuje dům
setká(vá)ní s postavou Katie je jak koukat přes arch plexiskla, tak průhledné...
zápletka není nijak extra originální
postavy jsou spíš jen hluk jmen, než charakterů
Plusy:
jako slasher/splatterpunk to funguje dokonale
z nudy se to do gore přehoupne docela hladce
reference na hororová díla
v rámci žánru (viz výše) je to dobrý počin a na to v závěru hodnocení myslím, zvlášť po zklamání, které jsem měla s knihou Děti Halloweenu od stejného nakladatelství (koupila jsem obě knihy v halloweenském balíčku)
Takže stručně:
Mínusy:
neskutečně nudná první polovina, kde tesař Mike opravuje dům
setká(vá)ní s postavou Katie je jak koukat přes arch plexiskla, tak průhledné...
zápletka není nijak extra originální
postavy jsou spíš jen hluk jmen, než charakterů
Plusy:
jako slasher/splatterpunk to funguje dokonale
z nudy se to do gore přehoupne docela hladce
reference na hororová díla
v rámci žánru (viz výše) je to dobrý počin a na to v závěru hodnocení myslím, zvlášť po zklamání, které jsem měla s knihou Děti Halloweenu od stejného nakladatelství (koupila jsem obě knihy v halloweenském balíčku)
jayfr's review against another edition
5.0
Another sure fire hit from John Everson and Flame Tree Press.
Spooky, emotional and worthy of a second or third read. I absolutely loved this.
Spooky, emotional and worthy of a second or third read. I absolutely loved this.
mal12's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mommasaystoread's review against another edition
2.0
The idea of a haunted house attraction that is actually haunted drew my attention and with Halloween approaching, it seemed appropriate for the season. The cover also sets the stage for a creepy and perhaps sinister tale. In that vein, I suppose this one does deliver, but it took a rather meandering route to get there. The story tends to slog along for quite some time, actually about the first two-thirds or better. There are the occasional creepy scenes, some of which are quite chilling. However, there are a lot of characters introduced, and many of them receive much more page time than needed. Character depth is one thing, but the time taken with some felt like so much filler. Then we have our main character, Mike, the handyman hired to get the house ready for the season. Again, even for a main character, we're given way more than we need for the story. I get it, he's a carpenter and working on the house, but I don't need details of bracing ceilings or laying floors to get the picture. Aside from that, I found Mike to be rather single-minded and well, not very bright. The lust angle is one thing, but I just can't imagine anyone being so completely ignorant of things as this guy. The story does eventually ramp up and we get plenty of Halloween creepiness and gore, but it was just too little, too late to save this one for me. Tightened up and trimmed down, this story could be a real chill-fest in that B-movie kind of way, but as it stands, it just doesn't do the job.
patt927's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
For me this was a good read and held my interest, as it’s set in my area of Illinois, I’ve been to this cemetary. It is truly a bit scary and they actually do put security there during the Halloween season. People seem to vandalize the graves unfortunately.
spookshow's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy from Flame Tree Press via netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
This story follows the paths of a few different sets of characters, which all converge as the story progresses. It opens with a group of girls going through a haunted house where one of them disappears, it quickly switches to two friends in a bar, Perry and Mike. Perry has decided that he's going to use an old derelict building out by Bachelor's Grove cemetery for a haunted house project for the month of October, and wants Mike to take on the job of fixing it up enough so that it won't fall down around the crew and patrons. We get a small insight into Mike at this point, we know that he's divorced and down and out on his luck with no concrete ongoing jobs. Reluctantly he accepts the job and we're thrown into the first half of the book which is based largely around Mike's construction on this house. We meet Katie and Emery who 'miraculously' show up and disappear, which is where I worked out the go with these characters rather quickly. We also follow Jeanie and Bong who are a couple, Jeanie is a SFX makeup artist, and is hoping to be put on staff when the house opens, with Bong being dragged along for the ride as a model. And also we are introduced to Jillie and Ted, who are paranormal investigators who have explored the house many times previously, Jillie is incredibly unhappy about the construction and soon to be attraction that the house will be turned into, she is dead set against it, and convinced that it will stir up more trouble than anyone knows what to do with.
The first half of the story, as stated above, is based mostly around Mike and the house construction, to me it was pretty obvious what Katie was about, even if I didn't know the EXACT details, however, it didn't take away from the story and there was still questions that I needed answered. I did find it a little bit on the nose with how desperate Mike became with Katie, I understand that he was down in the dump divorcee who hadn't felt the touch of a woman in god knows how long, but I still found it a bit strange, that he would become completely enamored with a strange girl who appears and disappears generally without a word. Was this alluding to the "power" that women supposedly have over men because of their 'womanly wiles'? Or was Mike just THAT desperate and starved for attention?
The story itself moved at a fairly decent pace, I found myself wanting to know when the other shoe would drop and dare I say, when the shit would hit the fan, because come on, we all knew it was coming. I got a very distinct B-grade horror flick feel in this book that was a mix of Supernatural/Paranormal goings on and Slasher/Gore-Fest explosion, that latter part becomes more prevalent in the last third of the book, so let me say now, if you are NOT a fan of incredibly gory descriptions and goings on, maybe avoid this book as I feel like you will not enjoy what happens. The author definitely showed his appreciation for the horror movie genre well, with references to cult classics such as Hellraiser and the Exorcist, as well as references to obscure movies that most wouldn't know about such as Rubber, the movie about a tire that goes on a murderous rampage. You could tell he enjoyed inputting his love of this into the story and sharing it among a few of the characters, such as Argento and Lucio, two of the set designers and monster in the haunted house.
The switching of POVs, didn't interrupt the story-line at all, which I found to be pleasant. There is even a couple of instances when the POV changes and picks up JUST before the last scene ends, so as you get a feel for what was happening from two different perspectives, which I enjoyed a lot.
The creep factor was definitely there in parts, but some things I felt were just thrown in to add a little bit of shock value. Like the bed of nails that Emery sleeps on. Yes I understand the premise surrounding this character, but I feel like the bed was just thrown in as something extra that's a little screwed up, I think there could have been a better way to include this tidbit where it would have felt more imperative to the story-line and not just a "oh look how creepy this is, she sleeps on a bed of nails" creep factor. I'm also wondering if the sex scene between two of the characters was really needed. I'm not adverse to sex in books, it doesn't bother me, I'm just not sure whether this added anything to the story, yes it made it seem like she was a drug that he needed, but once again, it's pointing to the 'womanly wiles' power over men thing for me.
I didn't really care much for the characters, however, I must admit that I was rooting for Jeanie in the end, I don't know why, I just really wanted her to make it out. The rest of them, I couldn't really care less about, especially Mike, he came across as a bit of a desperate idiot who was making poor life choices all around.
It may sound like I didn't enjoy this book very much, that is not true, I did enjoy it. I loved the whole aspect of the witch that's been haunting Bachelor's Grove and walking the turnpike for ages, and the idea that she's trying to resurrect herself. I'm always partial to a witch story, evil or otherwise, I just really felt like this definitely B-Grade horror, as mentioned above. The slasher section of the book, was incredibly descriptive and very gory, it made me think of the Hostel movies and how the amount of gore wasn't exactly imperative to the story-line, and felt more included for a bit of shock factor. I'm not sure why the witch and her familiar had to massacre people in such a gruesome way, it's never alluded to whether this impacts the ritual or not. It might impact it, but there's not really anything to point towards WHY they were so violent. I've always been a fan of the horror genre in general, but for me, everything has to have a point. There has to be a reason for the gratuitous gore, for the sex, for any other number of things we find in this genre, otherwise it just falls short for me.
If you're into horror, gore, with a splash of supernatural/paranormal thrown in, give it a go, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
This story follows the paths of a few different sets of characters, which all converge as the story progresses. It opens with a group of girls going through a haunted house where one of them disappears, it quickly switches to two friends in a bar, Perry and Mike. Perry has decided that he's going to use an old derelict building out by Bachelor's Grove cemetery for a haunted house project for the month of October, and wants Mike to take on the job of fixing it up enough so that it won't fall down around the crew and patrons. We get a small insight into Mike at this point, we know that he's divorced and down and out on his luck with no concrete ongoing jobs. Reluctantly he accepts the job and we're thrown into the first half of the book which is based largely around Mike's construction on this house. We meet Katie and Emery who 'miraculously' show up and disappear, which is where I worked out the go with these characters rather quickly. We also follow Jeanie and Bong who are a couple, Jeanie is a SFX makeup artist, and is hoping to be put on staff when the house opens, with Bong being dragged along for the ride as a model. And also we are introduced to Jillie and Ted, who are paranormal investigators who have explored the house many times previously, Jillie is incredibly unhappy about the construction and soon to be attraction that the house will be turned into, she is dead set against it, and convinced that it will stir up more trouble than anyone knows what to do with.
The first half of the story, as stated above, is based mostly around Mike and the house construction, to me it was pretty obvious what Katie was about, even if I didn't know the EXACT details, however, it didn't take away from the story and there was still questions that I needed answered. I did find it a little bit on the nose with how desperate Mike became with Katie, I understand that he was down in the dump divorcee who hadn't felt the touch of a woman in god knows how long, but I still found it a bit strange, that he would become completely enamored with a strange girl who appears and disappears generally without a word. Was this alluding to the "power" that women supposedly have over men because of their 'womanly wiles'? Or was Mike just THAT desperate and starved for attention?
The story itself moved at a fairly decent pace, I found myself wanting to know when the other shoe would drop and dare I say, when the shit would hit the fan, because come on, we all knew it was coming. I got a very distinct B-grade horror flick feel in this book that was a mix of Supernatural/Paranormal goings on and Slasher/Gore-Fest explosion, that latter part becomes more prevalent in the last third of the book, so let me say now, if you are NOT a fan of incredibly gory descriptions and goings on, maybe avoid this book as I feel like you will not enjoy what happens. The author definitely showed his appreciation for the horror movie genre well, with references to cult classics such as Hellraiser and the Exorcist, as well as references to obscure movies that most wouldn't know about such as Rubber, the movie about a tire that goes on a murderous rampage. You could tell he enjoyed inputting his love of this into the story and sharing it among a few of the characters, such as Argento and Lucio, two of the set designers and monster in the haunted house.
The switching of POVs, didn't interrupt the story-line at all, which I found to be pleasant. There is even a couple of instances when the POV changes and picks up JUST before the last scene ends, so as you get a feel for what was happening from two different perspectives, which I enjoyed a lot.
The creep factor was definitely there in parts, but some things I felt were just thrown in to add a little bit of shock value. Like the bed of nails that Emery sleeps on. Yes I understand the premise surrounding this character, but I feel like the bed was just thrown in as something extra that's a little screwed up, I think there could have been a better way to include this tidbit where it would have felt more imperative to the story-line and not just a "oh look how creepy this is, she sleeps on a bed of nails" creep factor. I'm also wondering if the sex scene between two of the characters was really needed. I'm not adverse to sex in books, it doesn't bother me, I'm just not sure whether this added anything to the story, yes it made it seem like she was a drug that he needed, but once again, it's pointing to the 'womanly wiles' power over men thing for me.
I didn't really care much for the characters, however, I must admit that I was rooting for Jeanie in the end, I don't know why, I just really wanted her to make it out. The rest of them, I couldn't really care less about, especially Mike, he came across as a bit of a desperate idiot who was making poor life choices all around.
It may sound like I didn't enjoy this book very much, that is not true, I did enjoy it. I loved the whole aspect of the witch that's been haunting Bachelor's Grove and walking the turnpike for ages, and the idea that she's trying to resurrect herself. I'm always partial to a witch story, evil or otherwise, I just really felt like this definitely B-Grade horror, as mentioned above. The slasher section of the book, was incredibly descriptive and very gory, it made me think of the Hostel movies and how the amount of gore wasn't exactly imperative to the story-line, and felt more included for a bit of shock factor. I'm not sure why the witch and her familiar had to massacre people in such a gruesome way, it's never alluded to whether this impacts the ritual or not. It might impact it, but there's not really anything to point towards WHY they were so violent. I've always been a fan of the horror genre in general, but for me, everything has to have a point. There has to be a reason for the gratuitous gore, for the sex, for any other number of things we find in this genre, otherwise it just falls short for me.
If you're into horror, gore, with a splash of supernatural/paranormal thrown in, give it a go, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
booksanddachshunds's review against another edition
This book was an okay read; I wasn't fully unliking it, but wasn't super into it either.
It felt dragging - I don't understand why we got so much of the story over the (re)building and preparation of the house instead of the haunting of the haunted house itself. The horror in it didn't had any effect on me either and just felt really long to read overall.
The idea was a good one, but could've been done better.
It felt dragging - I don't understand why we got so much of the story over the (re)building and preparation of the house instead of the haunting of the haunted house itself. The horror in it didn't had any effect on me either and just felt really long to read overall.
The idea was a good one, but could've been done better.
smaze82's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. I loved the incorporation of all the horror culture. I am also a big fan of haunted house so this one really makes me want to think twice before going to one.
catsluvcoffee's review against another edition
4.0
The House by the Cemetary leads you to believe that this is yet another haunted house story. The creepy cover combined with the bump in the night blurb might make you think that this is a simple haunting.
It's so much more.
Read the rest at Cats Luv Coffee
It's so much more.
Read the rest at Cats Luv Coffee