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blakeaustin's reviews
55 reviews
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
3.0
It wasn’t too bad. A fairly standard ghost story set in a more interesting location than a haunted house, the main issue is that the ghost story is a little bit too standard and ends up being very predictable.
Tattoo Machine: Tall Tales, True Stories, and My Life in Ink by Jeff Johnson
4.0
This was a nice quick read. Great if you’re interested in tattoos, even better if you’re a tattooer
Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas by Josh Malerman
4.0
This was good! I liked the format and I liked how each of the six novellas was totally unique and stood apart from each other.
My biggest complaint is that each story relied too heavily on a very Twilight Zone style twist ending and it got a little bit repetitive knowing that every story would end this way and not fully conclude what was going on. Minor complaint though, as I did really enjoy this book.
My biggest complaint is that each story relied too heavily on a very Twilight Zone style twist ending and it got a little bit repetitive knowing that every story would end this way and not fully conclude what was going on. Minor complaint though, as I did really enjoy this book.
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
2.0
Save yourself the almost 400 pages of boring filler that is The Twisted Ones and just read The White People by Arthur Machen instead.
It’s ironic that the line “I’ve read much more grating narrative voices” appears in this book because the voice of the narrator is my absolute biggest gripe with The Twisted Ones. She talks like someone is trying to write the dialogue for a Marvel movie: overly witty and incredibly obnoxious. I was borderline skimming certain sections of the book because the narrator was just so unbearable and unlikable. I found that it detracted from what were supposed to be moments of horror when the narrator was constantly butting in with unfunny commentary that just got in the way and felt like it was trying way too hard to be clever or relatable or something.
Overall just a massive disappointment. And even more disappointing when you realize that the best parts of this book are (literally) directly taken from Arthur Machen. This was like reading bad fan fiction.
It’s ironic that the line “I’ve read much more grating narrative voices” appears in this book because the voice of the narrator is my absolute biggest gripe with The Twisted Ones. She talks like someone is trying to write the dialogue for a Marvel movie: overly witty and incredibly obnoxious. I was borderline skimming certain sections of the book because the narrator was just so unbearable and unlikable. I found that it detracted from what were supposed to be moments of horror when the narrator was constantly butting in with unfunny commentary that just got in the way and felt like it was trying way too hard to be clever or relatable or something.
Overall just a massive disappointment. And even more disappointing when you realize that the best parts of this book are (literally) directly taken from Arthur Machen. This was like reading bad fan fiction.
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
4.0
This is the most disturbing book I’ve ever read. It is extremely intense, and has cannibalism, torture, violence, graphic animal death, rape and anything else you can think of that might mess you up for a few days.
This made it difficult to properly rate, but overall the book is very well written and I couldn’t put it down once I’d started.
Just be prepared if you’re going to read this one.
This made it difficult to properly rate, but overall the book is very well written and I couldn’t put it down once I’d started.
Just be prepared if you’re going to read this one.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
5.0
My favorite book I’ve read so far this year!
This was such a fun and enjoyable read, and I would highly recommend it, even if you’re not a horror movie fan.
This was such a fun and enjoyable read, and I would highly recommend it, even if you’re not a horror movie fan.
Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare
3.0
Not a bad book, just a little bit more predictable than I would’ve liked.
It starts out a little bit slow, and I felt like a lot of unnecessary information is explained in detail, but the climax is enjoyable and the characters were well written and fun.
I guess I just wanted a bit more out of this. You can pretty much guess the entirety of the story within the first chapter or two, and there are very few surprises along the way.
It starts out a little bit slow, and I felt like a lot of unnecessary information is explained in detail, but the climax is enjoyable and the characters were well written and fun.
I guess I just wanted a bit more out of this. You can pretty much guess the entirety of the story within the first chapter or two, and there are very few surprises along the way.
Firestarter by Stephen King
3.0
This was…fine? It’s not a bad horror book but it’s a pretty mediocre Stephen King book. It could definitely benefit from about 50 pages being eliminated, and the characters are all unusually boring for King. When the standard is Pet Sematary, The Stand, It, etc. this one just falls kind of flat.
The Shining by Stephen King
5.0
Wow. This book blew me away. I was absolutely terrified by it and I really cared about these characters, all of them.
If you’ve only ever seen the movie, and are thinking that you already know this story, I highly recommend reading the book. Not only is it different in many ways, but there are a lot of themes and important ideas that never made it into the theatrical adaptation that really enrich the story and make for an amazing experience.
One of the best books I’ve ever read.
If you’ve only ever seen the movie, and are thinking that you already know this story, I highly recommend reading the book. Not only is it different in many ways, but there are a lot of themes and important ideas that never made it into the theatrical adaptation that really enrich the story and make for an amazing experience.
One of the best books I’ve ever read.