Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar

 

What if you were given a magic box that could change the course of human history, by either an insignificant amount or in a life changing way depending on which button you pushed? Gwendy is given the magical box by a mysterious man in black. She is given the box to act as a caregiver and trusted not to do anything drastic with the box. What follows is an interesting story that feels like a classic Stephen King story. It is an excellent start to a trilogy that I hope delivers a continuation  from this good foundation of a story. It is a shorter story (less than 200 pages long), so I wish it would have been a little longer as it seemed like there was more they could have done with the story. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Complex by Brian Keene

I would like to point out now that I am a fan of Brian Keene’s work. In all his books he keeps the pace going and rarely drags a story on. In all his books he writes interesting characters that are fleshed out and different from others in any given story. The Complex is no different in starting fast and never letting up. The characters are interesting, especially my favorite who is a not what they seem serial killer named The Exit. 

In the Complex an apocalyptic event is beginning and while there are those who act zombie-like, they are not exactly that kind of fiend. The book does not fully explain what has happened to some people or why. While I really enjoyed the book, I felt that there was a lot more that could have been told to flesh out the lore and story. I understand that stories like these all face the danger of beating a dead horse and rehashing storylines that other books and authors have covered. However, this story was different enough to warrant a more fleshed out and longer novel. I also felt I wanted to read more about The Exit, but that to was not fleshed out more. I would give this book a higher rating, but it left me wanting more, and not in a good way. 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

 

This book is a loose retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with a post-apocalyptic backdrop. The Horror genre has a lot of post-apocalyptic representation out there, so it is very hard to break new ground with that subject. That being said, The Girl in Red does not go too in depth of what is going on. Because of this Christina Henry focuses more on character development of the main character, Cordelia. The story focuses more on her survival than on explaining the cause of the “The Crisis”. The book seems like it would be a start to a longer series since a lot is left unanswered, so for me that looses a star rating. It does not seem like there will be more books to follow so it feels like the story ends because the author was did not know where else to go with the story. Its not a bad story, in fact I liked it a bit but I wanted more to read. There is a fine line of leaving the reader wanting more and making a story appear like it does not know where to go next. For me this book balances on that line. 4 out of 5 stars.

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

 

The description on the book states, “A woman trapped on a mountain attempts to survive more than one kind of monster” and that is a good way to describe the book. There is some creature that is stalking the mountains where Mattie lives with her the monster of a different sort, William. The story focuses on the survival instincts of Mattie and what she must do to overcome these monsters. I felt the story was a good one and did not drag on in any parts. I wish the book focused more on the creature (as I love a good creature feature). At times William seemed a little over the top but it does work in this book. It was a good and quick read. 3 out of 5 Stars.

Rabbits by Terry Miles

 

I am not a huge science fiction fan, especially science fiction that uses a lot of technobabble. Rabbits is the type of science fiction that I do like reading as I feel it is a little more grounded and could probably happen with a smaller suspension of belief than other science fiction books. Rabbits is a game that is played by a select few who know of its existence in the real world. The players look for clues that lead them to their next hint/level of the game. Another reason that I liked Rabbits is that the use of mystery in the story works well. The buildup of the mysterious game and the not knowing what is going on, or what will happen next, or who the main character K, can trust kept me reading and left me in suspense. I would say it reminded me of the beginning of the first Matrix movie or an X-Files episode when the main characters did not know who they could trust or what they should believe, even when they see things with their own eyes. The pacing of the story was good and did not drag in any parts in my opinion. The only thing that I did not like about this book was that some of the writing did not get that descriptive in parts, so it was a little harder to visualize what was happening or what the author was trying to share with the audience. It may have been done to keep the mystery alive, but it continued this way through the book.

I saw that the book was based on a podcast that the author was a part of. I believe Rabbits is a different story than the one in the podcast, but it is set in that universe. If you are a fan of the podcast, I say you might like this, if you like mystery mixed in with the genre you are reading, I would also suggest this book to you.  4 out of 5 stars.

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

 

The Luminous Dead is a futuristic science fiction novel with some suspenseful moments, manly claustrophobia feelings.  It does a really good job of bringing out the feeling of being closed in, especially for a book. It also does a decent job of giving off an isolation feeling as the main character, Gyre, explores the underground caves. Unfortunately, those were the only areas where I felt this book shined. The two characters we have in the book is Gyre and Em. Gyre goes into the cavern system while Em is on the outside and oversees the mechanisms in Gyre’s explorer suit. They are in constant contact with each other. The thing for me though was that I really did not care too much for either character. The author did try to flesh the characters out but for whatever reason they still felt flat to me. The book also was a slog to get through at times. I do like a slow burn that starts to heat up more as the story goes on. This story felt like trying to start a fire in a heavy rain, no matter how hard it tried to catch it just was not going to happen. 2 out of 5 stars.

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert

 

When life imitates art, it can be a good thing. For author Ben Bookman, however that is not a good thing. Someone is copying the murders of his most recent book. This understandably leads to him being a suspect for these killings. What follows is a thrilling mystery of who is doing the crimes and why. The book itself has several tropes that I am not really a fan of (i.e., jumping from past and present, authors as the main character, and problems that could be avoided if people just explained things), however, J.H. Market makes it work in this book and I was able to get passed my hangups. When the book jumps back to the past, it leaves little clues on what is going on and gives more backstory to those involved.  The book was well written and did a decent job keeping me interested in the book, but it was pretty early on in the book when I figured what was going on. It was a good book to read but if I hadn’t read it I would have not missed anything new. 3 out of 5 stars

All Hollows by Christopher Golden

 

Christopher Golden has a knack for setting the atmosphere of his books and bringing them to life. In All Hollows he makes it feel like it is Halloween night even when reading the book in the dead of winter. As the book describes it, “Children in vintage costumes with faded, eerie makeup. They seem terrified, and beg the neighborhood kids to hide them away, to keep them safe from The Cunning Man”. In the first half of the book we get to learn about the residence in the neighborhood. Golden does a good job giving each character a realistic back story and the struggles people may face in life. As we meet the mysterious children, we slowly learn more about the Cunning Man. It was a slow burn that reminded me of watching Jaws for the first time. Both stories are very character driven and we see the people who are being hunted by the creature (Jaws/The Cunning Man) reacting more than seeing the actual creature. This keeps the viewer/reader hooked to see learn more about them. As the story goes on the horror and action ramps up and does not let go. The only bad thing I have to say about the book is that I wanted more backstory that related to the Cunning Man. It would make a great Halloween read, but do not wait until then to read the book. 4.5 out of 5 stars.