Book Review | The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

The Luminous Dead is a scifi/horror novel by Caitlin Starling.

A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .

As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, her control giving way to paranoia and anger, Gyre severs her connection with Em and the outside world. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive—she must confront the ghosts in her own head.

But how come she can’t shake the feeling she’s being followed?

I absolutely loved The Luminous Dead. It's so rare for me to pick up a book, be immediately hooked, and stay that way through the entirety of the novel. The Luminous Dead is 432 pages, and I would have had no problem reading it in one sitting if life wasn't in the way. Even with life I was able to knock it out in 2 days. I did not want to put it down.

The Luminous Dead is Caitlin Starling's debut novel. Caitlin Starling is now on my autobuy list. The Luminous Dead only had two characters and one setting for the entire book, and yet I was riveted.

The cave setting was the perfect setup for psychological suspense. It wasn't as horror heavy as I was expecting it to be, but I loved the constant sense of dread.

The Luminous Dead is one of my favorite reads so far this year, and I highly recommend it!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | Boy's Life by Robert McCammon

This year has been about reading a lot of really great books, but not so much about reviewing them. I’ve always had trouble reviewing McCammon, though. It’s impossible to match my words to my emotions when it comes to his work. That being said, I’m going to try to get a portion of my thoughts out about Boy’s Life bullet point style:

• First of all, thanks to Lilyn (Sci-Fi & Scary) and Clare Favara for buddy reading Boy’s Life with me. Boy’s Life is my favorite book of all time, and I absolutely loved hearing their thoughts over the course of the book. This was my third time to read Boy’s Life, but it had been at least 10 years since my last read so there was plenty for me to discover as well.

• One of the things I have loved most about Robert McCammon releasing The Listener this year has been seeing people discover McCammon for the very first time. Readers naturally flock to Boy’s Life after discovering McCammon, and it has been a joy watching people discover a new favorite author, a new favorite book, and in some cases their favorite book of all time.

• Boy’s Life is the coming of age story of 11 year old Cory Mackenson.

Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old Cory Mackenson -- a place where monsters swim the river deep and friends are forever. Then, one cold spring morning, Cory and his father witness a car plunge into a lake -- and a desperate rescue attempt brings his father face-to-face with a terrible, haunting vision of death. As Cory struggles to understand his father's pain, his eyes are slowly opened to the forces of good and evil that surround him. From an ancient mystic who can hear the dead and bewitch the living, to a violent clan of moonshiners, Cory must confront the secrets that hide in the shadows of his hometown -- for his father's sanity and his own life hang in the balance....

• Boy’s Life is often labeled as a horror novel, but the supernatural elements in Boy’s Life are a fraction of a much larger book. If any label is appropriate for Boy’s Life, it’s simply “American Literature”.

• I'm not one to write in my books, but I think the next time I read Boy’s Life, I'm going to get a copy that I can start highlighting and writing in. There are so many beautiful quotes to take from this book, and each time I have read it, I have gotten something different out of it.

• I had forgotten the main character Cory was telling the story of Boy’s Life just before his fortieth birthday. I’m a little over a month away from my fortieth, and this was the perfect time in my life to be reading this book again.
  
  In me are the memories of a boy's life, spent in that realm of enchantments. I remember. These are the things I want to tell you....

• During my first two reads of Boy’s Life, I really connected to the main character Cory and his coming-of-age story. This read, however, I found myself really connecting to Cory's dad. One of the best things about Boy’s Life is Cory's parents. In most books, the parents are unavailable, uninvolved in a neglectful way, or if they are around, they are just horrible parents. That's not what the reader gets in Boy’s Life. The reader is actually treated to a realistic and loving family relationship. Cory's parents are flawed as any parents are, but they are also available and loving parents. This is unique to most of the books that I’ve read, and one of the many reasons I love Boy’s Life.
  
  “My father could throw up a fistful of dice to make a decision, but my mother had an agony for every hour. I guess they balanced, as two people who love each other should.”

• If I had to pick one favorite thing about Boy’s Life, it would be the way McCammon captured the magic of childhood.
  
  We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand.

• Everything in Boy’s Life is so well done. Even the setting of Zephyr and the vehicles have their own character arcs.

• I hope when I'm in the nursing home and nearing my final days, I'm surrounded by people who love me and know me well enough to play me the audio of Boy’s Life or to sit at my bedside and read it to me out loud. If I have to leave this world in the middle of a book, let it be Boy’s Life.
  
  “They may look grown-up,” she continued, “but it’s a disguise. It’s just the clay of time.”

10/10: Awesome Read

Quicks Reviews | What I've Been Reading Lately

This is quick catch up of the books I've been reading lately.

Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1) by Maureen Johnson

Truly Devious is a new YA mystery series. I realized about halfway through Truly Devious that it was the start of a series. I wish I had known that before reading it. I probably would have skipped the series altogether. As soon as I realized, I became petrified I was reading a mystery with no resolution. I was mostly right. Thankfully, I did get a mystery that had a resolution, but Truly Devious was not a good fit for my reading style. If you love YA books that arc over the length of a series, this could be a fun mystery for you. I probably won't continue on.

6/10: Good Read

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The Listener by Robert McCammon

Is there anything better than a favorite book by a favorite author? I loved The Listener. The characters were awesome, and McCammon's writing was as great as ever. If you’ve never read McCammon before, I am absolutely OK with The Listener being your first experience.

9/10: Highly Recommended

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Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

Mapping the Interior will likely be my favorite novella of the year. It packed a huge emotional punch for me, and I had trouble getting it off of my mind. It's about a 15 year old boy who begins seeing the ghost of his father. It just won the Bram Stoker for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction, and it was a well deserved win.

8/10: Great Read

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Bird Box by Josh Malerman

I can't imagine any book for the rest of the year topping the experience I had with Bird Box. I put off reading it for so long because the premise didn't sound like a book that would be a big hit with me. With the upcoming release of Unbury Carol (which sounds amazing!) and the upcoming movie release of Bird Box, I knew the time had come to see what Bird Box was all about. I'm calling it right now - Bird Box will be my favorite book of the year.

10/10: Awesome Read

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Summer of Night by Dan Simmons

Summer of Night is a must read for fans of coming of age horror. If you are a fan of Stephen King's IT, you will probably love Summer of Night, too. I found there to be a lot of similarities between the two. I highly recommend going with the audiobook for this one. It's a chunky read, and the narrator does a great job.

8/10: Great Read

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I think that covers most of what I read last month. It was an amazing run of books!

Book Review | Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix (with Will Errickson)

Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction is a nonfiction book from Grady Hendrix and Will Errickson.

Take a tour through the horror paperback novels of the 1970s and ’80s . . . if you dare. Page through dozens and dozens of amazing book covers featuring well-dressed skeletons, evil dolls, and knife-wielding killer crabs! Read shocking plot summaries that invoke devil worship, satanic children, and haunted real estate! Horror author and vintage paperback book collector Grady Hendrix offers killer commentary and witty insight on these trashy thrillers that tried so hard to be the next Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby. It’s an affectionate, nostalgic, and unflinchingly funny celebration of the horror fiction boom of two iconic decades, complete with story summaries and artist and author profiles. You’ll find familiar authors, like V. C. Andrews and R. L. Stine, and many more who’ve faded into obscurity. Plus recommendations for which of these forgotten treasures are well worth your reading time and which should stay buried.

This book is astonishing.

First of all, Paperbacks from Hell is a gorgeous book. All of the pages are in full color, and every aspect of this book is high quality. You could call it a coffee table book, but there's a lot more to Paperbacks from Hell than just the stunning paperback images.

Paperbacks from Hell is divided up into the major categories of horror fiction that were prevalent in the 70's and 80's. Topics like 'Hail, Satan', 'Creepy Kids', 'When Animals Attack', and 'Real Estate Nightmares' walk the reader through the history of the horror genre. The written content in Paperbacks from Hell is just as extraordinary as the visual content. There's a lot of information about publishers, authors, and cover artists, as well as insight into what the readers were wanting and how the market shifted throughout the horror boom. The commentary is filled with a lot of humor and a lot of love.

I felt so much nostalgia reading Paperbacks from Hell. Whether I was remembering the books I saw growing up or remembering books I've read and loved, I had a great time revisiting the horror paperbacks of the past. There were also quite a few books that were completely new to me.

After making my way through Paperbacks from Hell, I can't help but have paperback envy and regrets over the books I've purged over the years. Paperbacks from Hell has sparked a love in my heart for even the worst of books.

I can't say enough about Paperbacks from Hell. It's a must read for anyone interested in the history of horror fiction, and I highly, highly recommend it.

10/10: Awesome Read

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | Rosemary's Baby Ira Levin

Rosemary's Baby is a horror novel from Ira Levin.

Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, an ordinary young couple, settle into a New York City apartment, unaware that the elderly neighbors and their bizarre group of friends have taken a disturbing interest in them. But by the time Rosemary discovers the horrifying truth, it may be far too late!

I grew up with a mom who loves horror. When she first found out how much I love horror movies, she went a little overboard and we binge watched horror movies for weeks on end. I remember her excitement so clearly. "We have to watch The Shining! And Rosemary's Baby! And The Bad Seed! And! And!" Rosemary's Baby was at the top of her list. I went on to read King's The Shining many times, but Rosemary's Baby was a bit lost on me at that age. I recently found myself picking book after book off of my shelf, however, and nothing held my interest until I started reading Rosemary's Baby.

The first thing I noticed was how distinct the character's voices were. I fell in love with the characters immediately. I felt thankful for having seen the movie so I could prepare myself for what was to come!

I loved the foreshadowing, and I loved that Rosemary was surrounded by friends saying "something's not right here". She wasn't isolated into stupidity. It was easy to place myself in the role of Rosemary using logic and reason and trust, and it was terrifying. To make matters worse, SPOILER ALERT << Rosemary figures out exactly what is happening. She does what no girl in a horror story does - especially not back then - and she says fuck all y'all. She takes matters into her own hands, gets her own doctor, and she still gets handed right back to her husband. >> END SPOILER.

The movie leaves more to the imagination than the book does. I love how the book ends. WHAT WOULD YOU DO? It's a mom ending, and I love it hard core.

10/10: Awesome Read

Book Review | A Nearer Moon by Melanie Crowder

A Nearer Moon is a middle grade fantasy from Melanie Crowder.

In a small river village where the water is cursed, a girl’s bravery—and the existence of magic—could mean the difference between life and death in this elegant, luminous tale from the author of Parched and Audacity.

Along a lively river, in a village raised on stilts, lives a girl named Luna. All her life she has heard tales of the time before the dam appeared, when sprites danced in the currents and no one got the mysterious wasting illness from a mouthful of river water. These are just stories, though—no sensible person would believe in such things.

Beneath the waves is someone who might disagree. Perdita is a young water sprite, delighting in the wet splash and sparkle, and sad about the day her people will finally finish building their door to another world, in search of a place that humans have not yet discovered.

But when Luna’s little sister falls ill with the river sickness, everyone knows she has only three weeks to live. Luna is determined to find a cure for her beloved sister, no matter what it takes. Even if that means believing in magic…

I loved this book. My plan was to read A Nearer Moon over the weekend, but once I opened it Friday night, I didn’t move until I had read the entire thing.

Luna and Willow live in the swamp. For good reason, their mother has strict rules regarding where the girls are allowed to go.

Don’t go past the bend in the river.
Don’t go below the dam.
Steer far away from the slick.

The villagers know the swamp is cursed. The villagers know a creature lives beneath the slick. Luna followed all the rules, and Willow still fell sick to the swamp’s waters. Maybe Luna needs to break those rules to save her.

A Nearer Moon is a gorgeous middle grade fantasy about the love between sisters. It’s imaginative and heartbreaking, and it’s brilliant.

Simply put, A Nearer Moon is one of my favorite fairy tales of all time.

10/10: Awesome Read

Have you read A Nearer Moon? Do you enjoy reading fairy tales? I love darker fairy tales, and I just really loved everything about the curse and the creature in A Nearer Moon. What are some of your favorite fairy tales?

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Princess Bride is a fantasy novel by William Goldman.

What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams?

As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it's about everything.

THE PRINCESS BRIDE!

I will say right away I’m a huge fan of the movie, but this fact almost kept me from reading the book at all. I’m a fearful reader at times. I’m afraid to reread a beloved book and have my opinion change. I’m afraid to read a book if I really loved the movie for fear I will see the movie differently. I’m afraid to read The Neverending Story and find out what Bastian’s mother’s name is because all of my life I’ve tried to figure out what on earth that kid has been screaming out of that window and the mystery is now part of my DNA. (Please don’t spoil it for me, either.)

This past week, however, something finally possessed me to read The Princess Bride. It’s one of the best reading decisions I have ever made.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman is a phenomenal book. It’s the story of William Goldman writing an abridged version (the version his father would recite to him as a child) of S. Morgenstern’s The Princess Bride. There are so many layers to this book, and I was really blown away by the whole thing.

There are subtle differences between the book and the movie. William Goldman is no Fred Savage and his dad is not at all like Grandpa. Like any movie adaptation, there are many things left out entirely so my heart is now overflowing with a greater knowledge and understanding. I now know how Domingo Montoya, father to Inigo Montoya, died. I now know why Miracle Max wants Prince Humperdinck’s ultimate suffering. I now understand Prince Humperdinck is a much bigger dick than I previously thought.

And THE FEELS. My God, the feels. And it’s not just the love and the friendship and the suffering, it’s how well this book captures the emotions a reader goes through when reading a story like The Princess Bride. I had serious emotions about the emotions. It’s all very meta, and did I mention brilliant?

If you are already a fan of the movie, you really owe it to yourself to read the book. Regardless of whether you’ve seen the movie or not, The Princess Bride is a fantasy classic I highly, highly recommend you read.

This is the part where you, my friends, say “As you wish”.

10/10: Awesome Read

Book Review | And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None is Agatha Christie's best selling mystery novel.

Book Description

"Ten . . ."
Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island mansion off the Devon coast by a mysterious "U.N. Owen."

"Nine . . ."
At dinner a recorded message accuses each of them in turn of having a guilty secret, and by the end of the night one of the guests is dead.

"Eight . . ."
Stranded by a violent storm, and haunted by a nursery rhyme counting down one by one . . . one by one they begin to die.

"Seven . . ."
Who among them is the killer and will any of them survive?

There is a reason And Then There Were None is the #1 mystery novel of all time. It is bloody brilliant.

I had so much fun reading this book. Have you seen the movie Clue? I now know it's a blatant rip off of And Then There Were None, but I love that movie. If you love that movie, too, you really need to read And Then There Were None.

Basically ten folks are brought to an island and each one is picked off one by one. Who is the murderer? You won't know until the end, and you'll be thrown for a loop a time or two.

I can't think of a mystery I would recommend more than And Then There Were None. It was pure entertainment and expertly done.

10/10: Awesome

Book Review | Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill

Dreams and Shadows is the debut novel of C. Robert Cargill.

Book Description

There is another world than our own, as close and intimate as a kiss, as terrifying and haunting as nightmares, a realm where fairies and djinns, changelings and angels, all the stuff of which dreams are made is real...and where magic awaits in the shadows, just a hidden step away. Between this realm and that other lies a veil, a gossamer web that muddles the vision of mortal man and keeps him from seeing what is all around him. Sometimes, someone pierces that protective veil. But one glimpse of this world can forever transform lives. Just ask Ewan and Colby...

Once upon the time, the pair were once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, until they left that world behind them. Now, Ewan is a musician living in Austin, and has just met the girl he wants to marry. Colby is still coping with the consequences of an innocent childhood wish that haunts him all these years later. While their time in the Limestone Kingdom is little more than a distant memory, this supernatural world has never forgotten them. And in a world where angels relax on rooftops, whiskey-swilling genies and foul-mouthed wizards argue metaphysics, and monsters in the dark feed on fear, both will learn that fate can never be outrun.

The many fans of Neil Gaiman, Lev Grossman, Erin Morgenstern, and Kim Harrison will love this fabulous debut tale of the magic and monsters in our world...and in ourselves.

I loved Dreams and Shadows. I need to start reading more fantasy. It is always the imaginative reads that blow me away. I must have highlighted and wrote things down about a bajillion times while reading Dreams and Shadows, but I'm still having trouble finding the right words to describe all of my emotions toward this book.

Dreams and Shadows had a beautiful beginning that turned very dark very fast. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt when I laid my head down to sleep that first night I was going to have nightmares about my children. And I did.

There were beautiful moments of childhood innocence, friendship, and what it's like to grow older, but most of Dreams and Shadows remained a pretty dark read. There were a lot of supernatural creatures in this book: fairies, goblins, djinn, angels, tricksters, but you don't need to be a regular reader of folklore to love Dreams and Shadows. A lot of the fairy creatures were new to me, and it was the story of Colby and Ewan - the two human boys who visited the Limestone Kingdom - that had me glued to the pages.

If you love dark, imaginative reads, I highly, highly recommend Dreams and Shadows. It will easily be one of my favorite reads of the year.

10/10: Awesome

Review: Beyond the Door by Jeffrey Thomas

Beyond the Door is the next release in the Delirium 2011 Novella Series.

Book Description

Two strangers meet in a train station, and begin swapping stories—stories that eerily interweave, and grow more and more disturbing and bizarre. The headless undead, a gruesome flea circus, flesh-eating insects, and a menacing house that won’t stay put. These are just some of the tales that will reveal as much about the teller as they do the mysteries behind that frayed curtain we call reality.

When Ware mistakenly opens an occupied stall door in a train station restroom, he's quick to show his annoyance by telling the stranger, "Where I come from, people lock the toilet stall door."

The stranger retorts, "Well, where I come from, people knock on the door before they open it."

The replies continue in this manner until the reader is figuratively sitting around a campfire listening to bizarre town stories of ghost train rides, traveling carnivals, and legendary citizens. The stories between Ware and the stranger last through the night and build to a story as eerie and atmospheric as Dracula picking off the seamen of the Demeter one by one.

BEYOND THE DOOR is a story about how we connect with one another through storytelling—and tantalize ourselves with the unknown.

If you love reading or sharing ghost stories, urban legends, or strange tales, you will love reading Beyond the Door. Highly recommended!

Review copy provided by publisher

Review: Before Leonora Wakes by Lee Thompson

I absolutely loved Before Leonora Wakes.

Book Description

Red Piccirilli is a runt, a dreamer, a naive boy with an imaginary friend and little else. But right before summer vacation starts he finds an albino girl trapped in a shed behind a local house. After Red frees her, the world he knew quickly unravels into something more mysterious—an unsteady reality where a man with silver teeth and buzz saw voice points him toward the true meaning of sacrifice.

Red is an introverted boy who at the age of thirteen still has an imaginary friend.  When Red and Pig follow a creepy man in blue home after school, they make a discovery that begins tearing at the connection that binds them.

Lee Thompson is now a "must read" favorite author for me.  His writing has an imaginative quality that is so hard to find.

Before Leonora Wakes is a fantastic, dark, coming of age tale. I will be reading this one again.

Are you a coming of age fan?  I love a great coming of age story especially when there is an awesome mix of horror and suspense thrown in.

Additional topics of interest:
Review: Crooked Stick Figures by Lee Thompson