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Horror Novel

29 stories

‘In The Land Of Dead Horses’ is A Supernatural Western That Will Terrify And Excite You

Plot Just right off the bat: What an amazing plot! Author Bruce McCandless III has created a masterpiece with In the Land of Dead Horses. A supernatural horror, gory, western, whodunit novel wrapped in history and mystery. Mayan descendants, in Pre-WWI Texas, resurrect one of their ancient gods to take vengeance and restore their lands and people. Their plot is stumbled upon by a Texas Ranger named Jewel T. Lightfoot and a supernatural battle between good vs. evil begins. It is a heart-racing-read that will keep you racing through the pages and guessing what will happen next…but you will guess wrong. This novel really could stand on its own as a Texas cowboy action-mystery, but when you add in all the other chilling elements, the novel becomes so much more. Not only does the plot have depth and intensity, but how it is presented by McCandless is phenomenal. Characters Texas Ranger Jewel T. Lightfoot, aging silver miner Ernesto Zavala and

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Greg Kershaw

Dec 3, 2021

BooksReviews

‘The Encanto’ Is A Journey Into Mayan Curses And True Character Horror – Book Review

Plot In his novel The Encanto: LA Fog Part 1, Arthur Swan gives us an extremely fascinating and uniquely imagined plot. “An ancient Mayan artifact, smuggled into Los Angeles, unexpectedly alters three lives in bizarre ways.” The plot unfolds as it follows the three characters and the journey is a great mix of horror, mystery, humor, and suspense. Swan has an extremely well-developed story here and it is a plot with real depth and strength. Characters This is where Arthur Swan really shines. His character development is shockingly phenomenal. The way he not only builds his characters, but how he breathes life into them is impressive. Whether main, supporting, or one-off characters, each is wonderfully developed and wonderfully important. Gray Wilson, his wife Claire, and Ashley York, are the three characters affected by the Mayan artifact. Even before their lives spiral into chaos, their struggles feel real. The weight they feel is tangible. Gray’s life-sucking boredom at his job feels

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Kelli Marchman McNeely

Nov 22, 2021

BooksReviews

P.D. Alleva’s ‘Golem’ Is A Trip Into Darkness That You Won’t Recover From – Book Review

Plot “The devil is in the details” according to author P.D. Alleva in his novel Golem. This phenomenal book starts off with a phenomenal plot. A detective story, a horrific nightmare, a thriller, a view into the occult, and the spiraling of insanity all rolled up onto one package called Golem. As newly-badged Detective John Ashton digs deeper into a very public missing child case, he digs up much more than he bargained for and much more than even he believes. This novel is a journey into the darkest and most vile parts of horror and personally, I couldn’t put it down. As the the story races forward, the plot that Alleva reveals gets more and more intriguing as the devils in the dark swallow everything. Characters There are not a ton of characters in this novel (nor does there need to be) and the characters there are, are very memorable. Alleva stays away from from overused cliches while creating

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Greg Kershaw

Sep 30, 2021

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J.P. Smith Slow Burns in Horror Novel ‘The Summoning’ – Book Review

Plot The plot in J.P. Smith’s novel The Summoning is great, but be warned that it is not easy or simple. It is full of twists, turns, surprises, and there of a definitely emotional, mental and spiritual weight to the novel. This is one of those powerful stories that will take its toll on you. The issues that are in this plot, wrapped in mystics and fraud, deal with the depth of the real emotions of loss and grief. There is so much in this plot that I don’t know how Smith organized and controlled it, but he does, and masterfully so. While reading it, I lost track of the twists and how they were used. Too often twists are used simply for shock value or just for the sake of having a twist, but, Smith uses them strategically to keep the audience (and characters) guessing. The turns in The Summoning progress the story and keep everything moving in the

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Capt McNeely

Aug 1, 2021

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‘Doctor Cushing’s Chamber Of Horrors’ Blends Classic Horror With Modern Terror – Book Review

Plot With Doctor Cushing out hunting down other mysteries and horrors, his museum is being taken care of by his twin daughters, Topaz and Opal. The premise of this plot is pretty simple, but that is a good thing! Author Stephen D. Sullivan takes this simple plot and creates a wonderful adventure into a love affair with horror. This novel feels like a loving tribute to all the classic horror monsters we know and love…werewolves, vampires, a wax museum and more. Sullivan obviously has a love of horror and that is obvious throughout this whole plot. Not only is a tribute to the classics, but it is a plot that stands alone and is an utterly entertaining adventure. Characters I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Obviously with Topaz and Opal being the main characters, the spotlight is really on them. They have a wonderful sister dynamic that is both realistic and entertaining. With the terrors they go through

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Capt McNeely

Jun 14, 2021

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E.T. Gunnarsson Presents A Horrific And Brilliant Future in ‘Forgive Us’ – Book Review

Plot E.T. Gunnarsson, in his novel Forgive Us, provides a post-apocalyptic world that is dark, harsh, violent, and shatterlingly plausible. Post-apocalyptic stories are not a new thing. There have been countless tales of a world torn apart by various disasters, but Gunnarson offers a new element to this trope that breathes fresh horror into it. With elements of a gun-slinging western, this multi-plot novel takes readers on an adventure that is suspenseful, action-packed, exciting, terrifying, and full of gore. More than that though, the plot has depth and substance. There are, in reality, three intertwining story lines that seamlessly weave through the book and each one is gripping and strong. I give full marks for the plot(s) in this novel. Often times in multi-plot books like this I find my favorite plot and lose a bit of interest in the others, but that did not happen at all here…my favorite plot was always whichever one I was reading at the

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Capt McNeely

Jun 2, 2021

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Austrian Spencer’s ‘The Sadeiest’ Will Change You – Book Review

Plot Austrian Spencer attacks his plot head on and it is powerful. This book really is unlike any other book I have read, it is strange, unique, gritty, difficult, beautiful, and phenomenal. Obviously a book about death is not a new concept, but the way that Spencer builds his story around this topic is where the uniqueness sits. I have often found (and enjoyed) authors using common horror tropes and putting their own spins on accepted mythologies, but this novel does so much more. It made me think not only about death, but about the inevitability, pain, variety, and reality of HOW death happens…and what comes next. This book digs deep into what death is and what happens surrounding this universally shared experience. Characters Much like with his plot, Spencer avoids using stock or stereotypical characters. Each character is strong and realistic. There are no filler characters. It must have been absolutely painstaking to fully flush out each character’s story,

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Capt McNeely

Apr 16, 2021

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Matt Kurtz’s ‘The Rotting Within’ Is A Clinic Of Horror And Storytelling

Characters Author Matt Kurtz has a way of making his characters seem like real people. Their reactions to being scared, uncomfortable, stressed traumatized and healing are all so realistic and well done that there is genuine empathy and sympathy for the characters in his story. I really felt more attached to Kurtz’s characters than I expected. Usually I am sympathetic to people in stories, but I am also keenly aware that they are fictional characters…this was not the case in The Rotting Within. The characters in this story feel as through they went through actual trauma, not just clichés of reactions to trauma. Kurtz has explored realistic and heavy emotion that fades the suspension of disbelief. Plot As heavy and atmospherically terrifying this book is, it is a fast-paced, deep story. Kurtz takes some common tropes (“don’t go into that room”…and then they go into the room) but makes them work within the realism of what’s happening. Each event makes

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Capt McNeely

Mar 20, 2021

BooksNews

Sebastian Fitzek releases new book ‘The Package’ Promises To Terrify You!

Emma’s the one that got away. The only survivor of a killer known in the tabloids as “The Hairdresser”—because of the trophies he takes from his victims. Or she thinks she was. The police aren’t convinced. Nor is her husband. She never even saw her tormentor properly, but now she recognizes him in every man. Questioning her sanity, she gives up her job as a doctor in the local hospital and retreats from the world. It is better to stay at home. Quiet. Anonymous. Safe. He won’t find her here. And all she did was take a package for a neighbor. She has no idea what she’s let into her home. About the Author: Sebastian Fitzek is Germany’s most successful author of psychological thrillers. His books have sold 11 million copies, been translated into more than twenty-four languages and are the basis for international cinema adaptations and theatre adaptations. Sebastian Fitzek was the first German author to be awarded the

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Capt McNeely

Mar 4, 2021

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Alan Baxter’s ‘The Gulp’ Is A Terrifying Journey That You Won’t Forget

Characters I love the characters in these stories. It is shocking how well author Alan Baxter not only creates characters, but makes each one unique, and makes each one fit perfectly in their individual stories. From a somewhat cantankerous truck driver to shadowy rock stars to desperate drug dealers, each character is incredibly strong. However, the strongest character is the town itself. Gullpepper (locals call it “The Gulp”) is a mysterious, haunting place that feels alive in its own right. Baxter has built a whole mythos around this town and area. He has set it up as a character and a place of both magic and horror. Plot “Gulpepper is just… different…the place has a habit of swallowing people.” Each tale is a strong story that not only lives on its own merit, but builds with the other stories like building blocks that create the anthology of horror that is The Gulp. I won’t go through each story individually, but

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Capt McNeely

Feb 20, 2021

Horror Novel

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