Horror – Page 3 – Carol's Notebook

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

January 7, 2022June 27, 2022 by CarolNo Comments

As I was thinking about what I was going to write about My Heart Is a Chainsaw, I had mixed feelings. Jade, the main character, is amazing in a damaged, determined, outsider way, but I didn't like where the story left her at the end. Actually, I didn't like how the story treated her all the way through. Even the adults that cared were disappointing. But I didn't realize it was the first in a planned trilogy. That gives me hope. Jade story isn't over. The opening of My Heart is a Chainsaw is perfect, sets the mood just right. Then we meet Jade. She's seventeen, knows all there is to know about slasher movies, and has a terrible home life. Things aren't much better at school or work either. When a new girl shows up, a potential final girl, Jade sees what she believes is a slasher cycle starting in her small town. The book moves slowly in parts, but...

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

November 8, 2021November 12, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

First of all Harrow is not an easy read. It's absolutely necessary to read Gideon the Ninth first then take a short break before reading this one. At least, I had to take a break. I tried going from one right into the other and found I wasn't quite ready to immerse in that world again, but maybe that's just me. It's a dark, tense world and the writing style is very distinct, which is both good in the fact that it makes it mysterious and memorable, but also meant I needed a breather. Harrow has become a lychtor, a superpowerful, immortal magical necromance knight to the Necrolord Prime, the Undying Emperor — we know that — probably. In the present, told in the second person, Harrow is having a tough time. While she is an amazing bone magician, she's finding the process of becoming a true lychtor difficult, if not impossible. Sadly enough, we have no Gideon here, just...

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

October 21, 2021November 12, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

So I loved Gideon the Ninth. She sucked me right in with her attitude, her snarkiness, her sword. She's a fabulous character. She will tell the world she doesn't care, but at the same time is fiercely loyal and honestly cares about the other on this adventure. She is Cavalier to Harrowhark, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House, ruler of their home planet. Harrowhark and the necromancer heirs of the other houses have all been brought Canaan House with possibility of becoming Lyctors, powerful, nearly immortal generals in the Emperor/God's army. Gideon the Ninth is maybe sci-fi. It takes place in space, there were a couple of space shuttles, but it is much more fantasy/horror. All the combat is hand to hand or with swords. Gideon and Harrowhark, her master/crush/frenemy, are exploring what basically a gothic space castle with skeleton servants and words written in blood that appear on the walls. Or maybe it's a murder mystery. The Emperor has...

The Fall of the House of Thomas Weir by Andrew Neil MacLeod

October 6, 2021October 6, 2021 by CarolNo Comments

I adore Edinburgh as a setting. I've never been there, but maybe one day. And it does seem a perfect place for the supernatural to bump heads with the rational. It's the 1770s and Dr. Samuel Johnson has come to Edinburgh to visit his friend, James Boswell, for a tour of the city and holiday in the Highlands. Hearing reports of ghouls haunting the Old Town, and about a series of burglaries in the houses of noblemen, Dr. Johnson can’t resist getting involved. Of course, Dr. Johnson is knowledgeable and experienced in occult and supernatural phenomena. We get a story of secret societies, conspiracies, and hideously deformed people living in the tunnels below the city. The story moves along at a good pace. The characters are well-drawn. Both Johnson and Boswell are likable in their own ways, but not without faults. Secondary characters are brought to life well, even if they have smaller parts. Edinburgh is described well: the sights, sounds,...

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman, adapted by Dirk Maggs

September 21, 2021September 21, 2021 by Carol2 Comments

I don't read graphic novels often. I'm not good at it. I haven't learned to slow down enough and pay attention to the images. Yes, I could practice, but it turns out I don't care that much. I had seen the ad for The Sandman on Audible, but had pretty much ignored it until a friend mentioned it on Facebook. I admit to being leery - a graphic novel in audio form, a "full cast" production - but it was free and only about 11 hours. With all the voices, sounds effects, and too much music, this is more of a radio play than an audiobook, not that that's good or bad. As someone who is unfamiliar with The Sandman graphic, I thoroughly enjoyed this adaptation. It's dramatic and immersive and I never felt lost or like I was missing something. There were a few references to the DC universe that I caught but also probably several that slipped right over...

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

October 30, 2020October 30, 2020 by Carol4 Comments

The Haunting of Hill House is more eerie than scary. Jackson's writing is so tight and so descriptive in ways that make you think about ordinary things, like houses, differently. The plot itself is not outstanding, maybe because it's almost become a template of haunted house stories. Three people, Eleanor, Theodora and Luke, are invited to stay in a supposedly haunted house for the summer to aid a scientist, Dr. Montague, in his pursuit of paranormal investigation. We some started banging, laughs, cold spots, a ghostly scene, but really the story is about Eleanor. We see this world through her eyes. Eleanor's eyes. She is insecure, introverted, and often finds herself fantasizing about her current and future situations. She's not a reliable narrator to any extent. Eleanor is affected by the house more than any of the others. While they all see and feel some of the manifestations, but some she only hears and others are directed at her by...