Horror Palace

Inheritance: The House Pledged to Evil is the first book by debut author Randolph Lord, and it comes with a rather dark twist. Unlike most of the books that have gone through this review process, Lord’s story is based on personal experience. Although this can be considered a novel, there are elements of a manuscript involved.

Lord, his wife Kelly and two year old son, Ambrose, make their transition to their new house. He inherited the property from his aunt and as it turned out, she had quite a strange history. In fact, the house has a reputation for unexplained deaths. Even though Kelly is opposed to the move, she settles in rather quickly. Neither Lord nor his wife would anticipate her growing connection.

Lord is the first one to notice strange apparitions and his wife begins to think that he is losing his mind, but as the intensity of the hauntings increase they begin to take extreme measures. They contract the help of a spiritual medium, but Lord finally realizes he is going to need much more than just a cleansing spell. As the house continues to “act out” Lord finds assistance from a Catholic priest. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done and there is simply no turning back.

The opening chapters don’t really indicate the makings of a horror book. Instead, it reads like a poetic drama. Gradually the poetic style gives way to darker interpretations and finally settles on more familiar terms associated with this specific genre. There shouldn’t be any doubt that Lord is more than capable of expressing his thoughts in a very sophisticated tone and he definitely has a way with words.

There are some technical issues so-to-speak that would have made for a much better read if they could have been avoided. For example, Lord has some difficulty when it comes to controlling run-on sentences. His use of adjectives are also a little excessive and the amount of unnecessary detail is simply too much. It will serve him better to pay a little more attention to the experiences of his characters, even if they aren’t fictional, rather than putting so much effort in detailing the house itself. I had a clear picture of what the house looked like, but I only started connecting with the characters after several pages.

On the plus side, Lord definitely shows potential as a writer. His ability with words alone is a tell-tale sign that he is capable of putting together an exciting story. I would liked to have seen Lord pick up the pace at some sections in order to create more intense climaxes.

Books that are based on true events always have a certain mystique about them. When taking this into consideration, some of my criticisms may be overlooked as this story is told by the person who experienced these events first hand – Randolph Lord.

Reviewed by Damnetha Jules
Damnetha  is a staff writer, horror book and movie critic.

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From the talented writer, S. A. Hunt, comes one of the most “colorful” horror novels this year. All it takes is one page to get swept up in a world where bad witches need to constantly watch over their shoulder, because a young girl is hell-bent on bringing them down. With a brilliant and unpredictable plot, interesting characters and great control of literary adrenalin, Hunt proves why he is an award-winning author.

Robin Martine is the central figure of the story and also the young girl who is on a mission to hunt witches. Since her release from a medical facility after turning 18, she’s been living in a van and collecting video footage of her dangerous journey. Her determination to rid the world of witches is fueled by what happened to her mother, Annie. After 3 years of trekking through America and fulfilling her destiny, she finally returns to the place where it all started. Thanks to her videos, which are fictional according to her YouTube followers, she is able to fund her onslaught.

An array of characters get caught up in the crossfire. They include Leon and Wayne, who moved into Robin’s old house, Joel – one of the kids her mother used to babysit – and several others. Together they have to face dangers that extend beyond the threat of mere witches. All kinds of magical creatures threaten to drag them into darkness.

The first word that comes to mind after reading this book is “memorable”. There is no better way to say how brilliantly Hunt creates a cast of characters and connects their lives with a story that screams excitement. Despite the length and the sometimes relaxed tempo, every page has something that will keep the reader captivated. It is dark, eventful, nerve-wrecking, occasionally funny and packs more than just a few mental punches.

Hunt’s talent is deeply rooted in making his characters believable. From the children and adults to the monsters that come out of nowhere, he never fails to point out the subtle details that make them relatable and likable. Joel is definitely a personal favorite, simply because of the way he expresses himself and the heroic road he finds himself following. Even the slightly overweight Pete, who just happens to stumble into the nightmare from his trailer, quickly works his way into the heart of the reader.

Then there is Hunt’s remarkable way of painting the scene. Instead of simply describing everything with a forced and routine tone, he “chooses his battles” so-to-speak. If it’s not relevant in some way then it’s not part of the story. His discipline to stick with what is valuable to the reader is without question a factor that makes this book so great.

Last but not least, Hunt has a natural gift for storytelling. This can be seen in the progress of the plot and the wide character development. His imagination is in perfect sync with his verbal ability, which leads to a treat for any horror book fan.

This is the first book I’ve had the privilege of reviewing or reading for that matter by S. A. Hunt, but it definitely won’t be the last. In fact, it’s hard to think that anybody, regardless of how critical they might be, won’t appreciate his style.

Reviewed by Damnetha Jules
Damnetha  is a staff writer, horror book and movie critic.

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Nightmares Unhinged is a collection of twenty horror tales, written by a variety of established writers. Among them they share numerous awards, nominations and achievements for their work in the horror genre. The collection was also edited by an award winning editor, Joshua Viola, and it features a very inspiring foreword by New York bestseller, Steve Alten. Due to the collective talent between the writers it’s no surprise that the quality of the collection is very high in addition to having great variety of entertainment.

The collection opens with a story called The Brollachan by Steve Rasnic Tem. It’s a personal favorite and a very good choice to kick things off. It tells of a teen girl called Lillie who barely remembers her father, seeing as he died when she was six, and her mother who couldn’t find closure after his death. Her Scottish grandmother and her horrendous tales of the Brollachan come to live with them, but it doesn’t deter Lillie’s fate from coming full circle.

From there the collection spreads to a variety of different focus points, such as vampires, freaks and even undertakers. While some are more focused towards the psychological aspects of horror, such as The Man Who Killed Texas and Be Seated, others place more emphasis on the physical, such as Deep Woods. There are even some tales that are out right strange, for example The Projectionist. Basically, there is a story for every type of horror fan out there.

Starting with the great elements of this collection, there is a consistent level of quality writing from beginning to end. The stories complement each other and all the different voices weave in perfectly. But there is one thing in particular that really makes the collection stand out and this is the sometimes blunt endings. Just like nightmares, the words are meant to linger long after they’ve been read. The reader is set up to finish the mental picture and the consequences of the characters.

True to the synopsis, the stories take on all forms of darkness and speak to all kinds of fear people might have. Nobody is spared in the name of entertainment, whether it’s children or old women, and creativity is at the forefront of the minds for all the contributors. One might even say that they took this opportunity to experiment with a more artistic approach towards horror.

On a more critical note, there is a hint of disappointment. The title of the collection and the established writers create a certain kind of expectation, but the actual experience is something different. Once you get to the third story it gets harder to make the connection between the title and the actual collection. This isn’t to say that the stories aren’t entertaining, but as mentioned before, this seems more like an experiment than an all-out horror anthology targeted in the direction of nightmares. This, of course, is just a personal observation.

Regardless of the disconnect it is definitely a collection worth reading. It’s filled with fresh ideas and horrific sentiment. They may not all be graphic and verbally disturbing, but they do contribute to the movement of modern horror literature.

Reviewed by Damnetha Jules
Damnetha  is a staff writer, horror book and movie critic.

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