I've done a few recommendation posts for Stephen King books in the past, but nothing quite on this scale. I owe a huge thanks to Zoe at Readabiltea for the inspiration, as it was her Beginner's Guide to Agatha Christie that made me realise that my King knowledge might actually be helpful to new Constant Readers. Not that I'm an expert or anything, I just really like Stephen King's books.

TBR Feature #74

TBR Feature is the chance for me to, every Wednesday, pick one of my unread books and discuss it: why I picked it up, when I'll get round to reading it, if I'm still interested in it at all etc.

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell

“A phantom child roams the Northumberland moors, while a host of fairytale characters gone to seed gather in the dark, dark woods in these two surprising tales of the uncanny from the great Victorian novelist.”

Just After Sunset by Stephen King

“'What would you do if your everyday world were turned upside down in an instant? In this collection of twist-in-the-tale stories of suspense you can feel the everyday become the unexpected.”

TBR Feature #63

TBR Feature is the chance for me to, every Wednesday, pick one of my unread books and discuss it: why I picked it up, when I'll get round to reading it, if I'm still interested in it at all etc.

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

Suicide Stitch by Sarah L Johnson

“Love is woven into the fabric of our lives. A force of nature that knits us together even as it tears us apart. Threads of hunger, passion, and pain run through this collection where the last Nephilim fights his gory cravings, a latchkey kid befriends a cage dancer, and a bizarre threat lurks in the shadows of a friendly neighbourhood. Siblings turn monstrous and gods are brought to their knees in a dark literary patchwork that will drive you into the knot of your lover's arms, knowing how easily you could unravel.”

TBR Feature #60

TBR Feature is the chance for me to, every Wednesday, pick one of my unread books and discuss it: why I picked it up, when I'll get round to reading it, if I'm still interested in it at all etc.

Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King

Recommendations: Stephen King 2.0

Blaze

If you're looking for fast-paced thriller that's also oddly heart-warming King - or rather Bachman - has you covered in Blaze. Following the eponymous hero, this little gem sets out on a journey of kidnap, grief, and learning to fend for oneself. You won't want to like Blaze, but by the end of the book you'll adore him.

Gerald's Game

Or perhaps you prefer your stories packed with flashbacks and hallucinations, with a side of gore, for good measure? Gerald's Game will compel you to continue reading even when you wish you'd never started it in the first place. Not for the faint of heart, or for those particularly sensitive to sex and any kind of abuse.

Cujo

Perhaps not the best read for any dog lovers out there, Cujo promises action and blood. Lots of blood. King takes the sweet St. Bernard and puts him in a situation that's terrifying thanks to its plausibility, something few horror writers seem to employ. There are no supernatural elements here - just good old rabies. 

It by Stephen King

“To the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry, Maine was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part. A good place to live.

It was the children who saw - and felt - what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. Sometimes IT reached up, seizing, tearing, killing...

The adults, knowing better, knew nothing.

Time passed and the children grew up, moved away. The horror of IT was deep-buried, wrapped in forgetfulness. Until they were called back, once more to confront IT as it stirred and coiled in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.”

TBR Feature #55

TBR Feature is the chance for me to, every Wednesday, pick one of my unread books and discuss it: why I picked it up, when I'll get round to reading it, if I'm still interested in it at all etc.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Bedlam by Nick Spencer

“Fillmore Press was once Madder Red, a homicidal maniac and criminal overlord who ruled the city of Bedlam. Now he's been cured of his mania, and says he wants to help protect the place he once terrorized -- but can he be trusted?”

Outcast: A Darkness Surrounds Him by Robert Kirkman

Outcast: A Darkness Surrounds Him
Robert Kirkman
Genre(s): Graphic Novel, Horror, Supernatural
Published: January 15th 2015
Pages: 152
Rating: 4 stars

“Kyle Barnes has been plagued by demonic possession all his life and now he needs answers. Unfortunately, what he uncovers along the way could bring about the end of life on Earth as we know it.”

Outcast promises demons, horror, and the impending apocalypse. I'd expect nothing less from the creator of The Walking Dead, and the first few pages are enough to raise your hopes for the rest of the series. They're sufficiently horrible and compel you to read on.

Our main character, Kyle, is first introduced as a brooding slob, and rather than put me off, it made me curious. Just what have the demons in his life done to make him live in such squalor? Are these demons inside him? Those he loves? Or are they just in his head? We get answers when he has a run in with the local reverend, but they still manage to create more questions. Just what is up with Kyle?

The artwork is fairly simple and I can't quite tell if I like it or not. It's not overly cartoonish, but at the same time it's not totally realistic, either. There's minimal shading when it comes to clothes, and some larger panels lack finer details. The full pages, however, do deliver more in these departments and the landscapes in general seem to have more detail than the people. Mixed feelings aside, the colour scheme throughout this volume is fantastic. Each issue seems to have a different main colour which is nice as it gives you more of an idea of when things begin and end, but as a whole nothing feels out of place.

There's a lot of talking and a smattering of action in this volume, but it doesn't drag or come across as boring. Yes, some of the speech is rather deep and philosophical - which seems out of place in a graphic novel but actually ties in nicely with the theme of demons - but it feels somewhat necessary. While this is set in our world, it feels like a world of its own and some degree of setting up is required.

Overall, this is an interesting volume and a good set up for the rest of the series. I'm excited to read more.

The Creeper Man by Dawn Kurtagich

The Creeper Man
Dawn Kurtagich
Genre(s): Horror, Thriller, Young Adult
Published: July 14th 2016
Pages: 400
Rating: 4 stars

“When Silla and her little sister, Nori, escape London and their abusive father, Aunt Cath's country house feels like a safe haven. Leaving the smog and fear behind, the girls have the love and freedom they never had in their violent home. But slowly, ever so slowly, things begin to unravel.

Aunt Cath locks herself in the attic and spends day and night pacing; every day the surrounding forest inches slowly towards the house; a mysterious boy appears from the enclosing wood offering friendship, and Nori claims that a man watches them from the dark forest. A man with no eyes who creeps ever closer.”

Dawn Kurtagich definitely knows what she’s doing when it comes to creepy, psychologically disturbing, thought provoking stories.

Much like with The Dead House, I was hooked from the beginning, drawn right into the story thinking ‘what’s all this about?’ Nothing is clear, yet nothing is confusing, either. There’s the perfect balance of not knowing what on earth is going on and receiving the answers you so desperately crave.

The story of Silla, Nori, and their Aunt Cath (whom they have gone to live with) is not a straightforward one by any means. There are twists and turns all over the place, and uncertainty is the tone throughout. Why does Aunt Cath live in the middle of the forest? Why does she seem so startled by the girls? What will happen to them all out there?

There’s more to The Creeper Man than meets the eye, as well. The prologue is weird enough on its own, but when it becomes apparent that it will be playing a larger part in the story, you can’t help but stop and put the book down. Just what has this family got embroiled in? Why is the past so important and closely entwined with the present? Mystery after mystery are handed to us, but Kurtagich weaves them all together so well we hardly realise we’re getting more questions before new answers.

Silla and Nori also had an interesting dynamic – alongside their interesting personalities that made me question how reliable and trustworthy there were. Nori had the blissful ignorance and blind trust that only children can possess. Silla, the cynicism and scepticism befitting of a teenager – and one who’s been through hell, at that. It was immediately clear that Silla cared immensely for Nori and that Nori in turn relied heavily on her sister, to the point where it almost felt as if they were mother and daughter rather than siblings. A blessing for Nori, when Aunt Cath seems to become unstable, staying hidden in the attic, but a curse for Silla as she has to become the adult in the situation.

The legend of the Creeper Man himself was very intriguing. Not to mention extremely creepy – he doesn’t have eyes, for goodness sake! The way things were explained to us gradually and slowly and in a way that you never knew if you could truly believe (as it’s clear from early on the family doesn’t have the greatest mental strength or stability) only added to the atmosphere and built up the suspense. The reveal was made all the more thrilling after we learnt of Silla’s and Nori’s past.

Definitely not for the fainthearted, The Creeper Man is a wild ride from start finish. It will leave you hanging off every word, yet too afraid to read once it gets dark outside.

From a Buick 8 by Stephen King

From a Buick 8
Stephen King
Genre(s): Adult, Horror, Science-Fiction
Published: September 24th 2002
Pages: 467
Rating: 3.5 stars

“Come close, children, and see the living crocodile. A vintage '54 Buick Roadmaster. At least, that's what it looks like...

There is a secret hidden in Shed B in the state police barracks in Statler, Pennsylvania. A secret that has drawn troopers for twenty years - terrified yet irresistibly tempted to look at its chrome fenders, silver grille and exotic exhaust system.

Young Ned Wilcox has started coming by the barracks: mowing the lawn, washing the windows, shovelling snow; it's a boy's way of holding on to his father - recently killed in a strange road accident by another Buick.

And one day Ned peers through the windows of Shed B and discovers the family secret. Like his father, Ned wants answers. He deserves answers. And the secret begins to stir...”

From a Buick 8 didn’t immediately capture my attention, which was a shame because I wanted to really enjoy it, it being a King novel and all. Thankfully, things did pick up and I became more interested, but only after I’d made it about half way through.

The premise is unique, I’ll give it that. Not totally interesting to me as I’m not a fan of cars and don’t know much about them, but I do know a little about horror books and what I like in them. The idea that this ‘car’ was acting as a portal between two different worlds was something I’d never come across before in my reading. And certainly not in the way King goes about it: with plenty of gruesome grossness.

While I wasn’t totally hooked by the subject matter to start with (it grew on me, don’t get me wrong) I was pulled in by the writing. There’s something about the way King writes that makes me carry on reading even when I’m not sure that I really want to. He knows the perfect recipe for creating suspense and cuts his chapters off in just the right places, making you say ‘oh my god, what?!” Once you got into the meat of the story, it became a compelling read.

The multiple points of view and jumps backwards and forwards in time worked very well as a way to tell the story of the Buick, and I enjoyed how it really did feel like a group story was unfolding before me. I was as invested as Ned by the end of things.

Overall, I liked this more than I originally anticipated. Not the best King book I’ve read, but certainly not the worst, either.

TBR Feature #42

TBR Feature is the chance for me to, every Wednesday, pick one of my unread books and discuss it: why I picked it up, when I'll get round to reading it, if I'm still interested in it at all etc.

Rose Madder by Stephen King

Dead Over Heels by Theresa Braun

Dead Over Heels
Theresa Braun
Genre(s): Horror, Paranormal, Romance
Published: November 16th 2016
Pages: 38
Rating: 4 stars

“Veronica’s first date with Sebastian not only stirs up a powerful attraction, but also a series of supernatural events that will tear them apart. 

After countless hours of dead end online dating, Veronica meets up with Sebastian at a reportedly haunted restaurant, since he knows she has a fascination with the paranormal. While enjoying their meals and each other’s company, they share a shocking supernatural experience. Their romantic connection is overshadowed by the ghosts of their own pasts that threaten to destroy their budding relationship. Veronica decides she must return to the restaurant to face her past and dig up more answers. Unfortunately, she realizes she must go back, this time with a reluctant Sebastian. In the end, they join forces against the evil that stands between them, but will they make it out alive?”

A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my thoughts.

Dead Over Heels opens with our main character, Veronica, and her boyfriend, Sebastian, in trouble. What kind of trouble we don't know, but there's blood... For such a short read - seriously, this is only 38 pages - it sure does pack a punch. The ending, especially, will leave you reeling.

The style of it is chatty and informal but it doesn't come across as immature or poorly written at all. In fact, I think this helps the story along, as it feels like Veronica is replaying and relating the series of events that led her to be sitting in a police station. The descriptions are nicely done and give a good sense of the setting, without being too long and unnecessary. Overall, it's a nice blend of formal prose and a more personal narration.

There's plenty of supernatural and mystical elements throughout - we start off with Wicca, magic, and reiki and end with ghosts and violence - but there's also more normal things, mainly dating. Again, it's a nice blend and feels very natural.

Veronica is hopeful and on the hunt for love, but she isn't stupid. She knows that the candles she's made to help her find the one might not work, and she doesn't accept Sebastian's weak excuses for being late to their first date. As the story is told in first person, we don't get too many details about Sebastian. But from how Veronica sees him we can guess that he's a nice guy - interested in ghosts and more spiritual things and with some trauma in his past, but nice.

It's hard to say much more, as it's far too easy to spoil this little gem. What will say, though, is if you're a fan of paranormal, romance, horror, or any combination of the three you should definitely think about giving this a go.

Theresa Braun and her work can be found at...
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Amazon UK
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The Amityville Horror (Or, The Amityville Mildly Creepy Film About A House)

4 stars

Nothing that begins with copious use of strobe lighting can be good. If you're starting by blinding the audience and inducing a headache they can't shake for the rest of the film, you're off to a bad start, right?

TBR Feature #29

TBR Feature is the chance for me to, every Wednesday, pick one of my unread books and discuss it: why I picked it up, when I'll get round to reading it, if I'm still interested in it at all etc.

The Stand by Stephen King

The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

The Dead House
Dawn Kurtagich
Genre(s): Horror, Paranormal, Young Adult
Published: August 6th 2015
Pages: 440
Rating: 4 stars

“Twenty-five years ago, Elmbridge High burned down. Three people were killed and one pupil, Carly Johnson, disappeared. Now a diary has been found in the ruins of the school. The diary belongs to Kaitlyn Johnson, Carly’s identical twin sister. But Carly didn’t have a twin . . . 

Re-opened police records, psychiatric reports, transcripts of video footage and fragments of diary reveal a web of deceit and intrigue, violence and murder, raising a whole lot more questions than it answers.

Who was Kaitlyn and why did she only appear at night? Did she really exist or was she a figment of a disturbed mind? What were the illicit rituals taking place at the school? And just what did happen at Elmbridge in the events leading up to ‘the Johnson Incident’?”

This was a re-read with Ashleigh from A Frolic Through Fiction, Molly from Molly's Book Nook, and Aimee from Lovely Book Loves 

I've never read a book written in such a unique way as The Dead House. The story of Carly and Kaitlyn is told through diary entries, snippets of police reports, transcripts of therapy sessions, and just about anything else you can think of. It's a massive jumble of thoughts and emotions that leaves you confused and on the edge of your seat, but somehow it works.

From the very beginning, psychology and mental illness takes a big part in Carly's and Kaitlyn's lives. It's hinted at that Carly has an eating disorder (or poor eating habits, at least) and that Kaitlyn is the result of trauma and Dissociative Identity Disorder. While I am fond of this idea and the inclusion of mental health, it's never confirmed one way or another, and from my own research into disorders it seems unlikely. That only acts as a way of opening many, many more doors, however.

There's an element of religion, thanks to Carly's best friend, Naida, which makes you wonder if there are supernatural elements at play. So much of the book is shrouded in mystery that nothing is unlikely, and things only start to get creepier and more unnerving. I wish the Mala had been explained in more detail, or just substituted for spiritual practises that already exist, as it felt a little underdone and thrown in at the last minute. Nevertheless, I did still enjoy the creepy element the runes and charms and chants provided.

The best part of this book is also it's weakest point, and that's that it lets you come up with your own answers. My biggest problem with this, despite how fantastic the story telling is, is that there isn't a sense of resolution and finality with the ending. Yes, our time with the girls is over, but it doesn't feel as if we have all the answers. Things are left open to interpretation and are incredibly vague and ambiguous. Great, if you enjoy deciding what happens for yourself, but I wanted some definitive answers.

My personal theory, however, is that Kaitlyn is the 'true', unwell, self and Carly was a product of trauma and psychosis, and that Kaitlyn was vulnerable to the supernatural. Or maybe I'm completely wrong. Who knows?

TBR Feature #15

TBR Feature is the chance for me to, every Wednesday, pick one of my unread books and discuss it: why I picked it up, when I'll get round to reading it, if I'm still interested in it at all etc.

It by Stephen King