Horror Books

The story line in this story has so many twists and turns that I never wanted to put it down. The author does a great job of character development, and the imagery that he creates in your head is frightening but enticing at the same time. This is a must read book.

Horror is not usually my choice but after our local paper featured this first time author, I had to purchase it. My whole family read it and it kept us all awake nights Very supernatural horror, not graphic violence so even if it is not your normal genre, give it a try!

This "spiritual thriller" is the type of story that grabs you from the very beginning and deosn't let go until the shocking conclusion. Usually, I tend to be a rather lazy reader in that I will take a few weeks to finish a book but, in this case I found myself picking it up whenever I had spare time. This "Dean Koontz-esque" story begins with a family that is haunted by an evil force that is unlike any horror I could ever imagine or would want to for that matter. Throughout the book this evil "force" is elusive and seemingly omnipotent. What this first-time author does is take the conventional concept of Hell and twist it into, as the title suggests, a Hell that is cold and dark. Anyone who appreciates the thrill of a Steven King book would thouroughly enjoy "The Hell That Is Ice."

I was really taken aback by the vivid detail used in this author's work. A friend gave me a copy of the book to read and I must admit it was a delight. A very intruiging story line well suited for today's readers. I look forward to reading other works by this author and recommend his book to anyone who enjoys works by Dean Koontz or Clive Barker.

James Markert shows promise as a new author on the Horror/Fantasy scene. I'm a HUGE fan of Stephen King and Dean Koontz and I anxiously await further works by this author. It takes a gripping work to keep me awake nights and Markert has displayed that talent! His picture on the book makes me want him to keep me up late more often!

I first heard of David Skal from the Universal Classic Monster series of DVD's. David was on the accompanying documentary and did the audio commentary for Tod Browning's 1931 classic, Dracula. If you own the set and have run the documentary and, particularly, the commentary, then you've already experienced about three chapters of this book. What remains is a rich mine of details about every aspect of Dracula, the book, movies, and culture. And what a lot there is.

David's writing, like his speech, is precise, educated, and loaded with literary allusions. While no dilettante, I consider myself well read and was still left with the occasional "what the hell is talking about?" moment. The language is rich and occasionally reminds me of the mental images drawn by Anne Rice at the height of her powers. However, David is no snob and is not merely parading his impressive intellect - it's just that he knows so darn much about the subject.

And if I had any criticism of the book that would be it - David seems driven to exhaustively document every possible aspect of Dracula's existence. The detailed (and seemingly never ending) battles between Florence Stoker and the makers of "Nosferatu" is described in such detail that I wanted to scream "OKAY!! We get it! Nosferatu was a Dracula rip off and Flo didn't like it!!" But eventually the tale moves on and sets the stage for intricate negotiations between the Stoker estate and Universal. In retrospect (and considering how handsomely the studio profited) it's interesting to see that Universal bought almost unlimited use of the vampire for the paltry sum of $25,000.00 and is still making oodles of money hand over fist today. David covers all aspects of vampire lore from Byron's "The Giaour" (1813) to Mel Brooks' "Dracula, Dead and Loving It" (1995). And everything in between. Trust me, if it can be construed to be in any way connected with Dracula, it's in this book.

If you have any interest in gothic culture, or the movies that spawned it, this is a must have. Reading it is like enjoying an evening of conversation with a much beloved, if slightly eccentric, old friend, preferably over brandy in front of a glowing fireplace on a cold, cold night.

Down deep, we all agree with the fly-eating Renfield. That's why we can't get his Master out of our system. David J. Skal's book Hollywood Gothic explains a lot of the reasons why.

Hollywood Gothic is like David Skal's Screams of Reason: Mad Science and Modern Culture. Hollywood Gothic and Screams of Reason both take horror motifs we know mostly from movies and trace them back to literature, where they originated.

Screams of Reason looks at the mad scientist figure in fiction, from central European vivisectionists like Dr. Frankenstein to postwar American A-bomb scientists. Hollywood Gothic is more narrow - - it covers Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, the plays adapted from it, and then the movies inspired by it - - F.W. Murnau's silent film Nosferatu, then the Universal and Hammer horror films.


Skal goes into detail about Bela Lugosi's career as Dracula on stage and film. He also digs up a lot of interesting information about the Spanish-language Dracula made simultaneously with the Bela Lugosi movie by producer Paul Kohner and cinematographer George Robinson - - who was responsible for the look of later Universal horror films like Dracula's Daughter and House of Dracula.

Kohner fell in love with and married the real star of the Spanish-language Dracula, Lupita Tovar as Eva - - the Mina Harker character - - and who could blame him. Skal calls her a "truly ingenuous ingenue." In Mexico she could barely go out in public without being mobbed.

Except for Bela Lugosi himself, almost everything about Kohner's Spanish version is better than Browning's. (That's my opinion from watching the movies, not just reading Hollywood Gothic.) Skal quotes people who worked on Tod Browning's Dracula that Browning was barely paying attention to the movie he was making.

For instance, when Dracula welcomes Jonathan Harker to his castle from the top of the staircase, in the English version a huge spider web is off to the side behind Dracula, but in the Spanish version Dracula is framed in the center of the web. We see Dracula rise from his coffin in the Spanish version where Browning just shows him suddenly standing there. (Seeing Christopher Lee rise from his coffin, or be destroyed in it, was always a high point of the Hammer movies for me.) Every night Kohner's director George Melford looked at the film Browning's crew shot during the day and improved on it for their version.

But there was (and is) something in the idea of the vampire that makes readers and audiences forgive hack storytelling.

If you haven't seen them already, you should watch the films before reading Hollywood Gothic. The Universal Legacy Collection of Dracula contains the Lugosi film, the Spanish-language version, Dracula's Daughter, and Son of Dracula. (There's more, but those are the best. Universal's release of the Legacy Collections of Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man are the only good thing to come from the marketing of the movie Van Helsing.)

Hollywood Gothic has a lot of illustrations, many of which are theatrical and film ephemera from Skal's personal collection. (Yesterday I saw The Aristocrats - - Penn Gillette's documentary about the world's filthiest joke - - and one of the comedians was wearing a T-shirt with Dracula's face from the cover of the first Modern Library edition of the novel. SIDE NOTE: See The Aristocrats - - it's about how to tell a story and keep an audience hooked as much as it is about the history of blue humor.)

Reading Hollywood Gothic made me finally read Bram Stoker's novel. Because I've seen so many movies that tell the story I never read the book. While the writing style isn't great, at least it moves along, and you're introduced to Dracula right away.


I read over half of the 600-page novel The Historian - - apparently foredoomed to be a bestseller and a blockbuster movie - - and the character Dracula still hadn't made an appearance. I skimmed to the end and read the climax, but I was disappointed. When you build Dracula up as such a powerful being, it's hard to destroy him in a way that doesn't seem anticlimactic. (That's one of the reasons Kim Newman has given for why he started writing his Anno Dracula series - - if Dracula is such a terrible force, how could he be tracked down and killed so easily by an insane Dutch doctor and three upper-class twits who belong in the Drones Club with Bertie Wooster?)
And why do characters in The Historian struggle to find copies of Bram Stoker's novel at university libraries? It's been out in paperback all over the world since the early 1900s. Go to any W.H. Smith.

Filmmakers who've told the Dracula story understand something novelists sometimes don't - - Dracula shouldn't be just a menace offstage, he's the protagonist of the story. Dracula is the hero. He's the one we want to see - - and be. That's why our mothers were displeased when they caught us watching monster movies on TV when we were kids. Mom knew what we were thinking. The reason Stoker's novel works at all is because we're introduced to Dracula at the beginning, when Harker comes to Translyvania. What makes the novel disappointing is that we hardly see Dracula again after that.

But Skal reminds us that "La sangre es la vida." Dracula isn't going anywhere.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATION: Check out Vampires: Los Muertos (see my review), the sequel to John Carpenter's Vampires, and an underrated movie. To me, it's a vampire movie that shows the monster as a Third World victim of globalist Van Helsings. (A rich white American woman can get the medicine she needs to stay alive (un-undead), while the brown vampire, stolen from her peasant family by a rich landowner, has only one way to get the sangre she needs. (I also like vampire movies that show how vampires might experience time differently than mortals - - Queen of the Damned also does this in an interesting way.) There's a scene of slow-motion slaughter in Los Muertos that the monstrous child in me responded to. Los Muertos also has the most sexist line I've every heard in a vampire movie, but you still identify with the female master vampire.

David J. Skal is as readable as ever is this newly revised edition of the definitive Hollywood Gothic as he covers the history of Dracula from his creation by Bram Stoker to the various and multiple version on screen and stage. The thrust of the story is, of course, on the novel and the iconic Bela Lugosi movie, with an additional nice, but smaller, chunk on Nosferatu. The author is particularly effective in combining, in an interesting fashion, the creative, financial, and legal elements. His analysis is always clear and interesting and will definitely send the reader on a viewing frenzy. Vampire movies seem always to be streaming forth from Hollywood and Dracula is and always will be the most tempting of the bunch. This book brings this fascination to life, as it were. A very good job.

In "Hollywood Gothic" David Skal tells the story of "Dracula" that came after the classic of gothic horror was published in 1897. It's a fascinating, fact-filled tale of colorful personalities, legal battles, Hollywood politics, and a culture still captivated by the King of Literary Vampires. The book's seven chapters begin with author Bram Stoker, end with the Count's recent incarnations on stage and screen, and include the most insightful analysis of "Dracula"'s origins that I have read in the course of my minor obsession with the novel.

Chapter 1 explores "Dracula"'s literary and theatrical predecessors before moving on to discussion of the intellectual and sexual climate into which the book was published in 1897, the life and elusive character of its author Bram Stoker, and how the novel was received in its own day. David Skal does an impressive job of pulling together the relevant details, from diverse perspectives, of the novel's birth.

Chapter 2 details the legal battle waged by the Bram Stoker's widow, Mrs. Florence Stoker, to suppress the first cinematic adaptation of her husband's novel, 1922's "Nosferatu", the unauthorized German production directed by F.W. Murnau, now recognized as a masterpiece of silent cinema. Chapter 3 sees Mrs, Stoker finally authorize an adaptation to British dramatist Hamilton Deane, whose wordy, plodding "Dracula" play nevertheless achieved great financial success, attracting the attention of American theatrical producer Horace Liveright. Liveright enlisted journalist John Balderston to rewrite the play for Broadway and make it a smash hit on this side of the Atlantic.

Chapter 4 moves to Hollywood for the protracted negotiations over "Dracula"'s film rights. "Dracula"'s path through the early 20th century was mined with legal battles, and it is a credit to author David Skal that he is able to make interminable and constantly mutating negotiations into absorbing drama. Chapter 5 follows the winding road to the production of the first Hollywood "Dracula", the 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi, which, although made cheaply and lazily, was the first horror talkie and a financial life preserver for Universal Studios. Happily, Skal has dedicated Chapter 6 to the superior Spanish language version of "Dracula" that was filmed simultaneously, on the same sets, as the English version of the 1931 film, but with a different producer, director, cinematographer, and cast.

Chapter 7 tells us what became of the principle person's associated with the two 1931 films. Then it follows the legacy of "Dracula" from the 1930s forward, through its incarnations in film, plays, musicals, ballets, and other performances. Appendix A is a list of notable stage performances of "Dracula", 1897-2003. Appendix B is a list of about 200 films, 1921-2004, which feature the "Dracula" character or name. Thankfully, there is an index.

In outlining the contents of "Hollywood Gothic", I may have made the book seem dry. But the story of "Dracula"'s continuing life in film and on stage is as lively as the novel that inspired it -and it is written a good deal better. David Skal's tireless research and engaging style never fail to impress. "Hollywood Gothic" is an absorbing literary and cinematic history that "Dracula" fans shouldn't miss.

I read this book years ago. It's good to see it's coming back into print.

Skal charts the history of Stoker's book, beginning with early drafts extant, following the tangled film history, including the legal battles over Murnau's "Nosferatu", Universal Studio's struggle to get the rights for the Lugosi pic, and everything that happened after.

It won't change your life, but its fascinating stuff. Skal's style is quick, clean, and to the point. This book is a lot of fun, giving insights into publishing, film, theater, and the audience reaction to and participation in all of those mediums. A must for all vampire buffs, film students, and those who are curious about the inner workings of popular culture.

Hello, ay name is Cody and I am 17 years old. I know this book is rated 8-12 but i read it and loved it. I would say it is one of the best Horror mystery books I've ever read. I would recommend this book to people of all ages.

This book is excellent. I would highly recommed you get it. It is the first out of three. A normal family of four rent a summer house. But their two children have realised they are not alone. The children tell their parents but claim they have a wild imagenation. What is the secret to the old house in cherry street? Well, The children are about to find out.

This book has one of the best Haunted House plots I've ever read about. The story line and the characters all tie in to one another. The Cover was astounding! That was one of the best parts of the book. While the writing itself isn't ment for older children, it still fascinated me.I love these three books and wish the authors would write a more advanced version of them.
I only have Book 1 and 3, but I hope oneday I can find the 2nd. I will treasure these books forever!

I didn't like it at all. I read part 1 of this book and it was good. This book didn't even close to as good as the other one. The author kept describing one thing and that wasn't bad. The only thing that was wrong, is that it ended the complete opposite of what I thought. I didn't like the ending either. At the end of every chapter, it had a good cliffhanger. When you read the next chapter, it didn't have much to do with the cliffhanger or it ended up not being good. The book kept you in suspence most of the time, but it wnt away too fast. You could guess who was making all of the trouble by just reading the first couple chapters. All of the main characters in th book were really cool and they stayed in my mind really well. Overall, I thought that this book wasn't that good, but I liked it a little. It would have been better if the story was mre suspenceful and the cliffhangers would end in a different way. One of the lessons I learned in this novel is never underestimate people no matter who they are. They could do anything at anytime. If you are thinking of reading this book, I wouldn't recommend it. I would grade this book a 2 on a scale from 1-10. .

The book House On Cherry Street was about Jason his sister Sally and his baby-sitter Katie, It also had an evil which and a ghost named Bobby. It all started happining when Jasons parents went on a buisness trip and katie came to watch them and this ghost Bobby was trying to scare away katie cause it didn't like baby sitters but katie wouldn't beleive any thing that Jason said but things kept on happning and finally she saw it and believed it then the whitch was tyring to get them but sjhe didn't and they got bobby were he belonged.

Super great author. Kept me thinking about who really was the bad guy. Had a hard time putting down this book.
The character's were so believable. It was like I really knew them. Mel and Phil the greatest. Lenny was also great.

THis book was simply amazing! I thought the plot was a little predictable and I kind of saw the end coming (but all my friends who read it couldn't). It was full of irony and weird twists. I think at the end it started to contradict the writing in the beginning. At any rate, the book was really good! I thought it had a few querks but all of the writing was awesome! There was great detail and everything was so believable! I thought it was great! But, since no one else has said this, it is a thrilling spine-tingler, but, some parts are kind of disturbing, I won't discourage reading it but there are a few creepy parts, to give yall fair warning. Thanks for reading my review.

"If He Hollers" is a suspense book written by A.G Cascone. It's setting takes place in a small town in present time. It is about a group of friends who saw a kidnapping, and tried to foget it, until ten years later.
There are four main characters you need to know: Stacey, Eric, Mel, and Jimmy. It was Stacey's sixth birthday party and all the kids from school were there, when Bobby Crawford was kidnapped. There was only one eye witness a girl named Mel. She saw the kidnapper and blamed herself for the kidnapping. She wished she could have ran out and stopped the guy. Instead she stood there and screamed as little Bobby Crawford was dragged farther and farther in to the dark woods. Exactly ten years later, the kidnapper comes back. First he take Stacey's brother and then Stacey. Jimmy, Eric, and Mel are all worried, and the police say that they most likely just ran away. No one will help them. Mel finds the courage inside of herself, and goes to find some clues in the woods. She finds a can of beer, the same brand the police found after Bobby Crawford disappeared. She brings it to the polce station and they match the finger prints of the kidnapper. Still the police have their doubts.
There was a lot of irony in this book, or a twist in events. While your reading this book you think you know whos the kidnapper is the whole time, when all of a sudden the books rotates a 180 on you. Nothing is what it seems. I think there is a strong surprise ending. You'll never guess who it is. There was also a lot of imagery. When Mel described the woods, I felt chills going up and down my spine. The characters were probably the strongest part of the book. It described all the characters so well. I felt like I knew them all of my life.
This was one of the best books I have ever read. I read the whole book in one day. I just couldn't put the book down. It was that good. I started at nine one night and just kept reading all night. I would recommend this book to anyone. It's simply the greatest.
In conclusion, I think you should read this book. I really enjoyed reading it. I dont really like reading, I find most so boring. If you're like me you won't want to give this book a chance, but please do. I promise you won't be disappointed.

"If He Hollers" is an edge-of-your-seat suspense-mystery. You never know what is going to happen next. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery because this one will just blow you away. I could not put it down.

"If He Hollers" is a suspense book written by A.G Cascone. It's setting takes place in a small town in present time. It is about a group of friends who saw a kidnapping, and tried to foget it, until ten years later.
There are four main characters you need to know: Stacey, Eric, Mel, and Jimmy. It was Stacey's sixth birthday party and all the kids from school were there, when Bobby Crawford was kidnapped. There was only one eye witness a girl named Mel. She saw the kidnapper and blamed herself for the kidnapping. She wished she could have ran out and stopped the guy. Instead she stood there and screamed as little Bobby Crawford was dragged farther and farther in to the dark woods. Exactly ten years later, the kidnapper comes back. First he take Stacey's brother and then Stacey. Jimmy, Eric, and Mel are all worried, and the police say that they most likely just ran away. No one will help them. Mel finds the courage inside of herself, and goes to find some clues in the woods. She finds a can of beer, the same brand the police found after Bobby Crawford disappeared. She brings it to the polce station and they match the finger prints of the kidnapper. Still the police have their doubts.
There was a lot of irony in this book, or a twist in events. While your reading this book you think you know whos the kidnapper is the whole time, when all of a sudden the books rotates a 180 on you. Nothing is what it seems. I think there is a strong surprise ending. You'll never guess who it is. There was also a lot of imagery. When Mel described the woods, I felt chills going up and down my spine. The characters were probably the strongest part of the book. It described all the characters so well. I felt like I knew them all of my life.
This was one of the best books I have ever read. I read the whole book in one day. I just couldn't put the book down. It was that good. I started at nine one night and just kept reading all night. I would recommend this book to anyone. It's simply the greatest.
In conclusion, I think you should read this book. I really enjoyed reading it. I dont really like reading, I find most so boring. If you're like me you won't want to give this book a chance, but please do. I promise you won't be disappointed.

In Darkness it Dwells is an impressive book. Author Laudati author has written a semi-epic here, detailed in a way that is reminiscent of Stephen King or Dean Koontz. This is a book way above the level of many horror titles.

The author knows every aspect of his characters lives, of the town they live in, of the demonological framework he employs in his story, and of amateur movie making which figures predominantly in the novel in quite an original way.

The writing is clear, crisp and smooth. The book flows and moved and never feels slow, despite it's hefty 600 plus page count.

But despite its demonic goings on, the real core of the book is the strength of the characters and the touching relationship between the young hero and heroine. Laudati paints this burgeoning relationship with such sensitivity that one feels as if he is experiencing what the same feelings the characters are. Characters are fresh, original, and real, never straying into cliché. The characters provide a strong spine to hang the horror on. The horror is affecting, because the characters it is happening to are so real.

The plot is clever, full of twists, and never becomes predictable.

A tremendous effort. Laudati is certainly an author to watch.

Joe Laudati's novel is very well written. He has developed the rare talent of creating a setting where true reality blends smoothly with vivid imaginary characters, and where the reader can easily understand the emotions that drive each character to their ultimate destiny. He cleverly balances the characters fear, anger and anxieties with humor....and paints a landscape full of widely varying character types, ages, and dispositions. This novel is what great, entertaining movies are made of. Riveting...but not stressful. Plus...the author lived much of the story line, thus providing the factual details that give substance to the fast plot and characters personal drive.

Paranormal thrillers are my favorite genre when they're done well. This one is. The characters are well developed, and that's another thing in novels that keeps me interested and satisfies me. In Darkness It Dwells also delivers a good story that's imaginative and different, and it moves along at a good pace. It hits the right buttons with this reader. Five stars from me.

If this is his first book then future is BRIGHT for this author. Parts of book remind you of King, Barker. Ending is Like MOST of the horror books!!! if you know what I mean!!!

Joe Laudati's novel "In Darkness it Dwells" proves beyond any doubt that his future as an author is assured.
This brilliant novel tells the story of Tom DeFrank, an avid Ray Harryhausen fan and keen amateur stop-motion animator. After an unsettling event in a cave once frequented by Devil worshippers, he becomes obsessed with a demonic creature that seems to invade his nightmares. So taken with this creature is he that he builds and begins to animate a likeness of it. Fau' Charoth, as the creature is called, is brought hideously to life through Tom's obsession with it. Together with his girlfriend Julie Parrish, and her psychic father Stephen, they must find a way to send it back through the portal of hell that Tom had inadvertantly opened, before it destroys him entirely.

This is an edge-of-your-seat thrill-ride that does not let up from beginning to end. Joe Laudati is amazing in the way he brings his characters to convincing life. The ease in which you can identify with the characters is equally incredible.

Joe Laudati is an incredible sculptor, and as an author, just as incredible.

If you are looking for a book that is jammed packed with action, horror, romance, and non-stop thrills, then this is the book for you.

Craig Guild.

Some of the most creative rabbit-monsters I have ever seen. Im even thinking about getting a couple tattoos of them.

I LOVE portrayals of monster rabbits because I have one myself--I took him in when I found him hopping down the street one week after Easter--yup, he was one of those poor abandoned Easter rabbits. He repays me by acting the savage beast. It is hilarious to be attacked by such an adorable creature, and his is SO WELL represented in this book!

GET THIS BOOK! This is fun to look at! What an imagination! Fluid and Beautiful designs make these drawings irresistable to stare at for hours. The artist is as imaginative as he is a talented.artist.

What delightful book. Gagne in color is even twice the power of his other popular offerings. I think he has really matured into a fine author and every new book is a joy. All I can say to Twisted Rabbits is bravo. What great designer.

Anyone who loves Monty Python, or who is a fan of Anya understands that rabbits are really voracious, man-eating creatures that hunt the night (or Knight) looking for the unsuspecting. And yet we continue to expose out children to them, believing that appearances could never be that deceiving. Finally, Michel Gagne has decides to take the lid of this secret scandal and reveal to the world the real horror that lurks between those sad brown eyes and cutesy tails.

Gagne was an illustrator in the well-known Don Bluth Studios until they closed in 1992. during that period he and another artist, Dave Kupczyk had a one-on-one competition about who could draw the evilest rabbit. While we won't know the real winner until Kupczyk publishes his own book, Gagne's rabbits are a delightfully evil and twisted as they come. The stuff of fluffy nightmares.

This is one of those books that is reserved for gag gifts for rabbit enthusiasts and excesses of cute, but it is fun for anyone that discovers it. Even as we speak, my cats are checking it out and whispering tales about that famous serial killer, Jack the Rabbit. You can't help but like this thin volume. Recommended for the light of heart.

My wife and I had the pleasure of being in the audience hearing the
author read his excellent book. Charles Dickens would be proud to have
his story continued in such an effective and entertaining manner. This
book provides a new dimension to Christmas season literature, building
skilfully on a well-known classic. It enthralls with delight, and is
recommended reading for all. Like a follow-up story in a newspaper of a
major event, it is so satisfying and interesting to find out what

happened to the people involved. The way the author adds to a holiday
legend
makes a great read!

Bill King
New York City

THE LAST CHRISTMAS OF EBENEZER SCROOGE (Wildside Press) by Marvin Kaye is one of the most delightful and magical Christmas stories written. A sequel to Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Mr. Kaye has written a charming and poignant novel that revisits the scenes and characters of the Dickens classic, and gives the reader a glimpse of the Afterlife which Dickens' eluded to in his masterly tale of literature's greatest miser.

Mr. Kaye's style of writing evokes Dickens' own without imitating Dickens. It is a rapid moving story with the charm, surprize, mystery and insight of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and a beauty and wonder all its own. THE LAST CHRISTMAS OF EBENZER SCROOGE is a masterpiece and should be read, annually, along with A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The wonder and grandeur of Christmas, and the true meaning of the Season, as exemplified in Ebenzer Scrooge, is the hallmark of this magnificant work.

Mr. Kaye is one of the most gifted and original novelists practicing his craft today. THE LAST CHRISTMAS OF EBENZER SCROOGE is a "must read". Don't miss it!!

I think of them as one-as two parts of a whole. Marvin Kaye's sequel to "The Christmas Carol" picks up Dickens's thread so effortlessly and so honestly and yet at the same time so originally. Mr. Kaye speaks with his own voice or else there would be only an echo of another's voice and there is no such echo in this story. There is instead a clear ringing of honesty.
Mr. Kaye does not immitate Dickens in any way, yet it is as though Mr. Kaye has walked in Dickens's shoes through the din and foulness of some of London's 19th Century streets, that they have spent many long evenings in front of a warm fire listening to one another well. It is not only a common shoe size these two authors share, they share too a kindred soul- a soul that reaches out to embrace their fellow-man bringing them together as brothers. The after-life court room scene is so vivid and convincing that I cannot imagine that Mr.Kaye has not indeed been there himself! The careful weaving of this story took me on a journey that brought me to a wonderful place of completion-a story which dropped me off further up the road than where it found me. I imagine Dicken's is very pleased with the "Last Christmas of Ebenezer Scrooge" and Mr.Kaye need not have any fears hauntings, but might feel perhaps instead a very pleasant patting on the back. This story for me shall always be the last chapter of "The Christmas Carol". I am full of warm hope and thankful Christmas spirits!

Sequels to great and loved novels are the most difficult writing to pull off. Because no matter what you do, someone usually is unhappy with it. (Need I mention SCARLETT-- the sequel to Gone With The Wind?)
However, Mr. Kaye not only created a beautiful and touching story, but he doesn't even WRITE like Marvin Kaye. The metaphors, the descriptions themselves are pure Dickens-- not a copy of the master, but the use of language in the style made famous by the man called "the Shakespeare of the Novel".
Yet at the same time, the story is original. All the best loved characters are there, yet sublimely altered due to Mr. Scrooge's haunted evening. The story presents what Dickens himself suggested at the end of the original.
In this novel, Scrooge is called upon not only to make the world a better place, but to redeem Jacob Marley, as Marley did for him. It is an exciting tale, worthy to grace any bookshelf with the original.

You don't have to be a Dickens fanatic to enjoy this book. I was intrigued to find out what really happened AFTER Ebenezer Scrooges's Christmas Eve conversion from miser to man of charity.

Marvin Kaye gives full life to those who until now we've only glimpsed. A poor Jewish boy called Paulie is the lad who fetches the turkey for the ecstatic Scrooge when he wakes from his nightmare on Christmas Day. Tiny Tim grows out of his child "victim" status and into a compassionate and capable young man upon whom Scrooge relies. Bob Cratchit goes from strength to strength under the transformed benevolent influence of his former task master. Generally, the world is a better place now that Scrooge is about the business of sharing his wealth and personal charity. But still, something is not right, and the ghosts have not completely left the scene.

Kaye weaves a wonderful, surprising story complete with intrigue, mystery and even a bit of ancient Talmudic wisdom thrown in for good measure. While the writing is evocative of the period, it's accessible and flows easily, even for a dyslexic reader like me....

As an American who has lived in England for the past 11 years, I also appreciated how Kaye gives us the real flavor of English culture and language without being too precious about it. In short, The Last Christmas of Ebenezer Scrooge is a delight. Buy it, read it and recommend it to a friend!

I can truly say that I am anticipating the next edition to this wonderful series. It has had me on the edge the whole time during reading and wanting the next more and more!!!!!

THIS IS A WONDERFUL BOOK. VERY WELL WRITTEN. KEEPS YOU ON EDGE.

Wow !! Great Book .This is A must Read Book . I Can't wait to Sink my Teeth into The next One !!!!

Picked up this book this past weekend and could not put it down. Storyline and characters bring you into their world and won't let go. I cannot wait until the next installment of the series.

A must-have for any Fantasy or Vampire Novel-lover! I was intriqued by the creative storyline and it's modern edge. Read this book!

The only bad thing I can say about this collection is that it makes me want to suffer head trauma so that I can forget the stories and read them again in their NEWNESS. Singing Shirley Jackson's praises is like pointing out the blueness of the sky. Just read this. It'll ruin you for all other writers, but in the most divine sense.

As a fiction writer, this is the book I study. I can return to this book again and again, overwhelmed by Shirley Jackon's absolute, subtle brilliance. She writes with a smoothness and an ease that borders on the eerie. I could sing the praises of this book all night.

A fantastic critique of the pointlessness of rituals...such as meat-eating...racism...speciesism...homophobia.

The text is available for free on the internet...but Jackson should be in everyone's collection.

My favourite living author of the offbeat, macabre story is Joyce Carol Oates. This prolific woman, who can seemingly pen an entire novel while having a bath, has compiled a formidable opus of stories which Alberto Manguel appropriately describes as Black Water stories. I haven't read any of her many other types of novel and short story, but if I were handing out Nobel prizes, I would grab back any of the prizes handed out in the last twenty years (they seem to be awarded on the basis of some kind of quota system) and give it to Ms Oates. But before Joyce Carol Oates there was Shirley Jackson. We've all read The Lottery in high school, and even though I was intrigued and appalled by this story at the time, I didn't seek out more Jackson for a long time, partly I think because I thought my English teacher would approve. Just as well, because I think I am better able to appreciate her now that I am older and society and life in general has become more suspect for me.

Jackson died when she was 48 years of age, a victim to depression, drink, amphetamines, and chocolate. She was married to a university professor and lived at a time when America was expanding and exporting its robust, cocksure culture to the world. All of the stories in The Lottery and Other Stories were published in the 1940s. New York City was the true capital of North America and fast becoming the capital of the world. In these stories the hypocrisy behind the blithe optimism and manifest destiny of American culture is deftly portrayed. Many conservative, nostalgic thinkers and politicians evoke this time as being a golden age, a time that our current debauched, rudderless culture should aspire to. Jackson, a literary fifth columnist, doesn't appear to have embraced any of it. She skewers the racism, sexism, materialism and violence of the times -the glitter turns out to have been cheap paint after all- and she does so in simple straight forward slice of life stories, and, more devastatingly, in allegorical, nightmarish tales -The Lottery, The Tooth, and The Daemon Lover, etc.

The Lottery -Its about atavism, superstition -about responding to the mystery, insecurity, and danger of life by making human sacrifices to the vulpine forces of nature in order to presumably save the majority through a kind of magical inoculation. This type of thinking is the antithesis of science. It is ancient, 'old brain' thinking and it shares a lot with some 'new age' thinking. I think it is also why we can sometimes justify sending our young people off to die in pointless wars in foreign countries. It is about unthinking adherence to ritual. It is about compartmentalizing our emotions and behaviour -allowing friendship and compassion to co-exist with murderous cruelty, in the same person, in the same community. The veneer of civilization is not that thick or that strong. Civilization is a modern, stylish bungalow, built over a deep, ancient dungeon, where savagery and perhaps evil still walks, and periodically comes up the damp winding staircase -witness the unspeakable atrocities on both sides of recent and current conflicts (e.g. Kosovo, Rwanda, Iraq.) No wonder this story generated the most mail of any story ever published in the New Yorker. It is truly disturbing. Bridge with the girls, or baseball and a few beers with boys wouldn't seem the same after reading this story.

Shirley Jackson is currently one of my favorite authors. (And, incidentily always has been, since elementary school.) She is the author that everyone has some sort of familiarity with, unbeknownst to them. From The Lottery, to The Haunting of Hill House, to We Have Always Lived In the Castle, there is a sort of haunting timelessness in her work. No matter where you grew up, what your background, you will always find a common thread to link you to her world. And in her world, you will find, (if you pay attention) a parable to our times, a guessing game of "could it really?.." and, "did it ever?"... After all of these questions, you will find yourself answering, yes, yes it did...

I just love Myx, the sneaky, fascinatingly quirky, frightfully intelligent young man who takes on the mystery of some grisly murders in his small Massachusetts town. Somehow Dave makes us like this fellow who stops at nothing to learn all he needs to know about people.

And I not only love Myx, but I love the storytelling! Dave weaves this tale in a way that keeps us thinking, wondering, and laughing. Every page is interesting and fun!

I received this book in the mail yesterday. Started to read it almost immediately and could not put it down. Finished in one day. Very entertaining, kept me guessing all the way to the end. Recommend it to everybody I speak to.

"I learned that nothing is yours until it's yours, and that you make it yours by taking it, protecting it and hiding it," says Myx Amens, a uniquely talented 14-year-old foster kid living in Miracle, Massachusetts. In Dave Diotalevi's debut novel, Miracle Myx, we encounter 42 hours in the life of Myx as he investigates a series of murders.

There's a seminal chapter in this twisty mystery of hidden secrets where Myx is in jeopardy from several thugs at the estate of their boss - a powerful Italian business man. Myx artfully escapes from the thugs and finds himself in the company of the boss' wife, Mama. Suddenly, Myx's intuitive mix of synesthesia offers up a song, for which he quickly scribbles onto paper. In Italian, no less. Mama reads it and recognizes it as her mother's homemade gnocchi recipe - written in her mother's handwriting. This isn't the first or the last time Myx uses his talents to tease out what someone needs at the moment they need it. And to this reader's point of view, this scene tells us much of what we need to know about the heart of this unique man/boy character whose primary desire seems to be easing the way of others. Particularly, if they are female.

One will read this book as much for fast-action, 42 hours in the life of Myx as they will for the poetic turns of phrase such as "My hand sang the music of its curves as I wrote," and "Air currents made the flames and shadows move in interesting ways. To me, they felt pliable and sounded like the wind in a field."

This smart, sexy novel from Dave Diotalevi may be his debut, but it is clearly not his first try at beautiful prose, evocative language, and moving storytelling. Let's hope there's more to come from this author.

Diotalevi hits the ground running with Miracle Myx.

Myx Amens is an astounding and addictive character that you'll immediately like and find yourself caring and cheering for. His synesthetic memory, two near death experiences, (I think he really died twice) and natural curiosity propel Myx into the realm of the next great fictional hero.

Diotalevi's rich writing style makes for a read that you can't put down.

Miracle Myx starts with Myx Amens, just finishing his last adventure and one quickly learns of his near supernatural powers through Diotalevi's intricate character development.

The author weaves an old world whodunit with an inexplicable modern day adolescent hero into one great read.

I highly recommend this book. When does the next book come out?

This entertaining tour de force has one of the most intriguing characters you'll ever encounter. He's Myx Amens, survivor of two near-death experiences, owner of a photographic memory, and victim(?) of a fascinating condition known as synesthesia. For the uninitiated, that means Myx experiences the world differently from you and me--he smells colors, sees sounds, and tastes the inner workings of the minds of the people he encounters. Very, very weird.

But also very, very entertaining. These skills also come in handy when Myx goes about investigating unsolved murders like the ones that set off the plot in Miracle, Massachusetts. They are gruesome affairs, with sexual mutilation, sliced-off lips, and an imaginatively-mangled tattoo artist. Myx's super psyche gets a little help from a secret-filled puzzle box that might connect town founder Elbridge Sonnet (gotta love that name!) to the murders, but it's his almost otherworldly abilities that enable him to uncover the secret for all the world to see--or taste, or smell, depending on your own sensorial skill set.

Myx has another interesting characteristic that comes in handy: he hasn't slept for three years. It doesn't seem to bother him much, though, and it makes it possible for Diotalevi to compress the action into a pounding 42 hours.