Horror Books

This is a pretty good purchase if you want to get mostly up to speed on 'The Darkness' comic. There are gaps here and there, such as events that occur in Witchblade and the Darkness/Batman crossover, but you get the meat of the story overall.

A great buy for Darkness fans. Though it took two weeks just to ship and the sender didnt bother wraping it in any kind of plastic to protect it during shipping so my copy has a few minor rips in the spin. Other then that great condition and a great read.

The Compendium allows you to catch-up on the history of The Darkness with the first 40 issues. Please note, it is missing a few of the cross-over issues like Witchblade #18 & #19, but it tells you which ones so you can get them later if you like. For the price and free shipping, you can't beat it! Warning: this book is fatter and heavier than some dictionaries with its 1280 pages, but so well worth the hand cramps it may cause in holding it. Not for children! After reading this, I recommend getting the Witchblade Compendium #1, as it will tie up a few of the lose ends you get when reading this. Enjoy!!!

I thought that the book was very captivating and over whelming in gory details. I also was taken on a magic roller coaster ride........of emotion. Super awesome until towards end when the new artist and writer took over and f*&%ed it in the @$$.

This is a great collection and my criticism must not be allowed to distract from this. I had not read The Darkness before, having returned to comics after a ten year absence and ordered the compendium on reputation and reveiws alone. The service was great, I was delivered in South Africa on time in pristine condition.

It's hard to comment on this publication without referring to its size. It is huge. While this is a good thing, it is not without its drawbacks. The compendium cannot be read as I would a standard graphic novel in that a degree of discipline is needed. I found myself racing through it missing the artwork and the natural pace a comic has by nature of its original monthly format. While the standard comic can be frustratingly short, nine or ten bound together is a great afternoon's read, taking time to savour each panel. Over 1200 pages is a bit indigestable and I would have perhaps preffered to buy a series of smaller collections to make up the whole. Text close to the spine is difficult to get to without risking the spine and it's not something that would be easily shared with a friend, being a bit unweildy to lend out or have someone help themselves to over a coffee (unless they are a comic enthusiast).

Having said all of this there is still something nice about it being ridiculously huge.

While I am particularly "non-religious", I do find myself questioning the content at times (as enjoyable as it might be). There is a point or two where I was struck than a line was being pushed, such as the offhand killing of an inocent person because its all our hero could come up with on short notice to save himself or the ham-fisted religious references in the Magdelina editions. This is obviously a discomfort I have with the genre itself. Violent dark action/humour would perhaps be less enjoyable if it didn't push the boundry of moral offensiveness. Potential purchasers should know that this one does so more than most and is certainly not for kids.

I am however splitting hairs on what is an excellent collection; the artwork is fantastic, and the humour dark. In my opinion it is the best of the genre.

What could be more horrifying than to have the psychic ability that forces you to witness the events in other people's lives but not be able to find your own son after he is kidnapped? With an intense plot and vivid detailed writing, Rick R. Reed has crafted a compelling, fast-paced thriller that would haunt any parent's nightmares.


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Reviewed by Tyler R. Tichelaar for Reader Views (2/08)

Rick R. Reed's new novel "Deadly Vision" is another page-turner from this masterly horror writer. The novel opens with Cass, a single mother, who also happens to be a lesbian, simply trying to make a life for herself and her son by working as a waitress in a diner. One day, she gets hit on the head by a tree branch during a storm, and when she wakes up, she begins to see strange visions, which she realizes are related to the recent cases of missing girls within the community. Cass is reluctant to be in the public light, but she knows she must use her knowledge to save lives. She has a difficult time trying to get help from the authorities and media, but eventually, she convinces them and one of the girls' bodies is found. When Cass's name appears in the paper for having helped the media find the missing girl's body, the killer decides he must stop Cass from revealing more. His revenge leads to an exciting showdown.

Unlike many horror, thriller and detective novelists who center the plot around a detective character searching for an unknown killer, Reed eliminates the mystery behind who the murderer is, and instead depicts the killer in alternate chapters. Reed did an exceptional job in his previous novel "IM" of getting into the killer's mind, and by doing so, while the mystery is absent, the excitement and adrenaline flow all the more. In "Deadly Vision" Reed writes in third person, so we do not understand as well what causes the villain, Ian, to act as he does; instead we view the action from the eyes of Ian's girlfriend, Myra. Ian is obviously crazy, talking about how he must sacrifice people to The Beast, yet Reed fully makes the reader understand why Myra remains with Ian for so long, first because he is gorgeous, secondly because he taught her how to lose weight and make herself attractive, and finally out of confused loyalty and eventually fear of Ian. Myra is forced into the role of accomplice to Ian while she continually tries to manipulate him to stop the crimes, and yet helps him out of fear. I personally thought Myra the most developed and interesting character in the novel.

Reed's characters are often homosexual, and in past books his characters' sexual orientation has added to the novels' plots. However, while the back cover includes Lesbian with Fiction/Mystery/Thriller as one of its genres, I didn't see any reason why Cass or Dani, her reporter friend, were depicted as lesbians. It was clear they were going to become a couple, but their sexual orientation was not detailed enough to advance the plot or motivate their actions, unlike the detective in "IM" who is himself homosexual and seeking to save his male lover from a killer bent on murdering gay men.

I would gladly welcome a sequel to "Deadly Vision" where Reed further develops the relationship between Dani and Cass so their sexual orientations are more integrated into the plot. The two women make a great team, and I can definitely see possibilities for further adventures as Cass learns better how to use her psychic abilities. I would also like to know more about what became of Myra. I hope another Rick R. Reed book will soon roll off the presses.

Cass D'Angelo lives a regular life in small town, Ohio, with her seven-year-old son, Max. She works at a popular diner and has little unusual going on in her life except, initially, the lack of a girlfriend. Her whole life changes, however, after being struck on the head during a storm. When she wakes up in the hospital, she discovers that she's acquired psychic powers, specifically the ability to visualize the grisly deaths of local girls who have recently begun disappearing.

The killers are an insane, but handsome, psychopath and his smitten and spectacularly confused girlfriend. We find out very quickly that they worship a devil-like entity, "The Beast," and when they discover that Cass has directed the police to unearth one of their victims, they go after her and her family.

Like Charlaine Harris's Harper Connelly character, Cass D'Angelo is a psychic character who's fascinating to read about. She's thoughtful, smart, and capable. Unlike Harris's character, who travels around to use her gift, Cass is mostly happy and settled in her Ohio home and committed to family, friends, and her community. That makes her deadly visions and horror over the sick murders even more palpable. Everyone is at risk, even her own son.

Reed gives us alternate chapters from the perspective of the twisted killer's girlfriend and of our increasingly-stressed heroine. His secondary characters, particularly Cass's mother and Cass's journalist girlfriend, are lively, interesting, and essential. His use of tone, pacing, and atmosphere is masterful. A natural born storyteller, this author does an excellent job showing Cass's increasing panic in the face of the killers' single-minded murderous intent. With every page, the reader's tension level rises until the wild climax. At times graphic, always descriptive, and endlessly suspenseful, this novel takes you on a rocky ride through horror and anxiety. Will the killers be thwarted? Will Cass live to see another vision? Will she lose the one she loves the most?

Highly recommended for all who enjoy heart-pounding suspense, horror, and good old-fashioned fright within an expertly constructed narrative. ~Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review

Hot on the heels of his enjoyable gay serial killer novel - last year's "IM" - Rick Reed returns with another gripping thriller, "Deadly Vision." Reed is quickly developing his own unique formula that blends suspense, fast-moving narratives, fully-realized gay characters, and a touch of the occult. His seeming bid to become a gay hybrid of James Patterson and Dean Koontz will not be lost on readers with this latest offering.

Cass D'Angelo, single mother to seven-year-old Max, is toiling away as a waitress in a small, depressed river town in Ohio. When Cass goes off after Max when he wanders off one afternoon during a thunderstorm, she runs afoul of a lightning strike and a falling tree limb. She awakens days later in the hospital - relieved to find Max safe - and discovers that the resulting concussion has left her with a newfound psychic ability. Before you can say Psychic Friends Network, Cass receives disturbing images of several local girls gone missing - their grisly fates playing out behind her mind's eye. Fearing more deaths, the reluctant psychic reaches out to the police and to one of the missing girl's parents - all of whom are skeptical. But when the father of a second missing girl begs Cass' help in finding his daughter and her decomposing body is found along the Ohio River banks, Cass finds herself the center of unwanted attention from a pair of devil-worshipping killers desperate to find out how she found their carefully hidden grave. It's here that the story kicks into even higher gear with a kidnapping, a manhunt, and - to a lesser extent - hints of a budding romance with a sympathetic female journalist.

As in "IM," Reed again opts to tell his story through multiple points of view. And, again, it works surprisingly well even when minor characters like Cass' mother get their chance at the storytelling bat. Laying out the actions and motives of your villains for readers is a tricky proposition - give too much and risk predictability at the expense of the suspense. But Reed expertly walks the tightrope between disclosure and omission, crafting passages told from the killers' perspective that are appropriately chilling and give just enough away to readers so that their acquired insight translates into dread when the action switches back to Cass and company. It's foreboding at it s finest with readers left muttering, "If you only knew what I know" at the book itself.

Reed also imbues "Deadly Vision" with a strong sense of setting, creating in Summitville a bleak tableau of working class hardship. One gets a strong sense of inevitability for the fictional denizens of the town, like they surrendered master status of their own destinies somewhere between unplanned pregnancies and factory closings. He nails the idea of familiarity and disconnection as analogous functions of small-town life:

"When Sheryl McKenna's mother opened the door, Cass felt as though she had already seen her. And maybe she had. Summitville was, after all, a small town. She could have passed the tired-looking woman on the street downtown, or served her in the diner. The woman stared at her with bright gray eyes, looking her over as if Cass were something she had discarded in the yard that had managed to make its way back to the porch. Mrs. McKenna was small, with no fat on her bones; she looked almost skeletal. Her skin was weathered, the result of too much sun, too much smoke. Her skin, combined with straw-like bleached blonde hair and hard eyes made her, Cass was sure, look older than her years. She held a cigarette in her hand, and the smell of tobacco smoke came out of the house in a wave when she opened the door."

Unlike "IM," the lesbian romance is relegated to the background here, never even a glimmer of possibility until the third act - and even then it's only alluded to in a near future. This is the novel's only misstep - and a slight one at that - and an area where Reed missed an opportunity for deeper emotional investment in the reporter character of Dani Westwood. The lack of romantic connection to Cass keeps her at arm's length for much of the action, consigning her to stock character status.

The novel's supernatural elements are handled quite well, with Cass' understanding of her precognitive abilities evolving gradually over the course of the book and never coming off as forced or over-the-top. Only toward the end when Cass encounters the spectral vision of one of the victims does one get the sense that they're smack dab in the middle of an episode of "Cold Case" or "The Ghost Whisperer" - and that's either criticism or commendation depending upon your level of tolerance for either of those shows.

The literary equivalent of a hybrid vehicle, "Deadly Vision" powers forward on a combustion of supernatural suspense, murder mystery, and breakneck thriller. With psychics and serial killers rendered with the same deft hand in a propulsive narrative likely to increase respirations, it takes no psychic ability to see that Rick Reed is headed for the top of the suspense class.

Ready for yet another roller coaster ride from one of the most entertaining authors around? BUY THIS BOOK!! It's a heck of a ride.
Enter the world of small town America... a place where life is pretty quiet. Well, usually.

You'll become entrenched in the drama in this well written, taught thriller. At times you'll laugh, cringe, sigh with relief and at times your breath will catch in your throat. Mr. Reed knows just how to grab his audience... where it counts.

If you've never read any of Mr. Reed's books, this is a great one with which to begin. After this page-turner... you'll be wanting more, much more. And he'll never disappoint you. Mr. Reed is one of the best, freshest authors today. You're going to be hooked.

"Deadly Vision" is a great read! Fast paced and full of characters you not only like but actually care about.

Will the killer be stopped in time? ONly one way for you to find out... click on the "Add To Shopping Cart" button now!! Then go and buy his other books. You'll be very glad you did.

This story just keeps getting better and better! What more twists and turns can the author come up with? I'm an adult and I love this Manga. It is a page turner and keeps me on the edge of my seat. What will two Kiras do to ruin the world? Oh my god!

This is an amazing book! And probably even better was the person/company I bought it from. The item arrived fast and on time as promised in great condition.

Light and L off to uni.


The situation gets more complicated as Light is starting university, and at the opening ceremony he is to speak at, he finds he has a co-speaker, who whispers to him that he is actually L!

The cat and mouse game between them continues, and Light's father having a heart attack and the discovery of a new 'Kira' and Death Note do no make anything more straightforward. All the deviousness in this serious can certainly make your head hurt.

This is one of the most original manga ever written. Read other reviewers for great plot summaries. If you are reading these reviews your question must be, "Is this something I want to read?" Death Note, unlike a great deal of manga, you have to read. It has wonderful artwork, some of the best I have ever seen. But, the art does not carry the story, the words carry this story. In volume 1, Light finds the Death Note, and at first it seems like killing all criminals is a good idea. But, by volume 2, you begin to see what the power of the Death Note is doing to Light. Volume 3, introduces a new character to the story that complicates the story line, but in a good way. If this series was a movie it would be considered "film noir". It is dark, with many plot twists, microscopic viewing of the line between good and evil, and how that line can be twisted to suit the person doing the twisting. This manga is a thinking manga. After you finish each volume, you will find yourself thinking about it, worrying over some of the plots like a dog with a bone. think, think, think. Enjoy!

The general summary of the `Death Note' manga: Light Yagami, a High Honors student, still maintains his cool in playing the secretive part of Kira, the murderer who kills inmates with heart attacks. This is all accomplished by the Death Note, a notebook belonging to one of the Shinigami death Gods. The Death Note supplies the rules of how to use it, and Ryuk, the Shinigami owner of the notebook that Light now holds in his possession, has to stick around Light until the Notebook is handed to someone else, destroyed, or Light himself is killed. However, notorious super sleuth known as L is hot on Kira's (Light's) heels in sending the murder to his execution.

In Volume Three, Light manages to get Ryuk to locate the cameras and bugs around his room, planted there by L's authority, in exchange for a place to eat his apples in secret. To fool L into thinking that Light is not Kira, Light pretends to do the things he used to do before the Death Note fell into his life. Light knows that if L is watching him, he cannot screw anything up, and knows that if no murders have been reported while he is being watched, L would know that Light is Kira. To fool the man, Light plants a LCD Television in a bag of chips so all L sees when Light goes into his room is a young man studying hard for his entrance exams while having a snack. L dose not see the section of the Death Note taped into the bag of chips along with the LCD, and that each time Light sticks his hand in the bag, he writes one letter of a suspect's name that he watches while eating chips, then withdraws it. This is one of the many things Light has up his sleeve, but despite this, L is still watching him very closely.

L even comes up to Light in person, proclaiming that he is L after Light graduates from school, moving on to a college. Light, never seeing that L would ever come up to him saying he's L, panics for a while, but then regains his cool and decides that if he was to kill L without anyone suspecting it was him, he would have to be L's closest friend...before he was to finish him off. L himself is wondering whether or not Light is really Kira, but after overstress gives Light's father a heart attack and L sees the corny act that Light gave in his father's presence, L is starting to wonder if Light really isn't Kira. Despite this, he wishes Light work in capturing Kira, even though L still suspects Light to be Kira, if only for a small percentage.

However, when things seem to get worse for L, a second Kira is added into the fold. Now it is a race of time to see whether L or Light will get to the second Kira first to get a fair advantage of the situation. L, to find the whereabouts of the first Kira and to see how he kills his victims; and Light, who would use the second L for his own gain in the execution of L. For the second Kira possesses something only Light knows: the Shinigami Eyes, a deal made by the Shinigami who give humans the power to see the person's name and lifespan by looking at them, though this cuts their own lifespan in half.

This is a really suspenseful volume that really gets you reading. Very recommended.

I never knew quite where Engima was going to take me until I was finished with it. At times I was confused -- hell, most of the time I was confused. I worried that it would become too preachy or philosophical to be enjoyable; I worried it would fall into randomness and end without making sense; I worried it would fall victim to awkward stereotypes. It did none of these things.

Enigma is a fantastic story, dark and twisted. The art reflects this well; it may not be the prettiest thing to look at, but it's fitting enough that it shouldn't be a problem for almost anyone once they get into the story.

The characters begin simply, and through the events of the story grow three-dimensional so that you can't help but care for them. The villains are twisted and fantastic: Envelope Girl especially is a favorite of mine, though she overall isn't entirely important as a character.

Michael is a twenty-something nobody whose life continues every week in such a repetitive way that it could only be called obsessive compulsive; he wears his underwear according to the days of the week and only has sex on Tuesdays. His world is shaken when the first villain appears, and soon he realizes that they're from a three-issue comic he loved as a child. Titus is the creator of the comic, an older, gay man who was too stoned while writing it to make sense of it himself, though he's praised as a prophet by a group of youths called the Enigmatics. And there's the Enigma himself, alternately loved and hated by the populace of the city he more or less protects, and properly enigmatic himself. And the narrator -- an omnipresent voice with an all-encompassing knowledge of the story, full of scorn and contempt for those he tells the story and for the characters within, withholding knowledge and becoming, as he does so, a well-developed character himself.

And the ending -- the ending is perfect. You may be unsure of the story all the way until then, but the ending wraps it all together, fits every piece into place without a space between. Fantastic.

I attempted to read Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo's ENIGMA series back in 1993 and gave up about halfway through it, seeing it as an indulgent mess that would leave me with no explanations as to what was going on. When the trade was released in 1995, I read the whole thing and was annoyed that a story with so many angles would seemingly just boil down to an issue of the main character's sexuality. Forward to 2007: I pick up the trade during a rebirth of my interest in Vertigo books, read it in one day, and am amazed. I finally got it. Yes, ENIGMA does place a heavy emphasis on sexual preference, but it's so much more.

Michael Smith's routine life is shattered by the arrival of the Enigma, a superhero from his childhood. Battling such bizarre foes as the Head, the Truth, Envelope Girl, and the Interior League (my personal favorites, like something from Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol), it is apparent to Michael that the lines between fantasy and reality are blurring, and clues lead him to believe that he is somehow responsible. Michael tracks down the comic's creator, Titus Bird, and the two of them work to reveal the Enigma's identity and how he came to be. In turn, the Enigma helps Michael to discover quite a number of things about himself, but ultimately, this is a story postulating how four-color superheroes could exist in the "real world". Let's face it... if real people had superpowers, they likely wouldn't dress in garish costumes and speak in purple prose, so how could this happen? Your answer is here.

Milligan's story is excellent, now that I finally got my head around it (gee, it only took me 14 years). There's not one boring bit in the entire book, and the narration is excellent, providing just the right amount of "gotcha" at the conclusion. Fegredo's art is spectacular, as always, with every person and object carefully rendered. A perfect team for a perfect book!

I'm an avid reader of both comics and novels, and must say this is definitely one of, if not The best, graphic novels I've read thus far. Although the artwork is a bit scratchy, it quickly fits in with the mood of the story and even adds to the effect. The story itself deals with many interesting psychological and personal topics including homosexuality, responsibility, disillusionment, and the frailty of the human mind. The characters each have their own quirky, unusual backgrounds that will stimulate your brain cells and draw you into the tale, such as the average joe who was tranformed into a mind-devouring monster after a short chat with a dead lizard. And as you can probably tell by now, this book does have its quirks, so be prepared for a truly unique read.

My problem with this comic is that I really could never like this iper realistic drawing style which boast every single line fo people faces so that even those supposed to be very good looking (Enigma himself and the model Victoria Yes) look deformed.
It was a deliberate choice of course, I simply do not share it.

This booklet is self contained and tells us the story of an average straight boy leading a very average life meeting the -male- hero from the comics he used to read as a child.
The idea fo a comic about a comic is not bad and brings forth some fairly interesting issues: identity, sexual identity, children mistreatment, etc.
I was not overwhelmed by enthusiasm but other people might be.

A lot of gore and some topics (nudity and mild gay sex among them) make this booklet unsuitable for minors.

Brilliant comic with a great twist at the end. Very underated from Vertigo's early days. Offbeat characters like Envelope Girl and Titus Bird bring this book to life paying homage to 70's whacked out comics world. Enjoy! and then what?

This book is a fantastic read, I recommend it to anyone over 12. The heartwrenching tale of betrayal and sadness will surely move you. If you read this book I guarantee you will want more. Who could stop at one Virginia Andrews book? I think this is the best volume in the series. The characters are true to life, the plot is intense and realistic. This novel is a must for the personal library of any avid drama reader. The reason I gave it only 4 stars is because, although it's a great story, I think it's really too dark and sad for regular reading. I have a copy and I have read it twice since I got it, which was about three years ago. I don't think it's the type of book you can read over and over again without depressing the hell out of yourself. Still, read it, even if you only read it once.

I COULD'NT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN FOR TOO LONG .THE CHARACTERS WERE ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT FOR WEEKS AFTER I FINISHED READING THE BOOK. HOW COULD A FAMILY EXPERIENCE SO MUCH LOVE, HATE, GREED AND BETRAYAL?THE WAY THEY DO WILL AMAZE YOU. I CAN'T WAIT TO READ THE REST OF VIRGINIA'S BOOK, AS SOON AS I CAN GET MY HANDS ON THEM.

A story of a widowed mother of 4 young children who takes her family to her own very wealthy mothers house to live until she can get a job and support herself and children. A number of years before, she fell in love with her cousin and her father said that if they were to ever get married he'd write her off of his will, and if they were to bare children, he would never ever forgive her. She did marry him, and she was written out of his will. However he did not discover that they had children, but the evil and cruel mother did. So, the children live upstairs in the attic, where their grandmother brings them food everyday, until hopefully their mother can be forgiven by her father, and be written back onto the will. However, the few days that are supposed to be taken to get written back on the will, turn into years and the children are eventually forgotten. They escape after 4 years of being locked up.

Reading novels have never been my passion,but after a friend told me the story behind this book, i couldn't hesitate but got a copy for myself.I couldn't put it down until i was done with it,which ofcourse took me the whole day.This novel is so touching and so real.I had to buy the other series that follows,only to miss Petals in the wind which i am still hunting for right now.I really recommend it for anyone.Varginia Andrews,yr books are my favorite,i really love yr writing style.

LO mejor que he leido.Triste ver como una madre deja de amar a sus hijos para amar el dinero.Mentir para lograr ser dueña de la herencia de su padre a tal extremo de abandonar sus hijos a la obscuridad del atico.Robarle años de vida a sus hijos para lograr riquezas.Sumamente interesante no podria soltar el libro y estoy loca por saber como sus hijos logran vengarse despues de haber escapado las garras de su madre y abuela.No duele tanto el maltrato fisico como el maltrato mental que sufrian estos 4 hermanos.No puede dejar de leerlo,lo mejor de lo mejor.

Although a lot of people seemed to think this book was well written and went into depth about how life would almost BE like if living (sort of) zombie adolescents romed our streets, I just didn't get into it.

It seemed to me almost a bad imitation of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" which I am a big fan of. The impecable white skin, eyes a different colour and the obvious none beating heart were just some indications of how it was related not, on the other hand, including the forbidden love.

I still haven't finished my book, and I just feel like putting it down and reading "Twilight" again.

I enjoyed this book quit a lot! its just something i wouldn't read vampire, werewolf yes zombies heck no! but Daniel waters takes you to a different perspective on zombies! Its great i hope theirs more to come. And if you want to read something different get this book!!! Oh and btw the characters are great!

Everyone else who's reviewed this so far has mentioned plenty of the good things about this book, and the other reviewers have also done a great job explaining what it's about. I agree with most of them that it was a fun read, but there were too many things about this book that bothered me for me to say I liked it. I give this book a middle-of-the-road rating, and I'll explain what my fundamental problems with the book are, though I should say for the record that such things will not ruin the book for everyone--just did for me. But first. . . .

I'm the first person to rate this book at less than a perfect five stars, so I realize I am just asking to get kicked in the face by fans who like to abuse ratings buttons. This review is CONSTRUCTIVE. Reviews are supposed to be honest and well-constructed, and this review contains my reasons for not liking the book very much. It's not hateful or full of bashing, so I respectfully ask readers to withhold THEIR hate and bashing and remember that your votes are supposed to be for "helpful" and "not helpful," not for whether you agree with my assessment. I venture to say I am writing helpful things here. Now, on with my comments.

My biggest problem with this book is that the concept is a neat idea but wasn't all that well carried out. It seemed almost like the author wanted to write about the social aspects of how dead people returning to life would affect society, but skipped the gritty details of what WOULD actually happen in between, moving right on to the fun part where dead kids are in your school. Consider this:

Less than three years had passed since the phenomenon began and yet there was already this push to fight for zombies' equality as citizens. Before scientists knew what made this happen. Before they could tell if zombies were in fact unstable, dangerous, diseased, whatever. The way this book is structured, it seemed like the author thought it really was feasible that the scientific community would collectively shrug and let these kids go about their afterlives.

I'm not saying I can't suspend disbelief about zombies in the first place, because that's the fun of it--it's just that since the book was written in a non-humorous, otherwise *realistic* fashion, it seems to be trying to frame how society really would react to dead people joining "our" ranks, and yet it misses some of the basic fibers of human nature.

For an example, let's look at America's embarrassing history when it came to equal rights for blacks. When black and white schools were getting integrated, so many white people were furious that their kids had to go to school with blacks that they withdrew their children, and the black kids had to be escorted to school and protected by policemen, frequently holding back crowds of whites who yelled and threw things. And this is how they acted when the kids were actually protected by the law! Zombies, in this book, have no rights. They would fare far worse. Even in this supposedly enlightened era. Dead coming back to life is a LOT more of a fundamental change than learning next to someone with a different skin color. There would be upheavals on scales that are nearly inconceivable. But here are these kids facing some prejudice and physical danger but going largely unmolested to school shortly after waking up dead.

And . . . how are they in school, exactly? They're not citizens. It's said they can't get driver's licenses or vote. But I suppose somehow they're able to be enrolled in school? No law can be requiring them to go (so one wonders why some of them are even there if they don't "have" to go), but even if they wanted to . . . would they really be allowed? I know visitors who aren't students sure had to jump through hoops to even be allowed inside the schools I worked at in college. Laws don't acknowledge these poor dead kids, so I find it hard to figure out why for no reason whatsoever some laws do seem to apply to them and some don't, depending on if it's convenient for the story's situation.

It's stuff like this that made the world "feel" wrong to me. I did like the slice of life the author chose to portray. Phoebe and Adam's relationship was VERY well-done--their adolescent confusion was believable, and most of the character interaction was convincing; I think character-building is this author's strong point. Another good example was that prejudice existed on both sides; there were some zombies who didn't trust the "traditionally biotic" and treated them badly, so it was refreshing to see zombies were not just a bunch of sad, maligned, defenseless creatures who never did any hating of their own. But I was pretty disappointed in the worldbuilding.

It would be obnoxious of me to demand that every question be answered, but it wasn't so much that the questions weren't answered that bothered me; what bothered me most is that there were several aspects of the story that made it seem impossible or improbable (even while suspending disbelief for kids coming back to life, of course), and no attempts were made to address these. Sorta like the author wanted to skip over some of the realistic ramifications of undead teens and skip right to the part where dead kids are an oppressed minority whose rights are only recognized by PC progressive types (three years after they started existing in the first place), complete with cheesy slogans on tee shirts.

Stuff I'm not sure the author thought of:

Zombies are repeatedly said not to breathe. How are they talking? I'm cool with it if there is a good explanation--like that they *can* breathe but don't need to to "live," or they're talking some different way. But nobody ever tells you.

Why would their eyes and skin lose pigment within a few minutes or hours of being dead? That doesn't happen to people who actually die. They don't suddenly become pale and lose their eye color. So why does it happen to zombies? I'm not saying it can't happen in the story, just that I would like some understanding of why besides "it just does, because that's what zombies look like."

Why do their hair and nails grow? They don't actually grow after death. That's a myth.

I guess my bottom line here is to say that I would see the events in Generation Dead happening more realistically in *micro* if some of the *macro* issues had been thought through a little better. They wouldn't have had to be focused on--just either addressed peripherally or insinuated to have been. The author pointed out several times that the scientists don't have any clue what allows zombies to "live" and why zombiism only occurs in American (or Canadian!) teens--but saying no one knows how it works doesn't do it for me. The ramifications of the laws of physics and biology being violated in an otherwise rational world is not examined at all. Scientists would freak. Society would freak. And not calm down for a very long time. If they don't find the answer, you've got to show what happens when they don't find the answer.

And if, somehow, the zombie phenomenon did NOT cause a widespread panic, and eventually things settled down to the point that they could begin to pursue their rights and enroll at your school, I think it would only be after there were a lot more answers. Look at how schools and society handled the concept of living with students who had AIDS when it was first showing up. The reaction was something like "OMG what are the rules, can I get it from touching him, what if he bleeds on me, isn't AIDS a GAY DISEASE, hey wait you want MY KID to go to school with THAT?" Now try multiplying the height of THAT by fifteen or so and you'll have the attitudes and reactions that'd be caused by walking, talking dead people. I don't demand that the zombie thing make scientific sense or anything; I just ask that the world depicted in a book is internally consistent, and I ultimately could not reconcile the concept with the reaction in this book.

Just one more note: The book had a higher than average language glitch score (which isn't good). Editors and fact-checkers, please put on your glasses for the next edition. I caught "peoples'" instead of "people's," a possessive used incorrectly with respect to someone's house, "Badger's" instead of "Badgers," "fifteen minute" instead of "fifteen minutes," and "sight" instead of "site," and the first time I saw the word "retina" used when the author meant "iris" it startled me. Then he did it again later, which means I guess he thinks the colored part of the eye is called the retina. Retinas are on the inside of eyeballs. Really weirded me out when I thought we were seeing a zombie's retina, until I realized it was just a mistake.

Most people who don't overthink everything and aren't as picky as I am will probably still enjoy this story, so read the other reviews and decide for yourself. Like I said, it's entertaining in micro and the characters are well-written while the concept is entertaining. I just think it could have been thought through a little better, and I have a sneaking suspicion that part of the reason an unrealistically short amount of time was allowed to go by was so we could still get these zombies into the schools when they weren't too much older than when they died. Since reality is skewed to make the premise work, I lost respect for it early on and that upset my ability to enjoy the book.

I picked up the book due to the cover alone, without previously knowing of its existence. Once started, I couldn't put it down, and it's not the sort of book I'd normally read. It provoked some interesting ideas and the ending was startlingly bittersweet. The blog that you can actually visit online is a great touch as well.
I look forward to more from this author.

The popularity of zombies is on the rise. In fact, the fans of the walking dead may be soon encroaching on the number one spot held by vampires. I don't know why this is happening, it's as mysterious as the reasons for the zombies climbing from their graves to start searching for a brain buffet in all the movies (and yeah, yeah, I get that some kind of gas was released in the Living Dead movies and in Raccoon City, but come on. Really?).

Zombies moved back into horror fiction with a much more sure step than they've had in a long time. But now they're launching into teen romance fiction. In a way. GENERATION DEAD by Daniel Waters is a mixed bag, and I'm going to be all over the place while describing my reading experience for you. It just refuses to lie down and die to be reborn into a familiar zombie novel of movie tradition.

The cover of the dead cheerleader with blackened eyes seized me at once. I mean, once you get that image in your head, it's not going to easily go away. Neither will the romantic triangle between Phoebe, Adam, and Tommy, the "differently biotic" boy Phoebe falls for.

Phoebe was one of the Goth girls at school. She enjoyed being different, and the dressed-in-black thing really worked for her. Looking like the living dead really worked for her. It even earned her the name Scarypants from Pete, the novel's villain of sorts. Of course, the look really lost its appeal when dead kids started showing up and coming back to school. The author does an excellent job of catching a teen girl's feelings and confusion throughout the novel. Phoebe comes to life on the pages almost at once.

Adam is the football jock and Phoebe's next door friend. As it happens, he's just discovering that the friendship he's always had with Phoebe runs much deeper. That realization is stymied by his own shyness, the fact that he is a member of the Pain Crew on the football team and he shouldn't go for Goth girls, and Phoebe's sudden crush on Tommy Williams.

Tommy is a pioneering wonder among the zombies. He's articulate and he writes, blogs even. He also goes out for the football team and causes all kinds of tension in the school and the city.

The story revolves around these three characters and how they sort out their lives. However, the author throws in great support characters like Margi, Phoebe's best friend, and others.

Teens these days seem to be almost shockproof to so many changes in their lives. If the living dead did claw their way from their graves and decide to go to school instead of the brain buffet, I would be very surprised if teens didn't act exactly as Waters portrays them in this novel. They split almost immediately into groups that supported the zombies and those that stood against. But mostly they were curious.

I could make a lot of comparisons to cultural differences being played out in the pages, of Waters building his zombies up to comment on race, religion, and economics - the usual dividers among populations, but I won't. I don't think he wants the book to go that deeply into global problems. I believe he just wants to talk about the teen world, get into their heads, and tell a story they'll have a ball with wondering "what-if"?

I also have to admit that you're going to have to push yourself to get through the first fifty pages or so. The book progresses slowly but that's so the characters and all their complications can be set into place. Once that's done, Waters engages fully with the story and keeps things moving.

This is a book for the teens. Some parents of teens or those who want a trip back through the teenage years will enjoy it as well, but the junior high and high school readers should eat this one up. There's no real explanation for why the zombies came back to life, or why only American teens were affected, and I was disappointed slightly in that. But the characters are real, facing situations with genuine emotion, and I believe that the target audience is going to feel that and enjoy the read.

My cousin loaned me this book when I was very young; however, I was unable to finish it before she needed it back. Finally, fourteen years later, I reread it. I am already a huge fan of Richard Peck and very familiar with the stories of the marvelous Blossom Culp--this book was just more proof how amazing an author Richard Peck is.

The setting is 1913, a small little town with not much going for it. Until one day, Alexander sees a ghost in his barn.

What follows is a delicious blend of a spooky story, a tale of small town life, and a comedy of epic proportions. Richard Peck is true to the classic ghost story feel, but his love for small town life is apparent.

The book is smartly written to portray the mind of a 13-year old boy, and the most minor of characters are made fascinating and quirky. Neither does Richard Peck play this book safe--it has its share of hells and damns and gruesome little details. Then again, it's all part of the charm.

Great Halloween book.

I'm 37 yrs old and just recently rediscoverd this book at a used book store...I first read it when I was 12 and the movie too....The Child of Glass from Disney. I have to say it's one of the best from my childhood and enjoyed reading it again as a grown woman. I recommend it to all ages.

If you are, this book is one of your best guides. I loved this story as a child, particularly as I was a child who saw spirits. As an adult who works with spirits and those in form, I recommend this book to my clients who see spirits and want to learn how to respond to them compassionately. It is indeed a children's book with lessons from which everyone can learn.

I really enjoyed this book, it's really a four and a half stars. I had read some of the other Blossom Culp books first, and enjoyed having Alexander as the narrator, although I think I prefer Blossom. I loved the setting. This was a funny, exiting, and somwhat spooky book. I recommend it to pratically anyone.

Blossom Culpýs mother was born with a caul over her face, meaning she has the second sight. She sees a pink halo over Alexander Armsworthýs barn and confides in her daughter that Alexander has the ability to help the spirit trapped there.

Blossom was known was making up stories, still out of curiosity, Alexander explores the barn and finds a hurt little dog. That night he sees candlelight in the barn. The dog turns up missing the next day. Convinced that Blossom is playing a trick on him, he drags the frightened protesting young girl up to the loft with him and sees the first signs of the ghost wet footprints.

Inez Dumaineýs wealthy New Orleans family put her on a steamboat and sent her north on the eve of the Civil War. The steamboat had an accident and Inez drown. Afterward, her body was robbed of her familyýs wealth, which had been sewn into her dress. Her fervent wish is to be buried properly with her family.

Peckýs characters are vivid, the kind the reader cares about from the first chapter onward. His combination of humor and suspense really propel the story forward. An excellent story!

I too read this as a young child - maybe 8 or so. We've just moved into a new home and I KNOW I have this book in one of our boxes, but I haven't found it yet. My son, age 9, was asking me for a really spooky book to read - he thinks Goosebumps books are highly overrated. The first thing I thought of was, "It's time. It's time to get out The Ghost Next Door."

I remember this book as very clever and spooky - and also quite melancholy. Wonderful, magical writing - perfect for the child who wants a more frightful tale - without adding gore to the mix.

This story is great - but it is so hard to find now.

this is one of those books I found while searching for something different at the library. It was a page turner in my youth and an old favorite now. This is definitely a great read for young readers looking for intrigue and mystery. I can still picture images from the book and the movie. It's definitely on my children's list of books to read when they get older.

I think I was 12 when I first read this book and I have never forgotten it. I tried to find it for years and I was so happy when I finally found a copy online! The cover was different from the one I remember as a kid (it was a ghostly image of Miranda's face dominating the oover). The book I received shows the haunting Miranda in a white dress. Wonderful cover just the same. Like the two heroines in the book I too could also not wait to find out how the green owl got 'love in it's eyes'.

Simply enchanting. :)

I adored this book when I was in my pre-teens. I still have my old paperback copy - it's very battered from being read so many times! This is a wonderful and scary ghost story with lots of unique and spooky details. It would be great to see it back in publication today. The setting of the book feels removed from the "real world" and timeless, so there is very little that would date it - just a few things like the girls playing records. If you like this kind of book or have kids who like spooky books (and you want to introduce them to something much better than the "Goosebumps" variety) pick up a second-hand copy of this book and enjoy!

Ok, I will be honest, I don't remember a lot about this book. I am 32 now and read this book around 6th grade, (I remember our house then).

ALL I REMEMBER about the book was it was spooky which I loved, the girl's name was Miranda, which I also loved, and there was an OWL WITH LOVE IN ITS EYES. :) I also remember something about them finding notes. I remember when I finished the book, I actually wrote some sort of note and stuck it deep inside my mother's antique chest of drawers hoping someone would find it one day and know a little bit about me. ha ha! Now if I could find THAT!

I had been reminiscing about books I remember as a child and just looked at the "Sweet Pickles" series of books, which I loved. Then I remembered and searched for "The House with a Clock in its Walls," (found it because the subject was the title), which my 2nd or 3rd grade teacher read aloud to us. Then I vaguely remembered this one, but had no idea of the title. I even mentioned it to the librarian last time I was at the library in hopes she would be familiar with it. I did a search and this site came up: http://www.loganberrybooks.com/solved-g.html
What a treat to find one of the books I enjoyed so much 20 years ago! I can't wait to order this and other books that I read back then.

You owe it to the young reader in your life (or in your heart!) to give this one a try. From the site I found it on, it was well remembered by lots of readers!!

By far the best one yet.
All of what you have come to love is back.
The wit,humor,horror,romance and detaled plot.
If you read the previous two then you are in for a real treat.
There are some major additions to the cast of characters including a baby on the way, a bat demon and one of the characters now had two heads.
With each book the characters get better and better,the plots get richer and they leave you wanting more.

Fun sprawling book. I did find it a bit hard to follow because it had been so long since I had read the previous books.

William Simmons first book in this series was a very successful parody of the vampire genre. Christopher Csejthe, reeling from the loss of his wife and child winds up in the clutches of a well-meaning vampire with the end result that he is half way to being a vampire himself - a vampire notwannabe if you will. In the ensuing stories Chris gets infected by a werewolf bite (making him a dhampyre notwannabe). When he manages to do away with Erzebet Bathory, the master of New York, Chris has only one choice - to take over the rule of the city before someone kills him for it. Ever hapless, he decides he knows better and, to put it plainly, runs away to Louisiana.

As you can probably predict, living a creaky old house by a zombie filled graveyard with your werewolf girlfriend and a drop dead gorgeous recovering vampire is not conducive to long-term peace. In no time at all Csejthe is receiving living body parts in the mail and unexpected visits by giant cyborgs intent on remodeling the neighborhood. Bad things happen to good people and Chris is off to New York to face the responsibilities he has been hiding from. But vampire politics aside Chris also discovers that a group of revenant Nazi's are determined to use his blood in their quest for eternal life. Enter Dr. Mengele and the valkyries.

I'm going to get beaten up for this but I found Simmons writing more irritating than funny this time around. I don't want you to get the impression that I like being sarcastically critical. I would much rather get sucked into a great book and write gushingly enthusiastic reviews. But what was a good thing in a thin volume wears less well when the author remains determined to write exactly one kind of book time after time. The books, of course, getting heavier and more expensive. Writing and characters have to develop and Habeas Corpses only offers iteration. Chris Csejthe causes 90% of his problems and I find main characters who cannot manage their own lives are a drag.

In addition, it quickly becomes clear that the puns and in-jokes were written first and the plot is really an effort to set them up. Be aware that you need to be over 50 or a horror film geek or you will miss much of the book's humor. Also be prepared for a lot of stereotype jokes. This works in moderation in a book that is genuinely funny on its own, but when it is pasted on over a plot that doesn't always flow the laughs begin to taper off. I'm not sure if this book will make it to paperback, but I'd wait for it to get there before buying it.

Chris Csejthe is caught between a rock and a hard place. He is the Doman of the New York demesne, but he prefers to leave running the day-to-day business to his seneschal Kurt while he lives in Louisiana and tries to survive the repeated assassination attempts - one of which included silver bullets, making his blood toxic to both his girlfriend Lupe and to any vampires who may try to drink it. Also, he has started to receive strange "gifts" from a man calling himself Dr. Pipt - including a still-beating heart, kidneys, etc.

Eventually he has no choice but to go to New York and try to straighten out the mess there and stop all the assassination attempts. While there, another assassination attempt comes way too close to succeeding, knocking him out of his body and on a really strange journey among the dead before finally facing up to Dr. Pipt - who began his strange trials in reaching immortality in Nazi Germany - and who now believes he only needs Chris' blood to achieve it.

Simmons likes to play with language and his characters have a ball with puns and pop culture references. There is one instance where Lupe and Deidre get into an argument about which is tougher - Buffy or Anita Blake. These sorts of things are what make the Halflife Chronicles such fun books. Although they are frequently dark and Csejthe is prone to bouts of despair overall the books manage to maintain a darkly funny tone. I would definitely recommend this book - and the rest of the series - to anyone who enjoys a well-written magical reality novel, paranormal thriller, etc. Honestly, I'm not certain exactly how to quantify these books - but they are VERY good. Get out there and buy them!

Chris Csejthe just can't get a break. Trying to live in a quiet southern town and the assassins just keep on coming. Taking over the NY clan and then getting shot. The book is a great read, very dark humor that is over the heads of some of the undead. Buffy and Anita Blake jokes are priceless.
The history review of gods and goddess' from all religions is wonderous to read. Mark really does his homework when writing.

For years Zac has visited the Other Place, visiting medieval fortresses, Avalon, Sherwood Forrest and anywhere else his imagination takes him. Normally he snaps right out of what he calls "Hamlet Dreams" when he hears the sound of an alarm, an ambulance passing, or when he feels a light touch. Since he started dating Cecile, Zac has not visited the Other Place as frequently. When he does visit, Zac finds it increasingly difficult to rouse from the dreams; it is as if something holds him there.

For six months Zac and Cecile have dated. While they have come close to consummating their relationship, Cecile always withdraws before they can. Nightmares of a vicious attack prevent Cecile from relaxing enough to make love with Zac, regardless of how tenderly he holds her. Her roommate suggests their mutual virginity may be part of the problem, but Cecile does not agree. Moreover, someone knows of their difficulties, turning their challenges into an opportunity to release evil into the world.

On the first day of a new semester of teaching, Cecile discovers a mysterious note that states: "I have not forgotten you." She reads a hint of hidden menace into the words, fearful her stepfather has returned to stalk her in retribution for his jailing. Eventually, she discovers Zac slumbering so deeply that she cannot wake him; summoning aid, she helps to hospitalize him. But the doctors are baffled and eventually label Zac's case psychiatric. Cecile does not suspect that the force holding Zac captive is not of this world and brings incredible danger to them both.

Author Jennifer Barlow creates a surreal landscape of deceptive danger and lurking menace in HAMLET DREAMS. Both Zac and Cecile love each other deeply but are young and naïve, making them easy to prey to the malevolent forces that seek to manipulate them with their own fears. As Zac travels the labyrinth of his own psyche, he must confront the dark fantasies and hidden desires that even he has never acknowledged. Traversing a landscape constructed of fear and impossibility, Barlow leads the reader through a stunning tale of delicious malevolence and dangerous desire. No reader will want to miss this unusual and compelling novel. HAMLET DREAMS earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.

An excellent book for anyone willing to look at the darksides of ourselves we don't like to admit to.

Have you ever been afraid of your own depths, of your past, of what you might be capable of in extremis? So are Barlow's characters. What a harrowing motif, to be almost as afraid of yourself as you are of the bad guys... I love books that don't readily fit into well defined classifications, and this psychologically sophisticated page-turner gracefully walks the line between dark fantasy and fantasy. An original concept, lucid prose, great pacing, a fine stylist. I hope to read more from Barlow soon.

In North Carolina, Zac knows he is the poster boy for the stereotypical boring nerd. However, when he dreams of "The Other Place", he fantasizes that he is Hamlet, frequent visitant to Avalon, Lilliput, and Sherwood Forest among other locales. In his reverie realm, Zac as Hamlet is the master of all he perceives.

Recently Zac has changed since he fell in love with Cecile. He no longer seeks escape from the mundane or the ugly. He no longer needs The Other Place as Cecile now provides him with solace. However, Carcajou, the real ruler of The Other Place, refuses to free Zac and even tries to come to North Caroline through his host's dreams. Carcajou even forces Zac into sleep whenever he desires to do so. Zac, as he has recently done many times before, turns to his beloved Cecile for help, but though she loves him, she has her own demons to contend with.

HAMLET'S DREAMS is an exciting tale that can be interpreted on two distinct levels as either a taut fantasy thriller or a deep psychological drama. Either way, the impressive vividly written story line takes the reader on a journey to another plane controlled by an outside force or perhaps the realm of the hero's subconscious controlled by his mind. The lead couple is weak individuals unable to stand up for their values including their love yet battle they must. Zac and Cecile's lack of courage even when danger confronts them as both need encouraging external catalysts to act. This adds depth to a scary surrealistic story line that leaves readers metaphysically pondering whether the demon is inside or outside man?

Harriet Klausner

For years Zac has visited the Other Place, visiting medieval fortresses, Avalon, Sherwood Forrest and anywhere else his imagination takes him. Normally he snaps right out of what he calls "Hamlet Dreams" when he hears the sound of an alarm, an ambulance passing, or when he feels a light touch. Since he started dating Cecile, Zac has not visited the Other Place as frequently. When he does visit, Zac finds it increasingly difficult to rouse from the dreams; it is as if something holds him there.

For six months Zac and Cecile have dated. While they have come close to consummating their relationship, Cecile always withdraws before they can. Nightmares of a vicious attack prevent Cecile from relaxing enough to make love with Zac, regardless of how tenderly he holds her. Her roommate suggests their mutual virginity may be part of the problem, but Cecile does not agree. Moreover, someone knows of their difficulties, turning their challenges into an opportunity to release evil into the world.

On the first day of a new semester of teaching, Cecile discovers a mysterious note that states: "I have not forgotten you." She reads a hint of hidden menace into the words, fearful her stepfather has returned to stalk her in retribution for his jailing. Eventually, she discovers Zac slumbering so deeply that she cannot wake him; summoning aid, she helps to hospitalize him. But the doctors are baffled and eventually label Zac's case psychiatric. Cecile does not suspect that the force holding Zac captive is not of this world and brings incredible danger to them both.

Author Jennifer Barlow creates a surreal landscape of deceptive danger and lurking menace in HAMLET DREAMS. Both Zac and Cecile love each other deeply but are young and naïve, making them easy to prey to the malevolent forces that seek to manipulate them with their own fears. As Zac travels the labyrinth of his own psyche, he must confront the dark fantasies and hidden desires that even he has never acknowledged. Traversing a landscape constructed of fear and impossibility, Barlow leads the reader through a stunning tale of delicious malevolence and dangerous desire. No reader will want to miss this unusual and compelling novel. HAMLET DREAMS earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.