Horror Books

I first decided to read this book after reading J.R. Salamanca's masterpiece 'Southern Light' - which is one of the best books that I ever read.
The writing and grammar in 'Lilith' is almost too good; I'm that most English Teachers would agree that it is well written; however, the plot left me yawning. I lost interested half way through the book. I thought at least that it would give me an insight into a similar tale ('I Never Promised You A Rose Garden' true life story of Joanne Greenberg) or slowly take me down the path of mysterious madness a la H.P. Lovecraft, but alas, I lost patience with it. But, I guess it might be a bit unfair to compare 'Lilith' to 'Southern Light' after all, they were written almost thirty years apart.

If Goethe had written *Faust* in prose in the 20th century, it might have been something like Salamanca's *Lilith*. You don't want to carelessly compare an author with Goethe any more than you want to carelessly compare a physicist with Einstein, but Salamanca's *Lilith* makes you feel that you are reading a 381 page poem on the search for knowledge, the longing for love, and the relief of despair. Waiting for my copy of the book to arrive, I thought the reviewer who owned five copies had maybe gone a bit far, but now that I have read the book and am waiting for my second copy to arrive, I am wondering whether two copies are enough. :-) The only authors who have possibly touched me more are Goethe and Bertrand Russell, but I cannot understand why this author was ever out of print, or by what strange fare it was that he never got the nod for the Nobel Prize for literature.

I have one minor complaint with this novel, and it centers around the somewhat misleading cover of the book, which describes the story as "one woman's electrifying obsession." There certainly is an obsession in this book, but that belongs to the narrator, Vincent Bruce, not to Lilith, as the cover would have you believe. After finishing the novel, I blacked out the "wo" which just left "man's obsession," which seemed to me to be a more accurate description of the story within.

Vincent, the main character, uses the telling of his story as a way to absolve and purge himself of his experiences with Lilith, a patient he cares for at the mental center where he works. He not only falls in love, but becomes "obsessed" with her. The second half of this novel mostly centers on his attraction to her, and how he compromises his duties as Lilith's caretaker with his feelings of love for her, a woman she herself describes as "mad."

I don't want to give away too much of the story, but the prose in which it is told is both excellent and sensitive. I can't tell you how this book got under my skin! This novel succeeds in disturbing the reader, such is the brilliance of the text. It is seldom that a book really affects me as this one did. Salamanca portrays the story as if it really happened, as if it is a work of truth rather than fiction.

It's a sad story, but one conveyed through beautiful language. Indeed, there were many passages where I felt like crying while reading them. As much as a reader can, you care for Vincent, and you care about what happens to him, and worry (as he does) about his ultimate destiny. He's a directionless figure, who just wants to succeed at something, and make a good life for himself filled with meaning, as his absent mother wished him to do.

I urge you to read this book. And I ask, as another reviewer here does, "Why is this book neglected?" Perhaps you will read it and ask yourself the same question.

"Lilith"

Simply put, this is one of the finest novels I have ever read and I have wondered, as have others before me, why this book is not recognized as superlative, right up there with any other novel (by any novelist) that one cares to name.

I first read it is a teenager in the 1960's. It has stayed with me ever since and from time to time I come back to it. As an artist I've drawn much inspiration from this work. It is at once disheartening and yet uplifting, full of dark underpinnings and at the same time it is full of light, exhausting and inspirational. It also stands as functional poetry.

I once had a chance to see the movie but declined. I could see no point to trying to capture such perfection of prose and such insight to emotion via the medium of film. The book is one of those rare works where, indeed, the words are worth more than pictures.

It was out of print for a while and during that time I scrounged around used book stores and at garage sales, and periodically I would find a copy. These I presented to several friends over the years. I have been thanked repeatedly ever since by those who received the book and, to the very person, each claims it to be indispensable.

Spread the word. Then or now, this work deserves far more recognition than it receives.

My (lengthy) title says it all. Yes, I love this book. Yes, I think everyone should read this book. Yes, I think many people will love this book. Everything the other reviewers have said about it (to date, at least) is true.

But. (You knew a but was coming.) But *Lilith* is Salamanca's second novel. It was originally published in 1961. It partakes of a tradition which Anne Williams, in her really excellent study *Art of Darkness*, has called Male Gothic. The woman, Lilith, is beautiful, desirable, clever, all in a rather unearthly way, and the author clearly loves her; but the *narrator*, who's rather a different being, is destroyed by her. That is, like her namesake, she's sublime in proportion to the degree to which she is also diabolical. Masculine principle destroyed by contact with diabolical femininity, which is associated with landscape, language, beauty: that's Male Gothic, and that's also the pattern of this book. Those evil/desirable women do in those hapless men again.

Let me hasten to remind you that a) I still love the book, in part because the AUTHOR is kinder to Lilith than the NARRATOR can be, and b) that this book was published 30 years ago. Do I blame the author for following a pattern which isn't very kind to the idea of womanhood? No, positively not. And one very good reason not to, if you need one, is because, yes, he got better. In his later works, the women become more earthly, less diabolical, more human, less like muses. In a way that only good authors do, Salamanca has deconstructed his own patterns and called them into question.

Critics, by and large, loved *Lilith* where they scourged *Southern Light* and the recent *That Summer's Trance.* Admittedly *Lilith* is easier reading, and perhaps a better book for those who don't know Salamanca's work to begin on. (Among other qualities, *Lilith* is much shorter.) But I wonder too whether those critics weren't more comfortable with demonized women than with more complicated ones, and whether the devastation that ended *Lilith* didn't strike them as a more suitable punishment for abandon than the very different situation which ended *Southern Light.* In *Southern Light* the author declines to destroy those who have worked horrors; he even allows them (dare we say it) to be redeemed. In *That Summer's Trance*, devastation once again ends the book, but not as punishment for abandon, but for (sorry) abandoning abandon, for selling out. Now let's take a wild guess here: why, do you suppose, might readers in a consumer society prefer to be told that abandon, rapture and passion end in destruction than to be told that selling out ends in destruction? Any thoughts?

I'm sure you all know the answer to that as well as I do. So that's my final word: by all means buy *Lilith*, read *Lilith*, love Lilith. But if you do love it, be brave: have a try at the newer, longer, scarier books too, the ones whose message, despite the changed medium, is really much more radical.

This book is amazing. It has helped me realize what this world would be like without the catholic church, the inherent dangers of secularism, and the path to rectify the evil of modernism. By doing this, it has helped bring me back to the catholic church. This author is on par with Aldous Huxley and George Orwell in both his ability to visualize alternate worlds with precise understanding and his ability to write in a eloquent yet succinct manner. It is a short book and I highly recommend it.

R.H. Benson wrote two mystical visions of the future. _The Dawn of All_ is an extremely romantic and improbable 1911 parable of a 1971 world mostly Catholic and at peace, ready for the Second Coming. _The Lord of the World_ came first, in 1907, and was a darker vision. A world of flying craft, major scientific advances, and comfort has become a place of materialist despair. Euthanasia is routine, for the desperately ill and the terminally bored. Oliver and Mabel Brand, a rising young couple, are the golden ones -- Oliver becomes a major political figure, but Mabel chooses the cool despairing end of legal euthanasia. Father Percy Franklin is one of the last Catholic priests in a world hostile to freedom, church, university, and history. Eventually elected the last Pope, he is restricted to the dusty forgotten village of Nazareth. Julian Felsenburgh is a charismatic American adventurer who means to and does become Lord of the World, anti-Christ. Details are less important than the very modern mood. Believing in progress as the only good, people are swept into any movement that promises it. The past is ruthlessly exterminated. The quest for one world government that begins with Esperanto ends with one world dictatorship.

Robert Hugh Benson grew up at the end of the nineteenth century, when it looked like Socialism would sweep over the world and make religious worship outmoded. His father was Archbishop of Canterbury; and he joined the Church of England but later converted to Catholicism. In his introduction to this book he wrote that he took the idea of Man (not the Son of Man) becoming the ideal and 'took it where it would go'.

Knowing that this book was written in 1904, before the Great War and the dissolution of the European Empires, and the nascent beginning of flight, it is interesting to read his views of what the world would look like in 100 years (or about now). He saw the end of poverty and hunger, and the raising of HUMANITY to the paramount position. His views on woman are arcane, as one of his characters dismissed his wife as 'just a woman', and that they make no strides of independence. He talks about inter-city flight at the amazing speed of 150mph, one year after Kitty Hawk.

The stories bottom line is that once Man begins to worship himself (in the guise of Julian Felsenburg), he not only has no need for idealized religion, but that the persecution of anyone who disagrees will become an act of Sedition and punishable by death. Religion is represented in this story by Roman Catholicism (all others having given in and disbanded, except for a few 'elderly jews wandering in Palestine) which fights a peaceable rear guard action against the forces of HUMANITY.

The language is a little difficult and flowery, while the ideas are interesting but sometimes the catholicism is hard to comprehend, but all in all it's worth reading.

Robert Hugh Benson (born November 18, 1871; died October 19, 1914) was the youngest son of Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury, and younger brother of Edward Frederic Benson. Benson studied Classics and Theology at Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1890 to 1893. In 1895, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England by his father.

His father died suddenly in 1896, and Benson was sent on a trip to the Middle East to recover his own health. While there, he began to question the status of the Church of England and to consider the claims of the Roman Catholic Church. His own piety began to tend toward the High Church variety, and he started exploring religious life in various Anglican communities, eventually obtaining permission to join the Community of the Resurrection.

Benson made his profession as a member of the community in 1901, at which time he had no thoughts of leaving the Church of England. But as he continued his studies and began writing, he became more and more uneasy with his own doctrinal position, and on September 11, 1903, he was received into the Roman Catholic Church.

He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1904 and sent to Cambridge. He continued his writing career along with the usual elements of priestly ministry. He was named a monsignor in 1911.

Lord of the World is one of his more exemplary works and well worth reading.

"A Century before Left Behind there was Lord of the World," reads the cover blurb in the striking Wildside Press edition. But while both books deal with end times, that's where the similarities end. In Benson's vision, Catholics are the last remaining Christians. The Left Behind books, named for a line in Larry Norman's song, "I Wish We'd All Been Ready," on the other hand, follow the idea of the rapture popularized in Hal Lindsey's bestselling book, The Late Great Planet Earth.

I ordered this book from Amazon after reading Gwen Watkins' essay in Charles Williams: A Celebration (also available from Amazon) comparing Benson and Williams as writers. Williams being my favorite author, I was very excited to come upon a similarly gifted novelist. Benson wrote Lord of the World in 1907; it takes place in a future about a century later (around now). That's also around the time that Chesterton wrote his novels. Both he and Benson write so colorfully that it's sometimes hard to know what's going on. Whether people were more imaginative then or that was the style at the turn of the century I don't know. But having read GKC helps one read Benson, and vice versa.

Williams is often held to be obscure for his descriptions of supernatural and occultic ritual. Benson's obscurity lies in his pre-Vatican II Catholic vocabulary and bits of the Latin Mass, which will not be familiar to many readers. That aside, this is an absolutely gripping story. Having once started, I couldn't put the book down. Uncannily, in this 1907 novel, Benson prophesied a dark future that became reality, first in Germany and then in the USSR. Writing in the then new genre of science fiction, he envisioned a technologically advanced world nevertheless rushing headlong to destruction. It's amazing how contemporary he sounds as he looks forward in time to our present and his future.

Tis book was really great. Of course I like all Nancy Drew's by Crolyn Keene. I enjoyed this book a lot so I am giving it a four and a half stars.I wish it was longer.

Nancy Drew
The Message in the Haunted Mansion
By: Carolyn Keene

This review was written by Marilyn (age 9) of Stockbridge Central School
Imagine this: A fire happened while you are gone; a window crashed almost on top of you and a lot of other accidents happened
in the same house as you are staying in. Well that's exactly what happened to Nancy Drew in an old mansion in San Francisco on California Street. Nancy and her friends Bess and George are trying to solve the mystery. I liked this book because it is a mystery. There are accidents they can't explain. I also liked this book because it is a ghost story. They think there is a ghost in the mansion! One other thing that happens is they think there is gold in the mansion. I loved this book! I recommend it to kids (and adults!) who like mysteries and suspense.

Nancy Drew is a thrilling suspenseful series. The author in this book gives you a full line of suspects to choose from with mysterious secret passages . Creepy appearances, strange visitors, lying suspects and much more. If you are a mystery lover like myself this book is for you!!!

Nancy Drew discovers another mystery when she, with friends Bess, George, and her housekeeper Hannah, help Rose Green and her niece Abby renovate an old Victorian mansion so they can turn it into a Bed and Breakfast. This book takes place in San Francisco, in current times. As the renovating begins, "accidents" that don't seem to be accidental, begin.

There's a legend about the house that it was once the hotel of the famous actress, Lizzie Applegate, who married the famous bandit El Diablo. She wrote a play called "The Bandit's Treasure". When Nancy, Bess, and George are fixing the house, they find some old documents proving that it was Lizzie's hotel, and she was the wife of El Diablo. A song in the play "The Bandit's Treasure" also suggests that maybe the bandit's real treasure is hidden inside the house.

Meanwhile, the renovations aren't going well. Someone is trying to stop them from succeeding, and wants them to abandon the project. The "ghost" of Lizzie Applegate keeps appearing. A window breaks with no reason. The chandelier chain is cut, and it falls and shatters. A fire is started inside the house. Nancy falls through the roof trying to fix something, and Nancy, Bess, and George receive a message saying "Leave the mansion at once!" A bathroom floods and ruins the downstairs wallpaper. Food from the kitchen keeps disappearing. A car tries to run over Nancy and George while out on a jog.

The house contains all kinds of surprises including two-way mirrors. Bess finds an old key hidden in a bedpost. Nancy, Bess, and George find various hidden rooms throughout the old hotel. One room contains a trunk that has to be opened with the key they found. It holds Lizzie's will, her diary, and the once-hotel house plans.

But who could be causing all this to happen? There are many suspects. Abby, Rose's niece, might be behind it all. Or what about Charlie, who is helping around the house, but also drives the same kind of car that tried to hit George and Nancy? Louis is helping also, but seems to be hiding something. Cassandra, Charlie's daughter, is being mysterious, and what about the blond teenager who keeps hanging around the mansion?

They find the blond teenager, named Tim, who's been taking food from the kitchen and living inside a secret room because he has no other home. Tim helps them look for more strange happenings.

The song in "The Bandit's Treasure" leads Nancy to the treasure under the floorboards where the fireplace used to stand. But Charlie and Louis try to stop them from taking the gold. They have been causing the "accidents" all along. With the help of Tim and the police, they land Charlie and Louis in jail and save the mansion.

I would recommend this book to any readers interested in mystery fiction. If you enjoy being a detective and solving mysteries, this is the book for you.

Nancy goes with her friends,Bess and George,and her house keeper Hannah to help renovate an old Victorian mansion waiting to become a bed and breakfast in Los Angeles, California.Nancy goes not suspecting to embark upon such a whirlwind of a case with someone,or something, behind accidents in the mansion that cannot be explained.If Nancy doesn't solve this mystery, who knows how dangerous the next act may be.The only way to find out, is to buy this book and find out for yourself.I give this one two thumbs way,way up for the suspense that keeps you asking for more.

I don't know what else I can possibly say...Everyone else's reviews seem to nail it in the head. The thing I agree with most is how the characters in each story are so vivid - it really sucks you right into the book as if you were really there. I'm so glad these were short stories because I tend to have trouble putting down a really good book(as is the case here)...so I'd be up all night long trying to finish it!! These are just the right length to read a story a night (or if you're like me, several a night!!). I'm definitely looking forward to his next book!!

If you want a good read that will pull you into the story itself as if you were right there, than you have got to read Midnight Tableau. I have never been so into another book, especially to the point where I felt that I was right there, where I felt as though I was the character. It was very hard for me to put this book down because you wanted to know how the story ended or how, in some cases, didn't end, just left for suspense. It was awesome and I would definately reccommend it any one who loves to read and I have already.

What a book! What writing style! No predictable endings and the stories are short enough to enjoy in one go! I predict that Michael McCrann will go a far way and can't wait for his first novel. Others who have read the book agree. Its different and refreshing. Carry on writing MC - you have a couple of new fans here in SA and we can't wait for the novel!

I LOVED IT! I would and have recommended this book to anyone and everyone that enjoy's reading. I found the stories scary and compelling at the same time. Begging me to turn the next page. I am going to read it again and again! I am even sending a copy of it to my brother who is in iraq serving our country. Its THAT GOOD!!! You gotta buy this!

This was an excellent book. The stories were fantastic. Mr. McCrann does a fine job of taking ordinary people and situations and turning them into something extraordinary. I look forward to reading him for years to come.

This story had me from page one. An extremely well-written book that pulls you in and doesn't let you go. I actually sat on the edge of my seat as I read the last 50 pages. I usually pass my books on to others when I finish them. One copy of this, however, will go into my permanent library.
Thank you Brian Matthews!

This was a fantastic book. I couldn't put it down, especially the last few chapters. The characters are well-rounded, and you just keep wanting to know more about them, even when you don't particularly like them. I will definitely read anything written by Brian S. Matthews!

I have written a comprehensive review at Glynn's Book Reviews blogsite (http://wwwglynnsbooks.blogspot.com.) Read it there or link to it at www.glynnsbooks.com.

I found New Wilderness to be an easy read. The author leads your imagination with true character development along an unique story line. The twists and turns leave you anxious to turn the next page and a little bit sad when you've turned the last. I'm already watching for more novels from this new author.

I found the book to be an easy read. I found myself being pulled into the book and identifing with the characters. All of the characters are likable and interesting. I also found myself wanting to get to know the people in the book on a more personal level. I could not put the book down. I am looking forward to the following books from this author.

i really enjoyed this book, i'm not even finished with it yet but some of the quality of the book was taken away by the poor editing! some of the chapters were missing entire words at the end! some of the sentences were gramatically incorrect and i kept reading them over and over saying...that's not right...we don't laid down, we lie down! stuff like that really took away from the book because it was a fantastic story. i really enjoyed the element of faith and how there are good vampires and bad vampires etc. it was realistic, like...if there WERE vampires, this is how it would be. either way, i would definitely advise this story being read, just please have an updated version!

This is a great read.

Great, because it has a common sense idea that is missing from most stories of this genre.

The genre, "supernatural horror," ultimately goes to a war between good and evil (yep, heaven and hell), because these would be the source of power in the story. So the ultimate source of power is on another level--not the level the story is about (our everyday homes and neighborhoods). But hey, the vampires, zombies, and other things have been around for a long time. And we are still here, too. Something we don't usually see in these stories must be equalizing the landscape, or else ordinary humans would have been gone a long time ago. What equalizes a vampire? They have supernatural powers, so regular folks are out-gunned. In any war, if the sides are not matched, the war does not last long. In the literature vampires, zombies, et al., have been around a long time. So what holds them in check? Doesn't have to be a "good" version of the evil creature--just something with power and method of its own that it can use to engage the enemy. That's war. Even a supernatural one would have to have this equivalence of power.

There are popular movies about renegades that have reason to hate the supernatural villains, but vampires alone would have over-run the world before most of these popular characters started. Besides, these stories are usually more about special-effects or martial arts or something--not really horror stories but more like action-adventure-martial arts-horror. Whatever. There's only one movie I've seen recently that is an exception to this, "Constantine." But since this isn't a plug for movies, let's move on... ;)

"Night Biters" revitalizes the role of the church in this type of story! Instead of the lame "Exorcist" angle in which the demons have power that is clearly uncontrollable, here the war could have lasted this long. God is on our side through supernatural beings at this level. That's what I was referring to before, when I said that ordinary humans would otherwise be gone. In run-of-the-mill horror stories a recurring theme is that the heroes are so outmatched they have to sacrifice themselves--and leave this plane of existence--in order to win. So in time they'd all have moved on, leaving us here. There must be something more powerful that fights here and wins often enough to balance the war against evil. This story touches on this with style; it's a story told intelligently in a way that makes sense.

So is it scary? Yeah, because the writer tells the tale in a way that evokes vivid images of what the characters are going through as all of these peculiar things happen. It's not a predictable story. I found myself liking some, and wondering if they'd make it...but it's war. Casualties are inevitable. How does it end?

Check it out! It's a great read!

Adrian Harper's Night Biters offers some fresh ideas to the fantasy genre. The magical compact disc is as effective a talisman as a ring or trinket in other period work of fiction. It also solidifies the effectiveness of hip hop in a way the reader will find appealing. Graffiti spray painting is also featured, skateboarding is taken to new heights and I will never see using a Super Soaker the same way.

The writer skillfully depicts the story's teens as youth who regret some of the poor choices they have made and the impact those decisions have on their families while ably avoiding stereotypes. He also offers some interesting views on vampirism viewing it more to an addiction than a spiritual damnation reminding the reader that there is always hope. Filled with clever twist and surprises, Night Biters is a delight.

This is no R L Stien! This book has a diverse group of hip hop characters from the Bay Area that are actully intelligent and not based on stereotypes. The book has teens in the Bay dealing with regular teenage issues, as well as vampires gang violence. The characters are cool, there's African American's, Vietnamese, Latino's, Filippino's, Jews, Goths, ravers, taggers and possibly dirty cops and a guy who eats a rat. If you LOVE hip hop, or you're from the Bay Area you need to read this book. I love Night Biters because it's real hip hop, it's not derogatory or dogmatic, it's just real and entertaining.

The book is written in the style of how Traffic and Crash were made as movies. A ton of individual stories, all intertwined into one explosive plot. Read this book, you won't be disappointed. The story is based on actual events in 1999 leading up to the change of the century in the backdrop of the worlds most integrated group of cities. Two teens come here to spend the summer and find that some of thier friends have become vampires and are dealing with personal issues like abusive stepfathers, drugs, gangs and police (damn taggers!). Doooooood read it!!!

Night Biters is my favorite book, I visited the Bay Area and have saw the old Montgomery Ward building. It was too scary a building for me to enter but not a vampire. I also like that us Pinoy's finally got some recognition and respect in a book. Dragonbrush is my dog I liked the way he and Tioni looked out for one another and how he showed that he really appreciated her. Jamilah is cool but too stuck up for my taste, I wouldn't want my sister taking all my favorite clothes just because she wants them. But in the end they all looked out for one another.

During the Depression, a young brother and sister must flee from a murderous preacher who has infiltrated their home in search of a small fortune in stolen money. This novel deserves to be better remembered than it has been, for I have read few books that are better at evoking the psychology of children in a realistic way. But Davis Grubb doesn't stop there: the sociopathic preacher with his flexible interpretation of scripture, the lonely single mother whose yearning to experience love and make a secure home for her children makes her vulnerable, the lonely drunk whose personal weaknesses undermine his good intentions, the self-sufficient matriarch with an unshakable sense of duty--these and many other characters are vividly rendered. Grubb also skillfully evokes the lonely rural settings where his drama plays out. Such careful attention to character and setting makes for a scary and heartbreaking novel because we can imagine these things happening to real people in a real place. Highly recommended.

The Night of the Hunter is an old story and movie, but is a page turner as of today. Very exciting and intriguing.

Hemingway, Steinbeck, Tolstoy et al, will always have a place in the pantheon of literature. In this reader's opinion, this novel warrants a little niche in that pantheon for Davis Grubb, whose lean, muscular and evocative prose propels this thrilling story, driving it toward the inevitable conclusion.

Charles Laughton's movie based on this book was an interesting effort and well done, but if one hasn't read the unsentimental, un-varnished novel, then somewhere a potential reader is missing the juice. Like Laughton's screen effort the novel is indeed pregnant, but not at all unwieldly; rather, the book, slender as it is, is bursting with some of the best writing put to paper in any genre and is as good as anything ever written by the more prolific Masters.

Grubb's unpretentious style looms up from the pages like the reek of the bottom waters at river's edge. Subtle by turns, the terrifying game of hide-and-seek between light and shadow jumps at the most unexpected moments, just like the novel's villain with his knife.

Filled with archetypes and certainly many levels of meaning for interpretation by the reader, this is one novel one won't forget soon. It stalks memory and, personally, I find myself still returning to the book from time to time to savor a magnificently rendered mood, and a time, place and story that is as fresh and exciting now as it was almost half a century ago.

Writing true and honest profiles of such diverse characters, let alone children, is no easy thing, and Grubb's work is peopled with wholly believable characters who truly cast shadows, live and breathe, even in the periphery. This is part of the novel's triumph.

I cannot recommend Night of the Hunter too highly. It's simply a "must read" for anyone who loves good literature, fine writing --and isn't predjudiced against genre. In this beautiful, sinister work, Davis Grubb breaks the mold.

Night of the Hunter has always been one of my favorite films: eerie, atmospheric, gripping are just a few words that come to mind for this masterpiece, the only film made by silent film star Charles Laughton. It gets better with each viewing. I only got around lately to reading Davis Grubb's source material and it's just as amazing and mesmerizing as the movie. If you like a book that gives you genuine chills, yet still creates really sympathetic characters, give this one a try. Of course, if you're like me and loved the movie, you owe it to yourself to see why they wanted to make it into a movie.

With the publication of a new edition Amazon seems to have deleted the earlier reviews. They were unanimous in their praise for Night of the Hunter,

I bought the book in Italy to read on the trains. There wasn't much of a selection. I expected a routine crime thriller.

We have cheapened superlatives to the point where they really don't resonate. If I tell you it's the best book I have ever read, I may be setting your expectations so high that it can never meet them.

It did change my life.

Grubb provides one of the best "bad guys" in literature: the Reverend Harry Powell. A bad guy needs a hero. Powell is so bad that it takes two heroes to offset him.

The first is John Harper, the older brother. If you happen to have two children -- an older brother and a younger sister -- the story of their relationship has immense power.

The second is Rachel Cooper. She is my favorite character in my reading life.

She is immensely strong, with a forgiving nature. It was her ability to forgive that helped me to forgive someone -- to change my life.

Of course Robert Mitchum is well known for having played Reverend Powell in the movie -- for good reason. Lillian Gish played Rachel Cooper. She was wonderful.

The movie continues to grow in stature, while the novel seems to be forgotten. (There is a musical version of Night of the Hunter out there somewhere.) This is an unfortunate, as Grubb deserves to be recognized as a great writer.

I've been reading my way through all his works -- that I can find. Fools Parade is the most accessible -- terrific, and Shadow of My Brother is a very powerful story of racism that, unfortunately, is still highly relevant.

Grubb wrote with strong emotional content. The emotional power of Voices of Glory is so high that I haven't had the composure to read it yet. I'm trying to understand how he did that, to be able to write like that myself.

There was a point in the mid to late 1990s when author Mark C. Sumner was just hellishly prolific. Even though he'd written two fabulous adult fantasy westerns in Devil's Tower and Devil's Engine, he made his bones crafting some terrific, atmospheric teen novels. There's THE DARK and DEADLY STRANGER and his excellent vampire trilogy THE PRINCIPAL, THE SUBSTITUTE and THE COACH. And then there's EXTREME ZONE, Sumner's paranoid, rapid-fire sci-fi series.

It begins with NIGHT TERRORS.

Noah Templer was once a star athlete and student. But, of late, unrelenting dreams of having been abducted by aliens and a feeling of being watched have made a mess of his life. He's been kicked off the basketball team and, scholarly, he's been slipping. He's broken up with his girlfriend, who laughed in his face when he confided in her. Now Noah spends much of his time obsessing on UFOs. He thinks he might be going insane.

Kathleen "Harley" Davisidaro has just moved to the unassuming East Coast town of Stone Harbor, with her dad, a contract worker for the military, having just been reassigned to the nearby military base, the Tulley Hill Research Facility. From the start, Harley's had a disquieting feeling about that place, which is jointly ran by the military and a covert intelligence agency called Unit 17. What's more, as she begins attending Stone Harbor High School, Harley runs into a strange boy named Noah, who has a tendency to wig out and go into unsettling trances.

But when Harley's dad mysteriously vanishes, Noah might turn out to be the best person to help her, if she can only get over the sensation that Noah just may be crazy. Too, Harley and Noah must stave off the frightening assaults on their lives. One thing's for sure, there is some seriously eerie stuff going on.

At a brisk 202 pages, NIGHT TERRORS is a quick and riveting read, and will keep you guessing. I appreciate the fact that the book doesn't tame itself down to cater to some kind of young adult sensibility. Indeed, NIGHT TERRORS packs quite a wallop and is fraught with moody tension. I guess it's not too out of line to describe this series as a teen version of the X-Files. Certainly, NIGHT TERRORS unveils its share of sinister conspiracies and shadowy organizations, such as Unit 17 and Legion. The weirdness factor and the science-fiction aspects are there, as well, from weird lights in the sky to the enigmatic man in black to several residents of Stone Harbor who seem to flaunt otherworldy traits. The chapters are alternately narrated from Noah and Harley's respective viewpoints, and Sumner does a very good job of developing their characters and building a connection with the reader.

The pace begins slowly but ominously as Sumner ably sets the stage and establishes the mood. The reader is made quickly aware that something is not quite right with the Tulley Hill Research Facility and with the reclusive, tiny town of Stone Harbor. As the plot thickens and the stakes are escalated, the pace builds to a frenetic clip, until the explosive finale, which takes place in the top secret recesses of Tulley Hill.

However, NIGHT TERRORS is only the first of the Extreme Zone series, which is comprised of eight novels (that I know of). So, it shouldn't be a surprise that the answers sought by Noah and Harley come few and far between. NIGHT TERRORS was first published in 1997, with, I believe, the rest of the novels coming out in '97 and '98. I haven't yet managed to check out the sequels (although, believe me, they're on order!), but if Mark C. Sumner was able to maintain the tension-wracked quality of NIGHT TERRORS in the successive entries, then the EXTREME ZONE series is gonna be one hell of a ride.

By the way, I'm still not quite sure what the term "Extreme Zone" refers to.

Here's a list of the existing, hard-to-find Extreme Zone novels:
- NIGHT TERRORS (EXTREME ZONE 1)
- Dark Lies the Extreme Zone 2
- UNSEEN POWERS EXTREME ZONE 3 (Extreme Zone)
- Deadly Secrets the Extreme Zone 4
- COMMON ENEMY EXTREME ZONE 5 (Extreme Zone)
- INHUMAN FURY EXTREME ZONE 6 (Extreme Zone)
- LOST SOUL EXTREME ZONE 7 (Extreme Zone)
- Dead End Extreme Zone 8

I was at our local Wal-mart when I came across this book. Picking it up and reading the back, I was intrigued by what the book was about so I decided to get it. Boy, am I glad that I did. This series is awesome. M.C. Sumner is a brilliant writer. These books are among my most favorites of all time. If you like your stories with plenty of plot, this is the series for you. I highly recommend 'The Extreme Zone' to all.

I'm generally not into books, but I picked up this one and couldn't put it down. The plot is unpredictable. Most stories are so predictable, the butler did it right? WRONG! You can never make an acurate guess. I guessed what the story would be like a million times, and none of them even came close.

So buy it and read it, and be ready to read for a long time.

(best to have a good stash of fritos and coca-cola)

Awesome book. I read it first when I was about 10. I just picked it up today and I still love it, at age 16.

In the first book of the Extreme Zone, two ordinary teenagers, Kathleen "Harley" Davisidaro and Noah Templer start a journey into the unknown, as they discover physcic powers, strange creatures, and rival secret organizations out to get the two of them. This was a cool novel that teenagers who like science fiction would probably enjoy.

As a vampire craves blood, Thomas Ligotti's readers will enjoy Noctuary. The stories are complex, at least some of them. I read one of them over the phone to a woman I know and she laughed a few times. At least at the beginning of the story. Makes me remember the line, "Be careful what you laugh at." The wonderful thing about the stories in Noctuary is that you don't have to understand them to enjoy the writing.

Ligotti shuns the spotlight. But that's okay because he certainly didn't shun the dreams and nightmares that I experienced while reading this book that I consider a masterpiece.

It's a haunting piece of work and my only warning is that Ligotti will take you to a place -- hidden in your mind -- that you don't even know exists.

Flawless. Highly recommended.

...we smile." -Autumnal, from Notebook of the Night.
Thomas Ligotti is one of the most original and unsettling horror writers of this day and age, only somewhat rivalled by his predecessors, Poe and Lovecraft. (One writer who does come very close, however, is Ramsey Campbell.) He is the epitome of the horror writer, thinking of ideas a great deal of us wouldn't even be able to think of: In Part One, we meet Lucian Dregler, an obsessive searcher for the Medusa; Samuel, the deranged postman, descending into his mind on each successive All Hallows' Eve; Arthur Emerson's encounter with a god who may realise his dreams; and Mrs. Rinaldi's ancient wooden chest, home to something infinitely pure and equally corruptable. Part Two take a darker tone. Here we meet Andrew Manning, destined to bring about the end of earthly life; a scientist turned leper messiah and his marvelous machine; a painter determined to become part of his landscapes; and a man pursued by puppet-like horrors, written in the shades of a nightmare. The final section is entirely devoted to vignettes showcasing Ligotti's talent at using very few words to pull off the same effect. The micro-narratives range on subject matter from the unreal ("New Faces in the City") to the Gothic ("Salvation by Doom") to the premundane ("Primordial Loathing"), from the eyes of demons ("The Demon-Man"), from the mouths of the the dead ("One May be Dreaming", "Autumnal"), of the sum of all days ("The Interminable Equation"), on dark, rainy nights ("The Nameless Horror"), ponderings on the mystique of things ("The Mocking Mystery") and the sardonic beauty of it ("The Order of Illusion"). These and many more can be found here. The only piece that came even close to disappointing me was "The Physic", but, thankfully, even that is worth every word.

Thomas Ligotti is a truly unusual author. He has a fascination with "weird fiction," with the unknowable, the macabre. This is paired with a knack for eloquent word-poetry, intelligence and complexity, and a sense of the chillingly unusual. When I finish reading several Ligotti stories, I find that the world looks different. The colors aren't quite right any more, or the angles, or maybe people seem a little darker, a little stranger.

I have several books of Ligotti stories and Noctuary is my favorite. I have often wondered why, and the answer I eventually came to is that most of the stories in here are shorter than those in other books. The longest one is less than 40 pages, and many are only two or three pages long. As much as I love all of Ligotti's writing, he's at his best when he writes in short chunks. Otherwise I find his writing sometimes drags a little.

Ligotti's work is not for everyone. If you don't like the weird or the macabre, you won't enjoy his work. If you prefer your stories to be normal, with a beginning, middle and end, all wrapped up in a neat little ribbon, then this is not for you. If you prefer your world to be its same, comfortable self when you close your books - don't read a word of Ligotti. Ligotti's style is definitely not for everyone. He hands us phrases that no one but he would conceive of, that almost cannot help but elicit a shudder:

"We witness the scene and, with what remains of our mouths, we smile."

But for those of us who enjoy it, it is a dread and harrowing pleasure - one that I would not give up. My only regret is that Ligotti is not a more prolific author.

To realise that for only a few dollars more I could have bought 'The Nightmare Factory' instead which contains all the stories in this book + many more! I guess I will end up owning them both. Ligotti is one of the few creditable horror writers working today and I could never get tired of his stories. They just seem to get deeper and deeper with each subsequent reading. However - if you are looking for blood/gore type horror don't bother - this is a deeply subtle writer at work ..

ligotti is the most disturbing horror writer i've ever encountered, hands down. after i finished "noctuary" i was hungry for more, but unfortunately could not find "grimscribe" anywhere, and am still fiending for a copy. the stories in this book resonate with a kind of sickly unreality (maybe best articulated in "the tsalal") and one gets the sense that while ligotti is on the one hand the impassioned horror writer trying desperately to communicate his vision to the reader, he is on the other hand the avant garde artist in the tradition of duchamp, laughing openly at our pathetic and delusory attempts to impose meaning and order on a universe that in the final equation has neither. it is almost as if he makes a point of pointing out the pointlessness. in this way, he is like his idol hp lovecraft, who constantly added subtle layers of philosophical nihilism and the most extreme forms of pessimism to his work. for those who love tasting the dark, you can't live without this

>this review comes to you from, well, an old friend. micah is a personal deity of mine, and i was given a copy of this book when he first had it published. it's probably the coolest rpg i've ever played, and is the only one i still would play. i love the fluff material and the environments in his world, and i especially like the take micah has on religion and all its evils...definately a good game to pick up. and definately pick up any of his cd's under the name Cruciform Injection, he has four at this point, and all are good.<

Played once at GenCon, bought it ten minutes alter without a second thought. Fantastic. Excellent for those looking for a new setting. I cannot recommend this enough.

I picked this game up at Gen Con and was hooked after reading the 1st page... Simply stated, it's the best thing to happen to to role playing games since Vampire: The Masquerade. The blend of Lovecraftian Horror and gritty Sci-Fi gets under your skin and won't let you go... I could rant and rave for pages and pages about how great the game is... but i'm gonna keep it short here: Check it out, you will NOT regret it, and get your hands on the "soundtrack" by Cruciform Injection while you're at it...

Rev. 7roi

I bought this book on a shelf in England during a holiday. I love it. My friends ordered three more from this website. We play it. We love it. The conflicts of good versus evil where lines are blurred and the totalitarian state is actually looking out for your best interests is unique and exciting. I highly recommend the Wasteland: Beyond the Outposts supplement for this game as well!

Set in a shattered earth sort of back-drop, this game involves some very dark supernatural themes, combined with cybernetics. It reminded me more of Kult than anything else, with a heavy dose of Rifts and a bit of Deadlands: Hell on Earth thrown in. The mechanics are difficult to explain, so I'll refrain from comparing. Playability is surprisingly smooth . . . but the esoterica of the lore associated with the premise is a little too thick. The publisher does seem to have great plans and expectations for the future, however - so it will hopefully be well-supported. Layout of the book reminded me of White Wolf, more than anything else. Appearance is definitely impressive and the writing is more than a little above average . Even if you're not a gamer, this book is a good read. I don't regret dropping the money for it, and consider the first sourcebook ("Wastelands: Beyond the Outposts" to be worth the expense as well).