Sneaky, Subtle and Deceptive

Duma Key
by Stephen King
Scribner (2008),
Hardcover, 592 pages
Rated 5 stars of 5 possible

Edgar Freemantle, a construction contractor in Minneapolis, suffers major injuries in a freak accident. By the time he recovers from the majority of his injuries, and most of the resulting confusion has passed, his wife has left him. Shortly after his release from the hospital, Edgar decides to start his life over again. Since his injuries have resulted in the inability to resume his former career, Edgar decides to re-establish his connection to the artist within. He moves to Florida, and an island called Duma Key.

In a frenzy of creation, Edgar paints enough pictures to put on a one artist exhibit in a near-by town. Edgar's pencil sketches and paintings seem benign, but are they? Duma Key isn't just any horror novel. It's sneaky, subtle, and deceptive... The horror creeps up on you like a thief in the night; it reaches out and grabs you before you even realize it's there. Duma Key is a page-turner; once it grabs you it does not let go.

A must read for Stephen King's fans, Duma Key would also be ideal for the horror enthusiast who has never read a Stephen King book. In fact, Duma Key is probably Mr. King's most brilliant and horrifying novel to date*.  I recommend that everyone read this with the lights on... no, not just your reading lamp... you need every light in the house turned on for this one.  Even then, Duma Key will keep you up all night.

This uncompensated review has been published on LibraryThing, Amazon.com and Dragon Views.

*Note: This review was written in 2008, shortly after I read this book, which I purchased "hot off the press".  Subsequent books by this author have been published, but are not considered here, as they did not exist - except possibly in the author's mind - when this review was originally written.

Sneaks Up from Behind and Grabs You

Dark Tomorrows
By J. L. Bryan
With Bonus Stories
By Amanda Hocking
Smashwords (2010)
Ebook Mobi format
Print Length 120 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

Dark Tomorrows is a collection of eight short stories, which are unconnected to each other. Author J. L. Bryan wrote six of them. The other two were written by Amanda Hocking. 

J. L. Bryan has a way with words, of making the reader keep turning pages to find out what happens next. He successfully does this with short works as well as novels. The strongest of J. L. Bryan's stories in this collection is the first offering; "The Fortune Teller’s Lament" but that doesn't mean the others are not worth reading... just that the later stories sneak up behind you before they grab you.  All of them are well suited to reading at night - alone - with all the lights on.

Amanda Hocking's two stories of roughly equal quality didn't seem quite as dark to me as Mr. Bryan's works in this volume. Still, they were entertaining and answer a couple of what ifs that might occur to some readers... Perhaps the darkness in Ms. Hocking's stories is more subtle and sneaky than the darkness in J. L. Bryan's stories.  At any rate, this is a collection that I can heartily recommend to those who love dark stories.

This ebook was received as a premium for participating in the blog tour for The Haunted Ebook by J. L. Bryan.  While a review was not requested as a condition of my receiving this ebook, I'm sure the authors won't mind. This review will appear on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Amazon.com and on other sites this reviewer deems appropriate.

Keeps You Up All Night

Pumpkin Jack Skull and Other Tales of Terror
Jacob M. Drake
Smashwords.com (2010),
Kindle Edition
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

Pumpkin Jack Skull and Other Tales of Terror is, obviously, an anthology of horror stories, perfect for reading on Halloween, or, for that matter, at any time one wishes to read tales of terror bordering on the supernatural. Most stories in the anthology are unrelated to each other, but there are a couple that, if read together, do seem to connect. One of them clarifies events in the other.

I'll admit to being somewhat hurried when I was reading through these tales, so I didn't take notes, nor do my usual one-liner synopsis of each story with a short comment afterwards... sorry for that... and for the fact that I don't have time to read through them again right now to make up for that lack of time earlier... This collection is a worthy read. Unlike lots of independent authors, Jacob Drake has taken the time to track down most of the errors in his work to show that he cares about quality as well as quantity of work produced.

As with most anthologies, this one has some stories that are better than others...  my favorites come near the end of the sequence. Those last two or three stories really do reach out and grab you, just like a good horror story should.  Interested readers can claim their copy of Pumpkin Jack Skull and Other Tales of Terror on Smashwords in a choice of several ebook formats, all of which are unencumbered by digital rights management and free of cost. 

This review appears on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Amazon.com and on other sites which are determined by the reviewer to be appropriate.

No Clear Nemesis, Neutral Characters

Elephant Milk
By Diane Sherry Case
Miraculous Books (2010),
Paperback, 164 pages
Rated 3 stars of 5 possible

Elephant Milk is a surreal, coming of age story that takes place in 1969, mostly in Mexico. Amid her experiments with sex, drugs and finding herself, 17-year-old Sean also has to deal with her dysfunctional family and her mother's obsession with being a famous movie star.  After finding some black clothes beside the road that are wet with blood, Sean makes the decision that the best way to deal with her problems is to run away to Mexico, after her boyfriend.  Once in Mexico, Sean needs a way to get around, so she joins a traveling Circus... and that's where the real fun begins.

I should preface my remarks about this book by saying I'm not the intended audience for this book. Still, I appreciated some of the events in the story and the characterization. Diane Sherry Case has created some interesting characters, and has caught the flavor of the time depicted.  So, with that said, why did I rate the book only 3 stars?  Admittedly, this story even had 4 star potential, but the good characters just weren't likable enough... in fact, with the exception of Sean and her circus master/boss, and his wife, Ana, I found all the characters to be fairly neutral. There also is not any clear nemesis in the story, which could have made the book more interesting, if a bit longer. I had such high hopes for that too, when Sean found the bloody black clothing.

There are points in the story that would make for good discussion group material and the intended audience may appreciate Sean and her confused time of self-enlightenment more than I could. Oh, and the cover art - absolutely wonderful. That's what drew me to this book in the first place.

This book was received free from the author in exchange for this review. This review has been simultaneously posted at Dragon Views, LibraryThing, and Amazon.com