I've never been overly keen on short stories. I can see the merits of them of course, it's just that they're not for me. I struggle to stick with a collection of short stories because I can't keep my interest up. I like novels. I like the way we gradually begin to know and care for the characters. I like following the story arc and reaching the climax, and I love a book that lasts me a while, a nice thick tome that you get to know by carrying it around with you everywhere for a week or more. Short stories are more like bite-sized chunks to read in one sitting, and as such I just can't get on with them in the same way I can a novel.
But, as this was one of books on my personal Stephen King-a-thon challenge, I had to persevere, stick with it to the end. I didn't want to give up, miss it out of my challenge. It would have been failing at the first hurdle. Anyway, I really enjoyed a few of the stories and yet now that I closed the book and put it aside a few days ago, I can't seem to properly recall more than one or two of them. That's the problem with short stories for me, they don't capture my imagination enough that I'll remember them several years down the line.
However, if you're a fan of Stephen King or the horror genre in general, and you can tolerate the short story format, I'd recommend you give this a go.
3/5
The fourth instalment in Karina Halle's 'Experiment in Terror' series, 'Lying Season' sees ghost-hunters Perry Palomino and Dex Foray investigate a supposedly haunted Mental Institute in Dex's hometown of Seattle. Which of course involves Perry staying with Dex and his vile girlfriend Jenn for a week. Cue seriously awkward scenes involving Jenn's atrocious attitude and self-love.
We learn a lot more about what makes Dex tick in this novel. Scouring his bookcase for interesting reading material, Perry comes across Dex's stash of meds, hidden in a hollowed out book no less - I love that guy's style, weed goes in an unlocked drawer, medication must be hidden from his girlfriend... Oh Dex you get more complex, the more we get to know you. And more lovable to boot. Finding his various medications prompts Perry to find out more about Dex's mental health (or lack of) and results in a rather dodgy experiment that I don't want to spoil for you all.
We see some more of Perry's history in this book as well. Through dream sequences we are introduced to the 'accident' that has only been hinted at until now and we begin to see just how pervasive Perry's ghosts are.
And we are introduced to yet another gruesome ghoul. This time, somebody we've heard about before. Remember Abby, Dex's ex? Well we get to see her in the rotting flesh as she haunts Dex's apartment and gets all threatening towards Perry. That girl creeped me out and I'm kinda hoping she makes an appearance in future instalments. I don't think we've seen everything she has to give. Oh and if you love Creepy Clown Lady as much as I do, you'll be happy to know she makes an appearance or two in 'Lying Season'.
Overall, I enjoyed this fourth novel in what is turning out to be an awesome series but I was a little disappointed by the lack of scares. I was itching to read this book as soon as I found out it involved a haunted asylum - yeah, I have a thing for creepy old mental institutes. But there just wasn't enough about the hospital to keep me completely pleased. Although the guy in the padded cell was bloody horrible. This books focus was more on the up and down relationship burgeoning between Dex and Perry and for me, that meant it lacked a bit of the gripping, nail-biting tension that the previous books had. But nevertheless it was a bloody brilliant book and I can't wait to read the next one.
3/5 (purely for not being scary enough!)
I adore the Experiment in Terror series by Karina Halle, I really do. It has everything. A kick-ass female protagonist, her snarky looney tunes colleague, ghostly goings-on, some seriously cool locations (a former leper colony for example) and a creepy clown lady. I mean what more could you want from a series? Plus, I think one of the things I really like about these books is that they're not just another vampire series. They're much more rooted in reality, in the real world. Okay, I know there are ghosts. But who the heck knows if ghosts are real... Perry and Dex might just have hit on something.
Anyway, 'Dead Sky Morning' is the third installment in the series, and for me it was a return to the things I loved about the first book in the series - real danger, some interesting history, and of course that old sexual tension between Perry and Dex. And without getting too close to spoiler territory, lets just say the sexual tension gets cranked up to the next level in this novel.
For the fourth episode of their web series, Dex is dragging Perry off to D'Arcy Island, a former Chinese leper colony. Now, intrigued by the story, I googled it (yeah I'm a geek, so shoot me) and discovered that D'Arcy Island is as real as they come. Which of course makes me love the book even more for being factually accurate...
So, Perry and Dex take a boat out to D'Arcy Island and anchor the boat as securely as they can manage on an island that is notorious for its dangerous approach and lack of safe docking area. And they hike to a campsite on the other side of the island. You know they're heading for trouble when the killer raccoons appear, or possibly before then when Perry sees someone watching her from the shores of the supposedly empty island. But then it wouldn't be an Experiment in Terror novel if there wasn't some peril involved.
And in this book it comes in the form of Mary, probably the creepiest damn dead woman I've ever had the displeasure of meeting in a novel. The ghost of a missionary woman, she has her own dirty secrets that keep her bound to the island and intent on stopping Perry and Dex from getting away. But we can't forget the mysterious coffins that wash up on shore, and the bizarre flash-mob Deer. The tension in this novel comes in wave after wave, cranking up notch by notch until you can hardly bear to read on. It was nail-biting, eye-covering, lip-chewing tension. And I loved it!
4/5
'The Benson' is a 50 page novella in the 'Experiment in Terror' series by Karina Halle. I'll admit that it was a short, easy read but that definitely did not detract from just how good it turned out to be.
Perry Palomino and Dex Foray are spending the night at The Benson, an up-market hotel in Portland, Oregon. There have been a whole host of ghost sightings at the hotel and the intrepid duo are determined to catch something on film. Armed with their usual camera plus an infrared camera for Perry this time, they check out the ghostly goings on at the hotel.
There are a few creepy moments in this novella and a clever little twist involving a maid (I'm trying not to say too much). All in all, I'd say it was the perfect accompaniment to the series, and it would make a great starting point for anybody who hasn't yet read any of the series.
4/5
'Red Fox' is the second novel in Karina Halle's 'Experiment in Terror' series and continues the story of Perry and Dex's investigations into the paranormal world. This installment sees Perry and Dex travelling to New Mexico to the home of Will and Sarah, a Navajo couple who are being taunted by some kind of supernatural entity. Rocks are falling on their roof at night, their sheep are turning up dead, mutilated beyond recognition and creepy animals walk through their house at night. After Dex's College friend Maximus, a self-proclaimed Ghost Whisperer tries to deal with the problem and fails, he calls in the big guns, and Perry and Dex turn up in the town of Red Fox with their video cameras, determined to solve the mystery.
As with the first novel in the series there was plenty of sexual tension between Perry and Dex plus a good shot of the crazies from a medication-withdrawing Dex. The motif of secrecy, of hiding things ran through the book, adding a deeper layer to Perry and Dex's relationship and also providing the constant question of who was safe to trust and who might just be ready to rip your throat out.
This was a gripping read full of Native American mythology and some clever answers to some of the stories mysteries. It wasn't as full out scary as the first book but it didn't really matter as the novel was strong enough without it. If you haven't already checked out Karina Halle, then do it, please.
4/5
This is the third novel in my personal Stephen-King-a-thon challenge. I first read this novel when I was fifteen years old. It was also the first Stephen King novel I ever read. I came back to this book to re-read it as a twenty-seven year old excited and convinced I would gain more from the book as an adult. And I was right. What was simply a horror story about a haunted hotel when I was a teenager became much more as an adult. The horror was still there but so was the haunting psychological terror of the ghosts of our pasts invading our presents, the torture of memories we think we can escape and the people we hope we'll never become.
Danny Torrence is five years old. He knows things that no child should have access to. He knows his parents were considering Divorce, that his father has a drink problem. And he knows that there's something horrifying behind the beautiful facade of The Overlook Hotel. Danny's father, Jack has got a job as winter caretaker of The Overlook. He needs this job - his last one didn't end so well - plus the distance from the real world will give him plenty of time to finish the play he's been working on. And so he packs up his wife and kid and drives high up into the Colorado mountains where once the snow comes, there's no going back. They will be stuck there until the snows thaw.
But five year old Danny has the 'shining', a rare ability to sense things, to read minds, to see the dark images that play out in The Overlook. His vivid dreams and psychic trances reveal the dark secrets The Overlook has kept hidden for decades. Who is the creepy dead woman in Room 217? What is that blood stain on the wall of the presidential suite? Who is riding up and down in the elevator at night? And just how do those topiary animals move around on their own?
'The Shining' is a chilling read, not overtly scary but it definitely raises the hairs on your arms. It has much more substance than most horror novels out there and really defines Stephen King as the forerunner of the genre.
5/5
I had seen a lot of great reviews about this novel on Goodreads.com and when I discovered it was free to read on Kindle, I couldn't resist checking it out. To be honest, I started reading this with low expectations. I'm not sure why but I did. However, within the first 30 pages, I had my expectations seriously raised. I had been sucked in instantly. The protagonist, Perry Palomino really spoke to me. She's this flawed hero kind of character - she's been through some crap but she's come out the other side and is trying to turn her life around. It was refreshing to read about a character with some humanity, some pathos. It was also a breath of fresh air to read what I'll term an Urban Fantasy novel with a protagonist who isn't otherworldy. Perry is your average 22 year old who left University with hopes of a job more meaningful and better paid than the job she's currently in as Receptionist for an advertising firm. So she has these weird dreams sometimes and has been known to see things that may or may not really be there, but she's as human as they come. She's not a vampire, a witch or a werewolf and that is so refreshing in a market saturated with supernatural beings.
On a weekend trip to stay with her Uncle, Perry decides to investigate the old abandoned Lighthouse on his property. It's late at night, she's got a bit of alcohol in her system and she's on her own. Or so she thinks. Stumbling through the creepy old lighthouse, she bumps into Dex Foray, a strange but attractive guy with a camcorder who says he's checking out the apparently haunted lighthouse for a web show he's working on.
Perry and Dex soon find themselves thrown together, determined to solve the mystery of the Lighthouse. They're an interesting pair and there's a lot of sexual tension (mostly on the part of Perry) that weirdly doesn't detract from the plot.
I'll admit that as much as I hide behind the cushions while watching a scary film, I do love the horror genre, whether that's films or books. I love to be scared. But usually I'm disappointed with books that claim to be scary. They usually don't affect me at all. 'Darkhouse' seems to be the exception. This book had goosebumps raising on my arms and it's made me think twice about using a public toilet when there's no one else around. There's one particular character, a creepy old lady, who just sends chills up and down my spine. You'll know what I mean if you read it.
This was a brilliant start to a series that holds a lot of promise. I'm definitely going to check out the next book in the series and would recommend anyone who likes a good scare read 'Darkhouse'.
5/5
