REVIEW: THE HOWLING

THE HOWLING
BOOK 1
GARY BRANDNER


SYNOPSIS (GOODREADS)

When middle-class Karyn Beatty is attacked and raped in her Los Angeles home, she suffers a miscarriage and a nervous breakdown. She and her husband, Roy, leave the city and go to stay in the secluded Californian mountain village of Drago whilst Karyn recuperates. Although the town offers Karyn a quiet lifestyle and the locals are friendly, Karyn is disturbed when she continues to hear a strange howling sound at night coming from the woods outside their new home. This puts further strain on her marriage as Roy believes she is becoming more and more unstable, but Karyn is adamant that there is something in the woods. As tension between the couple mounts, Roy begins an affair with one of the local women, a shopkeeper named Marcia Lura. However, on his way home, Roy is attacked in the woods by a large black wolf.
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MY TAKE
4 STARS

The Howling was a very entertaining read. This book was a great introduction to the series and the end of the book leaves you wanting more. There are yet so many questions to be answered, and I will be turning to the second book in the series soon.

The Howling was turned into a movie in the early 80's. I remember watching the movie when I was a kid and it scared the crap out of me. For some reason, werewolves freak me out. While browsing on a used online bookstore, I came across this book and had to buy it. The first thing that struck me right off was how different the book and movie are. This is NOT a bad thing. Because of this, reading the book was like a new experience.

This classic werewolf story is a must read for any horror genre fan. If you don't have it on your shelf then you must go buy it now...really, go buy it now!


KINDLE PRICE: $3.99
PAPERBACK PRICE: $9.99

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REVIEW: OFF SEASON

OFF SEASON
JACK KETCHUM
UNCUT, UNCENSORED VERSION

SYNOPSIS (GOODREADS)

In season, there's the tourists. Off season, there's only the locals--and visitors like Carla. She's on a working holiday, editing a book, but first she's got to clean up the house and play host to a bunch of friends. Nearby, a family of barbarous humans lurks in the woods, watching, waiting to feed their unnatural hunger...And within the next few hours, a group of sophisticated people will learn just how small a step it is from civilisation--to savagery.

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MY TAKE

5 STARS!

Off Season is one gory, cannibalistic trip!

Ketchum kept topping himself in the progression of this book. My "Ew!", "Gross!", went to, "Oh my gosh, can that even be done?", and proceeded to, "Oh lawd, I think I'm going to be sick!"

I suppose one thing that really hit home for me with this book is I couldn't look at it as merely fiction. There are cannibals in the world, however, probably not as prevalent as in past times. The story of Sawney Beane and his cannibalistic clan kept flitting through my mind as I was reading this story.

Ketchum makes sure we get to know the victims in this story. As I got to know them, I was making a survivor list in my head. I couldn't have been more wrong. People whom I thought would live died, and those I thought would die ended up living.

Off Season proved to be a hell of a ride.


KINDLE EDITION : $5.75

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