A DYING MAN’S GREATEST TREASURE…
Mortimer
Moorecook, retired Wall Street raider, avid collector, is losing his
fight against cancer. With weeks to live, a package arrives at the door
of his hillside mansion—an artifact he paid millions for…a hominoid
skull with elongated teeth, discovered in a farmer’s field in the
Romanian countryside. With Shanna, his beautiful research assistant
looking on, he sinks the skull’s razor sharp fangs into his neck, and
immediately goes into convulsions.
OPENS THE DOOR TO AN ANCIENT EVIL...
A rural hospital. A slow night in the ER. Until Moorecook arrives strapped to a gurney, where he promptly codes and dies.
WHERE DEATH IS JUST THE BEGINNING.
Four
well-known horror authors pool their penchants for scares and thrills,
and tackle one of the greatest of all legends, with each writer creating
a unique character and following them through a vampire outbreak in a
secluded hospital. The goal was simple: write the most intense novel they possibly could. Which they did.
A Word of Warning: Within
these pages, you will find no black capes, no satin-lined coffins, no
brooding heartthrobs who want to talk about your feelings. Forget
sunlight and stakes. Throw out your garlic and your crosses. This is the
Anti-TWILIGHT.
My Review:
I
always get nervous when I see authors getting together to co-write a
book, especially four! I always wonder if the styles and ideas of the
authors are going to clash and turn it into a pure mess. But my fears
were unfounded as soon as I got into this book.
It starts with a
bang and goes on at breakneck speed in an orgy of violence and gore,
with some pretty funny bits as well. Each author-Jack Kilborn, Blake
Crouch, Jeff Strand and F Paul Wilson, create characters who are inside
the secluded hospital when a vampire outbreak begins. There are no
fluffy bunny moments or a break in the action, no waffle or endless
descriptions, no classic literature or critically acclaimed
writing...this is just vampire action on speed. And I loved it!
Mortimor
is a rich man who is dying of cancer and has an extreme idea to cure
it. He purchases a vampire skull with horrific fangs and stabs himself
in the neck with it, infecting himself. His collapse is immediate and
his nurse Jenny and assistant Shanna have to get him to the hospital
where he swiftly dies. But Mortimor is going to come back very quickly
and is very hungry and eager to infect as many people as he can. Chaos
and death are about to reign in the hospital as the uninfected try to
escape or hide and the vampire hordes hunt them down.
We follow
Jenny and her ex husband Randall who is in hospital after an unfortunate
chainsaw accident, the obnoxious Dr Lanz who had Jenny fired from the
hospital, Shanna and her redneck cop boyfriend Clay, Adam in the labour
ward with wife Stacie, Benny the Clown at the ER after being bitten by a
child at a birthday party who is stuck to him by the braces on her
teeth and Carla the nurse on the labour ward. There are also a lot of
people at the hospital for various reasons who are about to become a
walking and screaming buffet!
It is Lanz who manages to get a
call in to the police to alert them while all hell is breaking out
around him. Victims are growing fangs as their own fall out, the sign of
infection, and a full scale bitefest is under way. Hospital staff are
trying to close wards and protect the vulnerable patients as monsters
stalk the dark corridors. Shanna comes back from a coffee to find
Mortimor had died, reanimated and is chewing on people. Benny the Clown
discovers that being chomped by a child is going to be the start of a
really bad day. Jenny begins to see the now sober Randall in a new light
as the injured man uses his chainsaw to protect her and a ward full of
kids. Oasis is discovering that being a child vampire makes it kinda
tough to get a decent meal. Adam's wife needs blood after the delivery
but does he really want to venture down to the basement to get it?
As
well as the gore, then is some seriously inappropriate humour which I
really enjoyed. Without a doubt, my favourite character was Benny the
Clown with his squeaky shoes. As he arrives on the children's ward where
others are hiding...
"Benny the Clown had torn open the man's
abdominal cavity, his claws cradling several loops of glistening
intestines. But rather than gorging on them, the clown was stretching
and pulling the bloody loops, twisting the organ into knots. Familiar
knots.
'Is that...a flamingo?' asked the old woman."
LOL! I
was laughing when I read that! Comedy and horror are great when put
together well, like in Evil Dead 2, and that was one of the highlights
in this book. It was so refreshing to read a book where the death toll
gives 24 a run for it's money, where the plot is just a crazy bloodbath
and where you are totally entertained from start to finish.
If you like gory horror with a few chuckles in it which is not to be taken seriously, then Draculas is for you!
Read Sep 2015.
5 stars.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish
in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of
2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to
bring bookish friends together. http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/
NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by
Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave
comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my
profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.
Never been that interested in meeting authors so I'll do my own thing. I do enjoy a bookish nightmare game, game show, trial or contest, part two!
1) Carrie Vaughn-Kitty's House of Horrors
Kitty agrees to do a reality tv show with other paranormals but the show is fake and they are being hunted by people who know how to kill them with traps and silver bullets. This is book 7 in the series and I loved it!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7796268-kitty-s-house-of-horrors
2) Rick Chesler-The Tank
It starts as a stupid drunken bet between friends-who can spend a few minutes in a tank with a gator, then it becomes an underground fighting ring where big money is offered for humans to face off against crocodiles, jaguars and sharks. This was a fun read!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33510001-the-tank
3) Richard Herley-The Penal Colony
The film No Escape with Ray Liotta was sort of based on this book. An innocent man is sent to a lawless island where there are no rules except survive at all costs. I read this so many years back, well over 15, so it is time for a reread!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/354207.The_Penal_Colony
4) Ryan Graudin-Wolf By Wolf
Yael escaped a death camp because she can change her appearance. Now she must impersonate another girl and win a brutal bike race across continents for the chance to murder Hitler. I really enjoyed this alternate history YA!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25907472-wolf-by-wolf
5) Jack Kilborn-Endurance
Certain contestants in the Iron Woman contest are sent to a creepy B&B in the middle of nowhere, to be used for their blood and to breed with freaks. Now the contest is to survive. I loved this latest read by Jack Kilborn!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8495705-endurance
6) Ernest Cline-Ready Player One
I'm not a gamer or SF fan but I was an 80's child so all the pop culture references I knew. I was surprised to like this as much as I did bit I really loved the characters and was intrigued by the real world and game world. Someone needs to invent Oasis!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12600138-ready-player-one
7) William Massa-Fear The Light
When Dracula is murdered, his vampires are summoned to solve the mystery but as soon as they get there, another murder takes place and they must evade traps in the house and daylight to survive the killer. I loved this book!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23670984-fear-the-light
8) Jonah Buck-Carrion Safari
A group of hunters are taken to an island to hunt a legendary giant bat, with the winner well rewarded. Now the hunters are being killed by one of their number and it gets worse when the moon comes out. A really enjoyable creature feature!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30636489-carrion-safari
9) PJ Jovanovic-Dead Time
In the UK Nathan is desperate for money and is chosen to appear on a popular zombie game show. Stay alive for an hour and win but nobody ever has...This book was a decent zombie romp in the tradition of The Running Man.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25350847-dead-time
10) SM Wilson-Extinction Trials: Exile
Lincoln needs medicine for his sister and Storm's parentage is revealed which leaves them on another trip to Piloria, this time to test out a biological weapon to kill the dinosaurs. Great sequel and I can't wait for the next one!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37824187-exile
Undergrounders have
risen from the belly of the planet to wreak havoc on humanity. They hunt
in darkness, dragging bodies into tunnels teeming with primitive life.
Elise
is a widowed mother trying to keep her daughters alive, but bloody
battles with beasties define survival road. Even when Elise finds Jason –
a strong, capable man – she feels no safer, no more confident that her
babies will see a tomorrow. Barely staying alive becomes the norm. Against all odds, Elise and her group reach a sanctuary. Yet there is no rest for the weary.
Doctors
O’Toole and Peters have been experimenting on the humanoid monsters…
but they aren’t interested in saving humanity. Elise assists them
reluctantly, all the while working secretly with Nick and Jamie to
return the world to what it once was—
Before the undergrounders came out to play on the surface.
My Review:
Elise
is on the run with her young daughters, trying to survive the invasion
of the planet by underground humanoid cannibals who are adapting to life
above ground and killing everyone they can. She is following broadcasts
of safe havens where survivors gather and there is safety in numbers,
as she heads north towards Canada, and hopefully safety.
I really
loved this book. It was great to have a different kind of monster
instead of the traditional zombie, though this story has everything good
that you'd expect to find in a zombie tale. Every time Elise stops for
gas, medicine, food, change of car, or sleep, she risks being attacked
by the beasties. She also has to look after the needs of two very young
girls which adds a different element to the story. We see Elise as a
fighter when she is attacked, and a mother trying to look after her
girls in a world gone mad. I mean, what other book do you have a woman
trying to drive as much as she can in daylight with one daughter not
toilet trained and the other with the weakest bladder in America? I
loved touches like that!
The beasties are brilliant and scary.
They might not infect you like zombies but their claws and teeth will
rip you to pieces. The beastie attacks really are tension filled as you
hope that everyone will survive, and for the first half of the book the
beastie attacks come thick and fast. Hotels, gas stations and shopping
malls with dark corners all become danger zones even in the relative
safety of daylight so every time they stop the car, I was on edge
wondering what was going to happen. But I also liked the fact that the
beasties begin to adapt to sunlight, grow smarter and start operating in
groups. As the book progresses this enemy becomes more dangerous, more
chilling, so the author is continually taking the plot forward and
evolving her bad guys. That is the mark of great writing. Keep your
readers guessing!
The second half of the book switches to life in
the safe zone which gave the book an intriguing turn. Thankfully the
people in the complex were all good characters and we now see a new side
of Elise as she has to let her girls have space, deal with her feelings
for Jason and become a scientist again.
I'm not generally a fan
of people having relationships during an apocalypse based on my own
opinion that I'd have enough to deal with without worrying about men!
However, I did like the relationship between Elise and Jason. It evolves
slowly, based on shared danger but it is complex and never perfect,
giving it more realism. I liked the way the girls characters developed
through the book with both having to grow up damn quick is such hostile
surroundings but there were a lot of really sweet 'family' moments in
there to balance the danger and horror. I also liked other characters
like Benson and the scary chef! Meg was an interesting twist. I'll say
no more about that!
Niggles? Just one. The few science bits flew
right over my head! I got the general plan-engineer a virus that will
eradicate the inhuman bits of the beasties which will turn them 'human'
or kill them. But when Elise starts explaining HOW the virus is made and
works, my eyes began to glaze over. Phrases like vector behavior,
oxygen bonded nanotechs, il vivo principle, pulsed field gel
electrophoresis, Percoli gradient and isolating chromosomes were too
much for me to take in and I didn't understand a word of it. For those
like me who don't get science, do what I did-don't try to understand,
just remember that the virus is to turn them human or kill them! That
will keep you right! Seriously, not getting the science did not in any
way spoil the book as you'll see from my star rating, so don't be put
off by those bits if you don't get it as there isn't much of it to read.
I found out about this book when I was looking at the blog of
another author and took a chance on buying the paperback. I'm really
glad that I did and I'll be passing it on to my dad to read. I'm sure
he'll love it too! I'm very much looking forward to reading book two!
Read April 2014.
5 stars.
It's that time of year that I love! The cooler weather and the darker nights, curled up in The Book Cave with horror books and watching horror films! This month I've selected a lovely pile of 35 horror books that I really want to read, fitting into categories again. I want to get caught up with a few horror series that I have started, hence the Series Catchup section. I'll be watching lots of films (I hope!) so I can finally do some film reviews!
HORROR SERIES CATCHUP
1) Michael Stephen Fuchs-Carnage (Arisen #12)
2) Michael Stephen Fuchs-The Siege (Arisen #13)
3) Michael Stephen Fuchs-Endgame (Arisen #14)
4) Jeff Menapace-Wildlife Reckoning (Wildlife #2)
5) Keith RA DeCandido-Resident Evil Extinction
6) John Shirley-Resident Evil Retribution
7) Lois Duncan-I Know What You Did Last Summer
8) Trey Callaway-I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
9) Eli Constant-Dead Trees 2
10) Russ Elliott-Pliosaur
11) Russ Elliot-Pliosaur 2
HORROR NEW-TO-ME AUTHORS
1) Daniel Pyle-Dismember
2) Kyle Alexander Romines-A Sound In The Dark
3) Ellie Douglas-Fear Inducer
4) Kealan Patrick Burke-Kin
5) Curtis Richards-Halloween
6) John W Campbell-Who Goes There (The Thing)
7) Gerry Griffiths-Cryptid Zoo
8) Ania Ahlborn-The Shuddering
9) Lee Mountford-Horror In The Woods
10) Jason Parent-They Feed
11) Michael Laimo-Deep In The Darkness
12) Tim Miller-Clown Night
13) Cameron Roubique-Kill River
HORROR FAVOURITE AUTHORS
1) Hunter Shea-Dover Demon
2) Hunter Shea-Creature
3) Hunter Shea-The Montauk Monster
4) Richard Laymon-Amara
5) Richard Laymon-Night in the Lonesome October
6) Russell James-Sacrifice
7) Russell James-Cavern Of The Damned
8) Jeff Menapace-Bad Games
9) Jack Kilborn-Origin
10) Ray Garton-Lot Lizards
11) Rick Chesler-DMZ
SCARY ASS FILMS
Some of these are rewatches so I can finish up a few film series like Final Destination where I haven't seen the fifth film, Jeepers Creepers where I haven't seen the third and Saw where I've seen the first 4. The rest are new-to-me!
1) Jeepers Creepers
2) Jeepers Creepers 2
3) Jeepers Creepers 3
4) The Collector
5) The Collection
6) Final Destination
7) Final Destination 2
8) Final Destination 3
9) Final Destination 4
10) Final Destination 5
11) IT
12) Bigfoot Wars
13) Saw
14) Saw 2
15) Saw 3
16) Saw 4
17) Saw 5
18) Saw 6
19) Saw 7
20) The Purge
21) The Purge
22) The Purge 3
