Lulu Marketplace

"Review of Death Knocks"

This is an excellent collection of short stories in the horror genre. I read the entire book over two days. My favorite stories are "Theological Breakdown," "Trapped in the Mijnan," "Beheaded," and "Dreaming of the Dead." But a lot of the other stories are great and worth mentioning too. You won't believe the ending to "A Task from the Mystic," it's really incredible, and the elderly woman in "Miss Squaretree's Ghosts" is hilarious with her desire to contact apparitions with the help of her son. Beware though, there are some gory stories in the mix, but I actually liked the fact that the author was willing to go in that direction, since most modern horror... More > writers seem afraid to do that. "Into the Pit" is probably the most brutal and grimly pessimistic story of the bunch. But the great thing about it is, the story is written in such a clear, bare style -- obviously influenced by Hemingway -- that it makes the intense parts that much more dramatic. There are even a couple of zombie stories in the collection. One, a simple short-short, and the other having a more sophisticated plot with a very original idea behind it. "Death Knocks" is more of an atmospheric piece that fits the overall tone of the book, but didn't really work for me as a stand-alone story. I noticed a couple of places where the formatting of the book wasn't perfect, but I didn't let that interfere with my enjoyment of the stories. You should get this book if you like short horror tales. < Less

"Great Book!" I really enjoyed the stories in this book very much. The writer has an awesome imagination and a true grasp for the way a good horror story should be written. I would absolutely recommend this book to others. Nice Job!

"awesome scary book" this is a book of horror stories for the thinking person. i appreciated the philosophical and psychological observations and tangents the author indulged in every once in a while. yet in spite of the brainiac stuff (he even has some math curiosities in the story Number of the End), don't worry, there is A LOT of fun and action and suspense and humor in the book too. the story THE INVISIBLE CRUCIFIX was like Danielle Steel meets Stephen King and they both travel back in time and get psychoanalyzed by Carl Jung, and their personalities drive poor Jung insane and he turns into a mass murderer. or something to that effect. hey, that story alone is well worth the $10.95 cover price. this book took me to places i'd never been to before. and i'd really like to meet the author someday. i would make him dinner and sit down and pick his brain, because this guy has some very interesting,
yet ultra-strange stuff going on in his head.

"Boo - A Review " The stories in this book are well-written. And the author seems to have an unusual imagination, because these aren't your typical tales about vampires and witches (although there is a vampire story in the book, but no blood is sucked out of anybody). I enjoyed "Journal of Numen" the most: one of the central characters is a total freak; the story takes you right into the mind of a musician, and the ending is creepy as hell too. The only nitpick I have about the collection is that the story "Almost Time" was too gory for me, some type of "punishment" thing. It should have been left out, in my opinion. But other than that, I couldn't get enough of these, and I'm going to re-read them soon. Highly recommended.

"Horror Done Write" Being a horror author myself, I’m always looking to see how other writers try to scare their readers. I came across many horror books before, but nothing prepared me for this. Jason Earls book of short stories (which is the best way to read horror) is so mystically crafted that the scares jump at you from every page. Each story has a different twist then the next, and none of them are silly nor boring, just true horror.
I hope Mr. Earl will find time to download my audio book, Tales of the Axe, it’s sure to give him a Dead End ride. –Russell Paine www.lulu.com/nightales