Review — Rooms by Lauren Oliver

A house with a large tree sprouting from it and roots underneath it. Rooms
By: Lauren Oliver
Release Date: September 23, 2014
Publisher: Ecci
Rating:


Gothic horror has seen something of a revival in recent years, with many modern additions to the genre able to stand strong against past generations’ great authors of the genre. Rooms by Lauren Oliver is one such gothic horror. However, it doesn’t always manage to hit its mark, instead being a little too scattered with a few too many ongoing plots that don’t get the focus and attention each deserves. Yet, there is something here that draws in the reader, that makes you want to know more.

Review — Dreaming Darkly by Caitlin Kittredge

A skull made of smoke hovering over a manison Dreaming Darkly
By: Caitlin Kittredge
Release Date: April 9, 2019
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Rating:


Gothic horror holds a special place in many people’s hearts. Examples of the genre can be found everywhere, from popular TV shows to classic literature and, of course, young adult fiction. Caitlin Kittredge’s Dreaming Darkly is a great example of young adult gothic horror. All of the staples of the genre are present—an old house that’s both huge and spooky, family secrets, odd happenings that could be either natural or supernatural occurrences, and old mysteries that haunt the present.

Review — Road of Bones by Christopher Golden

A road lines with snow-covered, frozen trees. Road of Bones
By: Christopher Golden
Release Date: January 25, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Rating:


Award-winning author Christopher Golden’s newest horror novel depicts a cold, frozen landscape that mimics the January landscape of its release date. Road of Bones follows a two-man filming crew as they traverse the Siberian landscape in order to make a documentary about the most northern place still inhabited by humans. However, the only road there is Kolyma Highway, otherwise known as the Road of Bones, for those who died during the road’s construction were simply laid down and buried in the permafrost beneath it.

Review — The Haunted Forest Tour by James A. Moore and Jeff Strand

A bus being grabbed by tree roots that look like a hand The Haunted Forest Tour
By: James A. Moore and Jeff Strand
Release Date: October 1, 2007
Publisher: Indie
Rating:


Horror novel The Haunted Forest Tour was co-written by James A. Moore and Jeff Strand, two authors with significant writing skill and a plethora of novels to each of their names. Moore is an award-winning author of more than forty novels. Strand has also written upwards of forty novels and has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award ten times. Here, the pair come together for a creature feature of epic proportions.

Review — Wyrd and Other Derelictions by Adam Nevill

Wyrd and Other Dereliction
By: Adam Nevill
Release Date: October 26, 2020
Publisher: Ritual Limited
Rating:


Horror author Adam Nevill has dozens of traditional horror novels under his belt. Perhaps one of the most intriguing books he’s released is a slim, 100-page anthology titled Wyrd and Other Derelictions. This is quite a unique title, one that focuses on the horror of places that have already seen destruction.

Review — Hope Island by Tim Major

A lighthouse surrounded by ocean waves Hope Island
By: Tim Major
Release Date: June 8, 2020
Publisher: Titan Books
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Tim Major’s novel Hope Island is a slow-burning, introspective horror novel with elements of gothic literature. The story follows Nina Scaife and her daughter Laurie. Nina’s husband, Rob, has recently walked out on her, and the pair have just arrived at Hope Island to visit his parents. However, the island isn’t all it seems. The children are eerily silent, the islanders act oddly, a newly discovered archaeological site is drawing attention, and to top it off, a body is found lying on the beach.

A Throwback Thursday Review — The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The front cover of the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson The Haunting of Hill House
By: Shirley Jackson
Release Date: October 16, 1959
Publisher: Penguin
Rating:


Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is probably one of the best-known horror novels of the last century. Master storyteller Shirley Jackson spins a tale in this novel that many modern readers may not expect to find, especially depending on which movie adaptation of this classic tale they may have seen.

Review – Aliya Whiteley’s From the Neck Up

Book cover featuring a wooden head with mushrooms growing out of it From the Neck Up
By: Aliya Whiteley
Release Date: September 14, 2021
Publisher: Titan Books
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Award-winning author Aliya Whiteley is certainly no stranger to horror. Her latest collection of short fiction, From the Neck Up, is another foray into this familiar land that marries horror with the uncanny. Sixteen wonderful tales comprise this collection, with something for every reader.

Review – Best Horror of the Year Volume 10 edited by Ellen Datlow

Best Horror of the Year Volume 10 Best Horror of the Year Volume 10
By: Ellen Datlow (Editor)
Release Date: June 5, 2018
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Rating:


For well over a decade, award-winning editor and industry giant Ellen Datlow has been compiling the year’s best short horror fiction. Best Horror of the Year Volume 10 collects over 400 pages of the best horror printed in prior publications during 2016. Featuring a wide variety of authors and publishers, there is a little bit of everything the horror genre has to offer within these pages.

Review – Full Throttle by Joe Hill

Full Throttle by Joe Hill Full Throttle
By: Joe Hill
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Publisher: William Morrow
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Decorated horror writer Joe Hill brings us a tome of short horror fiction titled Full Throttle. There are thirteen stories in total within this anthology, which is quite an apt number for a horror collection. The first tale, “Full Throttle” is co-written by Stephen King, the author’s father. It’s also the basis for a Netflix film, so readers who find themselves fans of this story will have more to look forward to.