Recent reads - Mastodon by Steve Stred and Viy by Nikolai Gogol - Reviews

In the Afterword, the author mentions frequent visits to cryptozoology.com dating back to the early 2000's. First of all, as a cryptozoology fangirl, how did I not know about that website? Secondly, the same sentiments he mentions...footage of crypto creatures is exciting and always has me hoping it's real. But should we be hoping these creatures are real? After reading this book, I'm not so sure. 

I was fully engrossed in Mastodon. Missing parents, restricted government area, mind-blowing and terrifying creatures created in secret government experiments, and a story with heart that had me rooting for Tyler. All of this kept me coming back every chance I had. There are some definite shocking gross-out moments, and it will make you cringe at one point, but everything is necessary to convey the horrifying reality of what is going on in that facility. The ending left me cold, but not in a bad way. Overall, this is a solid cryptozoology government conspiracy mashup. If that's your thing, I recommend it.

Oddly enough, I discovered Nikolai Gogol from watching the Russian TV series, Gogol (an excellent series for horror fans - you can watch it for free on Tubi). Episode 6 is actually titled Viy. I developed an interest in the real Gogol and set about obtaining his works. I also watched the film, Viy (1967) which was rather comical in addition to the various horrific elements (watch the full movie for free on YouTube).

Preceding the story, Gogol's author's note: 

The "Viy" is a monstrous creation of popular fancy. It is the name which inhabitants of Little Russia give to the king of the gnomes, whose eyelashes reach to the ground. The following story is a specimen of such folk-lore. I have made no alterations, but reproduce it in the same simple form in which I heard it.

Viy is an entertaining story. Not so very scary, as it has a dark comedic tone (deftly reflected in the 1967 film), but I can see where this would have been a terrifying tale at the time it was written in regards to the folktale and the religious and superstitious beliefs of the time. The Viy episode of the TV series was much more frightening. All this being said, I enjoyed this tale, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Gogol's works.

Scene from 1967 film:

Gogol TV series trailer:

Happy 14th CM...and save the date for Something Wicked Fall 2025!

I'm passionate about horror, as anyone who knows me is aware. I had some years of segue into reading mostly historical fiction, but horror is once again at the forefront of my reading, and writing (I'm currently at work writing my first horror novel). So, I've gone back to my roots since horror was the genre I mainly read when I started reading adult fiction as a preteen. 

A big thank you to all the horror lovers out there, authors and readers alike! Also, thank you for following this little corner of the horror universe. It means more than you will ever know.

Here's to many more years of horror!

Save the date for our scary fall events. Something Wicked Fall, which runs through September and October, kicks off on September 1st. I will have the kick off post live with all the info, and the reading schedule for our read-along of Richard Matheson's Hell House that day (this is a reread for me and I'm excited because it's my favorite horror novel!). The FrightFall Readathon, hosted over at my readathon blog, Seasons of Reading starts on October 1st. Sign up for that event will be posted by mid-September. 

Check out the FrightFall event button. So excited for spooky season! I hope you will join us for all the fun!

2025 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - Second Quarter Check-in

Late again. I really need to set a reminder. Apologies.

So, how did the second quarter go for you?

I'm doing the Chilling level which is 12 books in a year (plus, I'm trying for the Cryptid Bingo). Here's how it's going so far...

• Vampires - The Vampire Armand, Anne Rice
• Witches
• Folk Horror
• Written by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) author
• A Ghost Story - The Hacienda, Isabel Canas
• Written by a female author - Pine, Francine Toon
• Cosmic Horror - Annihilation, Jeff Vandermeer
• Frightening Cover
• Adapted as movie/series - The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
• Katsu, Ketchum, King, or Koontz - Holly, Stephen King
• Black, gray, orange, or red cover - Horseman, Christina Henry
• Book featuring a Cryptid (mark off one BINGO square!) - The Dover Demon, Hunter Shea

I can't believe there are still two more quarters and I've already read eight! I also have three squares marked on Cryptid BINGO. I've read...

Loch Ness Revenge, Hunter Shea

The Dover Demon, Hunter Shea

Rogue, Luke Phillips (Bigfoot)

I keep track of my yearly challenges over on my sister site, True Book Addict. There's a link to my 2025
challenge page in the menu above.

I hope you're enjoying your horrific reading! Share your progress in the comments (update, links to posts/reviews, etc.)...

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Review

I've had this book on my TBR for a long time. I am glad I finally read it. I've long been an Oscar Wilde fan. I was in his play, The Importance of Being Earnest in high school.

 
Dorian Gray is a good novel. It raises questions about narcissism, morality, even the association of ugliness with aging (and with evil), and the old being less than. It also has one of my favorite quotes, "The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame." So true.

The only problem I had, and it's a minor one, were the long passage describing Dorian's interests, his fleeting passions, and Lord Henry's various monologues. Yet there's no denying that this is an excellent novel of Gothic fiction.

I have seen two film adaptations of Dorian Gray. The 1945 and 2009 films. Both of them changed the story and I have to say I much preferred the book. Not really a surprise though, right?

2025 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - First Quarter Check-in

Sorry I'm late! Big thanks to Marla for posting her update on Instagram...a nice kick in the pants since I forgot. 

So, how did the first quarter go for you?

I'm doing the Chilling level which is 12 books in a year (plus, I'm trying for the Cryptid Bingo). Here's how it's going so far...

• Vampires
• Witches
• Folk Horror
• Written by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) author
• A Ghost Story
• Written by a female author
• Cosmic Horror
• Frightening Cover
• Adapted as movie/series
• Katsu, Ketchum, King, or Koontz - Holly, Stephen King
• Black, gray, orange, or red cover - Horseman, Christina Henry
• Book featuring a Cryptid (mark off one BINGO square!) - The Dover Demon, Hunter Shea

I'm currently reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde which will fit the "adapted as movie" category. I watched the 1945 film last week when I started the book.

Here's my updated Cryptid Bingo Card

I keep track of my yearly challenges over on my sister site, True Book Addict. There's a link to my 2025

challenge page in the menu above.

My Spring into Horror Readathon is going on this month over on Seasons of Reading so I expect I'll get some categories knocked out. If you would like to join us, stop over there. You can join in at any time during the month AND we're having a 24-Hour Readathon on April 12. 
Here are my planned reads for the readathon:

I hope you're enjoying your horrific reading! Share your progress in the comments (update, links to posts/reviews, etc.)...

Holly by Stephen King - Review

I always say, "If you have anything you're supposed to be doing, DO NOT pick up a Stephen King novel." Truth! I read this in three days, which is pretty good for me...it is 450 pages after all. I've said this before and I'll say it again. Holly Gibney is one of my most favorite characters, certainly in my top three of King's characters. This case in particular had no supernatural element, as in other Gibney tales, but it is no less riveting. Holly says it best on page 442 (paraphrasing slightly):

"...Roddy and Emily Harris were worse. Why? Because there was nothing supernatural about them. Because you couldn't say their evil came from outside, and comfort yourself with the idea that if there were malign outside forces, there were probably good ones as well. The Harris' evil was both prosaic and outlandish...Holly isn't sure she wants to revisit a world capable of holding people like Rodney. Or like Emily, who was...more calculating and at the same time much, much crazier."

I can't wait to read what Holly does next.

2024 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - Wrap-up

That's year four in the bag! On my part, I managed to complete my chosen level, the Chilling level...read 12 books. Here's what I read...

• Witch, dark, blood, bone, or body in title
  Children of the Dark, Jonathan Janz April 16
• Nature gone wild (when plants or animals attack)
  Animal Kingdom, Iain Rob Wright August 26
• Creepy character/object (House, doll, child, etc.)
  Cunning Folk, Adam Nevill December 13
• Holiday horror (Christmas, yule, etc.)
  Christmas and Other Horrors: An Anthology of Solstice Horror December 23
• Short story anthology or collection
  Out There Screaming, Jordan Peele, editor February 25
• Takes place during Halloween season
  Mischief Night Massacre: Ten Tales of Halloween, Jason Parent October 24
• Winter theme, or winter on cover
  A Winter Haunting, Dan Simmons January 14
• A book that is also a movie
  I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Iain Reid March 2024
• By BIPOC author
  Lone Women, Victor LaValle August 24
• Classic horror novel
  The Necromancers, Robert Hugh Benson October 30
• Dark Academia novel 
  Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo February 14
• Gothic novel
  The Dismembered, Jonathan Janz April 28

How about you? Share your wrap-up in the comments, or link to a wrap-up post on your blog (or social media, shelf on Goodreads, etc.).

In case you missed it, sign-up for I Read Horror YR 2025 is open. This year I've added a fun (optional) BINGO challenge with a specific theme. Here's the link to the post.
I hope you will join me again!