Save the date...and a poll for our scary fall events

Save the date for our scary fall events. Something Wicked Fall, which runs through September and October, kicks off on September 1st. We will be having another Stephen King read-along and you get to vote for your choice. Just click this link when you're ready to vote: https://forms.gle/u8Pcb2QMEsk83LGK8 

Please only vote for one title. Voting is anonymous, but feel free to share what you voted for in the comments below.

I will have the post live with all the info, and the reading schedule for our TBD read-along on the kickoff date. The FrightFall Readathon, hosted over at my readathon blog, Seasons of Reading starts on October 1st. Sign-up for that event will be posted before mid-September on the Seasons of Reading blog.

Check out the preliminary event button for Something Wicked Fall below. I hope you will join us!

I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones - Review

There's a recently released horror movie called "In A Violent Nature" which is a slasher film told mostly from the killer's perspective. I saw it. Didn't love it, but didn't hate it either. If you like a lot of gore and creative dispatches of victims, this would be for you. I, for one, felt it needed a better story.

So if you want a better story told from the killer's perspective, this is the book you should read. Never in the history of my love for horror books and movies have I ever read a premise this creative and just plain interesting. Finally we get the inside workings of what everything a slasher is about, right down to how and why he (she) never seems to be killable. And it's really a juxtaposition between a ruthless killer and a likable teenager. I really can't say more, as I don't want to spoil it. I'll also mention that there are creative killings so for the fans I mentioned up there, you will like this too. 

One final note: Amber's beat-up Rabbit truck, with the passenger seat that slid forward on its rails every time she braked. I had a car with a seat like that, except mine was a beat-up 1974 Mustang. My friends loved it. I was a bit older than the book's characters, graduated in 1986, but the 80s nostalgia never truly leaves us.

2024 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - Second Quarter Check-In

How did the second quarter of the challenge go for you?

For the Chilling Level, I read one book for the word "Dark" in the cover. That was Children of the Dark by Jonathan Janz. I'm planning to knock several out during Quarter Three. My planned reads below...

Animal Kingdom by Iain Rob Wright for Nature Gone Wild

Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne for Gothic novel

I Found Puppets Living in my Apartment Walls by Ben Farthing for Creepy Object

Lone Women or Don't Fear the Reaper for BIPOC author

I (try to) keep track of my yearly challenges over on my sister site, True Book Addict. There's a link to my 2024 challenge page in the menu above.

Fun reminder...Something Wicked Fall starts in just two months!! Trying to decide on a read-along selection. Maybe Stephen King.... Stay tuned.

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

Jonathan Janz's Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers - Review

The long-awaited sequel to Children of the Dark is finally here! It was worth the wait. Once again, we are gifted with creatures of our nightmares...The Children and the equally horrifying Night Flyers. Most importantly though, it's the characters, with the spotlight going to Will, the good brother and loyal friend. It's sad that he blames himself for everything that happened in Book One, and continues to do so in this book. Clearly, how can any of it be his fault? But that is what trauma can do to a person. Unfortunately, Will isn't given the opportunity to heal due to bureaucrats more worried about a cover up than his recovery. 

Janz always writes with a nod to Stephen King. Particularly, the coming-of-age stories like IT and The Body. But there is also an element of Stranger Things. The kids fighting an evil beyond anyone's imagination. In no way though is he copying those styles. He has his own unique spin on the story. Because Janz knows family, and even if this is a horrific story, the very root of the story is the importance of family. Family by blood, and those who become our family. 

If you have been on the fence about his books, I suggest you remedy that right away. Because Janz has a catalog of excellent horror for devouring. My suggestion is to start your journey with Children of the Dark, and this, its sequel.

My reviews of other Janz works:

Children of the Dark

Wolf Land

The Dark Game

Buy the book on Amazon.

Visit Jonathan's website.