Reviews of novels, movies and writing events.
The Séance by John Harwood I decided to participate in a reading challenge run by Laura at Laura’s Reviews—my second ever! (The first was R.I.P. at Stainless Steel Droppings.) I recommend reading challenges to all you avid readers and writers out there. Anyhow, Laura’s challenge is Victorian related novels and movies, as in the setting takes place or the author lived between 1837 and 1901. Check it out here. Of course, me being me (or is it…
Forgive me. I’m going to break rank. Instead of the book review you were expecting, I’m going to talk about a movie. A movie that derived from a book, yes, but it contains not a single sheet-waving, chain-dragging spectral presence. But more than that, I’m going to climb onto a soapbox for a good old-fashioned rant. Creak. There, I’m settled. The movie: The Hunger Games. Who would have guessed that, in this century, in this country, myopic movie viewers would…
Ghost Island by Bonnie Hearn Hill Kindle e-book So, you’ve been hearing a lot about ebooks and are wondering if you should try one. But wait, you’ve also heard ebooks are sophomoric, self-indulgent, self-promoting drivel by authors who couldn’t get a traditional publisher’s attention if they handed out manuscripts clad in red spike-heeled pumps and see-through raincoats. Let’s talk about it. Normally, today’s post would be Writer Unleashed, but in honor of Read an E-book Week (March 4-10), I’m shuffling…
Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 352 pages. This book encapsulates Roberts’ strengths as a writer: eerie setting, mysterious mansion, endearing characters. Declan Fitzgerald renounces a glam, power-packed lawyer’s existence for decaying Manet Hall on the edge of New Orleans. Of course, New Orleans with its French Caribbean history is the perfect locale for all things surnaturel. And, in fact, ethnic and class conflict is the basis for the murder that preceded the hauntings. Declan, in the…
The night finally arrived when I set out accompanied by daughter Manda to view the movie The Woman in Black. We found ourselves in a state of high excitement. We were not alone. The parking lot was packed. The theater was filled to capacity. I had predicted, after reviewing Susan Hill‘s novel The Woman in Black in an earlier post, that I might prefer the movie version of this story. It’s a close call, but I think I do prefer…
I wanted to get a review out in time for Lunar New Year, which begins tonight. Notice I didn’t say Chinese New Year. In addition to China, Lunar New Year is celebrated in Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea. As they say in Korea, “Sae hae bok manhi pah de saeyo!” (May you receive many blessings in the new year!) In honor of Lunar New Year, I had planned to review Water Ghosts and dutifully read that novel. But in my reading…
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons Simon & Schuster, Inc., 356 pages. Colquitt and Walter Kennedy pursue a complacent lifestyle in an idyllic suburban enclave. Stimulating workdays. Patio cocktails. Garden parties. Tennis doubles. You get the idea. All that is threatened when an outsider buys the adjacent wooded lot, hires a brilliant architect and erects an imposing structure. Colquitt frets and bemoans the disruption of her perfect life and unobstructed sylvan view until I wanted to strangle her….
The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde With the advent of Christmas season, one’s thoughts naturally turn to sugar plum fairies. And ghosts. Yes, ghosts. What, Christmas doesn’t conjure spectral images for you? There’s a precedent. Think A Christmas Carol, now a standard eighth grade December read. Since I was short of time this month–who isn’t?–I went searching for a shorter example of ghost fiction. Imagine my surprise when…
The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman Ballantine Books, 336 pages Source: Pleasanton Library I read a favorable review of this book on the Haunted Travels website and decided to check it out. After I was thirty pages in, I realized I had read this novel before. Here’s the interesting part: I enjoyed it more the second time. I think it’s because I wasn’t trying to figure out what would happen, and I could just relax and enjoy the flow. The…
Sadly, the annual Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge has met its inevitable demise. I feel so fortunate to have found this reading challenge in my first year of blogging. It was great fun, and I’m already looking forward to next year! Best of all, I will continue to peruse the posted R.I.P. reviews in my quest for the quintessential ghost story. To check out the hundreds of other reviews in the realm of the creepy at Stainless Steel Droppings, click here. By…
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury How apropos to read and review this novel the week before Halloween. The story takes place—you guessed it—the week before Halloween. Will Halloway and James Nightshade are small town teens, reversed mirror images. Think light/dark and good/not-so-good juxtapositions, and you’re on the right track. Will’s father, a reluctant hero, fears the ebbing of his days. Meanwhile, a carnival of dark magic comes to town with paranormal forces aplenty–a skeleton, a demon, a…
R.I.P Challenge As writers we always hear, “Connect with others who share your interests.” Everyone tells you to do it, but no one tells you how to do it. In my case, I find it hard to connect with folks in the ghost fiction genre because, well, there is no ghost fiction genre. Some ghost fiction comes to us from top-drawer masters like Henry James and Toni Morrison and are shelved in Literature. I’ve found some ghost novels in the…
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill I do a writing assignment with my students called “Which is Better—the Book or the Movie?” Doesn’t matter if it’s a black-and-white classic or a Technicolor blockbuster, my students invariably plant themselves on the side of the book. (I don’t know if the knowledge that I’m a writer enters into their logic, so we should probably factor in the suck-up component.) Ironically, I don’t always agree with my students. For instance, I’m…