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Book Review: The Nightmare Room and The Hungry Ones (Messy Man series, vols 1 and 2) by Chris Sorenson

The Nightmare Room (Messy Man series, vol. 1) by Chris Sorensen

Harmful Monkey Press, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-908342-41-2

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

The Hungry Ones (Messy Man series, vol. 2) by Chris Sorenson

Harmful Monkey Press, 2019

ISBN: 978-0998342-42-9

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

The Nightmare Room and The Hungry Ones are the first two volumes in an ongoing horror series by Chris Sorenson.  Despite being billed as stand alone novels, they do need to be read in order. Otherwise, the second volume won’t make any sense.  The initial book, The Nightmare Room, features Chris and Hannah Larson, a couple in their mid-thirties who have suffered through the tragedy of losing their only child to cancer at a young age.  In an attempt to put the past behind them, they uproot themselves from New York City and move back to Peter’s hometown of Maple City, Illinois.  Peter’s parents live there in an assisted living facility, and his dad suffers from dementia.  Peter and Hannah move into an abandoned farmhouse owned by Peter’s dad, and Peter soon has to deal with spectral events (strange audio recordings, scratching sounds, ghostly figures) in the house, which tie back to his own upbringing.  The Hungry Ones is more of the same in Maple City, but with a different protagonist (Jessie Voss) and a different haunted building:  an old, abandoned motel with a history of murder being done within its walls.

 

Both books are similar in their writing style, although The Hungry Ones is clearly the stronger of the two.  The first book feels like an author taking his first trial steps at writing a full length horror novel.  It’s written in a sparse fashion, without a whole lot of description.   That works for certain types of stories, but when dealing with the supernatural, it helps to go heavy on explaining what’s happening.  Sorensen’s writing is vague enough in the first book that understanding what is going on can be confusing at times, when Peter is combating the antagonist, known as the “Messy Man’. The second volume in the series is an improvement over the first.  The descriptions are better, and the hotel is a much more interesting backdrop.  Sorenson peppers it with a variety of ghostly characters, and he wisely intersperses the narration with brief chapters explaining how each of those spirits came to be.  These interludes provide some of the best writing in the book, as each character proves to be entertaining, with a unique backstory.  Jessie Voss also proves to be a more interesting protagonist. She got a large sum of money in an accident settlement, and decides to invest it all in revamping a motel with a tragic past.  She’s a headstrong woman, and holds the attention better than Peter’s character. Jessie’s friend Stephanie also adds some depth to the story.  The variety of characters in The Hungry Ones accounts for a good deal of the improvement over the first volume.

Both books combined give a decent start to the series, but as noted, explaining things a little better would help the series in the future.  The character of Woodrow in the second book was important to the plot, but it was difficult to understand his reason for vaping fluid with bits of bone mixed in, as well as his control (or lack thereof) over three ghosts that occupy the same room as him at the hotel.  Peter’s dealings with the Messy Man and his melding with him were also difficult to follow.  Example: at one point, Peter threatens the spirit attached to him with “if you try to stop me, I’ll split myself in two and drown you in life, every single second of it.”  It sounds good, but what does it actually mean?  Writing in a metaphysical sense sometimes works, but in this case, and in many other places in the book, the flow would be helped if it were more straightforward.

If you are okay with some things not making total sense, and you like supernatural stories with minimal gore, this is a book series you could probably get into.  These books could probably be classified as ‘horror lite’, so they would be perfectly suited for YA readers looking to start getting into ghost and horror reading.  Veteran readers of ghost and horror stories may want to look elsewhere.  Both books are quick reads, clocking in at under 300 pages.  The easily readable length, combined with the style of writing, make them perfect gifts for literary kids around Halloween.

Contains: mild violence, mild profanity.

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Book Review: The Moore House by Tony Tremblay

The Moore House by Tony Tremblay

Twisted Publishing, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1949140996

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

 

The haunted house tale is a tough one to take on as a writer. Not much can measure up to Shirley Jackson and Richard Matheson, although Mark C. Danielewski’s House of Leaves  had an original spin. In The Moore House, Tony Tremblay accomplishes the task of breathing new life into the trope, by doing what so many others fail to do: create memorable characters that rise above the expected to become something special.

Tremblay’s characters include three nuns and a priest, all of whom have taints on their persons that color them in multiple dimensions. The nuns have all been excommunicated and the priest battles his own demons. The four have been tasked with working in a paranormal investigative group that’s part of the Catholic Church as they hope to reconcile their sins.

The four have been assigned to check out The Moore House, a structure with a murderous past. The town of Goffstown, New Hampshire has been plagued by strange occurrences around this dwelling. They are instructed not to go inside, as their empath skills can be easily employed outside the walls, but the house has other plans.

What ensues is different than most haunted house novels. Like Hill House, the Moore House becomes a central character. To explain how would spoil the fun but the comparisons to The Exorcist are not far off here. The stories are not similar, but the ingredients will resonate with those fans of the great novels that preceded this one.

The bottom line is that The Moore House actually does terrify. Tremblay’s writing is unobtrusive and lean, allowing the characters and plot to breathe, move, and lull the reader into a sense of comfort, before crushing it. Recommended reading and well-deserving of its place on the final ballot for this year’s Stoker Awards.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Editor’s note: The Moore House is a nominee on the final ballot for the 2018 Bram Stoker Award in the category Superior Achievement in a First Novel. 

Book Review: Haunted Nights edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton

Haunted Nights edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton

Blumhouse Books, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1101973837

Available:  Paperback, Kindle ebook, Audible, and audio CD

Haunted Nights collects sixteen previously unpublished tales of Halloween. It is co-edited by Ellen Datlow, a highly respected genre editor, and Lisa Morton, an authority on Halloween. Haunted Nights presents stories of related holidays as well (e.g. All Souls’ Day and Día de los Muertos).

While I enjoyed all of the stories in Haunted Nights, a few stood out from the others. In “With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfsbane Seeds,” Seanan McGuire weaves a great haunted house story that switches perspective between the dead and the living. Mary can’t abide the teenagers who disturb her house, especially on her birthday, but she knows how to take care of her house, and the intruders. Stephen Graham Jones presents a tale of familial loss and a disturbing return in “Dirtmouth.” Jonathan Maberry’s “A Small Taste of the Old Country,” set in 1948, proves revenge can be served warm and comforting. Garth Nix always delivers an excellent story, and his entry in this collection does not disappoint. In his tale, “The Seventeen Year Itch,” the new hospital administrator disregards all of the warnings from staff about patient Broward and the incessant itch he feels compelled to scratch every Halloween. “A Kingdom of Sugar Skulls and Marigolds” by Eric J. Guignard is set during Día de Muertos rather than Halloween. A misspelling on a sugar skull leads to an eventful night for a man in mourning. Paul Kane’s “The Turn” takes the perspective of multiple characters, and is surprisingly well done in such a short story. Tom Nolan has never gone out on Halloween, but the urgent call from the hospital about his dying grandmother drives him outdoors on the most haunted night of the year.

This collection belongs on the bookshelves of readers who love Halloween and other ghost-related holidays. Other authors in this anthology include Joanna Parypinski, Kate Jonez, Jeffrey Ford, Kelley Armstrong, S.P Miskowski, Brian Evenson, Elise Forier Edie, Pat Cadigan, John Lanagan, and John R. Little.

Contains: blood, bullying, homophobia, rape, sexual content

Recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker