Home » Posts tagged "Jonathan Maberry" (Page 3)

Book Review: Glimpse by Jonathan Maberry

em>Glimpse by Jonathan Maberry

St. Martin’s Press, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1250065261

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

 

Fans hoping to find the swashbuckling heroics of Jonathan Maberry’s  Joe Ledger novels or the zombified madness of the Rot and Ruin series will be in for a big surprise with Glimpse. Maberry has penned a decidedly different book here, a thriller in the style of  The Twilight Zone, that skates on the edges of reality and stretches the imagination, while remaining a very human story.

Rain Thomas is a damaged woman suffering from PTSD.  A decade ago, at age 16, she gave up her baby boy for adoption. The decision sent her spiraling downward and developing a drug addiction. She regularly goes to Narcotics Anonymous and is trying to turn her life around. Then, on her way to a job interview, a strange old woman sits next to her on the train and hands her a pair of glasses with a crack in the lens.  When she looks through the glasses,  Rain sees things that aren’t really there. Rain arrives at the interview and discovers she missed it–  by an entire day.

A little boy that Rain sees when she puts the glasses on spurs her into a wild adventure that turns her already off-kilter life upside down. She keeps experiencing the menacing Doctor Nine in visions that may or may not be real: he’s a character that sidesteps the usual stereotypes in favor of something deeper and much more interesting.  Rain discovers that Doctor Nine and his minions steal time and life from his victims, those who are the walking wounded. Her compatriots at Narcotics Anonymous, an odd but entertaining group of characters, become involved in Rain’s adventure, sharing her visions and dangers as she struggles to hang on to her dwindling sanity. Adding to the strange brew of characters are Stick, a taxi driver, and Monk, a private investigator, both of whom have their own demons to battle.

Glimpse burns slowly at the start, but once the plot and characters begin to spark, it blazes to the end. Definitely a different turn for Maberry, but a strong effort, and a wild, hallucinogenic ride for his readers.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

 

Editor’s note: Glimpse is a nominee for the 2018 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel. 

 

Posted on March 4, 2019 by , Reply

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

Posted on August 15, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: Indigo by Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Jonathan Maberry, et al.

Indigo by Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Jonathan Maberry, Kelley Armstrong, Tim Lebbon, Kat Richardson, Seanan McGuire, Cherie Priest, Mark Morris, and James A. Moore

St. Martin’s Press, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1250076786

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

The authors of this book all have produced amazing dark fantasy and horror fiction, both novels and short stories.  In this shared world anthology, they collaborated to tell a novel-length story, with each writer taking a turn to continue the narrative to its end. These talented storytellers have come up with an entertaining tale that can be enjoyed both by casual readers and by fans of the individual authors, although identifying which author has written which section is not as simple as it seems.

Nora Hesper works as an investigative reporter. She’s an intriguing character, with a curious backstory, and considerable personality. When she was a teen, Nora’s parents died, and to cope, she studied the occult at a monastery to deal with the pain and solitude. That plot summary suggests a tired retread of superhero origin stories, but then the story diverts.

Nora learns to harness the powers of the night.When the light is pulled away by the shadows, she becomes Indigo in the slivers of the moonlight. Indigo can use the shadows to manipulate the darkness into weapons and slip into the passing shadows to transport herself in and out of trouble across the globe.

Nora’s opponents are the Children of Phonos, a sadistic group who hold a darkness inside that rivals that of Indigo. The Children of Phonos are murdering children across New York City, and Nora realizes that she must eliminate all of them to protect the children. Then an event occurs that sheds light on her origin and family that throws her into chaos, a mess that she must solve to find the peace again in her life.

Combining all of these voices in one novel is tough. It’s not perfect, but it is entertaining. Go into it with that mindset, and you may find an enjoyable tale.

Contains: violence, child sacrifice

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on November 8, 2017 by , Reply
First « 123