Tag Archives: occult

Book Review: Nocturnal

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Nocturnal by Scott Sigler (pub date 4/3/12)

“Bryan said what he always said–that killing a man felt awful.”

I feel like I’ve been posting reviews on mostly serious, dramatic books lately.  So it’s time to get back to my horror roots and have a little fun!  I’ve never read a Scott Sigler novel before, but when I came across the book trailer for Nocturnal on Twitter, I knew I had to read it:

Set in San Francisco, Nocturnal is a book about the battle between monsters and men, and even dares to blur the line between the two.  Our protagonist Bryan Clauser is a homicide detective, rough around the edges but still basically a good man.  Stuck with the nickname “The Terminator” due to the number of criminals he’s killed, Bryan tends to see right and wrong strictly in black and white.  His partner Pookie Chang provides the comedic relief and also serves to keep Bryan grounded.

When Bryan and Pookie begin investigating a series of gruesome murders, Bryan begins to feel as if he’s losing his mind.  He starts dreaming about the murders (even as they’re happening), and he begins to wonder if he’s somehow connected to them.  Little by little, he and Pookie start uncovering clues to the killings, clues which point to a 200-year-old cult, a strange teenage boy, a vigilante killer, and a legion of monsters living in shadows beneath the city.

With plenty of twists and turns, interesting characters, and a fair share of blood and gore, Nocturnal is an enthralling read for horror fans.  Even at almost 600 pages long, the story stays fresh and the writing keeps pulling you back in.  It’s definitely not for the squeamish, but still an extremely enjoyable and unique read.  Sigler clearly took the time to develop his characters and provide an origin story for his monsters, making them seem even more real.

Overall, Nocturnal is a hard-hitting story for the true horror fan.  It’s part crime drama, part creature feature, and altogether a well-written and intelligent book.

Early Review: The Pumpkin Man

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The Pumpkin Man by John Everson (pub date 10/15/11)
 

The Pumpkin Man
 
“The only true evil in this life is small-mindedness.  That evil thrives, unchecked.  If only it could be cut out, like eyes from a pumpkin.”
 
 
 
I don’t think I’ve been this hooked by a horror story since The Hellbound Heart.  The further I got into it, the harder it was to put it down.  This book is everything a horror story should be: original, suspenseful, and disturbing.  This should be THE book to read for this Halloween season.
 
In The Pumpkin Man, our heroine Jennica Murphy finds herself at a difficult time in her life.  Her father has been murdered, and soon after she is laid off from her job and evicted from her apartment.  Jenn later finds out that she has inherited a cabin in northern California, a home which has been in her father’s side of her family for many years.  Jenn and her best friend Kirstin decide to spend a few weeks in the cabin.  But while Jenn was hoping to use the free time to relax and come to terms with her grief, she ends up discovering an ancient evil hidden in her family’s cabin.  What she thought was a local legend is actually real.  And it is coming for her.
 
If you enjoy horror, The Pumpkin Man is a must.  Everson’s writing style pulls you right in from page one.  This book offers creepy settings, realistic characters, intense kills, and well-placed touches of humor.  The kill scenes are expertly laid out: graphic enough to scare you but leaving just enough to the imagination to really get under your skin.  Everson’s extensive knowledge of the occult clearly shows in his writing. 
 
I would say that this book would make a great movie if not for my fear that no screenwriter could do the story justice.  Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if this book was optioned for a screenplay in the next year or so, being as Hollywood seems to have run out of ideas for original horror films.  But I’m willing to bet that the book will scare the hell out of people more than a film adaptation will.