Showing posts with label Genre: Fiction - Horror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genre: Fiction - Horror. Show all posts

The Small Hand by Susan Hill

Jan
20
2011

No. of pages: 167
Rating: 4/10

Synopsis: Returning home from a visit to a client late one summer’s evening, antiquarian bookseller Adam Snow takes a wrong turning and stumbles across the derelict old White House. Compelled by curiosity, he approaches the door, and, standing before the entrance feels the unmistakable sensation of a small hand creeping into his own, ‘as if a child had taken hold of it’. Intrigued by the encounter, he determines to learn more, and discovers that the owner’s grandson had drowned tragically many years before. At first unperturbed by the odd experience, Snow begins to be plagued by haunting dreams, panic attacks, and more frequent visits from the small hand which become increasingly threatening and sinister…

Review: Having taken a wrong turn on a country road, Adam Snow accidentally comes across a once beautiful, but now run down abandoned house. As he stands admiring it, he feels a little hand slip in to his, but to his horror, there is no one stood beside him. As he tries to forget the experience, he feels the hand slip in to his again, and realises he needs to find out more about the house that led him to the hand...

A pretty disappointing read overall really. I was expecting a scary ghost story and it was nothing of the sort, and I actually found it to be pretty dull. It had so much potential to be great as well which is a shame. I did enjoy the mystery aspect of the plot as so far as I wanted to know the story behind the hand, but didn't really feel that it was explained to much extent. The characters were never explored to any depth, so I never felt like I got to know or like any of them. I think the best bit about this book is the fact it's so short, so it didn't take long to get through. I don't think I'd read anything by this author again.

The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff

Apr
26
2010

No. of pages: 280
Rating: 8/10

Synopsis: Baird College's Mendenhall echoes with the footsteps of students heading home for Thanksgiving break and Robin Stone, who won't be going home, swears she can feel the creepy, hundred-year-old residence hall breathe a sigh of relief for its long-awaited solitude. As a massive storm approaches, four other lonely students reveal themselves to Robin: Patrick, a handsome jock; Lisa, a manipulative tease; Cain, a brooding musician; and Martin, a scholarly eccentric. Each has forsaken a long weekend at home for their own secret reasons. The five unlikely companions establish a tentative rapport, but they soon become aware of another presence disturbing the building's ominous silence. Are they the victims of an elaborate prank, or is the energy evidence of something genuine - something intent on using them for its own terrifying ends?

Review: Robin Stone thinks she's the only one staying at the dorms for Thanksgiving, but she soon finds out that there are 4 others that have stayed behind. It seems that Patrick, Lisa, Cain and Martin all have family problems too, so to keep themselves amused they start playing with a ouija board. But when things start happening, they start to wonder what it is exactly that they've unleashed...

Well the cover describes this as 'Scream meets The Exorcist', and whilst I wouldn't say it was like either of those films, or even particularly scary, it was an entertaining read. It doesn't start great, the first several pages about Robin are very 'emo', but once you get past that and into the group story it picks up massively. The characters are easily relatable, each going through a different family situation which is affecting their life. It's nothing you wouldn't imagine a typical ghost story to be, but it's a really easy read, it only took me one sitting to shoot through it. Definitely worth a look if you're a fan of a creepy ghost tale.
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