Carrie by Stephen King

Title: Carrie
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release Date: 31st October 1991
Genre: Thriller, Fiction, Horror

Summary: 
The events surrounding the mystery of Carrie White have baffled specialists and experts for many years. The novel revels the events surrounding the fatal night in Chamberlain through personal accounts and news experts to uncover why she did what she did and how.

Review:
I honestly have not been motivated at all to read over the past few months. I have been busy applying for jobs, writing assignments and planning my dissertation in preparation for a full summer of writing all the while trying to make sure every aspect of my does not fall apart. It is so much fun doing a Masters...

Anyway, I bought Carrie in January and have finally found some time to read it - it is pretty important to give yourself breaks when writing a dissertation!

At first I wasn't too keen on the book, as I could briefly remember the film which I was not too fussed on! However, as with all Stephen King books - if you give it time and patience, it will soon pay off. Carrie, whilst slow at first, turned out to be a page-turner that I literally could not put down.

It was not as gory as I was expecting to be though. The details of the deaths within the book were, in my opinion, often overlooked and could have been given more attention - I did not know one character in particular was dead until it was explained ten pages later! This would have made the dramatic last fifty pages a bit more interesting and happen less quickly! 

I did, however, really enjoy the style that the book was written in using extracts from accounts and publications written from the different perspectives of the characters within the book. The mix of personal and somewhat onlooker accounts really added to the mystery of Carrie White and made you all the more intrigued. 

Now to wait another four months until I finish another book...

Rating: 8/10.

You can buy Carrie from Amazon here.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Author: Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Quirk
Release Date: 1st May 2009
Genre: Horror, Classics, Fiction, Romance

Summary:
England has fallen victim to a mysterious plague which turns people in to mindless, brain-hungry zombies. However, the Bennett sisters are highly-trained fighters who are determined to protect their small village in rural Hertfordshire. Elizabeth Bennett, the eldest sister, is their best and most fearful leader in the fight against Satan's spawn. That is until she is distracted by the arrogant and intriguing Mr Darcy.

The Shining by Stephen King

Title: The Shining
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release Date: 1st July 1980
Genre: Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Classic, Horror

Summary:
When his father becomes the Winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, young Danny Torrance does not know the danger that awaits him. Danny is blessed (or as some may say - cursed) with the shining and the mysterious forces inside the hotel want it badly...

Review:
I made a promise to myself to "try" and look after myself more with all my assignments and drama going on around me so, I thought I would take a stab at The Shining which I have tried to read about three times before.

The Walking Dead Compendium: Volume Three by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Stefano Gaudiano & Cliff Rathburn

Title: The Walking Dead Compendium: Volume Three
Authors & Illustrators: Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Stefano Gaudiano & Cliff Rathburn
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: October 2015
Genre: Horror, Comics

Summary:
Collect issues #97-144 of the popular comic series The Walking Dead. The wait is over...

Review:
After a long and agonising wait after Compendium 1 and 2 (my reviews can be read here and here) they finally released the third compendium of my favourite comic book series! It just so happens that it is my favourite television show too!

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Title: Jaws
Author: Peter Benchley
Publisher: Pan
Release Date: 1974
Genre: Fiction, Horror

Summary:
There is a killer lurking on the coast of the summer town of Amity, Long Island. Beneath the waves the jaws of a great white shark are picking off holiday makers and residents one by one.

It is up to police chief Martin Brody to bring peace to the shores.

Review:
I have only recently watched the Jaws film and loved it! I was therefore quite excited to read the book upon which the film was based on. I thought it was going to be exciting and gory but I was quite wrong...

The Walking Dead Compendium: Volume Two by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Tony Moore & Cliff Rathburn

Title: The Walking Dead Compendium: Volume Two
Authors & Illustrators: Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Tony Moore & Cliff Rathburn
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: 19th May 2009
Genre: Horror, Comics

Summary:
Collect issue #49 - 96 of the popular comic series The Walking
Dead. I could not resist...

Review:
After I read the first compendium of this series (you can read my review here), I have been dying to sink my teeth into the next batch of comics in this series!

I may have just used loads of zombie-related puns but words cannot describe how good these comics are! Once you get into the story line and the format of reading comics, you just want more and more and it will take you no time at all to get through the 1,068 pages of gore, horror and grizzly deaths.

The Walking Dead Compendium: Volume One by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Tony Moore & Cliff Rathburn

Title: The Walking Dead Compendium: Volume One
Authors & Illustrators: Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Tony Moore & Cliff Rathburn
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: 19th May 2009
Genre: Horror, Comics

Summary:
Collect issue #1 - 48 of the popular comic series The Walking Dead. It's also a pretty awesome TV show...

Review:
I brought this book many, many months ago and I have been working up the energy to actually sit down and get on with reading it. After my ordeal with Sense and Sensibility (you can read my review here), I wanted a nice easy read which I would actually enjoy. I therefore decided to finally read this beast (by this I mean HUGE) book...

The Walking Dead: The Rise of the Governor by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga

Title: The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor
Author: Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Release Date: 21st October 2011
Genre: Horror

Summary: 
The entire human race is under threat - and Philip Blake is on the front line.

After escaping from their small hometown the Blake brothers, and their childhood friends, are on the run from the zombie swarms closing in on them. But apparently their is a safe zone. The problem? It is hundreds of miles away in Atlanta.

Can they survive this mammoth trek and find their safe haven? Or will the challenges of this new, dangerous world be too much?

World War Z by Max Brooks

Title: World War Z
Author: Max Brooks
Publisher: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd
Release Date: 2011
Genre: Non-Fiction Fiction, Horror

Summary:
Many years ago a zombie infestation took over the whole. The effects were felt throughout the world. However, now that the 'Great Panic' is over; the world's population is trying to recover to get back to normal.

In this book Max Brooks documents the accounts and terrifying stories of different people throughout the world and their experiences with the living dead.

Review:
Yes, the Brad Pitt movie of the same name is based on this book but is, thankfully, nothing like it. Hallelujah; that movie was pretty awful, in my opinion...

Shelfie #3

This is not really a shelfie as I have not really had chance to read or buy new books lately. However, since I finished all my assignments (hooray!) I decided to treat myself...

I am a big Walking Dead fan and decided to buy the first 1,000 page installment of the comic books. I have spent the last couple of minutes flicking through and I am so excited to start reading this! Definitely going to take me a while to get through it though...

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Cover for Penguin Modern Classics edition
(3rd February 2000)

Title: In Cold Blood: A True Account of Multiple Murder and Its Consequences

Author: Truman Capote

Publisher: Signet/ New American Library

Release Date: 1st January 1980 (first published) 

Genre: Non-fiction, Crime

Summary:
Nothing happens in the quite town of Holcomb, Kansas, and why would it? It is the perfect place to live out the American Dream.

However, in 1959, Herbert Clutter, his wife Bonnie, and their children, Nancey and Kenyon, were murdered in their own home.

In Cold Blood documents the killings and the subsequent Police investigation into catching the culprits responsible; Perry Smith and Richard 'Dick' Hickock.

Review:

I read this book during the first year of my English Language and Literature A Level course in sixth form several years ago and, like most set texts, I was dreading it. When I think of set reading for my studies the first thought that comes into my head is; "Oh no. Not another awful, boring text that I have force myself to read and then pretend that I actually like it. Great."

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Title: Warm Bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
Publisher: Vintage Books
Release Date: 31st January 2013
Genre: Horror, Romance, Young Adult

Summary: 
R, or so he calls himself, is a zombie. He has no memories of his former life, just the fact that he thinks his name begins with the letter 'R.' However, unlike his fellow zombie comrades in his colony, R has dreams. He still eats humans though. However, when he saves the life of Julie, one of the few remaining humans, everything changes.

Breaking the rules of logic and zombie-kind, R shows that all is not lost when you start to decay and have no pulse or functioning brain.

Review:
If you think this is going to be some gory story about a zombie apocalypse; you will be bitterly disappointed. I was. I mean, I knew that it was going to involve a dysfunctional and impractical love story, but I was expecting there to be a bit more gore and action! Not the scariest zombies, in my opinion. However, I think the fact that the book goes against and, in places, mocks the genre, is what makes it so special and cute. Yes, it is cheesy. Yes, it is just a modern and gory take on Romeo and Juliet (hence the names of the characters). And yes, the zombies are more like cuddly creatures than killing machines. But it works.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

As mentioned in my review of Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (which can be found here); I am a big lover of the foreign horror genre. One of my favourite authors within this genre is Jo Nesbo and his Harry Hole series. Even though this is the fifth book in the series, it was the first one I read, and has remained my favourite for many years, so I thought I would give it a review and explain why it is so much better than all the others.

Title: The Snowman

Author: Jo Nesbo (translated by Don Bartlett)

Publisher: Vintage Books

Release Date: 19th August 2010

Genre: Crime, Horror, Thriller, Nordic Noir

Summary:

As the first snow falls in Oslo, Norway; a serial killer is on the loose leaving a snowman in the snow for all to see. The killings seem random and unprovoked, but are they? Is there some connection to these pointless murders? Harry Hole, a workaholic (and slightly alcoholic) policeman, is however on the case after receiving a threatening letter from the so called, Snowman. Pushing himself to the limit to catch his horrendous and evil murderer, it is obvious that Harry cannot trust anyone.

Review:

Jo Nesbo is a bit like marmite; you either love him or you hate him. I, unlike marmite, love him. If not for his ability to create complex and clever storylines but for his sheer imagination and unbelievabley gory writing style. I love gore and horror filled stories so this aspect was a big hit for me! I may have read the book some years ago but there is one particularly haunting scene in the book which has stuck with me made me partially scared of snowmen and going into woods...disgusting...

Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Title: Let The Right One In
Author: John Ajvide Lindqvist (translated by Ebba Segerberg)
Publisher: Quercus
Release Date: 22nd January 2009
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Crime, Fantasy

Summary:
Oskar is 12. He is a wimp. He has no friends, dad or courage and is constantly lonely.

Eli is 12 and has been for sometime. She has no friends and only ventures out to the playground at night.

Review:
I have to admit, I read this book a while ago so it is not a recent read; but, I have always loved this book and it started my addiction to foreign horror and crime- so I thought I would give it a quick review.

My favourite aspect of book, is the gory horror which is present throughout. Whilst some writers shy away from the details, writers such as Ajvide Lindqvist present things how they are in such a twisted, scary, disgusting but nonetheless fascinating way. These details make this book a staple of the genre and a must for all horror fans (another prime example of this is Jo Nesbo, and his Harry Hole series; he, however, deserves a post all of his own here...).