Writer of Horror Fiction

Posts tagged “witches”

Review of Brian Moreland’s ‘The Girl From The Blood Coven’ and ‘The Witching House’

The Girl From the Blood Coven gives the reader a short story introduction to Brian Moreland’s novella, The Witching House.  Back in 1972, a slaughter occurred at the old Blevins House in Texas.  A blood drenched girl stumbles into a bar in the nearby small town and the sheriff must go investigate when she tells him “they’re all dead”.  What he finds is both shocking and does a very effective job in setting the stage for the novella that follows.  We are given hints at what supernatural darkness is at work within the old stone house and its gore splattered walls.  They are tantalizing, disturbing hints, but left me intrigued and hungry to find out more.

The Witching House takes us 40 years into the future and we are introduced to Sarah Donovan, a timid girl who recently started dating Dean Stratton, an adventurer who loves exploring old buildings with his friends.  Taking a chance, Sarah agrees to go on a trip with Dean to check out an old haunted house in rural Texas where 25 hippies were murdered 40 years earlier.  Their heads were severed in many cases, and others hung themselves, but in some other instances, the bodies of the victims were never found.

The quartet enter the house with the assistance of a local guide and find that the old stone house isn’t just a creepy old place, but seems to be an almost living, breathing entity that seems bent on their destruction.  Whether it is the house itself or some dark unknown menace it is clear something hungers for their flesh and blood.

I’ve read Brian Moreland’s two previous novels and was impressed by his ability to spin a horror tale.  There is a certain level of dread that builds in his works that is based both on his talent as a researcher who provides his readers with a very detailed and vivid world and a knack for creating suspense with solid pacing.  This story is simpler than the historical horror tales he has crafted previously-a ghost story that still has a depth to it because of the believability of the characters and the underlying secrets that are causing the horror to take place.

If I have a criticism of this tale, it perhaps has to do with the character Otis, who I wanted to understand better, especially given his ominous yet sad existence.  There was more to him-I could feel it, and wish I could have gotten to know him better.  This is a minor quibble though, as this tale is another solid effort from the author that did not disappoint.

The Girl From The Blood Coven can be found here:   http://www.amazon.com/The-Girl-Blood-Coven-ebook/dp/B00CI3WCEO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374729375&sr=8-1&keywords=the+girl+from+the+blood+coven

The Witching House can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Witching-House-ebook/dp/B00CJ96E78/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374728045&sr=8-1&keywords=the+witching+house

August 11, 2013 | Categories: Other folk's stuff... | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review of Monique Snyman’s “Charming Incantations: Enticed”

Not too long ago, I was approached by an author friend of mine with a request to help promote their new fantasy novel on my blog, which I did, happily.  I tend to write reviews of horror novels, but I thought that since I am a big fan of fantasy as well I would also read her book, and not just promote it.  So here is my review of her book, which I would say fits nicely in the realm of young adult fiction, with both fantasy elements as well as a bit of horror-with werewolves and vampires playing a prominent role.

Charming Incantations: Enticed tells the story of Lisa, a young woman whose parents were tragically killed in a fire, which thrusts her into a world she never knew existed: one with supernatural creatures that expect her to do her part as the surviving heir to the human representatives on a council that works to keep the world safe from darkness.

While the story provides a prolog explaining the alliance between the six races: human, werewolf, vampire, shape-shifter, witch, and banshee, the first chapter of this tale bypasses Lisa’s initial realization of what she must do or any revelations she has that there is an entire world that has been hidden from her.  Instead, her tale begins with her knocking on the door of the meeting place of the six representatives of the six races.  There she meets the five other generals, or leaders of the armies that hold back the evil known as goblins from taking over the world.  One of them, Romulus, the leader of the werewolves, will take her in and protect her from danger until she can be trained to protect herself and take over her duties as a leader.

Lisa faces a great deal of challenges, not the least of which is the fact that she is falling hard for Romulus while she is trying to grasp this new world that surrounds her.  She fears these supernatural races but must come to terms with them all so that she can insure that her status as protector of humanity comes to pass.

This tale is part romance and part fantasy adventure.  There is magic here, and I am sure there will be passing comparisons to Twilight, but this is a tale on a far grander scale.  Lisa is learning about this new world as we learn about it, and is forced into battle even though humans are deemed the weak link in the alliance.  She cannot raise her own army of humans because the secrets of the other races must be kept, so the burden is even greater for her than for her counterparts.  In some ways, this is a coming of age tale as well, with Lisa doing her best to find her place in a world that is scary, exciting, and quite dangerous.

This is the first book of what I believe will be a series, but this story can certainly stand on its own as a tale of a young woman coming into her own in a world filled with both dangers, delight, magic, and mayhem.

Charming Incantions: Enticed can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Charming-Incantations-Enticed-Monique-Snyman/dp/0987874721/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336631184&sr=1-1

May 10, 2012 | Categories: Other folk's stuff... | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment