littlespookycute's review against another edition
5.0
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK. I normally don’t do vampire stuff but it wasn’t even really about that. If you’re into horror and teenagers doing terrible shit, read this!
chramies's review
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
We're all immortal until we aren't! This novel starts looking like a retread of "Lost Boys" or some such edgy vampire novel from a few years ago but there are reasons for that. Also reasons for suddently lurching back in time until our narrator (addressed in the second person as 'you') finds his parents murdered and then gets his first girlfriend. All very nice until a bad batch of drugs sets him and his friends at each other's throats, literally.
Then it's blood shed and a lot of referential stuff e.g. references to Clockwork Orange or to the same author's "Dead Inside" until the obvious
There are quite a few narratives where the characters believe supernatural stuff is going down but it isn't, but fewer where the protagonist is as massively taken in by that belief as here.
What I wasn't convinced by: the supposed vampire master's motivation in all that. Was he just being a nasty piece of work and making four youths go around slaughtering people? He's also a drug dealer and I'd have thought there was more mileage in that. (apparently he's some kind of devil).
What was I reminded of? Well, actually an unpublished novel of mine called Night Rising which does also involve night-dwelling marginalised young people (some of whom do use the 'v' word), a strange new drug that makes you kill people if you overdose, and a high-life/low-life confrontation. Just that it's set in London in the 1990s instead of California in the 2010s. I suppose there are others.
I actually found this quite funny - Chandler Morrison is a bit reminiscent of Edward Lee some of whose stories I like. I wouldn't say it was good ... but if I found it funny and kept reading, maybe it is.
Then it's blood shed and a lot of referential stuff e.g. references to Clockwork Orange or to the same author's "Dead Inside" until the obvious
Spoiler
reveal which isn't one. I mean, I don't think many readers are going to be as taken in as much as Casanova and his friends, who, for supposed vampires are suspiciously all Californian mid-teens. There's no "I was turned in Whitechapel in 1880, dearie," around here.There are quite a few narratives where the characters believe supernatural stuff is going down but it isn't, but fewer where the protagonist is as massively taken in by that belief as here.
What I wasn't convinced by: the supposed vampire master's motivation in all that. Was he just being a nasty piece of work and making four youths go around slaughtering people? He's also a drug dealer and I'd have thought there was more mileage in that. (apparently he's some kind of devil).
What was I reminded of? Well, actually an unpublished novel of mine called Night Rising which does also involve night-dwelling marginalised young people (some of whom do use the 'v' word), a strange new drug that makes you kill people if you overdose, and a high-life/low-life confrontation. Just that it's set in London in the 1990s instead of California in the 2010s. I suppose there are others.
I actually found this quite funny - Chandler Morrison is a bit reminiscent of Edward Lee some of whose stories I like. I wouldn't say it was good ... but if I found it funny and kept reading, maybe it is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Pedophilia
pbanditp's review
4.0
How does one become immortal? What would you do if you knew you could live forever? imagine being a teenager that has been bullied all your life, now you have friends that are just like you. Revenge is just around the corner, sex is everywhere, drugs and money are yours for the taking. What is the cost of such a life?
lanternsjourney's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The vampires in this story are emo-hipster and I wasn't really into it. All the characters were insufferable but I kept reading to see if they would be redeemed or something. I really did like the ending, so this book got a little extra bump in the rating for it.
djgroupi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The BEST vampire novel I have ever read!!! Haunting, disturbing, original and not like anything I ever expected. Couldn't get through the pages fast enough. Not for the faint of heart or stomach. Recommended for true horror fans . . .
tales_of_a_succubus's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
What's it about?
When a troubled fifteen year old boy is offered immortality & an opportunity for a new life after his foster parents are murdered, he decides to take up the offer of the dark world.
I haven't read a book written in second person in a LONG time. It was fun being the teenaged MC trying to navigate a new way of living, as a vampire. Morrison definitely gave an interesting take on this. The first third of the book was slow and felt weird, maybe a little too immature. The rest of the book felt like it got into the groove of things and was much more enjoyable. However, there were parts where the writing felt lacking compared to Morrison's other books. His typical splatterpunk style didn't feel as polished as usual, if that makes sense. There were times where I wanted the plot to pick up but it didn't. Y'all know how much I adore vampires and this didn't completely hit the mark, although it got close. It's still a book I recommend any splatter fans read. The ending was so-so for me, I had correctly predicted what would happen which is fine by me since it is a very unique way to end the book. But it kind of...ended. Nothing more to it but perhaps there will be a continuation of the characters in a future book.
Character wise, we are experiencing the MC's major life changes & prior life. This was an interesting touch, getting to glimpse his past and understand where he came from. It helped developed a depth that brought it all together nicely. There are characters spread out through both his human and vampire lives. None of them you grow particularly attached to.
Scare Rating: 5 out of 10. There is definitely gore in this, they aren't your pretty vampires. They are ruthless killers, as they should be. Chandler does dive into controversial topics that may be triggering to some but it's not as intense as some of his other works. I personally love his take on these things!
I'd recommend this to people that want a different take on vampires, want a horror book from second person, and want to explore controversial topics in splatter fashion.
As a side note, if you read "Hate To Feel", this answers any questions about the weird ending with the devil and Derek Diver. They both play a part in here and let me tell you, I was living for it! I adored this entire part, it made me wonder if they will continue into more of his books.
When a troubled fifteen year old boy is offered immortality & an opportunity for a new life after his foster parents are murdered, he decides to take up the offer of the dark world.
I haven't read a book written in second person in a LONG time. It was fun being the teenaged MC trying to navigate a new way of living, as a vampire. Morrison definitely gave an interesting take on this. The first third of the book was slow and felt weird, maybe a little too immature. The rest of the book felt like it got into the groove of things and was much more enjoyable. However, there were parts where the writing felt lacking compared to Morrison's other books. His typical splatterpunk style didn't feel as polished as usual, if that makes sense. There were times where I wanted the plot to pick up but it didn't. Y'all know how much I adore vampires and this didn't completely hit the mark, although it got close. It's still a book I recommend any splatter fans read. The ending was so-so for me, I had correctly predicted what would happen which is fine by me since it is a very unique way to end the book. But it kind of...ended. Nothing more to it but perhaps there will be a continuation of the characters in a future book.
Character wise, we are experiencing the MC's major life changes & prior life. This was an interesting touch, getting to glimpse his past and understand where he came from. It helped developed a depth that brought it all together nicely. There are characters spread out through both his human and vampire lives. None of them you grow particularly attached to.
Scare Rating: 5 out of 10. There is definitely gore in this, they aren't your pretty vampires. They are ruthless killers, as they should be. Chandler does dive into controversial topics that may be triggering to some but it's not as intense as some of his other works. I personally love his take on these things!
I'd recommend this to people that want a different take on vampires, want a horror book from second person, and want to explore controversial topics in splatter fashion.
As a side note, if you read "Hate To Feel", this answers any questions about the weird ending with the devil and Derek Diver. They both play a part in here and let me tell you, I was living for it! I adored this entire part, it made me wonder if they will continue into more of his books.
rachaelallyn's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
motherhorror's review
4.0
I'll admit that sometimes, I go into a book with some preconceived notions based on expectations generated by social media or maybe some other random influences.
When I picked up UNTIL THE SUN by Chandler Morrison, I was prepared to face a vampire novel leaning heavily on Chandler's brand of extreme horror/bizarro.
I was surprised by the first sentence: "Google tells you that you're going to die at 7:06 AM". I don't read very many books in the second person POV, you. So that was totally unexpected; it started the chain of surprises in store for me during this read.
This is a coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy that wakes up to discover his foster parents are being fed upon by a small gang of vampires.
He's invited to join their ranks. They call him, Casanova.
"Well la-dee-da, look at Casanova."
Readers will find themselves growing increasingly more engrossed in the story of young Casanova as he tries on the new lifestyle this gang of vampires model for him. Parties. Sex. Drinking. Drugs
and,
Hunting.
The characters are constantly referring to a mentor named, Ambrosio and I think the desire to have Casanova encounter Ambrosio for the first time is one of the most compelling aspects of UNDER THE SUN.
For fans of vampire novels, this one is a must read. Morrison's vamps are modern, hip, and sexy. Sometimes the kills are brutal in a traditional Splatterpunk style and sometimes the kills are almost like a fever dream, stradling the edge of what is really happening and what is maybe the hallucinations of a young man trying illicit drugs for the first time.
Certain sentences stood out to me like neon signs; pure terror. I was sufficiently creeped out several times.
Stylistically, I enjoyed the second person POV and the titles for every chapter. I can't stress how much I love titled chapters. This was a fun and exciting read getting to know Morrison's voice and imagination. i'm looking forward to reading more of his work.
When I picked up UNTIL THE SUN by Chandler Morrison, I was prepared to face a vampire novel leaning heavily on Chandler's brand of extreme horror/bizarro.
I was surprised by the first sentence: "Google tells you that you're going to die at 7:06 AM". I don't read very many books in the second person POV, you. So that was totally unexpected; it started the chain of surprises in store for me during this read.
This is a coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy that wakes up to discover his foster parents are being fed upon by a small gang of vampires.
He's invited to join their ranks. They call him, Casanova.
"Well la-dee-da, look at Casanova."
Readers will find themselves growing increasingly more engrossed in the story of young Casanova as he tries on the new lifestyle this gang of vampires model for him. Parties. Sex. Drinking. Drugs
and,
Hunting.
The characters are constantly referring to a mentor named, Ambrosio and I think the desire to have Casanova encounter Ambrosio for the first time is one of the most compelling aspects of UNDER THE SUN.
For fans of vampire novels, this one is a must read. Morrison's vamps are modern, hip, and sexy. Sometimes the kills are brutal in a traditional Splatterpunk style and sometimes the kills are almost like a fever dream, stradling the edge of what is really happening and what is maybe the hallucinations of a young man trying illicit drugs for the first time.
Certain sentences stood out to me like neon signs; pure terror. I was sufficiently creeped out several times.
Stylistically, I enjoyed the second person POV and the titles for every chapter. I can't stress how much I love titled chapters. This was a fun and exciting read getting to know Morrison's voice and imagination. i'm looking forward to reading more of his work.
ericarobyn's review
3.0
Until the Sun by Chandler Morrison is a tale about a very troubled fifteen-year-old boy. Everywhere this boy goes, death soon follows…
I picked this book up after Mr. Morrison announced some personal news on Twitter. Shortly afterward, a group of horror fans all joined together to do a read-along. I’m so happy that I was able to participate! <3
Let’s dive in!
Until the Sun was a book that is WAY out of my comfort zone. If it wasn’t for our group that were all reading this together to discuss, I probably would have bailed on it. I personally just don’t like anything that centers around sex and drugs, and that was a major part of this book.
However, I’m SO glad I stuck with it.
Overall, Chandler Morrison’s writing style was wonderful. I really enjoyed the use of dialog and how the story overall was organized. This book started off in a way that made me curious… so I just had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. The ending was definitely worth me following the elements that I didn’t care much for.
Other than that, I gotta say that this is one that’s really best to just dive in for yourself!
Below, I have listed a few of my likes and dislikes. Feel free to skim past these if you haven’t read the book.
Likes:
The vampire-like characters and how they processed foods and blood was unique. I at least hadn’t seen vampires like this before, so I enjoyed learning more about them right up until the very end.
The Grinning Man was super eerie!
The element of the serial killer was very creepy. Especially the bit that the police hid from the press…
I loved all of the pop culture references. Like people that have been in the news, Instagram filters, Bunnicula, Hawthorne Heights (even if the emo-bashing got old real quick).
The violence was intense and written so vividly!
Dislikes:
All of the sex and drugs. This was a main focus of the book and I’m just not a fan, personally. Related to that, the flashback to the main characters life in LA wasn’t for me. If you enjoy teenage angst, lustful longing, and lots of sex and drugs, you’ll love this section though! (Note: It was wonderfully written! It really gave you a great look into the character’s past and allowed you to understand his mindset at current times.)
The use of the word “retarded.” From the characters and how they all acted, it made sense as it went along with their privilege and self-centered personalities. It’s just an exhausting word to keep seeing used, even more exhausting when seeing it used as an insult.
The attack on the people in the house who had a Trump-Pence sign certainly highlighted the toxic mindset of lumping people together and hating all Trump supporters. Again- this was wonderfully written, I’m just totally exhausted on this political mindset of hating those that don’t agree with you.
My Favorite Passages:
With everything that’s happened to you over the past year, there isn’t much room left in your mind for doubt.
“My friends,” Varney says, grinning and spreading his arms wide. “Let us make haste, for the night is calling to us, and we alone have the answer it seeks.”
My Final Thoughts
My goodness. This book. If you don’t mind elements of sex and drugs, or you can skim past them like I did, I highly recommend giving this a read!
The ending of this novel is something that I won’t soon be forgetting!
I picked this book up after Mr. Morrison announced some personal news on Twitter. Shortly afterward, a group of horror fans all joined together to do a read-along. I’m so happy that I was able to participate! <3
Let’s dive in!
Until the Sun was a book that is WAY out of my comfort zone. If it wasn’t for our group that were all reading this together to discuss, I probably would have bailed on it. I personally just don’t like anything that centers around sex and drugs, and that was a major part of this book.
However, I’m SO glad I stuck with it.
Overall, Chandler Morrison’s writing style was wonderful. I really enjoyed the use of dialog and how the story overall was organized. This book started off in a way that made me curious… so I just had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. The ending was definitely worth me following the elements that I didn’t care much for.
Other than that, I gotta say that this is one that’s really best to just dive in for yourself!
Below, I have listed a few of my likes and dislikes. Feel free to skim past these if you haven’t read the book.
Likes:
The vampire-like characters and how they processed foods and blood was unique. I at least hadn’t seen vampires like this before, so I enjoyed learning more about them right up until the very end.
The Grinning Man was super eerie!
The element of the serial killer was very creepy. Especially the bit that the police hid from the press…
I loved all of the pop culture references. Like people that have been in the news, Instagram filters, Bunnicula, Hawthorne Heights (even if the emo-bashing got old real quick).
The violence was intense and written so vividly!
Dislikes:
All of the sex and drugs. This was a main focus of the book and I’m just not a fan, personally. Related to that, the flashback to the main characters life in LA wasn’t for me. If you enjoy teenage angst, lustful longing, and lots of sex and drugs, you’ll love this section though! (Note: It was wonderfully written! It really gave you a great look into the character’s past and allowed you to understand his mindset at current times.)
The use of the word “retarded.” From the characters and how they all acted, it made sense as it went along with their privilege and self-centered personalities. It’s just an exhausting word to keep seeing used, even more exhausting when seeing it used as an insult.
The attack on the people in the house who had a Trump-Pence sign certainly highlighted the toxic mindset of lumping people together and hating all Trump supporters. Again- this was wonderfully written, I’m just totally exhausted on this political mindset of hating those that don’t agree with you.
My Favorite Passages:
With everything that’s happened to you over the past year, there isn’t much room left in your mind for doubt.
“My friends,” Varney says, grinning and spreading his arms wide. “Let us make haste, for the night is calling to us, and we alone have the answer it seeks.”
My Final Thoughts
My goodness. This book. If you don’t mind elements of sex and drugs, or you can skim past them like I did, I highly recommend giving this a read!
The ending of this novel is something that I won’t soon be forgetting!