csquared85's review
2.0
Very little horror on hand here. It didn't bother me so much that this was part of a series - it stood alone well enough until the ending called back to characters I didn't know - but the plot moseyed along despite the meager page count and nothing scary really happened. I was lured in by the back cover description of the Halloweenland amusement park since I have a thing about amusement park horror, but it features in the action of the story so slightly it didn't even need to be there.
Spoiler
Also, a deadly little girl could've been creepy. But the way she racked up her body count - simply by exchanging a touch and a glance with someone, then lights out forever - lacked tension.jayrothermel's review
4.0
A first-rate thriller featuring the reclamation of [occult] detective Bill Grant and Samhain, Lord of the Dead.
dtaylorbooks's review
2.0
This was a random PaperBackSwap find for me and it sounded interesting enough and all in the Halloween spirit so why not, right? Except it was less than exceptional in its execution and was sorely lacking in its build-up of suspense and any scare factors. A lot of tell going on and short on the way of show so I just wasn’t invested in most of it.
The pacing was, at times, awkward and seemed to stagger on some portions and fast forward through far too many more that probably would have been more relevant and eerie to the plot. The carnival itself isn’t even mentioned until two-thirds of the way through the book and even then we see it get erected and then not again until the climax so I think to really hinge so much of the story on the carnival is a bit of false advertising.
Grant’s your standard hard knock cop who goes off the deep end a bit when a demon child gets born because he’s the only one who knows about it and can’t prove it. He loses his job and then, of course, keeps posing as a police officer in order to get access to the information he needs to solve this mystery he’s building. The initial scary element, this figure of death, gets reduced, rather quickly, to this kissy faced creature with overt concern for this child that was just born in a most unnatural way. Then he gets all existential and anything scary it once had vanishes. The child itself is seen for a moment when it’s born and then in flashes as it ages and then once again in full view once the story’s climax comes into play. For a demon spawn she really isn’t developed enough to be scary. Of course I’m told she’s scary because she kills with a touch but beyond that . . . why has no one dropped kicked this serial killing five-year-old yet? It’s like, I don’t know . . . a killer doll. Because they’re so difficult to overcome, what with their size and strength . . .
The conception of this death child was the most interesting part and it gets glossed over. Anything scary is glossed over. Suspense is glossed over. Really, there isn’t very much that isn’t slid over for the sake of advancing the plot. I think this could have been genuinely creepy if a little more care was given to really homing in on suspense. If I’m not actually afraid of anything, what do I care what’s going on? And it did become difficult for me to keep reading because I just wasn’t interested in what happened. Plus, the “bonus” novella at the end that was talked up as being so different from the opening part of the book turned out to be nearly exactly the same but where Part 1 of the book obviously had to open the story up the novella’s ending finished it.
Meh. I didn’t dig this one. The ambiance wasn’t there. I didn’t FEEL like it was Halloween and I didn’t get carnival feelings once that came into play either. I wasn’t scared, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat. I just wasn’t digging it at all. It’s a story. It serves a purpose. But it seemed it was more interested in getting the story out than giving it time to grow and that care is what I’m missing. Without it I feel nothing.
1 1/2
The pacing was, at times, awkward and seemed to stagger on some portions and fast forward through far too many more that probably would have been more relevant and eerie to the plot. The carnival itself isn’t even mentioned until two-thirds of the way through the book and even then we see it get erected and then not again until the climax so I think to really hinge so much of the story on the carnival is a bit of false advertising.
Grant’s your standard hard knock cop who goes off the deep end a bit when a demon child gets born because he’s the only one who knows about it and can’t prove it. He loses his job and then, of course, keeps posing as a police officer in order to get access to the information he needs to solve this mystery he’s building. The initial scary element, this figure of death, gets reduced, rather quickly, to this kissy faced creature with overt concern for this child that was just born in a most unnatural way. Then he gets all existential and anything scary it once had vanishes. The child itself is seen for a moment when it’s born and then in flashes as it ages and then once again in full view once the story’s climax comes into play. For a demon spawn she really isn’t developed enough to be scary. Of course I’m told she’s scary because she kills with a touch but beyond that . . . why has no one dropped kicked this serial killing five-year-old yet? It’s like, I don’t know . . . a killer doll. Because they’re so difficult to overcome, what with their size and strength . . .
The conception of this death child was the most interesting part and it gets glossed over. Anything scary is glossed over. Suspense is glossed over. Really, there isn’t very much that isn’t slid over for the sake of advancing the plot. I think this could have been genuinely creepy if a little more care was given to really homing in on suspense. If I’m not actually afraid of anything, what do I care what’s going on? And it did become difficult for me to keep reading because I just wasn’t interested in what happened. Plus, the “bonus” novella at the end that was talked up as being so different from the opening part of the book turned out to be nearly exactly the same but where Part 1 of the book obviously had to open the story up the novella’s ending finished it.
Meh. I didn’t dig this one. The ambiance wasn’t there. I didn’t FEEL like it was Halloween and I didn’t get carnival feelings once that came into play either. I wasn’t scared, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat. I just wasn’t digging it at all. It’s a story. It serves a purpose. But it seemed it was more interested in getting the story out than giving it time to grow and that care is what I’m missing. Without it I feel nothing.
1 1/2
brightbeautifulthings's review
3.0
I picked this up at a used book sale because it had Halloween in the title, and I have a problem. (Maybe several? They include a bottomless love for horror and pathological book buying, to start.) I realized after I bought it but before I started reading that it was third in the series, and then went ahead and read it anyway. Life offers so few chances to be a rebel.
Detective Bill Grant is used to the "weird shit” that happens in Orangefield every Halloween, but either he’s getting older or the shit is getting weirder. When a hit and run accident results on some strange events, Grant knows it has something to do with Samhain, the ghostly Lord of Death who rules over Halloween. It isn’t until a sinister carnival called Halloweenland is set up outside of town that he realizes the “weird shit” this time might actually lead to the apocalypse.
I don’t think it’s completely necessary to read this book with the rest of the series. I didn’t have any trouble following the plot or the characters, although I suspect a reveal late in the novel lacked some of its punch for me because it connects to earlier plots. It has a nice Halloween atmosphere, and it’s a fun, easy ride for fans of paranormal detective fiction. I may go back and read them eventually if I happen across copies, but I probably won’t go out of my way either.
The novel starts with an awkward sex scene that actually ends up being one of the creepiest moments in the book, but… I’m just not sure I would start a detective novel that way. I’m fine with an occasional steamy romance novel, but I probably would have put it down if that weirdness continued. Fortunately, it doesn’t. The writing is passable but not overwhelming, and the pacing is strange due to a five year gap in the timeline and an unnecessary and undeveloped field trip to Ireland. Structurally, I wasn’t that impressed by it.
Detective Grant is basically the stock detective: tragic past, drinks too much, but is incredibly good at his job. I like him because I like that archetype, but it isn’t exactly groundbreaking. The rest of the characters are fleeting and forgettable, with the exception of Samhain. While I love the idea of incorporating him as a character, it wasn’t as effective as I’d hoped. The rule for most monster films (or books) is that the more screen/page time the monster gets, the less frightening it is, and Samhain gets considerably less frightening as the novel goes on. (My favorite Samhain character is still the one from Trick ‘r Treat.) The most interesting interactions take place between Grant and Samhain though, and if I were going to read any of the other Orangefield novels, that would be why. He’s certainly more interesting than the actual villain, which is a flatly evil child of Satan that the story doesn’t do much justice. Her motivation for ending the world is pretty much because that’s what children of Satan do. Yawn.
The back cover promises a creepy, Halloween-style carnival, and I’m always chasing stories like this after falling fast and hard for Something Wicked This Way Comes–which is really unfair because who can compete with Ray Bradbury? No one. And Halloweenland doesn’t even come close. The place barely features until well toward the end of the novel, and other than a nonsensical tour through the freak tent, there isn’t much to it.
There’s a novella called “The Baby” at the end of my edition, which is word for word the first seventy-five pages of the book with a minor twist in the last two pages. I was skimming after the first few chapters and a little annoyed that more hadn’t changed–otherwise, why bother to include it? For all the buildup, the changed ending didn’t make a lot of sense, and it doesn’t bring anything more to either story.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
Detective Bill Grant is used to the "weird shit” that happens in Orangefield every Halloween, but either he’s getting older or the shit is getting weirder. When a hit and run accident results on some strange events, Grant knows it has something to do with Samhain, the ghostly Lord of Death who rules over Halloween. It isn’t until a sinister carnival called Halloweenland is set up outside of town that he realizes the “weird shit” this time might actually lead to the apocalypse.
I don’t think it’s completely necessary to read this book with the rest of the series. I didn’t have any trouble following the plot or the characters, although I suspect a reveal late in the novel lacked some of its punch for me because it connects to earlier plots. It has a nice Halloween atmosphere, and it’s a fun, easy ride for fans of paranormal detective fiction. I may go back and read them eventually if I happen across copies, but I probably won’t go out of my way either.
The novel starts with an awkward sex scene that actually ends up being one of the creepiest moments in the book, but… I’m just not sure I would start a detective novel that way. I’m fine with an occasional steamy romance novel, but I probably would have put it down if that weirdness continued. Fortunately, it doesn’t. The writing is passable but not overwhelming, and the pacing is strange due to a five year gap in the timeline and an unnecessary and undeveloped field trip to Ireland. Structurally, I wasn’t that impressed by it.
Detective Grant is basically the stock detective: tragic past, drinks too much, but is incredibly good at his job. I like him because I like that archetype, but it isn’t exactly groundbreaking. The rest of the characters are fleeting and forgettable, with the exception of Samhain. While I love the idea of incorporating him as a character, it wasn’t as effective as I’d hoped. The rule for most monster films (or books) is that the more screen/page time the monster gets, the less frightening it is, and Samhain gets considerably less frightening as the novel goes on. (My favorite Samhain character is still the one from Trick ‘r Treat.) The most interesting interactions take place between Grant and Samhain though, and if I were going to read any of the other Orangefield novels, that would be why. He’s certainly more interesting than the actual villain, which is a flatly evil child of Satan that the story doesn’t do much justice. Her motivation for ending the world is pretty much because that’s what children of Satan do. Yawn.
The back cover promises a creepy, Halloween-style carnival, and I’m always chasing stories like this after falling fast and hard for Something Wicked This Way Comes–which is really unfair because who can compete with Ray Bradbury? No one. And Halloweenland doesn’t even come close. The place barely features until well toward the end of the novel, and other than a nonsensical tour through the freak tent, there isn’t much to it.
There’s a novella called “The Baby” at the end of my edition, which is word for word the first seventy-five pages of the book with a minor twist in the last two pages. I was skimming after the first few chapters and a little annoyed that more hadn’t changed–otherwise, why bother to include it? For all the buildup, the changed ending didn’t make a lot of sense, and it doesn’t bring anything more to either story.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
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