A review by mad_about_books
The Halloween Children by Brian James Freeman, Norman Prentiss
5.0
Reading THE HALLOWEEN CHILDREN took me back 40 some odd years to reading Stephen King's CARRIE. No, this is not a remake of an old book, not at all. It recalls the creepy, the not quite skin crawling creepy, the earlier work evoked. There is also something in the construction of the tale that also harkens back to mid-70s resurgence of written horror.
I have had the pleasure of reading both Brian James Freeman and Norman Prentiss before. Their collaboration appears to be pretty seamless, although I will confess that the last chapter, the putting-it-all-together chapter, sounded like pure Prentiss to me. There is no doubt that both of these authors know how to raise those little hairs on the back of your neck with a word here and a word there. I would say save THE HALLOWEEN CHILDREN for reading on that particular holiday, but that would deprive you of the unease of reading it now. Besides, it never hurts to rehearse for a night-long marathon read on a crisp night in October.
If you are looking for spoilers, you won't find them here. No. You must read THE HALLOWEEN CHILDREN yourself to find out just what the story is, just who the characters are, and who the children themselves are. If Halloween is your favorite holiday (it IS mine), then this book belongs on your 'must read' list.
I obtained this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
I have had the pleasure of reading both Brian James Freeman and Norman Prentiss before. Their collaboration appears to be pretty seamless, although I will confess that the last chapter, the putting-it-all-together chapter, sounded like pure Prentiss to me. There is no doubt that both of these authors know how to raise those little hairs on the back of your neck with a word here and a word there. I would say save THE HALLOWEEN CHILDREN for reading on that particular holiday, but that would deprive you of the unease of reading it now. Besides, it never hurts to rehearse for a night-long marathon read on a crisp night in October.
If you are looking for spoilers, you won't find them here. No. You must read THE HALLOWEEN CHILDREN yourself to find out just what the story is, just who the characters are, and who the children themselves are. If Halloween is your favorite holiday (it IS mine), then this book belongs on your 'must read' list.
I obtained this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.