horror

Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Wendigo Fever by Kevin Hardman

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Horror, Paranormal , , , , , ,

 

Summary:

Errol Magnus, a deputy Warden for lack of a better title, sort of inherits responsibility for the region when his older brother, Tom, goes missing. Something big and scary is out there taking down people.

Additional Comments:

– Not sure why this book isn’t just called the Wendigo. It’s not really about the Wendigo Fever, that’s just sort of a sidenote. The cover confuses this issue even more as it makes it seem like WARDEN is the title and Wendigo Fever the subtitle.

– The worldbuilding is decent for such a short story. I think if I remember correctly, it’s one of those post-apocalyptic, set so far in the future we’ve come full circle to the past sorts of settings.

– The book is surprisingly lighthearted for being a horror story of the creepy things that go bump in the night variety.

– Errol’s fairly fleshed out as a character, but pretty much everybody else isn’t. Gail had potential, but she does little more than give Errol somebody to talk to while he explains stuff the reader needs to know.

– I can’t really talk about my favorite side character because that would be a spoiler, but suffice to say that there are a lot of colorful characters in this world.

Conclusion:

Interesting, short horror story.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

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Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Audiobook Reviews 3/5: Short Story Collection by Charlie Chitty Narrated by Petrina Kingham

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, ghosts, Horror , ,

3/5 stars Mixed Bag Short Story Collection

Summary:

The stories range a bit in genre from zombie apocalypse to family drama to futuristic scifi to suspense to flat out horror. It’s a little hard to judge something like this on the whole. There are stories in here I absolutely loved, like the one with the 12 year old boy and the baby. On the flip side, there are some stories in here that are so disturbing that I can’t even recommend the book on a clean mailing list.

Additional Comments:

– Most of the stories have some sort of circular logic, a twist at the end that makes it wrap up nicely given previous events. That makes them cool but somewhat predictable.

– I can’t remember every detail right now, but I guess it followed a standard bell curve. 2-3 stories really impressed me in every sense, most didn’t move me one way or the other, and 2-3 either annoyed me or brought out some other negative emotion.

– Content warning: Adult content. There’s one story in particular where the plot involves teenagers getting into the porn industry. Very strong language. Several stories dropped unnecessary f-bombs. (There were about 5-7 throughout the book, maybe 1 was necessary to move the plot forward.)

– I heard the audio version. It was decently narrated.

– There’s a note at the end of the audiobook that bothered me because it came across as arrogant. It said something like “if you enjoyed this, please consider leaving a review …” (that’s standard and totally acceptable, but then it went on…I’m paraphrasing here.) “If you didn’t like it, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you don’t know how to have fun.” I get that it was meant to be funny, but it’s way more abrasive than it should be. People being people, at best you get a chuckle or two but at what cost?

Conclusion:

It’s a very mixed short story collection. Some are worth reading, and some are not. This book will not be on the Audiobook Edge list, but I’m starting to believe that I should just post all opinions and let people decide for themselves what they spend their time on.

 

Associate links to follow…

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Awesome Audiobooks: 4.5/5 Crane by Stacey Rourke narrated by Karen Krause

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Horror , , ,

 

Content warning: Language; graphic violence

(Sorry about the name spellings. I heard the audio version.)

Summary:

Ireland Crane moves to Sleepy Hollow/ Terrytown to get away from a disastrous romance. What awakens in her when she gets there is much, much worse.

 

Additional Comments:

– There’s a good deal of snark in the lines of dialogue and in the protagonist’s thoughts. It adds a much-needed lightness to an otherwise gripping but very, very grim, dark, horrific plotline.

– Content warnings: language, graphic violence

– Characters: excellent. One can truly sympathize with Ireland. Noah’s kind of a flat character, but he’s still awesome. Rip is funny, but he doesn’t play much more of a role than inept conscience.

– Although the main character’s supposed to be a school guidance counselor, she does and says some stuff that makes me doubt she’s ever been in earshot of a school.

– Plot: Good but there are some leaps of logic required that have nothing to do with the fantasy side of the story.

– It’s an interesting twist on the legend of the headless horseman.

Conclusion:

If you can handle gruesome, go for it. There’s even some fun to be had in this bloody tale.

It’s one of the creepiest books I’ve heard in a long time, yet it was very, very compelling.

 

 

As Always …

If you want the chance to get the audiobook for free, please join Audiobook Readers’ Edge.

If you’re an author (or a narrator) with an audiobook you’d like featured, sign up for Audiobook Authors’ Edge.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Julie C. Gilbert

Audiobook Edge and it’s Matchmaker Program are completely free now, but if you wanna donate anyway, go for it 😉

Er, just do it as a friend b/c otherwise, you’re basically just paying paypal.

 

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Audiobook Reviews: 3/5 Zombie Park by Mark Cusco Ailes

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Horror, Reader Resource , ,

3/5 Zombie Park
*mild spoilers possible in discussion; sorry about name spellings, I heard the audiobook*

Summary:

Mad scientists create zombies for the government to use as soldiers. A down-on-his-luck guy submits an idea he clearly got from a video game to a local business man and wins the idea lottery. Boom – zombie park is born.

Character Comments:

 

  • With a ridiculous premise, one expects to have to suspend disbelief. Even so, there are quite a few giant coincidences that are hard to accept as a reader/audiobook listener. Ie. Forenstein has close ties to the military and General Poe. Why would they need Ben’s idea? They could have come up with something on their own or killed him and swiped the idea. Ben just happens to see and ad for Forenstein’s  “I’ll make you rich” scheme and just happens to submit his idea.
  • The general’s not exactly a people person yet he seems to be doing a lot of the leg work involving people.
  • The scientists clearly can’t stand each other, but their rivalry seems very childish as presented.
  • The emotional markings and cues are all over the place and not very believable. Nicholas Hollman’s reaction to certain events is completely incomprehensible. Even Ben’s reaction to an event when he’s in the donut shop is cold-hearted and unbelievable.

 

 

Additional Comments:

  • content warnings: It’s a zombie book. There’s the requisite descriptions of fountaining gushes of blood scattered throughout as well as a relatively high body count for a book this small. Number of curse words is minimal.
  • The premise of needing “smart zombies” to be soldiers is silly, but let’s indulge it for a moment. If thought about, it actually becomes dangerous as an idea. If you need humans to create zombies then it’s not about making soldiers, it’s about who becomes the soldier. At this pt, it’s actually kidnapping, assault, and ultimately slavery. (creating something/someone to fight for you)
  • The cost/benefit analysis doesn’t hold up. A program like this would cost billions with a b. The government could get hundreds of thousands of willing soldiers by less objectionable, less highly illegal recruitment methods. I am all for mad scientist books, but it needed a little more logic to make me buy in.
  • I’m not sure why pages are wasted on Gus and his two gamer friends. This is a relatively short book, and Gus doesn’t really seem that important. Perhaps he comes into play in a later book.
  • There are fun references to Jurassic Park and several zombie movies.
  • Book is decently narrated, but some of the voice choices were hard to listen to. (ie. Billy)
  • The story doesn’t really have an ending, it just sort of ends. There’s a distinct, this-is-the-first-in-a-series vibe that kind of stomps all over any sense of closure.

 

Conclusion:

If you’re willing to just read/listen without thinking, it’s a decently fun zombie book.

 

As Always …

If you want the chance to get the audiobook for free, please join Audiobook Readers’ Edge. Of course, this is going to go live the first Sunday of October …

If you’re an author with an audiobook you’d like featured, sign up for Audiobook Authors’ Edge.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Julie C. Gilbert

Audiobook Edge and it’s Matchmaker Program are completely free now, but if you wanna donate anyway, go for it 😉

Er, just do it as a friend b/c otherwise, you’re basically just paying paypal.

Prime Student

Kindle Unlimited

Amazon Prime

Free Kindle Reading App

Audible