Book Review | The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz

The Dark Game is a horror novel by Jonathan Janz.

Ten writers are selected for a summer-long writing retreat with the most celebrated and reclusive author in the world. Their host is the legendary Roderick Wells. Handsome, enigmatic, and fiendishly talented, Wells promises to teach his pupils about writing, about magic, about the untapped potential that each of them possesses. Most of all, he plans to teach them about the darkness in their hearts. The writers think they are signing up for a chance at riches and literary prestige. But they are really entering the twisted imagination of a deranged genius, a lethal contest pitting them against one another in a struggle for their sanity and their lives. They have entered into Roderick Wells's most brilliant and horrible creation. The Dark Game.

"Once a reader holds a book, the story belongs to her." - Jonathan Janz, The Dark Game

This is one of those moments as a reviewer where I don't have the words to adequately describe my connection with a book.

On the surface, The Dark Game is a great read. It's Jonathan Janz! The characters are over the top, the horror is fun, the reader has no idea what's coming next.

Under the surface, though, it's something much more. There is so much of a writer's heart in this one. We are given insights into a writer's process, thoughts, fears, and struggles, references to Janz's personal work, a beautiful scene featuring Jack Ketchum...

I'm currently celebrating the year of the Janz. Not only is Flame Tree Press reprinting Janz's previous releases, but we've been gifted with a brand new release with The Dark Game!

Hopefully you will connect with The Dark Game like I did. If not, it's still a wickedly fun read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | The Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz

The Nightmare Girl is a horror novel by Jonathan Janz.

When Joe Crawford confronts a young mother abusing her toddler in a gas station parking lot, he doesn't know the little boy will end up in a foster home. He doesn't know that the young mother will soon burn herself alive in grief and rage, nor does he know that the dead woman belonged to an ancient and monstrous fire cult who will stop at nothing to get revenge. After the young mom's suicide, Joe and his family are plagued by inexplicable events. One night Joe smells ashes in his daughter's nursery. A kindly old couple whose house Joe renovated is found butchered ritualistically. Pushed to his limit, Joe becomes friends with the local police chief Daryl Copeland, who decides to accompany Joe to the cult's isolated compound, where the chief is murdered and Joe is taken hostage. Joe awakens in the huge three-story house he has been renovating for a beautiful client and her husband. His lovely client turns out to be the leader of the fire cult. Joe and the little boy he saved at the beginning of the novel are the planned sacrifices of the cult's midsummer ceremony. Joe's wife and some local policemen save Joe, but in a wild shootout the house is set ablaze and the little boy is taken hostage upstairs. Joe is left to do battle alone against the cult.

Wow. Oh my God.

I'm such a fan of Jonathan Janz. His books are over-the-top, unsettling, and so much fun. I thought I knew what to expect when picking up a Janz novel, but I'm realizing I was wrong. We will be blessed with quite a few releases from Janz this year, and I'm excited to see where each book will take me. There was more than one scene in The Nightmare Girl that left me gasping and horrified. For me, humans are often the scariest of creatures.

While reading The Nightmare Girl, I was reminded of Janz's The Siren and the Specter as well as Joe Lansdale's Cold in July. I was pleased to see Lansdale mentioned in the acknowledgments at the end of The Nightmare Girl. Lansdale's influence on Janz's work is apparent, and I highly recommend them both.

If you haven't read Janz before, The Nightmare Girl is the perfect place to start. It was originally published before Samhain Publishing went under and has now been re-released through Flame Tree Press. If you enjoyed Janz's The Siren and the Specter, I think you will really dig this one as well.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | Creature by Hunter Shea

Creature is a new horror novel from Hunter Shea.

The monsters live inside of Kate Woodson. Chronic pain and a host of autoimmune diseases have robbed her of a normal, happy life. Her husband Andrew’s surprise of their dream Maine lake cottage for the summer is the gift of a lifetime. It’s beautiful, remote, idyllic, a place to heal. But they are not alone. Something is in the woods, screeching in the darkness, banging on the house, leaving animals for dead. Just like her body, Kate’s cottage becomes her prison. She and Andrew must fight to survive the creature that lurks in the dead of night.

Creature was not at all what I was expecting. I assumed there would be non-stop action since people were getting pulled in from the start. I was wrong. What takes place right from the beginning is amazing character development. Creature is actually a very slow burn of a novel, but I absolutely loved it.

Creature is a personal novel for Hunter Shea, and it shows from beginning to end. The main character Kate suffers from numerous autoimmune diseases. Shea does not shy away from showing you what it is like to live with a battered and failing body nor what it is like to be the spouse and caretaker of a loved one going through medical hell.

In Creature, Kate's husband takes a leave of absense from work for the summer so he and Kate can spend the season on a secluded lake in Maine. Unfortunately, Kate and Andrew are not alone. There's a creature that lurks in the woods, and it's been watching Kate and Andrew.

Creature is an amazing read, and it may end up as my favorite book published in 2018.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review copy provided by publisher

Book Review | The Siren and the Specter by Jonathan Janz

The Siren and the Specter is a new horror novel from Jonathan Janz.

When David Caine, a celebrated skeptic of the supernatural, is invited by an old friend to spend a month in “the most haunted house in Virginia,” he believes the case will be like any other. But the Alexander House is different. Built by a 1700s land baron to contain the madness and depravity of his eldest son, the house is plagued by shadows of the past and the lingering taint of bloodshed. David is haunted, as well. For twenty-two years ago, he turned away the woman he loved, and she took her life in sorrow. And David suspects she’s followed him to the Alexander House.

Why did I read The Siren and the Specter?

I enjoyed Jonathan Janz's Wolf Land, Children of the Dark, and Witching Hour Theater. When I heard he was releasing a ghost story novel, I wishlisted it immediately.

The Strengths

The Siren and the Specter creeped. me. out. It's a great example of what I want my ghost stories to be. I'm pretty sure it broke tons of rules, and I'm OK with that.

Janz is great at both character development and action, and The Siren and the Specter is the most balanced work I've read from him so far. These two strengths blended well together throughout the book.

I really enjoyed the cross between horror and mystery in The Siren and the Specter. There were a lot of layers to this book.

I complain a lot about "unlikeable" characters, but what I really mean when I'm complaining is "uninteresting" characters. Pretty much all of the characters in The Siren and the Specter were unlikeable, but they were all interesting.

Sheriff Harkless. I want to see this character again!

The Weaknesses

Some of the characters were a bit unbelievable in the beginning, but things got so crazy and over the top in the best possible way by the end of the book that the characters really set the stage for what was to come. 

Would I recommend The Siren and the Specter to others?

Absolutely! The Siren and the Specter was a creepy ghostly book, and I loved it*.

9/10: Highly Recommended

*Be aware there's disturbing sexual content, suicide, and neglect/child abuse.

Review copy provided by the publisher