Review: Prince Of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Translated By: Lucia Graves

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Horror, Paranormal

Pages: 218

Published: May 4th, 2010 (English version)

Publisher: Little Brown

Rating: 5/5 Stars

"A mysterious house harbors an unimaginable secret. . . .
It’s wartime, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they’ve recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house there still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners’ son, who died by drowning.
With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the suspicious circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called The Prince of Mist—a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden, which will change their lives forever."~Goodreads

You know those book you read as a kid that just drew you in and totally consumed you for hours on end?  If this book had been translated when I was that age this would have been one of those books.  What am I saying?  It is one of those books.  I picked up this little novel (the first in the Niebla Trilogy) on a whim.  I didn't feel like reading the next book on my to-be-read list yet and needed something quick to keep me entertained for a few days.  The Prince of Mist more than did the trick.  It was charming, exciting and truly scary.  It was everything a young adult horror novel should be.

LIKES:

• Beautiful writing: Zafon's writing is really beautiful.  He somehow captures the voices of his characters perfectly while at the same time allowing the reader to make their own observations about the world he creates.  The atmosphere was perfect whether that atmosphere was spooky at the time or charming and quaint.  The story moved along quickly and succinctly and kept me wrapped up in it the whole time.  
• Different take on ghosts:  I love ghost stories, they're probably my favorite kind, but there's usually some sort of formula.  Ghosts are usually dead people who hang around and scare the crap out of the living.  Not in this book though.  These ghosts are unusual.  I'm still not 100% sure how the whole thing went down but apparently they could take different forms, inhabit inanimate objects and resurrect terrifying circus statues.  
• Truly terrifying villains:  Speaking of circuses, there is a ghost clown.  I hate clowns, I find them truly horrifying at their best so when one of them is walking around all incorporeal with razor teeth I just about lose it.  Throw in some creepy haunted home movies, wardrobe monsters and a ghost ship and I will be sleeping with the light on for awhile.  A+ on the scares.

DISLIKES:

• Where are the parents:  About half way through the book something happens and the parents and youngest sister leave town.  They're gone for the rest of the book only to reappear in the epilogue.  I was disappointed in this because I really loved the family dynamic at the beginning of the story and it was sad to see them written out for most of the action.  However, I can see why this was necessary so maybe I can't really count this as a dislike.
• The ending (maybe):  I'm really not sure about the ending.  There are things I loved (the drama and sadness and hope) but I also was kind of disappointed that the story was wrapped up so completely.  It looks like Max won't be the focus of the second book and I really liked him as a character so that was a bummer, but it will be cool to see what the author does with the story from here on out.  After all, this is The Prince of Mist's story right?

I can't wait to read the rest of this series and see what type of terror The Prince of Mist will create. The second and third books involve different protagonists and different time periods which is a really unique and fun idea for a series.  It will be interesting to see what Zafon has come up with (hopefully no more clowns).  I only wish these would have been translated earlier so I could have enjoyed this amazing tale sooner.

Review: The Devouring by Simon Holt

Author: Simon Holt

Genre: Paranormal, Horror

Pages: 231

Published: September 1, 2008

Publisher: Little Brown

Rating: 4/5 Stars

"The Vours: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice. When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life.
To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?" ~Goodreads

 October was supposed to be a month of spooky reads.  I set it all up ahead of time and had everything planned out for maximum scariness.  Unfortunately, most of the books I read in October lacked in horror, gore and basic spine-tingliness.  That is, until I read The Devouring.  I picked it up on a whim from the bookstore.  I hadn't heard a lot about it but what I had heard had been positive so I decided to go for it.  I pushed the rest of the TBR pile aside and dug right in.  It was the best decision I could have made.  Simon Holt managed to take the concept of our own fear and use it against us in the best possible way.  The story was unpredictable, fun and absolutely terrifying.  It is a tale of how we let our own fear control us and hold us prisoner.  

LIKES:

• Horror that is actually horrifying: I find that in a lot of YA horror there isn't much, well, horror.  This book had it all though.  It was both psychological and gory and it worked beautifully.  In case you don't believe me let me set the stage for you.  Killer, hatchet-handed clowns in a mirror maze.  I was beside myself at around 2 AM and couldn't shake the creepiness.  If clowns aren't really your thing, it also has spiders, zombies, ghosts, demon babies and possessed Christmas carolers.  If that isn't enough for you, then I can't make you happy.
• Great protagonist: Reggie was great.  She's a teenage girl who's taking care of her little brother after her mom skips town.  She is incredibly loving and self-sacrificing but she's far from one-dimensional.  When called upon Regina Halloway is not someone you want to mess with.  She is tough as nails and more than willing to fight for the people she loves.
• Wonderfully spooky imagery:  Holt creates a world that is instantly recognizable which is what makes it so terrifying.  He has a way of making the vours seem so realistic.  More like people with severe psychosis than actual monsters.  In the fearscape things get even creepier.  Holt's nightmare world is incredibly imaginative and the way he describes it is at once enticing and horrifying.
• No cheesy romance (or any romance for that matter): I like a little romance in most books, but when I want to read really great horror the last thing on my mind is the awkwardness of first love.  It just doesn't usually add much to the plot.  In fact, most of the time it detracts from it and seems like a time-filler.  There is none of that in this book.  Reggie and Aaron are friends who are on a mission.  They don't have time to make out in the back seat or make googly eyes at one another.  There are ass kickings to be distributed.

DISLIKES:

• Unanswered questions:  There were some things that went unanswered.  I was really hoping to find out more about Reggie and Henry's mom and what the deal with Eben was.  Fortunately there are two more books so I'm guessing these questions will be answered.  Not really counting this as a dislike since it's mainly just me being impatient.
• Aaron could get a bit annoying:  I really liked Aaron, don't get me wrong, but sometime he was so obnoxious.  He was either playing captain obvious, being skeptical when there was clearly no more reason to be or generally offering up pretty useless information about 50% of the time.  However, he was pretty loveable and he did man up eventually so I'll give him that much.

I'm so happy that I decided to give this book a chance.  It was just the right mix of kooky and scary and it really helped me end the month with a bang.  I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the trilogy!

Review: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Author: Jackson Pearce

Genre: Fairytale, Paranormal

Pages: 324

Published: June 7th, 2010

Publisher: Little Brown

Rating: 3/5 Stars

"Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?"~Goodreads

Although Sisters Red  is, on the surface, a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood,  it is, at it's heart, much more than that.  While the original tale was meant as a cautionary fable about listening to your parents and not talking to strangers,  Sisters Red is a story about loyalty, duty, and above all, family.

The March sisters have spent the better part of their young lives hunting Fenris with Silas, the woodsman's son.  While the sisters are as close as they can possibly be they have differing outlooks on their lifestyle and chosen profession.  Scarlett is older.  She is scarred and mutilated from the attack that left her grandmother dead and she and her sister alone in the world.  Scarlett is hard, determined and deadly with a hatchet.  She believes that it is her duty to kill the wolves and avenge the death of her grandmother and the destruction of her own life and beauty.  The only things she cares about more than killing fenris is her partner, Silas, and her little sister, Rosie. Rosie, meanwhile, hunts because she knows that this is what Scarlett expects from her.  She values her sister's love and trust above all else.  However, Rosie longs for a normal life and she is terrified that this will drive a wedge between herself and Scarlett.  Then there's Silas.  Silas and the girls have grown up together and he and Scarlett have been partners for years, but there may be something blossoming between Silas and Rosie that could destroy everything.  When the three of them pack up and head to Atlanta to try and stop the coming of a powerful new fenris they are all forced to look at their lives in a new way.

This story is unique and well-written.  It has a lot of heart and, even as someone who doesn't particularly care for werewolves, I thought it was pretty creepy.  I loved the way that Pearce told the story and the bond between the sisters was palpable.  However, I didn't really feel like I connected as much as I would like to with the three main characters.  Scarlett, in particular, was a difficult one for me.  She was so angry and hard that I couldn't really love her character.  Maybe this is a sign that she was well written and believable but I would have liked to have felt something more for the character.  What saved the story for me was the action and the exploration of the group dynamic.  The fight scenes were amazingly well-thought out and executed (particularly the final one - I was literally cheering).  I feel like I wouldn't want to meet up with Jackson Pearce in a dark alley.  Along with this the relationships were really well done and while I may not have connected with each character individually, I did connect with the way they felt about each other.  So I'm giving this one three stars, but a good three stars and I can't wait to read Sweetly.

For more on my feelings, feel free to watch the video below: