The blog of author Stacy Kingsley - Stacy Kingsley

Book Review - THE TOLL by Cherie Priest

4/3/2020

The Toll by Cherie Priest is about a couple, Titus and Melanie Bell, who are traveling to their honeymoon destination, a campsite near a swamp for a canoe trip. As they get closer to the campsite strange things start to happen and Titus finds himself on a single lane bridge that seems unsafe for travel. Later Titus wakes up in the middle of the road, unsure of how he got there, his new wife missing. In a town not far away lives a cast of characters, Jess, Dave, Cameron, Daisy, Claire, and a crazy old woman (which every small town has).

There aren't many characters in this book who are likeable, and the ones who are, Daisy, Claire, and Dave, aren't used to their full advantage. I would have liked to see a little more development with them, and at least a little more in Dave's backstory since he is not only important to Jess, but Cameron and Titus as well.

Titus is a very unlikable man, and as we meander through the book it often seems as if he doesn't like his new bride. Melanie and him don't seem to get along from the beginning, which is not only uncomfortable, but it makes the reader not really care what has happened to Melanie. The reader doesn't really get to know her, so in the end we don't care what has happened because we don't get much personality. Jess is underdeveloped as well. She could have been much stronger and used better than she was. As she was there was very little to her. As Dave's girlfriend and Cameron's crush she could have been a key plot device, and yet she herself really wasn't.

I was expecting more from this book than I got. After the first chapter I became confused, and I am really getting a little tired of chapters that switch from one character or setting or even timeline to another. Can we just have one timeline? One character, even two is okay, but five is too many. Can we have strong, interesting characters?

The story didn't seem complete. There wasn't enough information for me to feel fear or scared for the characters. There was a big bad something, but since it was never defined, and it was only repeated that every few years the "something" caused people to disappear, there wasn't a defined thing to be afraid of, or scared for the characters.

I'm not sure that horror is Cherie Priest's genre. After reading Boneshaker I feel she should stick to steampunk. This was not the best novel I've read recently, and I personally don't feel that it really fits in the horror genre. I'm not sure I, personally, will read any more of Priest's novels. I wanted more, so much more.

This book was a chore to read. I had to force myself to read it over several weeks, and I am generally a fast reader.

September 06th, 2019

9/6/2019

If you are looking for a way to support independent authors, check out the Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival. I will be selling all of my books here, and I might even be selling bookmarks. It happens September 21, in Fredericksburg, Virginia! Come one, come all, bring your bodies... No not those bodies... although whatever, I don't judge!

Another great reason for coming to this event?
1- Meet new and upcoming Indie authors
2- Find books you might not find in other places
3- There is such a wide variety of books and I always walk away with more to add to my TBR shelves
4- If you haven't ever met me, come, meet me, I'm a real treat!!!
5- I have a new book out! It isn't horror, but it is hilarious! And part of the profits go to a local cat rescue!
6- BOOKS!!!!!!!

Check out the website here:
fredbookfest.com/

Book Review of PARASITE by Mira Grant

7/11/2019

Parasite by Mira Grant is an apocalyptic book that revolves around medical fears and what helps in the medical community. I enjoyed it, but don't know that it would be realistic or relevant because who would willingly put a parasite inside of themselves?

Sally has been in a coma for a few years, and she isn't expected to wake up, until she does. The day she wakes up is the same day her family is asked to give up and let her go. When she wakes up she doesn't remember anything before the coma. She doesn't remember who Sally used to be, or what happened to cause the accident. The only thing she seems to hold on is that she is afraid to be in a car. Deathly afraid. The SymboGen Corporation have a problem that no one knows about. Humanity has a problem they can't figure out. Sally, well she has a problem because she doesn't know who she can trust.

Sally, or Sal as she wants to be called now, has been awake for six years, but she feels like a child. While she has a boyfriend, Dr. Nathan Kim, and a part-time job at a shelter, she doesn't understand certain phrases, body gestures are strange, and people keep telling her that she isn't the girl they all knew before. Her family has guardianship over her, partly because every now and then she has fainting episodes, and partly because, since she can't remember anything from before the accident people think she can't be trusted to take care of herself. Suddenly, she has to figure out who to trust, because people all over the country are falling victim to a "Sleeping sickness," which is causing them to forget who they are, move towards an unknown source, and ignore the world around them. After a little while they start becoming violent, and people start to die. The cause? Only the doctors who created the cure can fix the problem. Yet, Dr. Banks and Dr. Canti don't have the same agendas, so the truth? Still not known. Is the problem imagined, or are the parasites to blame?

I've never read anything my Mira Grant, and I thought that this was an interesting idea. I did wonder who would allow themselves to be infected with a parasite to forgo taking medicine or control a medical problem (think allergies or diabetes). There were points in the book I thought could have been edited out. In all honesty, Sal became an annoying character. We didn't need to see as many frightening car freak outs as we did, and the fact that she didn't understand things was stated over and over and over, to the point where I just did not care anymore.

Sal's family was a little over-the-top, especially after one section. After one point in the story her father and mother both allude to the fact that she isn't the same, and this brings up issues for her, especially the way she is treated by her father and then her mother, after something traumatic happens to her. Nathan is too willing, at one point, to welcome someone back into his life who had disappeared long before he even became a doctor, which seemed very out of character for him.

There were only two characters I wished I could have seen more of. Those characters were Tansy, a psychotic little serial killer who had fun with whatever she was doing, and Joyce, Sal's sister. Otherwise, I have to say I got a little bored with the characters. Sal was a little too over anxious, Nathan was dull and I didn't feel that he had much of a personality, the medical professionals were all too obvious as to who they were and what they wanted, and everyone else, besides Tansy and Joyce, weren't developed enough to care about.

This book is the first in a series, and while I though the idea was an interesting choice for an apocalypse, I am not sure the characters were interesting enough to make me want to continue to read. I do have to say, the ending of this book was quite predictable, and I'm not sure it should have ended the way it did.

This might be more interesting for other readers, for me it didn't hold my interest. So why three stars? The writing wasn't bad, and I didn't hate it enough to stop reading it. Plus, when you read enough to like any of the characters I think that is a good reason to give a book more than just a few stars.

Book Review - FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

7/1/2019

I have never read Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley before, which may be surprising since I have a Masters in English, and I'm a horror author. It doesn't seem to be one of those books that one studies anymore, and I am not sure if it is because of the tone, the writing, or the story itself.

If you are unfamiliar with it the story follows a young man named Robert, who is trying to accomplish a mission by sailing from one point to another. He runs across a young man who is floating on an ice sheet. This man turns out to be a man with a surprising story, a story of murder, horror, and creativity. This man is Victor Frankenstein. The story he tells is one of committing an atrocity by creating a monster, one of murder, and one of incredible loss. Victor wants revenge for everything he has been through, but he isn't quite sure how to achieve it.

I am familiar with popular Frankenstein stories, and the plot points of the movies, but besides Frankenstein being the being to create the monster, most of the stories don't actually follow the book. First, we never know how exactly Frankenstein creates the monster, as he never wishes to divulge his secrets. He is worried that someone else with create a monster like he has, and he doesn't want to bring this horror out on the world. Second, in most versions, the monster isn't very verbal, and the monster in the book is actually quite articulate. We actually learn quite a bit about what the monster has gone through before he meets up with his creator again.

There are several other things in the story that are not quite like the movies that have been made to represent it. There are murders that don't happen in most movies that set things in motion for Victor. We learn a lot about Victor's life previous to his leaving for school and creating the monster.

The novel doesn't quite end like most of the movies do either, which did surprise me. I would have liked it better if it had ended like most of the movie versions.

There are things about this novel that I truly enjoyed. The question of who should or should not play god is a very interesting question that we still ask about today. What, as creators, do we owe our creations? Are we responsible for their reactions after we leave the to their own devices? Are we responsible for their bad behavior and should we stop them if we can?

I know this novel is recognized as a horror novel, but I think it is more of a science fiction or a mystery novel, especially since it has science fiction elements and the elements of a murder mystery. I do think this was a good book, and obvious a classic. If I were going to compare it to novels today, I would say I would have liked a different ending. I didn't quite think it was a good ending for the story, and what the audience wants. It feels as if there should be a book two.

Book Review - ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

4/22/2019

When I bought Anna and the Apocalypse I didn't realize it was the novelization of a movie, I actually thought it was the other way around, and the movie was based on the book. I can honestly say I wouldn't have bought it if I knew.

Anna lives in the small Scottish town of Little Haven. She is a high school senior who is ready to get on with her life, and get out of Scotland. Her best friend, John, is of course in love with her, and has yet to tell her. She has many friends, and is the bane of the school's vice principal, Mr. Arthur Savage. Anna has dreams and aspirations. Anna is also a very single minded, and boring character. In fact, most of the characters are a little dull and flat. They begin to become stereotypes of what someone thinks teens are like. And one of the issues I have with this novel is that the premises or plot is that if makes Anna sound much more developed, a seventeen year old (I assume) girl who is dealing with the death of her mother (she died when Anna was twelve, why is it such a huge deal in this novel when it doesn't add anything to the story), and trying to survive high school.

The back of the book touts that it is a "horror comedy about a teenager who faces down the zombie apocalypse with a little help from her friends," but there weren't a lot of zombies in this until about page 85, and there was very little, if any, comedy. There were attempts, but most of the jokes were bad puns and terrible, terrible jokes. None of the characters were very interesting, except maybe Steph, but there wasn't enough backstory for her to be fully developed. For example, the reader knows that she was sent to the school and is from Canada. She has a girlfriend, and her parents are going to vacation in Mexico. She keeps saying she was sent away because she was "difficult" but it isn't really what is explained what she means by that, and she is very protective of the fact that she has a girlfriend, but she doesn't expand on that either (for example, did she have a bad experience while out with her girlfriend, or do her parents no accept that she is a lesbian).

When the zombie apocalypse does finally happen, there is a development that is explained either. In fact, a lot of things in this book seem to be glossed over. Like how is Anna's father, Tony, unable to protect himself against Savage? Why is Savage such a jerk and why is he so strong? Savage has zero background, and so the reader doesn't have any idea why he seems to hate people so much, especially the teens he works with. This book is all over the place.

While it could have been fun and interesting, there was nothing but sad attempts at humor and a noticeable lack of good zombie scenes. I do not recommend this novelization, and I cannot recommend this book. It is flat and there is not enough interesting about the characters to keep one interested. It is a fast read, and if I had the time I could have read it in one sitting, but it takes too long to get to the zombies, and the characters don't make me care enough to care if they live or die.

Book Review - DOLLHOUSE by Tim Miller

2/11/2019

I was torn between recommending and not recommending Dollhouse by Tim Miller. I will be honest, my problem wasn't with the writing, mostly. The story revolves around Jodi, a woman who has a bad attitude at times, and a needy, or strong attitude at other. Ernie Lester is a man on a mission, to build a dollhouse full of his new family. He loves his family, and he believes that his family loves him, even though they can't respond to his questions or advances. Ernie meets Jodi one day and can't get her out of his mind, so he decides to make Jodi one more addition to his dollhouse.

This is registered as extreme horror, and I expected a little more graphic violence throughout. I wondered if it was extreme because of how many "fucks" were said throughout, but even the rape scenes seemed a little toned down, especially if you have read authors like Edward Lee and Richard Laymon. I honestly would have like a little more direct and explicit violence, and I would have liked a little more brutality. In the book there were three main characters, Jodi, Ernie, and Bob. Bob adds an element of brutality, but he doesn't quite go there enough. I also would have liked a little more backstory to the characters. Parts of the story were just a little confusing as Ernie states that all of his issues started when there was a death in his family, but another minor character states that it was a different death that changed who he was, and so we never really know what started him collecting his dolls. We never really know why he chooses Bob to be his buddy after a time either.

That being said, my big issues with this were the bad grammar and wording throughout. I hate the continuous use of the word "just" as it often doesn't need to be there, or can be replaced with "only." There were several misspelled words. or the use of the wrong word. The characters all spoke the same, so the dialogue started to run together and it didn't differentiate the characters enough from one another. In fact, I wished that one or the other would use a word besides "fuck." Ernie kept saying that he had been doing this for a long time, but the reader is never given any insight as to how long. However, even with all of this, I could have read the book and not had issue with it. My main issue with this book is that the spacing was double or triple per page, and the end of each chapter was like three to five lines in the middle of a separate page, which made this a fast and frustrating read. I feel like, for this version, it was a waste of money as a book that claims to be 206, if formatted properly, would have been under 100 pages. This type of formatting doesn't make indie authors look good, and it causes people not to by a book written by an indie author.

Now I know Tim Miller has done well for himself, and this is in no way meant to cut him down. He has been successful, and continues to be successful, making sure he continues to write a new book as often as he can, and going to as many conventions to help stay known and relevant. I admire him for that. And, this book was not a bad read, although I could have used a little more depth, and less of a predictable ending.

I really wasn't a fan of the formatting, and I personally found the errors and the formatting very distracting. I can't say I do or don't recommend book by Tim Miller, as several of them sound interesting. I, personally, might let this book percolate before picking up another.

Book Review - 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS by Joe Hill

2/4/2019

I enjoy a lot of what Joe Hill writes, in fact NOS4A2 was a favorite of mine. I really enjoyed it, and decided I needed to read more of Joe Hill's works. I didn't care for Heart Shaped Box, but I have to say I did enjoy some of the stories in 20th Century Ghosts. The first and second stories were my favorite. The title of the first was "20th Century Ghost" and the second story title was "Pop Art." The first story was about a woman who haunted a movie theater, and the second story was about a boy whose best friend was an inflatable boy. Both stuck with me and were very good, very interesting, and made me wish I wrote at least the second one. There were some hits and misses among the other stories, but besides "My Father's Mask" and "The Black Phone" they weren't really spooky, frightening, or even suspenseful.

My issue with a lot of these short stories were that a lot of them ended by not ending. They were open ended or they suggested that there was more to the story. My least favorite story was "Abraham's Boys" which may or may not have been about vampires and Van Helsing. It was unclear if the father was a vampire, was somehow related to Drac, or how he might have been related to Mina. The two children remind me of the children in the movie Frailty, and how the father in the movie treated his two sons, one son who believed him, and one son who thought his father was insane. It was the same with Abraham's two sons. One son believes that there are vampires and believes that their father is a protector (maybe), and the other son, who doesn't know of the old country or doesn't remember things from the old country, and he believes in what is true for most American kids, that most monsters are the things of legend. Now, what happened in the end was a little startling, and I thought creative, but it lead to more questions.

I'm not sure I would recommend this, but since these are short stories, and it is a fast read, I'd recommend at least trying it. Sometimes, especially with short stories, people have differing reactions, or thoughts on a story. One person might like one story, while another person might hate that same story. So, if you like horror, or suspense, and you don't mind reading things that make you think a little, read this.

Book Review - BIRD BOX by Josh Malerman

1/14/2019

Bird Box by Josh Malerman is about a young woman, Malorie, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world where if you look at the world around you, you either go crazy and kill others, or you kill yourself. Malorie must choose what to do, to protect not only herself, but her child and a child she saved just after birth.

The premise of the book is that there is some sort of creature which when gazed upon makes one go crazy. Malorie and her sister, Shannon, are alone at their apartment when they find out about this issue. At first, not a lot of people believe that looking at something is going to make them go crazy, then the stories get spread worldwide. Soon people are covering their windows with blankets and cardboard and anything they can to keep the world out. When things become unbearable and Malorie is forced to leave her house she drives to hope, all while closing her eyes and pregnant.

Malorie finds safety for a while, but then that safe haven is destroyed by a madman with goals unknown to everyone but himself. Malorie survives long enough to find a new safe haven, but to get there she must risk everything.

I enjoyed most of this book, although it was a little slow in parts. There were scenes when Malorie was rowing and most of them were trying to build up suspense and be creepy, but overall, I found them dull and a little tiresome. The scenes in the second house, where Malorie and the others left are trying to figure out what to do and how to survive in a world where they can't look outside, are more interesting as there is more going on. They only added to the story a little though. The characters are not as developed as they could be, I mean I like a little more background story for my characters. I did enjoy the idea of the story, but the trope of an unseen or unknown monster is becoming overdone and dull.

Unless all of these books and movies with unseen or barely seen monsters are going to explain the monsters in future books or movies (which the Cloverfield series has yet to do), then stop making them. I don't need a book that tells me of man being evil and homicidal towards men, that is the plot of life, who is evil and who is compassionate and kind.

Then ending of Bird Box is a little predictable, and I do wish that it had gone another way. There were things that foreshadowed the ending too much, and basically the story gave away what was going to happen in the end. While I did enjoy the story, I enjoyed the idea more than the story. It wasn't as developed as say Dean Koontz's From the Corner of His Eye, about a boy who goes blind and the man he becomes. The main character is blind and the story is not only more developed, but more suspenseful, and creepy.

I do recommend that before watching the movie you read the book for Bird Box. I always recommend reading the book before watching the movie, of any book, except Harry Potter, I could not get through those books. Sorry, not sorry.

Book Review - THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS by M.R. Carey

11/23/2018

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey was an interesting zombie book about a bunch of children who don’t know they are anything but. The characters are there to protect themselves, teach the children, and to use the children to find a way to save humanity. Dr. Caldwell has one mission, and she keeps doing it, even if it goes against everything else everyone else wants. She doesn’t care about the cost, or repercussions of what she has and continues to do. Melanie is the main character, and the smartest child in the classroom. She waits every day for her favorite teacher, Miss Justineau. Justineau shows that she cares for the children, but she isn’t supposed to care, nor is she supposed to forget what they are – monsters.

The characters were all very interesting, although I did get frustrated with Dr. Caldwell and Sargent Parks. Caldwell is over and over only concerned with the children, and when she loses some of them she treats Melanie like property. I know this was part of the book, and that Dr. Caldwell had a purpose and wasn’t supposed to be liked. I realize that she was there to find the answers for the greater good. But, there could have been one moment of humanity from her, one moment, that made me not dislike her, one moment where she learned something from what she had been doing.

Sargent Parks could have been a little more interesting as well. He was the typical military man, only doing what his orders required him to do. Keeping the humans safe, not worrying about the “Hungaries” or zombies, and watching out for the “Junkers” – the men and women who survived the infection and live their lives as scavengers. I do get a little tired of seeing stringent military men, who follow the code, no matter what happens. They always end up the same way in books like this, dead, learning slowly along the way that they don’t have to treat the monsters as they do, because in reality, the monsters are the humans.

The relationship between Melanie and Miss Justineau was interesting, as it did make me wonder where the children who these people are using came from. Justineau was a mother figure to some, and a savior to at least one. The mother/daughter relationship develops in a way, that in the end one wonders who is the mother and who is the daughter.

The idea of the “Hungaries” in this book was interesting, although I would have like a little more backstory, as I didn’t see enough of what made the zombies different, besides a desire to eat human flesh. However, the idea of how these children will develop, and what they will do for the future. It all brings up the question, how will humanity save humanity? In the end will the human race find their humanity, or will they find ways to continue to destroy it.

In today’s society, and the political and moral climate that we currently live in, this book begs the question: how should we treat those who are different? And what steps should we take to protect and save those who can’t always save or protect themselves. It’s a frightening time, and this book, again about an apocalypse, makes one thing about their own humanity.

Book review - GIRL OF NIGHTMARES by Kendare Blake

10/12/2018

I didn't realize that I had this book on my TBR shelf. I received it for free, exchanging it for another book I had. I wouldn't have exchanged it if I had read Anna Dressed in Blood first. I didn't like Anna Dressed in Blood, and I didn't like Girl of Nightmares.

Now am I saying that Kendare Blake is a bad writer, no, I am not. I am only saying that these books weren't good. I thought the main character was conceited and annoying. He had friends and yet he continually states, "You don't have to do (blah) with me." He, Cas, knows full well that his friends are going to join him no matter what. Another problem with this book is that the setting in some parts just don't make sense. At one point they are walking through the Suicide Forest, and everyone knows that the Suicide Forest is in Japan, yet the characters are not in Japan. It didn't make sense, and I wonder if the author knew what she was doing at that point.

Another thing that annoyed me, these kids are under the age of 18, yet no one seems to care when they jet off to England, or that they skip school, or that they continually put themselves in danger and get hurt.

I also disliked the characters because none of them were really developed, again, and I didn't care that they were looking for Anna. I didn't care about Cas and his nightmares or desires because he is NOT a nice person. There is nothing about him that I like. Zero. The only character I think has any redeeming qualities is Thomas, and he is constantly put on the back burner, forgotten and left to whither.

I am not a fan, and after reading that this was the last book in the series (of two books) I am also frustrated. I feel as if Blake has so much more that she could say, and more to develop so that readers will care for these characters, yet she leaves things hanging and says there won't be a third book.

Meh. Not for me.