The blog of author Stacy Kingsley

Book Review - THE LYING GAME by Ruth Ware

2/1/2020

*I want to start by apologizing for not writing anything last month. It is the first month since I started this blog in April of 2014 that I haven't written a single thing in one month. I will update everyone on my life this week, but for today, here is a new book review. Can't say I loved it.

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware was not the best book I've read of hers. The main character, Isa, is a new mother who is unable or uncomfortable leaving her new child, Freya, and who continually states she isn't sure she loves her partner. One night she gets a text, one she dreads, and she finds that she in entangled in something with friends from her childhood, something that is a secret she doesn't want to deal with. Her friends, Kate, Thea, and Fatima, all were in on the secret, something that happened and caused all of them to leave the boarding school they were attending together.

The entire point of this game was in part the title, the lying game, a game the girls play and enjoy while in school. This game was something they did to entertain themselves and something they used to combat the boredom they felt. However, the secrets were all mostly harmless, until they weren't. When Kate's father disappears things go to hell, and her step-brother, Luc, is sent back to live with his drug addict mother. Kate, at sixteen, is unable to take care of both Luc and herself.

I didn't find the main character, Isa, to be very interesting or very entertaining. She was annoying and I thought she was not at all likeable. There were times during my reading that I wanted to switch to another character, I begged for one of those books that followed more than one character. This novel did go back and forth between present day and the past, but it wasn't anything special. None of the characters were very interesting, and the rest, to be honest, weren't very developed. I would have liked more about Thea and her alcoholism, or about Fatima and living a Muslim life with her husband and children, or Kate and how she had been living in the house she had grown up in, the one where bad things happened.

The biggest issue I had with this book was that it was obvious pretty early on what happened, and it wasn't what the author was trying to lead you to believe. While I have enjoyed one of the three books I've read by Ruth Ware, I feel that she tries too hard to try making things "surprising" but in reality they never are.

This was not a great book, in my opinion. I understand others enjoyed it, and I will admit that Ruth Ware isn't a terrible author, I only think her sense of disbelief is misplaced and that she should try a little harder to write a cohesive and appealing story, and not try as hard to mislead the reader as to what is happening.

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Book Review - PHANTOMS by Christian Kiefer

10/22/2019

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Phantoms by Christian Kiefer is told from a recent Vietnam Vet's point-of-view. John Frazeier comes home from Vietnam not knowing what to do with his life. A broken young man, like most who came back, and has decided to spend time with his Grandmother and a distant Aunt. The story floats through several decades, from before World War II to 1983. It also includes the lives of several different families, the Takahashis, who were displaced and sent to an interrnment camp during the second world war, the Wilson's, who owned the land the Takahashis lives on and rented a place on, and Frazier himself, as a war hero who wonders what happened to another war hero, of a different time. Ray. Ray Tahahashis arrived home after serving in WWII to find that his family had been removed, and that he was no longer welcome. Then he disappeared. After losing friends, John finds that he can't let the story go, and finds himself obsessed later in life with the outcome.

As a story that involved different time periods it was interesting how these stories intertwined. Seeing a man coming home from the Second World War to find his family and everything he loved gone, then to find out later what happened and how much life had screwed him over, was upsetting and fascinating. Most won't think of the repercussions of the life some leaves behind and the life they return to, especially given the time some soldiers spent away, and still spend on deployment. After most wars, the man or boy sent away is not the man or boy who comes back, and often the lives they are coming back to is not the same either.

Ray finds this to be the truth when he returns to what he thought of as home, only to find that everything has changed and he is no longer welcome. As the story moves on the reader gets to see how unwelcome Ray is when the woman he loves and the people of the town react to him in an unexpected way. Decades later, when John returns from Vietnam with the same kind of feeling about where home is, he find himself embroiled in discussions between his distant Aunt, Evelyn Wilson, and Ray's mother Kimiko Takahashi, who only want to know where her son is. Evelyn Wilson however is full of secrets that she is unwilling to share, keeping a family in the dark, and creating more and more unnecessary heartache.

John, is dealing with his own issues, memories and ghosts from his time in Vietnam. He spends some time with another soldier who was with him, Chigger, but in the end, no really gets their happy ending.

This novel not only shows a portrayal of what it looks like for a soldier to come home, but also what secrets can do when left unspoken. One family doesn't find out the entire truth, and another searches for something they let go of. In the end, there isn't justice for anyone, even John loses by not reaching out to someone he should have reached out to.

There are parts of this novel that were hard to read, especially as someone who has been military for most of their life and who has sent men off to war. Parts of this novel were hard to read because of the blatant racism and disgust that some of the character portrayed, Evelyn Wilson was not a pleasant person, and neither was her daughter, Helen.

In the end, the only issue I had with this book was the slipping of time forward and backward. There were moments that were confusing, and there were moments that were overdone, but overall, the book was pretty good.

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Movie Review - HELLRAISER: JUDGEMENT

9/10/2019

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I was hesitant to watch Hellraiser: Judgement because Hellraiser: Revelations was just so damn awful that it just about ruined Pinhead for me. Not only was the actor in Revelations awful, but the entire plot of the movie was also terrible. When I found that Judgement had been released I was leery, but decided I would give it a shot, and if it turned out to be as bad as Judgement I’d just give up on any new movies made in the Hellraiser series.

Before I start this review, I want to say that I will always find Doug Bradley the best actor for Pinhead, and no one else quite grasps the character. I wish he had returned, but understand that because he didn’t sign a non-disclosure agreement he wasn’t going to reprise the role. I do have to say the actor who plays Pinhead in Judgement was not as bad as the actor who took on the role in Revelations, and they took the makeup closer to what the original makeup looked like in the original movies.

Judgement involves a cop and his partner, who is also his biological brother, who are running after a serial killer who kills those who are “sinners” of sorts. As the movie moves on we find ourselves in the office of a cenobite who has the job of finding the guilty and punishing them.

There are little bits of both heaven and hell in this movie, as we get to see both sides of the story, and what happens when one side wants the accused to live. There are such sights to see, but the question is who is in control, and who gets to open the box.

A lot happened in this movie. A young female detective is sent to find out which brother may be having a breakdown. There is adultery, which is standard in a Hellraiser movie, as whoever opens the box has something to offer, and usually it is their destructing soul. In the end, everyone gets what they deserve, like most of the Hellraiser movies. And we get to see just what happens when one disagrees with Heaven and doesn’t quite do what is asked of them.

I thought this was more interesting than the last movie, but nothing could be worse than that travesty of a film. I enjoyed the direction and the new cenobites I was introduced to. I also thought the theme of being judged before being sentenced was interesting. There wasn’t quite enough Pinhead in this to make it follow the rest of the films, but that could just be me because I thoroughly enjoy the idea of him. I also have to say that I really loved the ending, and thought it was a creative way to end the film, sending someone back to be who they were, making them relive what they had tried to escape.

Don’t be afraid of this film. It is better than it looks and is 100% better than the last monstrosity was.

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Book Review - THE MURDERS OF MOLLY SOUTHBOURNE by Tade Thompson

9/2/2019

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The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson has a plot that reads as:

Every time she bleeds a murderer is born. The rule is simple: don't bleed. For as long as Molly Southbourne can remember, she's been watching herself die. Whenever she bleeds, another molly is born, identical to her in every way and intent on her destruction.

Molly knows every way to kill herself, but she also knows that as long as she survives she'll be hunted. No matter how well she follows the rules, eventually the mollys will find her. Can Molly find a way to stop the tide of blood, or will she meet her end at the hand of a girl who looks just like her?

When reading the plot and premise of this book I was intrigued, and it didn't disappoint. This is the first in a trilogy, and I will be honest, I think the entire trilogy could have been put into one book as this was only 134 pages long, and I read it in two days (only because I started it really late and didn't feel like finishing it, instead I decided to sleep).

Molly is a girl who should never bleed, because when she does a new molly is born from her blood. This has apparently been happening since she was born, and it made me wonder not only about her birth, but also about other childhood incidences that happen to make children bleed. I also wondered about how the parents discovered that all of the mollys wanted to kill Molly herself?

As I write this there were quite a few unanswered questions: how did they discover the issue, if they had Molly in the hospital how did they keep the issue from the doctor, what did they do with all of the bodies, how fast was a molly born from Molly's blood, and a few more that weren't answered. I feel that, while this was a fun and new idea to me, it didn't quite go as far as it could have, instead focusing on Molly and her rage then acceptance at having to continually kill herself, or watch her parents kill versions of her. I would have like a little more, besides the angsty teen Molly who lets all mollys live and becomes overrun with them.

All of that being said, I did find this enjoyable, and at the end I did want to know what was going to happen next. My issue with this really is that I think the trilogy should have all been one book, because I don't know that I am willing to pay another $12 for the next book if it is this short. Not that I think it isn't worth it, I feel as if things were drawn out to get more money out of it, and that bothers me a little. I absolutely support authors and artists making money, and support as many people as I can, but this seemed a little over what I was willing to do or pay.

I do recommend this novella (?). It was an interesting premise, and it reminded me a little of Pretty Dead Girl, which I enjoyed until the end.

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Movie Review - NIGHTMARE CIRCUS (1974)

8/19/2019

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The 1970’s pushed out a whole lot of interesting horror and science fiction movies, and a lot of real stinkers. Nightmare Circus aka Barn of the Naked Dead aka Terror Circus is a 1974 movie that falls flat, even thought the idea behind it is an interesting one. From the IMDb website the synopsis is as follows: Three showgirls on their way to Las Vegas have car trouble and are stuck all night out in the desert. The next morning cheerful Andre offers them help in fixing their car. However, Andre is really a maniac with a lot of family problems; his mother ran out on him when he was a child so now he keeps kidnapped women chained up in his barn and trains them to perform circus tricks. Andre's father is still around of course, but because the old homestead is next to a nuclear test site he has been transformed into a raving homicidal mutant that Andre keeps locked up in a shed.

I thought this movie had an interesting idea, as the idea behind imprisoning women to force them to perform in a sick, twisted circus is fascinating. However, there were so many holes and things I didn’t quite understand, or believe. For example, Andre has over ten women chained in a barn, yet none of them, when chained together and walking around, think to fight and attack him. He is the only one there, and if they had thought to attack him, and take his gun, then they might have freed themselves. Instead they cry and whine in the barn, they listen to him as he says they are his now, and they belong to him.

When they have the chance to escape, they realize the full extent of Andre’s abuse and anger. Even then, I believe that some of them would fight, or at least try to work together to escape.

A huge problem with this movie was that for a horror movie, it wasn’t frightening, just a little uncomfortable at times. It is kind of a mix of Psycho and The Hills have Eyes. Not a good movie, not a bad movie, more a fun 1970’s campy film. Some might enjoy it and some might become annoyed over and over by it (like me).

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Book Review - DOLLHOUSE by Tim Miller

2/11/2019

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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.

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Book Review - 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS by Joe Hill

2/4/2019

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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.

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Book Review - THE LYING GAME by Ruth Ware

Book Review - PHANTOMS by Christian Kiefer

Movie Review - HELLRAISER: JUDGEMENT

Book Review - THE MURDERS OF MOLLY SOUTHBOURNE by Tade Thompson

Movie Review - NIGHTMARE CIRCUS (1974)

Book Review - DOLLHOUSE by Tim Miller

Book Review - 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS by Joe Hill

Stacy Kingsley

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