Tag: Horror

Posted in Book Reviews, Novels, Rapid Reviews

RAPID REVIEW: Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Posted on by elishasbookreview
Image borrowed from Weirdo Book Club

*No Major Spoilers*

Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans —though no one calls them that anymore.

His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the “Transition.” Now, eating human meat—“special meat”—is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.

Then one day he’s given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost—and what might still be saved.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

So this has been on my reading radar for a long time. I’ve heard good things about this novel, so I couldn’t wait to dive into the audiobook and tear through Tender is the Flesh. So let’s digest my review of this book.

First off, none of the characters are likable. Our main character Marcos feels like a robot and I don’t feel like he changes much throughout the story. Marcos’ wife left him after the loss of their son and it has heavily affected their marriage. Not to mention his job that has Marcos doing middle management type work at the slaughterhouse leaving him drained and exhausted.

The human being is the cause of all evil in this world. We are our own virus.

Agustina Bazterrica, Tender Is the Flesh

Now, you may be asking yourself, why are you giving this book four stars? Well, to be honest, I don’t know myself. 3-3.5 just didn’t feel right for the last 30 minutes of Tender is the Flesh. I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook if you can and get through this in 1-3 listening sessions.

Overall, this novel is alright, I would say if you’re interested in the subgenre of horror called splatterpunk then I would start here. Depending on your reaction to this, you can continue to peruse this subgenre or run away and never touch this type of book ever again.

Posted in Bite-Sized Reviews, Book Reviews, Discussions, Personal Blogs, Rapid Reviews

2022 in Review

Posted on by elishasbookreview
Photo by ready made on Pexels.com

I don’t know if anyone else had a rough year, but for me and my household, it was a rough year. We had to kick out a roommate who had been causing a lot of headache and trouble. I was out of work, and we struggled up until I finally got hired back to a company I’ve worked for previously,

Now enough of real world stuff, let’s get into some book stats!

Overall of 2022, I read 82 books! That broke my record of any count of most read books per year! All the way back in 2018 I read 72 books. So I’m looking forward to destroying this goal in the coming year!

Now, let’s talk about top books/series I read this year. I kind of hit a hard dry spell in the last few months when it came to posting a reviewing books. However, I plan on coming to 2023 in full force! At least, that’s the goal anyway. So now for the favorites list!

  • Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldtree- This was a cute and fun adventure that didn’t involve fighting dragons, or chasing after a mad wizard. The most difficult thing they do is start a café in a town that didn’t know what coffee was.
  • Doctor Who: Scratchman by Tom Baker and James Goss- I would recommend this Doctor Who spinoff for both Classic and New Doctor Who fans. When the Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry land on a strange farm, and things aren’t quite right, it’s up to The Doctor and his companions to get down to the truth.
  • The Last One by Alexandra Oliva- I found this on a recommendation list for survival stories. This one sounded unique so I decided to check it out, and even though it might not be as gruesome as The Troop by Nick Cutter, but I still think about The Last One from time to time. This a fantastic take on survival horror that doesn’t depend on gruesome details to keep you on the edge of your seat. All you need is a girl lost in the woods with broken glasses, and there’s your intro to The Last One.
  • Sakamoto Days Vol 1-4 by Yuto Suzuki- Now, I will admit this isn’t a new trope we’ve seen in manga. Way of the Househusband is the first to come to mind that uses this trope. However, what makes Sakamoto Days different is how Mr. Sakamoto got fat after retiring from the assassin world. However, even though we weighs an extra 100 pounds or so, he still knows how to kick butt like nobody’s business! This series is full of heart and humor, so this comes as a high recommendation for manga fans.
  • Rooster Fighter Vol 1-2 by Shu Sakuratani- I found this manga series from browsing Amazon, and it has quickly become one of my favorites manga series this year. It’s about a lone rooster who’s fighting kaiju not only to save the humans in harm’s way, but to seek out the kaiju that killed his sister. He makes friends along the way, and whether he admits or not he appreciates his friends dearly. Volume 3 is coming out next month and I’m hoping to read it as soon as it comes out! This series is funny and action packed.

That’s my favorite reads of 2022 in no particular order, of course out of all the books I read last year I struggled with picking just five books/series. Let’s hope 2023 is filled with more to read other than just graphic novels.

Hope you had a safe and fun celebration, here’s to 2023!

Posted in Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Till We Become Monsters by Amanda Headlee

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Major Spoilers*

Monsters exist and Korin Perrin knew this as truth because his grandmother told him so. Korin, raised in the shadow of his older brother Davis, is an imaginative child who believes his brother is a monster. After the death of their grandmother, seven-year-old Korin, blaming Davis for her demise, tries to kill him. Sixteen years following the attempt on Davis’ life, racked with guilt, Korin comes to terms with the fact that Davis may not be the one who is the monster after all.

Past wrongs needing to be righted, Korin agrees to a hunting trip with his brother and father. But they, along with two friends, never make it to their destination. An accident along the way separates the hunters in the dark forests of Minnesota during the threat of an oncoming blizzard. As the stranded hunters search for each other and safety, an ancient evil wakes.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I am a big fan of cryptids and other mythological creatures. Since I live in Oklahoma which may not be the epicenter of Bigfoot sightings, this state does have more than a few known Bigfoot hunting grounds. However, there is no Bigfoot in this story, Till We Become Monsters is focused on the Wendigo.

For those unfamiliar with the Indigenous Peoples’ Mythologies, a Wendigo is a creature that is created from the dire straits people in the northern areas can find themselves in if they get caught in a snowstorm unprepared. They say once someone gets a taste of human blood, the never-ending hunger grows and morphs the person into a monster.

Back to the book, we meet Korin who we watch grow up feeling emotionally neglected by his parents. His big brother Davis has both of his parents’ attention and love throughout childhood and into adulthood. Seeing the events from mostly Korin’s perspective makes you feel bad for him.

“We never know how far we have fallen until we become monsters.”

Amanda Headlee; Till We Become Monsters

After about halfway into the book, we see Korin’s childhood from both parents’ and Davis’ perspectives. It doesn’t negate how his parents neglected Korin and that they spoiled Davis to the point where the whole family dynamic is toxic and borderline abusive. It just provides context for the reader that the parents fumbled the parental football to the detriment of the family.

Even though no one in the family is worth rooting for, you can’t help rooting for all of them to survive the aftermath of the car accident. I think this shows that the author took the time to give each character a slight redeeming quality. I think if everything was left in Korin’s perspective, we’d want all the family to fail.

Overall, this was a good book. I got swept up in the action, and the building of Korin’s character. I think the mythological aspect of this novel was pulled off really well. I also think if you are interested in cryptids, survival horror, and just all around spookiness, then I would say give this novel a try.

Posted in Book Reviews

REVIEW: Mastodon by Steve Stred

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Major Spoilers*

*Trigger Warning for body horror, animal death/cruelty, and death of a parent*

17 years ago, Tyler Barton was born in the Rocky Mountains, while his parents were on a hike.

On that day, his mother disappeared, never to be seen again.

Now, history repeats itself.

On the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, Tyler’s father is flying home when the plane he’s on disappears – in the same area where his mother was last seen.

Undeterred by officials, Tyler decides to hike into the area in search of his father, hoping to find him alive and bring him back to safety.

But there’s a reason that area is prohibited to enter and even though Tyler doesn’t care, he’ll soon find out that the wilderness can hide some of the deepest, darkest fears known to man.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

I remember when I saw the promo for this book, I was so excited because the cover reminded me of a Wendigo, an Indigenous mythological creature. I couldn’t wait to dive in to it. After some time to read it, digest it, and gather my thoughts, I’m ready to explore this review of Mastodon.

This valley was wearing his rational mind down to the point of not believing anything he saw, but also accepting that anything was possible.

Steve Stred, Mastodon

This novel isn’t at all what I thought it was going to be. Not that the summary led me astray, it didn’t. It was the cover on top of my assumptions that left me unprepared for this mind-twisting read. What I thought was a simple answer, turned into something I never saw coming until it was too late.

Tyler reminded me of Brian from The Hatchet in the way there’s not much personality there so we, as the reader, can get a more fulfilling experience seeing the world through his eyes. However, there’s not much to his character other than his parents being missing and all of the hiking and camping trips he and his dad went on throughout his life.

One thing that adds to the mystery surrounding this restricted military compound is how the scale seems to shift and change to fit the current moment or situation. It felt like months for Tyler to reach the spot where his dad’s plane crashed even though it had only been three or so days.

One small gripe I have about this story is how bland and boring Kyle is as a character. Like I said previously, that might have been to give us a more open view of his world and experiences. However, it made the story drag a bit.

Another critique I have is how rushed the ending feels. It’s like the author wrote the main scene(s) that he wanted to write and then the rest was rushed just to finish writing. The final twist ending left me unsatisfied and disappointed.

Overall, this was an okay read. There’s plenty of horror elements to last you a lifetime as well as disturbing imagery. I think you’d like Mastodon if you like the horror subgenre splatterpunk, as well as those who enjoy monster tales and Kaiju stories.

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Infinite (Ghostland #3) by Duncan Ralston

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Spoilers*

Ghosts wreak havoc in the streets of Duck Falls, and Lilian Roth has gone underground, hiding in the Laramies’ backyard bunker. With the town under military quarantine, the death toll continues to rise. And Hedgewood’s massive infrasound array stands to wipe out every “ethereal” within its radius, Ben Laramie and his friends at the Temple among them.

Setting the ethereals free from Ghostland was only the beginning for Rex Garrote. He’s returned to the remains of his house to tear open the Dark Rift – a realm of terrifying impossibilities between the living and ethereal planes – and unleash its nightmare creatures upon the world.

The End of Everything is on the horizon, and Lilian and Ben are humanity’s last hopes. Facing their greatest fears and insurmountable odds, they must return to Ghostland through the Dark Rift’s deadly, ever-changing landscape for a final confrontation between good and evil, to stop Rex Garrote once and for all.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I can’t begin to describe the exhilaration I felt when I started this audiobook. It is quite rare for me to finish a series/trilogy these days with books to distract me. So, let’s dive into the long-awaited Ghostland finale, Infinite.

One thing I’d like to mention, I would recommend reading Afterlife and Infinite back to back, or at least not a month apart like I did. This book picks up more or less where we left off, and it can be jarring at first. However, it didn’t take too long to get my sea legs back (or should I say my Ghost legs haha) and we’re off to the final battle between Rex Garrote, Ben and Lillian, and the Hedgewood Foundation.

I also advise note taking, not on the characters per say, but more of the rules of how this supernatural world works. I listened to Infinite on audio, and I suggest not multitasking while listening. This needs 100% of your attention.

Still more perplexing was that this cadaver smelled not of smoke but of the foulest stench of rot and putrescence I have ever borne witness to, as if his remains had been excreted from the very bowels of Hell.

Duncan Ralston, Infinite

But, I feel like I’m critiquing myself more than I am this novel. This novel is fast-paced, and rewards you for reading Afterlife. The dominos continue to fall as all the characters are seemingly and unknowingly playing right into Rex Garrote’s plan.

However, Ben, Lillian, and Ghosts are People Too aren’t going to take this laying down. Seeing everyone fight for what they perceive as right is moving. Seeing the leader of the Ghosts are People Too realize how much she messed up and how she was possibly betrayed was satisfying.

Overall, I enjoyed Infinite. The final battle is epic and the anticipation while getting there is palpable. I am thrilled to finally say I finished a trilogy! This has been an amazing ride, and I can’t wait to dive into Duncan Ralston’s other works *cough* Woom *cough*.