Silver Streak by Jack Cole

This is a reprint of several of the original Silver Streak comics.  It’s not my cup of tea.  The pages are far too busy as was common during the early days of comics.

However, it’s a nice piece of nostalgia.  If you love old comics or origins, this is the edition for you.  Not only does this volume have the original stories but also includes several original ads that were printed with the comics.  Nothing like catching a red rider set ad in between issues.

Beneath the Shadows by Sara Foster

Some stories will haunt you for a long time and this is one of them. 

Grace and her husband have moved into a cottage in the moors with their new baby.  It’s the start of a new chapter as Grace starts to come to terms with leaving London.  Christmas is coming and a new year promises great things, until Grace opens the front door to find her child sleeping peacefully in her pram and no husband. 

A year later, Grace returns determined to discover what happened to her husband on that cold winter day.  Filled with tales of ghosts and omens, Grace fights her fears to uncover why her husband was gone.  Everyone around her feels she should just move on but how can she when she has so many unanswered questions.

The story is frightening, sad and full of twists and turns.  It reminds me of Mary Stewart’s mysteries.  You just never know what dark secrets people harbor until you start digging.  Not everyone will come out of this alive but Grace won’t stop until she knows the truth.

I was captivated by Sara Foster’s book.  The life on the moors is enchanting and yet harbors its own secrets.  Are there ghosts on the moor?  What is up with the grandfather clock that stops when it wants and seems to still keep time? 

There’s a touch of romance and sweetness in this book.  Beneath the Shadows deserves a place with other gothic mysteries such as Rebecca and Wuthering Heights.  There are far more things to be frightened of than ghosts and they are all here.

Claws and Saucers by David E Goldweber

If you are a Science Fiction, Horror and/or Fantasy movie buff, like me, then this is a must have for you.  I can’t tell you if it has everything but I will say that I was impressed by how many movies are in this book.  I love horror – the worst ones are my favorite.  I want cheesy and I want lots and lots of blood.  I don’t care if the plot makes sense – makes the movie more entertaining in a MST3K sort of way.

I love talking to the characters and questioning their motives. 

This book spells it all out – which are the good ones and which ones you’re gonna love because they are so bad.

This is not a sit and read sort of book.  You peruse like you’re picking up a date in a bar.  You chat up the pages and ask them out.  You explore the movies and, perhaps, come back and make notes.  This is the sort of book that needs to be shared and passed along. 

The only problem I have is that the new stuff won’t appear magically.  I’d love it if the book stayed current but, alas, they don’t.

However, that’s not going to stop me from working my way through this book and some of the worst movie fests my family has ever seen.

The World’s Creepiest Places by Bob Curran

Bob Curran has put together a book of actual locations around the world that have frightening histories.  Many of the locations are lesser known hauntings (at least to me).  The segments are fairly short and in depth.  There’s a lot of history in these pages.

However, I wished there had been pictures.  I am a very visual person and I like to look at the places that are being written about.  I would have loved to even just have a website I could go to that would link to pictures of these places.  In this day and age, there’s no real reason not to have access to that visual accompaniment. 

If you are big on hauntings or ghosts or even just eerie feeling sorts of places – this is a great book for you.  Many of Bob Curran’s selections are out of the norm giving the enthusiast a new set of places to explore.

Severed by Scott Snyder

A good creepy tale about a young man who wants to find his real father.  Jack discovered he was adopted and decides to run away.  His dream is to be a fiddle player and travel with his father.  However, what he finds is a predator that feeds on children’s dreams.

Set in the early part of the 20^th century, Scott Snyder and Scott Tuft have put together a tale that will leave you breathless.  It’s frightening in ways that you don’t expect.  The monster is not overly original but the tale will still cause your heart to pound.

Not only does Jack have to deal with this man who wants to eat him for dinner, he’s battling those who would stop at nothing to take everything from him.  It’s a dirty and tough time.  Monsters lurk in the shadows and look a lot like humans.  Jack is far too innocent to be on this adventure and it’s hard to watch that be stripped away from him.

The art is fairly basic – nothing overly dynamic but it also doesn’t distract from the story line.  It moves smoothly from page to page carrying the reader away.

Watchman William Ghost Detective by Diana Shaw

This was a cute juvenile chapter book.  William was the policeman of his time during the reign of Elizabeth the First.  Now he haunts Hardleigh Manor.  When the manor is turned into a museum, William meets Thomas, the grandson of the groundskeeper.  With his help, William tries to channel Sherlock Holmes and solve small mysteries around the villages.

The book is very English so I’m not sure how many kids in the US will understand some of the language.  Aside from that the book is cute and the characters are interesting.  The chapters are quite short so young readers can stay engaged.  The mysteries are quite basic and have some surprises.

I could see this book delighted various readers and is a fun read for all.

Waffles

Today's post will be at my new blog Seeking Sanctuary at World's End. I'm going to slowly move this blog over there. I'll be posting regularly here until the beginning of August and then at that time, I'll post exclusively at Seeking Sanctuary - this will lessen my load and help me get back to enjoying my books instead of feeling like I need to rush through them all the time.