SYNOPSIS:
Aerial View: A suburban town in Texas. Everyone's got an automatic garage door opener. All the kids jump off a perilous cliff into a shallow river as a rite of passage. The sheriff is a local celebrity. You know this town. You're from this town. Zoom In: Homecoming princess, Lindsay. She's just barely escaped death at the hands of a brutal, sadistic murderer in a Michael Jackson mask. Up on the cliff, she was rescued by a horse and bravely defeated the killer, alone, bra-less. Her story is already a legend. She's this town's heroic final girl, their virgin angel. Monster Vision: Halloween masks floating down that same river the kids jump into. But just as one slaughter is not enough for Billie Jean, our masked killer, one victory is not enough for Lindsay. Her high school is full of final girls, and she's not the only one who knows the rules of the game. When Lindsay chooses a host of virgins, misfits, and former final girls to replace the slaughtered members of her original homecoming court, it's not just a fight for survival-it's a fight to become The Last Final Girl. There was a lot to love about this book (it began with a quote from Heathers; I was predisposed to adore every word). The style was half-screenplay half-novel, and though it took a little getting used to I really enjoyed it. If you've seen the story prompts on Tumblr that just get filled in bullet-point format, hitting the high points of a would-be story, that was what this reminded me of. ((not that this wasn't a full story, but that it always felt like it was jumping from action point to action point. Introspective horror this was not, but that's never what it pretended to be, either)). Scream is mentioned on the cover, which is appropriate, since the book constantly refers to other horror novels/movies and their tropes. Two minor characters are even 'fancast' as Robert Englund and Tony Todd. Most of the characters weren't people I could get attached to. And unlike in Adam Cesare's Tribesmen, where characters were playoffs of Cannibal Holocaust exploitation types, it felt like we were supposed to really care for, and that didn't ping for me. Absolutely worth a read, though; it's a fun take on the genre. Quotes/lines: ((spoilers beyond this point)) -- thank god, the horse lived. But OW -- 'something about his posture confirming for us that, yes, he was born with his shirt tucked in' -- "Don't you get an automatic A if a maniac killer stalks you for forty-eight hours of terror?" -- "Psycho cleanup, stall two," she says. Yes, Izzy, someoe who survived a suicide attempt not wanting you to glorify/wish for violence is completely psycho. -- "I was acting out earlier," Izzy says. "I can't, it's like I can't process it, all the violence. Maybe I didn't know how to cry, so I cried the only way I could, by trying to make everybody laugh?" I kinda hate you -- You know, Jamie, you could've just traded those kids the cigarettes without going into detail about the breasts of a near-murder victim, you creep -- "I knew she was fucked up," Izzy says, taking a pull off the bottle they seem to have as well. 'But this is beyond, right?" Okay, no more kinda, I 100% hate you -- "Tell me your middle name's Lee." <3 -- "You know better than to provoke him" ewwww go to hell Izzy's mom -- "You understand of course that doing all this, it gives me a pass on any future carnage, right?" **unending laughter** -- "Go!" Izzy yells, instead of what we expect: for her to stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves.' ...what part of making fun of a wounded victim, stealing a classmate's file, and helping a serial killer stay hidden would lead the audience to expect anything but this? She didn't hand over all the info to Jamie, but...yeah. A heroine this does not make. -- "Is this the--the boy's one?" she says, holding it up and away, trying not to touch it. "Your knee hurts, doesn't it?" the nurse says, satisfied with herself.' HA -- oh SHIT stuart -- "They're all asking for it," Izzy says, about the naked girls moving through the steam. "You're in here, too," Brittney says back. Thank you, Brittney -- 'pulls it up into the open air like a sacred golden statue. Meaning this is that moment before that boulder starts rolling.' Nice. -- 'And- is that background kindof shuffling? Are those leaves waking up?' I swear if these kids die because Izzy didn't turn the creep in... -- "How can it be poor taste if I turned it in before they traipsed off into the woods with targets on their backs?" Be more annoying -- Mr. Pleasence. But of course. :) -- "Then make Jane Austen your friend." "Frankenstein?" "Dickens." "God. Prick me, do I not bleed?" "Good, good, more like that." "I saw it in a Ron Jeremy movie," Izzy says. Yes, we get it, you are Edgy -- "It's Crystal," Brittney shrugs. UGH -- Can do without the slut-shaming, but I do love that April doesn't go for Izzy's "we're sisters now!" manipulative bs -- "You remind me of another seventeen-year old girl I used to know." "Oh yeah?" "Me," the librarian says, and walks away, Izzy wordless, pinned to her seat. YOW. -- 'They're all final girls.' <3 <3 <3 -- 'but real tragedy avoids the pure of heart, as I've learned' BARF -- "Can we please get this over with already," Izzy interrupts. For once I'm 100% in agreement with you -- "And you still don't have a date?" They just saw a guy burn in front of them wtf -- "The sheriff's dead, mom, and the janitor's dying, and we just buried six kids last week. Do you really think my having a date for a stupid dance is really the key issue?" "Or is somebody trying to deflect?" her mom says.' Izzy, I currently find you largely insufferable, but your mom is COMPLETELY insufferable, so congratulations you're an improvement -- "Billie Jean is coming back for her. With a little help from his friends." ... "Know what that take-home message is? Don't fuck with Izzy Stratford." what the hell is WRONG with you -- Kids making a sword down at the creek. This is fine. (("Will you come back more powerful than I could possibly imagine?" Ben you nerd)) -- "If you look under the mask, that means the fun's over." People are dead? -- "You've got the rest of your lives to be this stupid, and I trust that you're going to take full advantage no matter what I say." in this moment i love you -- Stratford is forever associated to me with 10 Things I Hate About You because it's Kat's last name and in short I want to like Izzy so much -- Crystal is my forever girl. -- This scene with Izzy and Ben is lovely. When Izzy's with most people, she seems like she's trying way too hard (or, like with the killer, just plain creepy) but I love her when she's with her little brother. -- "I thought you were cool now?" "Really? I never thought you were." There you go, April, tear out his heart and eat it in front of the entire party. -- 'is this really the image we want to project' shoo Lindsay -- No seriously April, I adore you. Nun-slash-assassin indeed. -- Team "two guys in the shower". Get out of there safely my queer children -- also this party. Gaaaaaah. Horrifying -- "Seriously?" she says, as if completely disgusted by who this is' I have to say goodbye, but just know that I still adore you. -- oh gee, did the serial killer you were hiding get away? Who could have predicted this could happen? ((seriously half your characterization is Horror-Loving-Girl; how did you not see this coming)) -- "Characterize this." ilu dante -- 'taking extra care to accidentally grind his camera into more pieces than it already is' Good. Creep. -- "Still wish it was you, brave girl?" Damn. Also if Crystal doesn't live I'm gonna riot. -- Ben. You brilliant darling. The stuck cars are genius and so very needed. -- "Everybody loves a good donkey show." pffffffffffft -- ((seriously, Wildfire should still be at a vet, not being paraded around as Lindsay's prop)) -- Brittney! You're alive! -- OH FUCK -- 'Izzy pulling anyway, still trying to save her' :( -- 'Wildfire screaming, blind, blood foaming at his nostrils' I told you this poor baby needed to be at a vet -- NEVER TRUST THE CREEPY REPORTER -- "How high's that vest go?" AUGH -- Ben. Please do not die. -- Crystal saved the goddamn day by flashing the serial killer I AM IN AWE -- "Is it, is it over?" Ben asks, a kid now, again. Like he should be. sweetie -- 'Crystal inserts her heel into Jamie's eye anyway, and pushes in' *end of Death Proof flashbacks* -- Dante is officially Chief Hopper in my mind I don't make the rules -- Izzy, I am just starting to like you. WTF ARE YOU DOING -- "He'll just be expecting you," she says. "Not me. That's our advantage." You need more backup than that!!! -- "It's not shoplifting if he's family." *nervous laughter* -- this is why you needed backup izzy -- Wildfire nooooooo (and what the hell is with the 'what you were wishing to see at the beginning' stuff? Narrator, you have issues) -- "Who says I'm into girls?" DANTE. MY LOVE. All in all, a fun little read. If you like this book, I'd recommend the movie Tragedy Girls (if you don't like it, I'll still recommend it, because that movie is amazing) ;)
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SYNOPSIS:
Ten writers are selected for a summer-long writing retreat with the most celebrated and reclusive author in the world. Their host is the legendary Roderick Wells. Handsome, enigmatic, and fiendishly talented, Wells promises to teach his pupils about writing, about magic, about the untapped potential that each of them possesses. Most of all, he plans to teach them about the darkness in their hearts. The writers think they are signing up for a chance at riches and literary prestige. But they are really entering the twisted imagination of a deranged genius, a lethal contest pitting them against one another in a struggle for their sanity and their lives. They have entered into Roderick Wells’s most brilliant and horrible creation: The Dark Game. The setup is very Agatha Christie, and I'm a sucker for "small group of people trapped in a house and bad things happen" plots. Creepy writer's workshop is an added bonus. I loved what this one had to say about creativity and the eternity of the written word, for good or bad. Lines/reactions: ((spoilers beyond this point)) 'She chewed a thumbnail, a hundred horror movies flashing through her head. Why was it always a woman who got hacked to pieces?' I constantly ask the same, Lucy. -- 'Bryan's smirk faded. "I write fact-based survival stories." A corner of Tommy's mouth rose. "Personality like yours, I bet you know a lot about being alone." OHHHHH. (also, I hate alpha-male bullshit like Bryan's. 'next time make sure you don't insult a collegiate wrestler' oh my GOD just go jerk off to a confederate flag somewhere and leave the rest of humanity alone -- 'He wasn't, but he'd rather catheterize himself with a lit sparkler than discuss politics.' lol -- 'Because something is following me, and half the reason I'm here is to escape it?' Hey maybe whatever is following you can eat Bryan instead -- "Why, so they can ask me what went wrong?" Anna sobered. "Your critics can fuck themselves." ilu, Anna. Though you do have a bit of an I'm Your #1 Fan! vibe. -- 'No doubt cataloging some piece of minutiae with which to annoy future readers.' Perfect. -- "You need to get in shape," Bryan called over his shoulder. And you need to take a long walk off a short pier. -- "Before we proceed, you must submit yourselves to me. You must prepare to withstand extreme conditions, both physical and emotional." He's going to suck out your souls so he can maintain eternal life RUN -- oh man that prize though -- "Just what the hell did happen to the other nine writers in the first contest?" What did I just say? Souls got eaten, try to keep up. -- "If you lose, there are always the pills," her agent's voice reminded her. ... "I gave you your shot, and you blew it. You let us all down, little lady." oh sweetheart get yourself a new agent this one is a dick -- (he's not a man) oh shit -- "If you bow at the altar of the right person, you're accorded privileges." She glanced at Lucy. "Like big advances and glowing reviews." C'mon, Elaine, don't be that passive-aggressive asshat. -- 'Elaine gaped at him. She glanced from face to face, searching for an ally.' If not for the aforementioned sniping at your fellow writers, you might have one. -- 'Bryan looked pleadingly at the others, but no one came to his defense.' this is my shocked face -- oookay I thought Anna was an obsessive fan but no, she's SO much worse. -- 'Evan Laydon sniffed and told them his story idea was 'upmarket' and 'high-concept', whatever the hell that meant.' I bet it means a college professor main character has a wrought affair with a student. -- "You have any idea how illegible my handwriting is?" I hear you, Will. -- "It's called The Siren and the Specter" heh -- "I'm not going to discover you sunbathing naked, am I?" "I prefer a two-piece." <3 -- 'No way had Clayton bedded as many girls as Tommy had." Yawn. Just whip them out and measure already, guys. -- 'Suzy, who was seventeen but had the mental capacity of a four-year old.' okay I hate Bryan but you get to die first -- oh Suzy sweetheart -- 'but the memories far, far worse' Yeah, poor baby. Truly, you are the one who suffered here. -- "I'm already comfortable in your presence." BARF -- This scene with Marek and the cop is goddamned terrifying -- 'the man looked younger than he had in the library' I TOLD YOU. SOUL-EATER. -- "I know you had issues with reality, but I never guessed they were this severe." you gaslighting s.o.b. -- "Am I wrong?" "About Bryan and Tommy?" Will asked. "Probably not. About all men.." not the time, Will -- I love Sherilyn. -- "He's all bluster," Will said. Famous last etc. -- ...Rick's mom is a badass -- "Was it illegal when he was only twenty?" I. Hate. You. So. Much. -- 'But like I said, I was only seventeen, and if seventeen sounds old enough to you, please not that Zendie was already twenty-eight.' Ohhhh, Sherilyn. I will not only bitchslap him, I will bitchslap your mom for encouraging this. -- "One secret for every article of clothing." Yeah. All bluster. Nothing to see here. -- 'but the brass door handles gleamed like they'd just been installed' THE HOUSE EATS SOULS TOO -- "Escape now." O_______o -- The thing in the crate from Creepshow! <3 -- ngl I really want Sherilyn to get that money -- 'He still needs water, Will thought.' oh sweetie. Given what type of book this is, you're not going to be rewarded for this, but you're a good kid. -- "I'm not going to tell on you." ...oh SHIT. -- oh god why are Anna and Bryan teaming up they're horrible enough on their own -- 'Could I have stopped what happened to you?' Ummm...yes. -- 'Great girl. Might be the one. But so frigid. So insensitive to his needs.' You have two hands for a reason, Jake. Also, go to hell. -- Justine! :( -- 'She could be abrasive at times, but this? No one deserved this.' Wellllllll (he is technically right, though; she deserves worse) -- "You're our host, not our warden." I like you Sherilyn please run -- "What do you know of power?" "I know that a truly strong person doesn't use it to intimidate." Riiiick. <3 -- "I'm happy to say you behaved exactly as I thought you would." SHERILYN. MY HEART IS YOURS. -- "You just ripped my manuscript apart. I want to make sure Sherilyn is held to the same standards." Lucy glared at Anna. "Why wouldn't she be?" "Her race," Bryan said. As if you two don't suck enough already -- ...okay Evan you've convinced me you can die now. -- yay -- things are ratcheted up to eleven and we are halfway through the book. *bites nails* -- all right, Will's being brought into the group! -- I really, really hope that Justine's ghost shows up and throws Anna from the roof. -- Jack Ketchum! <3 -- "Fuck fear." I'm just going to assume this is from an actual conversation with Ketchum. -- 'He shook his head. "Lucy doesn't need to be saved." Good man. -- Will NO you're a good guy and that is going to get you killed. -- "You were only, what, a third of the way in?" oh Rick honey no. -- okay so as someone with suicidal ideation this scene with Lucy's attempted suicide is HARD. -- "Anti-anxiety," she said. Thought about it. "There's irony in there somewhere." oh sweetie -- "You should not mock me," the maid said. HOLY SHIT -- Will nooooo -- 'of young tourists attacked by carnivorous plants inside an ancient ruin' I understood that reference! -- Will you're alive! -- 'Was it any less than he deserved?' Honey, 1) you were a kid, and 2) he raped and murdered people. 'that poor man' nah -- since you're punchy and hurting I will forgive you the 'gypsy curse' thing. If you get out of this, learn about the fact that that's a racial slur -- "I was a monster," Bates said. "But damned if I was born that way." *Jake Peralta voice* Cool motive, still murder. -- GET HIM LUCY -- Lucy grinned. "Am I wicked-looking?" "You look like a drowned muskrat." Heh -- 'Will said, "I'll go in first." Lucy just gave him a look.' "We can talk about sexism in survival situations when I get back"-- Ellie Sattler, ultimate role model -- 'He could, however, try to vanquish Wells in The Magical King.' He's gonna write his way out. I love it. -- Will stared up at Wells, breath heaving. Then, his face seemed to clear. "You lose, Mr. Wells." Good on you, Will. -- Oh good, new agent. -- Is the Fred Astaire murders villain still out there like Wells said? -- yessssss at least Sherilyn got her wish -- "I was just wondering what it's like to expend so much energy wishing failure on others." THAT'S MY GIRL -- ....question answered. SYNOPSIS:
Thirty years ago, cynical sleazeball director Tito Bronze took a tiny cast and crew to a desolate island. His goal: to exploit the local tribes, spray some guts around, cash in on the '80s Italian cannibal cinema craze. But the vengeful spirits of the island had other ideas. And before long, guts were squirting behind the scenes, as well. While the camera kept rolling... Both the cover and back description promise splatterpunk glory, and the book more than delivers. The characters are (with a couple of exceptions) so offensive and/or obnoxious that you can't wait for the machete. I admit to never seeing Cannibal Holocaust, the movie this book is paying homage to (I am not that hardc0re). Given that, there may be a few references or in-jokes that I missed, but if so, it didn't impede any enjoyment of the book. Lines and quotes: ((spoilers from here on in. Also, forewarning, so much racism in a lot of these quotes. So. Much.)) -------------------- -- If the *prologue* goes this hard I'm kinda nervous about the rest of the book. DAMN. -- 'Cannibal Fury Atrocity', I'm cackling -- "the Amazon has no monopoly on savages" "these Guinea bastards" okaaaaay so both Tito and Roland are creepy racist pricks. *hangs Victim #1 and Victim #2 signs around their necks* -- "I'm writing the script," Jacque said, closing his pencil inside the notebook, ready to talk. The script was halfway finished and it was a long flight. He had the time.' Procrastination at its finest. <3 -- "My exotic jezebel, my starlet for a new age, my mulatto Fay Wray for the 1980s" EW die in a fire Tito -- 'Over the few years he'd been working with him, Tito had always found new and ingenious ways to outdo his own tastelessness.' That's putting it mildly. -- "Oh, I'll just call it back with my magic telephone that can place calls to airplanes." "That is a real thing, you know. It's called a radio and I take it that means we don't have one." Jacque. <3 <3 <3 -- I like each chapter being from a different pov. -- 'She resolved to minimize contact with the crew for the next three days.' An excellent plan, Daria. -- "Why did you let it escape?" he asked Umberto. Yes. I am quite certain this group could have handled catching and killing a wild boar. -- 'He knew full well what Denny was going to do out in the jungle. The mouthy jig was torturing him. *Why did I think that? Jacque was a nice guy.* The need always made him edgy.' orrrrr you're a racist douche -- "I...I'm a diabetic." omfg you dumbass -- oh yay Tito has a gun I see no way this could possibly go wrong -- 'The branch had no give. It didn't bend, it didn't break: it just molted a bit more, revealing a smooth white interior. It wasn't a branch at all. It was a bone. A human femur.' YAAAAAAAAH -- 'How is it possible that Umberto was not making it with one of them right now? At least one of them!' help I don't know who I want to die first -- 'To begin, go back to the village and get a blade.' UM. -- BOIL THE WATER YOU DIPSHIT -- 'The film's pov shots had wheedled their way into his subconscious and kept him awake for three days straight (well, it was either John Carpenter or the speed)' *snerk* -- Denny realized that Tito had told his other two actors much more about the scene than he had translated into Italian for the girl. He had deliberately kept her unaware of what was going to happen.' What shitheels. (and yes, Jacque, that includes you. 'I'm sorry' my ass; if you were honestly sorry you wouldn't do it. I now want Daria and Cynthia to make it out and everyone else can get stung to death by scorpions thanks) -- well dammit. -- 'Nobody does anything until the boy gets more film in the camera.' O______o -- 'She would not back down. She would not stop hoping or fighting.' My girl. -- "Can I at least be allowed to sit down while I listen to this crazy horseshit?" Jacque asked. Heh. Still hate you, though. -- "I'm sorry," she said. "I know this wasn't your fault." There were tears in her eyes.' Cynthia is a far better person than I could ever be. -- "How long since you've slept?" a familiar voice asked at the back of his mind, he almost didn't recognize it at first. It had been so long since he had heard his own voice in his head.' Yikes. -- 'She was going to be tortured and mutilated by an idiot, in all likelihood not even in focus. It figured.' I love you Cynthia, please don't die -- "Fuck you," she said. He probably knew that one, had most likely heard it directed at him by a thousand different women in a dozen different languages.' A very, very safe bet. -- I like that ending for Jacque. I would've been irritated if he'd gotten off the island, after what he helped put Daria through. #DariaDeservedBetter SYNOPSIS:
In the ruins of an old parking garage, there is an effigy lashed to a pillar. To anyone else, the remains of the woman with the goat skull head is a warning. To a lonely young boy looking for escape, it is a god of salvation. At its feet lay tattered old notebooks, scattered stories, tales of strange encounters, of broken people and monstrous things, and of corrupt hearts and evil minds. In order to complete his transfiguration, the boy must read these stories, but he has no idea the fate that awaits him. (first off, that TITLE) The beginning setup is eerie and disturbing. "So you can be free," she tells him. "And so you can be blessed by the Bone Mother." eeeep. Lines/thoughts for each story below! THE LAND OF SUNSHINE -- "She had never learned to sign, and he supposed this was a good thing. If her hands were not raised, he didn't have to see the pale scars that bisected her wrists, and thus be reminded of how he had failed her." ....damn -- "Here, in that building, the answer, the closure he sought, awaited. And so, frozen on this cold wet street, he would not move." TRAVELER -- so this is flat-out HORRIFYING -- "I didn't mean to do that. I forgot." I almost laughed. "I'm pretty sure I'll get over it." There's something so achingly human about this little moment in the midst of a frightening, alien situation. There are some short pieces that stay with you (and usually come back into your consciousness at ass o'clock at night) and this is going to be one of them. MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE -- "And even if the change wasn't anything so dramatic, maybe they'd include him in more of their ventures. He was free to decline at any point, obviously, but wouldn't it be pleasant just to be asked?" Aw, Theo. -- "What if I were to touch you? Would you move then?" he asked, and his voice sounded strange to his own ears in a way he didn't like. am now creeped out go back home to your dog before you do something awful please -- OH GOD TOO LATE GO WARILY AFTER DARK -- "The bombs fell just after midnight. They tell you to prepare for such things. There are drills, kits, leaflets and posters, stern voices instructing you over the radio, but nothing can prepare the human mind for the sound of the world coming down. It is as if the devil has felled God." what. an. opening. -- 'Rats, my husband said, they'll eat anything. We laid traps, and the traps disappeared too.' UM. -- ' I could smell the whiskey on his breath but did not, as was customary, resent him for it. When the world wants to kill you, a bottle is as good a place to hide as a basement.' DOWN HERE WITH US -- "Then I found myself wondering why he didn't just drown that one int he brook." To which I'd responded, "The water would have refused him." nice to meet you too -- I love the zombie-apocalypse-in-classic-dwarf/elves-fantasy setup -- THE WITHERER hi nightmares how are you -- 'Should we live to recount this tale, there will be no mention of the forced sacrifice, of my abandonment of the child.' Yeah, I bet there won't. -- the 'garden' AUGH SANCTUARY -- 'The dust found its way inside me', he'd written eeeek A WICKED THIRST -- 'The waiter appears. It might as well be a mannequin for all the life that's in his eyes. I order another round and tell him to cheer up.' His inability to shut up when drinking is amply proven here. -- "Did I blow it?" I offer her a sly smile. "No." "Good." "But you can if you want to." "Jesus, is that a line that ever actually works?" "Not really," I tell her and join her in laughing. These nerds. <3 -- 'The scent of her fills my nose. Her perfume and a metallic, coppery smell." oh no YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR FROM ME -- Lonesome Dove mention! -- This guy's charming. What's wrong with him? -- Well. Her mom's a real winner. -- 'And bonus, if it all went to hell, nobody would know her here.' *flashbacks to dating* -- ...did NOT see that coming. THE MONSTER UNDER THE BED -- "DAAAAAD!" "Fuck sake." "DAAAAAD!" "Jesus Christ, Billy, what?" "You said a bad word." Ahhh, parenting, where any emergency can be postponed by letting a cuss word slip. -- I love this one. Short and sharp. THE HOUSE ON ABIGAIL LANE -- haunted house storyyyyy -- I like the pov for this one (also, I love Sharon Grey and she deserved better, poor kid) -- 'the iconic imagery of dozens of dogs and cats camped out on the lawn of the house on Abigail Lane, all of them unmoving, all facing the house' 0____O Yeah, that'd be when I'd invent teleportation just to get the heck out of Dodge -- 'That the president of the United States may be an inveterate liar and all-around archvillain is not a reality for which the nation is prepared.' *hums Everything Old is New Again* -- 'Unwillingly, I glanced over my shoulder. On the stairs was a ten-foot clown.' AND THIS IS WHERE I NOPE THE HELL OUT EVERYBODY -- ohhh, poor Doug Lowell. -- 'People might not have believed there was anything sinister or otherworldly about the place, but skepticism is always easier from a safe distance.' -- teeth. in. the. mailbox. -- 'The woman's eyes are such a brilliant ethereal blue they penetrate even teh lowest of resolutions' Just as long as she's not a Traveler ------------------- All in all, Traveler is the best nightmare fuel; House on Abigail Lane is a great take on the haunted house genre; The Monster Under the Bed is just FUN; but my favorite goes to You Have Nothing to Fear From Me. SYNOPSIS:
From Claire C. Holland, a timely collection of poetry that follows the final girl of slasher cinema - the girl who survives until the end - on a journey of retribution and reclamation. From the white picket fences of 1970s Haddonfield to the apocalyptic end of the world, Holland confronts the role of women in relation to subjects including feminism, sexuality, violence, and healing in the world of Trump and the MeToo movement. Each poem centers on a fictional character from horror cinema, and explores the many ways in which women find empowerment through their own perceived monstrousness. Poetry is a very hit-or-miss thing with me. This one was an absolute hit. Every poem is based on and titled after the heroine of a horror movie. There were a few movies I haven't seen, but that didn't dim my enjoyment of any of them. I hesitate to quote lines like I normally do. There were several wonderful or heartbreaking (usually both) segments, but since they're from short poems instead of a longer piece... Well, one or two. "She is so tired of waiting-aren't you?-for the world to become good and tolerable and kind" from Thomasin. "The law believes in motherhood, in theory. Put to practice, and you are all recoil, all kickback" from Nola. "I am God and Punisher, Mary full of rage" from Elsa. "I am the woman who goes back into the house because I can't stand waiting on the lawn" from Jess. And the end of The Female (Part II) is something I would get as a tattoo. SO many quotes from these are going into my horror-inspiration notebook. 110% recommend. |
A WORLD WITH A BLUER SUNMy reviews are set up a little like live-tweets: I write down lines I like/impressions as I read, and then transcribe. Reviews will contain spoilers, but I'll give a warning before they start. Archives
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