Bloody Irish: Celtic Vampire Legends
by Bob Curran Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 1-903582-19-9 Alright, let’s be honest here, I’m Scottish and Irish in my main bloodline. My family can literally trace one side back over 500 years, before coming to America. So I am always super fascinated by anything having to do with either place. That’s the first thing that got my attention about this book, the title, ‘Bloody Irish’. Secondly, I’m a HUGE fan of horror movies, spooky stories, ‘monsters’, etc. I have been as far back as I can remember, so the graveyard cover and the secondary title section that says, ‘Celtic Vampire Legends’ was pretty much a MUST TAKE HOME moment. I’ve actually checked this out of the library so many times that when I went to grab it today I went straight to the place on the shelf where I knew it to be. So I AM a little biased at this point about this collection of short stories. But since Halloween, or Samhain as it was called in Ireland, can trace most of its traditions BACK to Ireland I figured this was a very fitting novel to review on Halloween. The author Bob Curran is a bit of a know it all, having degrees in History and English, a Doctorate in Educational Psychology, broadcaster for BBC, even develops historical tours of Ireland! How cool is that? So it’s not so surprising that he would write a novel like this. As I previously mentioned, this book is a collection of short stories in terms of Irish Vampire legends. Again, if you’re looking for some Twilight level, sparkle in the sunshine BS, look elsewhere. IN FACT some of the ‘vampires’ are very different from those that we’ve grown accustomed to thanks to Hollywood! I think that’s part of why I enjoy these stories, its not Vampire Diaries or Dracula, they’re very… different. This book contains an Introduction and then four short stories: Beside the Fire, The Way Through the Wood, The Withered Hand, and Miss O’Hare. One of my favorite sentences from this book is actually found in the introduction, “And yet, the oldest recorded vampire story comes from Ireland”. WHAT?! That’s fascinating! Especially since we always picture a count from Transylvania with a bad accent, right? But the authors of those famous vampires were FROM Ireland, so it’s not that far of a stretch, now is it? I will say from the reviews I’ve read FROM actual people in Ireland, they all agree this is a loosely based novel, and not actual legends copied down in a collection. I was going to do a short snippet about each story, but instead I want to quickly focus on what these stories are going to be like. You’re not going to see some guy in robes with sharp pointy teeth. Instead the stories focus on what a Vampire is supposed to be: a spiritual being who can drain life from a person. The Celts were very big into death and what it actually meant, they did not see it as an ending but a new beginning. But when modern day Christianity came along, their beliefs had to change and be altered. Everything was now made to go with the church, the importance of death and blood was still there, but it had now been transformed in the way it was taught and thought about. So now, what once was ancient ghosts were more considered demonic vampire like beings. And personally I think these short stories, and a BEAUTIFUL informative introduction, really show that to the reader. In conclusion, I will tell you that the first time I read it there were a few stories that sort of gave me the creeps. I read this late at night and when I went to go to the other room, I opened my door to a pitch black hallway and empty home. It was very spooky and I found myself unconsciously moving quickly from doorway to doorway as if I expected some supernatural being to be in the shadows ready to drain me of my life. And if we're being honest, based off these stories, it probably wouldn’t be fast either, it would latch on like a supernatural depression and take all that it could from me.. Creepy, spooky, gripping, and unique! These stories will stay with you, everyone I’ve met that has read this book has loved it cover to cover. And most of us have recommended it to a friend. Now I am recommending it to all of you. Happy Samhain everyone. Remember to keep your candles and jack-o-lanterns lit all night and don’t stray too far alone in the dark *wink* As usual the link to the Author’s sites have been included below for your enjoyment AND as a bonus since it IS Halloween I thought you might also enjoy some links to the history of Halloween! Have a wonderful evening ghouls and ghosts.
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The Stone Child
By Dan Poblocki Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 978-0-545-29725-7 The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki was an absolute thrill to read! I had stumbled across this at Half Price Books one day and decided that it sounded pretty interesting. I knew eventually I would get around to reading it, but if I had known how thrilling of a book it would be, I wouldn’t have waited over a year! This author is now on my must read list and I’ve already begun a search for more of his novels! The first sentence on the back of the book is what really caught my attention, “What if the monsters from your favorite horror books were real?” As someone who has an overflowing crate of horror movies, this sounds pretty intriguing! But that is exactly what the main character of the book has to deal with. Eddie Fennicks has moved into the town of his beloved favorite author, who has been missing for almost thirteen years. Rumors of the town housing a curse are told from his first hour within the city, but within days of being there he begins to realize it’s more than a rumor. When Eddie moved to Gatesweed he had no idea the history of the town or the adventure that awaited him. His father sells antiques, and figured this little town was full of them, and his mother is a writer who was looking for inspiration for her novel, an all around normal family really. When a car accident sets their move off to a rocky start they discover a few things, first he discovers that the house on the hill above the town is the home of his beloved horror author Nathaniel Olmstead and then that the whole town believes they are cursed and blame Olmstead for it. Talk about good news, bad news, right? Olmstead had disappeared nearly thirteen years before without a trace, only rumors and his novels remained. Eddie of course, like any book lover, can then only think of his novels and sets to finding his Olmstead collection as soon as they arrive at their new home. Little did he know that that action would change the course of his life all together. While searching for his book he comes across a strange novel titled, “The Enigmatic Manuscript” and on the inside cover is the Nathaniel Olmstead’s signature along with a strange symbol. To make matters more complicated the entire novel is written in code! Now, in many of his books, his characters had to solve a code to save themselves, but this was something different all together. Perhaps if Eddie can crack the code he can figure out something about his disappearance! Naturally, moving to a new town and starting a new school you will meet other children your age, and with luck, befriend some. In this case, Eddie meets a young boy named Harris who is not only a huge Olmstead fan as well, but his mother is the owner of the bookstore in town called Enigmatic Manuscript. Named by Nathaniel himself before his disappearance. When he shares his secret Olmstead book with Harris the two set off to crack the code. But as their search starts they realize the monsters from Olmstead’s novels are coming to life and terrorizing them. Perhaps the curse wasn’t so crazy after all? Could the key to finding him and cracking his real life code be IN his published novels? When their new friend Maggie, a horror skeptic and slight brainiac, joins them things really start to progress and a mystery like no-other will be unraveled. And while the basic monsters, you know, hounds from the lake, gremlins, witches, watchers, trolls, and so on, are fairly easy to handle, nothing will prepare them for the truth they will uncover. As if their hands weren’t full enough they realize they are running out of time to solve this mystery and make things right for the little town of Gatesweed, especially now that Eddie’s mom is about to finish her own horror story and set free the scariest monster yet.. Unfortunately, there is so much more I want to discuss. I mean this book goes from a Hardy Boys mystery to... I’ll read this in the daylight when I’m less spooked. And honestly, it takes a lot to scare me! Not to mention the in depth details Poblocki added to the background of the creatures and the inevitable rift between worlds. Leaving me with questions I’m sure my Pastor would be offended if I asked him, lol. But man, did it make it all the better! I had planned to read this slowly over the course of a few days and I found myself reading over half of it in an hour curled up on the couch after work. I couldn’t wait to get home and read what would happen to the kids and if they ever found out the fate of Mr. Olmstead. This book was amazing! A real page turner and I wish there were more! Part of me wants to believe there is a potential for another book in a similar world, but who knows what could happen! All I know is that I am going to read more of his books as soon as I can, and I highly recommend this book to everyone! As usual the links to the Author's Goodreads, website, and Facebook page |
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