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| Rice, Anne | Interview With the Vampire |
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Publication Date |
1976 |
| Number of Pages | 346 |
| Geographical Setting | San Francisco (interview), New Orleans and Europe (FLASHBACK) |
| Time Period | 1791-1976 |
| Series | The Vampire Chronicles: Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned, Tale of the Body Thief, Memnoc the Devil, Pandora, and The Vampire Armand. |
| Plot Summary | Through a first person interview, the vampire Louis Pointe du Lac, describes how he was made into a vampire by the charismatic Lestat (also a vampire) and created a 'daughter' vampire, Claudia. Seeking out others like themselves in Europe, they encounter the oldest vampire around, Armand. Although the story itself is quite simple it becomes complex as the reader explores the natures of good and evil, of death, human perception and immortality along with the vampire Louis. The audience begins to sympathize and identify with what should be a hideous predator. |
| Appeal | Vampires, horror tale |
| Notes | Very philosophical, many scenes of death, killing, and dismemberment. |
| Reviewer/Date | Kristina Wetherbee 8/10/2000 |
| Saul, John | Comes the Blind Fury |
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Publication Date |
1980 |
| Number of Pages | 383 |
| Geographical Setting | Paradise Point, a village nestled high above the Atlantic just a couple of hours northeast of Boston. |
| Time Period | Contemporary |
| Plot Summary | The story opens when Amanda, a gentle blind girl, is taunted by other children as she walks along the cliffs of Paradise Point and looses her footing and falls to the rocks and crashing sea below. One hundred years later Michelle Pendleton and her family move into the house where Amanda had lived. Her father is taking over a country practice from Dr. Josiah Carson. It is his family's chance to get out of the Boston rat-race. Michelle, a sweet twelve year-old, is excited about this new life and ready to make new friends. As the family is moving into the big old house they had bought from Dr. Carson, Michelle finds a very old doll on a back shelf in her closet and unexplainably names it Amanda. Michelle slowly starts to make friends. She has always been a happy, friendly child and when kids at school start teasing her, it's confusing. The trouble starts when a strange shadow starts appearing to her. At times Michelle is surrounded by a thick, swirling mist and the hand of a child reaches out to her. It is the hand of a blind child who wants friendship...and revenge. Some of the kids Michelle knows start having "accidents". How many accidents will it take before someone rescues the Pendletons and the people of Paradise Point from this terror? |
| Appeal | Suspenseful; A haunted house; Ghost story; Good vs Evil |
| Notes | Disturbing deaths |
| Reviewer/Date | Chris Vander Weit, 8/10/00 |
| Saul, John | Creature |
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Publication Date |
1989 |
| Number of Pages | 282 |
| Geographical Setting | San Jose, California, and Silverdale, Colorado, an idyllic town in the Rockies |
| Time Period | Contemporary |
| Similar Authors/Titles | The Stepford Wives, Ira Levin |
| Plot Summary | When Blake Tanner is transferred to Silverdale, wife Sharon and children Mark and Kelly welcome the move to a small, clean, crime-free environment. Tarrentech, the town's high-tech primary employer, has created a beautifully designed community with state-of-the-art schools and community facilities, including a sports clinic where the high school's athletes receive free nutritional supplements and exercise training from Dr. Martin Ames. The whole town fervently supports the high school football team, whose strapping, aggressive players win virtually every game. Unfortunately, however, star quarterback Jeff LaConner begins assaulting friends and family during increasingly abusive outbursts. When Mark, a gentle animal lover, also begins training at the sports clinic, he too becomes increasingly angry, even killing his beloved dog Chivas. Meanwhile, people who suspect that something is amiss in Silverdale begin to either disappear or die in mysterious accidents. Sharon, feeling increasingly isolated, sets out to find the truth. |
| Appeal | A fast-paced read, with short paragraphs and lots of dialogue. Standard genre elements: a mad scientist; a growing sense of horror, as an idyllic setting is stripped back to reveal unthinkable evil; and gradual revelation of a conspiracy that leaves the protagonists totally isolated. A story in which the reader knows more about what's going on than the protagonists and wishes s/he could warn them. An ending, though grim, that includes a certain measure of justice and pays homage to the power of love. |
| Reviewer/Date | Barbera Bass, 8/8/00 |
| Turner, Jim (Editor) | Cthulhu 2000 |
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Publication Date |
1995 |
| Number of Pages | 413 |
| Geographical Setting | New England and various other places, planets, and dimensions. |
| Time Period | Various |
| Plot Summary | A collection of 18 fantastically chilling short stories based on the writings of the famous science fiction/horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. All of the stories borrow heavily from the Cthulhu mythos; some attempt to emulate Lovecraft’s signature style, even down to the journal entries and vaguely Victorian language. Includes a story featuring Lovecraft himself as the protagonist, as well as minor gems by science fiction giants Harlan Ellison, Roger Zelazny, Gene Wolfe, and Bruce Sterling. |
| Appeal | Explorations of Lovecraft’s esoteric Cthulhu mythos by some of the most talented and popular science fiction and horror writers working today. |
| Notes | Horrific violence and explicit sex. |
| Reviewer/Date | Kyle Samudio 8/10/00 |
| HOME | WESTERN | CRIME and MYSTERY | ROMANCE | CHRISTIAN | SCI-FI | FANTASY | HORROR Authors: A through M | N through Z |
