I’m not a big fan of horror in general. I’ve read the odd Stephen King and Graham Masterton, but as I don’t really find these at all scary I don’t often see the point. In general I don’t get scared at movies either. However, the whole point of this yearly challenge is not only to read books, but to also read books in genres that I don’t normally read.
I’ve always seen the Charles De Lint books on the shelf of bookstores and wondered if I’d like them. My wife has tried in the past and didn’t like them, but we’re very different people with very different tastes in just about everything. I decided to give him a go and chose one of the earliest books in his Newford series of books. I had a look on Wikipedia and came up with From A Whisper To A Scream.
I liked this book. It was written in an easy-to-read style and it slipped by with only one queasy moment. That is this book’s primary problem as well. It slipped by without leaving much of an impression. Other than a repulsive part in the book where it is written from the point of view of the paedophiliac serial killer.
The character’s were not well-sketched out and tended to run together. They spoke the same and acted much the same the whole time. The plot was so simple that it was non-existent. I suppose that’s part and parcel to most horror.
I’ll have to think long and hard before setting foot in Mister De Lint’s Newford universe. There are a lot of books out there that grab you and keep you hooked throughout.
Score: 51/100
Book I am Reading Now: The Steampunk Trilogy by Paul Di Filippo
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