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Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Silent Companions in Books
Oct 16, 2019
A gripping gothic horror
I decided to give this a go purely because I enjoyed Laura Purcell's second novel The Corset, and I'm so glad I did because I could not put this down. I stayed up far too late last might purely to get this finished as I couldn't bear the thought of waiting until tonight to read the ending. It's that good.
This is the first horror book I've ever read that has truly scared me and given me the creeps. The plot and idea behind the companions is a wonderfully creepy idea and the gothic setting works so well. The story is told in a great way too, flitting between the different times and viewpoints, to really build up the tension and intrigue to where you can't stop reading as you need to find out what happens next. The only real criticism I have is that Elsie is not the most amenable and endearing of protagonists, so even after the ending you don't necessarily feel sorry for her, but I personally was so gripped by the rest of the plot that whether I loved Elsie or not was irrelevant. The kind of book I'd love to see made into a film (done properly of course!).
This is the first horror book I've ever read that has truly scared me and given me the creeps. The plot and idea behind the companions is a wonderfully creepy idea and the gothic setting works so well. The story is told in a great way too, flitting between the different times and viewpoints, to really build up the tension and intrigue to where you can't stop reading as you need to find out what happens next. The only real criticism I have is that Elsie is not the most amenable and endearing of protagonists, so even after the ending you don't necessarily feel sorry for her, but I personally was so gripped by the rest of the plot that whether I loved Elsie or not was irrelevant. The kind of book I'd love to see made into a film (done properly of course!).
The Astounding Illustrated History of Science Fiction
Dave Golder, Jess Nevins, Russ Thorne and Sarah Dobbs
Book
A truly astonishing, illustrated history of Science fiction, covering fantasy, and horror, with...
Reckless Girls
6.0
Rate It
Book
From Rachel Hawkins, the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs, comes Reckless...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Scouse Gothic: The Pool of Life and Death in Books
Jun 14, 2022
107 of 230
Kindle
The Pool of Life …… and Death ( Scouse Gothic book 1)
By Ian McKinney
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Melville wakes with a pounding headache – there had been too many hangovers recently, but this one felt different. What had he been drinking last night? Then he remembered – it was blood.
Enter the bizarre world of Scouse Gothic where a reluctant vampire mourns a lost love and his past lives, where a retired ‘hit man’ plans one more killing and dreams of food, and a mother sets out to avenge her son’s murder, and, meanwhile, a grieving husband is visited by an angry angel.
Set in present day Liverpool, vampires and mortals co-exist, unaware of each others’ secrets and that their past and present are inextricably linked.
But as their lives converge, who will be expected to atone for past sins?
This was a different unique take on vampire and their rivals! 3 vampire lives somehow become entangled with humans including a hitman and a mentally I’ll grieving mother. In a short space in time we see how all these lives collide. It was certainly different and I’m not exactly sure what I feel about it. 3.5 stars maybe instead of 3 or 4!
Kindle
The Pool of Life …… and Death ( Scouse Gothic book 1)
By Ian McKinney
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Melville wakes with a pounding headache – there had been too many hangovers recently, but this one felt different. What had he been drinking last night? Then he remembered – it was blood.
Enter the bizarre world of Scouse Gothic where a reluctant vampire mourns a lost love and his past lives, where a retired ‘hit man’ plans one more killing and dreams of food, and a mother sets out to avenge her son’s murder, and, meanwhile, a grieving husband is visited by an angry angel.
Set in present day Liverpool, vampires and mortals co-exist, unaware of each others’ secrets and that their past and present are inextricably linked.
But as their lives converge, who will be expected to atone for past sins?
This was a different unique take on vampire and their rivals! 3 vampire lives somehow become entangled with humans including a hitman and a mentally I’ll grieving mother. In a short space in time we see how all these lives collide. It was certainly different and I’m not exactly sure what I feel about it. 3.5 stars maybe instead of 3 or 4!
tapestry100 (306 KP) rated Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret H in Books
Aug 2, 2017
The rare occasion that Gaiman totally missed the mark for me. Basically one long run on joke about all the tropes found in every Gothic tale ever told, this is the weakest of Dark Horse's Gaiman adaptations. I haven't read the original story this was adapted from, so I'm not sure if this is worse/better or if it's Gaiman's story or Oakley's adaptation, but I quickly found myself skimming thru just to get to the end, and when you're reading something only 48 pages long and you start skimming when you're only half way thru...
Sarah (7798 KP) rated My Cousin Rachel (2017) in Movies
May 12, 2018
Interesting but a little too ambiguous
This is a strange film. For the most part it’s a very interesting gothic drama, and creates a lot of intrigue as you try to figure out what’s going on. Sam Claflin and Rachel Weisz do very well, but I found the film and the goings on a little too ambiguous. The ending left me a little unsatisfied and it wasn’t exactly unpredictable either. For me, the most frustrating thing was how quickly he fell for Rachel’s charms. Literally within minutes of her arriving he seemed to lose all of his prior hostility - not exactly realistic.
Heathski (173 KP) rated Scar Night in Books
Feb 10, 2019 (Updated Feb 10, 2019)
Brilliantly written (1 more)
Twisted and dark
Deliciously dark and macabre
While this is not my usually fantasy book to pick up, I found myself being drawn into the nightmare unable to look away. The characters, while not very likeable, are interesting, and you do care where their story will end. It's been compared to Goremenghast, which I haven't read so can't compare, but it is well written. It's gothic steampunk, grim, dark fantasy, melancholic tragedy with horror sprinkled on top. I loved it and felt sad I'd finished it, but couldn't wait to get the next in the series.
Erika (17788 KP) rated The Thirteenth Tale in Books
Feb 27, 2019
After reading Setterfield's @Bellman & Black, I was excited to read this novel. I was so completely disappointed. I HATE Flowers in the Attic type crap, and I nearly stopped reading. I have no idea why the trope of incest is still used, but it's annoying and so pedestrian.
The Gothic ghost-story is what I stayed for, but, then again, anti-climactic. The whole twin thing started to grate on my nerves, I get that it was a big part of the book, but the main character doesn't have to mention it every single time she narrates.
The Gothic ghost-story is what I stayed for, but, then again, anti-climactic. The whole twin thing started to grate on my nerves, I get that it was a big part of the book, but the main character doesn't have to mention it every single time she narrates.
Roxanne (13 KP) rated The Lost Days (Emily the Strange Novels, #1) in Books
Nov 14, 2018
As a lover of the Gothic subculture and a fan of Emily the Strange merchandise I thought this book would be right up my street and I was very much looking forward to reading this. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed...I became very bored of the repetition and believe the book could have been so much shorter, at least a 100 pages shorter in my opinion. I did, however, enjoy the artwork and Emily's dry, dark sense of humour was amusing in places (this is why I gave 2 stars instead of 1) but apart from that this book just wasn't for me.
KatyShubo (75 KP) rated Dark Shadows (2012) in Movies
Jan 22, 2019
Johnny Depp (2 more)
Cheese Factor
Fun
Escapism
Dark Shadows is a glorious tribute to the gothic soap opera of the same name. It is deliciously camp, cheesy and extravagant - in short it is the perfect movie to watch from under the duvet whilst steadfastly avoiding the January chill outside.
Johnny Depp (disclaimer I’m biased I think the man is a marvel) is everything you need in this role, fun Fact - did you know that as a child he used to dress up as this character for Halloween.
It is the most technically superb film of all times but it’s fun and sassy.
Johnny Depp (disclaimer I’m biased I think the man is a marvel) is everything you need in this role, fun Fact - did you know that as a child he used to dress up as this character for Halloween.
It is the most technically superb film of all times but it’s fun and sassy.