Welcome to our fourth post about the Horror A Month Storygraph Reading Challenge. This month, we bring our picks are from well known authors.
April Prompt: Creature Feature! (Vampires, Witches, Werewolves, etc)
Discussion of the Prompt:
I did not have to look far for this prompt – my step mom recommended Pet Sematary by Stephen King! Since I had not read his books for a while and the cover had a cat (and some creature), I decided to go for it.
I also didn’t have to look far for this prompt, I had a Netgalley approval featuring vampires waiting for me to read it. I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s work, so diving into Certain Dark Thingsfor this month’s prompt was really exciting.
Ariel’s April Horror Read
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
(Find it on Storygraph and Goodreads)
Synopsis:
Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized.
Atl needs to quickly escape the city, far from the rival narco-vampire clan relentlessly pursuing her. Her plan doesn’t include Domingo, but little by little, Atl finds herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. As the trail of corpses stretches behind her, local cops and crime bosses both start closing in.
Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?
Some content notes to be aware of: Violence, Gun Violence, Blood, Gore, Self Harm
General Thoughts of Book
This book was really enjoyable all around. The horror elements were limited to the vampires, but this book digs into their lore and portrays them not so much as figures of dread, but rather similar species closely related to humans. This horror feels almost like a crime thriller in a lot of ways, since there are rival gangs, cover ups, and big inner city conflict.
The writing and the characters were phenomenal in several ways, and I loved how the author paints a picture of a multicultural vampire lore that leaves the Western realm and finds roots in the Aztec traditions of Mexican history.
The story progresses very quickly, and I found myself flying through the pages. The reader quickly gets attached to the characters, and they guide the plot in unexpected ways.
While this book wasn’t a scary, jumpy, spooky horror novel, it definitely pays homage to the vampires of lore, and that created an overall satisfying reading experience.
Kriti’s April Horror Read
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
(Find it on Storygraph and Goodreads)
Synopsis:
When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son—and now an idyllic home. As a family, they’ve got it all…right down to the friendly cat.
But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth—more terrifying than death itself…and hideously more powerful.
The Creeds are going to learn that sometimes dead is better.
Content Notes: Animal death, Sickness/deformity, death of a sibling, death of loved one, gore, grief, violence, car accident.
General Thoughts of Book
I was initially reading Pet Sematary as a book but later switched to audiobook and I highly recommend it! Michael C. Hall is a wonderful narrator with a wide voice range.
This book has a medium pace. Though there is never a dull moment in the book, as the Creeds settle down in their new home, the pace really picks up in the last 25%. By then I had started to wonder how this book could possibly end. I just could not think of a good ending and I was blown away by the ending I read.
Throughout the book, there are some gore and spooky tales about people and things and a few premonitions, but the feeling of heavy dread is just unmistakable to miss in those last few chapters. Rooted in the Native American mythical creature, the Wendigo, Pet Sematary is a tale about an evil spirit that causes havoc when it comes into close contact with the living. Louise and his old neighbour Jud are pivotal to how one goes from being untouched by it to wanting to harness its power. Stephen King beautifully portrays what an encounter with such an evil would look like and also the bad taste that a near miss would leave. I had goosebumps.
I would read this book again only to experience the ending.
Closing Discussion for April Horror A Month
Next month our prompt is “Classics” and we will be picking up some old works of horror!
Thank you for joining us for our fourth Horror a Month post! We look forward to bringing you some horror recommendations this year! If there are horror books you would recommend, please let us know in the comments. We will try to fit them into our prompts. See other horror recommendations on the Book Review Index.
Cover image: Photo on Unsplash
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