Archive for May, 2007
Posted by Amazon.com: horror in Amazon.com on
May 15, 2007
Ancestor is the world's most-popular "podcast novel." A serialized audiobook delivered in 20 weekly episodes, Ancestor's first run played to an audience of more than 30,000 die-hard fans in 31 countries. All told, fans have downloaded more than 700,000 episodes of Ancestor. En route to a rousing final episode, Ancestor was the #1 literary podcast on iTunes and every other podcast index, including Morpheus, FeedBurner, Podiobooks.com and Podcast Alley. The book's popularity caught the attention of the broadcast world, and was the first audiobook broadcast on Sirius Satellite to the company's 4.3 million subscribers. ANCESTOR On a remote island in Lake Superior, scientists struggle to solve the problem of xenotransplantation -- using animal tissue to replace failing human organs. Funded by the biotech firm Genada, Dr. Claus Rhumkorrf seeks to recreate the ancestor of all mammals. By getting back to the root of our creation, Rhumkorrf hopes to create an animal with human internal organs. Rhumkorrf discovers the ancestor, but it is not the small, harmless creature he envisions. His genius gives birth to a fast-growing evil that nature eradicated 250 million years ago -- an evil now on the loose, and very, very hungry.
Author:Â Scott Sigler
Paperback:Â
288 pages
Company:Â Dragon Moon PressÂ
(2007-04-01)
(2007-04-01)
ISBN:Â 1896944736
List Price:Â $19.95
Amazon Price:Â
Used Price:Â $19.95
Posted by Amazon.com: horror in Amazon.com on
May 15, 2007
Readers haven't seen anything yet-new in the "fabulously imagined series" (
Publishers Weekly) from the #1
New York Times bestselling author.
Anita Blake is about to face the challenge of her life. Into her world-a world already overflowing with power-have come creatures so feared that powerful, centuries-old vampires refuse to mention their names. It is forbidden to speak of The Harlequin unless you've been contacted. And to be contacted by The Harlequin is to be under sentence of death.
Long-time rivals for Anita's affections, Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the City, and Richard, alpha-werewolf, will need to become allies. Shapeshifters Nathaniel and Micah will have to step up their support. And then there's Edward. In this situation, Anita knows that she needs to call the one man who has always been there for her...
Author:Â Laurell K. Hamilton
Hardcover:Â
432 pages
Company:Â Berkley HardcoverÂ
(2007-06-05)
(2007-06-05)
ISBN:Â 0425217248
List Price:Â $25.95
Amazon Price:Â $11.89
Used Price:Â $10.25
Posted by Amazon.com: horror in Amazon.com on
May 15, 2007
Do you sleep with the light on? Are you in the habit of checking your doors and windows before you go to bed? Maybe even checking
under your bed? If you are about to crack open Joe Hill's chilling thriller
Heart-Shaped Box, you might want to rethink your nighttime habits--Hill's story about an aging rock star (with a penchant for macabre artifacts) who buys a haunted suit online will scare you silly. But don't take our word for it. We asked bestselling authors (and masters of dark terror tales themselves) Scott Smith, and Harlan Coben to read
Heart-Shaped Box and give us their take. Check out their reviews below, and you might want to pick up a nightlight while you're at it.
--Daphne Durham
Guest Reviewer: Scott Smith
 In 1993, Scott Smith wowed readers with his stunning debut thriller, A Simple Plan. Thirteen years later, he spooked us again with The Ruins, a horror-thriller about four Americans traveling in Mexico who stumble across a nightmare in the jungle.
The set-up for Joe Hill's novel, Heart-Shaped Box, is appealingly simple. Jude Coyne, an aging rock star, buys himself a dead man's suit. He acquires it online, lured by the promise that the dead man's ghost will be included in his purchase. Jude thinks this is a joke, of course. He also assumes the seller is a stranger. We soon discover that he's wrong on both counts, however, and from this point on the story moves with an exhilarating urgency. Jude wants the ghost gone; the ghost wants Jude dead. We watch, chapter-by-chapter, as they battle for survival. "Watch" is the appropriate word, too, because this is an extremely visual book. Hill's prose is lean and precise, and he renders Jude's world with impressive confidence. It feels solid, every detail both correct and fresh. And this physicality provides a firm platform for the book's otherworldly happenings, which seem all the more frightening for being so securely grounded. Hill has a flawless sense of pacing. His narrative never flags, nor does it ever move so quickly as to outrun itself. And one can sense his literary ambition pushing at the margins of the genre. There are times when his writing, for all its spare efficiency, seems to jump away from him, stopping one small step short of poetry. An e-mail to Jude from the ghost (trust me, it's not as absurd as it sounds) could even pass for something ee cummings might've written, in an especially morbid mood. And toward the end of the book, when Hill describes a trip down death's "night road" in a '65 Mustang, the passage has a startlingly lyrical beauty. The story's horror ultimately has as much to do with Jude Coyne's past--his mistakes, abandonments and betrayals--as with anything supernatural. Jude has caused a lot of pain over the years, moving through life with a carelessness that verges on the callous. His battle with the ghost brings this behavior into sharp relief, forcing him to reflect upon his own capacity for cruelty. This dawning self-awareness leavens the book's bleakness and gore (and it is delightfully gory in places) with an unexpected sweetness. Despite our initial impression, Jude is gradually revealed--both to himself and the reader--as an essentially decent, even kind man. It's this kindness, this fledgling ability to love and be loved, that will ultimately be of crucial consequence in his death struggle with the ghost. And it's what makes Hill's debut not only well-written and terrifying, but also--as it draws to its close--surprisingly moving. So go ahead, take a chance, and open his Heart-Shaped Box. I think you'll be happy you did. --Scott Smith
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Guest Reviewer: Harlan Coben
 Harlan Coben is the author of the beloved Myron Bolitar series about a wisecracking sports agent, as well as stunning stand-alone novels like The Innocent and his breakout thriller Tell No One. His new novel The Woods releases on April 17, 2007.
You, dear reader, are obviously somewhat versed in making online purchases, so today, immediately after you click on the yellow "Add to Shopping Cart" on the top right hand corner of this page, why not do an online search and buy something totally unique? Like, say, a vengeful ghost. That is what rock-star Judas Coyne does, thinking it will be a laugh, fun for his "sick-o" collection of such things. It seems a random buy, but Judas soon learns that it is anything but. This particular ghost is one Craddock McDermott, step-father to recent suicide victim and boy, is he cranky. He demands revenge for his step-daughter's death, which he blames on Judas's shabby treatment of her. Or is he after something else? There are Amazon readers who will give you a better plot summary. Don't read them too closely because Joe Hill provides plenty of fun surprises. Heart-Shaped Box is a true spine-tingler. I don't use that hyphenated word much anymore. We have seen and read it all, haven't we? But right away, in the first chapter, there was a subtle line that made the hairs on the back of my neck go up in a way I haven't experienced since I first discovered great horror as a teenager. Hill writes with a sure hand. The prose is compelling. Like most memorable tales of horror, this book is more about redemption than scary moments--though Heart-Shaped Box has plenty of scares. They are visceral, shocking and very well done. The characters are flawed and real. The father-son relationship adds texture and surprising poignancy. So here's the thing. My guess is, you won't find a ghost to buy online, but if you read the Heart-Shaped Box, you will be getting something that will haunt you and startle you and stay with you and yes, visit you in your dreams. Sleep well, dear reader. --Harlan Coben
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Author:Â Joe Hill
Hardcover:Â
384 pages
Company:Â William MorrowÂ
(2007-02-01)
(2007-02-13)
ISBN:Â 0061147931
List Price:Â $24.95
Amazon Price:Â $6.99
Used Price:Â $4.41
Posted by Amazon.com: horror in Amazon.com on
May 15, 2007
Readers captivated by
Twilight and
New Moon will eagerly devour
Eclipse, the much anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Hardcover:ÂÂ
640 pages
Company: Little, Brown Young ReadersÂÂ
(2007-08-07)
(2007-08-07)
ISBN: 0316160202
List Price: $18.99
Amazon Price: $11.39
Posted by Amazon.com: horror in Amazon.com on
May 15, 2007
With her action-packed Hollows series, featuring former bounty hunter--and mistress of the dark arts--Rachel Morgan, Kim Harrison has become one of the hottest authors in the incredibly popular genre of sexy supernaturalism. In her latest Hollows tale,
For a Few Dollars More, Rachel unleashes all kinds of undead fury on the greater Cincinnati area when she tries to track down a serial killer. To catch up on the Hollows series so far, and to see the music that has inspired the stories, see below.
Follow the Hollows
Dead Witch Walking (Book 1) | 
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (Book 2) | 
Every Which Way but Dead (Book 3) | 
A Fistful of Charms (Book 4) |
Music Is the Muse
For Kim Harrison, music inspires her stories, and especially her characters. In her exclusive Music Is the Muse list for us, she reveals some favorite records that have provided the source, and the soul, for Rachel, Ivy, Trent, and more of her passionate and powerful characters. Among her muses:
Bleed Like Me, Garbage | 
With Teeth, Nine Inch Nails | 
Fallen, Evanescence |
Author:Â Kim Harrison
Hardcover:Â
456 pages
Company:Â EosÂ
(2007-03-01)
(2007-03-20)
ISBN:Â 0060788380
List Price:Â $21.95
Amazon Price:Â $5.51
Used Price:Â $4.25
Posted by Amazon.com: horror in Amazon.com on
May 15, 2007
It's been nearly 10 years since
Wolfenstein 3D forever popularized the first-person shooter, and at long last everyone's favorite Nazi killer, B.J. Blazkowicz, is back in
Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Set during World War II,
Return to Castle Wolfenstein finds the Nazis dabbling in the black arts in an effort to create an army of supersoldiers. Naturally, Blazkowicz is the only thing standing in the Nazis' way, so he's set behind enemy lines in an effort to end the madness.
On the surface, the single-player game seems like pure gold--after all, everyone loves killing Nazis. But the story jumps all over the place, the enemy AI is less than impressive, and most gamers will be able to finish the game in a mere 10 to 15 hours. The single-player game falls short of the standards set by titles such as Half-Life and No One Lives Forever.
In fact, the best thing about Return to Castle Wolfenstein is its team-based multiplayer mode. Each multiplayer adventure features Axis vs. Allies, and both sides offer four character classes: engineer (removes obstacles), medic (heals and revives teammates), lieutenant (calls in air strikes and replenishes ammo), and soldier (only class able to use sniper rifles, flamethrowers, and other unusual weapons). The game includes only eight multiplayer maps, but they are all perfectly designed, and in order to be successful teams have to work together. The result is a great gaming experience that fans of Counter-Strike or the Day of Defeat mode for Half-Life will really appreciate.
Graphically, Return to Castle Wolfenstein looks amazing. It uses the powerful Quake III engine to great effect, and the character models, explosions, and lighting effects are all perfectly done. Alas, pretty graphics and a great multiplayer game don't quite make up for an exceptionally average single-player experience. --William Harms
Pros:
- Amazing graphics
- Great level design (including secret passages)
- Awesome multiplayer mode
Cons: - Lackluster AI
- Single-player game is very short
CD-ROM:Â
Company:Â ActivisionÂ
(2001-11-26)
List Price:Â $29.99
Amazon Price:Â $64.92
Used Price:Â $9.80
Posted by Amazon.com: horror in Amazon.com on
May 15, 2007
Evil Dead: Regeneration follows along with Ash, the hero of the Evil Dead movies. Ash is the only survivor of the evils unleashed by the Necronomicon, that night in the cabin. Ash is blamed for it and sent to the Sunny Meadows institute for the criminally insane. He thinks he's safe and can rest now, but the perverted experiments of Dr. Reinhard are about to change that.
Video Game:Â
Hell-bent on using science to harness the Necronomicon's powers, the mad doctor unleashes the book's all-powerful Evil on the world, Releasing a new slew of Deadites, monsters and spirits, twisting reality into a hellish strudel -- leaving Ash to get his chainsaw and shotgun to fight them off again
Company:Â THQÂ
(2006-06-15)
List Price:Â $19.99
Amazon Price:Â $11.99
Used Price:Â $5.84
Posted by Amazon.com: horror in Amazon.com on
May 15, 2007
UMD for PSP:ÂÂ
Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, WidescreenGet ready for a gut-busting, bone-mashing good time in the hilarious horror comedy, Shaun of the Dead. There comes a day in every man s life when he has to get off the couch and kill some zombies. When flesh-eating zombies are on the hunt for a bite to eat, it s up to slacker Shaun (Simon Pegg) and his best pal (Nick Frost) to save their friends and family from becoming the next entr e. Satisfy
Company: Universal StudiosÂÂ
(2005-10-18)
List Price: $19.98
Amazon Price: $14.95
Used Price: $16.50
Posted by Amazon.com: horror in Amazon.com on
May 15, 2007
Divided into a set of chapters, Sanitarium is an adult game of psychological complexity. You play the role of an amnesia patent, a girl named Sarah, a comic book hero, and an Aztec warrior. The plot is not obvious, and the game provides scattered hints that reveal their importance later. Sanitarium is best described as a horror story, not suitable for young children, with adult graphics and puzzles.
CD-ROM:ÂÂ
CD-ROM
Company: American Softworks CorporationÂÂ
List Price: $19.99
Amazon Price: $11.49
