Scott Leeds

I really enjoyed this book, but I'm not sure I would consider it horror, so much as dark fantasy. Yes, there are horrific moments, and the tension in the first half of the book is strong, but its cut with sweet family moments that lessen the tension of the mystery. As a fan of music, I related to the music loving characters hard. Music is a huge component of my life, and I often cherish my ability to hear and enjoy music and sound in general. Learning how the characters fall into the show more lifelong obsession of the high of music was very real to me. That was me. Its still me. So, to say that I related to the characters is actually a bit of an understatement. I think that because of the music component of this novel, I was biased to like it from the beginning. You can tell that the author knows a lot about music and is passionate about it as well. That knowledge provided weight to the characters' discussions and obsessions and to me, made them more believable. I understood their obsession and their curiosity to hear that supposedly cursed records that were left to Charlie, the main character. Even though the whole time I was saying to myself, "No! Don't do it! This is a terrible idea!" I understood the motivation. They needed to hear it for themselves. At its core, this book falls into the cursed object sub-category of horror fiction, which leads me into the horror aspects of the novel. The opening scene was really fascinating and terrifying. There were other scenes in the beginning that were tense, but in general the introductions of all of the characters felt cozy and comforting to me, despite the fact that all of the characters are learning about the death of a loved one. I don't know if that was because of the way the audiobook was read by George Newbern, or the way that it was written. George Newbern's narration was very comforting and relaxing, which can be a problem with a book that's supposed to be scary. But as characters started coming together and events came to a head at the wake was when I was really pulled into the supernatural aspect of the story. I did feel tension after the characters listened to the records. As the characters are figuring out the changes in their lives, and how the records affected them, I was also scared and worried for them. The scene with the lawyer at the diner was really terrifying, and Ana confronting the dead woman in her apartment was creepy. But as we went along, I was able to predict how certain story beats would unfold, but the ending had elements that I wasn't able to predict. I appreciated how the book ended. When writing a good story, you want to put your characters in situations where they can't go back to the way things were before through some sort of sacrifice or change. And that definitely happens here. It was a powerful ending for the main character, and one that was foreshadowed heavily throughout the book. I enjoyed the audiobook, but would recommend reading this to give this a creepier feeling. But overall, this cursed object story was compelling with interesting characters, a romantic subplot, family drama, tense horror situations, plenty of music and pop-culture references, and a satisfying ending. I really enjoyed it. show less

*3.75 stars*

Schrader's Chord started out immediately giving me the creeps. The writing pulled me in and made me feel uneasy. The first half of the book before they played the records was suspenseful and well-written. You could feel this sense of dread as the reader. You knew something bad was coming. Then for a time after they played the records, it lost that feeling and it bored me a little at times. And then the last part leading up to the cemetery scene suddenly started having the same show more feeling again. I'd say it started when the characters started their drive to Montana. You had the same dread feeling waiting for the final climax, and in the end, I'd say the twist was pretty good. I didn't see it coming, and I thought it was interesting and unique. The book definitely was different than anything I had ever read.

The only thing I hated was the random romance between Charlie and Ana. I didn't feel like it was necessary, and it felt forced. I loved the relationship between Ellie and Charlie, and the plot line of Charlie finally reconciling with his father.

I am a newer reader of horror, and I would recommend it to other people who are getting into horror. show less

*3.75 stars*

Schrader's Chord started out immediately giving me the creeps. The writing pulled me in and made me feel uneasy. The first half of the book before they played the records was suspenseful and well-written. You could feel this sense of dread as the reader. You knew something bad was coming. Then for a time after they played the records, it lost that feeling and it bored me a little at times. And then the last part leading up to the cemetery scene suddenly started having the same show more feeling again. I'd say it started when the characters started their drive to Montana. You had the same dread feeling waiting for the final climax, and in the end, I'd say the twist was pretty good. I didn't see it coming, and I thought it was interesting and unique. The book definitely was different than anything I had ever read.

The only thing I hated was the random romance between Charlie and Ana. I didn't feel like it was necessary, and it felt forced. I loved the relationship between Ellie and Charlie, and the plot line of Charlie finally reconciling with his father.

I am a newer reader of horror, and I would recommend it to other people who are getting into horror. show less

I got to review this one early and was super excited for a spooky horror with ghosts! I have already been trying to get ready for spooky season after all. I enjoyed this one for the most part, but I felt like it was unneccesarily long at points. It starts off with the perfect amount of creepy vibes to set the tone. We keep getting pieces of information that don't really tell us much yet. But the ghosts start out quick! We are then introduced to Charlie who works to discover bands and is show more called the Man with the Magic Ear, who has just learned that his father is dead. Naturally it couldn't be a good story if we didn't have unresolved issues between Charlie and his father.
I think the author threw a lot of characters at us in this book and sometimes they were just extra pieces. Yet it was hard to know at the time who was a vital character. Eventually the story centers on the four main characters listening to the records and unleashing something they don't understand. With the help of Raymond, Charlie's dead father, they attempt to find a way to save themselves. However, this requires Charlie and Raymond to work through the resentments that have stood between them for years now. Towards the end of the book the ghost dynamic and the haunting really pick up.
I enjoyed the spooky elements of this book and one of my absolute favorite things was that the author had a reason for the main ghost to be doing all the things that he was doing! It was interesting to see the way the author chose to create the situation for silencing Schrader's Chord, which also builds into the ghosts motivations for things. Overall, it was a great story with lots of spooky vibes. show less