Lisa Morton

Spoiler alert - if you've not read this book and you want to, there are some spoilers in the following review.

I got this book for free as part of Library Thing’s Early Reviewers programme. The synopsis sounded rather appealing: When Lisa Morton, author of The Halloween Encyclopedia, is called in to consult on the recent discovery of a fifteen-hundred-year-old Celtic manuscript, she’s at first excited about the light this monumental find might shed on Samhain, the mysterious Celtic show more precursor to Halloween. I was glad that I’d been lucky enough to get a copy, even though it took me a while to actually get around to reading it.

It’s a very short book, just 98 pages and is described as a ‘Hallowe’en novella’. Its short length and the fact that it was free are definitely its redeeming features, the actual story itself is terrible.

When I read the synopsis, I must have missed the fact that the main character and author share the same name. It’s actually more than that; the author is the main character and is writing it as a record of what happens. I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that - it might have been a device to make the fiction seem more factual and ‘real’ but all it really did was make the author seem incredibly big-headed to think people would want to read a book about her and incredibly lazy for not being able to come up with a fictional main character. It comes across as rather self-aggrandising, especially when she goes on to list all her previous works.

If the idea of the book was as a ‘factual’ record of an event then that might explain the huge info dump of history in the first chapter which was incredibly off-putting. Not to mention that some of it was not entirely accurate. If this was to be a fictional book, that would be less of a problem, but if you’re presenting your story as factual, then you can’t get away with that quite so easily. And the sheer amount of footnotes (21 in 98 pages) was ridiculous.

The plotline itself was not particularly gripping or well-written. Half of it dragged while the other half wasn’t fleshed out enough. The characters were dull and I had no interest in any of them. I think most annoyances came from the amount of inconsistencies where a statement made on one page was completely contradicted a few pages later. She is petrified by some rustling leaves although a few paragraphs later she claims, “I’m not someone who frightens easily”. “I have no phobias, and being a lifelong city dweller” she says, but a short time later when she has a late night book signing, she’s again petrified by being out late at night on a city street. At one point, she says, “I have a soft spot for cheap, completely useless Halloween kitsch that makes me laugh. [..] miniature Halloween skateboards and goblin finger puppets” but when she sees a shop window containing “little papier mâché pumpkins (some were sprayed with glitter or even wore little aprons, which offended my highly-honed sense of Halloween decorum”. So which is it? Do you like the Hallowe’en kitch or not? And it says something when you’re writing about yourself but still can’t keep your characterisation straight.

She constantly claims that she is a sceptic but shows no evidence of this whatsoever. She immediately believes that the creature killed Armitage and accepts the Morrigan’s arrival with only the briefest of concerns: ‘Was I drugged? Nope. Okay then, it was real.’ When it’s pointed out to her that she’s a druid, she accepts this straight away. Harry Potter had more doubts about being a wizard than she did.

After all of this, the story ends with a complete cop-out. The only way to save the world is to sacrifice the young boy but she flat out refuses to even contemplate it. She would much rather doom the entire planet, but seems to think that somehow saving the boy’s life makes her a good person. How exactly has she saved him if she’s doomed the planet? Although she finishes by saying that all of this happened two weeks ago and nothing's changed yet so maybe she didn’t doom us all after all. That just kind of sums the whole book up. It’s totally all over the place, lacking cohesion and drama, but at the end, you just don’t really care enough about any of it. show less

4.5/5 stars!

Haunted Nights collects several previously unpublished stories from an array of excellent authors-with the bonus that they're all connected- by Halloween. It may not be exactly the Halloween that we as Americans are used to, but the seeds are still the same-whether they're sown in Scotland or Ohio. I found quite a few stories to shine for me in this anthology and here are a few of them:

John Langan's Lost in the Dark is one of my favorite types of haunting tales-the show more disconcerting kind. That House of Leaves eeriness combined with a cool framing device and several stories within a story all equal out to a very satisfied Char.

With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfbane Seeds by Seanan McGuire was impressive and convinced me that I need to give more of her work a try. Always remember that those Halloween tricks can get you into trouble-especially if you trick the wrong person.

A Small Taste of the Old Country by Jonathan Maberry. This one was predictable, but man, I just wanted it to happen so badly. When it did, I couldn't have been happier.

The Seventeen Year Itch by Garth Nix would have made one hell of a Twilight Zone episode. This story put me in mind of those old horror and sci-mags back in the day. There is a lot of punch, (and scratching!), packed into this short story.

A Flicker of Light on Devil's Night by Kate Jonez is a downer of a tale, but I can't deny how powerfully it was written to make me feel that way.

All Through the Night by Elise Forier Edie What another sad, sad tale! Halloween is not all fun and games and neither is the horror genre. Sometimes it's fun and imaginative, (see The Seventeen Year Itch), but sometimes it's all too realistic. Often it's those hard to look at stories, the ones about the lives of real people and the hardships they go through, that are the most horrific of all.

The Turn by Paul Kane. This is the perfect title-because it's exactly what you want-NO-are compelled to do when you hear footsteps behind you on a dark street. But what if you would be okay, if only you didn't turn. Would you be able not to?

John Little's The First Lunar Halloween and Jeffrey Ford's Witch Hazel rounded out my favorites in this collection.

I loved the fact that ALL of these stories were new and I adored the connection they had to Halloween. I've previously been disappointed in collections where I've discovered, (too late!), that I'd already read many of the stories within. These were fresh tales and featured some fresh, (at least to me), authors, as well as some tried and true.

It is my excited opinion that this anthology belongs on any horror lover's shelves-but especially to those of us that have a love of all things Halloween! Highly recommended!

Get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XBQ444Q/chashorcor-20

*Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is it.* show less

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" "With graveyard weeds and wolfsbane seeds, and empty graves all in a row."

Who would pass a book entitled Haunted Nights? Would you pass it? I think not. And do it came to that this collection of stories was added to the October reading list and took priority over other books. I was optimistic that I would enjoy the collection, but I believed that nothing too special was in store. I thought I'd find tales that would be eerie, mildly show more creepy and Halloween-y (...and this word probably doesn't exist, but let's pretend...). And I was wrong.These are stories that are dark, bleak, heart-wrenching and utterly frightening. They are unsettling and upsetting and will make you feel more than uncomfortable. They will make you scared and sad. In short, this is probably the best Halloween stories you'll have read by now.

"Halloween's always been the night when the rules don't hold, hasn't? It's like the world's night off."

The stories take place in the night of Halloween, a night that is hallowed, wild, sacred, potentially orgiastic. A night when masks are on and the world becomes a different place, both magical and haunted, beautiful and dangerous. Sad and nostalgic, if we accept that the dead come to wander with us, a moment of being "alive" in the nothingness of immortality. Who knows of such things? What I do know, however, is that these are the adjectives I would use to describe this collection.

The richness and diversity of the stories will definitely attract your attention, since there seems to be something for everyone. We find ‘’traditional’’ spooky characters and techniques. Haunted houses, dead children, forgotten spirits, owls, gargoyles, vampires, werewolves, but what is truly special is the inclusion of traditions dating back to the pagan days. This makes the stories dark, menacing and unpredictable. A Halloween story from Argentina with a terrifying nod to Seleenwoche, a tale of justified revenge and comeuppance. Poor old Jack-O’-Lantern speaks to us. There is a story dedicated to Nos Galan Gaeaf, the Spirit Night of the Welsh tradition. We experience Samhain and our favourite Dia De Los Muertos with the Sugar Skulls and we come face to face with Keres, the chthonian Greek deities of blood, darkness and death.

The sixteen tales of the collection are excellent but there are a few that made a lasting impression:

‘’Dirtmouth’’ by Stephen Graham Jones is a beautiful story, containing the most accurate observations about this very special day of the year. This is a tragic, haunting tale.
‘’Wick’s End’’ by Joanna Parypinski has a Neil Gaiman touch, reminding me of his ‘’Coming to America’’ chapters in ‘’American Gods’’. And I won’t tell you who is the narrator of the story…
‘’A Flicker of Light in Devil’s Night’’ by Kate Jonez has a nightmarish, menacing atmosphere, right from the start…
‘’The Turn’’ is scary and chilling as is ‘’Lost In the Dark’’. Now, I’d definitely pay to watch that film…
I felt that ‘’The First Lunar Halloween’’ was the weakest link in the collection. I don’t like sci-fi and I couldn’t appreciate the inclusion of this tale, but if you enjoy the genre, then you will definitely like this intergalactic story.

These are not stories to be read in Halloween and be forgotten afterwards. They are scary tales for readers who want something more besides the same old jumpscares or gory spectacles. This is a collection that communicates the eerie, menacing atmosphere of these days to perfection.

Many thanks to Blumhouse Books/Anchor Books, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com show less

Before I start with this review, allow me to tell you a bit about myself. It won't take more than a minute, I swear.

Now then... I'm a scaredy-cat - official and confirmed. I can't watch something spooky or scary - in favor of saving some face, let's not get on the topic of thrillers and horror movies - without having to beg my 12-year-old brother to sleep in my room so I can get some shut-eye (so much for saving face...). My imagination is on such an unhealthy level - which I have mentioned show more countless times - that I think I hear or see the monster or villain or psycho behind every curtain or under my bed or in every - even remotely - shadowed corner. Now imagine a person like me reading something that comes even close to those spooky things I avoid like the plague when they're on the TV, and you'll start wondering what the hell was this book doing in my greedy little hands.

Still, I will forever be a masochist that gets done in by an engaging blurb and a professionally done cover - sue me, I admit I'm guilty as charged! So I decided to give Netherworld a chance - and swore I would read it to the very end, no matter what - and you know what? I'm damn proud and glad I did, because otherwise I would have missed out on witnessing such a thrilling story with one of the most intriguing main casts yet!

Diana Furnaval is a young widow in Victorian England that is unlike any other woman at her age, her time, and her position would be. Seeking revenge and justice, she sets on a personal mission to close all the gateways that connect our world with the world from which the fiends that killed her husband, William, come - the Netherworld. But she's not alone on this task. Stephen Chappell - a mysterious, all-too-knowing book merchant - , Leung Yi-kin - a young Chinese sailor with exceptional fighting skills - , Isadora Feduchin - a medium that can communicate with the other side and bring messages from the Netherworld - , and Mina - Diana's trusty feline pet that can sense both the gateways and the creatures that pass through them - are by her side, ready to help her in her efforts to defend humanity from the things that go bump in the night and cut off all connections to the Netherworld once and for all. Still, the residents of the other side are not about to give up on conquering our world so easily - and they will use every dirty trick to get Diana either off track or six feet under, if that's what it takes.

I believe now you see what I meant by interesting and intriguing, right? Diana, as a main character, is every bit the strong and determined lady a female lead in such stories should be. But not in a non-believable way. Though she gets scared like every normal person, she knows her mission is important, and ignores her own comforts and safety to make sure the demons frequenting her life will hurt the smallest possible number of people the way they have hurt her. She understands the risks, and while she's often quite stubborn, her self-sacrifices are not to be ignored. She studies her enemies and plans carefully before advancing, and she's moralistic to a fault. And she's not above trying new things, all the while keeping her personality and traits intact. She may be loyal to her late husband, and still love him, but she doesn't push away the possibility of new feelings towards another man - thank God for that, because I seriously shipped that particular pairing called DianaXStephen!

Stephen was my personal wet dream - I don't care if he didn't come off as sexy, the guy is something of a mysterious scholar with many secrets up his sleeve, and sells books, that counts as one of the hottest traits in my book! Yi-kin was adorabble - there were times I just wanted to squeeze the hell out of him - and Isadora was every bit the eccentric and funny woman a medium can be. As for Mina, well, I'm not exactly a cats person - scratch that, I hate them to death - but this particular feline was after my own heart. She was very clever, not the least bit the annoying, hissing, snobbish monster that most creatures of her kind are. And hey, any animal that rushes to save their mistress and her friends first thing when they come upon danger, is ok IMHO.

Even without the golden main cast, though, the book was one of the best I've come across in the paranormal genre. The plot alone was worth every single night I spent with all lights on and backed in my bed's corner. And those extra few seconds it took me to check under my bed and behind my curtains before I went to sleep. The story started in a way that most writers seem to ignore, yet Lisa Morton managed to follow it in a flawless fashion. According to many creative writing lecturers, the best way to start a book is to provide the hook - lure the reader deep enough to get them hooked, and THEN provide more details on the main character and the plot, with flashbacks and the usual. And she did just fine in that department. The prologue had me so freaked out, I stopped reading - damn, I usually read out loud, and when I realized what that thing in the church was chanting and what, as a result, I was murmuring, I shrieked - and took a couple of minutes before resuming, this time in my head, because I'm superstitious enough to fear I might summon something if I say the words loudly. Now, normally, I would leave the book in DNF state right then and there. But the writer had made it impossible by then, so I couldn't do a damn thing, other than keep up with the story - and I don't regret it at all. Still, I'm telling you, if anyone ever decides to make Netherworld into a movie, I will NOT go watch it, no matter how many millions it will make (because I'm sure it will!) - one time through all this fearful torture was enough, thank you very much.

The brilliance of this book, however, didn't stop there. It was also quite accurate in its lore. Ms. Morton took great care in her research in both the western and the eastern spooky legends. And then used it in such a detailed yet enjoyable way, it was more like academical fun times than boring and overbearing lectures. Sort of like how a good uni professor manages to make a subject interesting enough to get you to study and pay attention, without overdoing it.

The only drawback in all this was that Diana was a bit too self-righteous at times. While I admire her morality and her idealism, it tended to make her less of a realist - when she was claimed as a realist herself at the start of the book. It was a bit contradicting. Then, there was the question about her fortune. I understand that the Furnaval family had a lot of money, but the reason behind that wealth was never explained throughout the book. Were they merchants? Had a lot of land that they sold to suit their monetary needs? Or was it something else?

But I refuse to lower the rating because of those two minor problems of mine. This book deserved the highest rating possible for managing to keep me reading even when I was scared out my mind. The action, the cynical and sometimes macabre humor, the legends and the writer's personal voice are only a few of the reasons why this series should be in your TR list ASAP! I myself - no matter how masochistic it may sound - can't wait for the next book!!!

***I was given a review copy from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers November 2013 Giveaway in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated in this review is solely mine, and no compensation was given or taken to alter it.*** show less