Rob Zombie

Disappointing effort from Rob Zombie based around a simplistic premise: it's Halloween and a group of travelling carnies are kidnapped and forced to play a game called 31, which requires them to survive a night being pursued by a group of psychotic clowns. "31" is a simple torture porn re-tread, with few redeeming features, no interesting characters, no plot development and no atmosphere. There is the occasional clever image and clever bit of composition but that can't get over the horrible show more quick cut and shaky-cam dynamics. On the whole a tired and lacklustre affair with nothing new or even vaguely interesting to offer. show less

3 Stars
*This is an uncorrected galley I received from NetGalley*
Sobriety hasn’t been easy for radio DJ Heidi Hawthorne, but she manages well enough with the help of her friends and coworkers along with her dog, Steve. When a mysterious band called The Lords sends a gift for her to the station of an even more mysterious record she couldn’t possibly predict what playing it on the air would do to the people of her little town. As evil infects the town and people are brutally murdered the show more town’s history comes back to thrust her into a gruesome and violent hell.
For about five minutes of my late teens I was a fan of Rob Zombie’s music (more so White Zombie). There’s a lot I like about his movies but a lot I don’t like about them. I thought it would be interesting to read something of his and I must say I liked it more than I was expecting.
The formatting for this about a quarter ways in was horrible, but that is not the author’s fault so I won’t nag. For about 10 pages (ebook pages) things were jumbled and even repeated. There might have even been text missing since once things were back on track I felt like I missed something vital.
My big complaint would be the reader/character relationship. I wasn’t really invested in them at all so I was indifferent to a lot of the events that took place. The other thing would be the vulgarity. I have heard the cliché “sex sells” many times but like in his movies there is a gross factor that for me screams desperate. I have never found that necessary in movies or book of the horror genre.
On the positive side is the pacing. The speed or lulls match the action perfectly. For those who enjoy this genre it is a quick read. The plot is not original but this is a unique spin on an old favorite. The biggest positive for me would be the ending and for obvious reasons I cannot explain why.
Will I watch this movie…yes eventually. Do I recommend this book…yes but read my complaint paragraph about the vulgarity first. show less

Well, that was certainly no holds barred. It didn't try to trick you or throw you any curves. It was just unabashedly what it was. Being as I usually don't much like horror in novel form, I'm impressed. I'd include a trigger warning, but if you are sensitive to that sort of thing, you should probably not read something connected to Rob Zombie.

I will freely admit that I am not a Zombie fan. As a horror fan, I had high expectations for his films, but most (with the exception of his remake of Halloween) fall flat and dull for me. I watched Lords of Salem before having the chance to read the novel and being highly disappointed in the film, I fell back on my mantra of "The book is better." I was able to find a copy at my local library and read it while giving commentary to my boyfriend. Needless to say, I was no more impressed with show more the book than I was with the film. It attempted to be deep and awesome while not explaining much of anything. I felt as though it was a witch story mashed together with a demon/supernatural story and while both could easily mix well, somebody somewhere dropped the ball on plot development. show less