Rating: 
Summary: A good story, but I was expecting more...
Review: A very good novel, but just that. Good. I was expecting more from Clegg. And I don't know how to quantify that. More. The book was ok, but it seemed to bog down at times. It didn't move as smoothly as some of his other novels. Still anything he writes is better than a lot of other stuff passing as horror fiction these days. A very capable writer who knows how to scare [...] people.
Rating:
Summary: I like Clegg's early work...
Review: But he's getting more convaluted with each novel. I guess he thinks it adds depth or some literary flair, but it doesn't serve the stories he tells very well. If he would try to be a little more linear with his story telling, then I think his talent would really shine.
Rating: 
Summary: A Page Turner
Review: A true page turner from the get go. A riveting story, and deftly crafted characters brings YOU COME WHEN I CALL YOU to life right there in your hands. I promise, you will not be able to put this book down!
Rating:
Summary: Scary and thrilling
Review: I borrowed this book from a friend, having never heard of Clegg or read anything by him. You Come When I Call You seemed like a strange name for a horror novel, and I guess that got me intrigued a bit. I loved this book. It is a deep, rich story about some kids who grow up in intolerable circumstances and becomes influenced and possessed by a demonic presence. As they grow older and separate, the presence within them goes dormant, but comes back with a vengeance nearly twenty years after the fact. Probably what got me most about this book was the fact that each character had a real reason to do and live like they did. The horror becomes overwhelming mainly because you know each of them so well. So I went and bought the book as a keeper, something that I don't always do. You come when I call You was a really cool find and I think anyone who likes horror fiction will dig it. My other recommendations in horror are Graham Joyce, Bentley Little, Stephen King, Poppy Z. Brite, Clive Barker, and Tom Piccirilli. I put Clegg's book with the best of them. It's not an easy read if you want to know the truth. This book is very intelligent and much like a puzzle. I think that's what also makes it work best. I got involved in it.
Rating: 
Summary: Tiresome and disappointing
Review: From the reviews and description I was expecting so much more. So much of the narrative felt forced and self-indulgent. I wish an editor had come when Clegg called. It relied a lot on graphic shock value as a horror device and the protagonist's tortured psyches instead of real character development. Comparisons to King would only be appropriate if Cujo or Pet Sematary was your favorite of his books. I love Peter Straub, and a lot of King's work. I thought this might be similar but it's not. I didn't like it, but you can't fight city hall, it seems almost everyone else did!
Rating:
Summary: Best Clegg Book
Review: Well this is the third book of Douglas Cleggs' that i have read, and I'll have to admit, it is the best. I first read Nightmare Chroicles, then Halloween Man, but You come when I call You was very impressive. Clegg is a wonderful author, with such a huge imagination. He uses such imagery that you feel as though you are right their with the characters. I love how he switches from present to the past, but it flows so nicely together so it is easy to understand. I anticipate going out to get a new Clegg book every chance I get.
Rating: 
Summary: OLIVER STONE MEETS STEPHEN KING
Review: Whew....not only was this book extremely long, but also so confusing to the point where you just wanna scream....But you don't. You just keep reading and reading and reading, hoping that somehow, somewhere all of the endless torturing of this authors rantings will pay off. Unfortunately, I did not happen for me. I believe in order to fully understand and appreciate this book, one would need a big dose of mind altering substance(s). I didn't care for the style of writing at all. It was difficult to distinguish between the past and the present, as well as the dream vs.reality sequences. Since you'll probably be too occupied in reading back a few chapters to see where the heck you missed out the first pass through, it kind of diminishes the suspense and shock value altogether. By the time the author finally lets you in on what the 'juicer' meant, as well as the 'the awful thing'(not to mention all the other asinine references made throughout), all you really care about is that the book has finally ended! I would say the only 'awful thing' concerning this book was that it was actually published. I can only hope that Douglas Clegg writes better than this.(this was my 1st novel) but disappointed in him so far.
Rating:
Summary: Hear the call...
Review: I first discovered Douglas Clegg's writing back in '95, when I bought a copy of THE CHILDREN'S HOUR (a book that desperately needs to return to print!) at the local independent bookstore. To say I was blown away by THE CHILDREN'S HOUR is an understatement. It was, in my opinion, the best horror novel of the 90's, with it's complex, moving story of friends confronting a timeless evil in both their past and in the present. It's perhaps the most powerful sub-genre in horror fiction: a sort of variation on the coming-of-age stories of mainstream fiction, where a group of young people fight evil and later must do so again as adults. Stephen King used this theme to create his masterpiece, IT. But no other horror writer handles this subject as well as Clegg. He knows the deep hold the past has on us all. And he understands that, no matter how hard we insist the past is behind us, we all, like Lot's wife, eventually look back. Clegg returned to this territory with fresh and surprising results in THE HALLOWEEN MAN. And in YOU COME WHEN I CALL YOU, he takes a story of past evil encroaching on the present and creates a roaring powerhouse of a novel. With it's narrative slipping seamlessly between past and present, Clegg's dynamic and evocative prose (he's equally adept at describing the stark beauty of a desert landscape or a horrific demonic manifestation) and dead-on characterizations -- this is the stuff of good writing in any genre. If there's such a thing as the great American horror novel, YOU COME WHEN I CALL YOU may well be it. I have seldom been this affected by a work of fiction; the novel and its characters are in my heart and mind now as surely as they were in Clegg's when he was writing it. This one's destined to become one of the classics of the genre. And if you're new to Clegg's writing, I can't think of a better place to start.
Rating:
Summary: THE DESERT, TORMENTED SOULS AND DEMONIC POSSESSION!
Review: I believe that the "horror" genre is perhaps the hardest to write, especially at this particular time. So many novels have been written in the last twenty-four years (since Stephen King came upon the scene), many of them classics in their own right, that it is difficult to write something original, which is both scary and full of surprises. Any writer who makes the effort earns my respect and admiration. A writer who actually succeeds in producing a novel filled with all of the right ingredients will probably have me, as well as a zillion other fans, worshipping at their feet in absolute homage. I mean, look at what happened to Stephen King and Dean Koontz! YOU COME WHEN I CALL by Douglas Clegg is a worthy attempt. Though it doesn't quite succeed for me on a larger scale, there are still many excellent things to recommend about this novel. The story opens with Peter and Alison Chandler living in Los Angeles and Pete Urquart in New York City. All three people share a past with each other...a past that has finally caught up with them and demands a resolution. Twenty years before, in the California desert community of Palmetto, Peter, Alison and Charlie experienced a nightmare of abnormal proportions, which led to the destruction of the town and its citizens. Disguised in the body of a former evangelist, an ancient demon returns to Palmetto to wreak havoc on its populace. It quickly transfer itself to the beautiful body of Wendy Swan and begins the process of gaining complete power by seducing some of the town's teenage boys, including Peter and Charlie. In a relatively short amount of time, the evil spreads throughout Palmetto, and people start murdering their friends and families, until eventually the entire town is wiped out and then burned down. Peter, Alison and Charlie are the only known suvivors to have escaped. The teenagers think that they managed to kill the demon at the end, but deep down in the marrow of their souls, there is a haunting sense that the evil is still alive, biding its time until it is strong enough to strike again. Twenty years have now gone by and all three of them are starting to experience strange and frightful phenomenon. They are literally being called back to Palmetto. Though fearful of what is awaiting them back in the ghost town, they must nevertheless make the journey. There is no choice in the matter. They can only pray that this will be the final confrontation with the source of the evil that has plagued them for so long. YOU COME WHEN I CALL comes very, very close to being there for me. Douglas Clegg certainly knows how to write some extremely descriptive and frightening scenes. There is one near the beginning of the novel when Peter, as an adult, must go down into the basement of an abandoned bungalow. He discovers a torture chamber, filled with hanging bodies. It's very well written and reminds me of some of Clive Barker's earlier stuff. There are also some scenes which take place in Palmetto before it is destroyed that are quite vivid and definitely leave a lasting impression on the reader's psyche. I guess I finds the parts greater than the whole. I loved the sections of the book which dealt with Palmetto, and I cared for the main characters as teenagers, but not as adults. I actually got rather tired of their constant whining and denials, wishing that they would just get on with what had to be done. The ending is a little weak. There are no real surprises, except for the introduction of a new character. I suppose it is the journey that is the most important aspect of reading a novel, rather than the arrival at the end. I do like Mr. Clegg's style of writing and the sense of humor that he injects into his story. I think he is the type of writer who will simply get better and better with each succeeding novel, and I look forward to reading his newest book, MISCHIEF, which will come out in September.
Rating:
Summary: THE DESERT, TORMENTED SOULS AND DEMONIC POSSESSION!
Review: I believe that the "horror" genre is perhaps the hardest to write in, especially at this particular time. So many novels have been written in the last twenty-four years (since Stephen King came upon the scene), many of them classics in their own right, that it's difficult to write something original, which is both scary and full of surprises. Any writer who makes the effort earns my respect and admiration. A writer who actually succeeds in producing a novel filled with all of the right ingredients will probably have me, as well as a zillion other fans, worshipping at their feet in absolute homage. I mean, look at what happened to Stephen King and Dean Koontz! YOU COME WHEN I CALL by Douglas Clegg is definitely a worthy attempt. Though it doesn't quite succeed for me in ways I would prefer, there are still many excellent things to recommend about this novel. The story opens with Peter and Alison Chandler living in Los Angeles and Pete Urquart in New York City. All three people share a past with each other...a past that has finally caught up with them and demands a resolution. Twenty years before, in the California desert community of Palmetto, Peter, Alison and Charlie experienced a nightmare of abnormal proportions, which led to the destruction of the town and its citizens. Disguised in the body of a former evangelist, an ancient demon returns to Palmetto to wreak havoc on its populace. It quickly transfers itself to the beautiful body of Wendy Swan and begins the process of gaining complete power by seducing some of the town's teenage boys, including Peter and Charlie. In a relatively short amount of time, the evil spreads throughout Palmetto, and people start murdering their friends and families, until eventually the entire town is wiped out and then burned down. Peter, Alison and Charlie are the only known suvivors to have escaped. The teenagers think that they managed to kill the demon at the end, but deep down in the marrow of their souls, there is a haunting sense that the evil is still alive, biding its time until it is strong enough to strike again. Twenty years have now gone by and all three of them are starting to experience strange and frightful phenomenon. They are literally being called back to Palmetto. Though fearful of what is awaiting them, they must nevertheless make the journey. There's simply no choice in the matter. They can only pray that this will be the final confrontation with the source of evil that has plagued them for so long. YOU COME WHEN I CALL comes very, very close to being there for me. Douglas Clegg certainly knows how to write some extremely descriptive and frightening scenes. There is one near the beginning of the novel when Peter, as an adult, must go down into the basement of an abandoned bungalow. He discovers a torture chamber, filled with hanging bodies. It's very well written and reminds me of some of Clive Barker's earlier stuff. There are also some scenes which take place in Palmetto before it's destroyed that are quite vivid and definitely leave a lasting impression on the reader's psyche. I guess I find the parts greater than the whole. I loved the sections of the book that dealt with Palmetto, and I cared for the main characters as teenagers, but not really as adults. I actually got rather tired of their constant whining and denials, wishing that they'd just get on with what had to be done. The ending was a little weak for me. There are no real surprises, except for the introduction of a new character. I suppose it's the journey that is the most important aspect of reading a novel, rather than the arrival at the end. Some of Stephen King's novels are like that. I do like Mr. Clegg's style of writing and the sense of humor that he injects into his story. I think he's the type of writer who will simply get better and better with each succeeding novel, and I certainly look forward to reading more of his books.
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