Rating: Summary: to many questions unanswered Review: He presented a multitude of interesting ideas. However, at the end your left wondering what one thing had to do with the other. He is probably a good writer . He just needs to remember that the reader has to see what he sees. If you don't tie everything together then you feel cheated that you read the book for nothing or wondering when part II comes out.
Rating: Summary: Good short novel, not flawless though... Review: "Mischief" tells the tale of Jim Hook, a young adolescent trying to find his way. From Jim's perspective, he is little more than a shadow of his older brother, and Jim's worship of him plays a large part in Jim's motivations in life. When his brother dies in a car wreck, Jim tries to honor his memory by being the best he can be. Enrolled in the same prep academy as his late mentor, Jim's story take flight.Harrow is the school, which stands on the grounds of an ancient mansion, renovated over the years with numerous additions to the building. Once, it was a residence. Today, it is a school. It has always been haunted. Jim is a normal kid, and Clegg brings him to life. He's got a girlfriend, he works hard, and he makes the usual teenager mistakes. When Jim falls in with the Cadaver Society, his life takes a sharp turn. The Cadavers are a secret society within the walls of Harrow; they seem to be average pranksters... or maybe more. There are moments of genuine fright with "Mischief", along with scenes of dead-on realism, especially when Clegg examines the relationship between young Jim and his girl, Lark. Clegg's voice can cut to the bone at times, and he uses smart phrasings combined with sly wit. For a horror novel, Clegg keeps the suspense high and the gore under control. It is not without its flaws. For one, I've been told that this book is a sequel (part 2 of 3), but there is nothing to indicate this within the book or on the cover. For me, this means that reading the first book is out of the question, since most events were probably recollected during "Mischief". The ending of "Mischief" sucks. Period. It wraps up nothing while the writing plunges into the nonsensical for those last 20 pages. This is a shame since the bulk of the novel was a joy. I still recommend "Mischief". Clegg tells a fine tale with true suspense and a good sense of fear. There are times where you can't predict where the story is going to go. There are other times where you just can't wait to turn to the next page, compelled by fear to know how things turn out. I blew through this short book in one afternoon and evening, finishing it off just as the twilight breathed its last gasp...
Rating: Summary: Haunted Houses... Review: ...or schools in this case. I bought this book after reading Douglas Clegg's prequel "Nightmare House"(published by Cemetery Dance) which gives a good background for this story. "Mischief" is about a prestigious boys school known as "Harrow", that was once a house whose owner had a certain fascination with the occult. There is also a fraternity called "The Cadavers" whose initiation rites involves, among other equally palatable things, sleeping in crypts. This story is an easy read but certainly not one of the scariest I've read. However, there are some scary moments at the climax of the book and the characters are fairly believable. I will certainly be picking up his third in this series: "The Infinite"
Rating: Summary: Good, but Clegg has fallen in love with haunted houses... Review: and ghost stories. Clegg is a great writer and knows how to craft a story and deliver the usual chills and thrills. He is also adept at setting atmosphere and does this well in this particular book. Not much blood and gore here; it is much more subtle. But don't confuse subtle with complex; this is a quick fun read. However, like I mentioned before he is falling in love with ghost stories and haunted houses. The gore and violence factor that were found in abundance in his early work is not found here, not that it detracts from the story. I think he is just evolving as a writer and he no longer feels he needs the splatter. Final thoughts; a good novel with spooky atmosphere and chills and thrills, but not one of his better books by a long shot.
Rating: Summary: Below Average Horror Review: Despite being unimpressed by Halloween Man, I wanted to give Clegg another chance and checked out Mischief. Unfortunately, it didn�t really change my mind about Clegg whatsoever. As I see it, there are three different types of horror/thriller writers: there are the fairly literate and imaginative ones like Stephen King or Clive Barker. Then there are the ones who write well, have good imaginations and clearly have fun with the genre � think Bentley Little or John Saul. Then there are the hacks � the writers that just crank out endless reams of fiction and are neither decent writers nor imaginative. From what I�ve been able to see, Clegg falls somewhere in between the last two categories. Clegg can write when he wants to. His characterization is good. The pacing of his stories is decent and his ideas are okay. Mischief, however, was a typical horror story that could have been written by any author, anytime. There was nothing about it that caused it to outshine any other examples of its genre that I�ve read recently.
Rating: Summary: Below Average Horror Review: Despite being unimpressed by Halloween Man, I wanted to give Clegg another chance and checked out Mischief. Unfortunately, it didn't really change my mind about Clegg whatsoever. As I see it, there are three different types of horror/thriller writers: there are the fairly literate and imaginative ones like Stephen King or Clive Barker. Then there are the ones who write well, have good imaginations and clearly have fun with the genre ' think Bentley Little or John Saul. Then there are the hacks ' the writers that just crank out endless reams of fiction and are neither decent writers nor imaginative. From what I've been able to see, Clegg falls somewhere in between the last two categories. Clegg can write when he wants to. His characterization is good. The pacing of his stories is decent and his ideas are okay. Mischief, however, was a typical horror story that could have been written by any author, anytime. There was nothing about it that caused it to outshine any other examples of its genre that I've read recently.
Rating: Summary: Creepiness is afoot at Harrow Review: Douglas Clegg has always been quite good at creating solid and believable characters. Jim Hook is certainly one of them. Jim's a fish-out-of-water teenager surrounded by society's rich kids within the creepy confines of a boarding school called Harrow. Jim has a lot to live up to. He is, after all, following in the footsteps of his late father and brother...both of whom are Harrow alumni of a higher caliber than Jim. A fact which everyone at the school keeps reminding Hook of. Let's face it, Jim's an average student at best. Not only does he have to deal with his academic shortcomings; but also with spoiled rotten classmates, vindictive teachers, a blossoming relationship with his girlfriend Lark and an accusation of cheating. A severe violation of Harrow's honor code. Without giving too much of the tale away... there are ghostly visitations, strange apparitions and a secret society lurking within Harrow. "Mischief" is a creepy horror novel. In the sea of morose splatter-punk and assembly line horror novels, this is a nice breath of fresh air. Just a good old fashioned ghost story that will creep you out. My only small regret is that Douglas didn't expand on the relationship between Jim and Lark. There was a very nice story forming between them. One hopes that it will be expanded upon in a future story. People looking for splatter or scary monsters will most probably not find this novel entertaining.
Rating: Summary: Watch out Stephen King Review: Douglas Clegg has proven once again that he is second to none in telling the true horror story. He takes you on a journey, a nightmare journey, to Harrow, an elite boys school on the Hudson River. Harrow is steeped in mystery and secrets and student, Jim Hook, is about to begin an unforgettable journey into horror and intrigue. This is definitely a page turner and not a book to read late at night and alone.
Rating: Summary: dull haunting Review: Douglas Clegg wrote the wonderful "Nightmare House", and I couldn't wait to go on and read the second book in the Harrow Trilogy. While it wasn't near as bad as "You Come When I Call You", it was pretty dull in parts. I was really wanting something supernatural based, but there was little of that. The book is about Jim Hook, who attends a private prep school for boys. Jim got caught cheating on a test and is about to be thrown out of school. Jim is then introduced to a secret society called the Cadaver Club. This club was involved, somehow, in the death of Jim's brother and father years ago. Ok, this is where things get dense. What is the club's reasoning for wanting Jim? What is the history of the Cadaver Club? Clegg was very vauge on the origins and importance of the club. He hides motives with torture and brainwashing methods streight out of "The Mancherian Canidate". The haunted house angle is only introduced in the last ten pages, and I have to say I was pretty disappionted (though the Templer Knight skeleton was kind of cool). Jim Hook is pretty bland charactor, not appealing in the least bit; sad to say Hook is the best character of the bunch. But on the sunny side things, "Mischief" is a fast read and pretty exciting, in spurts. It's a shame it dosn't answere most of the questions it brings up. I guess I will go on to the next book and see if the story makes any more since.
Rating: Summary: dull haunting Review: Douglas Clegg wrote the wonderful "Nightmare House", and I couldn't wait to go on and read the second book in the Harrow Trilogy. While it wasn't near as bad as "You Come When I Call You", it was pretty dull in parts. I was really wanting something supernatural based, but there was little of that. The book is about Jim Hook, who attends a private prep school for boys. Jim got caught cheating on a test and is about to be thrown out of school. Jim is then introduced to a secret society called the Cadaver Club. This club was involved, somehow, in the death of Jim's brother and father years ago. Ok, this is where things get dense. What is the club's reasoning for wanting Jim? What is the history of the Cadaver Club? Clegg was very vauge on the origins and importance of the club. He hides motives with torture and brainwashing methods streight out of "The Mancherian Canidate". The haunted house angle is only introduced in the last ten pages, and I have to say I was pretty disappionted (though the Templer Knight skeleton was kind of cool). Jim Hook is pretty bland charactor, not appealing in the least bit; sad to say Hook is the best character of the bunch. But on the sunny side things, "Mischief" is a fast read and pretty exciting, in spurts. It's a shame it dosn't answere most of the questions it brings up. I guess I will go on to the next book and see if the story makes any more since.
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