Rating: 
Summary: An Author to Look For
Review: I was fortunate enough to read the e-serial novel Nightmare House last summer. Clegg dealt with Harrow's history in that one, which involved the ultimate haunted mansion, where black magic, spirit summoning, and gruesome murders took place. I was so enthralled that I went ahead and ordered the hardback from Cemetery Dance, which is coming out sometime this year. I would recommend that you buy this first, just to get the true nature of Harrow, its founder (Justin Gravesend), who was heavily into the black arts, and its chamber of horrors. It's not necessary, though, because although Harrow is the backdrop of this story it is Jim Hook who is the central figure. Having lost his father and older brother in a car accident, he is determined to live up to their legacy. The pressure becomes too much, and he is caught cheating on a history test. Then comes the Cadaver Society, who are determined to save him from being expelled and make him one of their own. They try to brainwash him into thinking that his father had an illicit affair the night he and his son were killed. The Club puts Jim through a series of mind-numbing initiation tests. The first involves sleeping with a corpse in a mausoleum. After he passes that test, he seeks out the girl whom his dad had had that affair with. The girl tells him the truth about that night (I won't spoil it.) and he goes back to the dorm. The boys snatch him up for the final initiation test, where they take him into the bowels of the Harrow mansion. They stick him in a small chamber with another corpse, that of a boy named Miles, whose ghost has haunted Jim since the beginning of the story. Thus begins a trip into a hell which Jim may never come out of. Does he? Well, you'll have to read the book to find out. What I like most about Douglas Clegg's work is that he doesn't rely too heavily on gore to get his message across. He weaves his plots together with an intriguing twist that always keeps the reader guessing until the final climax of the story. He is definitely an author to watch out for.
Rating: 
Summary: Douglas Clegg does it again
Review: I've been a fan of Douglas Clegg since I first read Goat Dance, and I've never been disappointed with any of his works. Since the publication of his debut novel in 1989, he's been one of the few horror writers who never turned his back on the genre - and his books always deliver the goods. My personal favorites include his larger scope novels (Goat Dance, The Children's Hour, and You Come When I Call You are all excellent reads), and while somewhat shorter, Mischief is very satisfying read - a tight, fast-paced story that is compelling from the opening prologue to its conclusion. Harrow is a facsinating setting for this tale, and Clegg populates the novel with real, identifiable people. Don't be the last one on the block to discover this truly talented writer.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting
Review: Jim Hook, a resident student and famed alumni of Harrow Academy has a problem; he's about to be kicked out of school. Not so lucky for him, there are some kids willing to help, but there's a price. A hefty one.
This novel hooked me like a Marlin. Clegg brings Harrow School to life, scaring and entertaining from the start, but even more, his main character is interesting enough to get you engrossed in the novel simply for that reason alone. Jim's a kid with a past, one that's been dotted with heartache and death. He felt something once, something ghostly, something supernatural, and now he realizes that it's all tied to Harrow Academy. Everything.
And the ending to Mischief will absolutely floor you.
Clegg's a master. This was the first novel I've read by him, but certainly not the last. I just picked up The Infinite, and am looking forward to another great read.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Book
Review: Just read Mischief and it is a great horror novel. Clegg keeps my attention like no author I've ever known of. His writing is so great that it makes the story come to life in your hands. I recommend all books by Clegg.
Rating:
Summary: Douglas Clegg's Mischief!
Review: Mischief is a great book! I practically devoured this in one sitting because it's a real page turner. Douglas Clegg is now my favorite horror writer, up there with the best. The first book I read of his was You Come When I Call, and it was this shocking saga of terror and now, Mischief. Mischief is more quiet horror that's nearly a coming of age story twisted into a ghost story. It even feels literary without being difficult to read. One of the most interesting aspects was how Clegg manages to create a mounting feeling of dread and horror without any gore to speak of in this one, and how even at the end (I won't spoil it for you), the subtlety of the last pages adds a chill that's also quite moving. Mischief is not for people who want blood in their face, that's for sure. It's atmospheric and fascinating, and as with You Come When I Call, Clegg juggles various storylines within the story that all add up in a kind of literary puzzle to the final conflict of the story. I would suggest people read these books back to back to get a sense of the range here. You Come When I Call is very much in your face horror with shocks on every other page and what feels like a cast of thousands. Mischief is a fast read with a slow build all circling around one character and the small world he touches. As with the end of You Come When I Call, I found Mischief very moving and disturbing but with this kind of redemptive moment, another thing that feels different in horror fiction. I highly recommend Mischief, give it five stars. I will admit that you might have to be a serious reader of fiction to really move through this book. Someone who comes at it wanting gore and gross outs will have to look elsewhere. It captures an aspect to the coming of age story really beautifully and a lot about the school rings true and a lot about what it was like to be a teenager having made a mistake seems right on the mark. Mischief is also a good hybrid of a literary novel with a solid popular fiction of the genre of horror. Other recommendations: Peter Straub's Magic Terror, Bentley Little's The Town, Stephen King's Bag of Bones, Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show, Christopher Golden's Strange Wood, Dean Koontz's False Memory, Douglas Clegg's You Come When I Call.
Rating:
Summary: Clegg shows why he is the master storyteller!!
Review: MISCHIEF is Clegg's 2nd take on Harrow, the house that is the focus of THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE eserial. This book takes place in the here and now and follows a teenager, Jim Hook, when he goes to the Harrow Academy after his brother and father die in a car wreck. Jim catches the eye of a secret society on campus and, after going through a series of tests and initiations, becomes a member. The problem is that Jim has the ability to bring something back from Harrow...something that has been haunting old Harrow for years. Clegg's take on adolescence is refreshing and enlightening. The friends Jim hooks up with all have nicknames and shine right off the page. He hits the nail on the head when he discusses the feelings and ramifications of first loves and falling too hard in love. The characters are richly defined and seem to come off the page, take your hand and say, "Here, come with me and I'll show you..." The dialogue is crisp and not forced, the internal machinations of Jim are vivid and understandable. The best parts of the novel are the scenes in Harrow and all of the intitiation rituals. A very literate subplot is the book, THE INFINITE ONES, that Jim locates in the Harrow library. My only bicker is that the book is too short. Clegg gives us a lot of glimpses of other characters and their histories with Harrow, yet we are only given those too-short introductions. Here's hoping that in the future, Clegg rereleases this book with ALL of the subplots and characters fully displayed. For those that don't know Douglas has a loosely built trilogy that surrounds the Harrow estate. THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE is an ongoing eserial right now that looks at the history of Harrow. MISCHIEF is the first in-print book and coming in hardcover next Sept. 2001 is THE INFINITE. You don't need to read one to get the impact of the others but it is like visiting an old friend if you do read all three. Douglas Clegg is the busiest man in horror right now. Consider he has put out a metaphysical meditation on the duality of love and life with THE HALLOWEEN MAN, a story collection that showed off his range in THE NIGHTMARE CHRONICLES, an epic horror novel with YOU COME WHEN I CALL YOU, NAOMI was the first horror eserial for free on the internet, THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE is the 2nd free horror eserial going on now...and all this within the last 2 years or so. The quantity is remarkable for the quality of the books, each one is different but all of them satisfy a different urge for the horror fan.
Rating:
Summary: Clegg Does It Again!
Review: Once again, Douglas Clegg has managed to pack an awful lot of thrills and chills into a single book. Like his other works, the characters in Mischief are as real as your next door neighbors. You'll find yourself thinking about them (and what happens to them and what they do) long after you put the book down! I can't recommend this book (or Douglas Clegg) enough!
Rating: 
Summary: 'this is un-original'
Review: The beginig is good, great, but after that, [the first 2-3 pages] it faltered. Why children story? Dont know. May be metaphore. Well, Dan Simmons did a better job on this subject. The book is slow and not horror at all. This author has the potential to become another Peter Straub but he has to work seriously on it by studying Straub's book.
Rating: 
Summary: Meandering and pointless
Review: This book reads more like a stream of consciousness than it does a well-written novel. It's comprised of a series of unusual events (none of which make much sense or are explained well) that are loosely tied together with a razor-thin plot. The characters are dull and their actions and motives make little sense. The plot itself is nearly non-existent and meanders from one point to another without focus. By the end of the book I didn't care one way or another about any of the characters, and didn't even understand what was going on. Everyone seemed to be a confused idiot wandering around in an alternate reality. Mischief could have been the very first draft of what later became a good novel, but should not have been published as is. Clegg can write when he wants to, but this book doesn't cut it. If you're a fan and want to give it a try anyway, be my guest. But if you've never read Clegg before, don't use this as your starting point.
Rating:
Summary: Need Background for The Infinite?
Review: This great stand-alone story of Harrow House, now a school for boys opens itself to young Jim and helps in horrifying ways to answer questions regarding the death of his brother. I really like Douglas Clegg, especially in the way he refuses to sound like other writers. His stories are crisp and believable, even if they do have haunted houses and dead bodies.
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