Mischief

Rating:
Summary: A page turner, but...
Review: This is the fourth Douglas Clegg book I've read, and is easily my least favorite so far. I heard about Clegg over the summer and read his "Nightmare Chronicles" short story collection. I was impressed by that and went on to read "You Come When I Call You" and "The Halloween Man," both of which I enjoyed quite a bit.

I've been a fan of the horror genre for quite a while now, but it's been some time since I've tried reading a new author. I don't think Clegg's writing is as good as Straub's, King's, or McCammon's, but his books tend to be a lot of fun to read.

I guess I was surprised by how poorly written "Mischief" is. The story's language is very sloppy. It feels like it was written quickly and not really revised other than for technical errors.

The story is interesting enough, and for a while, in the beginning, there was a love story that I thought was going to become really involving and save the book from the less-than-stellar writing. But, as in "You Come When I Call You", the love story is dropped half-way through. I think this is too bad. Clegg is talented at getting two characters together and beginning to engage them, but he doesn't follows up.

Still, I don't want to be too harsh in this review. I did enjoy the book and plowed through it pretty quick, which is something for me since I'm such a slow reader normally. I still look forward to reading more books by Clegg. This just isn't his best. I'd recommend reading "Nightmare Chronicles" first.

Rating:
Summary: A page turner, but...
Review: This is the fourth Douglas Clegg book I've read, and is easily my least favorite so far. I heard about Clegg over the summer and read his "Nightmare Chronicles" short story collection. I was impressed by that and went on to read "You Come When I Call You" and "The Halloween Man," both of which I enjoyed quite a bit.

I've been a fan of the horror genre for quite a while now, but it's been some time since I've tried reading a new author. I don't think Clegg's writing is as good as Straub's, King's, or McCammon's, but his books tend to be a lot of fun to read.

I guess I was surprised by how poorly written "Mischief" is. The story's language is very sloppy. It feels like it was written quickly and not really revised other than for technical errors.

The story is interesting enough, and for a while, in the beginning, there was a love story that I thought was going to become really involving and save the book from the less-than-stellar writing. But, as in "You Come When I Call You", the love story is dropped half-way through. I think this is too bad. Clegg is talented at getting two characters together and beginning to engage them, but he doesn't follows up.

Still, I don't want to be too harsh in this review. I did enjoy the book and plowed through it pretty quick, which is something for me since I'm such a slow reader normally. I still look forward to reading more books by Clegg. This just isn't his best. I'd recommend reading "Nightmare Chronicles" first.

Rating:
Summary: Did I miss something?
Review: This one still has my mind working overtime. "Mischief" is not a bad read, but it left me with a lot of unanswered questions. I kept on reading because I was convinced that, somehow, everything would fall into place in the end. I was wrong. I simply didn't get it. It seems like the author had this fantastic idea for a novel and was unable to put things into words, leaving it to the reader to tie up the loose ends. It's almost like when my 8-year-old nephew is trying explain a new computer game to me, his words tumbling out of his mouth, and when I ask "Why?", "Who is..." and "How come...?" he smirks at me like he's saying "What planet are YOU from?". Like I said, this novel lacks some serious depth. It will keep you entertained, but don't expect too much.

Rating:
Summary: Dead Poets Society meets Hell House
Review: This one was a fast breezy read through an eerie landscape of horror. Dead Poets Society meets Hell House, basically, although this doesn't do it justice. A mansion in the Hudson Valley becomes a prep school after several decades, but something's buried in the house that no one really knows about.

Jim, the main character, has some kind of latent psychic ability, and when he becomes a student at Harrow Academy, he apparently wakes up something scary in the house.

Are they ghosts? Hallucinations? And what about the fraternity that has essentially coerced Jim into joining with them in order to save his skin from expulsion?

This is a page-turning breakneck speed horror story. Mischief takes some sharp turns into what I'd call quiet, growing horror and a sense of dread.

Nothing is so horrifying that it seems overwhelming in this tale, but there are these constant small shocks that build to a fiery climax. The love story, though fairly "lite," seems genuine given the characters and their ages.

Would make a good movie. I give it five stars, but I'd subtract one because I think the book could've been longer. It ends on a sharp and maybe too subtle note. Making the movie, I'd suggest a big grand finale where the final horror becomes more obvious.