Rating: 
Summary: one species of small furry animal grooving
Review: "Prey" may well be a disappointment to Lovecraft fans. The tale treats with a certain beast from Lovecraft's story "The Dreams In The Witch-House", and has altered the character somewhat. While this treatment works well within the context of the story, it would be better if one was not familiar with the character beforehand. However, Masterton is an especially skillful teller of Weird fiction, and the story rockets along. The story of a recently-divorced man who has custody of his young son, and retreats to a remote house on the Isle of Wight, working through his thoughts there while attempting to renovate a strange old place, is well-told and not without its effective moments. The other characters are well-drawn, and the interplay between characters is believable. There are elements that are left unexplained, though, as if the original story was heavily edited for publication. An interesting sidelight to this story and HPLs story is that a creature somewhat like this was supposedly found on the Isle of Man in the early thirties, and it is possible that Lovecraft had heard of it before he wrote his tale, and that Masterton has also, hence the setting. This is an above-average story of the supernatural, with some elements of the classic ghost story added to pieces from the Cthulhu Mythos...well-worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: IT IS A BOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY CANNOT BE SCARED.
Review: A HORROR BOOK CANNOT GET BETTER THAN THIS;G.M HAS A WAY WITH WORDS TO SCARE THE BEJEE'S OUT OF YOU. HIS STYLE , PROSE AND CHARACTERS ARE ALWAYS REFRESHING , ENTERTAINING AND NEVER LACKS TO GRASP YOUR ATTENTION AND INTREST. ANY LADIES THINKING G.M IS A GREAT AUTHOR WRITE TO ME VIA E-MAIL.
Rating: 
Summary: An Average Quality Pastiche
Review: A rather average Lovecraft pastiche. While at times effective, Masterton took excessive liberties with quite a bit of the mythos. The end result is disappointing for someone familiar with the original works.
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Summary: The Return of Brown Jenkin
Review: David Williams is not having a good year. His wife leaves him and his son, Daniel, for another man, taking most of his money in the process. In his emotional distraction he loses his business. It is only by happenstance that he finds a position restoring Fortyfoot House, a century old deserted orphanage. No sooner does he settle in but he starts hearing spooky scratching and rustling in the attic. And he sees ghostly presences in the garden and bedroom.The only good news in David's life is the appearance of Elizabeth, an attractive college student, who moves in while on a summer job. She helps with the cooking and provides needed companionship. As David investigates the strange goings on about Fortyfoot House he discovers that the strange noises and lights are blamed by the villagers on a strange rat-like creature called Brown Jenkin. He is associated with the original owners of the house. In 1886 a terrible disease struck the orphanage and all the children died. In some fashion Brown Jenkin had something to do with the deaths. Soon the haunting turns into killing, as first a rat killer, and then a neighbor, are horribly slaughtered. David discovers that the house isn't quite where it appears to be. The horror builds until the lives of both Daniel and Liz are threatened and David is drawn into an insane ritual that promises the end of the world. David must face inhuman evil if he wishes to end the nightmare. Graham Masterton, less known that writers like King, Straub and Koontz, is still one of our best contemporary horror writers. "Prey," written in 1992, is something of a tour-de-force. Masterton makes use of both legends and occult mythology to craft a tale that draws the reader in and keeps him or her reading to the very end. Masterton has the ability to build the horror of a scene so that is has real impact. His narrative flows naturally and his use of internal dialog contributes to the dark atmosphere. "Prey" is a classic of top-notch spookiness.
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Summary: Masterton Does It Again!
Review: David Williams with his young son Danny move into Fortyfoot House, a run down 19th century orphanage in Bonchurch to restore it. He hears scuffling and scratching in the walls and attic that could be a rat and in reality is more like a rat monstrosity. Locally the town has a history of children who disappear, never to be seen again. They are taken where the clock can't find them, taken by this rat/boy creature, Brown Jenkin. He starts to see spirits of people long dead, yet are not dead. He learns the history of the house, which is still happening yesterday, now and tomorrow. The house not only has a sinister past, but an equally sinister present and future. This time travel tale is unsettling, and engrossing. It's an uneasy read. I cannot stress to you enough just how good Masterton is, and if you can only pick up one or two books at a time, let this be on your list.
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Summary: Masterton Delivers Yet Again
Review: I have been a fan of Graham Masterton's fiction for a number of years now, since I first came across his work when just a schoolboy. This is certainly a very entertaining horror read, and engages the reader on many levels. Masterton is a master of mood and setting, and here he perfectly captures the air of an English summer on the Isle of Wight, in the midst of which stands Fortyfoot House with all it's menace... The evil presence of a being known popularly to locals as Brown Jenkin, part giant rat, part human, scurries through the walls of the house, twittering and calling in the darkness. Strange lights and sounds come from the attic at night. Why did so many children die in the space of a few days at Fortyfoot House in November 1886? Why is the roof constructed in such a bizarre fashion, so that it's angles appear...impossible? Masterton has drawn heavily from the Cthulhu Mythos originated by classic writer H. P. Lovecraft for this story. At first I was dismayed that he did this, as I am thoroughly versed in the original canon. My fear was that he would take such liberties as to ruin my enjoyment of this book, despite being such a Masterton fan. However, with reflection I do not see it as a problem at all. Sure, he has taken huge liberties with Cthulhu Mythos lore, but why not? Too many people are too precious about it. Besides, the constant addition and taking of liberties only serve to enhance and contribute further to the cycle. While this novel is certainly fringe-Mythos, it is still a fantastic read. And you cannot ask for more than that. With plenty of gory detail to satisfy without overpowering you, Masterton has written another great horror tale. A classic horror page turner.
Rating:
Summary: Problematic yet enjoyable
Review: I have only read four of Graham Masterton's novels to date-"The Burning," "The House That Jack Built," "Spirit," and "Prey"-and all four have left a lasting impression on me. I don't understand why this author does not receive more praise from horror readers. Why does an overrated writer like Richard Laymon sell thousands upon thousands of mass-market reprints, receiving laudatory accolades the likes of which haven't been seen since Roman generals celebrated triumphs and ovations in the streets of Rome, while Masterton remains in the shadows? Beats me. I'll take a Graham Masterton novel over the vast amount of hash that passes for horror any day. His novels literally burst with energy, extreme gore, and intriguing plots. For instance, this author took the old haunted house theme and reworked it in a new, intriguing way in "Spirit" and "The House That Jack Built." With "Prey," Masterton fleshes out H.P. Lovecraft's story "The Dreams in the Witch House" into a lengthy novel loaded with soul numbing horror. While I agree with many other reviewers who state that this book is not Masterton's best effort, I disagree when they say it's an unworthy read. Even an average effort from this storyteller is a cracking good yarn.
"Prey" takes place on the Isle of Wight, a location known to me primarily as the site of one of the best live performances from Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. But forget about hearing "Pictures at an Exhibition" here. Masterton introduces us to Fortyfoot House, a monolithic structure with a past so horrifying that it's continuing presence instills great dread in the natives. David Williams, an interior decorator plodding through a shattered marriage and catastrophic financial difficulties, moves into the house with his son Danny to renovate the decaying abode in an effort to resuscitate his ill fortunes. Right from the start weird incidents occur. Father and son witness through the windows of a shattered chapel a ghostly man clad in black moving across the lawn. An old painting of an evil, red headed woman in the same chapel scares both of them. And then there are the scratching noises in the attic, noises that David first attributes to common rats until he hears the local myth about Brown Jenkin. According to the hysterical tales floating around the island, Brown Jenkin is a dangerous supernatural creature of frightening size and shape. Moreover, there is talk about local children disappearing whenever strange lights appear in Fortyfoot House. David Williams considers this talk nonsense and begins renovating with the help of a young woman named Liz who turned up to squat at the abandoned house.
After the local exterminator dies in an extremely grotesque manner while searching for Brown Jenkin, Williams begins feeling real dread. Despite increasingly bizarre occurrences, however, he refuses to leave Fortyfoot House. After all, he needs the money the job will bring in. Still you would think the apparitions moving across the lawn and in the picture hanging on a wall in the house would cause the most stouthearted to head for the hills, especially when one's child is in danger. But Williams stays as things get weirder. More deaths occur, as do more malefic hallucinations. David learns about the history of Fortyfoot House from a local woman and the local vicar, learns about the family that lived there and ran the place as an orphanage, about a wicked woman named Kezia Mason and her alleged ties to witchcraft. And he learns more than he ever cared to know about Brown Jenkin and the purposes of the house when he opens a trapdoor in the attic only to stare into a nightmare beyond all known conceptions of time and space. "Prey" goes well beyond the bare bones story created by H.P. Lovecraft, turning "The Dreams in the Witch House" into nothing less than an apocalyptic tale where the eldritch horrors of the Cthulhu mythos put in a personal appearance.
I ultimately liked "Prey," especially Masterton's skillful creation of a detailed backstory explaining the origins of Fortyfoot House. I enjoyed the gory sequences as well (check out what happens to the vicar when he and David decide to step through that trapdoor). What I couldn't help but notice were the numerous plot holes threading their way through the story, plot holes so huge you could lob the planet Jupiter straight through them without touching the edges. What in the heck is this guy doing staying in the house after these nightmares start unfolding on a regular basis? And with a kid? No way, Jose. Masterton occasionally does an effective job of overcoming this problem, at least in the beginning, but after a time the continued presence of these people in Fortyfoot House just doesn't ring true. And while I thought the ending exciting and properly disturbing in the grand tradition of Lovecraft, I didn't buy for a second how Williams suddenly got another chance to avoid the disastrous effects of the house. Doesn't that sort of negate the events of the entire novel? And why not just grab Liz and run off instead of letting her go?
Yes sir, there are more than a few problems with "Prey." Are they enough to ruin the book? Hardly. The pace moves at lightening speed once Masterton establishes the plot elements, the creative history of the house is massively entertaining, and there is enough bloodshed to warm the black hearts of the gorehounds. I can't give the book five stars though, both for the issues listed above and the lack of the distinctive Lovecraft narrative voice. One of the things I love about good old H.P. is the ornate (some would say overblown) prose, which always seems to add an additional gravitas to the shrieking horrors. Masterton writes in plain old English, effective enough for a good story but not comparable to the master. An entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Lovecraft Mythos tale
Review: I only have a couple of words for this book. First it is a interesting read and enjoyable to a point. The "point" is that the chracters are so INCREDIBLY STUPID that you want them all to just get maimed and murdered. God i did not know that dialogue could be this terrible. And another thing the ending was absolutely horrible, i mean after going through this whole book and putting up with the [bad] dialogue and finally the suspense it barely manages to build you would think you would get a explosive and entertaining climax. You would be wrong, completely and utterly wrong. The ending is pointless and the author obviously ran out of ideas or didnt really care. He should be ashamed of himself. H.P. Lovecraft Mythos tie ins deserve better and the stupid sex scenes make me want to vomit. ...
Rating:
Summary: Once you start it, you won't stop....
Review: I think this is one of the best page turners I have read in along time. I definately think it's better than "Jack Built". It is very twisted and makes you think about time and space. Worth your money on all counts. If you like horror...this is a good one!
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Summary: Prey - One of Mastertons best!
Review: I would like to say that i am fairly new to Mastertons world but i recently read Prey and enjoyed it immensly. Not only did i find it full of gore and spine chilling moments, i also found i could not put the book down. I like the way in which he twists the ending, and keeps us all guessing until the very end. I promise that if you read just one of Mastertons books you will want to read many more!
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