Rating: Summary: BIG LOAD Review: Great book, a little left unexplained, but good for the imagination. overall... a big creamy load of a book.
Rating: Summary: Impressive! Review: "HALLOWEEN MAN" was my second Clegg novel after finishing his short novella, "PURITY." To say the least, I was very impressed by his writing style, his well-crafted characters and re-invention of devil-whorshiping. I won't dare to try and summerize the story-line in my review because I doubt I could do much justice for it. What I will say is that I find Douglas Clegg refreshing after almost giving up hope that there weren't many talented horror novelists left. Clegg has a nack for weaving believable plot lines such as romance, family disputes, and jealousy into a suspense/horror genre. And he takes his time doing so, giving the reader time to actually care about his characters, both good and evil. Check out "PURITY" and you'll know what I mean.
Rating: Summary: OK, but not as good as I had hoped Review: This was a good story, but I was a bit confused at times. I wanted more information about Stoney's "mother". It wasn't clear what she was exactly. The book left me with more questions than it should have. All in all, though, it was a good story and the characters were very well developed. I enjoyed it despite the questions.
Rating: Summary: Clegg raises the stakes of a horror novel! Review: THE HALLOWEEN MAN is a tale, broad in scope, that meditates on the duality of evil vs good. It's epic in it's attempt to pull together a myriad of characters, histories of people and places and consequences. It is a tale of a town, Stonehaven, and its mysteries. It's a tale of Stony Crawford's life and what happened to him at age 15 and what was let loose. It's how he deals with what he is and what he will, eventually, become. It's about love. It's about good and it's about evil. But above all, it is a great success. Stonehaven, like most towns, has secrets. But these are old secrets, even ancient. One man, Alan Fairclough, hunts out a myth...but finds it to be true. A weaver (or "spinner")of tall tales, Nora Chance, tries to tell Stony the truth about him and his heritage. She also spins on about The Halloween Man and his place in the world, past and present. But Stony is the main point of this novel. His travels, his actions and his ultimate honesty with himself and those like him. Sorry if this is vague, but I don't want to ruin the joys, anguish and redemptive powers this novel contains. Douglas Clegg has raised the stakes: for himself, as well as for the genre he writes in. Recommended.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Horror Novel Review: I don't know why Clegg's not a household name. After reading The Halloween Man, he should be. The novel's riveting. The story's quite complex and the characters are complex as well. It begins with a child being kidnapped from cultists. Most of the book is a flashback explaining why the child was kidnapped. That story takes place in the ancient town of Stonehaven. On the surface, its a pretty New England fishing village but right underneath... Well, amongst other things,it has a blind storyteller, angry teenagers, a plethora of creepy old legends, a twisted rich family, and a thing in a box. Clegg keeps the pace taught without gratuitous violence or over-the-top gore. I'll be reading more from Douglas Clegg.
Rating: Summary: Halloween Man's a Classic Review: Halloween Man by Douglas Clegg is now practically a classic. I read it when it first came out, and it has stuck with me since then.If you want mindless horror, find another writer. Clegg has a lot on his mind and a lot going on in that wild imagination of his, and Halloween Man casts a dark spell on the reader. It starts like a mystery and then turns into a thriller and a true horror story. I can't recommend this one highly enough. But I will try. Get it, read it, enjoy it.
Rating: Summary: If you like a jumpy story... Review: The first 25 pages of the book are the best, then it wanders all over the place.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful, thrilling, fascinating! Review: The Halloween Man is a real experience as a horror novel. I was constantly surprised and enthralled by the storytelling, and the stories within the main story. From the kidnapping at the opening, to the way it opens up into the New England village and all its secrets, and the rich Crown family with their opulent decadance. This one had me going. When the mystery of the village is revealed, and the true story of Stony and Lourdes comes through, I could not stop turning the pages. What probably got to me the most was how the story of the Halloween Man is a horror novel about grace and redemption in the face of absolute terror. I don't see htis that often in horror fiction. I am all ready to go get Clegg's You Come When I Call You next. No wonder he won a Bram Stoker award.
Rating: Summary: Just plain dumb! Review: I can sum up this book in just a few words: Don't waste your money or your time. It is just plain dumb!
Rating: Summary: Intense images, great psychology Review: Ok, Clegg did it again....made me late for work while I rushed to the conclusion of this one! This is just my 2nd Clegg novel (so far), and I find him to be one of the best storytellers in the business. In H. MAN, Nora tells young Stony "..the one thing you can be sure of about the Devil: He's the reflection of what we want." This is certainly proven true throughout this novel, and especially by the climax. I absolutely love to read stories within a story, and H. MAN does this chillingly well. The novel opens with the adult Stony kidnapping the mysterious young "prophet." Then Clegg weaves memories of both the young and the older Stony, narrowing each until the big finish. Along the way, blind Nora tells some magnificent tales to Stony and his soul mate, Lourdes. What unfolds is a chilling story about a small town conspiracy, evil, greed, and faith. Stony and Lourdes love each other with a gentle passion, but will that be enough to keep them together? How does Stony finally discover his true self? Who is the little boy who seems to know Stony better than he knows himself? What secrets does the Crown mansion hold? This is good reading! The opening scenes are reminiscent of those in Straub's GHOST STORY (one of the greatest horror novels ever written, in my most humble opinion). Nora is an incredible character, and her fireside stories are enough to raise goosebumps on their own. The ending was quite a bit different than I anticipated although not surprising given Stony's nature. My question is: are we going to see more of Stony and the quirky "Steve", Mr. Clegg? Buy this novel now, and then haunt amazon.com and used book stores to get all those out-of-print/stock Clegg works!
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