Walkers (Tor Horror)

Rating:
Summary: Don't Believe the Rave Reviews! Believe Me!
Review: I have been a fan of Graham Masterson for years ever since "The Manitou" was first released in paperback. I read "The Djinn" next, they both were great. Now for a suprising review even for me... "Walkers" sucked! Sometimes really scary, but sadly, mostly dumb, Immature and amatuerish, it reads like a rushed teenagers creative writing project. Wooden characters, stupid plot devices, corny dialogue, a half assed effort if there ever was one. I've noticed this lately with many of Masterson's more recent books, it's like he has to reach a deadline and he throws together anything, it's unfocused with no real direction and many of the ideas start off good but go catastrophically off in the wrong direction. Please try Masterson's older books like "Tengu", "Death Dream", "Death Trance", "Mirror", or the aforementioned before you try "Walkers", it might give you a wrong impression about this man's writing ability, when he's on the mark he's awesome!, but when he's not eeeeewwwww! YUK! "Walkers" is definately not.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastically gory stuff
Review: i have to say that this is quite possibly one of the most amazing books I have ever read. Masterson graphic descriptions chilled me to the bone, almost to the point of not wanting to turn the page to see what happens next. I would recommend this book to any horror fan!!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastically gory stuff
Review: i have to say that this is quite possibly one of the most amazing books I have ever read. Masterson graphic descriptions chilled me to the bone, almost to the point of not wanting to turn the page to see what happens next. I would recommend this book to any horror fan!!

Rating:
Summary: Oh my God
Review: I picked this book up from the library without knowing anything about it beforehand - the blurb on the back and the cover image enticed me, so I picked it up. This is not my usual way of going about reading books but I cannot express how glad I was to have laid my hands on this one. I'm pretty hard to scare or impress but this book scared the absolute s--- out of me. It stayed with me for weeks, months. I tell you: after reading this you'll never look at the walls the same again. Half way through reading it I had to go outside because I was too terrified to keep my back to the wall; but then, after reading a bit more, I realized that leaving the house wasn't enough: this book stay with you no matter where you are. Gives you nightmares. I'd only recommend reading this if you are a true horror fan; otherwise, prepare to be tormented. And because it had such an effect on me, it was brilliant. Once a book affects a person it has achieved its purpose.

Rating:
Summary: Wild and gruesome chiller.
Review: I've been reading a lot of Graham Masterton lately and with each book, I've turned the last page with more appreciation and wonder at his talent and imagination. I finally got around to reading WALKERS recently and it blew me away. Masterton really outdid himself with this one. It is one of the fastest moving novels he's ever done and in some ways, his most outrageous. I felt like I had jumped into a moving car when I sat down to read it... Jack Reed comes across his life's ambition in the woods of Wisconsin: an old derelict building that was once a sanitarium known as The Oakes. Abandoned for almost 60 years, Reed sees potential in it as a future resort or country club. He learns very quickly, however, that it harbors dark and dangerous secrets and it has chosen him to open it's Pandora's Box of horrors. 135 patients vanished inside the place in the 1920's and they have been living inside it's very walls. Not behind the walls, mind you, but IN the walls. They will stop at nothing to free themselves, including kidnapping Reed's own son. And once they are free of the confines of The Oakes property, they go on a bloodthirsty spree across the city and state... Masterton pulls no punches with WALKERS. It is unapologetically bloody and fast moving, (almost, but not quite, to a fault.) Highly recommended for horror fans who think they've read it all...

Rating:
Summary: walkers
Review: It grabbed me NOW....I've read many GM novels since....this one is the ONE that still gets you thinking....

Rating:
Summary: Don't Go Into the Cellar at Night...Alone !
Review: Walkers is one horror novel that rivals anything written by Stephen King or similar authors of the horror genre.Graham Masterton does it again with this chilling novel.Masterton is known for his candid brand of horror writing without getting the reader lost or sidetracked. The first story of Masterton I read back in the 70's was The Manitou (story and movie about an evil ancient Indian spirit entering the world through a tumor in a woman's neck !). The major difference in Walkers is the story and action move at an alarming rapid pace without ever losing the reader or the reader's interest!

The central character Jack finds himself yearning for a greater prospective goal in his midlife. He thinks he finds this realization in an old abandoned 60 year old building which once housed 137 criminally insane patients. He soon discovers the building's horrific secret when his only 9 year old son suddenly vanishes. What is the link between his son's enigmatic disappearance and the abominable secret hidden in the structure of the sanitarium's walls? You must read the book to find out !

I highly recommend this title based on it's author's incredible and otherworldly imagination. This is not a novel about ghosts, nor about a haunted house (in the typical sense). The novel almost echoes a resemblance to a late 80's to early 90's film called People Under The Stairs (or vice versa)... What the reader discovers is that for every fear or phobia he or she might have or think they have, this novel by Graham Masterton will surely instill yet another one ! Do not read this novel alone at home near a brick wall...In fact, you may never look at any of your walls, ceiling, or cellar the same way again !...

Rating:
Summary: Watch out for the demented.....
Review: What can I say but another MASTERton piece! Great layout and great suspense, this book will most likely keep your ears open for noises in the walls. I recommend this book to ALL who love horror and suspense to the highest degree! I also read that GM is trying to make this book into a movie which I seriously think would be a big hit! You horror lover's will NOT be disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: Horror at its fastest!
Review: When it comes to horror, Graham Masterton has done it all, and quite successfully. Walkers is considered by many to be one of Masterton's most entertaining and most horrific efforts. And entertaining it is. Written at the end of the 1980s, when the big horror boost of that decade was waning, Walkers is a hold-no-barrels horror story that is all about pace. And blood.

The story gives us Jack, the All-American father who stumbles upon an old building on a dark, rainy night. He falls in love with the building and decides he wants to buy it to turn it into a resort hotel. Only, the building is still inhabited, and the people living there aren't quite ready to give away their home.

Ghosts? Not really. They are walkers, people who are trapped between two worlds. They come to the surface by merging into walls. But when they are accidentally set loose, the world itself will be faced with the most dangerous kind of monsters. And even worst, they kidnap Jack's son in the hopes of sacrificing him. A high body count ensues, and a race against time begins.

Is the book fun? Yes, brainless fun. Is the book entertaining? Yes. The suspense is great, the horror is original and the premise is quite fun. But don't expect a masterpiece out of Walkers. The characters are one-dimensional. And every time a secondary character comes into the story, it's not hard to guess what will happen to them. They all end up the same.

But what the book lacks in plot and plausibility, it gains in pacing. The whole thing can easily be read in one sitting. It's the kind of book where you just have to let go of all your notions of realism and just go with the flow. If you're capable of doing that, then you'll probably end up having a good time reading Walkers. It's not Masterton at his best, but it's still very entertaining.