The Haunting

Rating:
Summary: The haunting
Review: I loved it! It was very gripping and suspenseful! It actually made me feel like I was running with the charecters! Like I could hear the eerie hum of the children in her dreams! A must buy for thrill seakers that don't want to leave there comfy chairs that will soon feel as cold as the chains in the book! GREAT!

Rating:
Summary: Flat lining
Review: If Thin Lizzy were a book, this would be it. Ruby Jeans Jensen, the unrelenting queen of grocery store literature, claws her way into the new millennium exploring many of the haunting, tormented and exotic motifs that have come to announce her trademark style.

Easily dismissible as a one-title writer Jensen has remained firmly committed to a deep probing of some of horror's most little used props. Each page is awash with ignored warning bells and dolls gone haywire in what many would consider a simple combo of re-hash and unreadable drivel. It is important to note, however, that while many of these themes and even characters (who could miss a re-vamped Kat from The Living Evil, given a nitro-kit-lo-fi makeup job for her newest incarnation as Katie) have long been the staple in the Ruby-Jeans diet.

It is her careful examination of our insatiable thirst for the sixth-sense and, ultimately, our failure to attain it that renders the work important. Like Monet and his Technicolor haystacks, Ruby-Jeans at once documents and reaches out to our Pyrrhic march towards this elusive goal giving us an album of otherworldly snapshots by which we chart our progress.


Rating:
Summary: could have been better
Review: J is actually giving us two books in one. the first part is about a mute guy that moves to his aunt's. this guy is definitely the worst part of the tsory. j spends ages trying to make us develop sympathy for the guy. I got it the first time. after wading to his unfortunate fortune, the story finally develops. there is something spooky about the aunt. she is not what she appears to be. what happened to the last guy who worked there and suddenly disappeared? and what is it that the little girl is scared of. i can't give away more, but there's a second part where a family moves in the house. there are some good descriptions here, and despite the mute, there is some suspence too. all in all it works out, though there are some loose threads. i'll give it a weak 3.

Rating:
Summary: The backstory was good, but downhill from there...
Review: Ruby Jean Jenson captivated my interest from page one in this novel. THE HAUNTING offers a portrait of a house filled with and maintained by evil. The first half of the novel brings us face to face with people from nearly a century ago who are struggling with the bizarre occurrences in the house. Katrina, Eddie, and Angie slowly come to realize the horrors that await in the house's belly. The second half brings modern-day characters who happen to have a link to the past. They move into the house and *voila!* you have yourself a creepy little creature story. Miss Theodora (mistress of the house) is delightfully wicked, although a great deal of her evil is left to the imagination of the reader.
I agree with some who say this is not the greatest of horror novels. I also feel that the novel, especially the second half, drags on far too long. However, I enjoyed getting to know the earlier characters, and I had to keep reading to find out how the good vs. evil struggle ends. The language is wonderful, and I like Jensen's writing style. This isn't a true haunted house story but rather a story that involves satanism/black magic, reincarnation, revenge, animal and human sacrifice and slithering reptilian creatures. Don't read this one expecting great, classic horror. But if you like a story that will grab you and give you goosebumps, I certainly recommend this one.

Rating:
Summary: Basic horror
Review: Ruby Jean Jenson captivated my interest from page one in this novel. THE HAUNTING offers a portrait of a house filled with and maintained by evil. The first half of the novel brings us face to face with people from nearly a century ago who are struggling with the bizarre occurrences in the house. Katrina, Eddie, and Angie slowly come to realize the horrors that await in the house's belly. The second half brings modern-day characters who happen to have a link to the past. They move into the house and *voila!* you have yourself a creepy little creature story. Miss Theodora (mistress of the house) is delightfully wicked, although a great deal of her evil is left to the imagination of the reader.
I agree with some who say this is not the greatest of horror novels. I also feel that the novel, especially the second half, drags on far too long. However, I enjoyed getting to know the earlier characters, and I had to keep reading to find out how the good vs. evil struggle ends. The language is wonderful, and I like Jensen's writing style. This isn't a true haunted house story but rather a story that involves satanism/black magic, reincarnation, revenge, animal and human sacrifice and slithering reptilian creatures. Don't read this one expecting great, classic horror. But if you like a story that will grab you and give you goosebumps, I certainly recommend this one.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: The first half of the book intrigued me - it gives the background of the house and the story of its former inhabitants. I wish the author had spent more time on this. We never get any idea as to why Miss Theodora was involved with the creepy inhabitants of her cellar, or what eventually becomes of her (other than a very cursory description). Instead the story jumps ahead to modern times where a widow decides to buy the house.

The main character's initial visit to the house was well written, even creepy. Few horror authors can accomplish "creepy", and instead resort to gore. I felt that this was the strongest point of the whole book. But the story kind of unravelled from there. It seems as though the author tried to wrap things up in a hurry, and the story suffers.

Bottom line: it's worth reading, there aren't enough good haunted house books out there. I would give it 2 1/2 stars, but was given the choice of 2 or 3.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: The first half of the book intrigued me - it gives the background of the house and the story of its former inhabitants. I wish the author had spent more time on this. We never get any idea as to why Miss Theodora was involved with the creepy inhabitants of her cellar, or what eventually becomes of her (other than a very cursory description). Instead the story jumps ahead to modern times where a widow decides to buy the house.

The main character's initial visit to the house was well written, even creepy. Few horror authors can accomplish "creepy", and instead resort to gore. I felt that this was the strongest point of the whole book. But the story kind of unravelled from there. It seems as though the author tried to wrap things up in a hurry, and the story suffers.

Bottom line: it's worth reading, there aren't enough good haunted house books out there. I would give it 2 1/2 stars, but was given the choice of 2 or 3.

Rating:
Summary: LivingDeadGirl
Review: The Haunting by Ruby Jean Jensen is a wonderful book. When i got the book from a friend a year ago, i only read the first chapter, but i was bored one day and descided to finish reading starting from the beginning again, and i COULD NOT put down the book. I made the mistake of reading it before i went to bed and everytime i heard a noise i jumped. Sometimes i was afraid to keep reading in some parts because i was afraid that it would scare me too much. The ending, i thought, was very unexpected. I cried at the end. This book is a MUST READ. So if you aren't sure whether to buy it or not, then let me make the descision for you, YES BUY IT. You won't regret it!!!!

Rating:
Summary: LivingDeadGirl
Review: This book is fantastic! It is literally a book that you cannot (and should not) put down. It will have you looking at the shadows in your corners "in a whole new light". I found the book to be very well written, moved at a good pace, frightening and on overall excellent book! I highly recommend it!!
Happy Reading!