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Wednesday 27 October 2010

Top Halloween Reads 2010


Well Halloween is here again! If you're like me and don't really like trick or treating, and would much rather be in the warmth of your home (let's face it, it's freezing right now!) reading a good, chilling book, then these are my ultimate recommendations to make your Halloween 2010 a spooky, chilling spectacle!

Shadow Bringer by David Calcutt

"Nathan knows something is watching him - something menacing and dangerous. Something without a shape, that he can't get out of his head. The Creature. Then there are the noises he starts hearing in the attic. Shuffling. Scratching. Even a voice. The Bogeyman. Nathan's sure that the Creature and the Bogeyman are the same thing. Whatever it is, it's after him. As soon as it's strong enough, it will show Nathan what it really wants. And it's growing stronger all the time . . ."

An excellent, unsettling psychological thriller that I loved! You can check out my full review here.


"The first in a terrifying trilogy, read on if you dare: Jake could now see the demon fully. Its body was a mass of steely sinew, its arms roped with muscle. Six fingers sprouted from its hands, each ending in lethal talons. The thing did not possess a nose; instead a large hole, bubbling with green mucus, occupied the middle of its face. Mr Pinch's tongue flickered between his teeth and slurped across his fat lips. He was hungry. When a violent storm rages around the little village of Hobarron's Hollow, a young boy is sacrificed 'for the greater good'. His blood is used to seal a mystical doorway and prevent an apocalyptic disaster known only as the Demontide. Twenty-five years later, another boy, Jake Harker, is about to be drawn into the nightmare of the Demontide. Witches and their demon familiars stalk his every move, and his dreams are plagued by visions of a 17th Century figure known only as the Witchfinder. When his father is abducted, Jake must face the terrible secrets kept by those closest to him and a shocking truth that will change his life forever . . ."

An absolute beast of a book that is not to be missed! Check out my full review here.

Candor by Pam Bachorz

"My name is Oscar and I am the perfect teenager. My girlfriend is the hottest girl in school. I get straight As. I am class president. But there is a terrible reason I am so perfect: the Messages. Oscar Banks lives in the pristine town of Candor. Son of the mayor, he is good-looking, smart and popular. And he knows something he's not supposed to - he knows about the brainwashing Messages embedded in the music that plays all over the town. But Oscar has found a way to burn counter-Messages that keep him real. Up to now, it's all worked perfectly. There's just one problem: Nia Silva, the newest Candor arrival. What will Oscar risk to keep the Nia he loves rather than watch her become a Candor automaton? Deeply chilling, "Candor" is a psychological thriller that will haunt readers with its vision of a world controlled by something worse than Big Brother."

Candor isn't a particularly scary book, but it's chilling and unsettling and will make a brilliant Halloween read! Full review here.


Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan

"Following the massive success of the Demonata series, Darren Shan is back where it all started – telling the life story of the vampire Larten Crepsley. Spanning centuries and continents, taking in sea voyages, murder, war and love, this is the epic, bloodsoaked tale of a vampire who started out a nobody… and ended up changing the world forever. When Larten escapes the terrible workhouse in which he toils, he doesn’t know that he is running from an early death… into another kind of transformation. After meeting the mysterious vampire Seba Nile while sheltering for the night in a crypt, Larten finds himself drawn into the shadowy world of the vampire Clan. As he travels and learns, Larten finds himself enjoying the adventure he has always dreamed of, seeing a world beyond any he suspected in his poverty-stricken youth. But Larten begins to discover something else, too. Much like death, becoming a vampire is something you can’t come back from…"

It wouldn't be Halloween without a brand new Darren Shan book to devour! Check out my review here, and make sure you don't miss this brilliant beginning to a new saga!


And my last recommendation is...


Dark Matter by Michelle Paver


"'What is it? What does it want? Why is it angry with me?' January 1937. Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to be the wireless operator on an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken. But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark."


Another brilliant book by Michelle, chilling and scary and just perfect for Halloween (or any cold dark Winter night!) My full review can be read here! Make sure you get it, or you might just have some ghosts to answer to!


So there you go. My recommendations for Top Halloween reads. Some of these would not just be perfect for Halloween, but for the cold Winter nights! So don't miss out on these fantastic books! :)

4 comments:

  1. Oh that Shadow Bringer sounds really good. Couldn't find your review though

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  2. Sorry! I forgot to link to the reviews. Edited no! Apologies.

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  3. I'm so excited for Candor! The UK cover is so much cooler than the US one. I'm so jealous. :(

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  4. Shadow Bringer sounds fantastic! Thanks for the great recommendations. :)

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