Sam by Iain Rob Wright

You can buy Sam...Here

You can see Iain Rob Wright's website...Here

This review is by  Owen Powell

• The Blurb...

Accidents have been happening at Raymeady Manor.
The only suspect is an 8-year old boy.
But there's no way a child could be responsible for so much misery... Is there?
Sammie has a secret, want to hear it?

When washed-up priest Angela Murs and skittish ghost hunter Tim Golding are summoned to a vast countryside estate, they have no idea what to expect. While it's clear that the young resident Samuel Raymeady is a very disturbed child, there's surely no way he could be behind the recent spate of accidents and deaths around his home. He's just a boy...

Sammie is dirty, malnourished, and perhaps the victim of a negligent mother, but as Angela and Tim's investigations take them deeper into the mystery, they realize that there is more going on than they ever could have imagined.

• Our Review...

With Halloween fast approaching, I thought I’d try my hand at reading a horror story - a genre I have barely touched due to my having the courage of a twelve year old girl. Despite being a horror-novice and a not particularly a huge fan of the genre, I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed my time reading this spooky-scary book.

The first thing I noticed was how masterfully written it was. Wright writes (ha ha) with expert craftsmanship. It’s clear that the story and it’s progression are the main focus here, and no time is wasted with flowery, superfluous descriptions that could potentially prove overwhelming or, even worse, boring for the reader. No, this story remains intriguing and exciting throughout, which is in no small part due to its characters as well as the story-telling.

The characters are well-thought out and believable. Each of them has a pre-established backstory fraught with personal hardships, which has moulded them into the people that they are today. During this story they are also forced to confront those horrors of their respective pasts once more, and it’s interesting to see how each one reacts to them. Amongst all of these great characters, though, there is one clear standout, and it’s who this book is named after. Sam is an excellent character, perhaps one of my all time favourites. His appearances are ultimately sparse throughout this story, but that just makes each scene with him all the more special. 

I’ll say no more about him to avoid any spoilers, you’ll just have to read the book for yourself (if you dare) The events grow more and more sinister as you read on, and our characters try to make sense of all these strange happenings to no avail. You see each reasonable explanation being whittled down and destroyed one-by-one until just one answer remains, and it’s the answer nobody wants to believe.

Although this is certainly a horror story, you might be surprised to find that there’s also a fair amount of comedy in it - particularly from the reactions of our characters. I welcomed this at first, when they were reacting comedically to minor spooky events, much like you or I might (Probably more you than me) But the comedy persists even towards the end, where the events are now no-laughing matters. There was one scene in particular that I thought to be quite marred by the injection of comedy. Objectively it is a terrifying, harrowing situation and yet, thanks to the character’s light-hearted reactions, felt more like something out of Scooby-Doo rather than The Exorcist.

All in all, SAM is a great choice if you’re looking for something spooky to read this Halloween. Just… maybe sleep with the lights on and keep any crucifixes you have on hand. Just in case. 

• Selected Quotes...

“You from the University?” Angela asked the girl.

“Yes, I’m studying creative writing.”

“Lovely. You plan on being a writer?”

“I suppose so.”

“Nice way to make a living if you can swing it, and you’ve already started drinking so that’s a good start […]”

“Sammie? Is he okay? Frank, tell me!”

Frank run a hand over his throbbing forehead. No, that boy is definitely not okay.

“Jesus was crucified at 3PM, but 3AM is said to belong to the Devil. Between midnight and 3AM is when the veil between our world and the next is at its thinnest.”

• If You Liked This Then You May Like...

Strung by Per Jacobsen

The Excorcist by William Peter Blatty

The Omen by David Seltzer

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

• About The Author...

One of Horror's most respected authors, Iain Rob Wright is the writer of more than twenty books, many of them bestsellers. A previous Kindle All-Star and a mainstay in the horror charts, he is a prolific producer of unique and original stories. From his apocalyptic saga The Gates to his claustrophobic revenge thriller ASBO, Iain writes across a broad spectrum of sub genres, creating both beloved series and standalone titles.

With work available in several languages and in audio, Iain Rob Wright is one of the fastest rising stars in horror, but when not writing he is a dedicated family man. Father to Jack and Molly, and husband to Sally, he is often seen sharing his family memories with his fans on Facebook. (from Amazon.co.uk)

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson

 

You can buy Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas... Here

You can find out more about Hunter S Thompson...Here (Rolling Stone aricle)

This review is by Owen Powell 

• The Blurb...

Roaring down the desert highway, Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo are seeking out the dark side of the American Dream. Armed with a drug arsenal of stupendous proportions, they confront casino operators, police officers and assorted Middle Americans, in surreal, chemically enhanced encounters.

Hilarious, hallucinogenic and subversive, Hunter S. Thompson’s semi-autobiographical novel is a cult classic and a masterpiece of gonzo journalism.

• Our Review...

This book is mad. I don’t think there’s another word that can accurately describe it. Imagine some strange man has cornered you in the pub and is regaling some insane drug-fuelled story of his past. That’s essentially what this book is. You’re trapped, subject to this utterly insane tale, and yet, you find yourself needing to know what happens next.

The writing is very fast-paced, which I found to be a welcome change compared to reading most other books. Each sentence is a brand new thought, almost as if we’re watching our main protagonist’s thoughts working, and spiralling, in real time. This writing style perfectly conveys the paranoia and chaos of the heavily intoxicated mind (I imagine) The obstacles Raoul Duke and his attorney face are objectively minor setbacks, and yet they are made urgent and catastrophic through their hallucinatory lenses, which is very entertaining to read. The fast writing and jargon can prove a little overwhelming at times, but it also immerses you completely into the twisted mind of a heavy drug user.

There is little of an actual story to speak of here. Our protagonists are sent to Las Vegas to cover a famous motorcycle race with a convertible full of drugs and alcohol. That’s it. But their exaggerated reactions to otherwise mundane events is what makes this book so special. They will ALWAYS assume the worst case scenario playing out ahead of them, which forces them to act in a way to try and avoid it, thereby just making things worse for themselves. Likewise there isn’t much to the characters either, other than they love getting incredibly high, hate all the downsides that come with it, and are extremely paranoid about everything. Our main protagonist, Raoul Duke, seems to repeat the question “Why not?” throughout this story, which I think also accurately sums him up as a person. Despite the many hallucinatory terrors they face, all these people want to do is chase pleasure, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it. Neither of the protagonists are very respectable or even likeable, and yet, because of this, they are. They clearly care for each other as friends, and also hate each other’s guts as enemies, providing yet another entertaining element to this book.

There are moments, however, when our protagonist stops regaling the events of this story to explain his interpretation of the context of the time and place. Whilst this may work for some people, I thought it brought the story to a grinding halt whenever it occurred.

Overall, despite there being little to the story and characters, I found Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to be both extremely entertaining and (ironically) very addictive. Once i thought I was going to stop reading, I couldn’t. This book sinks its hooks into you and before you know it, you’re in for this crazy ride too. 

• Selected Quotes...

“We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.”

“Hallucinations are bad enough. But after a while you learn to cope with things like seeing your dead grandmother crawling up your leg with a knife in her teeth. Most acid fanciers can handle this sort of thing.”

“Journalism is not a profession or a trade. It is a cheap catch-all for fuckoffs and misfits - a false doorway to the backside of life, a filthy piss-ridden little hole nailed off by the building inspector, but just deep enough for a wino to curl up from the sidewalk and masturbate like a chimp in a zoo-cage.”

• If You Liked This Then You May Like...

On The Road by Jack Kerouac

Naked Lunch by William S Burroughs

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

• About The Author...

Hunter S. Thompson, in full Hunter Stockton Thompson, (born July 18, 1937, Louiseville Kentucky, U.S.—died February 20, 2005, Woody Creek, Colorado), American journalist and author who created the genre known as gonzo journalism, a highly personal style of reporting that made Thompson a counterculture icon.

Thompson, who had a number of run-ins with the law as a young man, joined the U.S. Air Force in 1956. He served as a sports editor for a base newspaper and continued his journalsim career after being discharged in 1957. In the following years he also wrote two autobiographical novels, but both were initially rejected by publishing houses; The Rum Diary eventually saw publication in 1998 (film 2011). In 1965 Thompson infiltrated the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, an experience he recounted in Hells Angels (1967). The book led to writing assignments for Esquire, Harpers, Rolling Stone, and other magazines. In addition to his irreverent political and cultural critiscm, Thompson also began to attract attention for his larger-than-life persona, which was highlighted by drug- and alcohol-fueled adventures and a distaste for authority.

In 1970 Thompson introduced his subjective style of reporting with the article “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved,” in which he was a central part of the story. A 1971 assignment for Sports Illustrated to cover a motorcycle race in Nevada resulted in perhaps his best-known work Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which became a contemporary classic and established the genre of gonzo journalism. First serialized in  Rolling Stone in 1971, it documents the drug-addled road trip taken by Thompson (as his alter ego Raoul Duke) and his lawyer (Dr. Gonzo) while also discussing the end of the 1960s counterculture. The book featured frenetic artwork by Ralph Steadman, who illustrated many of Thompson’s works. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was adapted as a 1998 directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Torro.

(From Brittanica.com)