Jason Parker (Author of A Hostile World)

Jason Parker rated a book liked it Fright Night Aftermath by Tom Holland (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Like it or not, Tom Holland, the original writer and director of the cult classic film, has returned to Fright Night. Fright Night: Aftermath, a direct sequel to the film (and the recently released novelization by the creator (see my review on the s ...more
Oct 19, 2026 06:55PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fright Night Aftermath by Tom Holland. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fright Night Aftermath by Tom Holland <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jason Parker rated a book Pictures of You by Josh Malerman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I am at the point with Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box, Incidents Around the House, and others, that I’ll give anything he does a read. Pictures of You, Malerman’s latest, is short, taut, and to the point – in essence, all qualities a busy man lik ...more
Oct 10, 2026 04:29PM · like · see review
Jason Parker rated a book really liked it The Godfather (The Godfather, #1) by Mario Puzo	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Godfather is, without question, a cultural phenomenon, at its core, always about more than just the American Mafia (a word that is not even said in the first movie). The film series, particularly the first two, are on most critics' short lists fo ...more
Sep 07, 2026 03:07PM · like · see review
Jason Parker rated a book it was amazing Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Josh Malerman’s Incidents Around the House is both a good old fashioned ghost story but also a highly innovative one – genuinely scary (which, in my humble opinion, contrary to what the gushing reviews of ARC readers suggest, is hard to do), quite a ...more
Jun 24, 2026 06:30AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jason Parker rated a book liked it What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier, #1) by T. Kingfisher	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher’s retelling of Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher,” is a short, mostly satisfying throwback to Victorian horror, a fun, spooky tale and first book in a trilogy. Alex Easton, a retired soldier and veteran of war, is ...more
Jun 04, 2026 03:29PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jason Parker rated a book really liked it I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
There was a moment, as I was reading I Was a Teenage Slasher, in which I started to understand what Stephen Graham Jones was doing as slasher-to-be Tolly Driver was being tested by his best friend (and big horror fan) Amber. In scenes that will appe ...more
May 20, 2026 07:00PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jason Parker rated a book really liked it The Talisman (The Talisman, #1) by Stephen King (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
When it was announced that after 25 years, Stephen King would be returning to the world of the Territories in a third installment of The Talisman series, I thought I would give the first book of the same name another read (also probably the second i ...more
Apr 14, 2026 09:04AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Talisman by Stephen King. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Talisman by Stephen King <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jason Parker rated a book liked it The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley, is a well-written science fiction novel with well-developed characters and an interesting concept. However, said concept tends to get muddled throughout the book. A story that seems to start out like a humor ...more
Jan 15, 2026 11:31AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jason Parker rated a book liked it Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1) by Rebecca Ross (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The premise of Divine Rivals draws you right in: in a fictionalized yet still familiar version of England, two ancient gods, Dacre and Enva, wage war on each other with mythical creatures but also vast armies of humans in a conflict much like one of ...more
Jan 11, 2026 03:13PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jason Parker rated a book really liked it The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Inventive, woefully short, well-written (though perhaps with a somewhat gratuitous usage of big, fancy words), The Salt Grows Heavy is a horror-fantasy novella that takes familiar fairy tale tropes and twists them and turns them on their head. It fo ...more
Jan 06, 2026 08:02AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

Jason Parker rated a book liked it

Fright Night Aftermath
by Tom Holland (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Like it or not, Tom Holland, the original writer and director of the cult classic film, has returned to Fright Night. Fright Night: Aftermath, a direct sequel to the film (and the recently released novelization by the creator (see my review on the s Like it or not, Tom Holland, the original writer and director of the cult classic film, has returned to Fright Night. Fright Night: Aftermath, a direct sequel to the film (and the recently released novelization by the creator (see my review on the site), follows Charley Brewster, Peter Vincent, and Amy, picking up right where the movie ended. As hinted at in the movie, Evil Ed is not only alive but eager to avenge and resurrect his master, which may be a possibility thanks to a dark grimoire owned by the recently slain Jerry Dandridge, basically a how-to manual on all things vampire and dark magic. While Charley and Peter are grilled by police, Evil Ed begins building his own group of mini-vampires in his effort to bring back his late master. The end result is an uneven, but surprisingly readable and at times even enjoyable trip down memory lane.
Fright Night, quite frankly, is one of my favorite vampire films and favorite horror films of the 80s. While at times campy, it was also ahead of its time – a referential “meta” story, in essence, an 80s retelling of Dracula. When I discovered that Tom Holland had not only gone back and adapted his script but also wrote a sequel (with at LEAST one more to come), I was excited. Both books, each with a different co-author, are hardly Shakespeare in their prose. The writing at times is clunky at best. Whether due to co-writer A. Jack Ulrich or perhaps Holland himself, Aftermath is a bit more well-written than the adaptation. While some of the dialogue is corny, it was corny in the film, too. The authors do a good job of dropping pop culture and current event references from the late 80s to help take the reader back, and thanks to the help of the creator, the characters of Charley, Peter, and Evil Ed, are pretty on point.
The magical element to the story is an odd, at times distracting addition to the mythos. Evil Ed, ordered by his master to secure the grimoire before his death, unleashes its magic, catching the attention of another magic user who comes to investigate. Evil Ed is fun, but hardly an evil genius, and the fact that Amy, once she learns that her former blood-sucking lover might be able to be brought back to life, goes along with it, is odd. But the reality is, you can’t come into something like this with hard expectations, at least in my opinion. I have said for years that this tendency to create sequels decades after the original is often problematic and disappointing to fans if you get your hopes up.
The book (both of them, frankly) lacks the fresh funkiness of the original and the charisma and chemistry of the actors. That being said, once the plot gets going, it isn’t all that bad, enough that I’ll probably read the next.

For more reviews, go to www.jasonandrewparker.com ...more

Jason Parker rated a book

Pictures of You
by Josh Malerman (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I am at the point with Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box, Incidents Around the House, and others, that I’ll give anything he does a read. Pictures of You, Malerman’s latest, is short, taut, and to the point – in essence, all qualities a busy man lik I am at the point with Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box, Incidents Around the House, and others, that I’ll give anything he does a read. Pictures of You, Malerman’s latest, is short, taut, and to the point – in essence, all qualities a busy man like me looks for in a Halloween read, but at the same time, it is also a little slow maybe just the tiniest bit boring, and a tad bit anticlimactic.
A young couple, Jack and Emily, while on a getaway in a small, lakeside town in Michigan, wake up after a night of drinking to a nightmare: Emily wakes up in a strange room with a bizarre older woman claiming to be an artist (Emily, consequently, being her art), and Jack wakes up without Emily and memory of their parting the night before. While Jack searches the town, worrying that his possibly pregnant girlfriend has gotten cold feet and run off, Emily realizes very quickly she is, in essence, the prisoner very disturbed woman, who claims she has Jack locked up in the other room and has a simple-minded accomplice in her experimental work.
The premise, described by some as “Hitchcockian,” starts off strong. Malerman draws the reader in to Jack’s increasing paranoia that not only is Emily missing, but that something might have happened to her, and Emily’s desperate attempts to reason with and eventually escape her captor. But for a relatively short novel, the story plods along. It is a lot of back and forth between Emily and Helen (her captor) and a lot of Jack asking around town if anyone’s seen Emily. You know the two perspectives will intersect at some point, and when it does, it’s as dull as the rest of the book. If the climax, when it finally comes, is supposed to be shocking, it isn’t. It’s just there.
Malerman is one of the best horror authors working today, and like any writer, he’ll have his ups and downs. I always appreciate simple stories in single locations, but this one just didn’t grab me. For more reviews, go to www.jasonandrewparker.com ...more

Jason Parker rated a book really liked it

The Godfather (The Godfather, #1)
by Mario Puzo

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Godfather is, without question, a cultural phenomenon, at its core, always about more than just the American Mafia (a word that is not even said in the first movie). The film series, particularly the first two, are on most critics' short lists fo The Godfather is, without question, a cultural phenomenon, at its core, always about more than just the American Mafia (a word that is not even said in the first movie). The film series, particularly the first two, are on most critics' short lists for some of the best movies ever made (the third, which I do happen to like, not so much …). The film is so ubiquitous that it seems as if many Godfather Devotees have forgotten, if they ever even knew in the first place, that it came from a novel.

I am a huge Godfather fan. When someone asks, I usually say the first film is my favorite movie of all time, and I’ve read the book twice. Well, now make it thrice, as I thought it would be fun to go back and read it again.

I won’t go into many plot details, for anyone who cares to read this review will likely have at least seen the film. The Godfather, first published in 1969 and written by Italian American author Mario Puzo, tells the story of the Corleone family, the most powerful Mafia family in the United States, in the post World War II era. The family is led by Don Vito Corleone, a larger-than-life, mythic version of a Mafia boss – a wise, old king as beloved as he is feared. His power comes under threat from a new industry, the burgeoning drug business, which serves as both a plot element and a metaphor for the changing criminal world, a world bereft of the honor of the past. After a failed assassination attempt on the Don, his youngest son Michael, who to date has had nothing to do with the family business, is pulled into his father’s world, ultimately inheriting the kingdom from the aging Don.

Reading Puzo’s novel, it is apparent why it was an enormous bestseller. At the time, there was little else like it out there; the majority of the American public’s exposure to the Mafia in film and television came in the form of cartoonish goons in black-and-white movies and TV shows. Puzo’s work, as well as the films, have been rightly criticized for an idyllic portrayal of Organized Crime. His Corleone Family works more like a clan of yore. They love their families, they take care of their communities, and only kill when absolutely necessary. However, Puzo’s book does give readers what is likely their first glimpse into the tentacles of the Mafia that reach into so many “legitimate” businesses and the cutthroat world of blood feuds and vengeance. And there are some pretty disturbing moments and characters in the book. The famous horse’s head, arguably the most famous scene in the first movie comes to mind, as well as Luca Brasi’s short backstory given in the novel. Some of the darkness is lost in subtext, but when they describe the Don’s people taking collections, that is referring to extortion.

Puzo’s prose is sharp and readable, and outside of the bizarre and completely unnecessary subplots that involve Johnny Fontane and Lucy Mancini (the bridesmaid Sonny Corleone has an affair with), the novel flows nicely.

People who criticize the novel and films for not giving an accurate picture of the Mafia are missing the point. The novel was never supposed to be a tell-all exposé about the Italian Mafia, but more of an Italian opera, a tribute to Italian culture through the lens of Organized Crime. The Don and his sons are clearly the “good” Mafiosos, while their enemies are the bad ones. Beyond an Italian story, it is an extremely American one. Puzo, who had no ties to the Mafia, saw his own parents and likely everyone they knew struggle in the United States, while others of their countrymen thrived. A poor Italian immigrant flees violence and comes to America, only to get wrapped up in violence in the mean streets of New York City, a man who rises from nothing to the very top, becoming a millionaire and providing a better life for his loved ones. Of course, to do so, people have had to get hurt and have even died for the Corleone fortune, and this is, I think, the ultimate appeal of Mafia stories, especially to people like me who are not of Italian descent. We have been raised to believe that the system is fair, just, and that we can be anything we want. While this happens for some, it certainly doesn’t happen for all, and Mafia characters, from the unrealistically noble Don Corleone to the highly complex Tony Soprano, are men who recognized this early and made their fortunes their own way. People who, when they have a problem with someone or something, solve it themselves. While most of us are law-abiding citizens, the idea of not having to take other people’s crap when you don’t want to is highly appealing.

There are some dated things in the novel, specifically around women, but this is in line with both the era and the type of people about which Puzo was writing. As mentioned before, both Puzo's literary Don and Brando's version is kindly, Yoda-like in his wisdom, a man who detests violence and vice personally who just happens to make his living off of it. Some of the characters, notably the Don's oldest son Sonny and his lifelong friend and capo Clemenza that are slightly more realistic potrayals of Gangsters, as is the villanious Phillip Tattaglia, but most of them are idealized versions, and that is fine.

There are “sequels” to the novel that came years later, all of which I’ve read and all of which are fun, but fans of Puzo’s novel should check out his book The Sicilian, which, while not a direct sequel The Godfather, features characters from it.

For more reviews, go to www.jasonandrewparker.com ...more

Jason Parker rated a book it was amazing

Incidents Around the House
by Josh Malerman (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Josh Malerman’s Incidents Around the House is both a good old fashioned ghost story but also a highly innovative one – genuinely scary (which, in my humble opinion, contrary to what the gushing reviews of ARC readers suggest, is hard to do), quite a Josh Malerman’s Incidents Around the House is both a good old fashioned ghost story but also a highly innovative one – genuinely scary (which, in my humble opinion, contrary to what the gushing reviews of ARC readers suggest, is hard to do), quite a bit sad, and kept me turning the pages in a way I have not been motivated to do in a long time.
The book centers on and is narrated by Bela, a little girl who is being visited by an entity she calls Other Mommy, a kindly, friendly presence that asks Bela if she can enter her “heart,” which becomes pretty clear pretty quickly is a euphemism for possession. Through Bela’s simple but insightful narration, we gather that things are not particularly right between her Mommy, Ursula, and Daddo, Russ, sometimes from dialogue that Bela doesn’t always understand, sometimes from things she seems to gather are going wrong in their relationship. Initially, it is only Bela that can see Other Mommy, but that doesn’t last, as the entity’s desire to take over Bela’s body causes her to reveal herself to others, setting into motion a desperate flight and series of confrontations between the family and Other Mommy.
Malerman expertly weaves traditional ghost story tropes into the novel such as the child as the subject of the entity’s desire, and the consultation with “experts” such as psychics and paranormal investigators, but he also flips the tropes on their head. The child is the narrator in this story, and so-called “experts” only seem to make things worse.
Though distracting at times, the marital drama between Ursula and Russ adds character and human drama to a very inhuman story. The family is in peril, brought together by a supernatural force none of them are prepared for, and the family’s flight from place to place, person to person as they seek refuge from Other Mommy, keeps the reader tense and on the edge of their seat, the hopelessness of the situation oozing off the page.
The dark presence of Other Mommy hangs over the entire book, effectively portrayed through minimal prose. The presence of Other Mommy at time is merely suggested, Malerman having Bela talk about how she hears creaking or steps upstairs is enough to keep you reading. When Other Mommy is around, she’s a terrifying, monstrous entity.
Can’t exactly say what I feel about the ending, but it is a doozy, and I’m sure glad I read the book.

For more reviews, go to www.jasonandrewparker.com ...more

Jason Parker rated a book liked it

What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier, #1)
by T. Kingfisher

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher’s retelling of Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher,” is a short, mostly satisfying throwback to Victorian horror, a fun, spooky tale and first book in a trilogy.
Alex Easton, a retired soldier and veteran of war, is What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher’s retelling of Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher,” is a short, mostly satisfying throwback to Victorian horror, a fun, spooky tale and first book in a trilogy.
Alex Easton, a retired soldier and veteran of war, is contacted by childhood friend Roderick Usher, who pleads with Alex to come visit, as Usher’s sister Madeline, also a friend of Alex’s, is gravely ill. Upon arriving at the Usher estate, Alex finds the house in utter disrepair, an air of darkness hanging over the place like fog. When he sees Madeline, he is shocked to see that Madeline is corpse-like in appearance, the house inside falling apart, infested by mold, and devoid of servants as the family is in dire straits financially. Roderick himself seems very ill, the causes of the maladies unknown. Beyond the woeful condition of his friend, the property is infested by strange, unearthly, zombie-like hares and a glowing lake.
The story is slow, but still ushers (pun intended …) the reader along nicely with Victorian ghost story tropes: phantom white figures walking through the halls, strange noises in the night, and yes, the glowing lake and demonic hares that are, at times, bullet-resistant. Rounding out the cast of characters is Denton, an American friend of Usher’s who served as a physician in the American Civil War, Angus, a gruff Scotsman companion of Alex’s, and Eugenia Potter, an upper-class Englishwoman and amateur mycologist whose passion for mushrooms might be their only hope for finding out the true cause of Madeline’s and the estate's mysterious maladies.
Kingfisher does well with the Victoria vibe and lingo, and after a slow start, the novella builds on the horror as it goes, culminating in surprising and somewhat original twists. The plot varies widely from Poe’s original tale, but the quasi-scientific source of the Usher’s malaise perhaps works better for a modern audience. Fungi seem to be the monster du jour, thanks mostly to HBO’s The Last of Us, and Kingfisher weaves science and horror together well to craft her tale.
A short, fun read that should get you curious about the sequels.

For more reviews, go to www.jasonandrewparker.com ...more

Jason Parker rated a book really liked it

I Was a Teenage Slasher
by Stephen Graham Jones (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

There was a moment, as I was reading I Was a Teenage Slasher, in which I started to understand what Stephen Graham Jones was doing as slasher-to-be Tolly Driver was being tested by his best friend (and big horror fan) Amber. In scenes that will appe There was a moment, as I was reading I Was a Teenage Slasher, in which I started to understand what Stephen Graham Jones was doing as slasher-to-be Tolly Driver was being tested by his best friend (and big horror fan) Amber. In scenes that will appear familiar to fans of everything from Scream to Shazam, in which a hapless person is fan-splained the rules of the genre or given a battery of tests to gauge their abilities, Amber, convinced Tolly has become a “slasher” in the vein of Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Leatherface, puts him through a battery of tests, all of which seem to confirm what she believes. He can run surprisingly fast, even when there’s a rock in his shoe; he can sense when police are near; he can open doors that should be locked; he has impossibly good aim. These scenes are both darkly humorous and strikingly meta in a genre not often known for being original. These scenes, and many like them, including once the fabled Final Girl comes into the picture, are extremely creative and illustrate once again that Jones is one of today’s great horror writers.
At a party, Tolly Driver is tied down with belts and fed peanuts, which he is extremely allergic to, by a group of teenagers. Most slashers have some kind of humiliating origin story – (remember poor young Jason Voorhees drowning as the camp counselors got busy?) and between the trauma of being humiliated and nearly dying, along with a series of extremely spoilery events that I’ll avoid going into here (and kiddies, I didn’t any of them coming), Tolly is “made” into a slasher who seeks revenge on those who wronged him and is wary of his Final Girl (for the uninitiated, think his arch-nemesis), who must be out there somewhere for, as the rules state, if there’s a Slasher in our midst, there must be a Final Girl, too.
The bulk of the book is Tolly’s struggle with this new, dark part of himself. He has no desire to be a slasher, no desire for revenge at all, but finds out quickly that the compulsion, the power, call it what you will – within him, is stronger than his desire to just be an ordinary kid. With his friend Amber Big Plume Dennison, he starts to understand what it means to be a slasher and the abilities – both good and terrible - that come with it.
If the story sounds a little tongue-in-cheek, I suppose it is. As I mentioned before, some of these scenes where Amber is convincing him of his new, unwanted vocation feel more like something out of a superhero story, but that belies the fact that they are so darn clever, proving that Jones knows his slashers. Long-time fans of the genre (yours truly is guilty as charged) will be tickled pink – or perhaps crimson, like blood, once they realize what Amber is getting it, and you’ll instantly call to mind scenes from your favorite slasher pictures.
Slasher stories are virtually never told from the perspective of the slasher themselves. One, that would give away their identity, which many stories try to keep a secret, at least for a while, and two, while they might have a few skeletons in their closet - which of us don’t - most of us certainly don’t go around hacking up our tormentors. But I Was A Teenage Slasher is told in first-person narration by Tolly himself, which might at times conflict some readers, for he’s a likeable kid, he does not want to be a slasher at all, and yet, on the same page, dispatches other teens with sadistic aplomb. On that note, for fans of the genre, Jones does not disappoint. There are some deliciously wicked kill scenes in here. If you’ve ever seen SGJ in person or heard him interviewed, that is not a surprise.
In the way he does with other familiar concepts in the horror genre, from werewolves to slashers and final girls and paranormal entities in his Indian Lake trilogy, Jones takes a concept that has been done a million times before and manages to spin something new out of it, injecting his humor, his culture, and his considerable talent in another fun read.

For more reviews, go to www.jasonandrewparker.com ...more

Jason Parker rated a book really liked it

The Talisman (The Talisman, #1)
by Stephen King (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

When it was announced that after 25 years, Stephen King would be returning to the world of the Territories in a third installment of The Talisman series, I thought I would give the first book of the same name another read (also probably the second i When it was announced that after 25 years, Stephen King would be returning to the world of the Territories in a third installment of The Talisman series, I thought I would give the first book of the same name another read (also probably the second in preparation for the third). The novel is a typical 80’s-era King dictionary-sized tome, the original paperback running year to 700 pages. Written in collaboration with fellow horror author and friend Peter Straub, The Talisman is at times overly long, a bloated Hero’s Journey story with far too many obstacles and characters on our hero’s Road of Trials, and yet at the same time, it is an action-packed, cleverly written, ahead-of-its-time horror/fantasy that remains a fun read.
In the novel, twelve-year-old Jack Sawyer moves to New Hampshire with his ailing former actress mother to start over and get away from Morgan Sloat, the business partner of Jack’s now deceased father. While there, Jack meets Speedy Parker, a mysterious local who introduces Jack to the idea of the Territories, a fantastical world parallel to our own, complete with “twinners,” identical yet different versions of some people, and that there is an object there, the Talisman, that can heal his mother, who is dying from cancer. Jack, whose twinner in the Territories is none other than a prince, son to Queen Laura DeLoessian, who is also severely ill. Jack learns that, because his twinner is dead in the Territories, he has the ability to travel back and forth between worlds, which he does in search of the magical Talisman so as to save his mother and the Queen.
Going through the book a second time, I found myself irritated, as I was on my first go round, that King and Straub spend far more time in our world and the constant setbacks Jack suffers along the way and not as much in the Territories. The Territories resemble your typical medieval magical realm but are also quite different from many other stories, likely due to the fact that neither author wrote much in that genre, and there’s much about their history, their politics, and their monsters I would have liked to learn more about.
Jack’s back-and-forth journey between our world and the Territories is replete with tremendous setbacks, some of which take up far too many pages for my taste, including Jack taking a job at a bar and grill to earn money, working under the thumb of an abusive boss, and a very long sidetrack in an institution for boys run by a sadistic televangelist type. These passages, while part of Jack’s journey, seem more like distractions from the overall story. They are likely meant to serve as formative experiences for Jack, and yet, Jack himself is somewhat of a different problem. At only twelve years old, he reads more like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old, and while he is supposed to be beyond his years, it is a little improbable at times.
There are some colorful supporting characters and villains in the book, in typical King-Straub fashion, including Speedy (though his “jive” talk feels a little cringey and dated), the villainous Osmond, and my favorite (and probably everybody else’s), Wolf, part of a clan of literal werewolves that protect the Queen’s sheep and helps Jack along his journey.
The criticism of the lack of the Territories in the book is valid, I think, but also is a good decision. If Jack stayed there the entire book, it would be the story of a modern boy as a Fish out of Water in a magical land story. The back and forth travel leaves you wanting more and turning the pages to see if you get it. The story, unbeknownst to readers and even the authors at the time, is not only connected to King’s Dark Tower series but also ahead of its time. Parallel universes are all the rage as a story device these days, some of that groundwork being laid here, in the Territories, in The Talisman. I’m looking forward to the third.

For more reviews go to www.jasonandrewparker.com ...more

Jason Parker rated a book liked it

The Ministry of Time
by Kaliane Bradley

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley, is a well-written science fiction novel with well-developed characters and an interesting concept. However, said concept tends to get muddled throughout the book. A story that seems to start out like a humor The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley, is a well-written science fiction novel with well-developed characters and an interesting concept. However, said concept tends to get muddled throughout the book. A story that seems to start out like a humorous satire takes turns being an everyday Sci-Fi time travel book, a romance, and a spy story. Some of these elements don’t come as a surprise – it is a Sci-Fi story after all, and you can see the romance coming from a mile away, but what starts as a relatively light-hearted novel takes a few very serious turns, culminating in a very serious ending the reader might not see coming.
In short, an English government agency, heretofore referred to as, “The Ministry,” has somehow come to master the science of time travel and has decided, for reasons not entirely clear, to “rescue” people from various periods from English history. The “Expats,” as they are known, are assigned a “bridge,” a ministry employee charged with acclimating them to 21st-century life as well as monitoring them for any irregular behavior. If this sounds like a dangerous proposition, the ministry is in essence “saving” these people, all of whom died (at least according to history) prior to the ministry taking them to the present. Our narrator (unnamed), seems in many ways out of her element and unqualified to be a bridge; it seems as if she’s practically fallen into the job of taking care of Graham Gore, an expat from 1847.
The chemistry between Gore and the narrator is charming and well-written. The novel starts out somewhat light-heartedly, leading the reader, at least this reader, to believe that perhaps what we’re reading is Time Travel, Actually, a story with some serious undertones but one that pokes fun at itself when appropriate. Later on, the novel becomes a full-blown mystery and thriller with a couple of surprising twists, some that are kind of cool and one in particular that is just plain unfortunate.
For my money, the best parts of the story were early on, especially the expats’ reactions to learning certain things about the modern world. Bradley handles these deftly, reminding us 2st-century folks just how good we have it while at the same time, pointing out that perhaps the past wasn’t always as bad as it seems. The expats, the book focuses on Gore, are complete fish out of water, leading to some humorous scenes. What becomes less believable, as the story unfolds, is the gradual acclimation of them into modern society. While their bridges are there to help them do this, they take to things such as motorbikes and Spotify more like people who happened to be in a coma for a decade or so and not snatched through the centuries.
There is an undercurrent of mystery, even menace to the ministry – they are clearly hiding something and have some ulterior motive for bringing the expats to the modern world, but not enough to foreshadow the confrontations to come. Perhaps I missed something, but the change of tone in the last part of the novel seemed a 180 to me.
That is not to say that the book is bad; it’s not. It’s actually a good, easy read with some fun moments and a few dark ones. Readers should be aware, however, that if they're looking for “Happy Ever After,” well, maybe they should try time travel.

For more reviews, go to www.jasonandrewparker.com ...more

Jason Parker rated a book liked it

Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)
by Rebecca Ross (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The premise of Divine Rivals draws you right in: in a fictionalized yet still familiar version of England, two ancient gods, Dacre and Enva, wage war on each other with mythical creatures but also vast armies of humans in a conflict much like one of ...more

Jason Parker rated a book really liked it

The Salt Grows Heavy
by Cassandra Khaw (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Inventive, woefully short, well-written (though perhaps with a somewhat gratuitous usage of big, fancy words), The Salt Grows Heavy is a horror-fantasy novella that takes familiar fairy tale tropes and twists them and turns them on their head. It fo Inventive, woefully short, well-written (though perhaps with a somewhat gratuitous usage of big, fancy words), The Salt Grows Heavy is a horror-fantasy novella that takes familiar fairy tale tropes and twists them and turns them on their head. It follows a mermaid and her plague doctor companion (neither character ever given a proper name) as they traverse through a tortured landscape, encountering a brutal tribe of murderous children and their horrific “saints.”

The mermaid, who serves as our narrator, like Ariel in the famous story, can’t speak, though our mermaid has had her tongue cut out by her husband, who was devoured by their children, who then burned the kingdom to ashes. She is on the run with a mysterious plague doctor, a foreboding, dark companion who, unmasked, proves to be androgynous and stitched together, a “manufactured” being like a type of Frankenstein’s monster. They come across a group of brutal children who murder each other, brought back to life by their “saints,” who they see as gods, who are merely using them in a dark fairy tale version of a black market organ factory. The action is as gruesome as it sounds, more Grimm than Disney.

The main problem with the novella is its length. Khaw has created an interesting world but spends little time exploring it. This, of course, follows the format of your average fairy tale: characters inhabit a world that is much like our own, yet strikingly different, but Khaw's juicy, macabre prose makes the reader want to know more. The same goes for her characters.

In your everyday fairy tale, the characters often aren’t named, rather, are identified by trope: maiden, farmer, peasant, etc., and Khaw does the same, though her mermaid and plague doctor are not just one-dimensional archetypes. They are fascinating characters I would love to revisit.

A short, wicked read that leaves you thirsty for more, The Salt Grows Heavy should appeal to fans of fantasy, horror, and fairy tales.

For more reviews, go to www.jasonandrewparker.com ...more

Jason’s Year In Books

Jason Parker’s Followers (18)

Jason’s Bookshelves

Jason’s Friends (42)

Jason Parker

Goodreads Author

Learn more
Ask the Author

Popular Answered Questions

Combine Editions
Jason Parker’s books

Jason is Currently Reading

rss
Jason’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — Fright Night Aftermath by Tom Holland

See a Problem?

Preview — Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

See a Problem?

Preview — What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

See a Problem?

Preview — I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

See a Problem?

Preview — The Talisman by Stephen King

See a Problem?

Preview — The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

See a Problem?

Preview — Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

See a Problem?

Preview — The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Jason’s Friend Comments

	A Hostile World 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Captive Readers: Stories it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	There The Vultures Will Gather liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jason’s Year In Books

Jason Parker’s Followers (18)

Jason’s Bookshelves

Jason’s Friends (42)

Jason Parker

Goodreads Author

Learn moreAsk the Author

Popular Answered Questions

Combine EditionsJason Parker’s books

Jason is Currently Reading

rssJason’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — Fright Night Aftermath by Tom Holland

See a Problem?

Preview — Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

See a Problem?

Preview — What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

See a Problem?

Preview — I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

See a Problem?

Preview — The Talisman by Stephen King

See a Problem?

Preview — The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

See a Problem?

Preview — Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

See a Problem?

Preview — The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Jason’s Friend Comments

Learn more
Ask the Author

Combine Editions
Jason Parker’s books

rss
Jason’s Recent Updates