Lee Allen's Blog

You Like it Darker by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A thrilling collection of tales from the master of horror.

'You Like It Darker' is a horror thriller collection by Stephen King, featuring a novella, three novelettes, and eight short stories, plus a bonus short story, bringing the total to thirteen, for the paperback edition. Collected from shorts written for miscellaneous publications and new stories for the collection, including King delving into his own archive and returning to a story that remained unfinished for decades, we are treated to tales of serial killers, psychic phenomena, extraterrestrials and mad scientists, ghosts and creatures natural and unnatural. Featuring a variety of characters and visiting different locations and time periods, including revisiting the locale of Castle Rock more than once and including a sequel to one of his most-loved works, King explores horrors both extraordinary and everyday, those that may be supernatural in origin and others disturbingly human.

The four longer stories were amongst my personal favourites:

“Two Talented Bastids”
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The opening memoir ponders the question of how an artist finds inspiration, whether it is innate talent or if this gift is gifted by an external force, as the narrator looks back on the lives and careers of his father and his father’s friend, who both excelled in their artistic fields as a writer and painter respectively. A thought-provoking, retrospective tale.

“Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The novella of the collection revisits another of King’s signature tropes of psychic powers, as the eponymous Danny Coughlin dreams of the location of a murder victim’s body and then finds himself the lead suspect for her murder. Hounded by the detectives investigating the case, Danny’s life crumbles in a chilling story of obsession and injustice.

“Rattlesnakes”
⭐⭐⭐⭐
In a sequel to ‘Cujo’, many years after those horrific and tragic events, Vic Trenton is staying at Rattlesnake Key, having needed an escape from his everyday life. A sprawling narrative of death and grief, hauntings and persecution, this is tragic, moving and deliciously creepy. Duma Key, now largely underwater, also features, within view of Rattlesnake Key, adding to the nostalgia of this long-awaited emotional sequel to one of King’s early works of terror.

“The Answer Man”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In the poignant, thought-provoking final novelette of the collection, Phil Parker looks back on his past and the three times he encountered the mysterious Answer Man at crucial junctures in the tapestry of his life, pondering decisions and memories. A tale of immense pain and incredible joy, and everything in between, this is a beautifully written tale and one that will stay with you afterwards.

Additional favourites amongst the short stories were:
“The Fifth Step” – a chance meeting, a confession and a perfect twist;
“The Turbulence Expert” – a secretive profession of sacrifice and mortal peril;
“The Dreamers” – an experiment in parapsychological research that turns deadly.

Overall, ‘You Like It Darker’ is a superb selection of stories, a mix of bite-sized chillers and introspective, character-driven tales, some dark and philosophical, others rife with black humour. Often looking back on a life lived, exploring themes of aging and family, the long reaches of loss and grief, the burdens of regret and guilt, the scars of trauma and tragedy, characters are haunted by events of the past as much as they may be by present circumstances or entities that lurk in the shadows. A compendium of twisted morsels of mystery, suspense and drama, some fast-paced, others slow burns, we delve into concepts of morality, fate and life itself in an immersive and captivating collection.



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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A provocative Gothic classic of horror, dark fantasy and philosophical fiction.

Dorian’s Gray’s portrait, painted and gifted by a friend, hangs in pride of place in his home. But a chance wish he made as it was painted is about to come true.

For his portrait hides a remarkable secret – it will age on his behalf and carry the weight of his life of sin, while he will retain his youthful beauty.

But as the years pass, Dorian will learn the harshest of truths – moral justice is inescapable, and the day will come when the marks of sin upon his soul will entrap him, just as his vices have his entire life.

'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is a gothic horror novel by Oscar Wilde, first published in 1890 as a novella featured in 'Lippincott's Monthly Magazine', and later as a novel with additional chapters. Exquisitely written and its plot finely crafted, the narrative carries us into the hearts and minds of man, darkened by sin, exploring the concept of beauty and how deeply art and the human soul are intertwined.

We first meet Dorian through the gaze of Lord Henry Wotton, who visits his friend, the artist Basil Hallward, to find him working on the portrait of his new muse, the aristocratic Dorian Gray. Dorian becomes seduced by Lord Henry’s philosophy of life, his belief that life should be lived in the worship of physical beauty and that the pursuit of pleasure and attainment of all one may desire is the purpose of existence, not to be sullied by moral principles.

We witness Dorian’s descent into debauchery and sin, his selfish lifestyle of hedonism and materialism warping him into a narcissistic and superficial man. Upon his abandonment of a young woman whom he claims to love and who loves him dearly, he first witnesses the change upon his countenance in his portrait, and learns to fear it. But as his cruelty leads to his lover’s suicide, the corruption of his soul may be impossible to repent, and, as time goes by, he comes to revel in the strange power his portrait beholds, as much as he cannot lay eyes upon it. As his life of moral decay continues, Gray's continued degradation ultimately escalates to murder.

The gothic horror elements are gorgeous, Wilde's prose conjuring vivid images and a dark and brooding madness, delving into a life of selfish self-indulgence, of vanity and the victory of ego, indulging in pleasures of the flesh and vices of the body and mind. Laced with homoeroticism, decadence and desire, the novel explores the duality of human nature through the eponymous picture, the impact of art on life and life on art; the portrait of Dorian Gray a metaphor for human life, art and culture. Building to the intense climatic chapters, Dorian's sins return to haunt him as an avenger from his past pursues him, while his own conscience and the burden on his soul may prove to be his final tragic undoing.

A Faustian pact is the coal at the centre of the novel’s premise; though the Devil may not appear, it nonetheless would seem he responded to a wish uttered by Gray upon posing for his beauty to be captured in oils and made immortal on canvas, his desire for eternal youth at the price of his soul. We delve into the nature of beauty and its objectification, perfectly illustrated through the portrait - imagine if one's sins were worn upon one's face, if true character could be seen with the eyes. While, as the novel describes, certain choices will ultimately present themselves physically, much of what makes someone who they are and, crucially, their moral fortitude and their empathy for their fellow human beings, is hidden beneath the skin, residing within the heart and mind: the substance of one's soul is not writ upon their body.

Wilde paints a portrait of contemporary British society, of the class system and its prejudices, of the sexism entwined within it, a rich social commentary without necessarily drawing any judgements. There are suggestions that a man's relationships with women are purely functional or for the sake of 'lower' pleasures, and that intellectual and artistic pleasures are to be found only with fellow men. There is much philosophising on the novel's themes and ideas, particularly through the character of Lord Henry, whose views are coloured by his position in society and his opinion of women, and his core belief that one's happiness and pursuit of their own desires is equated to goodness, as this is when mind, body and soul are truly in harmony – the notion of morality is simply to deny oneself the pleasures of the body and the intellect.

The novel's most sympathetic character, Basil, the artist of the infernal masterpiece, is a deeply moral man, his fate tragic and brutal. It shouldn't perhaps go un-noted that he is probably the only authentically homosexual character in the novel, as well as being the most empathetic and truly artistic amongst the cast. Though subtle, if any judgement is made within the text, it is perhaps that avarice and pride will ultimately come to haunt those who indulge in them, the novel’s dark finale surely serving as parable that sin’s shadows are inescapable and the suffering you inflict outwards upon the world will surely turn on its perpetrator and cannibalise itself.

This was Wilde's only novel amongst his published works. Scandalous and controversial, it was deemed a deeply immoral work on publication, its exploration of morality and its cautionary messages apparently too subtle to be recognised. It was later used as evidence in his trials for homosexuality and gross indecency, which resulted in his conviction (sexual activity between men wouldn't be decriminalised in England and Wales until 1967). The irony of an artist's work believed to be so reflective of an artist's life as to be considered legal evidence cannot have escaped Wilde, whose novel’s centrepiece of the portrait depicted art as both reflection and imitation of life, possessing otherworldly power – the two turning in eternal dance; how much does art imitate and reflect life, and how much does life imitate and reflect art?

Wilde notes in his preface, perhaps in response to his critics:

“All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.”

Which, of course, is something of which we all are guilty. Art is often beautiful. And there is danger in that beauty. Which in itself is beautiful. It holds up a mirror to our lives – it can reflect either what is true, or what we wish to be true. It can both comfort and disturb, and that’s exactly as it should be.

The novel has been adapted for stage and screen multiple times, with its first silent film adaptation in 1910 in the Danish 'Dorian Gray's Portræt’. More silent films followed throughout the decade. A highly acclaimed US film adaptation was released in 1945; bearing the novel's title, it focused on the supernatural horror elements. An Italian, German and British co-production '(The Sins of/The Secret of) Dorian Gray' was released in 1970, its focus on the novel's eroticism. Multiple television movie and mini-series adaptations were also produced in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The character and novel saw a resurgence of adaptations in the early 2000s, culminating in the British film 'Dorian Gray' in 2009.

A timeless masterpiece of English literature, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ is a thought-provoking, entrancing tale of philosophical horror.



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The Lediar Monster by Bethany Russo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A bloodthirsty werewolf horror chiller.

Down on his luck and seeking an anchor, Stephen takes a job at the Lediar Hotel in his local town.

Legends abound that a werewolf stalks the park surrounding the hotel, coupled with the proprietor's warning to never leave the hotel after dark.

As a full moon approaches, Stephen comes face to face with the truth of the Lediar Monster, threatening to tear his life limb from limb.

'The Lediar Monster' is a horror novella by Bethany Russo, a gory, fast-paced tale, brimming with stalk-and-slash scenes, splashes of violence, and lashes of dark humour, all driven by character arcs and engaging, visceral plotting, at its centre a mythic, supernatural creature from the folklore of old, sewn into a thrilling and entertaining narrative.

At the centre of Russo’s story is Stephen, returning to his hometown and childhood home after struggling to pursue a career in acting. An immediately endearing character, one most of us can easily empathise with as he finds himself feeling he's hit a brick wall with his plans and aspirations, he is trying his hardest to get by and make the best of things, while also being trodden down by his childhood friend, Josh, who only seeks to mock and belittle him and refuses to take life seriously. Taking a new job as a stop gap, Stephen hopes to turn his life around and continue to pursue his dreams.

The owner of the Lediar Hotel, Albert, becomes somewhat of a mentor to Stephen. The hotel has been in Albert's family for generations, and he may hold the secrets to unravelling the mystery of the werewolf. At first, Stephen dismisses the stories, but soon begins to wonder if there may be more truth to them than he dare imagine. Meanwhile, the ramblings of Stephen's grandfather, Clive, may not be the conspiracy theory and senility they are believed to be, as danger awaits deep in the shadows for anyone who dares to wander the park at night.

From its bloodbath opening chapter in 1984, setting the scene for the history of deaths and legends surrounding Lediar Park, into the 2020s and Stephen’s story and the ensuing chaos, through to its familial-pivoting conclusion, this is an old-school classic were-creature thriller, centred on the old, traditional hotel and the ancient woodland park surrounding it, brewed with a sense of nostalgia and a core of emotion, peppered with an underlying theme of folklore and urban legends, cast in the hues of a classic monster movie and a feel-good spooky atmosphere running through the blood-spattered tale.

Brutal and relentless, ‘The Lediar Monster’ is a fun and bloody horror story; a short, sharp tale with a deep bite and voracious appetite.



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Lost Among the Living by Simone St. James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A captivating Gothic mystery set in 1920s England.

Following the disappearance of her husband Alex during the war, Jo has taken on the role of paid companion to Alex's aunt, Dottie.

Following a tour of Europe, Jo travels with Dottie to the family home, Wych Elm House, deep in the English countryside, to continue her employment.

Wych Elm House is a house haunted, by loss and grief and secrets, the shadow of death hanging over it like a shroud.

'Lost Among the Living' is an historical Gothic mystery by Simone St. James, laced with suspense, romance, intrigue and the paranormal. Set between the world wars, it follows a war widow, Jo Manders, grief-stricken and under the employ of her husband’s aunt, Dottie, in part in effort to cling to her husband’s memory, as she travels to the Sussex countryside to continue her employ in Dottie’s home and explores the tangle of mysteries she uncovers there. Beautifully written and vividly realised, character-driven with multi-layered plotting and rich in gothic atmosphere, the novel takes us on an engrossing, emotional journey.

We meet Jo only three years after suffering the devastating loss of her husband, Alex, an RAF pilot whose plane went down during a lone reconnaissance mission towards the end of the First World War. Flashbacks reveal how Jo and Alex's relationship began and their ensuing whirlwind romance, before Alex joined the air divisions of the Armed Forces when war broke out, and the final few occasions she saw him before his ill-fated mission. His remains were never recovered and he has never been declared officially deceased. Alongside the burden of her grief, Jo has been unable to find closure or be able to lay him to rest. She mourns Alex’s loss, and yet she is soon confronted by suggestions of deceit and betrayal, leaving her questioning how much of an illusion is our belief that we know the people we love as intimately as we know ourselves.

Wych Elm House, a combination of the derelict mansion of classic Gothics and the country manor of classic mysteries, is a house in mourning, a mausoleum barely inhabited since the death of Alex’s cousin, Frances. Locals are terrified to enter the forest surrounding the property for fear that the spirits of Frances and her demonic dog stalk amongst the trees. Several ghostly encounters inspire Jo’s determination to unearth the truth surrounding Frances’ death, providing her a new focus as balm to her grief. The Forsyth family may harbour secrets they wish to remain buried – everyone is a suspect, and remaining objective becomes increasingly challenging for Jo, as she forms a friendship with Alex’s cousin, Martin, and develops a contentious fondness for Dottie, who proves to be far more complex than one may imagine from her steely, prickly exterior.

St. James has crafted a thrilling, riveting tale, weaving supernatural mystery, international intrigue and gothic romance into a sublime historical story, told with shades of masters of the classics in Gothic, mystery and suspense – including Du Maurier, Conan Doyle, Christie, and even Hitchcock. Laced with historical detail of the interwar years – the war itself, the Spanish Flu pandemic, the unease in the aftermath of war that peace in Europe may be only temporary, the class system and position of women in English society; and woven with multiple twists and revelations, turning the plot inside out, the narrative transports us back in time, plunging us into a turbulent chapter in Jo’s life, events escalating to a suspenseful finale as vengeance is meted out from beyond the grave.

An intense and riveting Gothic mystery, ‘Lost Among the Living’ is thought-provoking, poignant and gripping historical fiction.



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Peripheral: A Psychological Horror Novella by Spring Leighman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A chilling account of a haunting, claustrophobic nightmare.

Following the death of her mother, Lena finds herself returning to her childhood home.

Memories she believed long since forgotten await her in the shadows, reflected in the mirrors and surfaces she can see out of the corner of her eye.

Something has waited a long time for her to return. Now, its patience is about to be rewarded, Lena ensnared in its grasp of madness.

'Peripheral' is the debut novella by Spring Leighman, a tale of psychological horror that hooks its claws under your skin and burrows into your mind, refusing to loosen its grip from the opening line to the very last. Vividly written and deliciously atmospheric, its visual, percussive, and visceral language perfectly evokes an untethering, the intense sensation of being observed and persecuted, a descent into insanity and oblivion.

We follow Magdalene “Lena” Black back to her old home following her mother’s death, a place which brings many disturbing memories back to the surface – the abuse she endured, the trauma she suffered, the haunting she has tried hard to repress in the intervening years. But back home, it takes little time to unmoor her life once again and leave her questioning her reality. Epistolary elements, through fragments of childhood journal entries and drawings, embellish the narrative, taking us back with Lena into her childhood experiences. Isolated and paranoid, she is slowly losing herself, memory and time becoming untethered and untrustworthy.

Leighman has crafted a sublime narrative, woven in an ambiguous beauty – never are we quite sure if the horror is due to supernatural influence or the character’s own state of mind. There are shades of a variety of mental health conditions, amongst them schizophrenia, PTSD, anxiety disorders, parasomnia – yet beneath potential delusion and hallucination is something seeping with malign intent, a potent, and yet amoral, evil. Within Lena’s story is a warning for all who encounter it – beware the shadows that lurk in your peripheral vision, or just out of reach in your reflection, for they may be more than they seem.

Creepy and immersive, ‘Peripheral’ is a sharp slice of terror to haunt your vision, waking and dreaming alike.



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The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Robert Langdon returns to explore the secrets of the heart and the soul in this spellbinding thriller.

Attending a lecture in Prague with his partner Dr. Katherine Solomon, Professor Robert Langdon finds himself thrown into another dangerous adventure.

Following a chilling premonition and finding Katherine missing, Langdon fears for her life and goes in search of her in a trail across Prague.

But adversaries lurk around every corner. Someone does not want Katherine’s research to be shared with the world, and they’ll prevent it by any means necessary.

'The Secret of Secrets' is the sixth novel in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series, another fast-paced, labyrinthine thriller, taking Langdon to the heart of the city of Prague and into the depths of human consciousness. It's been eight years since we last met the symbologist in the fifth novel, 'Origin', and this story was worth the wait – gripping and relentlessly paced, this is an intellectual and emotional journey; intricate plotting and meticulous research woven into a speculative conspiracy thriller bursting with suspense, twists and revelations.

Returning from the third novel, 'The Lost Symbol', is Katherine Solomon, a noetic scientist and an old friend of Langdon's, with whom he has recently developed a romantic relationship. For years, the suggestion of something bubbled beneath their friendship forged in intellectual frisson and deep affection, though neither explored the depths of their connection until now. Katherine has been writing a book based on her research and experiments concerning human consciousness, and she believes her breakthroughs will prove a major leap forward in scientific understanding.

The morning following a lecture Katherine delivers at Prague Castle, Langdon is confronted by a chilling premonition of doom, racing back to their hotel to raise the alarm of what he is certain is an impending disaster. Amidst the ensuing confusion, Langdon realises Katherine is missing and is desperate to find her, pursued in his quest by law enforcement, government agents, and nefarious foes. The mysterious character The Golem, a figure resurrected from ancient folklore, stalks the streets and alleyways, always watching, carefully putting his scheme of destruction in place.

Meanwhile, Katherine having delivered her manuscript to her editor the night before, her publishing house in New York comes under attack – their server hacked and her manuscript deleted, and her editor kidnapped en route to making a copy of the single copy he printed. It is clear that someone does not want Katherine’s book to be published and will seemingly go to any lengths to achieve that aim. Under the gaze of powerful agencies and Machiavellian figures with hidden agendas circling in the shadows, a frantic Langdon follows every avenue in search of the woman he loves.

I absolutely loved this book; Brown has once again delivered an engrossing narrative built upon the foundation of his signature themes of history, symbology, spirituality and science. As in all the previous books, we are gifted an immersive sense of place, immediately transporting us this time to Prague in the Czech Republic, taking us on a tour of the city’s past and present through artefacts, art and architecture, exploring religion, folklore, mythology, and mysticism, perfectly evoking an eerie, almost ethereal, atmosphere, and described in such rich, fascinating detail that one cannot help but want to travel there and follow in Langdon's footsteps. In addition to the themes, the plotting and the setting, I adored the relationship between Langdon and Katherine, heightening the emotional stakes of the series, while The Golem proves to be one of the more complex of the murderous and mysterious figures that haunt the pages of Brown’s novels.

Through Katherine’s research, Brown builds on concepts explored in ‘The Lost Symbol’ regarding the nature of the soul, while also building on the themes of advances in science and technology and its future relationship with humankind explored in the previous novel, 'Origin'. Each element researched in forensic detail, grounding the speculative elements in both a sense of realism and mystery, and with flourishes of psychology and sociology, this is far deeper than the high-octane adventure that keeps us rivetted through the pages; delving into the philosophy of life and of death, seeking hidden truths and suggesting that, perhaps, when science leads us full circle back towards spirituality and faith, there is hope for the future salvation of humanity.

Captivating and electrifying, ‘The Secret of Secrets’ is an incredible sixth volume in a superlative thriller series. I cannot wait to discover where Langdon’s adventures may take him next.



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The Namaste Slasher by Alan Shivers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A thrilling mindfulness camp slasher.

Five lucky applicants are awarded a place at a wellness retreat deep in the heart of the Croatian mountains.

But their exclusive prize delivers far more than they bargained for, as they find themselves stalked by a killer who takes a far different approach to cleansing the soul.

A spiritual journey unlike anything they could have imagined, they are plunged into a fight for survival of mind, body, and spirit.

‘The Namaste Slasher’ is a slasher horror novel by Alan Shivers, taking the classic slasher concept to a Central European setting, the classic forest summer camp replaced with mindfulness retreat Zelena Nada nestled in the Velebit mountain range. But this destination of peace, tranquility and meditation is about to be shattered by a bloodbath. Entertaining and fast-paced, with a camp vibe and flashes of dark humour, Shivers has crafted a fun and gripping slasher, brimming with bursts of violence and gore, twisty plotting and a vivid setting; all the perfect ingredients for a slasher.

Featuring a cast of characters from across Europe and from different backgrounds, the experience is presented from multiple character perspectives, beginning with Elo, whom we meet while in remission from cancer, who was determined to get a place at this retreat after witnessing her mentor’s murder via video call three years earlier. She’s here to hunt for a killer after the murder was seemingly covered up. No one knows her true motivation, and she initially trusts no one around her, neither fellow participant or part of the hosting team. Each of them has a history of trauma and heartbreak, their own set of circumstances that has brought them here, a vulnerability that may be exploited – or that may have led them down the dark path to murder. An unexpected mid-story twist jolts the narrative, an unsettling reminder that no one is safe and no one can be trusted.

Taking much inspiration from the slashers of the 1980s, particularly ‘Friday the 13th’, with a modern spin akin to the recent ‘Scream’ and ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ movies, the novel manifests in a thriller that is at once retro and modern, possessing an almost self-awareness that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Nevertheless, it handles the darker themes deftly, giving each of the characters a backstory, delicately exploring their trauma and mental health issues. Themes of sex and violence prevalent in the slasher sub-genre are juxtaposed perfectly with the spiritual themes, while also providing LGBTQ representation in a genre often dominated by heterosexual couplings.

Another theme touched upon is that of social media, bringing into focus the veneer of trends – for some this is truly authentic, for others it is no more than superficial appropriation. Perfectly playing into the concepts of deceit, secrets, and identity, this fuses seamlessly with the aesthetic of tenets of eastern spirituality, which hide something far darker beneath the surface; splashes of folklore and local history shading the canvas as the unwitting characters are confronted by an urban legend that manifests into a relentless, masked killer. Desperate to escape with their lives, characters are killed off one by one, those remaining getting closer and closer to the mystery of the killer’s identity and the motivation behind the bloodbath as we hurtle into the bloody climax.

Brutal and heartfelt, ‘The Namaste Slasher’ is old-school slasher mayhem with the empathy dialled up. While a standalone slasher, the novel also links to Shivers’ succeeding series, ‘Killer Vocals’, which I shall be eagerly reading along with his trilogy ‘Europea Halls’.



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Jaws by Peter Benchley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The classic natural horror thriller that launched the modern creature feature mania.

Taking a late night swim, a young woman is fatally attacked by a great white shark off the coast of the small town of Amity.

Some authorities want the attack hushed up, but as the deaths begin to rise, police chief Brody is forced to take action, despite resistance.

As tensions in Amity escalate and the elusive predator continues to stalk them from the deep, Brody joins a mission to hunt the fish down. But the shark is waiting - and this is his ocean.

'Jaws' is the debut novel by Peter Benchley, first published in 1974, famously adapted for the screen as the 1975 film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg. A gripping, fast-paced summer thriller, it centres on a series of shark attacks and the ensuing public hysteria, culminating in a hunt for the killer fish in a showdown of human versus beast.

At the epicentre of the narrative is Chief of Police Martin Brody, who faces the greatest challenge of his career in the aftermath of the attacks. Amity is a tourism-driven coastal community, reliant on a successful summer to survive the year. But the threat of a shark in their waters ignites a powder keg of denial and paranoia, Brody encountering resistance to closing the beaches; then more people die.

The novel also explores the impact of this pressure upon a community, and the irony of the nature of humans as social animals through class, division and prejudices, something that particularly plays into the psyche of Brody’s own wife, Ellen, seduced by the allure of a life she left behind when she got married, in the form of outsider and shark expert Matt Hooper. This is a tale of moral and political corruption, of the hubris of humanity, of the disintegration of relationships when under pressure, revealing the true nature of human beings beneath the surface of civilised humanity.

Stalking the pages like a marine angel of death, submerged beneath the waves and rarely seen, the shark lurks like an omen hanging over the community, a Leviathan inflicting its chaos, symbolic of the darkness that hides beneath the surface of a community and within the human heart. Amidst rising tensions, local fisherman Quint believes he is the man who can bring the shark down. Battling the fallout, Brody believes the only way to absolve his own guilt is to join Quint and Hooper to hunt down the shark. The attacks and the mission to hunt it down are particularly vividly realised and the glowing scenes of the novel – riveting and intense, ratcheting up the suspense and building to a final confrontation with the beast and with nature itself.

Natural horror, particularly the “creature feature”, had previously often featured cryptids, prehistoric creatures, alien life forms, genetically-enhanced mutants, preternatural and possessed monsters, but in 'Jaws' the creature was a naturally occurring species in its own natural habitat - injecting an infusion of realism into the sub-genre.

Though he denied taking any direct inspiration, Benchley may have been influenced to write the novel by a series of five shark attacks in New Jersey in 1916, which resulted in four deaths. Spielberg, however, would cite this as inspiration when it came to the making of the movie, bloodying the waters as to how much influence these attacks had on the fiction. It should be noted that it was never definitively proven that a lone shark was responsible, nor the species of the attacker - a great white or a bull shark considered the most likely culprits.

Benchley is credited as co-writer of the screenplay for ‘Jaws’ along with Carl Gottlieb, writing several of the original drafts (Gottlieb is credited with lightening the tone of the screenplay by adding humour through his rewrites, while Spielberg wished to remove the adultery subplot and devised the more explosive finale, all perfect decisions for the story's translation to the screen). The resulting film became incredibly successful; garnering a cult following and credited with being the first summer blockbuster, it set the blueprint for natural horror films and remains an iconic and influential film fifty years later. Three sequels followed: 'Jaws 2' in 1978; 'Jaws 3-D' in 1983; and 'Jaws: The Revenge' in 1987.

Largely as a result of both the novel and films, the poor great white has earned an unfair reputation as a maneater. Though undoubtedly a dangerous predator and statistically responsible for the most attacks on humans of any shark species, these attacks are likely the result of mistaken identity or in response to perceived threat, with fatalities proving a rarity. Nevertheless, the enduring image of the terrifying underwater predator has endured in human imagination for half a century.

Dark and thrilling, ‘Jaws’ is an entertaining, character-driven aquatic action adventure, the template for a timeless story that we will revisit forevermore in our quest to not fall prey to nature’s most formidable predators.



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Madonna by Mary Gabriel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An engrossing and powerful biography of the Queen of Pop.

Madonna exploded onto the music stage in the early 80s and has dominated the charts worldwide for four decades, blending infectious melodies, multi-layered lyrics, provocative performances, and controversial themes into immortal pop music, propelling her to superstardom and crafting a legacy as a legendary, timeless icon.

In 'A Rebel Life', Mary Gabriel studies Madonna's life and career – from her birth in August 1958, her early childhood and the devastating loss of her mother, through her teenage years and her move to New York with dreams of becoming a dancer, and how she began to create music and signed the record deal that would change her life, beginning her meteoric rise to megastardom – and builds a portrait of the woman behind the superstar everyone thinks they know.

Exploring in detail the writing and recording of each of her albums, the creation of her concert tours and performances, the production of her movies, plus books and photographic projects, this is a rich study of her art and her impact on music, film, fashion, and popular culture. Her unique style and infusion of themes and imagery – religious and spiritual, sexual and romantic, political and social – and blending of genres – dance, rock, disco, R&B, punk, gospel – has produced a varied and diverse artistic range; infectious music always emblazoned with Madonna’s signature.

Alongside her music itself, Madonna was one of the leading artists to embrace and drive the medium of the music video, creating mini movies to accompany a single that could deliver an impactful message, tell a story, and enhance the power of a song; just one of the ways Madonna proved herself a trailblazing inspiration in the music industry and beyond, coupled with her flair for reinvention securing her longevity and an enduring impact that remains unrivalled. Madonna always has a message to deliver, and you're going to listen whether you like it or not.

As well as Madonna the artist, we examine Madonna the radical cultural icon, Madonna the philanthropist and political activist, and get to know Madonna the human being, exploring her relationships with her family, her friendships, her romances and two marriages, and as a mother to her six beloved children. Featuring insights and anecdotes from many who have known her over the years, including key collaborators, Gabriel has produced a riveting and stunning biography, with multiple facets and layers.

Often misunderstood and maligned for her artistic choices, criticised for her rebellious nature, dismissed and underestimated, at so many points during her career and personal life, Madonna could have allowed herself to break, to become the tragic and contrite figure many may have been more accepting of. But she refused. She has remained, despite all the adversity, an artist committed to her craft and her vision, and a warrior who never gave up on her dreams, always emerging as a survivor no matter the battle she has faced.

Amongst the rewards and controversies of her art, she has been confronted with staggering misogyny throughout her career, combined with increasing ageism since her thirties, through which she has beaten a path for women in the music industry in a way that no one before her had done – Madonna’s career proving to be a powerful feminist tale, inspiring countless artists who followed her. Sexism has also not been the only prejudice she has combatted – from the very beginning, her unwavering support for the gay community at a time when society wished to ignore and vilify them has proved her a true LGBTQ ally.

Suffering many tragedies throughout her life, including the loss of friends to AIDS, inspired her commitment to supporting the children of Malawi, only then to be faced with further battles and vitriol over her adoptions of David and Mercy. Often moving and deeply emotional, the stories of the injustices Madonna has overcome and the people she has helped give a voice are amongst her greatest achievements and a cornerstone of her legacy.

Madonna’s story is also a piece of history, so entwined is her art and career with the development of popular music, plus socially and culturally, both in terms of her influences and inspirations and the environment that nurtured them, and the monumental impact and influence she herself has had through the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Concluding with one of the final shows in London of the 'Madame X Tour' in early 2020, Gabriel’s biography covers over six decades of Madonna’s life and the astonishing career she built for herself. I've read several Madonna biographies and this is amongst the best and by far the most detailed and insightful.

A fascinating depiction of an icon and an entrancing revisitation of her art, ‘Madonna: A Rebel Life’ is an enthralling and captivating chronicle of one of the most important and enduring figures in popular culture – a visionary performance artist whose work and influence has already continued beyond the biography’s final pages with ‘The Celebration Tour’ in 2023-24, which concluded with a performance at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach and set a new record for the largest audience for a standalone concert. Still holding the record as the bestselling female recording artist of all time (and fourth bestselling of all recording artists) and with a new studio album poised for release, Madonna remains the unsurpassable empress of pop.



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Horror Tales From Wales by Kevin J. Kennedy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A chilling collection from the heart of ancient Cymru.

‘Horror Tales from Wales’ is an anthology of horror short stories, presented by author and publisher Kevin J. Kennedy as a volume in his ‘Places’ series. Featuring five stories by five Welsh authors, we delve into a blend of hauntings and folklore, encountering supernatural and mythical entities in narratives that will make your blood run cold.

“They Come at Night” by Richard Clive – A deliciously creepy tale of a man haunted by the ghosts of children and his well-meaning friend trying to help him, leading them on a hike into the wilderness of Snowdonia in search of an old wishing well, where the man's recently deceased partner had made a wish...be careful what you wish for!

“Dogs of Hell” by C.L. Raven – A gorgeous Samhain tale, a suicide pact leading to a chase through the realm of Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld, pursued by a pack of dogs, horses and gods, trapped in a soul hunt on Hallowe’en night. A thrilling piece of mythological horror for our favourite night of the year.

“The Vengeance of Black Bart” by C.S. Jones – An emotive, historical horror, blending an historic haunting and legends of pirates with the wartime plight of refugees, sent to rural Wales to escape the dangers of the cities; exploring themes of love and loss, and the desperation they can ignite, in a sprawling nautical tale of vengeance.

“Bravo” by David Watkins – Journey from Wales to the Himalayas in a cryptid natural horror with a group of Welsh soldiers, participating in an international competition. But the soldiers are no match for the wild, coming up against a relentless predator in the snow. Pitted against the Yeti, the men find themselves in a tense fight for survival, lost in the Asian wilderness.

My own story, “Lunar Eclipse; or, Melltith y Ddraig”, concludes the collection, a tale of gothic romance, folk horror, and erotic fantasy.

Thrilling and entertaining, ‘Horror Tales from Wales’ is a fabulous showcase of indie horror and the diverse elements of the genre, all told from the heart of a land of ancient castles, mighty dragons and the rugged beauty of wild nature, where passion runs in the blood. This a superb collection to be a part of and I’m honoured to feature a story alongside my fellow Welsh authors, as part of Kennedy’s growing catalogue of indie horror voices.



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