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Jest: It Waits No Longer
Nicole Carzon is an average, young college student, trying to cope with everyday life and an alcoholic father. Life has not been easy since her mother left; in reality, it was the source of the problem. Nevertheless, everything changed the day she received the letter. Her grandfather, having been estranged with his own son for years, shocks everyone when he bypasses her father and names Nicole as heir to his castle in England. With an angry father and the summer off, Nicole and her friends decide now is the perfect time to fly overseas and meet with her late grandfather's solicitor, Andrew Willis. Once they arrive, they are overwhelmed with the history and nostalgia pulsating from the 600-year-old Bodlum Castle. However, as Nicole and her friends soon come to realize, this castle has an ancient occupant. One that has been lying dormant and patiently waiting for hundreds of years... It waits no longer.....
222 pages, Paperback
First published May 6, 2011
2 people want to read
About the author
David Warren
3 books1 followerAuthor of the highly acclaimed YA Horror novels JEST and REPLICA. Look for FROSTBITE in the summer of 2014!
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 24, 2012
Official in depth review can be found @ Shivers of Horror.
If I had found this book as a teenager I would have salivated over it, as most of the horror books I read as a teen didn’t really have gore in them. Heck some of them avoided death altogether. While it’s definitely a young adult book, it’s also exactly like a slasher movie should be. I got to know and like the characters with some comedy and spookiness mixed in at a great location. This could easily be turned into an adult novel or movie by adding some swearing, partying, possibly some sex and more gore. I would highly recommend this if you are a fan of authors like Christopher Pike, Richie Tankersley Cusick and so on. Or you are a fan of YA books & slasher movies. I didn’t know what I was getting into with this one, but I’m glad I read it. It was a fairly quick read and I had fun with it.
If I had found this book as a teenager I would have salivated over it, as most of the horror books I read as a teen didn’t really have gore in them. Heck some of them avoided death altogether. While it’s definitely a young adult book, it’s also exactly like a slasher movie should be. I got to know and like the characters with some comedy and spookiness mixed in at a great location. This could easily be turned into an adult novel or movie by adding some swearing, partying, possibly some sex and more gore. I would highly recommend this if you are a fan of authors like Christopher Pike, Richie Tankersley Cusick and so on. Or you are a fan of YA books & slasher movies. I didn’t know what I was getting into with this one, but I’m glad I read it. It was a fairly quick read and I had fun with it.
January 15, 2013
I enjoyed this young adult horror novel from new author David Warren. I was pleasantly surprised by the many twists and turns and kept you guessing until the end. I look forward to many more from this new author!
November 21, 2022
This book is terrible lol. The pacing drags the first half (it takes halfway through to even get our first official kill) and goes break-neck speed through the second half. The kills are ok and satisfying when they eventually occur, but the twist at the end comes out of left field and feels forced, as though the author didn't know how to actually end the story and had to think of something fast.
What needs to be described in-depth isn't described enough, and little things that don't need much description get way too much attention. (For example, there's this whole elaborate description about a hedge that's trimmed like an elephant but the only payoff is that a guy compares it to his girlfriend...eye roll...as highlighted below, the author frequently focuses on the wrong things to describe.)
There's an unnecessary romantic arc as well, much of the dialogue comes off as stilted and inhuman (pro tip, read your dialogue out loud to see if it actually works), and reading the attempts someone who's whiter than sour cream trying to write in AAVE was cringe.
There are a lot of contradictions within the plot, for example, if the castle was meant to be remote and hidden, how did anyone expect tourists to show up before the events of the book? And speaking of contradictions, the author says it's a 14th century castle but the castle on the cover is definitely closer to a 16th or 17th century castle.
The technicality of this work is lacking overall; I get that this is independently published, but that's no excuse in my eyes for technical ineptitude. Some examples of this: aside from being told one character looks like Vanessa Williams and that two others are blonde, we get no physical descriptors, so it's difficult to visualize the characters. The cook is always thinking about Jamaica but we're never told if that's because he wants to vacation there or if it's because he's Jamaican. The descriptors also make the castle feel out of proportion. In the first half of the book, it feels as though it takes a day and a half to tour this teeny tiny little remote castle in the middle of nowhere, but when the bodies start piling up, people get lost all over the place and find these rooms and corridors they didn't know existed previously and the castle seems huge and labyrinthine. The castle apparently has a moat but is also on a lake?? How does that work? Google castles on a lake and show me one that has a damn moat! Also the lake the castle is built on is apparently manmade to make it more remote, but the castle itself dates back to the 14th century...were lakes manmade back then (aside from that lake of wine Emperor Zhou Xin built...which I felt I needed at some points when reading this book).
I was originally drawn to this book because its author is from my home state and I like giving local authors a chance...not gonna give the sequel a chance though XD.
Would not recommend this book but would recommend the author maybe take some writing classes and read up a lot more on castles before making them a pivotal part of a story.
What needs to be described in-depth isn't described enough, and little things that don't need much description get way too much attention. (For example, there's this whole elaborate description about a hedge that's trimmed like an elephant but the only payoff is that a guy compares it to his girlfriend...eye roll...as highlighted below, the author frequently focuses on the wrong things to describe.)
There's an unnecessary romantic arc as well, much of the dialogue comes off as stilted and inhuman (pro tip, read your dialogue out loud to see if it actually works), and reading the attempts someone who's whiter than sour cream trying to write in AAVE was cringe.
There are a lot of contradictions within the plot, for example, if the castle was meant to be remote and hidden, how did anyone expect tourists to show up before the events of the book? And speaking of contradictions, the author says it's a 14th century castle but the castle on the cover is definitely closer to a 16th or 17th century castle.
The technicality of this work is lacking overall; I get that this is independently published, but that's no excuse in my eyes for technical ineptitude. Some examples of this: aside from being told one character looks like Vanessa Williams and that two others are blonde, we get no physical descriptors, so it's difficult to visualize the characters. The cook is always thinking about Jamaica but we're never told if that's because he wants to vacation there or if it's because he's Jamaican. The descriptors also make the castle feel out of proportion. In the first half of the book, it feels as though it takes a day and a half to tour this teeny tiny little remote castle in the middle of nowhere, but when the bodies start piling up, people get lost all over the place and find these rooms and corridors they didn't know existed previously and the castle seems huge and labyrinthine. The castle apparently has a moat but is also on a lake?? How does that work? Google castles on a lake and show me one that has a damn moat! Also the lake the castle is built on is apparently manmade to make it more remote, but the castle itself dates back to the 14th century...were lakes manmade back then (aside from that lake of wine Emperor Zhou Xin built...which I felt I needed at some points when reading this book).
I was originally drawn to this book because its author is from my home state and I like giving local authors a chance...not gonna give the sequel a chance though XD.
Would not recommend this book but would recommend the author maybe take some writing classes and read up a lot more on castles before making them a pivotal part of a story.
December 24, 2014
Good evening Constant Reader.
If you like a fast paced read, with lively characters, a good plot, some twists and turns, and some blood and guts, then this book is for you.
Our story opens as Edward Carzon II slips away into that good night, leaving Bodlum Castle in East Sussex, England, not to his son, Edward Carzon III, but to his grand daughter, Nicole. She is advised of this inheritance just as she and her college friends are trying to decide where to take that long talked about but never taken get away. The trip to England to inspect the castle is all expenses paid and Nicole may bring along as many people as she wishes. Her alcohol-ridden father is not happy with this situation and is left behind as Nicole and 5 of her friends wing their way to England.
Along for the excursion is Brad, Nicole's friend since forever, her best friend Danielle and her boy friend Al, and Wayne and Alexis.
Our party arrives in England and is escorted to Bodlum Castle where they are met by longtime caretaker Roger Helmsley, maid Beatrice Cummings, and chef Jonathon Carlisle. Another arrival, Andrew Willis, the late Edward Carzon II's solicitor rounds out the party, there to go over paperwork regarding the inheritance with Nicole.
The young people are taken on a tour of the castle by Roger, who fills in the historical past of the castle, explaining the restoration Nicole's grandfather had begun, intending to open the castle to tourists. It is during this tour they run into an assortment of wax figures dressed in period costume in various areas of the castle, as part of the tour experience. One figure they encounter is particularly disturbing; Timothy Skullton, a jester who served in the castle in the late 16th century. But Timothy wasn't just a jester, he was also used to dispatch people not in favor of the owner. That owner died and the new owner declared Timothy mad and had him imprisoned in the dungeon. He was thought to have died as his body was never found. It was assumed he escaped.
Our group begins to settle into the castle, with Nicole having to decide if she wants to become the new owner or not.
Meanwhile, back in the U.S., Nicole's father is plotting to make his way to England...
Then things start to happen...and the body count begins. Warren ratchets up the suspense when the dead bodies start to pile up, people are separated and left alone, people start exploring dark passages...you get the idea.
When I got to a certain point in the book, I couldn't stop reading, I had to find out how it was going to end.
I was at such a short page count, I was frantic to find out what happened, and was thinking. "Man, how is this going to possibly come to any kind of end??"
When the ending did come, I literally gasped out loud I was so surprised.
Reading Jest "It waits no longer..." is like riding a roller coaster. A nice, slow build up the track, lulling you into a false sense of security and then when you come to the top of that track...and start to go over...the hits, they just don't quit coming.
I like that!
Time spent with this horror tale is not time wasted.
If you like a fast paced read, with lively characters, a good plot, some twists and turns, and some blood and guts, then this book is for you.
Our story opens as Edward Carzon II slips away into that good night, leaving Bodlum Castle in East Sussex, England, not to his son, Edward Carzon III, but to his grand daughter, Nicole. She is advised of this inheritance just as she and her college friends are trying to decide where to take that long talked about but never taken get away. The trip to England to inspect the castle is all expenses paid and Nicole may bring along as many people as she wishes. Her alcohol-ridden father is not happy with this situation and is left behind as Nicole and 5 of her friends wing their way to England.
Along for the excursion is Brad, Nicole's friend since forever, her best friend Danielle and her boy friend Al, and Wayne and Alexis.
Our party arrives in England and is escorted to Bodlum Castle where they are met by longtime caretaker Roger Helmsley, maid Beatrice Cummings, and chef Jonathon Carlisle. Another arrival, Andrew Willis, the late Edward Carzon II's solicitor rounds out the party, there to go over paperwork regarding the inheritance with Nicole.
The young people are taken on a tour of the castle by Roger, who fills in the historical past of the castle, explaining the restoration Nicole's grandfather had begun, intending to open the castle to tourists. It is during this tour they run into an assortment of wax figures dressed in period costume in various areas of the castle, as part of the tour experience. One figure they encounter is particularly disturbing; Timothy Skullton, a jester who served in the castle in the late 16th century. But Timothy wasn't just a jester, he was also used to dispatch people not in favor of the owner. That owner died and the new owner declared Timothy mad and had him imprisoned in the dungeon. He was thought to have died as his body was never found. It was assumed he escaped.
Our group begins to settle into the castle, with Nicole having to decide if she wants to become the new owner or not.
Meanwhile, back in the U.S., Nicole's father is plotting to make his way to England...
Then things start to happen...and the body count begins. Warren ratchets up the suspense when the dead bodies start to pile up, people are separated and left alone, people start exploring dark passages...you get the idea.
When I got to a certain point in the book, I couldn't stop reading, I had to find out how it was going to end.
I was at such a short page count, I was frantic to find out what happened, and was thinking. "Man, how is this going to possibly come to any kind of end??"
When the ending did come, I literally gasped out loud I was so surprised.
Reading Jest "It waits no longer..." is like riding a roller coaster. A nice, slow build up the track, lulling you into a false sense of security and then when you come to the top of that track...and start to go over...the hits, they just don't quit coming.
I like that!
Time spent with this horror tale is not time wasted.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews