Sarcophagus

by Anthony R. Williams

When Jeremy moved into his new house he left his friends, school, and old life behind. With nobody but his eccentric neighbor Adrian to play with, Jeremy unearths something buried within the woods that was meant to remain undiscovered. The fate of the world is in Jeremy and Adrian's hands when they must stop the dormant evil they unwittingly unleash from within the Sarcophagus.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[CC. Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually, this is my favorite kind of book. Action, adventure, a creepy monster, an enigmatic and historical artifact recently unearthed, a secret that didn't go the grave. These are my favorite kinds of books--I don't care if they're written for adults or young adults. If it's creepy with cool monsters, I'll read it. And, this one had everything! It had all the ingredients for success.

In the book, Jeremy has moved to a new house and new town during the summer. On his first day, he hooks up with the neighborhood weirdo and the two soon discover an unknown key in a clock and a mystery from a recently dead archeologist-type dude. When they use the key to unlock the sarcophagus, the result is deadly and, if not stopped, capable of destroying life as we know it!

With all that set-up, what could have gone wrong? In this case, it was mediocre writing. While the plot ideas were fantastic, the follow-up left a lot to be desired. The characters were cardboard and barely likeable; the descriptions not nearly long enough tell me what I needed to know; the dialogue was stilted and often ridiculous. It's in dire need of an editor...or a better editor. With a bit more work, it could cross the line from mediocre to edge-of-your-seat thrilling.

[Matt Egan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short creature feature with deus ex machina ending

Sarcophagus, a short creature that is otherwise enjoyable, but has an unfortunate deus ex machina ending. The characters are well defined, but one dimensional, though the author can't be faulted for that given the short nature of the story. The writing is clear and well plotted, and it has an actual lesson embedded within it. This would have been a four star review if not for the conclusion. If you like creature features and deus ex machina endings, you'll enjoy Sarcophagus.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this short fiction story was written fairly well, with nicely descriptive scenes and believable character dialogue. It was not scary to me, but it was a nice read anyway.

[Ethon O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loved it

If it was me rating it I'd take off at least one star for the multiple spelling and grammar mistakes. But I let my son choose and he definitely enjoyed it

[Dana Wilkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very different

It wasn't a long story but it was interesting. A completely new creature
showed up in this story. I enjoyed it.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarcophagus is about a supernatural animal. In the book, a boy, Jeremy, moves to Vermont, and makes friends with this odd boy, Adrian. When Jeremy and Adrian find a secret door and open it, they find a secret that shouldn't be exposed to the world. What they find in the secret room, is an animal. A strange animal...

Sarcophagus is a third-person book with the main characters, Jeremy, Adrian, and Arthur. I would recommend this book to anyone. If this book was part of a series, the I would definitely read it. The book was hard to understand because there was a lot of new vocabulary words. This book is one of the best books I have ever read, and if the author, Anthony R. Williams, was right in front of me then I would say, "I love your books!!!"

[Ken B · Rating 1 out of 5]

This middle-reader was really disappointing. It started out great. A boy moves to a new upscale neighborhood in rural New York. He meets the only other kid his age in the neighborhood while out exploring in the woods. While out exploring they come across a small lake with an island in the middle. The island has a dark secret.

Once they unravel that mystery, the whole story just unwinds on itself...and you have half of the story left!

This story is in serious need of an editor...even a simple spell check would have resolved a couple of the blaring issues!

1 STAR

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be fair, this could turn out to be an awesome story...but I got 30% done with the story and still hadn't read anything remotely scary, so I stopped. The secret to a good horror story is to give you chills/get you hooked right at the very beginning. Then the reader is willing to sit through some development time before you get back to the meat of the scariness. And though the character Adrian was designed to be annoying, after a while it was just annoying to read about him which contributed to me giving up on this story.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was imaginative and interesting and I especially liked the portrayal of Adrian and Jeremy but it was often distracting and disrupted the flow when you came across one of the very numerous errors. A good proof read is in order. Heck, I'd do it for the author for free, just to see the book flow better. It's worth the read. =D

[Mikayla]

Not bad...

This was not too bad given the fact that it was free I couldn't help myself to see if it was any good. I loved the description of the characters and the "monster" in the book. Easy read finished in a night, did have a few nightmares so all in all it did its job.. lol

[Hildegart · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an adult, I did not find this book scary. I did enjoy the premise. The one thing that really got me is that the monster on the cover doesn't seem to fit the description in the book.

[Heather Donofrio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

I recommend 10 and up. This book is very well writ albeit 1-2 grammar and spelling errors. Otherwise it keeps you on the edge.