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All Hallow's Dead
"ALL HALLOW'S DEAD is the best slasher movie that no one would have the balls to make--disturbing and violent, but with that extra dash of melancholy that makes Bryan Smith's novels stand out from the pack. Another great read from one of my favorite authors." --Trent Haaga, director of CHOP and screenwriter of CHEAP THRILLS and DEADGIRL It’s Halloween week in Willow Springs, TN, and a mad slasher is on the loose! Twenty-five years ago, a group of local boys did a very bad thing. Now a masked killer is leaving a trail of corpses and bloody pumpkins all over town. Brutal vengeance against his former tormentors and thirty-one dead for Halloween are the madman’s demented goals. As the body count mounts, local law enforcement scrambles to track down the seemingly unstoppable killer and bring the carnage to an end.
277 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 25, 2015
41 people are currently reading
584 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Smith
105 books765 followersBryan Smith is the Splatterpunk Award-winning author of more than forty horror and crime books, including 68 Kill, the cult classic Depraved and its sequels, as well as The Killing Kind, Slowly We Rot, The Freakshow, and many more. Bestselling horror author Brian Keene called Slowly We Rot, "The best zombie novel I've ever read."
68 Kill was adapted into a motion picture directed by Trent Haaga and starring Matthew Gray Gubler of the long-running CBS series Criminal Minds. 68 Kill won the Midnighters Award at the SXSW film festival in 2017 and was released to wide acclaim, including positive reviews in The New York Times and Bloody Disgusting.
Bryan also co-scripted an original Harley Quinn story for the House of Horrors anthology from DC Comics. He has worked with renowned horror publishers in both the mass market and small press spheres, including Leisure Books, Samhain Publishing, Grindhouse Press, Death’s Head Press, and more. His works are available wherever books are sold, with select titles also available in German and Italian.
68 Kill was adapted into a motion picture directed by Trent Haaga and starring Matthew Gray Gubler of the long-running CBS series Criminal Minds. 68 Kill won the Midnighters Award at the SXSW film festival in 2017 and was released to wide acclaim, including positive reviews in The New York Times and Bloody Disgusting.
Bryan also co-scripted an original Harley Quinn story for the House of Horrors anthology from DC Comics. He has worked with renowned horror publishers in both the mass market and small press spheres, including Leisure Books, Samhain Publishing, Grindhouse Press, Death’s Head Press, and more. His works are available wherever books are sold, with select titles also available in German and Italian.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
October 11, 2019
Creepy good reading for Halloween!!! Yes, indeed!!!
WORTHY HORROR NOVEL
I knew about Bryan Smith, the author, since like two years ago, but I hadn’t the chance of reading anything by him so far. I didn’t foresee that this would be my first book by him, but I knew about the book in the right time, and since it was Halloween season, I decided it that it was the perfect choice to read.
I am totally glad of having read it!
While, this is my first book by Bryan Smith, speaking for my reading experience with this one, I can tell you that All Hallow’s Dead is a great option to read in Halloween, but also, it’s a well written book that it hasn’t anything to be ashamed in comparison with works by contemporary masters like Stephen King or Dean Koontz. In my humble opinion, this novel is as good as anything of the good books written by the mentioned masters of horror.
Another thing that I liked a lot, it was that it’s a reading of less than 300 pages, so you can cover it quite quick, but it’s as rich and detailed as any example of 500 pages or more.
As I always have said: If a book is really good, it will be with just less than 300 pages, filling a book with 400 pages more won’t turning magically into a good book.
All Hallow’s Dead is fast pacing, but with enough details, full of three-dimensional characters, well written, smart developed and a truly worthy horror novel.
WELCOME TO WILLOW SPRINGS
An injustice, a mean prank, was done many years ago, and now it’s time for revenge, it’s time for blood from guilty ones along with innocents!
Willow Springs, TN, will be the scenario of a gory rampage where nobody will be safe and not even the people of nearby towns.
There is indeed a selected group to suffer the rage of a pitiless killer, but not only guilty ones will suffer, also many innocents will be turn into targets. Because the thirst for blood is huge for this murderer...
...and only thirty-one people will be able to surfeit his gory revenge, and he has only seven days until Halloween to succeed. It’s ambitious, yes, but he works better on a tight schedule.
Don’t underestimate him, he isn’t a careless wacko, he knows what is doing, he isn’t disconnected with reality, he is smart, fast, accurate, organized, effective, and relentless. Nothing is by chance. Everything is by his design.
If you bump into him, don’t run, don’t fight, it’s useless...
...you’re already dead!
Blood will run!
Happy Halloween!!!
WORTHY HORROR NOVEL
I knew about Bryan Smith, the author, since like two years ago, but I hadn’t the chance of reading anything by him so far. I didn’t foresee that this would be my first book by him, but I knew about the book in the right time, and since it was Halloween season, I decided it that it was the perfect choice to read.
I am totally glad of having read it!
While, this is my first book by Bryan Smith, speaking for my reading experience with this one, I can tell you that All Hallow’s Dead is a great option to read in Halloween, but also, it’s a well written book that it hasn’t anything to be ashamed in comparison with works by contemporary masters like Stephen King or Dean Koontz. In my humble opinion, this novel is as good as anything of the good books written by the mentioned masters of horror.
Another thing that I liked a lot, it was that it’s a reading of less than 300 pages, so you can cover it quite quick, but it’s as rich and detailed as any example of 500 pages or more.
As I always have said: If a book is really good, it will be with just less than 300 pages, filling a book with 400 pages more won’t turning magically into a good book.
All Hallow’s Dead is fast pacing, but with enough details, full of three-dimensional characters, well written, smart developed and a truly worthy horror novel.
WELCOME TO WILLOW SPRINGS
An injustice, a mean prank, was done many years ago, and now it’s time for revenge, it’s time for blood from guilty ones along with innocents!
Willow Springs, TN, will be the scenario of a gory rampage where nobody will be safe and not even the people of nearby towns.
There is indeed a selected group to suffer the rage of a pitiless killer, but not only guilty ones will suffer, also many innocents will be turn into targets. Because the thirst for blood is huge for this murderer...
...and only thirty-one people will be able to surfeit his gory revenge, and he has only seven days until Halloween to succeed. It’s ambitious, yes, but he works better on a tight schedule.
Don’t underestimate him, he isn’t a careless wacko, he knows what is doing, he isn’t disconnected with reality, he is smart, fast, accurate, organized, effective, and relentless. Nothing is by chance. Everything is by his design.
If you bump into him, don’t run, don’t fight, it’s useless...
...you’re already dead!
Blood will run!
Happy Halloween!!!
April 16, 2019
5 fun-slashing stars!
Ah, yes, the 70’s and 80’s throwback to slasher movies. I wonder sometimes if people who didn’t grow up in that era and never had a chance to see the originals on the big screen could ever really understand the nostalgia. Technology has gotten better, special effects are brilliant and realistic these days, budgets have grown and exposure has exploded with the internet…yet none of these modern movies can do anything remotely close to what I felt when I watched those movies.
Granted, I’m older, more cynical, desensitized and my tastes have changed. But then I read a book like this one and it puts me right back there – I get to taste a small portion of those long forgotten feelings. And, DAMN, how I miss it!
For those of you not familiar with Mr. Smith’s writing, he falls on the more extreme side of the spectrum, so if you are not ready for that kind of horror, please avoid his writing until you can handle it. Yes, there will be blood…and sex and gore and grossness and more.
This story follows a fairly straightforward approach – so I’m not going to call spoiler alert here:
Elliott gets bullied and tortured as a boy by some of the other kids, and 25 years later goes on a killing spree. This is not the type of book where you will wonder who the killer is or why he is doing the things he is doing – it is explained fairly early in the story. You might be surprised by WHAT he does at times, but there is nothing out of left field here. And I think the book works better because of it. Even the ending was predictable – there are only so many ways to end this kind of story – but I loved every single page.
Now, this is a disclaimer:
The rest of this review will be more on the genre and movies, so I will forgive you for not reading any further. Go on, get on with your day…
Okay, so you have a couple of minutes to kill, I get it. I may just need to inform you that I don’t write reviews for money, so I don’t even feel guilty about not taking the time to research and check my facts – everything comes from memory. This might mean I get some things wrong, but at the core, the ideas are sound…well, for me, anyway.
So, strap in and let’s talk some slasher movies!
This genre is very near and dear to me – I absolutely devoured these movies throughout my younger years. It was the violence, nudity, blood, nudity, gore, nudity and…what am I forgetting? Oh yes, did I mention nearly all of them had a naked girl in there?
Hey, I was a fairly naïve and innocent (yet hot-blooded) young man. Some of us had to settle for what we could get. Realistically, I was way too shy and stupid to get the easy girls. So I had to live vicariously through imaginary characters.
Enough about that.
This is also the genre where success usually creates a franchise – no, I am not a fan of sequels, yet I watched a shitload of them. Ask any horror fan – if the movie sucks, you get a fairly good comedy, especially when it was not meant to be funny at all.
And there is a very good reason for that: The first movie (if it is a success) usually gives the audience something new or fresh, which we CRAVE, but once the idea is there, it can never be new or fresh again. Which means that no matter how hard they try, it can never have that impact again.
So, when I discuss the following movies, I refer to the originals unless stated otherwise.
The granddaddy of all the slashers, the one that set the bar, was made in the mid-seventies. You may have heard of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE?
(The movie Wes Craven described as a “Full frontal assault of horror”)
Why?
Well, with a very small budget, an unknown cast and very young director, they beat the odds and created a classic (to some, perhaps THE classic) horror movie that remains relevant to this day. And, in my opinion, there are two things that stand out with this movie:
The first is the fact that there is no supernatural element to this story. Everything remains 100% realistic – this could actually happen! If you are not aware of this, there are elements of the Leatherface character that was inspired (at least, in part) by the serial killer Ed Gein.
And what could be scarier than a cannibalistic family abducting you – there is no bargaining room when you are the food!
The second was brilliance by Toby Hooper, the director, with his camera angle. I don’t think most people realize – until they watch the movie again and focus on it – that there is no penetration of the skin shown. Everything is implied, but the subconscious overrides that fact because of the way it was filmed and edited. This was true genius!
The sequels are all far inferior, so much so that I read in some magazine some years ago that Matthew McConaughy and Renee Zellweger (no idea if I spelled those surnames correct) threatened to sue the distribution company – once they became famous - to suppress the one in which they both appeared.
It didn’t work, obviously, because I saw it on video many years ago.
It is also difficult to judge the one with Jessica Biel…because it was Jessica Biel…
(Yup, still hot-blooded)
And just an example about my statement about comedy – in one of them (the prequel) – R. Lee Ermey cuts off his father’s other leg with a chainsaw when the shit hits the fan, and when asked why, he shrugs and says “For balance…”
Loved that scene!
At the end of the 70’s another young filmmaker made a permanent impression on this specific genre and this brings us to my personal favourite slasher movie of all time:
HALLOWEEN
John Carpenter had a brilliant vision but not the budget to do honor to this script that he co-wrote (my apologies, madam, I can’t remember your name…). With a measly $300 000, this movie was shot in something like a month (Thanks, JJ!).
Carpenter cast an unknown Jamie Lee Curtis as the lead, mostly because he was a fan of her mother Janet Leigh, who had the honor of doing the first shower seen in mainstream cinema. It was in this little movie called PSYCHO, don’t know if you’ve heard of it. And Curtis got a paycheck of only $ 7 000.
The movie grossed over 40 million dollars at the box office, but who is counting, right.
As you can probably gather from this I have done some research on this movie years ago.
Anyway, the reason this movie turned out to be such a masterpiece – again, in my opinion, is the use of music to create tension.
(Side note: John Carpenter also composed the music for the film)
At the end of the day, Michael Myers only kills about six people in the movie – a very low count for a slasher movie – but all the tension comes from the psychological aspect of the movie. The “where-is-the-killer-hiding” scenario, where you tense up, relax, tense up, relax, and WHAM! You jump.
As far as psychological horror goes, I have not seen anything that comes even close to the brilliance of this movie.
Which brings us to today, which brings us to sequel number 104, isn’t it? And it seems that Jamie Lee Curtis is just as hard to kill as Michael…
No, just no.
Then the 80’s came around and suddenly it wasn’t safe to go camping anymore, thanks to the movie FRIDAY THE 13th.
Yes, someone will have sex and then die shorty after – this is the movie that lay the ground rules for surviving a horror movie in the 80’s. The geeky virgin will survive. Etc. etc. etc.
Remember, you have to think in terms of the audience not being used to all of this.
However, the thing that pushed this movie above the others was the brilliant fucking twist. Spoiler alert!!! Jason Voorhees doesn’t kill anybody until the second movie. It was the most shocking thing since Luke found out who his father is…
And in 1984 Wes Craven took us to one of the most recognizable streets in the world with A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Yeah, girls, a very young Johnny Depp appeared in the movie and no, he didn’t survive. Um, spoiler alert?
The brilliance of this one? The monster, Freddy Krueger, comes to get you in your sleep. There is just no way to escape from him. Everybody HAS to sleep. He is the monster that can’t be killed. And halfway through the movie you realize that you have no idea whether the characters are sleeping or awake anymore. A bit of mind fuck 101.
Hey, I can go on and on about this subject, but this is only a review, so I’m gonna let you go at this stage. There are movies I didn’t mention here that deserves recognition, but my time is up.
Recommended to all horror fans!
Ah, yes, the 70’s and 80’s throwback to slasher movies. I wonder sometimes if people who didn’t grow up in that era and never had a chance to see the originals on the big screen could ever really understand the nostalgia. Technology has gotten better, special effects are brilliant and realistic these days, budgets have grown and exposure has exploded with the internet…yet none of these modern movies can do anything remotely close to what I felt when I watched those movies.
Granted, I’m older, more cynical, desensitized and my tastes have changed. But then I read a book like this one and it puts me right back there – I get to taste a small portion of those long forgotten feelings. And, DAMN, how I miss it!
For those of you not familiar with Mr. Smith’s writing, he falls on the more extreme side of the spectrum, so if you are not ready for that kind of horror, please avoid his writing until you can handle it. Yes, there will be blood…and sex and gore and grossness and more.
This story follows a fairly straightforward approach – so I’m not going to call spoiler alert here:
Elliott gets bullied and tortured as a boy by some of the other kids, and 25 years later goes on a killing spree. This is not the type of book where you will wonder who the killer is or why he is doing the things he is doing – it is explained fairly early in the story. You might be surprised by WHAT he does at times, but there is nothing out of left field here. And I think the book works better because of it. Even the ending was predictable – there are only so many ways to end this kind of story – but I loved every single page.
Now, this is a disclaimer:
The rest of this review will be more on the genre and movies, so I will forgive you for not reading any further. Go on, get on with your day…
Okay, so you have a couple of minutes to kill, I get it. I may just need to inform you that I don’t write reviews for money, so I don’t even feel guilty about not taking the time to research and check my facts – everything comes from memory. This might mean I get some things wrong, but at the core, the ideas are sound…well, for me, anyway.
So, strap in and let’s talk some slasher movies!
This genre is very near and dear to me – I absolutely devoured these movies throughout my younger years. It was the violence, nudity, blood, nudity, gore, nudity and…what am I forgetting? Oh yes, did I mention nearly all of them had a naked girl in there?
Hey, I was a fairly naïve and innocent (yet hot-blooded) young man. Some of us had to settle for what we could get. Realistically, I was way too shy and stupid to get the easy girls. So I had to live vicariously through imaginary characters.
Enough about that.
This is also the genre where success usually creates a franchise – no, I am not a fan of sequels, yet I watched a shitload of them. Ask any horror fan – if the movie sucks, you get a fairly good comedy, especially when it was not meant to be funny at all.
And there is a very good reason for that: The first movie (if it is a success) usually gives the audience something new or fresh, which we CRAVE, but once the idea is there, it can never be new or fresh again. Which means that no matter how hard they try, it can never have that impact again.
So, when I discuss the following movies, I refer to the originals unless stated otherwise.
The granddaddy of all the slashers, the one that set the bar, was made in the mid-seventies. You may have heard of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE?
(The movie Wes Craven described as a “Full frontal assault of horror”)
Why?
Well, with a very small budget, an unknown cast and very young director, they beat the odds and created a classic (to some, perhaps THE classic) horror movie that remains relevant to this day. And, in my opinion, there are two things that stand out with this movie:
The first is the fact that there is no supernatural element to this story. Everything remains 100% realistic – this could actually happen! If you are not aware of this, there are elements of the Leatherface character that was inspired (at least, in part) by the serial killer Ed Gein.
And what could be scarier than a cannibalistic family abducting you – there is no bargaining room when you are the food!
The second was brilliance by Toby Hooper, the director, with his camera angle. I don’t think most people realize – until they watch the movie again and focus on it – that there is no penetration of the skin shown. Everything is implied, but the subconscious overrides that fact because of the way it was filmed and edited. This was true genius!
The sequels are all far inferior, so much so that I read in some magazine some years ago that Matthew McConaughy and Renee Zellweger (no idea if I spelled those surnames correct) threatened to sue the distribution company – once they became famous - to suppress the one in which they both appeared.
It didn’t work, obviously, because I saw it on video many years ago.
It is also difficult to judge the one with Jessica Biel…because it was Jessica Biel…
(Yup, still hot-blooded)
And just an example about my statement about comedy – in one of them (the prequel) – R. Lee Ermey cuts off his father’s other leg with a chainsaw when the shit hits the fan, and when asked why, he shrugs and says “For balance…”
Loved that scene!
At the end of the 70’s another young filmmaker made a permanent impression on this specific genre and this brings us to my personal favourite slasher movie of all time:
HALLOWEEN
John Carpenter had a brilliant vision but not the budget to do honor to this script that he co-wrote (my apologies, madam, I can’t remember your name…). With a measly $300 000, this movie was shot in something like a month (Thanks, JJ!).
Carpenter cast an unknown Jamie Lee Curtis as the lead, mostly because he was a fan of her mother Janet Leigh, who had the honor of doing the first shower seen in mainstream cinema. It was in this little movie called PSYCHO, don’t know if you’ve heard of it. And Curtis got a paycheck of only $ 7 000.
The movie grossed over 40 million dollars at the box office, but who is counting, right.
As you can probably gather from this I have done some research on this movie years ago.
Anyway, the reason this movie turned out to be such a masterpiece – again, in my opinion, is the use of music to create tension.
(Side note: John Carpenter also composed the music for the film)
At the end of the day, Michael Myers only kills about six people in the movie – a very low count for a slasher movie – but all the tension comes from the psychological aspect of the movie. The “where-is-the-killer-hiding” scenario, where you tense up, relax, tense up, relax, and WHAM! You jump.
As far as psychological horror goes, I have not seen anything that comes even close to the brilliance of this movie.
Which brings us to today, which brings us to sequel number 104, isn’t it? And it seems that Jamie Lee Curtis is just as hard to kill as Michael…
No, just no.
Then the 80’s came around and suddenly it wasn’t safe to go camping anymore, thanks to the movie FRIDAY THE 13th.
Yes, someone will have sex and then die shorty after – this is the movie that lay the ground rules for surviving a horror movie in the 80’s. The geeky virgin will survive. Etc. etc. etc.
Remember, you have to think in terms of the audience not being used to all of this.
However, the thing that pushed this movie above the others was the brilliant fucking twist. Spoiler alert!!! Jason Voorhees doesn’t kill anybody until the second movie. It was the most shocking thing since Luke found out who his father is…
And in 1984 Wes Craven took us to one of the most recognizable streets in the world with A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Yeah, girls, a very young Johnny Depp appeared in the movie and no, he didn’t survive. Um, spoiler alert?
The brilliance of this one? The monster, Freddy Krueger, comes to get you in your sleep. There is just no way to escape from him. Everybody HAS to sleep. He is the monster that can’t be killed. And halfway through the movie you realize that you have no idea whether the characters are sleeping or awake anymore. A bit of mind fuck 101.
Hey, I can go on and on about this subject, but this is only a review, so I’m gonna let you go at this stage. There are movies I didn’t mention here that deserves recognition, but my time is up.
Recommended to all horror fans!
November 26, 2016
I think Bryan Smith has outdone himself with this book - which is the fourth book I've read by the author. I think there's more blood, gore, torture, depravity and insanity than: Depraved 1 & 2 - and Slowly We Rot.
Most people will experience some form of bullying in their lives, but most will not have gone through the same trauma and humiliation that Elliot Parker suffered by his tormentors - which is the catalyst for future events on Halloween. Although, there is another tragedy that takes place on the same night, and that was probably the tipping point - which led to the creation of 'The Ghost of Halloween Past' twenty five years later. Elliot Parker hates Halloween.
Initially, I was on the side of the Avenger - until he started doing things that were beyond reasonable. Parker has been spending the last twenty five years brooding, fantasising, and slowly drifting into madness. Then he stops taking the meds he was prescribed - and he finally snaps; where the fantasy is going to become a reality for his former antagonists - and other people who are innocent of any wrongdoing against him; because of the hatred that's been festering inside of him for so many years. As there are thirty one days in October; that is how many people he wants to eliminate. One for each day, I guess... and he has some creative ways of killing/torturing and psychologically screwing with his victims. He certainly keeps the Sheriff's department busy with all the ensuing carnage that's unleashed in Willow Springs, TN.
The story vacillates from the present to the past, every so often - so you get an insight into what Elliot has been going through most of his life. For someone who is very meticulous and organised, he was also very clumsy, at times - which led to some hilarious situations. The sex scenes were amusing, as well - where most of the characters head straight for the sweet spot, with little foreplay - but there is another reason why they were quite funny, and messy.
Anyway, I really liked the book - which reminded me of the movies: Halloween, Friday 13th and Hostel, etcetera.
Most people will experience some form of bullying in their lives, but most will not have gone through the same trauma and humiliation that Elliot Parker suffered by his tormentors - which is the catalyst for future events on Halloween. Although, there is another tragedy that takes place on the same night, and that was probably the tipping point - which led to the creation of 'The Ghost of Halloween Past' twenty five years later. Elliot Parker hates Halloween.
Initially, I was on the side of the Avenger - until he started doing things that were beyond reasonable. Parker has been spending the last twenty five years brooding, fantasising, and slowly drifting into madness. Then he stops taking the meds he was prescribed - and he finally snaps; where the fantasy is going to become a reality for his former antagonists - and other people who are innocent of any wrongdoing against him; because of the hatred that's been festering inside of him for so many years. As there are thirty one days in October; that is how many people he wants to eliminate. One for each day, I guess... and he has some creative ways of killing/torturing and psychologically screwing with his victims. He certainly keeps the Sheriff's department busy with all the ensuing carnage that's unleashed in Willow Springs, TN.
The story vacillates from the present to the past, every so often - so you get an insight into what Elliot has been going through most of his life. For someone who is very meticulous and organised, he was also very clumsy, at times - which led to some hilarious situations. The sex scenes were amusing, as well - where most of the characters head straight for the sweet spot, with little foreplay - but there is another reason why they were quite funny, and messy.
Anyway, I really liked the book - which reminded me of the movies: Halloween, Friday 13th and Hostel, etcetera.
January 28, 2016
Just in time for Halloween. Bryan Smith lets loose with an arsenal of weapons of human destruction. Everything from axes, machetes, drills and bone saws. This novel of revenge is hip deep in gore, guts and gratuitous sex and violence as only Mr. Smith can ooze forth. If one has squeamish tendencies or doesn't like buckets of blood then it will cause much consternation and skipped pages. If the fear of random acts of violence put you on edge or even the deaths of those who may or may not deserve it then beware.
Brian Smith has carved out (so to speak) his own niche with his novels. Some have dark threads of humor or irony running through them. This book doesn't. A non-stop unrelenting kill fest.
Brian Smith has carved out (so to speak) his own niche with his novels. Some have dark threads of humor or irony running through them. This book doesn't. A non-stop unrelenting kill fest.
March 22, 2016
Bryan Smith delivers on virtually every front with this homage to all things '80s slasher films. A relentless killer with a traumatised past, a host of unlikable characters ready for the taking/stabbing/strangling/decapitating/etc, and a bunch of clueless law enforcers doing their best to stop the madman before Halloween comes round, are all present for this "fun" trip down serial killer lane.
Smith paints his story with effortless, graceful prose that almost seems too good for the subject matter. But assuming this type of book is your cup of tea, you're all but guaranteed to enjoy yourself. The gore is plentiful, the kill count is high, and the breaking of the narrative with flashback chapters to paint the picture as to why the killer became what he is, works particularly well.
Perhaps the one area All Hallow's Dead does fall down in, however - both as an ode to the '80s slasher and as a strong book in its own right - is with the lack of a "final girl", or indeed any major protagonist to root for. Instead, the closest thing to heroic characters which Smith presents are an overweight sheriff who takes a heck of a long time to get anywhere with the case, a previous tormentor of the killer who ends up spending most of the page count tied to a chair, and a woman from the killer's past who does little more than talk the final girl talk, rather than walk her walk.
The killer's plans for revenge aren't exactly well thought through either. The bullies who tormented him the worst are dispatched far too easily, while the one that showed him a modicum of humanity is treated to the worst of what takes place. I can buy that the killer is deranged and prone to irrationality and impulsiveness, but I found him difficult to buy into when the very point to his motivating plan is so warped.
Nevertheless, this is a quality read from one of the best in the business going about his business in a reliable way. Don't wait for next Halloween, get this one ASAP!
3.5 Blood-Spattered Machetes for All Hallow's Dead.
Smith paints his story with effortless, graceful prose that almost seems too good for the subject matter. But assuming this type of book is your cup of tea, you're all but guaranteed to enjoy yourself. The gore is plentiful, the kill count is high, and the breaking of the narrative with flashback chapters to paint the picture as to why the killer became what he is, works particularly well.
Perhaps the one area All Hallow's Dead does fall down in, however - both as an ode to the '80s slasher and as a strong book in its own right - is with the lack of a "final girl", or indeed any major protagonist to root for. Instead, the closest thing to heroic characters which Smith presents are an overweight sheriff who takes a heck of a long time to get anywhere with the case, a previous tormentor of the killer who ends up spending most of the page count tied to a chair, and a woman from the killer's past who does little more than talk the final girl talk, rather than walk her walk.
The killer's plans for revenge aren't exactly well thought through either. The bullies who tormented him the worst are dispatched far too easily, while the one that showed him a modicum of humanity is treated to the worst of what takes place. I can buy that the killer is deranged and prone to irrationality and impulsiveness, but I found him difficult to buy into when the very point to his motivating plan is so warped.
Nevertheless, this is a quality read from one of the best in the business going about his business in a reliable way. Don't wait for next Halloween, get this one ASAP!
3.5 Blood-Spattered Machetes for All Hallow's Dead.
November 2, 2015
Bryan Smith's work needs no introduction, although if you've read online reviews, or listen to Brian Keene's horror podcast, his novel SLOWLY WE ROT may be his finest work to date (which I have yet to read...yet). But ALL HALLOW'S DEAD is an homage to all those cheesy but nasty fun slasher flicks of the 70's and 80's.
Young Elliot Parker had been traumatized by a gang of middle school bullies, something that affected him for the rest of his life. And because this happened on Halloween, Elliot developed a hatred of the holiday, almost as deep as his hatred of his tormentors.
Many years later, as Halloween approaches, Elliot has plans for those who tortured him unspeakably. And he won't stop until he kills 31 people.
Brutal and unrelenting, Smith continues to deliver. So carve that jack o' lantern, light a candle inside, and beware!
Highly recommended!
Young Elliot Parker had been traumatized by a gang of middle school bullies, something that affected him for the rest of his life. And because this happened on Halloween, Elliot developed a hatred of the holiday, almost as deep as his hatred of his tormentors.
Many years later, as Halloween approaches, Elliot has plans for those who tortured him unspeakably. And he won't stop until he kills 31 people.
Brutal and unrelenting, Smith continues to deliver. So carve that jack o' lantern, light a candle inside, and beware!
Highly recommended!
October 29, 2016
RIGHT THE WRONGS!
KILL THE WHORES!
KILL!
KILL!
KILL!
... because for someone Halloween never ends.
My first Bryan Smith's novel was a real blast of a read and surely is not going to be the last, a great homage to '80 slasher movies (killer's outfit is almost the same of "Prom night"), with well developed characters, chills, gore (if you can't stand "torture-porn" horror stay very far away from this book, you are warned!) and a very sad "killer origin" story: young Elliot Parker is tortured and left in the woods by classmates who pushed too far their bullying... When he finally comes back after this long traumatizing Halloween he finds out his sick brother passed away without he could say goodbye. Now Elliott hates Halloween for good, and years later he's going to have his vengeance against his tormentors... And the rest of the world.
A great extreme horror Halloween tale, absolutely not for the feint-hearted.
June 18, 2021
I read this because I love slasher movies, and I wanted to delve into the new slasher lit. The novel has good scenes, but becomes too long and over elaborate. This sort of story is better kept short.
November 1, 2015
All Hallow's Dead is Bryan Smith's ode to the classic 80s slasher movie. The killer's goal is to kill 31 people in the week leading up to Halloween, so there is almost nonstop carnage. Some slasher movies would be full of scenes of people creeping around playing cat-and-mouse with the killer, which usually ended up being boring. Bryan Smith has cut out the fat and All Hallow's Dead goes straight for the throat and never stops.
At a certain point in the book the setting changes and it almost feels like the reader has entered a different story. This part is a perfect homage to the genre, right down to the convention of naming characters after cult horror icons. Everything ties back together eventually, but this portion of the book was my favorite part and took me right back to watching rented VHS tapes late at night, knowing I was probably too young to be seeing what I was seeing.
It seemed like Mr. Smith was having a lot of fun writing All Hallow's Dead and this translates to the reader. Social consciousness be damned...this is sleazy, gory fun! Highly recommended.
At a certain point in the book the setting changes and it almost feels like the reader has entered a different story. This part is a perfect homage to the genre, right down to the convention of naming characters after cult horror icons. Everything ties back together eventually, but this portion of the book was my favorite part and took me right back to watching rented VHS tapes late at night, knowing I was probably too young to be seeing what I was seeing.
It seemed like Mr. Smith was having a lot of fun writing All Hallow's Dead and this translates to the reader. Social consciousness be damned...this is sleazy, gory fun! Highly recommended.
November 1, 2022
Szukacie świetnego slashera na Halloween? Mam dla Was coś, co idealnie wpasuje się w ten klimat 🎃
Ostatni tydzień przed Halloween, a w miasteczku Willlow Springs sieje postrach obłąkany morderca. Pozostawia za sobą krwawy szlak pełen stosów trupów... i zakrwawione dynie. Zwyrodnialec pragnie zabić trzydzieści jeden osób nim nadejdzie Halloween, a to wszystko w ramach zemsty na oprawcach. Im bliżej Halloween tym coraz bardziej desperacko policja usiłuje powstrzymać krwawy chaos...
Nie mam wątpliwości, że "Wszystkie święta umarły" to typowy slasher. Czyhający potwór i rosnąca ilość trupów. Retrospekcje do przeszłości ujawniają nam gehennę jaką szaleniec przeżył w dzieciństwie. Co dokładnie wydarzyło się dwadzieścia pięć lat temu i co sprawiło, że morderca się uaktywnił?
Bryan napisał jednostrzałówkę na wolny wieczór, która jednocześnie daje do myślenia. Jak bardzo odrzucenie i przemoc w czasach szkolnych odbija się w dorosłym życiu? Czy po traumatycznych zdarzeniach pozostawiających ślad na duszy można być jeszcze normalnym człowiekiem?
Jeśli uwielbiacie krwawe jatki, to ta książka jest idealna dla Was. Poczujecie się jakbyście brali udział w morderczym wyścigu, gdzie stawką jest Wasze życie.
Bawiłam się przy tym świetnie 🎃
Ostatni tydzień przed Halloween, a w miasteczku Willlow Springs sieje postrach obłąkany morderca. Pozostawia za sobą krwawy szlak pełen stosów trupów... i zakrwawione dynie. Zwyrodnialec pragnie zabić trzydzieści jeden osób nim nadejdzie Halloween, a to wszystko w ramach zemsty na oprawcach. Im bliżej Halloween tym coraz bardziej desperacko policja usiłuje powstrzymać krwawy chaos...
Nie mam wątpliwości, że "Wszystkie święta umarły" to typowy slasher. Czyhający potwór i rosnąca ilość trupów. Retrospekcje do przeszłości ujawniają nam gehennę jaką szaleniec przeżył w dzieciństwie. Co dokładnie wydarzyło się dwadzieścia pięć lat temu i co sprawiło, że morderca się uaktywnił?
Bryan napisał jednostrzałówkę na wolny wieczór, która jednocześnie daje do myślenia. Jak bardzo odrzucenie i przemoc w czasach szkolnych odbija się w dorosłym życiu? Czy po traumatycznych zdarzeniach pozostawiających ślad na duszy można być jeszcze normalnym człowiekiem?
Jeśli uwielbiacie krwawe jatki, to ta książka jest idealna dla Was. Poczujecie się jakbyście brali udział w morderczym wyścigu, gdzie stawką jest Wasze życie.
Bawiłam się przy tym świetnie 🎃
July 26, 2021
Elliot was a very unpopular boy in highschool, and got teased mercilessly, especially by one particular group of kids. One night, they take it too far and torture Elliot in the woods for hours. He never forgets that night and spends the next 20 years stewing in anger, imagining taking his revenge.
Finally one Halloween season, he comes for every member of the group, but not just them, he actually vows he wants to kill 31 people, and begins picking them off left and right. Old bullies, random teenagers, old crushes - no one is safe from Elliot.
Finally one Halloween season, he comes for every member of the group, but not just them, he actually vows he wants to kill 31 people, and begins picking them off left and right. Old bullies, random teenagers, old crushes - no one is safe from Elliot.
June 6, 2017
I enjoy a good slasher movie. All those classics from the late 70's into the 80's. This book was a homage to all those movies with "torture porn" added to the mix. So one knows what to expect when reading this book. Plenty of blood, guts and gore horror. An out and out sex and violence book, nasty and brutal.
That is what I got. Murder, torture and sex chapter after chapter. The killer is seeking revenge for a particular incident in his childhood and he has it all planned out to the letter. He goes on a non-stop killing rampage which includes innocent people who are not connected to the incident. He is full of hate and anger, which has been raging inside him for years. The book has flashbacks to his childhood and his growing into a psychopath.
The book is well written and moves at a great pace. There is no slow filler here as the killing spree starts and is relentless. There is no irony or salvation in this book. No character to empathise with. Everyone has their faults and are slaughtered for them.
An entertaining read and I liked it.
That is what I got. Murder, torture and sex chapter after chapter. The killer is seeking revenge for a particular incident in his childhood and he has it all planned out to the letter. He goes on a non-stop killing rampage which includes innocent people who are not connected to the incident. He is full of hate and anger, which has been raging inside him for years. The book has flashbacks to his childhood and his growing into a psychopath.
The book is well written and moves at a great pace. There is no slow filler here as the killing spree starts and is relentless. There is no irony or salvation in this book. No character to empathise with. Everyone has their faults and are slaughtered for them.
An entertaining read and I liked it.
October 18, 2023
Nie udający niczego więcej horror klasy B. Błyskawiczna akcja, psychopata, zemsta, dużo trupów, seks, flaki, dynie, czas Halloween. Końcowe rozdziały mają więcej zastojów oraz zakończenie - domyślałam się że takie będzie. Na Halloween lektura idealna!
Wersja ebook ma masę błędów i tłumaczenie momentami jak z translatora Google. Wstyd.
Wersja ebook ma masę błędów i tłumaczenie momentami jak z translatora Google. Wstyd.
October 1, 2015
Great Halloween Read
A violent gory Halloween themed killfest! All the things you'd expect from a Bryan Smith book plus. At one point felt a little like two separate stories but they came back together with a bang.
A violent gory Halloween themed killfest! All the things you'd expect from a Bryan Smith book plus. At one point felt a little like two separate stories but they came back together with a bang.
February 8, 2016
Great book. Very gory and entertaining. Will be reading more by this author!
November 4, 2022
2.5 just take place on Halloween geez
November 11, 2015
All Hallows Dead is a nod to the good old slasher flicks of the 80's, and damn, it does a good job!
A ruthless killer, sharp weapons, plenty of blood and a little sex. All of it comes together in the perfect storm of slasher goodness.
I'm a recent convert of Bryan Smith, but already a firm fan.
Just seeing his name of the cover is enough for me to pick it up and each novel just gets better than the last.
Great author, great story, great killer.
A ruthless killer, sharp weapons, plenty of blood and a little sex. All of it comes together in the perfect storm of slasher goodness.
I'm a recent convert of Bryan Smith, but already a firm fan.
Just seeing his name of the cover is enough for me to pick it up and each novel just gets better than the last.
Great author, great story, great killer.
May 16, 2016
Cool throw back to the 80's. I needed that
Read
January 28, 2016This is copy 51 of 55 copies signed and numbered by Bryan Smith.
November 10, 2025
Very enjoyable book that's a good old fashioned gory revenge slasher story. There's also a trauma/mental health theme as the antagonist is seeking revenge against the men who bullied him twenty five years earlier.
I could really feel empathy for Elliot, even though he was the bad guy. But he was a villain that was made from the trauma he endured as a teen. So was he really the monster?
One of the things I liked best was the interspersed chapters that happened in the past. That was integral to me understanding how and why Elliot is the way he is.
A great Halloween horror read that made me imagine this would make one heck of a movie.
I could really feel empathy for Elliot, even though he was the bad guy. But he was a villain that was made from the trauma he endured as a teen. So was he really the monster?
One of the things I liked best was the interspersed chapters that happened in the past. That was integral to me understanding how and why Elliot is the way he is.
A great Halloween horror read that made me imagine this would make one heck of a movie.
October 18, 2021
I found this difficult at times to follow who was who do to the amount of characters that would be introduced just to be killed. Also, there was nobody to root for. The killer was a piece of shit and the main victims were too, so you were really just there for the kills. Huge body count and the kills are often brutal so that wad nice.
October 10, 2023
This is a mixed bag. It seemed like the writer was torn between trying to do a semi-serious exploration on the inner psyche of a murderer and an overly gorey mean spirited slasher in the style of Terrifier.
The split is the only reason this is getting a three because there were some good bits of character writing but it was too mean spirited for my tastes.
The split is the only reason this is getting a three because there were some good bits of character writing but it was too mean spirited for my tastes.
October 11, 2025
I’m the Ghost of Halloween Past. I’ve come to visit vengeance upon this town and those who hurt me long ago.
"All Hallow's Dead" is only my second read from author Bryan Smith, after the extremely aptly named "The Freakshow", which I thoroughly enjoyed and quite often revisit in my nightmares whenever even a subtle hint of a clown or the circus crosses my brainpan. So I don't know if that qualifies me as someone who can make a general, um, generalization about his writing… but I'm going to anyway. Smith likes to create a scenario where for one reason or another, a small town - noting both books took place in Somewhere, Tennessee - is just going about existing as places like this tend to do when all hell breaks loose. And by that I mean that just about every living being that we see for any amount of time are killed in extremely gory and brutal ways.
I guess the pertinent question is obvious—what happened to the man’s head?
"Dead" is, however, very different than "Freakshow" in many ways. No it's no less well-formulated or executed, though I do have a few issues with the immediate reveal of who our serial killer is, where there is zero surprise in how or why this came to be. But just as before, we, the readers that is, are literally dropped into the violence, gore, and utter cruelty of this situation from the get-go. However, in this case, a lot of the violence, no matter how depraved or unforgiving in nature, is well-explained and, well, justified (ok many are though arguably not all of them qualified [trust me, just play along with that observation]). To be clear(er), this is an absolutely perfect tribute to the bloodiest of bloody Halloween movies that have ever been made - noting the book is specifically in part "dedicated to 80’s slasher cinema in general." However, there are no heroes here and it's honestly hard to even sympathize with many of the victims.
I am a little crazy. I’ve been diagnosed with multiple mental disorders over the years.
This story then comes down essentially to a ledger that keeps track of who will die and in what horrible ways. I mean, one could also make a case for there being very little plot to the book aside from killing, killing, and more killing. I think it comes to about 267 pages of uninterupted mayhem in that regard, where we just revisit a lot of players these decades later to see how far they've fallen in terms of their unsuccessful and more often than not pathetic lives. Not that any of that is justification in itself for what happens to them, but it does act to frame this "horror film without pause" with some kind of context.
We did something a long time ago. Something really bad.
I guess we could say that this book is mostly about poor and truly unloved Elliot Parker. Elliot is the typical shy boy who gets picked up by all the bullies in school. Sadly, Elliot's family life is also filled with tragedy, as his beloved brother lies dying of cancer which has turned their parents into screaming alcoholics, unable to face the situation in any kind of rational way. And then "The Event" - which may be the most troubling part of the whole book - happens which leaves Elliot not just scarred but hating Halloween, hating life, and developing into a deeply, DEEPLY disturbed young man. Unable to face other humans, about the only good thing (?) that ever happens to him is he wins some money in a class action suit "against the makers of a psychotropic drug he’d taken for many years", which at very least gives him - and the author - a feasible explanation about how he's able to skip things like working for a living while still buying all the tools of his "trade" as well as his eventual torture chamber of horrors. Oh and paying for therapy which he argues later did no good at all. He's probably got a point there…
This is my domain, my kingdom of pain. In here, I can do whatever I want.
And what with Elliot setting a goal - 31 deaths by Halloween - we're given a somewhat rough guide as to how long this whole murder-fest is going to continue. The story even takes some really weird and essentially sharp turns away from the central plot to help build those numbers, but it never really took us away from what was going on. I mean, come on, everyone that likes slasher stuff can agree to a quick visit to a lake house full of young adults having often kinky sex and getting wasted, right ("Boy has the attention span of a magpie. Good thing he has a big dick.")? I lost count after I think it was 26 kills, but you can't argue that he didn't give it the ol' college try! I did find it somewhat amusing that it takes the sheriff losing his job to get him to actually spring into whatever action his fat ass was capable of, but not every hero is going to look like Dwayne Johnson after a workout.
Kill me… Seriously, just kill me… Your grudge is with me.
So yeah, if you're curious, this definitely qualifies as splatterpunk although my own favorite renditions of same - like again with "Freakshow" or Kristopher Triana's "Toxic Love" - involve a little more bizarreness to go along with the buckets and buckets of gore. But if you're up for essentially a book doesn't waste time on pretty sunsets and that just sees someone kill his way from the start to the finish, well, this is as good a stop as any! And the cover* is perfectly executed as well, as this is definitely a love story to any movie you've ever seen that involved at least one throat being severed - along with a handful of beheadings - not to mention axes and other sharp stabby things being stuck in all possible anatomical locations! Now eat all your brain soup before bed-time and we'll see you again soon!
I’m next… I’m the only one left, so the fucking psycho’s definitely coming after me soon.
*Just one more observation: Kristopher Rufty did the cover! That's right, the same guy that writes equally scary stuff including "Prank Night" which I just finished a few days ago! Multi-talented crew indeed!
"All Hallow's Dead" is only my second read from author Bryan Smith, after the extremely aptly named "The Freakshow", which I thoroughly enjoyed and quite often revisit in my nightmares whenever even a subtle hint of a clown or the circus crosses my brainpan. So I don't know if that qualifies me as someone who can make a general, um, generalization about his writing… but I'm going to anyway. Smith likes to create a scenario where for one reason or another, a small town - noting both books took place in Somewhere, Tennessee - is just going about existing as places like this tend to do when all hell breaks loose. And by that I mean that just about every living being that we see for any amount of time are killed in extremely gory and brutal ways.
I guess the pertinent question is obvious—what happened to the man’s head?
"Dead" is, however, very different than "Freakshow" in many ways. No it's no less well-formulated or executed, though I do have a few issues with the immediate reveal of who our serial killer is, where there is zero surprise in how or why this came to be. But just as before, we, the readers that is, are literally dropped into the violence, gore, and utter cruelty of this situation from the get-go. However, in this case, a lot of the violence, no matter how depraved or unforgiving in nature, is well-explained and, well, justified (ok many are though arguably not all of them qualified [trust me, just play along with that observation]). To be clear(er), this is an absolutely perfect tribute to the bloodiest of bloody Halloween movies that have ever been made - noting the book is specifically in part "dedicated to 80’s slasher cinema in general." However, there are no heroes here and it's honestly hard to even sympathize with many of the victims.
I am a little crazy. I’ve been diagnosed with multiple mental disorders over the years.
This story then comes down essentially to a ledger that keeps track of who will die and in what horrible ways. I mean, one could also make a case for there being very little plot to the book aside from killing, killing, and more killing. I think it comes to about 267 pages of uninterupted mayhem in that regard, where we just revisit a lot of players these decades later to see how far they've fallen in terms of their unsuccessful and more often than not pathetic lives. Not that any of that is justification in itself for what happens to them, but it does act to frame this "horror film without pause" with some kind of context.
We did something a long time ago. Something really bad.
I guess we could say that this book is mostly about poor and truly unloved Elliot Parker. Elliot is the typical shy boy who gets picked up by all the bullies in school. Sadly, Elliot's family life is also filled with tragedy, as his beloved brother lies dying of cancer which has turned their parents into screaming alcoholics, unable to face the situation in any kind of rational way. And then "The Event" - which may be the most troubling part of the whole book - happens which leaves Elliot not just scarred but hating Halloween, hating life, and developing into a deeply, DEEPLY disturbed young man. Unable to face other humans, about the only good thing (?) that ever happens to him is he wins some money in a class action suit "against the makers of a psychotropic drug he’d taken for many years", which at very least gives him - and the author - a feasible explanation about how he's able to skip things like working for a living while still buying all the tools of his "trade" as well as his eventual torture chamber of horrors. Oh and paying for therapy which he argues later did no good at all. He's probably got a point there…
This is my domain, my kingdom of pain. In here, I can do whatever I want.
And what with Elliot setting a goal - 31 deaths by Halloween - we're given a somewhat rough guide as to how long this whole murder-fest is going to continue. The story even takes some really weird and essentially sharp turns away from the central plot to help build those numbers, but it never really took us away from what was going on. I mean, come on, everyone that likes slasher stuff can agree to a quick visit to a lake house full of young adults having often kinky sex and getting wasted, right ("Boy has the attention span of a magpie. Good thing he has a big dick.")? I lost count after I think it was 26 kills, but you can't argue that he didn't give it the ol' college try! I did find it somewhat amusing that it takes the sheriff losing his job to get him to actually spring into whatever action his fat ass was capable of, but not every hero is going to look like Dwayne Johnson after a workout.
Kill me… Seriously, just kill me… Your grudge is with me.
So yeah, if you're curious, this definitely qualifies as splatterpunk although my own favorite renditions of same - like again with "Freakshow" or Kristopher Triana's "Toxic Love" - involve a little more bizarreness to go along with the buckets and buckets of gore. But if you're up for essentially a book doesn't waste time on pretty sunsets and that just sees someone kill his way from the start to the finish, well, this is as good a stop as any! And the cover* is perfectly executed as well, as this is definitely a love story to any movie you've ever seen that involved at least one throat being severed - along with a handful of beheadings - not to mention axes and other sharp stabby things being stuck in all possible anatomical locations! Now eat all your brain soup before bed-time and we'll see you again soon!
I’m next… I’m the only one left, so the fucking psycho’s definitely coming after me soon.
*Just one more observation: Kristopher Rufty did the cover! That's right, the same guy that writes equally scary stuff including "Prank Night" which I just finished a few days ago! Multi-talented crew indeed!
May 18, 2016
A good quick read that follows a B-movie horror/slasher plot. A kid is traumatized by a gang of bullies and grows up to take his vengeance on them. But it's deeper than that. The main character, Chuck Everly, showed the kid some mercy back then. Just a little. But maybe it was enough to salve his own conscience in a way that some of the others were not able to do. He has a good life, a beautiful wife, a couple of nice kids, a good job and a nice house, and a hot neighbor who's wanting more than the casual affair that Chuck is interested in. But suddenly people start dying around him, starting with the ringleader from back when they tortured that kid years ago.
And it's coming back to bite Chuck in the butt.
The traumatized kid has a lofty goal: thirty-one kills by Halloween. That ringleader was only the first.
This is a well-written genre piece that worked for me. I think Bryan Smith tells a great horror story, and this one will keep you reading, that is, if you don't mind reading stories about horrific events.
And it's coming back to bite Chuck in the butt.
The traumatized kid has a lofty goal: thirty-one kills by Halloween. That ringleader was only the first.
This is a well-written genre piece that worked for me. I think Bryan Smith tells a great horror story, and this one will keep you reading, that is, if you don't mind reading stories about horrific events.
October 29, 2016
Look, I don't mind gore and violence in a book, especially a horror book. But when it involves
While many non-violent scenes in the book were well written, they also felt like filler until the next act of violence occurred and didn't really move the story forward.
I'm not a prude (ok, maybe a little bit) but the graphic sex scenes, although mostly brief, were really unnecessary and not something I like in novels.
Overall the book felt disjointed and not well done. Not recommended unless you have a very strong stomach and don't care that there isn't really much of a story, just violence.
While many non-violent scenes in the book were well written, they also felt like filler until the next act of violence occurred and didn't really move the story forward.
I'm not a prude (ok, maybe a little bit) but the graphic sex scenes, although mostly brief, were really unnecessary and not something I like in novels.
Overall the book felt disjointed and not well done. Not recommended unless you have a very strong stomach and don't care that there isn't really much of a story, just violence.
May 23, 2016
I'd Watch This Movie
Another winner from Mr. Smith. He artfully creates a slasher novel with the requisite theme (31 kills by Halloween). The story crackles along and we have the usual kills and Gore, but what really made this book special was the feeling of tragedy and sadness throughout. Our killer has a tragic reason for killing and you just can't help feeling sorry for him. In theory, it should be a bit cliche, but Smith is talented enough to avoid this. The final twenty or so pages evoked a sadness that was surprisingly effective. HIGHLY recommended. Keep em coming, Bryan Smith!
Another winner from Mr. Smith. He artfully creates a slasher novel with the requisite theme (31 kills by Halloween). The story crackles along and we have the usual kills and Gore, but what really made this book special was the feeling of tragedy and sadness throughout. Our killer has a tragic reason for killing and you just can't help feeling sorry for him. In theory, it should be a bit cliche, but Smith is talented enough to avoid this. The final twenty or so pages evoked a sadness that was surprisingly effective. HIGHLY recommended. Keep em coming, Bryan Smith!
October 14, 2017
A just okay Halloween slasher novel from Bryan Smith. A great premise and some believable characters. Overall, though, it felt like Smith tried to jam too much stuff into this book. There are lengthy passages about the killer's "extra curricular" murders that felt like a solid waste of time. This book also took a turn into the "torture porn" category, an aspect of horror I don't enjoy. So, basically, a good premise and setup and a compelling first half or so devolved into, sadly, boring torture and pointless slaughter. The conclusion was decent and actually had some emotional heft. Overall, I would only recommend this to diehard Bryan Smith fans.
April 17, 2016
Quick and thrilling read! The writing flowed so it was just like an 80's slasher-movie going through my head. This is a tale where you can't help but root for the "bad guy" a little bit. I don't want to give away too much , but if you enjoy horror and can handle gore, then I suggest you try this book out! My only regret is I kind of wish I would have read it closer to Halloween =)
May 1, 2016
Fantastic! This book was a lovely mixture of revenge, torture porn, teen slasher, psychotic and deranged protagonist, and just awesome gory violence. Loved every second! Perfect fall time reading- may read again when it's closer to October!
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