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Wicked Prayers
Wicked Prayers is the 2017 GOLD MEDAL WINNER (1st place) in the Reader's Favorite International book competition for Horror-Fiction! Multiple award winning author S.D. Moore's Wicked Prayers is a fast paced, action packed horror story in which an unusual band of heroes desperately fight all manner of hellish incarnations to thwart Evil and his infectious hideous creatures. The book reads like a graphic novel without pictures, but plays like an action packed horror movie in your mind. In the action filled spirit of Underworld, 28 Days Later, and From Dusk 'til Dawn - Wicked Prayers offers original creatures for a helluva scary fun thrill ride. May no more dark doors be opened tonight. Contains mystery, action, supernatural erotic scenes, intense violence, adult language, comedy and a little faith.
- GenresHorror
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 21, 2016
3 people are currently reading
372 people want to read
About the author
S.D. Moore
7 books6 followersS.D. Moore is a retired member of the United States Air Force. She suffered a physical injury during military service that left the use of only one half of the brain's communication sector.
Moore has taught numerous technical and Leadership classes leading her to write her first book Basics to Business Minding Your Business with Excel. . The second volume in her children's series won a first prize Reader Views Award. She also writes adult fiction.
Moore has taught numerous technical and Leadership classes leading her to write her first book Basics to Business Minding Your Business with Excel. . The second volume in her children's series won a first prize Reader Views Award. She also writes adult fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 13, 2017
It is possible to describe this book with one word, and Quentin Tarantino fans will understand: “Grindhouse.” Tarantino’s first offering in this double-feature was about humans turning into zombies, and the never-ending battle of the main characters to stay alive. “Wicked Prayers” is in the same mode, where people die so fast you barely get to know their names. Unfortunately, there are issues with the book and that is a shame, because the author’s prose demonstrate that she possesses the ability to be a competent writer. Here’s the good and the not-so-good:
For adrenaline junkies who crave non-stop action, this is the book for you. Author S. D. Moore crams two books of action into 248 pages, and you can’t tell the dying humans without a scorecard. On the downside, there are so many characters introduced who die off within pages (and sometimes paragraphs) that your head will swim with so much information it might feel it will explode. I became used to this early on and focused on the living. While some of you might be able to taper the barrage of names to a minor factor, it may be distracting for other readers.
The use of third person present tense muted a book that had the opportunity to be much more intense. This tense turned some of the passages into a clinical presentation rather than an exposition of horror. Here is an example (using “the monster” to avoid a spoiler): “…(The monster) shakes and quakes faster and faster until he explodes into millions of fragments of blood droplets and tissue suspended in midair. The particles fall to the ground in an oil slick like pool as power is drained from the Crowd Pleaser. More Leaper attacks interrupt their macabre show so Dutch’s group returns to the fight.” The emotionless presentation places all the effort on the reader, and the author misses an opportunity to ramp up the horror, with the third person present tense being the main culprit.
Another issue was the conflict of back stories. Detective Del Camron tells us that the death of four cats was the most “exciting” investigation in seven years of working in sleepy Autumntown. A different interpretation is presented pages later: “Camron realized it really didn’t matter how many stabbings, shootings, or murders he investigated; he’ll never get used to seeing all the blood.” And still later in the book, Del says: “You know this town hasn’t had much more than a few burglaries and drug busts in the last five years.” Inconsistencies like these can ruin the book for careful readers.
When I relate this book to “Grindhouse” – and I really enjoyed the zombie movie – I am also talking about the world that television and movies can create. Although Moore’s police detective is a main character, some of the police procedures outlined in this book are nowhere near what happens in real life. Only in the movies do police use a bullhorn to immediately speak with kidnappers, nor is the first sentence a demand sent to the kidnappers. Murder suspects are not admitted to the hospital without an officer to keep watch. Small towns where nothing ever happens don’t usually have “sharpshooters” or a SWAT team composed of their officers (they may be part of a response team, but the book didn’t present it that way).
Readers who object to vulgarities in their books should steer clear of this offering, as they are generously sprinkled throughout the book, becoming extremely heavy in the last half. There are two sex scenes, short but explicit. Formatting issues make some passages confusing (paragraphs jumbled together), and there are enough misspellings to send the editor back through for one more cleaning.
BOTTOM LINE: Pulse-pounding action and a nightmarish visit to the author’s imagination pull this book out of what could have been one or two stars. Back story inconsistencies and the curious choice of third person present tense are major reasons this is not a four or five star. Definitely a book for some readers, and not for others. Three stars.
For adrenaline junkies who crave non-stop action, this is the book for you. Author S. D. Moore crams two books of action into 248 pages, and you can’t tell the dying humans without a scorecard. On the downside, there are so many characters introduced who die off within pages (and sometimes paragraphs) that your head will swim with so much information it might feel it will explode. I became used to this early on and focused on the living. While some of you might be able to taper the barrage of names to a minor factor, it may be distracting for other readers.
The use of third person present tense muted a book that had the opportunity to be much more intense. This tense turned some of the passages into a clinical presentation rather than an exposition of horror. Here is an example (using “the monster” to avoid a spoiler): “…(The monster) shakes and quakes faster and faster until he explodes into millions of fragments of blood droplets and tissue suspended in midair. The particles fall to the ground in an oil slick like pool as power is drained from the Crowd Pleaser. More Leaper attacks interrupt their macabre show so Dutch’s group returns to the fight.” The emotionless presentation places all the effort on the reader, and the author misses an opportunity to ramp up the horror, with the third person present tense being the main culprit.
Another issue was the conflict of back stories. Detective Del Camron tells us that the death of four cats was the most “exciting” investigation in seven years of working in sleepy Autumntown. A different interpretation is presented pages later: “Camron realized it really didn’t matter how many stabbings, shootings, or murders he investigated; he’ll never get used to seeing all the blood.” And still later in the book, Del says: “You know this town hasn’t had much more than a few burglaries and drug busts in the last five years.” Inconsistencies like these can ruin the book for careful readers.
When I relate this book to “Grindhouse” – and I really enjoyed the zombie movie – I am also talking about the world that television and movies can create. Although Moore’s police detective is a main character, some of the police procedures outlined in this book are nowhere near what happens in real life. Only in the movies do police use a bullhorn to immediately speak with kidnappers, nor is the first sentence a demand sent to the kidnappers. Murder suspects are not admitted to the hospital without an officer to keep watch. Small towns where nothing ever happens don’t usually have “sharpshooters” or a SWAT team composed of their officers (they may be part of a response team, but the book didn’t present it that way).
Readers who object to vulgarities in their books should steer clear of this offering, as they are generously sprinkled throughout the book, becoming extremely heavy in the last half. There are two sex scenes, short but explicit. Formatting issues make some passages confusing (paragraphs jumbled together), and there are enough misspellings to send the editor back through for one more cleaning.
BOTTOM LINE: Pulse-pounding action and a nightmarish visit to the author’s imagination pull this book out of what could have been one or two stars. Back story inconsistencies and the curious choice of third person present tense are major reasons this is not a four or five star. Definitely a book for some readers, and not for others. Three stars.
February 12, 2017
https://anaslair.wordpress.com/2017/0...
I usually read while eating. Couldn't do that with this one.
Man, there were some disgusting bits.
Wicked Prayers started really well for me. That prologue immediately grasped my attention.
But shortly after it all went downhill.
I just could not appreciate the characters. The dialogues felt like right out of the crappiest B-movie and the plot was so messily constructed that I could not enjoy the book.
When I was coming to roughly halfway through the book it started to majorly drag out for me. There were pages and pages of useless dialogue and I often innerly yelled Come on, get to the juicy part already and cut it out with the crappy attempts at humour!
The more I read the more it felt like a parody of a horror book instead of a proper one, with soldiers throwing lines like No hot girls are getting eaten on my watch! or Yeah the frickin Beast is a beeeast!
There wasn't even a proper evolution. One minute the characters did not believe in anything supernatural and then next they are (especially our main character Del) experts on how to kill the 'monsters' and how to make the Beast weaker.
I had to keep fighting the urge to skim through the text and trudged through most of the book. More and more characters kept being introduced (or rather dumped into the story) and I just could not keep track, nor felt any will to catch up by that point.
The ARC needs major editing. Lack of punctuation, missing words and misspells (even with main characters names) were just a couple of issues I constantly found.
Wicked Prayers is one of those reads that has so much potential but when you don't have believable characters it is just ruined, at least for me.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I usually read while eating. Couldn't do that with this one.
Man, there were some disgusting bits.
Wicked Prayers started really well for me. That prologue immediately grasped my attention.
But shortly after it all went downhill.
I just could not appreciate the characters. The dialogues felt like right out of the crappiest B-movie and the plot was so messily constructed that I could not enjoy the book.
When I was coming to roughly halfway through the book it started to majorly drag out for me. There were pages and pages of useless dialogue and I often innerly yelled Come on, get to the juicy part already and cut it out with the crappy attempts at humour!
The more I read the more it felt like a parody of a horror book instead of a proper one, with soldiers throwing lines like No hot girls are getting eaten on my watch! or Yeah the frickin Beast is a beeeast!
There wasn't even a proper evolution. One minute the characters did not believe in anything supernatural and then next they are (especially our main character Del) experts on how to kill the 'monsters' and how to make the Beast weaker.
I had to keep fighting the urge to skim through the text and trudged through most of the book. More and more characters kept being introduced (or rather dumped into the story) and I just could not keep track, nor felt any will to catch up by that point.
The ARC needs major editing. Lack of punctuation, missing words and misspells (even with main characters names) were just a couple of issues I constantly found.
Wicked Prayers is one of those reads that has so much potential but when you don't have believable characters it is just ruined, at least for me.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
April 28, 2017
wicked Prayers by s d Moore.
The rebirth of demon Waed needs the hearts of the holly baby, the mother and father plus the babies sister Julie.
Detectives Dell Cameron and Jack Richards are on the case along with a few survivors. Can they stop all hell breaking loose?
This was a murderesque and grotesque read. absolutely fantastic. This was like one of those grind house horror movies. I could see it happening in my head as I was reading it. loved the story and the characters. Apart from demon Waed. I do hope there is more to come. This is a must read and I would highly recommend this book. 5*. Netgalley and dog ear publishing.
The rebirth of demon Waed needs the hearts of the holly baby, the mother and father plus the babies sister Julie.
Detectives Dell Cameron and Jack Richards are on the case along with a few survivors. Can they stop all hell breaking loose?
This was a murderesque and grotesque read. absolutely fantastic. This was like one of those grind house horror movies. I could see it happening in my head as I was reading it. loved the story and the characters. Apart from demon Waed. I do hope there is more to come. This is a must read and I would highly recommend this book. 5*. Netgalley and dog ear publishing.
October 16, 2017
Just my type of scary tale. It grabbed me with excitement from beginning to end. Well done! I loved it!
March 9, 2017
Reviewed by Sheri Hoyte for Reader Views (03/17)
“Wicked Prayers” by S.D. Moore is a whirlwind tale of devilish horror that will keep readers’ hearts racing as fast as they are turning the pages. Suspense, humor, drama and unsettling terror–this book has it all–but, fair warning – it’s not for the faint of heart!
On orders from her doctor to help induce labor, Elizabeth Holly recruits her teen-aged daughter Julia to accompany her on a walk. When they reach the home of crazy Old Man Wilson, Elizabeth suddenly starts vomiting, grabbing her stomach, and screaming with excruciating pain. Julia runs back home to get help, but when her and her father return, there is no sign of Elizabeth. Old Man Wilson kidnapped Elizabeth, calling her “his angel,” but John and Julia Holly soon wrest her free. During this time, Elizabeth has given birth to Waed (pronounced Wade) who grows into the Beast, an evil entity set on ruling Hell from Earth. Autumntown is soon infested with the foul creatures created by Waed, and no one is safe.
“Wicked Prayers” certainly isn’t the type of book you will be able to put down once you start reading, so be mindful of the time of day. I like to read at night before settling down and found I definitely had to change my habits with this book. Reading too close to bedtime, I found I was unable dispel certain pictures from my mind enough to relax and unwind! Now that’s scary!
I love the author’s writing style–clear, direct, and with purpose, every word enticing the reader to read on. I was lured in from the very first pages and remained hooked throughout the entire story. Well-written with vivid imagery, fast-paced action, and non-stop suspense, I was transported easily into the plot and setting. There are a lot of characters in this book and I’d advise readers not to get too bogged down in trying to remember them all. The main characters stand out significantly, with intricate personalities, and full of depth.
Greatly entertaining, terrifying, and captivating, “Wicked Prayers” by S.D. Moore is a 5-Star must read horror story that I highly recommend to satisfy even the most discriminating fans of the genre.
“Wicked Prayers” by S.D. Moore is a whirlwind tale of devilish horror that will keep readers’ hearts racing as fast as they are turning the pages. Suspense, humor, drama and unsettling terror–this book has it all–but, fair warning – it’s not for the faint of heart!
On orders from her doctor to help induce labor, Elizabeth Holly recruits her teen-aged daughter Julia to accompany her on a walk. When they reach the home of crazy Old Man Wilson, Elizabeth suddenly starts vomiting, grabbing her stomach, and screaming with excruciating pain. Julia runs back home to get help, but when her and her father return, there is no sign of Elizabeth. Old Man Wilson kidnapped Elizabeth, calling her “his angel,” but John and Julia Holly soon wrest her free. During this time, Elizabeth has given birth to Waed (pronounced Wade) who grows into the Beast, an evil entity set on ruling Hell from Earth. Autumntown is soon infested with the foul creatures created by Waed, and no one is safe.
“Wicked Prayers” certainly isn’t the type of book you will be able to put down once you start reading, so be mindful of the time of day. I like to read at night before settling down and found I definitely had to change my habits with this book. Reading too close to bedtime, I found I was unable dispel certain pictures from my mind enough to relax and unwind! Now that’s scary!
I love the author’s writing style–clear, direct, and with purpose, every word enticing the reader to read on. I was lured in from the very first pages and remained hooked throughout the entire story. Well-written with vivid imagery, fast-paced action, and non-stop suspense, I was transported easily into the plot and setting. There are a lot of characters in this book and I’d advise readers not to get too bogged down in trying to remember them all. The main characters stand out significantly, with intricate personalities, and full of depth.
Greatly entertaining, terrifying, and captivating, “Wicked Prayers” by S.D. Moore is a 5-Star must read horror story that I highly recommend to satisfy even the most discriminating fans of the genre.
February 11, 2017
A horror story with a sense of humor, Wicked Prayers tracks the rebirth of a demon and his rampage through a city. The Holly baby, aka. Waed Holly, aka. the Beast is an abomination born to a woman bred to carry it. He eats the heart of his father and mother, but to be invincible he needs to consume his sister's heart. Only a few people stand in his way, battling the Beast and the demons he creates. It's a simple story, and the fun part is the ride: the fights, the double-crosses, the chase. What could be improved is the character development. Only the two main cops fighting the demon are clearly defined. The rest of the characters are interchangeable, and the constant stream of names is simply distracting. At first I paid attention and memorized them, thinking that they'd be significant. When they weren't, it was just confusing. This book has been compared to a graphic novel, and I agree that it would make a fantastic one but, without the visual aid to distinguish the characters, it was a little hard to follow. But nobody reads these stories for the characters but for the action, and in this regard it is entertaining. So I'm giving it four stars.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Dog Ear Publishing!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Dog Ear Publishing!
August 27, 2016
This book was a great read! S.D.Moore did a fantastic job with this book. It wasn't a long read but there was so much to the story that it felt like it was longer (in a good way). Between the different things that unfold (possession, killings, evil spawn) to different methods used in fighting (a special concoction used to kill demons). It's imaginative and full of vivid imagery. There aren't pictures in the book but you can totally see the story unfolding while reading. I give it five stars for a quick pull from the start that keeps you reading and interested until the end!
February 8, 2017
4 Stars
This book has it all: humor, terror, mystery and more! It is a delightful read, well written and plotted. S. D. Moore has a sense of humor – and is not afraid to use it. It contains surprises, twists and turns. It captures your attention from page one.
I will definitely be looking for more of Ms. Moore’s novels – especially if they are like this one.
I want to send a many thanks to Netgalley and Dog Ear Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this delightful book to read!
This book has it all: humor, terror, mystery and more! It is a delightful read, well written and plotted. S. D. Moore has a sense of humor – and is not afraid to use it. It contains surprises, twists and turns. It captures your attention from page one.
I will definitely be looking for more of Ms. Moore’s novels – especially if they are like this one.
I want to send a many thanks to Netgalley and Dog Ear Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this delightful book to read!
January 5, 2017
The Wicked Prayers book was easy to read and provided insight into the belief of faith and it's powers. The book allowed me to travel into the world of evil but also gave me the tools of prayers to combat it. I truly enjoyed reading the real life experiences, with engaging characters that helped bring the book to life. I think the author put heart and soul into every chapter. Great reading.
December 30, 2017
I must really have missed something, given the high reviews. I couldn’t force myself to finish this. I am not squeamish, but the writing was amateurish and the “horror”was just gross for the shock value.
August 20, 2018
Elizabeth Holly is pregnant. She is kidnapped by her ex-husband, ex-reverend Wilson. She is saved by John, her husband and Julie, her daughter. Holly can’t help but wonder if her baby boy, Waed is evil. At the hospital, a nurse cuts out hearts and flees the hospital with baby Waed. Waed grows quickly and becomes the Beast that assaults and/or kill people in town building an army so he can reign over earth. However there are those who do fight the Beast. Will they succeed?
This novel has moments of humor even though it would be consider horror. It is full of action. I never got bored. The writing was excellent. I hope he continues to write horror as I think he is fantastic!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
This novel has moments of humor even though it would be consider horror. It is full of action. I never got bored. The writing was excellent. I hope he continues to write horror as I think he is fantastic!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
April 28, 2017
The synopsis says the book reads like a graphic novel and that's very true for this story. It hurtles along at a cracking pace taking place in just a few days overall. It's a horror story so there are some gruesome elements but overall I didn't find it scary just occasionally gross.
There are far too many characters and with the pace of the book it doesn't allow for much development of the key ones. I completely forgot who several of them were especially the reporter. She just wouldn't stay in my head. I do wonder if this would read better if it actually WAS a graphic novel.
The best descriptive elements were saved for the final 10% of the book but shoot outs are not my favourite things to read so it didn't quite work for me.
Overall it's not a bad book but I really do think I'd prefer it as a graphic novel
free Arc from netgalley
There are far too many characters and with the pace of the book it doesn't allow for much development of the key ones. I completely forgot who several of them were especially the reporter. She just wouldn't stay in my head. I do wonder if this would read better if it actually WAS a graphic novel.
The best descriptive elements were saved for the final 10% of the book but shoot outs are not my favourite things to read so it didn't quite work for me.
Overall it's not a bad book but I really do think I'd prefer it as a graphic novel
free Arc from netgalley
April 30, 2018
Elizabeth Holly is pregnant. She is kidnapped by her ex-husband, ex-reverend Wilson. She is saved by John, her husband and Julie, her daughter. Holly can’t help but wonder if her baby boy, Waed is evil. At the hospital, a nurse cuts out hearts and flees the hospital with baby Waed. Waed grows quickly and becomes the Beast that assaults and/or kill people in town building an army so he can reign over earth. However there are those who do fight the Beast. Will they succeed?
This novel has moments of humor even though it would be consider horror. It is full of action. I never got bored. The writing was excellent. I hope he continues to write horror as I think he is fantastic!
This novel has moments of humor even though it would be consider horror. It is full of action. I never got bored. The writing was excellent. I hope he continues to write horror as I think he is fantastic!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews