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Spectre
A mound of freshly piled earth trembled fiercely; the sound of desperate clawing grew louder and louder, until finally a hand burst forth, pushing itself into the world like a child from a hellish womb. As silent and insubstantial as a shadow, it had the strength of ten men, and butchered its victims with a ferocity and brutality unmatched in history. It had come from beyond the grave - and no one knew how to send it back.
- GenresHorror
365 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 24, 2024
The very prolific Robbins wrote several horror novels back in the day and Spectre ranks up there with the trashy, pulpy best of them. This starts with a bang-- two teenagers taking a shortcut through a cemetery when something grabs one from his grave and butchers him; the second kid manages to get away, but of course the cops do not believe his story...
Spectre contains aspects of a police procedural as one of the main characters, Duke, is the lead detective assigned to the 'shadow slayer' case and we follow his trials and tribulations. Robbins also introduced Susan and her brood of five kids early on when they get a great deal on a rental in Boulder, Colorado-- a huge house, fully furnished, and cheap! We know early on, even if Susan and co. are clueless, that the house was the abode of the recently buried guy the two teenagers from the prologue stumbled across in the prologue. The youngest of the kids even sees the 'shadow slayer' hanging around the house, but he seems friendly enough!
What I like most about Robbins horror novels (and I have never tried his other stuff) is how he blends dark humor with OTT plots and actions. He reminds me of William Johnstone, cranking out books every few weeks, with most of them westerns, but Johnstone's horror got formulaic quick while Robbins' horror efforts are always a different brand of trashy pulp. I also really liked the setting here as I lived in Denver around when this was set. While not really scary (although this does has some gruesome scenes), Spectre definitely entertains. Sadly, I am almost through his horror novels now. 3.5 stars, happily rounding up!!
Spectre contains aspects of a police procedural as one of the main characters, Duke, is the lead detective assigned to the 'shadow slayer' case and we follow his trials and tribulations. Robbins also introduced Susan and her brood of five kids early on when they get a great deal on a rental in Boulder, Colorado-- a huge house, fully furnished, and cheap! We know early on, even if Susan and co. are clueless, that the house was the abode of the recently buried guy the two teenagers from the prologue stumbled across in the prologue. The youngest of the kids even sees the 'shadow slayer' hanging around the house, but he seems friendly enough!
What I like most about Robbins horror novels (and I have never tried his other stuff) is how he blends dark humor with OTT plots and actions. He reminds me of William Johnstone, cranking out books every few weeks, with most of them westerns, but Johnstone's horror got formulaic quick while Robbins' horror efforts are always a different brand of trashy pulp. I also really liked the setting here as I lived in Denver around when this was set. While not really scary (although this does has some gruesome scenes), Spectre definitely entertains. Sadly, I am almost through his horror novels now. 3.5 stars, happily rounding up!!
May 19, 2013
This turned out to be quite a fun read despite its cheesy cover. The cover (despite the cheesiness) actually was in this particular instance very fitting with the story. Some interesting takes on classic genre staples with plenty of likeable characters and sympathetic not so likeable characters. Some of the writing was a bit mechanical, particularly the character descriptions that included surprisingly detailed clothing choices, but the pacing was fast and it was a pretty decent way to spend several hours on a rainy day.
October 3, 2023
Review to come.
November 6, 2020
One of those unintentionally trashy fun books. Not all the way insane, but close. From the cover to the "Shadow Slayer" all grade A cheese. I have read a few David Robbins horror books and liked them all so far. It's to bad that he didn't stick with the genre.
The Shadow Slayer is loose and killing for revenge. A detective and a teenager are out to figure out why. A single mother moves into a to good to be true rental house with her five kids and finds a link to all the horror. Then there is the rich lady who rents the house to them that seems to be a key to it all. Very fun read throughout.
The Shadow Slayer is loose and killing for revenge. A detective and a teenager are out to figure out why. A single mother moves into a to good to be true rental house with her five kids and finds a link to all the horror. Then there is the rich lady who rents the house to them that seems to be a key to it all. Very fun read throughout.
December 16, 2016
I hesitated to even give this a two. Poorly written, author has a penchant for describing every color that a character is wearing. Sophomoric dialogue. This sounds as if it was written by a high school student. Don't waste your time.
November 12, 2020
After two slow books (Spook Night & Hell O Ween) from David Robbins, this one finally gets some action in it!
A Shadow Slayer is ripping the guts out of people across town. The cops cant stop it. A single mother moves into a mansion where her youngest son sees a man with red eyes. Meanwhile a detective and the sole survivor of the slayer are attempting to solve the case.
Despite the quicker pace, I did not enjoy this one quite as much as Spook Night which was more involving, still an enjoyable read.
A Shadow Slayer is ripping the guts out of people across town. The cops cant stop it. A single mother moves into a mansion where her youngest son sees a man with red eyes. Meanwhile a detective and the sole survivor of the slayer are attempting to solve the case.
Despite the quicker pace, I did not enjoy this one quite as much as Spook Night which was more involving, still an enjoyable read.
December 4, 2015
Sometimes it's great to read a cheesy, dated fun horror. The creature rises from the grave and kills a lot of people. Theres a tired cop, lots of cliché sentences and ideas and a black creature with red eyes. This corny read was fun.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews