Tapetum Lucidum

by Melissa Lason

A band of friends unknowingly awaken something ancient and hungry, the glowing orbs descending from the trees are more than fireflies. A ravenous group of hunters is set free and are now moving closer and closer to the small town of Brush Mill. Halloween night will mark their arrival, and the townsfolk will have to fight to keep from being eaten alive. Can they survive what lurks in the darkness? Can you?

Genres: Horror, Fiction

215 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up for Goodreads!
How many times have I said that I love horror books about camping trips gone wrong? Many, many times. It's one of my favorite tropes because I loathe camping and I love to add more reasons to my already long list of reasons to never go again.
In this book, a bunch of bros go to a cabin in the woods for a weekend of drinking and whatever else a bunch of bros get up to when they're alone together.
a few of the guys notice these glowing orbs high up in the trees but write them off as "eye shine" or "Tapetum Lucidum" from some harmless animals.
I don't need to spoil the rest of what happens but let's just say, soon after Chapter One, the story becomes an investigation of what actually happened to those bros out in the woods.

I loved the investigation part of this book. Small-town horror is another favorite trope. The Sisters of Slaughter introduce some great characters as part of the small town of Brush Mill coming together to solve the mystery of what happened to some of their youth in order to protect the rest of the citizens from an unknown predator.
The creature-feature style monster building is very effective. The monsters are scary and the detail about their eyes and the folklore behind their existence makes them feel threatening and realistic.
About halfway in, a small group of people begin pulling together a plan to fight their attackers and this is when the pacing really takes off in a sprint to the finish all centered around Halloween night.

Excuse me, but Horror fans love stories on Halloween night so I'm making an extra emphasis here!

My only small, niggling complaint was that there was a large cast of characters and not all of them were essential to the plot. I'm a very detail oriented reader so I ended up taking notes on all the names with minor details about them so I could keep them straight. I enjoyed the scenes of the investigation the most with Charlie, Martin and Running River (*quick trigger a dog does die in this)
The final showdown between man and beast is suspenseful and rewarding. There were a few technical POV changes that confused me a little, but they were few and far between.
I'm recommending this book to horror fans who love small-town horror, creature-features that take place on Halloween night and a skyrocketing body count with plenty of gore and procedural drama.

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure this is my first Sisters of Slaughter full length novel. I think I've read them in an anthology before. Anyways, their bio at the end of the book was very impressive.
Eye shine.
Glowing green eyes in the middle of the woods.
That right there is creepy. That's only the beginning. The creatures of the story are described thoroughly, and gave me a grotesque picture in my mind.
I always like stories that happen around Halloween.
So a small town is having a Halloween celebration and these creatures are coming to feed on all the citizens.
This was a fun creature feature ( which is something I don't read too often)

[Christina Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a sleepy town prepares for their annual festival, creatures of myth and lore await their chance to strike. I was enthralled and a little creeped out after reading the first two chapters. The story intensified from there and kept me wanting to read one more chapter, then one more chapter after that and so on. If you want an adrenaline rush from beginning to end, this book will not disappoint!

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the plot of the book and the writing was pretty good however I felt that the pacing was a bit off and it felt longer than it needed to be. That said I did enjoy this story of ancient creatures preying upon a small town, it is not my favourite book by The Sisters of Slaughter but it’s still a fun read.

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by the Sisters of Slaughter, and it won't be my last. I was drawn in by the wicked cool title and concept for this creature feature - eyeshine, of creeping creatures in the dark. There's a sprawling, interesting cast of characters at play (none of whom are safe from the carnage), great pacing, and a novel concept for the scare factor. There were some very well done, dread inducing scenes that played out throughout the book, and I appreciated that the character motivations generally made sense. A great read for the Halloween season, or anytime!

[Brennan LaFaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at https://deadheadreviews.com/2019/11/0...

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect Halloween timing for this bloody creepy creature read! The Sisters have done it again ... dragged me through their tale of gore. Strap in for the ride because you won’t put this one down until the end.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve really enjoyed the short stories that I’ve read by the “Sisters of Slaughter” (Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason). Their horror novel Tapetum Lucidum didn’t stand up quite as well. Some teenagers looking to have one last blast go out to an abandoned cabin in the woods, where they drink and do drugs. One, Jeremiah, likes spending his time carving walking sticks, and he finds some really interesting branches from an aspen grove. Unfortunately, when that wood is cut, it frees hungry predators who were laid to rest in that grove. Nothing can satisfy their unnatural hunger for flesh and blood, and soon they threaten the whole town of 9,000 people.

The basics of this as a monster horror story are good. There’s lots of great action, plenty of gore, and tons of deaths. Unfortunately it’s the details that don’t quite work out.

There are far too many named characters in here. On the plus side, this means there are plenty of people for the monsters to torment and kill. On the minus side, this makes it impossible to keep track of who half of these people are. Most writers find a balance point by introducing some of the characters just in time for them to get killed in their individual vignettes. In this novel, we’re supposed to keep track of who most of these characters are. Some of the characters do have a surprising amount of depth to them given how many characters there are, such as the alcoholic father of a teen who’s killed early on, and the religious mother of a teen who’s pregnant. Also, there ain’t no way a town this size can support a mayor in such cushy style (cocktails, cigars, golf, estate, butler who comes with the position, security details).

Some of the dialogue feels fairly stilted, sometimes oddly formal, and mostly similar from character to character. Sometimes the scenes switch without any kind of indication except that suddenly the narrative is mentioning different names (which isn’t sufficient, given how many characters there are to keep track of). There are at least several places where there are blips in the description, such as this one: "He walked back over to Lulu’s and strutted in… He shook away the sentimental feeling and walked quickly up the street to Lulu’s."

The whole thing has something to do with a tribe of indigenous peoples who, as I understand it, cannibalized some of the colonists and whose spirits were then bound to the aspen grove by other indigenous people. I’m uncomfortable with the idea that the monsters who were once indigenous peoples seem to be depicted as bloodthirsty savages. There’s also the standard “we have to go to the wise old native guy to find out what to do” sequence. However, the fact that a handful of indigenous people from the area come to help (without single-handedly saving the day) is a bit new and different.

This isn’t my favorite recent book, but it’s decently tense, and I would read more by these authors.

Content note for animal harm and death, general horror story gore, alcoholism, some drugs.

[Serenity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read!

Good read! Enjoyed this book. Loved the gore. My only complaint was there were too many characters. Hard to remember who was who. Definite recommend!

[Lauren Fitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.7 stars

[MCWow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This small-town horror tale has lots of characters and multiple POVs, which often change within a chapter, making it an effort to read at times. Still, the book entertains like a movie.

[Zemyah Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was good. I just wish they indent paragraphs better.

[Jesse Bollinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like a broken record when it comes to anything released by this duo. But this book was excellent! I enjoyed all of the characters, the creatures were creepy and nightmare inducing, and the Gore was plentiful. Parts of this book creeped me out big time. I think it would make an excellent movie. Many authors release one book a year, but these two released to on the same day! Both of these releases were excellent and I highly recommend this and their other novella Isolation. Reading this just reinforces my love of these authors and I’m committed to read every single thing they ever produce.

[Shannon Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic horror story. It’s set in a small town where the townspeople and the Native Americans don’t really have to much interaction, until a couple of boys go into the wrong area on a camping trip. Because of their trespassing, they wake an ancient evil that has been asleep. The story is fast paced with well developed characters and a great backstory. It’s packed with action, blood, and spookiness. Great read for the Halloween season or any lovers of horror.

[Brian Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brutal creature-feature full of action and gore, told in that fantastic Sisters of Slaughter style. When a group of teens accidentally stir an ancient curse, wendigo-like monsters are released upon a small town. It’s a face-paced, blood-soaked ride with wonderfully disturbing monsters as the stars. Highly recommended.