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Bride Of The Reaper
By starting with a classic haunted house tale, throwing in a Civil War backstory and then setting the whole thing against the burgeoning punk rock scene, one might think author Charles Romalotti may have bitten off more than he can chew. Fortunately for us Romalotti has the imagination, the pacing, and the literary chops to cram authenticity and intrigue into every corner of this book while keeping the story's main characters believable and the subtleties of the counterculture lifestyle dead-on accurate. An altogether unique read. - Russ Rankin, Good Riddance & Only Crime
204 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 20, 2011
For seven years now I have been waiting for Austin, TX based author Charles Romalotti to publish another book. I fell in love with his characters and writing style first sometime between 2003 and 2005 when I was Editor at the former Music Revue Magazine. For my punk and goth page he had sent me copies of both of his books, ‘Salad Days’ and ‘Pariah’. I was hooked. He captured the life of the punk rock scene of the 1980′s in his first book. In his next ones (as ‘Pariah’ contains three books in one) he added fear to our hearts. And now in his third books he is haunting our dreams and turning the lives of his characters into nightmares.
‘Bride of the Reaper’ takes us into a world of misfits once again, and we even visit some of the same clubs and same people we have heard of in Romalotti’s previous works. In this story a girl names Kitty, a.k.a. The bride of the reaper, find her dream job hosting a terrible late night horror movie show, reminiscent of Miss Elvira herself. She moves into a new apartment with a rugged roommate, Token, and they immediately start to notice a presence in their humble abode.
With twists around each page, you will not be able to put this book down. Trust me, it gave me insomnia many nights. Normally I take two weeks to read a normal novel, this one took me four nights! It’s that good. You will want to keep reading so you can find out what is going to happen next. One of the things that kept me glued was Kitty herself. They call her the bride of the reaper because she has an aneurism, she could just up and die at any time… so you stay and you read because you wonder when it’s going to pop, and she’ll be dead.
After that you stay glued because of the ghosts. The missing cat. The missing roommate. How about the guy who owns the house and has been missing all the while? Is it his ghost that haunts the grounds? Is it really a ghost at all? All of these thoughts will play through your mind as you get engrossed within the pages of ‘Bride of the Reaper’. This book gets twenty stars from me. It was worth the seven year wait and now I am again anxious for Romalotti’s next books. He has talent beyond mention.
‘Bride of the Reaper’ takes us into a world of misfits once again, and we even visit some of the same clubs and same people we have heard of in Romalotti’s previous works. In this story a girl names Kitty, a.k.a. The bride of the reaper, find her dream job hosting a terrible late night horror movie show, reminiscent of Miss Elvira herself. She moves into a new apartment with a rugged roommate, Token, and they immediately start to notice a presence in their humble abode.
With twists around each page, you will not be able to put this book down. Trust me, it gave me insomnia many nights. Normally I take two weeks to read a normal novel, this one took me four nights! It’s that good. You will want to keep reading so you can find out what is going to happen next. One of the things that kept me glued was Kitty herself. They call her the bride of the reaper because she has an aneurism, she could just up and die at any time… so you stay and you read because you wonder when it’s going to pop, and she’ll be dead.
After that you stay glued because of the ghosts. The missing cat. The missing roommate. How about the guy who owns the house and has been missing all the while? Is it his ghost that haunts the grounds? Is it really a ghost at all? All of these thoughts will play through your mind as you get engrossed within the pages of ‘Bride of the Reaper’. This book gets twenty stars from me. It was worth the seven year wait and now I am again anxious for Romalotti’s next books. He has talent beyond mention.
December 13, 2010
"Bride of the Reaper" is another strong work by author Charles Romalotti.
It's kind of a mash-up between his debut novel "Salad Days" and the follow up serial "Pariah". "Bride of the Reaper", like "Salad Days" takes place in the mid-eighties amidst the back drop of the punk rock scene, but the dark tone of the story falls in line with that of "Pariah".
Romalotti's strengths lie in his rich and realistic characters. And the people that populate this book are no different. Kitty Waugh, the young horror host with a dark secret, and her roommate Token rank right up there with some of my favorite Romalotti characters.
The mystery at the core of the book is well done. As the story moves forward, the spookiness grows.
My one gripe with the book is the speediness of the final act. I felt a little more time should have been given to the resolution.
But it is a very good book, one that I'm recommending to friends that enjoy a good scare!
It's kind of a mash-up between his debut novel "Salad Days" and the follow up serial "Pariah". "Bride of the Reaper", like "Salad Days" takes place in the mid-eighties amidst the back drop of the punk rock scene, but the dark tone of the story falls in line with that of "Pariah".
Romalotti's strengths lie in his rich and realistic characters. And the people that populate this book are no different. Kitty Waugh, the young horror host with a dark secret, and her roommate Token rank right up there with some of my favorite Romalotti characters.
The mystery at the core of the book is well done. As the story moves forward, the spookiness grows.
My one gripe with the book is the speediness of the final act. I felt a little more time should have been given to the resolution.
But it is a very good book, one that I'm recommending to friends that enjoy a good scare!
December 13, 2010
As usual, Romalotti delivers. This is a quick and fun read that left me a little freaked out to be alone in the dark one of the nights I was reading it. The humor is also spot on, and made me wish my city had a cheesy horror movie TV show like the one the main character, Kitty, hosts. Romalotti's strength is most definitely his characters who are unique and interesting, yet completely believable. We all either know someone like Token or Kitty, or see a bit of ourselves in them. It's a great love story too that made me smile, in between the flinching and wincing during some of the more horrific scenes. Great "soundtrack" too. The people in this book have great taste in music! If you are looking for a classic Hammer horror-like book that has bad guys, hot girls and the perfect amount of horror/Halloween kitch, this is the book for you.
May 3, 2013
This is a rock n' roll book. Chuck was and probably is a musician,
so he understands the unique connection of pose and timing that only
comes with playing your dues in shitty places with seemingly shitty people.
I read this book as soon as it came out, have been away from books for some time and when I thought about it I decided The Bride of the Reaper deserved some praise.
I want you to buy this book; It starts in the past of American history,
the civil war era and brings you right back to the same setting but
the early-mid 80s. You'll run into a unknowing Dead Kennedys playing
cable access hosted by a character much like Elvira. There's supernatural,
punk, sex and all that.
I want you to buy all of his books. I'd have to say Salad Days has been the biggest
inspiration as an artist and a good places to start.
so he understands the unique connection of pose and timing that only
comes with playing your dues in shitty places with seemingly shitty people.
I read this book as soon as it came out, have been away from books for some time and when I thought about it I decided The Bride of the Reaper deserved some praise.
I want you to buy this book; It starts in the past of American history,
the civil war era and brings you right back to the same setting but
the early-mid 80s. You'll run into a unknowing Dead Kennedys playing
cable access hosted by a character much like Elvira. There's supernatural,
punk, sex and all that.
I want you to buy all of his books. I'd have to say Salad Days has been the biggest
inspiration as an artist and a good places to start.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews