Paranormal

Fínustu nóvellur sem fjalla um áhrif uppvakninga á sína nánustu. Ef þú missir ástkæran vin eða fjölskyldumeðlim, hvað ertu reiðubúinn að ganga langt til að ná honum aftur til lífs? 4 höfundar spyrja þessarar spurningar og svörin eru fæst á jákvæðum nótum. Heillandi nöturleg lesning. ( )

This was a themed anthology of 4 stories that stuck to the theme of bringing back the dead. Some but not all were settings that the writers had used before but all the stories had that creepy factor. Only one really had what you could call a happy ending. And one was just sad from start to finish. If you like reading stories about raising the dead then this is a really great collection for this and it shows off the talents of the writers as well. I'll be checking out books by some of the other writers.

Digital copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss ( )

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read and review Four Summoner's Tales, and I found it to be an enjoyable read. Prior to reading this anthology, I was only familiar with Armstrong's writing which is the reason the anthology appealed to me in the first place. However I tend to favor reading anthologies as a chance to "meet" new authors, and this set of tales does a great job at giving the reader a glimpse of some great storytelling. Armstrong's "Suffer the Children" does what I have come to expect from her work with great character development, a suspenseful tale, a writing style that really draws the reader in, and an entertaining read. Golden's "Pipers" delivered a compelling tale that begins with the heartbreak of loss that turns into the thread of hope and then into a nightmare. Golden does a great job at tugging at the heartstrings making you feel his characters’ pain and justifies their actions with their hope of being reunited with their loved ones. I really enjoyed his writing style and his ability to draw the reader in. Liss’s “A Bad Season for Necromancy" also proved to be a chilling tale that unlike the two previous tales gives a glimpse into the summoner rather than the person being affected by the summoning. Making his main character not your typical hero but rather a con man out for himself was an interesting take. Liss does a great job at developing his main character and giving the reader his motivations as he tries to con the woman he loves. When that turns bad, Liss does a great job at surprising the reader with another twist of events. I really loved how Liss continues to surprise the reader until the story's chilling conclusion. I have to admit that Maberry's "Alive Day” was the one story I struggled with. It said at the beginning that these characters were from his previous works but that previous knowledge wasn't needed to enjoy this story. The story was good and entertaining, but I didn't get the character development from this one like the other three works. I personally didn't get the same connection to these characters as I did from the other stories, but overall I did enjoy his story. The entire anthology was a really enjoyable read that I would most definitely recommend. I loved the overall theme of a summoner and the effects of what can happen, and I think each author did a great job at providing an entertaining tale.

Received a copy of Four Summoner's Tales through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review ( )

Tales by 4 authors with one theme: Raising the dead. Ah, but what’s the price and what exactly will be raised? I read this as an eBook ARC, but each story appears to be 80-90 printed pages long, giving enough world and character building, emotion and a sense of horror (for one reason or another) that you won’t feel like you’ve been short-changed.

I read this because of Kelley Armstrong and am new to the other authors. I found that I enjoyed all of the stories and am looking forward to checking out books by the other three authors. I believe the first 3 are stand-alone stories. The last one by Jonathan Maberry is part of his Joe Ledger series, although you don’t have to be familiar with those books to get into this one. I’ve read plenty of Urban Fantasy, and books containing necromancy, but these stories felt a lot creepier than the other things I’ve read.

Suffer the Children by Kelley Armstrong is set in the past in a small wilderness town in Canada. Over 1/3 of the population was just wiped out by diphtheria; a great many of them children. Two men walk into town; speaking to just the town council they offer to help by raising any that passed in the last 4 days. But after luring them in with hope, tell them just a portion of the real price.

Part of the story is told thru the eyes of a wild 12 year-old girl who finally learns what love of family means. This story felt the most horrific in terms of what people are willing to do.

Pipers by Christopher Golden is set in Lansdale, TX along the Mexican border and is told through the eyes of Zeke. His daughter, along with 22 other people, is gunned down at a town celebration by the Matamoros cartel in retaliation for the disruption of their drug trafficking operation. Months later a man shows up offering to return their loved ones to them, but it’s an all or nothing proposition and getting vengeance is part of the package.

What we get out of this story is the heavy emphasis on morality that not only is Zeke struggling with, but most of the other people involved. But once started they can’t back out. The results take a surprising turn. This story hit my emotions the hardest.

A Bad Season for Necromancy by David Liss is set in England in the early 1700s as we follow an acknowledged rogue and scam artist conning his way into the ton in order to snag a rich bride. He comes across a book telling him how to raise the dead and in a fit of anger, uses it to hurt someone.

I loved the writing style of this author that gave a humorous slant to a number of things even though it was said in a straight way; reminded me of the way comedian Bob Newhart tells a story. And I was surprised to find that I not only liked the scoundrel but was rooting him on.

Alive Day by Jonathan Maberry is part of the Joe Ledger series. Echo Team is sent into Afghanistan to back-up Snake Team who is trying to take out the Taliban’s drug trade. But Snake Team ran into trouble with an old spirit and a bargain is made to save the leader’s team.

This one is obviously military-based and is probably the most horrific in terms of what each of the men face, and unless you witness it, no one is going to believe you. Chilling. ( )