Nigel's Top Ten by Stephen King

I’ve been on a Stephen King binge this year – my ultimate goal is to read all of his works within in next couple of years (I’m about halfway there). Here are the books that make my top ten by King so far:

Wizard and Glass (Dark Tower Series, Book 4)  

We gain insight into the main character’s (Roland's) background. He tells his group of Ka-tet about an adventure he embarked upon in his youth with his fellow gunslingers.

The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower Series, Book 7)
The final book in Mr King’s beloved Dark Tower series – Will Roland and his Ka-tet make it to the fabled Dark Tower? Plenty of twists, turns and action for this group to encounter. “All things serve the Beam.”

The Shining 
When Jack Torrance and his family take an opportunity for work at the Overlook Hotel they never in their wildest dreams think they’ll encounter what they do. A place of dark, alluring evil comes to life; gifted son Danny the key to it all. A brilliant, scary and terrifying read - definitely one of Stephen King’s finest efforts. “Redrum... redrum.” 

Skeleton Crew & Night Shift 
Two books of short stories – I guarantee you there are stories in here that will keep you up at night and make you look under the bed/in the closet - what was that noise?
Each brings a brilliant collection of varied short stories, Mr King knows how to turn everyday life into something utterly terrifying –  must reads for horror fans.

The Outsider  
When local school teacher and baseball coach Terry Maitland is accused of a horrific murder, a crazy chain of events begin. Despite overwhelming evidence against him, Terry appears to have a watertight alibi. A deadly game of cat-and mouse (with a supernatural twist) ensues over three states in America.

The Talisman (written with Peter Straub)
Twelve-year-old Jack Sawyer must embark on a quest to save his dying Mum. Thrust into a parallel universe of twinners, friends, foes and strange creatures, Jack must find the all powerful Talisman – not only to save his Mum but to save the balance of the universe too. 

Black House (written with Peter Straub)

Twenty years after the events of the Talisman, “retired” homicide detective Jack Sawyer is brought into solve a series of bizarre murders in Wisconsin. The killer pays homage to an infamous serial killer from the past with a similar modus operandi. “The Fisherman” kidnaps a child. Jack - with the help of the local authorities and local “heavies” - must stop “The Fisherman” before another victim is found. All things lead to the forbidding and sinister Black House…

The Tommyknockers  
When a strange object buried in the forest is found, a dig begins for the locals of Haven, Maine. Things in the town start to get strange, new powers are obtained - life will never be the same for the locals or anyone else entering the town…

Elevation 
Scott Carey is rapidly losing weight no matter how much he eats, but it’s not showing in his appearance. This coupled with a nasty neighbour gives Scott a challenge he wants to accept. The annual foot race presents Scott with an opportunity to make good on his challenges. 

Posted by Nigel

Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Locke & Key is an amazing graphic novel series that takes the reader on a spellbinding trip from start to finish. Locke & Key centres on the Locke family, still reeling from the callous and brutal murder of Rendell Locke – husband to Nina, father to Tyler, Kinsey and Bode. The grief-stricken family relocate to Rendell’s childhood home: The Keyhouse in Lovecraft, Massachusetts. Unbeknown to them there is a creature of great evil lurking in the Keyhouse - the truly maniacal Dodge.

Sociopath Sam Lesser (the man who killed Rendell Locke) is fed messages from Dodge via pictures and communication through telepathy. Dodge convinces Sam to free him from the well where he is trapped at the Keyhouse to take revenge upon the Lockes. Sam escapes prison and leaves a trail of death and carnage in his wake on his fateful collision course with the Lockes.

Unusual and magical keys are discovered at the Keyhouse manor. With powers such as being able to travel out of your body, replace or insert memories and thoughts from someone’s mind, being able to travel to anywhere you want to go – make no mistake these are very powerful keys!! When Dodge is released from his watery prison in the well the fight for the possession of the keys begins!

Locke & Keye is a fast-paced series, taking the reader on a roller-coaster journey of emotions. You feel what the Lockes are going through - Nina drowning herself in alcohol to kill the pain of losing her husband. Tyler, the reluctant older brother figure - blaming himself for his father’s death. Kinsey, the brave and courageous sister dealing with adolescence while trying to hold the family together. Bode, the youngest of the lot, wise beyond his years and with his close connection to the keys.

Dodge is pure evil and will stop at nothing to get the keys, in particular the Omega Key - which holds the key (pardon the pun) to everything. The origins of the keys are explored as are the back stories to Rendell ,Locke and Dodge. Beautifully illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, the artwork flows effortlessly with the amazing story Joe Hill is telling – fully engrossing the reader in this magical world.

Make no mistake there is no smooth sailing throughout this series, no character is safe - I’ve shed a few tears along this journey of reading and re-reading it! I’ve recommended this series to a few people and they’ve all enjoyed it.

There have been talks of a TV Series on Netflix for Locke & Key. If one is made, fingers crossed justice is given to this great body of work. I dug this series so much I got two of the keys as tattoos.

Jump in, take a chance on this series, it’s a fast-paced, violent, emotional and magical spellbinding journey you’ll never forget.

Posted by NN

Catalogue link: Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft (book 1)

Give Me the Child by Mel McGrath

Do we get the children we deserve?

Cat. Tom. Freya. A nice happy little family….until it isn’t.

Imagine that you wake in the middle of the night to a knock on the door. A police officer stands there with a young girl; a child you had no idea existed until that moment and just like that the familiar life that you knew is gone.

Cat Lupo is the woman whose world starts to fall apart after she discovers that her video games designer husband Tom has fathered Ruby after a one night encounter. Ruby’s mother has died in suspicious circumstances and Tom is the only family that she has.

As a clinical child psychologist Cat spends her days treating children who have been diagnosed with anti-social personality disorders. While Cat is in shock she does want to do what is right for the girl and tries to accept Ruby into their life, but all is not right with the girl. Items go missing, a dead hamster is found in Cat’s bed and Freya becomes quiet and withdrawn. Cat with all her training can recognise mentally ill children and she becomes convinced that that is what Ruby is. It is not long before she begins to fear for her own daughter’s safety, a concern she tries to share with her husband and her sister without positive results as they start to believe that an intensive period of psychosis suffered before the birth of her own child has once again taken hold of Cat.

Seeming to lose all her lines of support we are drawn into the claustrophobic intensity of the unfolding drama as Cat hunts for the truth about Ruby, her mother Lily her evasive husband Tom and dark secrets from the past..

Cat’s research tells her there’s no such thing as evil. Her history tells her she’s paranoid. Her instincts tell her different.

Give Me The Child is a skilfully written, engrossing read with an unforgettable twist at the end . This is the story of a dysfunctional family in meltdown which asks uncomfortable but important questions about how much we know about our partners, our children and ourselves.

Reviewed by Fiona Frost 

Catalogue link: Give Me the Child

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Rot & Ruin is a young adult zombie novel but it’s not your run of the mill battle to survive the apocolypse zombie novel.

Rot & Ruin is set about fifteen years after the first night; when people stopped dying for good and started rising from the dead. As expected, the first night sent the world into a whirlwind of panic and a battle for survival. A baby during the first night, Benny Imura was rescued by his older half-brother, Tom.

These days, most people won’t leave the secuity of the chain link fences which surround towns that have sprung up in the years since the first night. Within these fences life has been pieced back together. Towns have been built, families created, adults go to work and kids go to school, trading happens. In Mountainside, once you turn fifteen you need to find a job or else your rations will be halved. After a string of failed attempts, Tom offers to take Benny on as an apprentice; he is a zombie hunter out in the rot and ruin. Tom is a local hero. The police and mayor love him; all the women want to be with him and all the men want to be him. All except Benny and his heroes: bounty hunters Charlie Pink-eye and Motor City Hammer. They believe Tom is a coward, not worth the ground he stands on.

As Benny begins his training, Tom realises that Benny has no understanding of what life is like beyond the fences. Beyond the fence there are no laws or enforcers of the law. It is rough and dangerous and no one is there to save you. During his first trip beyond the walls, his life as he knows and his veiws about it rapidly change, as it starts to look like his life and the lives of all he cares about may be in danger.

Rot & Ruin is not my normal type of book but I had challenged myself to try new things this year. It is a great first book in a series and it can also be read as a stand alone. I sped through book one to four in the space of a week. The final book Bits & Pieces is more of a collection of stories woven through memories of our favourite characters, and some new characters, beginning at the first night right through to present day. Rot & Ruin is not only a zombie book, it is a coming of age story that just happens to be filled with zombies.

Reviewed by Kristen Clothier

Catalogue link:  Rot & Ruin