The Modern Prometheus by Jayson Robert Ducharme

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: Paperback

Pages: 295

Read: 04/17/22

Amazon Synopsis: 

Peter Murphy, a college professor and family man, has lost everything. Following a tragic series of events, he awakens to discover that parts of his body have been replaced with parts from corpses, and his creator is not giving him all the answers he needs. With little to lose, Peter begins an odyssey to reclaim his old life and come to terms with his new one. Finding a world that has long since moved on without him, he descends into destructive madness, leaving blood and death wherever he goes.

THE MODERN PROMETHEUS is a 300 page “existential body horror” novel about a man reanimated from death, who discovers horrific truths about the nature of his death that will bring about a crescendo of violence and catastrophe.

Review:

"Humans are abstract and find their essence after they are born---their existence precedes their essence, in other words. We are brought into this world, we learn who we are, how we function, what we like, and we try to find purpose for why we were born based on those characteristics."

Birth-The Modern Prometheus, Doctor Jacob Abbott, wants to reanimate and preserve life. He is driven by his own experience and his fascination with life and death. He takes all possible measures to achieve his goal no matter how abhorrent or unlawful it is. Living as a reclusive, hiding his secrets, he succeeds at creating new life. This is the beginning of Peters rebirth.

Life-Peter searches for answers as his memories are somewhat intact, something the Doctor did not expect. Peter learns of his past demise and slowly discovers that he will never be accepted as he is. A monstrous creation that should not be in existence. He was created against his will, and as he discovers all the hurt and pain, the monster in him begins to come to the surface. He is angry and craves revenge.

Family-A family torn apart by grief and loss. Peters demise causes his family to descend into their own self destruction. As Peter learns more of what happened, he becomes obsessed with wanting to reunite with his family. His rage turns into vengeance and he will do the unthinkable to have his family back, to be together no matter the cost.

Death-Peter descends deeper and deeper into the darkness as he discovers that this body the Doctor has created is slowly decomposing. He is desperate and as his anger grows, he leaves nothing but death in his path. He will not allow anyone to get in his way of his desire to gather and reclaim his family.

My thoughts: From beginning to end, I was completely enthralled. The descriptive writing is impeccable. Even through the grief and the monstrosities that occur, there is an undeniable connection with the characters. The ending was heartbreaking and although I never expected it to be otherwise, it was so heart-rending and severely tragic.

Beautifully horrific in the best possible way! It has all the elements and depth of a terrific horror novel!

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Page: 

https://www.amazon.com/Jayson-Robert-Ducharme/e/

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/

Projection by John Shupeck

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: eBook

Pages: 260

Read: 04/09/22

Amazon Synopsis: 

What do you believe?

Kevin Bailey doesn’t believe in anything—ghosts, God, or anything in between. Kevin wants the rest of the world to see the truth, but no one will listen. So he’ll make them listen.

Recruiting three students from a nearby college, Kevin has set up an experiment to end the debate once and for all—a phony paranormal investigation. Spirits aren’t real; all you have to do is turn the lights off and tell a scary story. Suddenly, the little blond girl beside you thinks she’s hemorrhaging blood all over the carpet. Or take the tall boy, the one with all the muscles. Just tell him his dead brother will appear in the backseat of his car tonight, and it’s off to the races! And the fat one…the one who thinks he’s a witch. He’s a tough nut to crack, but we’ll get him. After all, it’s easy when they all believe…when they all want to believe.

So, what about you? What do you believe? Is it all just a show, or is the creak in the boards really the devil's footsteps? Is the noise in the kitchen from the refrigerator's exhaust fan, or is it some incomprehensible abomination, slowly making its way towards you to have a little fun in the dark?

So step up to the campfire! Throw your bags on the ground and grab a seat on the nearest log. I want to tell you a story, and I want to see if you believe it by the end. If you're willing to open your ears and close your eyes, I'll show you the complete truth. Just keep your eyes closed shut, no matter what happens. Remember, just don't...open...your eyes..

Review: 

"I don't believe in ghosts. I don't believe in God, I don't believe in heaven, and I don't believe in hell. Also, I don't believe in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, vampires, goblins, orcs, or aliens."

" I do believe in monsters, though."

"There is no other side; no demons, no poltergeists, no ghosts."

"My goal is to do, in secret, a study that will prove religion and so-called "paranormal phenomena" to be nothing more than collective hysteria."

Kevin's main goal is to try to prove that by implanting false ideas into his chosen subjects minds, he will cause their minds to crumble. To make them believe there are entities among them and prove that it is only the mind that causes the belief in the paranormal.

Staci, Dave, and Tyler are the subjects that answer the call to be investigators in a presumed haunted house. Will they believe or will Kevin succeed in driving them into madness?

Hannah becomes a new subject, but her skepticism is what keeps her mind balanced and she discovers what is hidden behind the scenes. The madness that lies beneath.
"I want people to know evil can come in many different masks, and we should always be prepared to question the things we trust in."

I enjoyed this. The plot was interesting as it questions the belief of paranormal entities or is it all in overactive imaginations and ideas planted into the mind. What does it take to drive ones mind to descend into believing what is really there or cause one to become so frightened that it causes insanity?

This is a great read for any horror fan and believe me when I say that you are going to want to know what happens to Kevin. Such a great ending!

"Maybe what goes bump in the night are the things that can only survive in the night."

"Always question what you think you know, always search for the light and be strong."

Goodreads Author Page: 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/John-Shupeck/e/

Review Links: 

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/

Carnivore by Justin Boote

Rating: ★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: Paperback

Pages: 153

Read: 04/05/22

Amazon Synopsis:

Detective Inspector Jim Morfield is worried. In the quiet, countryside village of Fritton, human remains have begun appearing. Bodies so viciously mutilated that only their bones are left behind, in some cases less than a few hours after they were reported missing. What creature could possibly devour human remains so quickly? Surely, as with the case of farmer Stanley Walters, it couldn’t be his cows nearby and covered in blood that dismembered and devoured him? Then, when another person is attacked by a horse, his arm nearly torn off, he has no choice but to consider the impossible.
The problem is that there is another killer to contend with. One who has Fritton terrified. A serial killer hiding among the woods and fields, unseen, unchallenged. Now Jim has to decide if the bodies accumulating in the area are the works of a human or something as harmless as the local wildlife.

Review:

"And at times he wished he was blind for then he wouldn't have to bear witness to the monstrosities God had vomited upon His land and allowed to perform the cruelest of deeds upon others."

One could lightly compare this to an episode of "Criminal Minds", but ramp up the gore, the horror, and the blood fest by 1000 jewels and of course there are not a bunch of animals going around eating people. Definitely an investigation into all the mangled and gored bodies that keep showing up. Detective Jim needs to solve both cases, clearly some are murder and the others are death by animal. Why are the animals suddenly carnivorous and who is the murderer hiding in the midst of their community?

The first chapter had me captivated and yet disgusted because dang it, I love cows! To present them as flesh eaters was disturbing and creepy. Lets also talk about the big black stallion. The picture that continued to enter my mind was the demonic horse from "The Rite", every time he made an appearance gave me the shivers.

The inclusion of Jim's childhood atrocities and his mother being committed to the Northgate Psychiatric Hospital continues in book two "The Ghosts of Northgate", which I am looking forward to reading.

This was bloody good!

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/

Amazon Author Page: 

https://www.amazon.com/Justin-Boote/

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/

https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/