I am just over fifty pages into The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud and I’m really enjoying it.
You may have seen the commercials for the movie adaptation of this story. So far they have not provided any spoilers that were not revealed in the book description.
Charlie and his young brother Sam “borrow” the neighbors car to go see a baseball game one night. On the way home tragedy strikes and the story takes off.
Synopsis from Barnes & Noble “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud tells the haunting story of a young man who narrowly survives a terrible car wreck that kills his little brother. Years later, the brothers’ bond remains so strong that it transcends the normal boundaries separating life and death. Charlie St. Cloud lives in a snug New England fishing village. By day he tends the lawns and monuments of the ancient cemetery where his younger brother, Sam, is buried. Graced with an extraordinary gift after surviving the accident, he can still see, talk, and even play catch with Sam’s spirit. But townsfolk whisper that Charlie has never recovered from his loss.”
I am reading this book on the nook.
04AUG10 – The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud has been added to my list of Favorite Books. I highly recommend you pick up a copy today.
I enjoyed Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. It was pleasantly violent but not quite in the way I imagined. There was one wonderfully violent scene in the book along with a lot of vampire kills and deaths. I expected more violence than there was. Perhaps I’m just over exposed to violence?
The story would have stood well on it’s own without the main character being Abraham Lincoln but I doubt publishers would have picked it up or a movie deal been struck.
The best thing the book did was inspire me to learn more about Abraham Lincoln. Beyond works of fiction it seems he did lead a rather interesting life prior to entering politics.
Recommended.
The Painted Darkness by Brian James Freeman will be available from Cemetery Dance in November but you don’t have to wait to read it. As I mentioned in a previous post you can download and read it now. Click here to do so.
The story runs about 185 pages in PDF form. The download includes the story, an interview with the author, a letter from the author explaining why he decided to give the book away free before it hit shelves and comments from other authors. The published version of the story will include artwork from Jill Bauman.
The Painted Darkness tells two stories. One takes place on a winter day in Henry’s life when he was a child and the other on a winter day when he was a grown man. The stories are told over alternating chapters.
As a young boy Henry had a very active imagination. When his classmates were playing together on the playground he would sit on the side and explore worlds created in his mind. One morning young Henry wakes up to discover the world is covered in snow and waiting for him to explore it. This is the day Henry learns monsters are real.
Twenty years later Henry finds himself and his imagination painting in his attic, his wife has left with his child and the boiler demands his attention every twelve hours. This is the day Henry once again learns that the monsters are real.
Mr. Freeman has done a wonderful job of writing a horror story that both dedicated horror fans and casual readers can enjoy. It’s an easy read and you’ll find yourself losing time as you don’t want to put the book (B&N nook in my case) down.
I don’t want to give away much of the story because I really enjoyed it and don’t want to take that sense of discovery away from you as a reader. Do yourself a favor, download the darkness. I’m looking forward to holding a printed copy from Cemetery Dance.
A note for parents: I wouldn’t recommend this for kids under thirteen. You’ll find the gore is limited and there isn’t any sex. Looking for a good first horror book for your kid? This is it.
Bonus: It doesn’t have any sparkling vampires.
