Genre: Horror
Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd
Publication Date: 6th October 2015
Pages: 54
MY REVIEW:
I received an advance copy of The Leper Window by Frazer Lee from Netgalley in exchange for an
honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Samhain.
Frazer Lee is another new one on me but when I saw this
short story on NetGalley I thought I would give it a go. I liked the
description. Sounded intriguing. Did it live up to my expectations?
Daniel Gates has “acquired” a book for his client Mr
Rothschild. The book is called Choronzon’s Grimoire. It’s an ancient book of
apparently very high value.
Mr Rothschild discovers there is a page missing from the
book and this obviously diminishes the value for his client. He isn’t happy and has demanded that Daniel track down
the missing page and restore the book to its original condition.
On his quest to find the missing page, Daniel must battle
firstly his hangover, then an ancient occult evil to try and restore the book.
This is a short story. You could probably read it in an
hour or so. I have to admit to having mixed feelings about this one. I liked it
but found it to be a bit confusing. It looks like Daniel Gates has been a
character in a previous book and this wasn’t really made clear in the blurb so I
felt a bit out of order reading this one
without the previous one. There are things talked about in this one that might
have made more sense having read the earlier book.
Characters wise, Daniel is a good one. It’s never made
clear what his job title actually is or what he does as a profession which is a
bit confusing but he certainly knows how to find things and fix things. The
other characters don’t really have time to come to the fore because the story
is so short but Rothschild seems to be a bit of mysterious person. The
stereotypical rich man who demands a lot and doesn’t like failure. One other “main”
character is the owner of a bookstore, Hector. He seems to know Daniel well and
seems to be a very likeable, if a bit neurotic, person.
In terms of the plot it is pretty simple. Daniel has a
book with the page missing and he has to find the missing page. Not giving
anything away there at all. It’s what he has to do to find the page that is the
interesting part. You know from early on in the story that it’s got something
to do with an ancient evil. That bit isn’t really hard to get but it is
explained early in the story. It’s what the evil is, and its connection with
the book, that you are left wondering.
So what did I think of it? I liked it. Frazer Lee has a
lovely writing style that I think fits this type of book perfectly. His writing
is very smooth. Very easy to read. He makes the story intriguing and
interesting to make you want to turn the pages to find out what exactly is
going to happen. This is the type of story I love. Set in modern times with a
bit of mystery about it that you know is going to explode with something evil
coming from the past. For this I loved it. The storyline, the writing style and
the evil.
The thing I didn’t like about it? This story is way too
short. It has an excellent plot and story idea that, in my opinion needed to be
of at least novella length. It could easily have been a full novel with lots
more twists and turns in it to keep the reader glued to it for much much
longer. I did like it but this was a big negative for me. I felt a bit robbed
that there wasn’t more meat in it. That disappointed me. Not to the point of
not reading Mr Lee again but I felt a bit empty when I finished it.
Frazer Lee’s writing style and obvious eye for a good
plot and story would certainly make me want to read more of his stuff. I just
want them a bit longer.
To summarise: a short story about a man having to battle
against an ancient occult evil while searching for a missing page in a book. It
has one or two twists in it but they aren’t “Oh My God” moments. Really good
writing style which is easy on the eyes but I wanted it much much longer than
it was.
General rating:
★★★ loses stars for a bit of confusion and length for me.
Horror rating:
★★★ equally could have been a lot scarier.
If you would like to help support Confessions of a
Reviewer then please consider using the links below to buy The Leper Window or any other books from Frazer or indeed anything
at all from Amazon. This not only supports me but also lets me know how
many people actually like to buy books after reading my reviews.
Thanks.
Book Synopsis:
"Do not gaze into its secrets."
Daniel Gates’s last assignment involving a rare demonic
book left him plagued by hideous nightmares, which are about to get even worse.
When a page is stolen from Choronzon’s Grimoire, Daniel is sent to the wilds of
North Wales to retrieve it for his mysterious client. But the stolen page
contains dark, occult secrets, and he finds to his peril that he is not the
only one desperate to find it. Daniel’s journey takes him to the very brink of
madness and to the demons that await—beyond the Leper Window.
Frazer Lee's debut
novel, The Lamplighters was a Bram Stoker Award® Finalist for 'Superior
Achievement in a First Novel'.
One of Frazer's
early short stories received a Geoffrey Ashe Prize from the Library of Avalon,
Glastonbury. His short fiction has since appeared in numerous anthologies
including the acclaimed 'Read By Dawn' series.
Also a screenwriter
and filmmaker, Frazer's movie credits include the award-winning short horror
films 'On Edge', 'Red Lines', 'Simone', and the critically acclaimed
horror/thriller feature (and movie novelization) 'Panic Button'.
Frazer
lectures in Creative Writing and Screenwriting at Brunel University London and
Birkbeck, University of London. He resides with his family in leafy
Buckinghamshire, England where (when he's not getting lost in a forest) he is
working on new fiction and film projects.
And
for more about Frazer, visit his site or find him on social media:
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Page
No comments:
Post a Comment