Bad Games is an interesting thrill ride of a book. It has all the themes you'd expect and a nice reference to the original Friday 13th films (namely Pt 2 of the slasher series, not the original scary one where Jason is not the killer).
A chance meeting. All friendly and shit.
Follow the family.
Get the little girl to like him, with a candy trade.
Go home, tell the brother, and set the game in motion.
The Lamberts had been looking forward to their vacation for weeks, and the time had finally come. They had booked a small house on the eastern side of Crescent Lake and were eager to get away.
When they arrived, they were pleased to find the property exactly as described. Clean and well-maintained, but without any food. It was time to go shopping. Insert third weird occurrence, a particularly scary one.
For the rest of their vacation, the Lamberts would experience pain and heartbreak the likes of nightmares only they are real.
The neighbors were friendly and welcoming. Everyone seemed to take pleasure in the fact that the Lamberts were there and eager to make their stay as pleasant as possible.
On the first evening, the Lamberts took a leisurely walk around the lake. It was peaceful and serene; the calm before the storm. As they walked, they were surprised to find an old stray dog that seemed to be following them.
At first, the Lamberts had no intention of taking the dog with them, but the children immediately fell in love with the animal. They begged and pleaded and eventually, the Lamberts couldn't resist. The dog was suddenly part of the family.
And that's when the nice stuff takes a turn for the worst. Add to that a sheriff who doesn't like townies and thinks they all look down on him as a country bumpkin and you have a mix for a nightmare of a game.
The face-off at the end is brilliant.
All up (in book 1), Menapace has done a good job of bringing all the elements together for a lovely Sunday read of horror. On the character's side, the antagonist's side, we had a good backstory that was told throughout the book. Unfortunately, I didn't really get a feel for our heroes.
This horror novel delivers intense action and some gruesome moments. It's important to note that there's an abundance of violence in this book, some of it quite graphic, as well as children in perilous situations. Readers who are uncomfortable with such topics may want to go elsewhere for their thrills. Despite this, I still found the climax of the book particularly enjoyable - having a taste for extreme grindhouse movies as I do.
No comments:
Post a Comment