Dead Souls

I feel somewhat divided about this book. The premise appealed greatly to me, but somewhere in the execution things went slightly awry. Note: <i>slightly</i>, not <i>totally</i>. I’m still giving it three stars.<br /><br />Occult / religious horror used to be a pretty big deal. Books like <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/179780.The_Exorcist" title="The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty" rel="noopener">The Exorcist</a> and <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/228296.Rosemary_s_Baby__Rosemary_s_Baby___1_" title="Rosemary's Baby (Rosemary's Baby, #1) by Ira Levin" rel="noopener">Rosemary's Baby</a> scared the pants off people back in the days. These days they are often remembered for literary merit rather than outright terror. It’s interesting, all things considered, that there seems to have been a collective shift of literary focus in terms of what is scary and what isn’t. Horror has evolved a <b>lot</b> since the 70s, and especially throughout the 80s (which was a golden period for horror fiction). We’ve had Slashers, Splatterpunk, Stephen King and all kinds of other things thrown at us since then. The last few years zombies have been the object of choice for many horror writers (since vampires have been turned into Easter bunnies). But I digress… <br /><br />….Occult / religious horror is a sticky subject, since I can’t help but feel that religious inclination will affect just how much of the subject matter is genuinely scary (this is just my personal opinion). It’s up to the author to make the reader <b>believe</b> in what he (or she) is presenting as something to be truly afraid of. And in the case of <i>Dead Souls</i>, I’m not sure how much the author succeeds. He isn’t sticking to just one religion, either, which muddies the water a little.<br /><br />The other thing which made those early books work, was how the horror was presented somewhat insidiously. There often wasn’t a high body count, and even though nobody will call <i>The Exorcist</i> subtle, it had a certain restraint which underscored the psychological factor (religion and crisis of faith are, after all, very personal). <br /><br />In this instance, I can’t help but feel that the author would have been better off following the <i>less is more</i> approach. The book gets a bit bonkers, which is typical of contemporary horror, but doesn’t really serve this particular story all <b>that</b> well. In the end it was enjoyable enough, but I really wanted to like it more. As a <b>standard</b> horror story it does succeed. That’s to say, if you want to read about people being killed in grotesque fashion, then it does just fine…. but the devil is in the details (ho ho ho).

Like the great Christopher Lee satanic films from the 70's, DEAD SOULS brings horror back to it's essential roots with hidden codes from the bible, elaborate occult rituals, evil possessions, and calculated suspense that evolves into brutally shocking violence. The first two thirds might feel a bit slow, but the payoff of the last third is well worth it. There were a few plot points that I questioned, but it's so much fun that I just ran with it and you'll be glad you did too. DEAD SOULS is Laimo's best work, second only to his DEEP IN THE DARKNESS - which is a must read for any horror fan.

È partito un po' lento e non riuscivo a capire dove volesse andare a parare, sembrava un romanzo più misterioso che "spaventevole". Poi a metà ha messo il turbo e non sono riuscita più a staccarmi, rimanendo in uno stato costante d'ansia. <br />Davvero una bella storia.

This is a good book, but it isn't great. It had a lot going against it to start. For example, there is a lot of religious mumbo jumbo, and I'm not just talking about the Osiris stuff. I mean the Jesus stuff, too. Horror books using religion as its basis to be scary just don't land with me. I thought The Exorcist was a comedy.<br /><br />I identified a lot with Johnny. He's had religion shoved down his throat for his entire life, and he's sick of it. His domineering mom hit a little close to home for me, as did his neglecting father. I felt for him, I really did. And I was happy when he learned of his million-dollar inheritance. That was (and is) a fantasy of mine. And it was interesting as he found out that he was adopted, and his real family were a bunch of religious kooks who were all dead. And I liked certain aspects of the supernatural mystery. However, I couldn't stand the ending. Anything I say about it would be a spoiler, and I never want to post those on Goodreads. Suffice it to say, this book left me less than satisfied.

Videorezension <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpl7zhkiwEg&amp;t=1s">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpl7z...</a>

DNF. I got absolutely no enjoyment out of this book.

3,5 Sterne<br />Rezi: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://chrissies-kleine-welt.de/?p=1799">http://chrissies-kleine-welt.de/?p=1799</a><br /><br />Religiöser Fanatismus bis zum Ende – und darüber hinaus.<br /><br />Johnny Petrie ist gerade 18 Jahre alt geworden und lebt zusammen mit seinen Eltern in einem New Yorker Apartment. Seine Mutter ist streng religiös, erlaubt ihm kaum am normalen weltlichen Alltag teilzunehmen und legt den Fokus ihres Sohnes auf Bibelstudien. Johnny leidet darunter, traut sich jedoch nicht zu rebellieren. Eines Tages erreicht ihn ein großer Briefumschlag, der an ihn adressiert ist. Verbotenerweise öffnet er diesen, bevor seine Mutter von der Arbeit nach Hause kommt und erfährt von einem Erbe nicht geringen finanziellen Ausmaßes. Er sieht seine Chance kommen aus dem Moloch seiner Familie auszubrechen und bricht auf sein Erbe anzutreten. Dass er dabei alte Geister aus der Vergangenheit weckt und Übel und Unheil auslöst ahnt er nicht. Doch schon bald wird er eines Besseren belehrt.<br /><br />“Dead Souls” wird im ersten Buchteil abwechselnd aus zwei Erzählzeiten geschildert.<br />Einmal bewegt man sich zusammen mit Johnny auf seinem vermeindlichen Weg in die Freiheit im Jahr 2005. Man kann sich in dieser Zeitschiene sofort einlesen und “wohlfühlen”, leidet mit Johnny unter seinen familiären Umständen und hofft auf eine gute Zukunft. Johnny bricht auf sein Erbe anzutreten und wird dabei mit seiner Familiengeschichte konfrontiert. Zwar wird dies erst einige Seiten später erklärt, jedoch kann sich ein aufmerksamer, intelligenter Leser bereits sehr früh denken, dass Johnnys Familiengeschichte anders aussieht, als er es eigentlich gedacht hat. Er stochert unbewussterweise in einem Wespennest voller Geister herum und weckt diese immer mehr auf, was nicht ohne Folgen bleibt.<br />Zudem wird ein ganz bestimmter Tag aus dem Leben der Familie Conroy aus dem Jahr 1988 geschildert. Die Conroys sind eine Pastorenfamilie mit einem fanatischen, etwas sonderbaren Glauben. Zu Beginn des Buches führen sie eine Beschwörung durch, die der Familie ein Beisammensein auch nach dem Tod ermöglichen soll. Diese Beschwörung war für mich schwer vorstellbar, weshalb ich bei diesen Abschnitten etwas Schwierigkeiten hatte in die Geschichte abzutauchen. Dies änderte sich jedoch, nachdem dieser Teil des beschriebenen Tages endete und man zu dem normalen Geschehen übergewechselt ist. Dann wird der Wahnsinn eines fanatischen Familienoberhauptes deutlich gemacht, unter dem die einzelnen Mitglieder unterschiedlich zu leiden haben.<br /><br />Auch wenn der erste Teil des Buches der harmlosere ist, gibt es auch hier schon heftige Szenen, die bestimmt nicht für zarte Gemüter geeignet sind. Neben dem guten Charakterausbau der Familie Petrie und der Familie Conroy hat mir in diesem Abschnitt besonders gefallen, dass man sich als Leser die ganze Zeit gefragt hat, ob die Geschichte nun einen übernatürlichen Touch hat oder ob es sich hierbei um den reinen Wahnsinn eines Menschen handelt, der seine Umgebung tyrannisiert. Immer wieder bin ich in meiner Meinung hierzu geschwankt und habe das Spiel sehr genossen.<br /><br />Im zweiten Teil des Buches wird eben beschriebene Frage dann beantwortet und das ganze Geschehen eine ganze Spur heftiger, blutiger und schlimmer. Horrorleserherzen schlagen dabei gewiss höher, jedoch hätte ich persönlich eine andere Antwort auf die Frage nach dem Übernatürlichen besser und schlimmer gefunden. Dies hat mich persönlich dann trotz der geschilderten Szenen doch etwas ernüchtert. Aber das ist Geschmackssache.<br /><br />Zudem sind mir leider hin und wieder Rechtschreibfehler aufgefallen. Mich persönlich haben diese beim Lesen nicht sonderlich gestört, aber es gibt Leser, die sich mit solchen Stellen besonders schwer tun, daher wollte ich das erwähnen.<br /><br />Für mich stellt “Dead Souls” einen wirklich guten und heftigen Horrorroman aus dem Hause VoodooPress und Laimo dar, der nach meinem persönlichen Geschmack aber auch noch eine Spur besser hätte werden können.

Dead Souls was my first Laimo book, I wasn’t sure what to expect because I have been lucky so far with some of the new horror authors I have tried, and I feared I was pushing my luck. This was a very fast read at the standard Leisure horror length of 330 pages and can easily be read in an evening. The writing style is simple and straight forward, and the verbiage is standard enough that you won’t need to whip out your thesaurus.<br /><br />Short Summary: We have two tales going on simultaneously in the book, 18 years apart. Johnny Petri just turned 18, and longs to break away from his controlling religious zealot mother and his loafing father who pays not attention to him. Johnny suddenly gets his chance when he receives a letter from an attorney stating that he has a large inheritance for him to come and claim now that he is 18. Meanwhile – 18 years earlier, Benjamin Conroy has enlisted his family to help him perform a ritual that he believes will secure their everlasting lives, allowing them to return as saviors the same as Jesus. Things begin to go awry and Benjamin turns out to be a little more out there than we previously thought. Several deaths later (in both times) Johnny finds himself fast approaching the Conroy house, and the evil that has remained within it’s walls.<br /><br />First I would like to compliment Laimo for his masterful way of switching back and forth between the two times in the book. Many authors have tried it and most fail by giving away too much in one time or another which erases the tension in the other half of the book. (Example – Dan Simmons “Fires of Eden” the diary gives away everything that is about to happen in the regular time) Laimo handles this masterfully, leaping back and forth between the two tales, giving enough of a hint to make the reader suspicious of what will happen but never laying it out in their lap. The story weaves tightly around the religiously insane, one who believes he has unlocked the secrets hidden deep within the Bible, the other who lives in panic and terror, hiding behind their belief like a security blanket. Now even though the religiously insane are the focal point and driving force of the novel, this book never ventures too deeply into actual religion. There is a strong message about those who seek so deeply in their religion for something to make them special that they become mislead, misguided, and easily manipulated by the darker forces in the world.<br /><br />Now many have said that this is a very gory book, I didn’t find it to be over the top, or gruesomely described, but then again I have read hundreds of horror books, so I’m a bit jaded when it comes to the gore level. There is also some sex in this book, but it isn’t a major feature, and the descriptions don’t come anywhere near a Laymon book.<br /><br />What did I not like about this book? Two things, first the editor needed one more read through before publishing… there are a few small typos and one instance that really threw me where Johnny was referred to as Eddie. Second the ending is very hurried, and the climax becomes a bit muddled to the point of my needing to re-read a paragraph or two to figure out exactly what was transpiring and make sure I hadn’t missed anything. The ending wasn’t bad, but it could have used a little reworking because there were so many characters in a small space, amidst chaos that I kept wondering – okay so these two are fighting, what are the rest of them doing? Just standing around and watching?<br /><br />On the whole this book was a fairly fun read, it’s quick and rather mindless. I didn’t feel that it pushed the envelope in any sense, but it was entertaining. If you’ve read through all of your other horror books and don’t know where to go next, give this one a shot, Laimo won’t be for everyone but I do know that I will read more by him.<br />

ive found a new favorite author. This story flips from present time to past every chapter to let you know what happen without spilling it all to quick. While also telling the now part of what's going on. He did a well written job of weaving them together. He didn't leave much out in this story occult, demon's, zombies, ghost, murder and a crazy religious priest.it all starts with johnny Petrie freshly 18 years old living with his very religious mom and no at all religious dad in Manhattan New York. with plans to join his dad working at the docks Johnny's life is about as boring as it gets.one day a letter comes from a lawyer addressed to him. the letter says that he has inherited 2 million dollars' worth of estate. Johnny thinks it can't be true either they want to con him out of money or its simply a mistake. curious either way he picks up the phone and dales the number. to his surprise the lawyer tells him that a Mr. Benjamin Conroy, a late family member has left his estate for johnny to claim as soon as he turned of age. the lawyer wants to act quickly to get all the papers singed and in order. he tells him to take a bus to wellfield, once there, call him so he set everything up for johnny to make it to his office. With a bright new future ahead of him and one with lots of money johnny decides he can't pass it up and starts packing. this is when things start getting bad for johnny but when he finally makes it to Wellfield, he finds out that some things aren't worth all the money in the world, and things can get a lot worse.

This horror novel takes place in two different timelines - 1988 and 2005. In 1988, the Conroy family utilizes The Book of the Dead to perform a ritual in order to achieve an afterlife together. The patriarch of the family Benjamin - preaches in his church on Sundays and worships Osiris the rest of the time - believes that Jesus Christ performed the ritual to rise from the dead after his crucifixion. On the day he performs a ritual on his youngest son’s first Birthday, something goes very wrong. What amounts to a blood bath ensues. In 2005, Johnny Petrie receives a letter in the mail from a lawyer letting him know he has inherited a house and land from one Benjamin Conroy. Another blood bath ensues. This book tries to be too shocking and is very heavy on blood and body horror. On one hand, I appreciate the novel for being open about those shocking moments, but the characters were just meh and the story probably could have either stayed in one timeline or the other and been a bit more cohesive. Or this probably would have been better split up as two separate books to create a duology. It was mostly just average for me!