Project 26: Haunted House Harbour...

     

I've kind of gotten behind reviewing the books in JEA's Project 26, so just ahead of the new year, I've decided to pull my finger out and start posting more of my reviews...

Haunted House Harbour is the latest book by Roma Gray, of Hunted Tribe fame, and starts yet another series off - her third to date. A group of building inspectors sent to the mysteriously named Haunted House Harbour to finalise inspection of a new housing project that is just being finished, soon realise that by some strange quirk of fate, they have manage to discover one of the only safe havens from looks like the end of the world.

Roma Gray here throws everything but the kitchen sink at her protagonists, as all across the globe different threats start appearing, one after another, that threaten the whole of humanity. 

A strange, mysterious group of figures - that seem to represent the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - appear to be the ones responsible, but what they don't realise is that one amongst them is not as willing as the others to watch the whole world burn...and as the end of the world draws ever closer, it soon becomes clear that only those who can reach Haunted House Harbour will be the ones with the best chance of survival.

I really enjoyed this book, but for me it ended too soon. Just as things start to happen, Roma finishes the book on one of what is swiftly becoming one of her trademark cliffhangers.

I would have liked to see more, and this book merely acts as an amuse-Bouche, or a hors-d'ouerve, for what inevitably you know is going to have to follow.

Still, if you like being left hanging while you wait impatiently for the next installment, then this book will be right up your street.

This book has a lot of potential, I only hope Roma doesn't keep us waiting too long before she fills in what happens next....

Project 26 (4) and (5) - Essel Pratt

Essel Pratt continues to dominate Project 26 with the next two books up for review featuring the letters X and L.

Xperimental Genocide is a shocking, provocative and possibly even, some might say,  controversial tale of a clinical psychologist who takes a job at an old mansion investigating the curious case of a young girl who refuses to speak.

The psychologist is given a script that he is made to read out loud to her to gauge her reactions and try and provoke her into getting angry and breaking her silence, but the further he progresses, the more he begins to suspect there is something deeper and darker going on...

This was a good read that had me hooked to the end wanting to know the secrets behind what exactly was going on. 

The subject matter may be a little sensitive to some, especially during these times of enforced political correctness when there are certain subjects people would prefer you didn't talk about, but I enjoyed this and thought it a brilliant short, sharp, shocking read.

Pratt's second offering is a case file from the files of his fictional detective, Detective Mansfield.

What starts off with a shocking blast of extreme, dark, erotic horror soon settles down into a mysterious tale with Lovecraftian overtones that nonetheless, still remains not for the faint hearted.

I had read part of this book before as a shot story, so went in to this knowing a little what to expect, but the opening is quite graphic with heavy sexual overtones so if that's not your thing - avoid!

I didn't enjoy this as much as Xperimental Genocide, but it's still a cracking story and a great introduction to what promises to be one of Pratt's most recognised characters in the future. 

The difference between these two books, and his previous book - Backwoods Bonfire - go to show just how multi-faceted a writer Essel Pratt is, and it is interesting to see how he can write in different styles and yet still somehow maintain the same distinctive writing voice.

As usual, both books are available on Amazon now....

Project 26: 2) Jurassic Jackeroo

To anyone who read Roma Gray's Hunted Tribe last year and is disappointed that no sequel has so far been forthcoming, I have some good news and some bad news - firstly, as part of JEA's massive summer release of titles under the banner of Project 26, Miss Gray has finally decided to bless readers with a return back to the world of the Grishla. 

Unfortunately, now for the bad news - what we get is not a sequel to her first book, but instead a prequel that ultimately leaves readers with just as many questions as it does answers, despite revealing more of the background behind the series of events that lead up to what happens in The Hunted Tribe.

But that is not to say this is a bad thing, because what we get in Jurassic Jackeroo is a fun, riotous read that takes you on a real roller coaster and once again leaves the reader wanting more...

Set in the Wild West, Jurassic Jackeroo tells the story of a world weary gunslinger who thinks he has seen it all and is about ready to finally hang up his guns for good, when a chance encounter with a Native American, who is part of the Hunted Tribe, reveals the story of the Grishla to him and offers him a new challenge in which to sink his teeth.

Determined to take down this angry, vengeful animal spirit that appears in the form of an ancient beast, the gunslinger decides to set up a little competition in order to recruit the best of the best among his peers -  to help him in what he sees as the ultimate hunt and a chance to once again give his life some meaning, but in the competition that follows, only the smartest will survive...

Jurassic Jackeroo, like I say, is lots of fun.

It is a great little story that builds upon the legend and the world that Miss Gray first created with The Hunted Tribe, but if you come here expecting any answers - think again!

Once again, Miss Gray leaves us with a killer cliffhanger ending, just as she did with Hunted Tribe, leaving the reader once again kicking and screaming and quite literally begging to know what comes next...

With this latest instalment in her series, Roma once again proves just what a great writer she is - for Jurassic Jackeroo is quite simply amazing, just as you might expect. It is wholly original, nail-biting with lots of unexpected twists and what's more - fun! 

Too many writers nowadays, I think, forget to put the fun back in their books but this is something Roma Gray excels at - I just wish she'd stop doing this to me and finally give me some answers!!!!

Jurassic Jackeroo is, of course, available from Amazon now...and look out for my review of the next P26 book coming soon, Backwoods Bonfire from Essel Pratt.