tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post8333844595523586845..comments2024-03-06T11:11:48.095-08:00Comments on Too Much Horror Fiction: The Manse by Lisa W. Cantrell (1987): The Mayberry "Horror"Will Erricksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-33403154718171880092019-09-26T19:58:44.599-07:002019-09-26T19:58:44.599-07:00Not gonna lie - I loved this book when I first rea...Not gonna lie - I loved this book when I first read it. I was 14 at the time. I went back and read it again several years ago and still found it to be fun - it also could be nostalgia from my first go round. Killing a kid right off the bat was good enough to hook me from the start lol. Jerry Bradshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11616326883819931256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-65000271974207629312018-08-21T02:40:24.618-07:002018-08-21T02:40:24.618-07:00I'm reading The Manse at present, and chapter ...I'm reading The Manse at present, and chapter 5 scared the crap out of me. My only complaint is the lack of a clear protagonist -- maybe I'm just not accustomed to ensemble horror. I'm enjoying this book so far.Daniel S. Duvallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18374034011752016390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-47788006282506456602016-02-21T09:44:16.368-08:002016-02-21T09:44:16.368-08:00James--fascinating intrigue! Thanks, hadn't he...James--fascinating intrigue! Thanks, hadn't heard about that...Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-8560620741616554532016-02-19T19:39:19.168-08:002016-02-19T19:39:19.168-08:00The fact that piece of work won the Stoker is one ...The fact that piece of work won the Stoker is one reason I was so put off by the Stoker Awards. And why, eventually, I opted out of HWA.<br /><br />Also...I think it was a year or so after this that the HWA treasury vanished...stolen, apparently, and no one was ever punished.<br /><br />James Robert Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17281049641681225389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-55838153474018503552015-10-04T16:48:29.252-07:002015-10-04T16:48:29.252-07:00Great review - I just read it and agree with your ...Great review - I just read it and agree with your assessmentErinPaperbackstashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13879655467410960166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-40445897020717283682012-03-08T12:35:48.710-08:002012-03-08T12:35:48.710-08:00I have a pristine unread copy of this and I can...I have a pristine unread copy of this and I can't recall how I got it. Thank you for sparing me from having to read it. <br /><br />As for the HWA, I also find its awards criteria puzzling.~https://www.blogger.com/profile/07775795950513629761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-63681531892729585312011-10-29T16:17:51.592-07:002011-10-29T16:17:51.592-07:00Wow, Hemlock! How delicious. Any more details to s...Wow, Hemlock! How delicious. Any more details to share?!Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-11413011067119847842011-10-28T15:13:31.769-07:002011-10-28T15:13:31.769-07:00All I recall about Lisa Cantrell is that I walked ...All I recall about Lisa Cantrell is that I walked out on a panel she was giving. Not because I disliked her or anything, but because she was embarrassing herself to the point that it became uncomfortable to experience. So I quietly crept out. A couple of other writers followed me for the same reason.<br /><br />Seems I also recall that someone related to her was in charge of HWA funds and that James Robert Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17281049641681225389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-76577144357862207022011-04-12T12:33:34.194-07:002011-04-12T12:33:34.194-07:00Something like that, Rob, yeah. Already this book ...Something like that, Rob, yeah. Already this book has faded into memory...Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-40634262266008367892011-04-11T14:46:06.248-07:002011-04-11T14:46:06.248-07:00I read this one back in the day. I'm guessing ...I read this one back in the day. I'm guessing my copy of it currently is rotting away in some decrepit used book store at this very time. Or has been used for a fire. It had moments of creepiness, but nearly all of it was when stuff was REALLY going downhill in the final part. About the only cool part of the first couple hundred pages was the bit where two of the three delinquent kids get Rob Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-11963179570999516482011-01-24T08:38:00.005-08:002011-01-24T08:38:00.005-08:00the fact that the evil pumpkin is *biting* the ban...the fact that the evil pumpkin is *biting* the banister is a total deal-breaker for me. i can't believe you were able to get past that and actually READ this thing.A. Louisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07880948993726193540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-26178028237024281962011-01-18T21:50:19.832-08:002011-01-18T21:50:19.832-08:00I generally dig those Tor horror paperback covers....I generally dig those Tor horror paperback covers. Even evil pumpkins and skeletal arms could somehow take on a slightly sinister and shadowy aspect when they graced a Tor book, it seems.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-3773849611692394882011-01-18T20:34:36.819-08:002011-01-18T20:34:36.819-08:00I really didn't know there was a sequel to thi...I really didn't know there was a sequel to this. I'm a little kinder to it than most and I'm curious to check that one out. It's been a good decade since I read it, and never got around to her other one, THE RIDGE, but I sometimes find I'm in the mood for some slow-build horror (and having hit the heights of the slow-build novel after just reading Kristine Kathryn Rushe's Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-47489014647435440432011-01-18T11:27:44.643-08:002011-01-18T11:27:44.643-08:00Bluerose, thanks for the compliment. You're ri...Bluerose, thanks for the compliment. You're right; no way would this get published today. It's not aggressively stupid like some of the other bad books I've read for this blog - *cough cough* Richard Laymon or Paul Dale Anderson or Shaun Hutson *cough cough* - so I held back from hating it. I felt sort of bad for the book, actually!Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-3194406759513530352011-01-18T10:40:03.522-08:002011-01-18T10:40:03.522-08:00Wow. I'm impressed. You actually soldiered thr...Wow. I'm impressed. You actually soldiered through this one. In doing so you really took one for the team, 'cause as I recall from back when I read it when it was released all those years ago, it was DEFINITELY a chore.<br />Frankly, I'm surprised it was even published, much less won a Stoker!<br />The only way I managed my way through to the end wa skimmy through the last half or so,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-11229196085706509842011-01-18T09:32:53.601-08:002011-01-18T09:32:53.601-08:00Yes, I *did* think of Goosebumps, good call. I'...Yes, I *did* think of Goosebumps, good call. I'd love to know just who the hell the Stoker judges were that year...Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-79717779900306662342011-01-18T09:27:16.972-08:002011-01-18T09:27:16.972-08:00Hey Will! Wow, that seems like a plot right out of...Hey Will! Wow, that seems like a plot right out of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps. Funny that it's set in NC. And that it won a Bram Stoker award.-JBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com