Jasper Bark

This was one Twisted Crazy Ass Reading Romp!

A very small backstory as this was a short read:

Ricardo picks up a hitchhiker lady who tells him that she is more or less smuggling "something" across the border, but then one thing leads to another with Ricardo ending up in an interesting painful situation.

Thoughts:

That is about all I can give without spoilers, but this was one nutso extreme story that did have some gag reflexes which I have read worst, but still......lol....it was a wild freaking ride! Giving this book four "Gag-A-Maggot" stars!

For more thoughts on this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/2021/07/stuck-on-you-by-jasper-bark.html… (lisätietoja)

Run to Ground by Jasper Bark is one of those novellas that's difficult to explain without giving anything away, but I'll try my best.

Jim Mcleod is an asshole. He's one of those men who wants, wants, wants, and he gets bored whenever a woman decides he's not the center of the universe. In other words, the guy's got a lot of issues—Norman Bates' type of mommy issues. He runs off when his fetishist girlfriend gets pregnant, because he doesn't have the balls to deal with kids. Then, he gets a job at a cemetery as a groundskeeper... Yeah, that doesn't turn out exactly the way Jimmy-Boy thought it would, and he kind of gets what's coming to him. Thank God for revenge tales! It's a twisted tale that explores the Qu'rm Saddic Heresy, which is an oppressed ancient belief system from way back when, and in Run to Ground we have a rather interesting mythology pertaining to a "two-fronted moon goddess".

Run to Ground has got that same creepy, foreign quality to it that you'd find in a Japanese horror flick, and to be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing it on the silver screen.

Run to Ground is the first story in Jasper Bark's The Heresy Series, and the book also includes two chapters of Bark's novel, The Final Cut (also part of The Heresy Series), as well as a short essay by Nicola Tanthus PhD. who is a leading academic expert on the Qu'rm Saddic Heresy.

All in all, this is a must-read for horror fans. This book packs an unexpected punch!… (lisätietoja)

Dunballan is a place that has its share of dark secrets, along with a beast that stalks the woods around it. There is a long history associated with this small town and David McCavendish’s family is part of it. David has been living in London and now has to return to the place of his ancestors in order to inherit the family home. He now has to adjust to country living and in order to help him, he brought along his girlfriend Sally.

Sally quickly realizes that something is a little off about Dunballan. The only person who seems to talk to her gives her a history of the town that includes some stories of odd spirits that lurk in the woods, one being Hettie Of The Hedgegrow. Another problem is that every time the beast in the woods appears, David goes into a depressed catatonic state that lasts for days. Sally realizes that the town is cursed and will do anything to keep David from suffering through it. The problem is she may not be able to help him without making everything worse.

Quiet Places by Jasper Bark is not your average horror novella. It feels like Jasper Bark was thinking to himself: “What are the things that scare people the most?” As he was pondering that question he sat down and wrote a terrifying piece of work that relies on mood and emotions rather than gore or a hideous monster. The beast in this story isn’t all that scary, but what it represents is and the history surrounding it is even worse. I felt the scariest part of this book was in the very beginning which I don’t want to give away but Jasper pretty much nailed my worst fear and he wasn’t even that descriptive. It was all psychological, Jasper makes you imagine it instead of showing it.

After the gut wrenching start, you as the reader are left to wonder how we got there and then you get the history leading up to the event. This book gets into mythology, the occult and a history of David’s relatives. I loved all the attention to detail in this book but most of all I loved the character of Sally. We see Sally deal with a lot of different issues in this story but she stays strong even when things are at their worst. Sally seems like she doesn’t fit in anywhere and she isn’t sure she even cares about fitting in. She does know who’s important to her though and will do anything to save him.

Quiet Places is heavily inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and could be considered cosmic horror but it’s a highly original novella. This is a psychological horror story that gives you a lot to think about. Some of the questions it raises are who do you trust in a town of strangers? How far would you go to save a loved one? And What would you do when all hope is lost? Quiet Places shows us that a story doesn’t have to be bloody to be scary and there are far scarier things than death.… (lisätietoja)

Owing money to underworld thugs is never a good thing, and for Sam and Jimmy it is the beginning of the end. These filmmakers are walking the edge of being regular guys or being as tainted as the moneylenders. The mob hauls them in and forces them to watch a snuff movie, the threat is quite clear - 'pay up or this is your future.'

Something quite bizarre and extremely grotesque happens, though. While the pair is forever shattered by events, they claim the footage for their own. They plan on incorporating it into a movie of their own and making a fortune off the suffering and hard work of others.

First off they need a look-a-like to fill in scenes of the main character. They hire an actress, Melissa. She is a little odd, but a perfect fit. However, with her coming life has taken a seriously terrifying twist. The sands of time are rapidly pouring out and they have no idea what they have immersed themselves in!

Sam disappears and Jimmy begins to piece together events. He needs to find a Mr. Isimud, who was named for the two-faced messenger of the god Enki. 'The Tailor' is perhaps the only person who can lead him to his objective. The Tailor is known as "an alchemist of human couture, an artist without equal or equivalent," raising Jimmy's levels of fear and uncertainty.

Jimmy must tread carefully, wending his way throughout the dangers of the mob, voodoo, ancient evil and perhaps most terrifying of all, human nature. One misstep and an eternity of agony awaits him.

Jasper Bark is most assuredly a master of the horror genre! THE FINAL CUT blends genres into a terrifying ride through some pretty graphic and disturbing imagery for written word. Don't expect this one to shrink into the dark recesses of your memory; it will lurk within the imagination, waiting for your attention to be focused elsewhere.… (lisätietoja)