Review: Bad Moon Rising by Jonathan Maberry

Author: Jonathan Maberry
Publisher:Pinnacle Books
Date of publication: May 2008

FROM A FUNFEST...
Each year, the residents of Pine Deep host the Halloween Festival, drawing tourists and celebrities from across the country to enjoy the deliciously creepy fun. Those who visit the small Pennsylvania town are out for a good time, but those who live there are desperately trying to survive...

TO A BLOODFEST
For a monstrous evil lives among them, a savage presence whose malicious power has grown too powerful even for death to hold it back. Only a handful of brave souls stand against the King of the Dead and a red wave of destruction. Daylight is fading and a bad moon is rising over Pine Deep. Keep watching the shadows...

Bad Moon Rising is the conclusion to the Pine Deep trilogy. Picking up soon after the second book ends, this is the  heroes from the first two books find themselves  in the ultimate battle for their lives and humankind.  This books doesn't work well as a stand alone as it assumes you have read the rest of the series before this one.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this one.  It was gory, creepy, and good old fashioned horror.  There was one particular scene in the cellar that was just disturbing.  The story had everything that I wanted in a final battle between good and evil.  It was just the right length and not everyone was safe.  Yes, one of my favorite characters didn't survive the battle.  The rest of the book leading up to the Red wave was equally as enjoyable and fast paced.  I loved learning more about the mythology behind the werewolves and vampires. It's a unique take on the genre.

The final book was the best out of the trilogy.  Looking back, I still think that the first book could have been shortened a bit.  But it's a horror trilogy worth reading.  There are a few short stories that take place in Pine Deep and I will be seeking those out.  

Review: Dead Man's Song by Jonathan Maberry

Author: Jonathan Maberry
Publisher: Pinnacle
Date of publication:  July 2007

EVIL ENDURES

Once an idyllic Pennsylvania village, Pine Deep awoke one morning to find itself bathed in a massive bloodletting. Twice in thirty years the townsfolk have endured the savage hungers of a murderous madman...but if the residents think the death of serial killer Karl Ruger put an end to the carnage, they're dead wrong.

THE NIGHTMARE NEVER ENDS

Bodies mutilated beyond description, innocents driven to acts of vicious madness. A monstrous evil is preying on the living - and the dead - and turning the quiet little town into hell on earth. Their only hope is to find the source. But the secrets that lurk in the heart of Pine Deep are twisted into its very roots. This time the townspeople aren't just fighting for their lives, but for their very souls...

Dead Man's Song is the second book in the Pine Deep Trilogy.  The first one was OK, so I was hoping this one would be better.  It defintely was a lot more of a fun horror read.  This one picks up right after the first one ends.  Here, we begin to learn a bit more about who "The Man" is and what is going on with the town.  There are a lot more supernatural elements at play here.  It's also a lot more fast paced than the first book.

Once again, the story is told through multiple points of view and both good and evil voices are heard.  The same cast of characters are present.  Malcom is still my favorite among the lot.  I like his sense of humor and his adoration of .Val.  He is also pretty bad ass.  The best part of this one is the reveal of some of the monsters.  Talk about scary and freakish.   

The book ends with the fate of most of the charaters left up in the air.  I am looking forward to the conclusion in Bad Moon Rising.