Ghostwritten by Ronald Malfi
Product Details
Web ID: 15421299A creepy collection of book-themed horror novellas
This is a really entertaining collection of horror novellas from the pen of one of my favourite horror authors, Ronald Malfi. All four novellas have at their centre a cursed book of some sort, and all are entertaining in their own right, but for me The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride and The Story were the best of the four. I really enjoy the writing of Ronald Malfi, having read both Come with Me and Black Mouth in the last couple of years. Also his horror novella Borealis is a favourite of mine, and this collection continues in the same strong vein. Recommended.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Brilliant and Creepy Novella Collection
Ronald Malfi’s “Ghostwritten” contains four horror novellas about haunted books. Brilliant and creepy, each novella stands alone and yet combined, they can be read as one novel with each piece a link to a bigger picture story. I enjoyed all four novellas (the Skin of Her Teeth, The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride, This Book Belongs to Olo and The Story) and while all horror, they each pull elements from other genres such as noir, fantasy, and sci-fi. My personal favorite of the bunch is This Book Belongs to Olo, which starts off with a child donning a clown mask silently observing his peers on the playground. Heck. Yes. What Malfi captures again in Ghostwritten, and what I’ve come to appreciate about his writing, is the thought-provoking factor he adds to his horror stories. I’m always left (scared) thinking bigger picture or greater meaning behind the works he presents. Unsettling and intriguing, Ghostwritten is another winning piece to add to Malfi’s growing anthology of notable horror stories.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
The books in these novellas are not safe
In the beginning of The Neverending Story movie, the bookseller tells Bastian that the books he reads are safe. The books you’ll encounter in the four novellas that comprise Ghostwritten are most certainly not safe. The Skin of Her Teeth Gloria’s client, Davis McElroy, has been adapting a bestseller into a screenplay. He’s usually reliable but he’s missed his deadline and it’s up to Gloria to salvage the deal. This book doesn’t like change. ‘“The simplest thing,” Finter said, “is to give it what it wants.”’ The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride Danny and Tommy Drake have been hired to deliver a package. There are specific rules they need to follow: • Don’t open the briefcase. • Don’t touch the contents of the briefcase. • Follow the route that has been mapped out by the client to get to the drop off location. • Ignore anyone who asks to see the book. The rules are very important. This book is out of this world. ‘“How can a book be dangerous?” “Because they contain all the powers of the universe.”’ This Book Belongs to Olo Olo is having a birthday. He will be ten years old. At his party there will be cake, games, prizes and surprises. This book has no words. ‘“Well, everybody knows how to play hide and seek, I think,” said the girl. “It’s just that, it’s kind of a baby game.” “Not the way I play,” he said, then tugged the clown mask back down over his face.’ The Story Grady is determined to figure out what story Taryn was working on when she died. This book is Choose Your Own Adventure. ‘You have been approved to read the Story.’ The four novellas have common themes but there are other connections to be found between them. Your attention to detail will be rewarded and I expect a reread will help me discover crossovers I missed the first time around. It’s difficult for me to choose a favourite story but I definitely had a favourite character, chronically lonely but ever enthusiastic Olo. I’m always a sucker for books about books and here I was treated to four compelling reads. This may only be my second read by this author but Ghostwritten has confirmed my suspicions that I’ve been missing out on something special. I have lots of catching up to do. Content warnings can be found on my blog. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 4.5 stars.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Four increasingly spooky novellas
4+ stars. Wow! I really enjoyed that. This was a book comprising four loosely interconnected stories where some of the characters made appearances in more than one story and they were all about strange books or stories that had some weird otherworldly power. While none of the stories were scary as such, they all had Malfi’s signature talent of being disconcertingly creepy. While Malfi doesn’t slap you in the face with ‘jump scares’ each story was darker and creepier than the previous one. The last two were definitely very unsettling. The first story - the Skin of Her Teeth was about a book that contained an evil entity. It was to be turned into a movie but the book defied all attempts to ‘change’ a single word and therefore any attempt to write a screenplay. The second story - The Dark Brothers Last Ride is about two brothers, Danny and Tommy Drake being commissioned to deliver the book (from story 1) to a man called Choptank with very specific instructions - don’t open the briefcase, don’t stray from the convoluted route mapped out on a paper map for the journey (even though the direct route would have halved the journey time) and don’t talk about the assignment. To anyone! Well, Tommy is a hothead who doesn’ take direction well and things don’t end well for him. The third story - This Book Belongs to Olo is about a very creepy kid who has made a three dimensional pop up book of his already weird house. I’m sure you all remember those kids books that you opened up and this diorama style thing popped up. Well Olo’s book was meticulously accurate but when he changed things in the book things changed for real in the house. Olo invited all the neighbourhood kids to his birthday party. It didn’t quite go as planned. The last story - called simply The Story is impossible to describe but it was essentially about one of those ‘write your own ending’ stories only this was a game that would blow your mind and it was almost impossible to win. I am really coming appreciate this author’s talent for creating very unsettling, disturbing stories. Many thanks to Netgalley and Titan Books for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com