The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

If there is there is a book to make you laugh hysterically, cry anguish tears, devour you with suspense, recoil in horror, root for your heroes until the final pages, it is most definitely The Woman in White. This is a wonderful beast of novel. It has an electrifying power within and beyond it to make anyone instantly become a passionate devotee of Wilkie Collins’s works. Continue reading

Si Janus Silang at ang Labanáng Manananggal-Mambabarang

Sa pagbubukas ng Janus Silang at ang Labanáng Manananggal-Mambabarang ay muli tayo nitong inaanyayahan sa mundong punó ng kababalaghan, misteryo, at pantasya. Continue reading

Si Janus Sílang at ang Tiyanak ng Tábon ni Edgar Calabia Samar

Pinatutunayan lang ng akdang ito ang mayamang tradisyon ng ating panitikan; na maaari itong gamitin para sa mga makabagong kuwentong naangkop sa ating modernong panahon at bigyan ito ng makabagong panlasa, ilahad ito sa nakakapukaw, naiibang paraan, na tiyak na kagigiliwan ng mga mambabasa. Continue reading

Nine Supernatural Stories edited by April Timbol Yap and Lara Saguisag

Breaking Supernatural ( A Book Review of Nine Supernatural Stories edited by April Timbol Yap and Lara Saguisag ) Pushing the cobwebs aside and giving an old-timer a modern spin, Nine Supernatural Stories, published by The University of the Philippines … Continue reading

Afraid: The Best of Philippine Ghost Stories edited by Danton Remoto

Ghost Stories Through the Night ( A Book Review of Afraid: The Best Philippine Ghost Stories edited by Danton Remoto ) It was on a dreary afternoon on All Soul’s Day, November 2, just as dusk approaches, when I decided to … Continue reading

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Millennium Sleuths (A Book Review of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) To call Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo an explosive read is an understatement in my case as I finished the book amid the noise of … Continue reading

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

There Were None To Equal It (A Book Review of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None) For want of something different other from the traditional fare of Christmas season’s readings during the previous year did I venture forth with … Continue reading

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

The Town Knew Darkness (A Book Review of Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot) Far more complex than his debut Carrie, Stephen King ups the ante in his sophomore hit ‘Salem’s Lot, published in 1975.  Raising the bar of horror from a … Continue reading

Dracula by Bram Stoker

More Than Bats, Castles, and Fangs (A Book Review of Bram Stoker’s Dracula) Conceivably, no other single work in horror fiction has had a greater impact than Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Published in 1897, Stoker’s vision of the vampire, based from … Continue reading

The Weird, Grotesque, and Gothic this August

It’s been months now since I last read a Horror book, but the “Voice,” my incorporeal guide and eternally influential Book-Muse, obnoxiously yanks my sleeves and lets me focus my gaze elsewhere — elsewhere meaning a fantasy book (it’s been … Continue reading

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Historical Fiction at its Finest! (A Book review of Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth) First introduced to me as a 2007 book selection by the Oprah Book Club, The Pillars of the Earth remains of one Ken Follett’s … Continue reading

The Key to Rebecca by Ken Follett

A Spy Novel that Reads Like a Good Alternate History Fiction (A Book Review of Ken Follett’s The Key to Rebecca) The last camel collapsed at noon. So begins Ken Follett’s intriguing World War II thriller set in 1942 Cairo, … Continue reading