There are so many ways a person can die. Sooner or later, everyone's number is up, and no one comes back ... or do they? On a cold November night, a grieving father picks up his hunting rifle and shoots his only daughter in the head. The police are mystified. Why was the girl even at the house? Why wasn't she at the mortuary ... awaiting her burial? After all, Mary Winston had been declared dead two days before. The incident is only the first in a series of mysterious attacks in the small Scottish town of Middlesbury. Dead bodies go missing. A cemetery caretaker is devoured alive. An ancient curse is about to be unleashed ... Detective Chief Inspector John Sinclair works for Scotland Yard's Special Division, an elite unit that deals with extraordinary cases. DCI Sinclair is a battle-hardened veteran of Afghanistan, a man haunted by the past. But nothing could have prepared him for the horrors he's about to face. He goes to Scotland to investigate the gruesome murders but what he finds is a town in the grip of fear. The people of Middlesbury are harboring a secret. A secret that is about to explode ... +++ "A hero so suave and dashing, he makes James Bond look like a grubby detective sergeant, a plot that reads like it came straight from the great vaults of Hammer, and enough action and derring do to keep even the most ardent pulp fan smiling with glee. [...] A tight, punchy read that heralds the start of a great new series of pulp horror. Highly recommended." Ginger Nuts of Horror. -- "John Sinclair" is the relaunch of Europe's longest running horror series. Originally conceived in 1973 by Jason Dark and still going strong, the "John Sinclair" novellas are firmly rooted in the finest pulp true page turners with spine-tingling suspense, exquisite gore, and a dash of adventure. -- For fans of the dark visions of Stephen King, Clive Barker and the "X-Files" and the fast-paced action and globe-trotting excitement of James Bond. -- Gabriel Conroy was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1967. After high school, he joined the armed forces and was stationed in Germany for several years. He discovered his love for writing while traveling through Europe. When he returned to the States, he studied Journalism at Los Angeles City College and UCLA, and currently works as a freelance journalist, writer, and translator. Mr. Conroy is married and has a dog and a cat.
'John Sinclair - Episode 1: Curse of the Undead' by Gabriel Conroy is the first in a reboot of the original British series from the 1970s. It's a short read, but an exciting one.
Chief Inspector John Sinclair works for the Special Division at Scotland Yard. When a mysterious case in a small Scottish town happens, John is sent to investigate. It seems that the dead are coming back to life and attacking people. What John finds is even more gruesome as a town falls more and more victim to this strange occurrence. John is puzzled and disbelieving, but not for long. The story leads up to a nail-biting climax.
I liked John Sinclair. He's all suave and somewhat sophisticated, but he seems to be out of his depth. The real hero of this book seems to be Captain Jeremiah Green and his group of soldiers coming in to mop up and kick butt. Maybe in later books Sinclair will be a bit more competent. Still, for a serial type book series, I've certainly read worse and now I'm curious about that original series. I bet it's full of b-movie cheesiness too.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Bastei Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook and introducing me to John Sinclair.
Exciting, intriguing, scary, and Supernatural, JOHN MILTON--CURSE OF THE UNDEAD pits a skeptic Scotsman--a Scotland Yard Detective Chief Inspector no less--against Necromany and a tiny bucolic community's ugly hidden secrets. It's a sad event when a young person is struck down, but even more tragic when that same much-loved one returns from the dead to wreak havoc--and not by accident but by design.
I got this ebook from Netgalley in return of an honest review.
I always start these review with an honest moment, so here it comes: I had no idea what I was getting into with this book, I just read that it was a reboot of a 'classic' paranormal novella series and I was too curious to pass it up. I must admit that, although I wasn't blown away by the whole book, the story was incredibly fast paced and within the first few pages I was hooked. There was something about the characters and the setting that unsettled me and and made me keep reading, and because of that it was a very quick read. Throughout the book we get closer and closer to a climax that could be the best kind of predictable there is. We knew the direction the story was going, but we couldn't even beggin to prepare for when it actually hit us. By far the best aspect of this story is its setting, the environment the author creates in that town, where strange things are happening. The event itself, zombie-related, was a bit of a disappointment, although it wasn't cheesy or overdone, like I was expecting. The truth is that it's hard to come up with an original zombie plotline these days, and it's even harder for us readers to be excited by one, when it's such an overused theme in entertainment right now, but if we are able to put this aside, this novella can become an exceptionally entertaining read. Even though I would have loved to love it, I can't say it was a particularly special or remarkable book and I can't describe as something more than what I already said: entertaining. I would be lying if I said I didn't think this was a thrilling, gripping story when we are right in the middle of it, but I didn't find it to be outstanding or unique. Despite that, I would definitely like to continue reading the following instalments, as this was only the beginning and there is a lot of room for improvement, especially when this is based on a well loved series. I would recommend it to those who loved the series when they were younger, or those who are curious to know what paranormal dangers John Sinclair will face next.
I was sitting in a pub with my friend and during our beer fuelled nostalgic reminiscence, friend asked me out of the blue, if i remembered those little paperback horror novellas i used to buy. It took me a while to dredge it out of the muck of my memory... Of course, John Sinclair! Vampires, monsters, satanic cults! Damn, i loved those when I was a teenager. Promptly I have used the infernal battery draining device, also sometimes called a smartphone and googled it. Wow, its still being released in 2015? Oh, a reboot? Well, what the hell, we are living in the reboot decade, even though a reboot of a pulp novella was a first for me. I have bought the first episode on the Google Books and here we are. Being only about a hundred pages long, it was a quick read and the action was flowing fast. We are introduced to a young John Sinclair, a Scotland Yard Inspector on his first supernatural case. He was definitely not as badass as I remebered, but alas, it was his first encounter, so he is bound to get better. As the title itself hints, we have some zombies on the loose. Zombies are a classic, but currently a bit overused, maybe something more original would suit better as an opener. Overall, it was a fun read, but nothing special. I will try a few more episodes of this reboot to see if its worth reading further, but I would love to get my mitts on the originals and test them against my fond childhood memories.
'Curse of the Undead' is the first episode in the story of detective John Sinclair, as he tackles the strange case of a girl coming back from the dead.
This was an easy read to get into. I found it fast paced and fun from start to finish. The horror element was pretty gory, and there was an excellent atmosphere kept up throughout. I would have liked to connect with the characters (or at least the main character) more, but there really wasn't time for that.
Overall this is an entertaining start to what promises to be a fun series for b-movie horror fans!
Note: I received a review copy of this ebook from Bastei Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Bastei Entertainment! John Sinclair - Curse of the Undead is the relaunch of a very pulpy European horror series originally created in 1973. A fast read, this novella is not for the faint of heart, with buckets of blood and gore, zombies and demons. It is, however, a treat for horror fans. It is like a carnival ride: the characters are one-dimensional, but you don't know what's coming and it's loads of fun.