The Bookworm: Review: The Night Things by Terry M. West

The Night Things by Terry M. West

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Rating: M

Genre: Horror, Fantasy

Score: ❤❤❤

Page Count: 238

Stand Alone

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: January 22, 2016

This novel spans several centuries, following the relationship of the two most iconic monsters in literary history. Once as close as brothers but now sworn enemies, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein meet for a final showdown beneath the streets of New York City.

Night Things (Dracula versus Frankenstein) takes place in a world just like yours with one startling difference: every creature of legend has stepped forward from the shadow and they now exist shoulder to shoulder with humankind! New York City has become a macabre melting pot. Vampires, werewolves, zombies and ghouls are now the new immigrants and they are chasing the American dream. The Night Things have become part of the system. But many humans feel the creatures are dangerous ticking time bombs.

Dracula, considered the messiah of the Night Things, builds an unstoppable army as he plots to wipe humanity from the face of the earth. The mysterious New York crime boss, Johnny Stücke (the creation of Frankenstein) wants to keep the peace between the Night Things and humanity. Stücke fears total extermination of his kind, should Dracula unleash his forces on New York.

The fight for the night begins.

Critically-acclaimed horror author Terry M. West continues his Magic Now series with this standalone novel that presents a world only a slight shade darker than our own.

I was sent this book by the author in exchange for an HONEST review. All thoughts and opinions are my own with respect to the author.

REVIEW:

PROS:

1. When I was first contacted to review this book, I was pretty interested as soon as I read the synopsis of this novel. As a lover of all things creepy and dark, I was really excited to dive into this novel to see how this cool new spin on the famous Dracula and Frankenstein would play out. It's hard for me to find horror stories that are something fresh and unique so I jumped at the chance to read this one since it's a pretty interesting concept on the whole 'creatures of the night' aspect. Let's get the review started!

2. The first thing I really loved about this book was the amount of experimentation that went into the storytelling. It was a book that I could never quite predict since there were a lot of twists and turns to keep the story going and keep me guessing as to what would happen next. I loved that it played with different elements such as multiple POV's, switching from different periods of time, adding in more creatures other than vampires and werewolves, and even crossed boundaries in a weird, dark and taboo way. I appreciated that the book didn't shy away from its subject matters and it was very diverse because of its daring approach.

3. The world and its characters that the author was able to create were very believable and nothing seemed out of place. The alternate universe of its New York City setting was just as dark and mysterious as Dracula himself. Full of back-alley meetings and just enough dramatics, this book was nothing short of riveting. The author paints a classic picture of a horror story with a twist of it set in a modern time with characters you both care and don't care about, leaving you wondering what will happen next.

CONS:

4. A few things I didn't like about the book was that it was an easy enough book to put down. Although exciting, I found myself drifting too easily from the story and reading only bits and pieces whenever I had time to read. I'm not sure if it was simply that it was a slower paced story in the beginning towards the climax for me, or if it was because I couldn't connect with the characters enough. Either way, it prevented me from enjoying the book as much as I would've liked.

5. Another thing I personally didn't really mind but that you as a reader should know about is that this book also does involve gore, heavy drug use, some foul language and a descriptive scene of a pornographic movie being made in the book. I wouldn't recommend this book at all to a reader any younger than maybe 16 no matter how much you love a good horror story. I actually admit to skipping over the movie scene since that's not the type of material I'm comfortable with reading but I also felt like it wouldn't affect my review of this book in a big way. If you have a weak stomach, you probably shouldn't read this one either.

Overall, The Night things was a unique story and spin on the classic horror figures we all know and love and if it sounds like something you'd enjoy, I really encourage you to give it a shot! Maybe it'll be your favorite read of the month.

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