Thursday 29 November 2012

Review: Tales of Terror from the Black Ship

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Title: Tales of Terror from the Black Ship

Author: Chris Priestley

Publisher: Bloomsbury 

Publication date: 07/03/2011

Format: Paperback - 272 pages

Genre: YA - Horror

 

 

Two sick children wait alone for a doctor one storm-lashed night. But instead a sailor knocks on their door seeking shelter.


Telling gruesome and creepy seafaring tales, he helps them while away the dark hours. Before the night is through Ethan and Cathy will learn the secret of the Black Ship and many more terrible truths.



My thoughts:


I love me a good horror story and this book had more than its fair few.


This book has a few creepy tales within the actual main plot. A sailor turns up at an inn while a storm rages outside and spends the time telling the two children, Ethan and Cathy, a collection of tales from his seafaring days. 


I will say that I did start to get bored of the little stories being told. It seemed quite repetitive at times and I found myself wanting to skip a few chapters. As a whole the stories genuinely creeped me the hell out but when it's story after story with little or no introduction between them, it becomes redundant. 


I loved, loved, loved the overall plot that didn't include the scary stories told by the sailor. What happened was so unexpected that I had to sit and think about the book for five minutes after finishing it. It was so shocking and downright horrifying - I'm still not over it. I thought I knew what was coming but Priestley took it to a whole new level and then some. 


What I loved most about this book was definitely the writing. I really enjoyed how Priestley kept this bleak and edgy atmosphere throughout the whole read even when nothing was happening at that given moment. 


Overall, this was a really creepy read that I finished in just two hours. I really recommend it for fans of horror if only to get a feel of this author's writing. 


My rating: 7/10


Chris Priestley:

Goodreads | Website 

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