Ancient Horror History REPUBLISHED: Soul Eater by Dana Brookins REVIEWED

Since Paperbacks From Hell hit shelves last year, actually shortly before, as the buzz around the subject covered in the book got going, readers interest in the countless Horror Novels of the 80s has been at a higher boil than it has been in some time.

Around that time, several publishers started republishing the 'lost classics' and capitalizing on what could theoretically be a lucrative niche market in horror reading.

Cue the new imprint, Capricorn Literary, who have just released their flagship books, of which, Soul-Eater is amongst the first in the inaugural run of books hoping to be rediscovered.

I'm really quite excited for many of the books planned for release under the line, but honestly, a bit perplexed by the choice of Soul Eater to spearhead the lineup.

My befuddlement is not in that Soul Eater is particularly badly-written or poor. Rather, it's simply unremarkable when held up against its literary counterparts.

It's a haunted house novel through and through, with a cast of country bumpkins to populate it's story pulled from the pages of just about anything else published at the same time....

Edgar Falls is a small town that is hurting economically, who gets a surge of excitement when pieces of a large house start getting shipped in to be rebuilt. The town decides to capitalize on this, hosting tours and parties in the place. Of course, it's not all wine and roses for the townspeople, as nasty accidents start to occur.

Only Bobbie, a slightly psychic preteen, can hope to save the town.

...sounds familiar, eh?

Once again, it's not the Soul Eater is particularly awful, it's more that it's particularly bland. Nothing is happening here that you haven't read before. There's a low sex-and-violence quotient, which often tends to be the redeeming quality for some of these lesser-known titles. The townspeople aren't bizarre enough, the town isn't atmospheric enough.

Soul Eater just wasn't enough for me to stay particularly interested. I do remain hopeful that Capricorn Literary will put out some really cool stuff, as some of the titles on the horizon seem really worthy of a read. I also think a specific group of readers would enjoy this a bit more than I did...maybe a younger reader? Someone more inclined to Mystery novels?

You can get a copy of the recently republished novel, here.

I've gotta go with a 2/5 on this one.