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clair_brodie's review
5.0
I think my review title sums up a large part of this book.
I bought this book when it was one of the ones advertised on bookbub based on the synopsis it gave. I finished reading what I was on and then went to a new book. Since I have a kindle app, I did not know which book I was starting when I decided to read Preta's Realm. I have to say, it was indeed, a rather strange book.
I felt bad for Drew and the choices that he made to essentially save his soul (and kids).
Like someone else said, Ravna needs more back story but at the same time he was a key player to the story.
If you like creepy and a complete mind trip then I strongly suggest this book.
I bought this book when it was one of the ones advertised on bookbub based on the synopsis it gave. I finished reading what I was on and then went to a new book. Since I have a kindle app, I did not know which book I was starting when I decided to read Preta's Realm. I have to say, it was indeed, a rather strange book.
I felt bad for Drew and the choices that he made to essentially save his soul (and kids).
Like someone else said, Ravna needs more back story but at the same time he was a key player to the story.
If you like creepy and a complete mind trip then I strongly suggest this book.
alexandrabree's review
4.0
This novel sits right at 4.5 stars, the evil spirit Gaki brings out the worse in people accentuating a single "greedy" trait that lies within the afflicted soul.
Right up until Brian's jeep I was amazed with the novel, it is first class horror. But to me the idea of the unseen leading Drew (seen by all other characters as the bad guy/someone loosing his mind) was far better than the reveal of Gaki to others.
May or may not pick up the other two novels unsure at this point
Right up until Brian's jeep I was amazed with the novel, it is first class horror. But to me the idea of the unseen leading Drew (seen by all other characters as the bad guy/someone loosing his mind) was far better than the reveal of Gaki to others.
May or may not pick up the other two novels unsure at this point
reasonpassion's review
2.0
Horribly depressing and disturbing in that sense that something isn't quite right, the story is horrifying and unrelenting in its brutality without a saving grace. It reminds me of the movie "Seven" without the amazing acting, so utterly in your face you try to turn away and yet come back hoping it doesn't end the way you know it will.
bgilvaja's review
3.0
When a horror book opens up with a “your mama joke”…you’re going to double check the title and genre just to make sure that you are legitimately reading the book that you thought you bought.
At least that’s what I did!
Preta’s Realm is unlike anything I've ever read before.
It was morbidly funny, while being downright scary at times, but over all I thoroughly enjoyed learning about something that I never knew existed until now-Pretas.
The mother fucking Preta in this story kept me up late last night while I finished off the first book in the Hidden Evil Trilogy.
No joke. I was freaking the hell out and wanting to bathe myself in Lysol!
What’s a Preta you may wonder…well brace yourselves folks.
Shit is about to get real.
Literally.
Via Wikipedia:
Pretas are believed to have been false, corrupted, compulsive, deceitful, jealous or greedy people in a previous life. As a result of their karma, they are afflicted with an insatiable hunger for a particular substance or object. Traditionally, this is something repugnant or humiliating, such as human corpses or feces, though in more recent stories, it can be anything, however bizarre.
In Preta’s Realm, it’s feces.
Fresh human shit and every time it was referenced I gagged.
So.fucking.gross.
Anyways, you come about meeting the Preta in this tale, aka Gaki, when the narrator of the book, Drew, finds out that he’s inherited a curse from his deceased Grandfather.
Drew’s Grandfather was a solider during the Vietnam War and after murdering countless lives, he happens upon Gaki, while scoping out a cave in the jungle ridden land of Vietnam.
This is where the tale first took a sharp turn for me.
If I found a grey skinned, fat bellied monster thingamajig with an elongated neck, and eating recently dispelled shit; I'd yell "NOPE" as loud as I could and get the fuck out of there.
Obviously Drew's Grandfather does the complete opposite and instead has some chai tea (not really but why the fuck not) with the Monster made of Nightmares and surprisingly (heavy on the sarcasm there) is bestowed a lovely parting gift, from Gaki, of insatiable greed.
Grandpa relates his tale of living in five years of peace until his greedy appetite kicked in to Drew through a ghostly form? This wasn't explained very well in the book, and honestly left me quite confused, but hey you can't win them all right?
NOPE.
So Drew finds out that his Grandfather was still indebted to Gaki when he died, and that he's the next one to have the curse consume him.
Although greed isn't Drew's clutch...
Drew's vice is sex.
Raunchy.
Borderline rapey sex.
And is something that I did NOT expect out of this book!!!
J. Thorn did a great job, in my opinion, of showing how male writers can bring their A-game to the table when it comes to writing intimate scenes in novels.
This Dirty Little Birdie loved it!
Drew of course tries to fight the inevitable, but Preta's do NOT fuck around and by halfway through the book, Drew is coo-coo for cocoa puffs. I finished out Drew's demise around one in the morning and for the life of me I could not get the mental image of Gaki eating shit out of my head.
That thing seriously FREAKED me the fuck out.
NOPE
And while I really enjoyed the majority of this book I did think that it had a few hiccups that should have been addressed or left out all together.
Here is my biggest issue with this novel.
Ravna.
This guy is a Hunter although it never is specifically stated what he hunts. I wish that there was more of a back story for him because I was intrigued by his situation, but when he was introduced, something just didn't click. Then again he could have a back story somewhere else and I have yet to find my way to it, but as a newbie to J. Thorn's novels, I was a tad confused about some characters and scenarios that arose through out The Haunting.
Preta's Realm is NOT for the faint of heart.
It is gory.
It is scary.
Disgusting in parts, but overall I'd recommend it to those of you who enjoy taking a step into the darker world of literature, and letting your mind explore the monsters and creatures from other parts of the world.
Solid 3 stars from me and I intend on continuing with the series in order to find out if a certain someone is caught!
Til next time!
-B
At least that’s what I did!
Preta’s Realm is unlike anything I've ever read before.
It was morbidly funny, while being downright scary at times, but over all I thoroughly enjoyed learning about something that I never knew existed until now-Pretas.
The mother fucking Preta in this story kept me up late last night while I finished off the first book in the Hidden Evil Trilogy.
No joke. I was freaking the hell out and wanting to bathe myself in Lysol!
What’s a Preta you may wonder…well brace yourselves folks.
Shit is about to get real.
Literally.
Via Wikipedia:
Pretas are believed to have been false, corrupted, compulsive, deceitful, jealous or greedy people in a previous life. As a result of their karma, they are afflicted with an insatiable hunger for a particular substance or object. Traditionally, this is something repugnant or humiliating, such as human corpses or feces, though in more recent stories, it can be anything, however bizarre.
In Preta’s Realm, it’s feces.
Fresh human shit and every time it was referenced I gagged.
So.fucking.gross.
Anyways, you come about meeting the Preta in this tale, aka Gaki, when the narrator of the book, Drew, finds out that he’s inherited a curse from his deceased Grandfather.
Drew’s Grandfather was a solider during the Vietnam War and after murdering countless lives, he happens upon Gaki, while scoping out a cave in the jungle ridden land of Vietnam.
This is where the tale first took a sharp turn for me.
If I found a grey skinned, fat bellied monster thingamajig with an elongated neck, and eating recently dispelled shit; I'd yell "NOPE" as loud as I could and get the fuck out of there.
Obviously Drew's Grandfather does the complete opposite and instead has some chai tea (not really but why the fuck not) with the Monster made of Nightmares and surprisingly (heavy on the sarcasm there) is bestowed a lovely parting gift, from Gaki, of insatiable greed.
Grandpa relates his tale of living in five years of peace until his greedy appetite kicked in to Drew through a ghostly form? This wasn't explained very well in the book, and honestly left me quite confused, but hey you can't win them all right?
NOPE.
So Drew finds out that his Grandfather was still indebted to Gaki when he died, and that he's the next one to have the curse consume him.
Although greed isn't Drew's clutch...
Drew's vice is sex.
Raunchy.
Borderline rapey sex.
And is something that I did NOT expect out of this book!!!
J. Thorn did a great job, in my opinion, of showing how male writers can bring their A-game to the table when it comes to writing intimate scenes in novels.
This Dirty Little Birdie loved it!
Drew of course tries to fight the inevitable, but Preta's do NOT fuck around and by halfway through the book, Drew is coo-coo for cocoa puffs. I finished out Drew's demise around one in the morning and for the life of me I could not get the mental image of Gaki eating shit out of my head.
That thing seriously FREAKED me the fuck out.
NOPE
And while I really enjoyed the majority of this book I did think that it had a few hiccups that should have been addressed or left out all together.
Here is my biggest issue with this novel.
Ravna.
This guy is a Hunter although it never is specifically stated what he hunts. I wish that there was more of a back story for him because I was intrigued by his situation, but when he was introduced, something just didn't click. Then again he could have a back story somewhere else and I have yet to find my way to it, but as a newbie to J. Thorn's novels, I was a tad confused about some characters and scenarios that arose through out The Haunting.
Preta's Realm is NOT for the faint of heart.
It is gory.
It is scary.
Disgusting in parts, but overall I'd recommend it to those of you who enjoy taking a step into the darker world of literature, and letting your mind explore the monsters and creatures from other parts of the world.
Solid 3 stars from me and I intend on continuing with the series in order to find out if a certain someone is caught!
Til next time!
-B
gizmoto16's review
1.0
To be clear, I never finished this book. I got to a point where the protagonist was being emotionally abusive to his wife (which I'm sure is related to some type of evil possession - it's not really his fault type of story line) and I just had no interest in continuing reading it.
silverdire's review
2.0
Umm...What can I say? The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one is because I finished reading the book. It's a weird rating rule with me.
The writing wasn't terrible and the author had some original ideas regarding what I'm assuming is actual Japanese legend but I just didn't give a shit about any of the characters (pun partially intended). The main characters were, at best (in the case of Ravna), cardboard and at worst (the married couple & best friend), completely unlikeable. I have the same problem with horror movies--it's hard for me to enjoy it if I don't care who lives or dies.
The writing wasn't terrible and the author had some original ideas regarding what I'm assuming is actual Japanese legend but I just didn't give a shit about any of the characters (pun partially intended). The main characters were, at best (in the case of Ravna), cardboard and at worst (the married couple & best friend), completely unlikeable. I have the same problem with horror movies--it's hard for me to enjoy it if I don't care who lives or dies.
angielisle's review
2.0
This wasn't my cup of tea. I had problems relating to the characters. The idea of Gaki, the Preta, was interesting because it's not one I've seen done a hundred times in books.
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