Customer Reviews

Ghoul

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This second in the Slade series of Special X novels is not as engrossing as those that follow it, but it still packs a pretty horrific punch. We meet for the first time Zinc Campbell, one of the Mounties' more colorful characters, and join him on his search for a mysterious rock band called The Ghouls. Earlier in the book, we meet a strange collection of young men who initiate a rather nebbish-like youngster in their group called "The Ghouls." His initiation rite sets the stage for some ghastly goings on as he grows up. Meanwhile in London, Hilary Rand, the female Chief of Police about to get ousted by her sexist peers, faces several ghastly killers: The Vampire Killer, Jack (a homophobe bomber), and The Sewer Killer. Just who these gentlemen are remains a mystery throughout the book and how they intertwine provides for some fascinating commentary on the psyche of a psychotic! Zinc manages to get involved with two women: the Amazon FBI beauty, Carol Tate, and the frumpishly beautiful Deborah Lane, who has some dark secrets and connections of her own. Other than Zinc and Bob George, the regulars from "Headhunter" and the upcoming novels are noticeably absent. The identity of the different killers is a little more obvious than in the other Special X books, but Slade still manages to pull a real whopper at the end. All in all, worth reading to maintain the flow of this outstanding series.

I had never heard of Michael Slade. While looking through the book rack at a grocery store I picked up this book, read the back cover, and decided to give it a try. I was amazed. This little known (sadley) author(s) metodically takes you trough great mahem, murder, and suspence. I quickly found what I think was the first novel, Headhunter, and found the the writing is consistant. If dark suspense, violence, and frankly being scared to death is up your alley, then Slade and Goul is a must for you to read!

Slowly but surely Slade introduces us to the bits and pieces of his Special X squad. HEADHUNTER gave us Rovert DeClerq (not sure about the spelling), and GHOUL gives us Zinc Chandler. This guy is about as gutsy as 20 real-life detectives, and every bit as suave as James Bond. To paraphrase a review I read elsewhere, he more or less becoems catnip for women in this book. Here we encounter 3 killers...and you know what, it's been so long since I read this book that I honestly can't remember all 3...but I DO remember that Slade grips you by the throat once aghain and leads you leeringly through his mad house of horrors. AS in all his books, Slade's story depends on the rotation of several plotlines that skip back and forth between time, location, and characters. Slade is one of those authors who you either love or hate; his "numerous plotlines" trick either annoys or intices the reader, as well as his tendency to never pull a single punch when it comes to descrbing murder scenes (either during the act or the aftermath). But one thing is for sure: there is no inbetweens with Slade, and that is the sign of a damn good author.

If you are, then read no further. The Scream will make your parents throw out your Judas Priest records again! Although I'm an avid Michael Slade fan, this one is my favorite! Slade's talent for providing understandable information about forensics, psychology & serial crime put the reader in the RCMP. His multiple storylines weave effortlessley toward the climax & outcome of the case while making you relieved it's De Clerq out there & not you! If you like fiction that's almost non-fiction (because he studies up BEFORE he writes the book) please read this. And while you're at it, read Headhunter, Cutthroat & Ripper to treat your sick mind to a little candy! Slade can't write 'em fast enough.

This was my first Slade book and I still have a special place for it. I've been around the block a few times and have to say that no one can write quite like Slade. I looked around and burned my way through several horror fiction writers before stumbling across this one quite by accident. I was browsing through a bookstore and kind of liked the skull hologram on the book's front. I hadn't even heard of the guy. Great book great writer/s...somehow though, this one is still the best, none of the others seem quite like it.

If you want to really scare yourself, and you are not afraid of learning about some of the seamier sides of life, this is one hell of a read. No one author compares to Slade for his ability to keep you grossing out, yet caring about his charachters. Read it!!

What an amazing book! Though I know that the depiction of a multiple personality in this novel is not actually the way such things work, it was easy enough to suspend disbelief, because of the completely captivating story and the concise prose style of the three people who write as Michael Slade. I found this thing in a used bookstore not too long after it came out (lucky me), and noticed a blurb on the back that said it had Cthulhu Mythos content. That was good enough for me to shell out the few shekels and bring the thing home, especially as there wasn't anything else very interesting on the shelves...and was I ever glad I did. Couldn't figure out til the very end which one of the personalities was actually responsible for the wanton destruction depicted in this book, though I had my suspicions. The suspense was unbearable for me, and I stayed up all night to read this thing in one sitting. While doing research for a book of my own, this book popped up and said "Read me". So I did, repeating the experience all over again. I hadn't exactly forgotten about Saxon, but time and the load of many other fine books had dulled the memory a bit. Not now. It will be quite a while before I forget, and btw, I read it while listening to the earlier work of Alice Cooper, who had a recommending blurb on the edition I have. Nice combo-I recommend it.

This densely plotted, feverish novel is almost perfect, in any sense in which a written work is judged, i.e., plot, characterization, etc. I like to think that I can figure out what is going to happen by the end of a book, but this one completely surprised me - not one shock at the end, but two! Besides the revelation of the villain, there was also the totally unexpected development concerning Chandler's girlfriend, Deborah. Wow! Slade is famous for writing complex novels that demand your total attention, but this book was exceptionally well done. Everything fit together perfectly and in an absolutely logical way. Additionally, for those of you who believe he goes a little heavy on the history sometimes, there is little of that in this book. It is all plot - and what a plot. The characters are memorable, especially Inspector Rand (whose desperation you could feel); her assistant, Scotty (there's a man you'd like to have on your side); and, of course, the villain(s). This was not the first Slade book I read (that was Cutthroat), but it is far and away the best. The only other novel that is on a par with it is Ray Garton's Shackled. I invite fellow Slade (and horror in general) fans to correspond with me. I would enjoy hearing from you.

I read this book several years ago. I had never read this author previously, but what a suprise! I was really scared as I was reading it, but could not put it down. I made sure that my doors were locked, looked in my closets, under the bed, anywhere that I thought that someone could hide. this book is great for anyone that loves the horror genre. I have been searching for this book because I lost my copy. I am thrilled that I was not Imagining that it existed!

Ghoul is the second in the Special X series from the mind of bestselling author Michael Slade, and introduces us to Inspector Zinc Chandler; a tough as nails cop who could make Mike Hammer cry like a little girl with a skinned knee.

Zinc is investigating a series of ghastly murders, each more gruesome than the last, committed by a series of killers, each more insane than the last. What is their connection to each other? What is their connection to Zinc? What is their connection to the horror rock band Ghoul? Can anyone survive long enough to find the answers?

Ghoul is a page turner that will make you wince with every new revelation, and Michael Slade is a master craftsman at bringing his characters and situations to life in ways that will keep you awake at night either reading the book, or wondering what that noise in the other room was.

A must have entry in the Special X series, Slade is an evil genius.