The Sorrows [Kindle Edition]

Jonathan Janz (Author)

Book Description

Something is trapped in the castle, and it wants to feed!
 
The Sorrows, an island off the coast of northern California, and its castle have been uninhabited since a series of gruesome, unexplained murders in 1925. But its owner needs money, so he allows film composers Ben and Eddie and a couple of their female friends to stay a month in Castle Blackwood. Eddie is certain an eerie and reportedly haunted castle is just the setting Ben needs to find musical inspiration for a horror film.
 
But what they find is more horrific than any movie. For something is waiting for them in the castle. A being, once worshipped, now imprisoned, has been trapped for nearly a century. And he’s ready to feed.

 

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

The Sorrows, an island off the coast of California, and its castle have been uninhabited since a series of gruesome, unexplained murders in 1925. But its owner allows film composers Ben and Eddie and a couple of their friends to stay in Castle Blackwood. Eddie is certain a haunted castle is the setting Ben needs to find musical inspiration for a horror film.

But what they find is more horrific than any movie. Something is waiting for them in the castle. A being, once worshipped, now imprisoned, has been trapped for nearly a century. And he’s ready to feed.
 

About the Author

Jonathan Janz grew up between a dark forest and a graveyard. In a way, that explains everything. So far, he has written two novellas (Old Order and Witching Hour Theatre), several short stories, and one novel, The Sorrows. His primary interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children, and though he realizes that every author’s wife and children are wonderful and amazing, in this case the cliché happens to be true.

 

Product Details

• File Size: 548 KB
• Print Length: 272 pages
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd. (December 6, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00699SD5A
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,283 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sorrows : Where Your Sins Wait For You January 19, 2012

By A. Sheehan

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Sorrows is the debut novel for author Jonathan Janz and man, does he set the bar high! What a great concept and wonderful execution. A band of souls travel to a remote island to stay in an old mansion that has secrets darker than Dracula's castle. Something sinister (is it even the devil himself?) was walled up in the tower room a hundred years ago. There's a beast in the basement and darkness in the hearts of those living trapped on the island. Through the terror thrill ride, there are some deeply poignant moments between the main character, Ben, and the son he fears losing. The ending has all the speed and suspense of a space shuttle hurtling through the atmosphere. This is a can't miss and I can't wait to read his next book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Calling this "spooky" would only make it sound quaint. March 19, 2012

By Wag The Fox

Format:Kindle Edition

What's better than a spooky old house? How about a spooky old castle? Yeah, that's a good start, but what if the castle is on a remote island? Even better. With Jonathan Janz's debut novel, he presents a horror novel that offers a blend of old gothic chills and modern gruesomeness. But, does the combination work?

The Sorrows is a great evocative name, and just so happens to be the name of the castle in which this story is set, named after a symphony created by a composer named Blackwood whose family owns the estate off the southern California coast. Now, the castle will be the muse for an aging musician under deadline to compose the score for a much-hyped horror film. Ben Shadeland is divorced, and his ex-wife is turning their son, Joshua, against him as she moves in with a new lover named Ryan. So when Ben's friend and collaborator, Eddie, tries to convince him that the Sorrows is the perfect place to get the creative juices flowing, Ben reluctantly agrees if only in part to take his mind off the torment his ex is putting him through. Along for the ride are Claire, an aspiring musician in her own right who idolizes Ben and desperately wants to work with him, and Eva, a seductive assistant to their employer who is tagging along to keep tabs on their progress since Ben has a habit of pushing his deadlines. The four are flown via helicopter to Castle Blackwood where they will reside on their own until the movie score is finished.

At the same time, a young heir and all-round degenerate, Chris Blackwood, has descended into another tight squeeze, in debt with some unsavory characters, and his arrogant tycoon of a father has no sympathy for him whatsoever. As their story progresses intermittently through the novel, it becomes clear that Chris has some traumatic memories stemming from his childhood at Castle Blackwood, and his discovery of a long-lost journal belonging to his great-grandfather's servant--chapters of which also appear intermittently through the book--offer glimpses into the estate's sinister history. At first, the chapters involving Chris Blackwood seem tangential and used as filler, but it becomes evident before long that his path is bound to converge with the Sorrows once more.

Janz crafts a story that initially feels like a familiar one, but by the end of the first act a first swerve occurs and the predictable course of action disappears entirely. And by the end of the novel you realize, the story has gone in a direction you would never have anticipated. Despite some character motivations and behavior that feel suspect at times, his writing kept me off balance, as just when I thought I had the book figured out it would slightly askew and the terror would come from an entirely new direction. I'd go into greater detail on that, but I think readers ought to discover all of that for themselves.

Ben is a great protagonist and easily likable despite his shortcomings. His point of view is only one of a half-dozen or so, however, and the others (especially the journal entries of the Blackwood's servant, which harken to the Lovecraft and M.R. James style) offer a very good rounding of the dominant storyline. As for the chills and thrills, they vary from the classic gothic tension that comes from roaming halls and catacombs of an old castle, to some titillating and/or terrifying scenes that gives glimpses into the dreadful history of the castle and its former residents.

Some of the occurrences towards the end of the book, leading into the climax, strained my suspension of disbelief, but overall I thought this was a strong debut and I'm definitely looking forward to Janz's second outing through Samhain later this year, titled House of Skin--a title that gets its own cameo within this novel.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Blood, Breasts, and Beasts March 3, 2012

By Meli Hooker

Format:Paperback

Joe Bob Briggs understood the importance of the 3 B's - blood, breasts, and beasts - and so does Jonathan Janz. The description of The Sorrows might lead you to believe, as I did, that this novel is an eerie and atmospheric tale. While the book has a dark, eerie atmosphere, it's more fast-paced and gruesome than you might initially expect. There is an erotic tension throughout the story as well, but with the same violence you experience in Richard Matheson's Hell House.

Ben and Eddie are film composers working on a score for a horror film, but Ben has been crippled with writer's block. Thinking a mysterious and haunted castle just might be the place to release his partner's creative energy, Eddie rents out Castle Blackwood, nestled on the island of The Sorrows off the coast of California. But instead of some spooky sounds and doors closing by themselves, the history of the castle - uninhabited since 1925 - is more disturbingly violent and sordid than Eddie bargained for. Accompanied by an actress from the movie and an ambitious composer hopeful, the four go from swapping anecdotes by the fire between sips of wine to a fight for their lives.

Janz doesn't shy away from exposing all the sex and blood of the story. His graphic prose and quick pace reminded this reader of a good ol' Richard Laymon novel. Oftentimes in a Laymon novel you hardly have time to come up for air and Janz' The Sorrows is the same way. As the secrets of Castle Blackwood are revealed, the reader gets closer to the source of evil and up close look at its shocking horrors. There are more than a few stomach-churning scenes that'll make you wanna cover your eyes to protect your innocent mind, but it's kinda hard to read that way!

This is a must for Laymon fans and horror readers who live the Joe Bob mantra; blood, breasts, and beasts!

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