This is a difficult book to rate. First, it's free, which is always good. Second, it is by an independant author, again I appreciate those people with the courage and gumption to go it alone. Next, it is a collection of stories. Do you rate it by the median (3)? mean (2.3)? mode(1)? best story(4)? worst story(0)? Mr. Daley could have used a friend to eliminate several of the stories, "Seven Drops of Blood" would have been better.
The best way to illustrate one of his overarchig flaws is by compasrison. There's a Steven King novel that begins with a tween paperboy and a pretty young girl getting killed. From his description, you can tell that he liked both of them. That, if you asked Mr. King what they got for their sixth birthday, what time of day they were born, etc. that he could tell you. You empaathise the loss. Every character who dies in the book is developed and each death makes the reader a little sad. Daley's character descriptions fall along the lines of "Becky Smith was the smelliest girl in the first-grade class, she was also stupid, fat and clumsy. She was mean spirited and stole things." Shortly later a werewolf would gut her and eat her in lurid detail and the reader doesn't care. The ither extreme is "Bob loved his perfect wife totally. He watched her perfect bottom, framed perfectly by her microshorts, admired her prefect breasts. She cooked him a perfect hamburger." They the monster breaks in. We get to watch her perfect abdomen cut open, revealing her perfect intestines and perfect liver. Aside from one or two stories, the vast majority of characters are one-dimensional mannequins of organs and blood to be slashed open. Oh, and he needs to reduce the violence against kids, featured in the majority of his stories. Even the splatterpunk Deadlands RPG pointed out that violence against kids should be implied, not shown overtly.
His "twist" endings are telegraphed to the point that they are as predictable as the shape of a Pringle's chip, with only one or two that were even a little bit of a surprise.
Let's look on his work on an item by item basis:
Foreward: The author immediately frightened me by comparing horror to porn, and he does deliver porn-like quality overall. He complains that horror is called other things sometimes, but what he is referring to is sub-genreas and super-genres. For example, he whines about the phrase "speculative fiction" being used as a frou-frou term for horror. It is not a synonym for horror, it is a supercategory that covers horror, S/F, Fantasy, super-hero, anime, supernatural romance, etc. As to the subgenres, those are used to differentiate between styles for the benefit of the reader.
For example, Twilight (supernatural romance) and Blade (Action horror) and Dracula: Dead and Lovin' It (Horror spoof comedy) are all vampire themed films but each is liked by a very different audience. I don't see a Twihard getting all moist for Blade, (even though he could rip Edwaed in half) or a hardcore Blade fan lovin' Leslie Neilsen as Dracula. Dark Fiction refers more to Anne Rice style and Dark Fantasy to horror themed stories, that have happy endings and are written in a F/SF style such as Dresden Files or Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter. They are categorically not horror, so they are called "Dark Fantasy."
1: The Exibition: (Two stars) Poorly characterized book about unlikeable characters, predictable ending, not believable. The FBI tracks $10k purchases/withdrawls. How does no one notice that people are vanishing? I don't consider this a spoiler, since if you have not figured out the plot and ending by the end of the first paragraph, you probably should stick to Scooby Doo. I'm giving this two stars instead of one because one part of the ending is a little unexpected and the mood is well set.
2: The Confession: (Three Stars). Decent story. Could have used a few more paragraphs. Could have had a more creative ending.
3: Baby: (Four Stars) Despite pretty generic characters, this has an interesting take on an old theme.
4: Ghost in My Room: (Three Stars), fair story. Not entirely predictable.
5: Jonathan vs. the Perfect Ten: (1 star) Not beliveable at all. Nothing makes sense. 90% of it is little kids getting ripped to shreds. Nauseating. What town would do any of it? He also ignores the squared/cubed law, and how does he feed the giant monsters on so little money? Again, not a spoiler since he mentions the giant monsters in the first paragraph.
6: Hanging Tree: (1 star) This should be the start of a book, not a stand-alone story. Esp. considering that the zombie apocolypse didn't take place in the 1800s. I Don't buy the characters acting like they do in the story.
7: Thoughts of the Dead (3 stars) Dailey choses to tell, not show. Still, it's a unique take on Zombie stories. With a little work, this could be a five star story.
8: Summer of 1816 (4 stars:) Good story about Mary Shelly. Makes sense. Remember though, Frankenstein was the scientist, not the monster, so the end does not make perfect sense. And the final twist is a little cheesy.
9: Fallen (1 star) Not a story, a cutscene from a zombie game or movie.
10: The Relation Ship (3 stars) Been there, dude. Had one of them, feel for you. Still, it's a litle too cutesy.
11: Suffer Shirley Gunn (1 star) The story makes zero sense. Imagine trying to cook dinner, and your first step is to smash all the Hummel figurines in the world. The means has nothing to do with the goal.
12: Humpy and Shrivels: (4 Stars) I didn't see this twist coming. He does great at setting the mood, the characters are well developed. This one was actually funny.
13: Curse of the Blind Eel. (Zero) Just awful. Really, really bad. Amounts to 12-20 pages of...euphemisms is the wrong word....gross slang synonyms for excrement or the act of elimination.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
![13 Drops of Blood by [James Roy Daley, Books of the Dead]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51-cgExsP2L._SY346_.jpg)
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Popular titles by this author
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from other countries
Angel
The B movie of the literary world
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 31, 2013
timB
Not for the squeamish.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 23, 2013
