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(Book Review) Seeing Evil by Jason Parent: Can We Change the Path We’re On?

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Seeing Evil by Jason Parent
Published August 4th 2015 by Red Adept Publishing, LLC

Fate in plain sight.

Major Crimes Detective Samantha Reilly prefers to work alone—she’s seen as a maverick, and she still struggles privately with the death of her partner. The only person who ever sees her softer side is Michael Turcotte, a teenager she’s known since she rescued him eleven years ago from the aftermath of his parents’ murder-suicide.

In foster care since his parents’ death, Michael is a loner who tries to fly under the bullies’ radar, but a violent assault triggers a disturbing ability to view people’s dark futures. No one believes his first vision means anything, though—not even Sam Reilly. When reality mimics his prediction, however, Sam isn’t the only one to take notice. A strange girl named Tessa Masterson asks Michael about her future, and what he sees sends him back to Sam—is Tessa victim or perpetrator?

Tessa’s tangled secrets draw Michael and Sam inexorably into a deadly conflict. Sam relies on Michael, but his only advantage is the visions he never asked for. As they track a cold and calculating killer, one misstep could turn the hunters into prey.

 

This is my first dance with horror author, Jason Parent.

Seeing Evil is a book about breaking the cycle. Life puts these characters in bad places, horrible situations, and makes them do not so nice things. In Seeing Evil, Parent shows us that we have the power to change the path we’re on.
Two of his characters, Michael and Tessa, stand out and are written exceptionally well. I found myself caught up in their separate struggles and enjoyed watching them come together. That’s where Parent excelled. As readers, we HAVE to know what happens to Michael and Tessa.
It was also nice, in the first half of the story,  to see Parent brave the world of school bullying. The experience near the beginning of the book involving Michael, a boy named Jimmy, and three bullies touches on an all too common scenario in today’s headlines.  It also introduces us to Michael’s gift as he sees what Jimmy has planned for one of the bullies.

The action is done rather well, the dialogue was good, and I felt swept up in the finale. There’s also a terrific tip of the hat to Stephen King’s Dead Zone. Rightfully so.

The story isn’t without its flaws. Sam, the lead detective, didn’t work for me. She shows poor judgement with regularity throughout the novel. The worst decisions involve bringing a kid into some pretty dangerous situations. This happened a few times. Once was enough to make me hope she got suspended. Fortunately, Michael and Tessa are so compelling they power us past the shortcomings.

Parent did a good job with the antagonist here (Father was downright horrifying at times), but I wish we could have had more time with him to see a better lead up to where he snapped. The explanation is good, it’s just a little rushed.

Seeing Evil has some very special moments and is a very fast read. There’s no denying Parent has talent.
I look forward to seeing where he goes next.

All in all, I was gonna give Seeing Evil 3.75 stars…but that finale convinced me it was close enough to push it up to 4.

 

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Visit Jason Parent at his website: AuthorJasonParent.com

Find him on:  Amazon,  Twitter,  GoodReads

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Watch ‘The Burning’ At The Location Where It Was Filmed

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Fangoria is reporting that fans of the 1981 slasher The Burning will be able to have a screening of the film at the location where it was filmed. The movie is set at Camp Blackfoot which is actually the Stonehaven Nature Preserve in Ransomville, New York.

This ticketed event will take place on August 3. Guests will be able to take a tour of the grounds as well as enjoy some campfire snacks along with the screening of The Burning.

The Burning

The film came out in the early ’80s when teen slashers were being churned out in magnum force. Thanks to Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th, filmmakers wanted to get in on the low-budget, high-profit movie market and a casket load of these types of films were produced, some better than others.

The Burning is one of the good ones, mostly because of the special effects from Tom Savini who had just come off of his groundbreaking work on Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th. He declined to do the sequel because of its illogical premise and instead signed on to do this movie. Also, a young Jason Alexander who would later go on to play George in Seinfeld is a featured player.

Because of its practical gore, The Burning had to be heavily edited before it received an R-rating. The MPAA was under the thumb of protest groups and political bigwigs to censor violent films at the time because slashers were just so graphic and detailed in their gore.

Tickets are $50, and if you want a special t-shirt, that will cost you another $25, You can get all the information by visiting the On Set Cinema webpage.

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‘Longlegs’ Creepy “Part 2” Teaser Appears on Instagram

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Longlegs

Neon Films released an Insta-teaser for their horror film Longlegs today. Titled Dirty: Part 2, the clip only furthers the mystery of what we are in for when this movie is finally released on July 12.

The official logline is: FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.

Directed by former actor Oz Perkins who also gave us The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Gretel & Hansel, Longlegs is already creating buzz with its moody images and cryptic hints. The film is rated R for bloody violence, and disturbing images.

Longlegs stars Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, and Alicia Witt.

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Exclusive Sneak Peek: Eli Roth and Crypt TV’s VR Series ‘The Faceless Lady’ Episode Five

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Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) and Crypt TV are knocking it out of the park with their new VR show, The Faceless Lady. For those unaware, this is the first fully scripted VR horror show on the market.

Even for masters of horror like Eli Roth and Crypt TV, this is a monumental undertaking. However, if I trust anyone to change the way that we experience horror, it would be these two legends.

The Faceless Lady

Ripped from the pages of Irish folklore, The Faceless Lady tells the story of a tragic spirit cursed to wander the halls of her castle for all of eternity. However, when three young couples are invited to the castle for a series of games, their fates may soon change.

So far, the story has provided horror fans with a gripping game of life or death that doesn’t look as if it will slow down in episode five. Luckily, we have an exclusive clip that may be able to satiate your appetites until the new premiere.

Airing on 4/25 at 5pmPT/8pmET, episode five follows our final three contestants in this wicked game. As the stakes are raised ever higher, will Ella be able to fully awaken her connection with Lady Margaret?

The faceless lady

The newest episode can be found on Meta Quest TV. If you haven’t already, follow this link to subscribe to the series. Make sure to check out the new clip below.

Eli Roth Present’s THE FACELESS LADY S1E5 Clip: THE DUEL – YouTube

To view in the highest resolution, adjust the quality settings in the bottom right corner of the clip.

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