Title: Slasher Crasher
Series: N/A
Author: David Nora
Publisher: Black Rose Publishing
Release Date: August 29, 2019
Heat Level: 0/5
Pairing: N/A
Length: 383 pages
Genre: Horror Comedy
Synopsis:
It was the night HE tried to go home…but got caught in THEIR drama…
It’s Halloween. Nick Roesch, a towering figure of evil and stupidity, escapes from the upstate New York mental hospital he’s been committed to for the past five years. Planning to return to his childhood home, where he brutally murdered his babysitter’s boyfriend, his plans are halted when he crosses paths with an even more terrifying beast—two high school friends with some serious beef. Caught in a battle of loyalty that has been brewing for ten years of their friendship, the two girls, Kathleen Strife, and Betsy Coleman force the feud into a savage showdown, pitting the escaped monster against each other. Who will survive this epic deathmatch, and is it totally wrong to fall in love with the murderous lunatic who just tried to kill your ex-best friend with a machete?
My Review:
Congratulations Mr. Nora on a fantastically brilliant debut novel.
I’m going to start off with: this book won’t be for everyone due to language, violence, and some adult themes. Having said that, I thought it was perfect for the story. Let me explain.
Horror Comedy, much like Horror Romance has got to be one of the hardest writing achievements because it forces the author to make the audience laugh, and be grossed out and uncomfortable, whereas Horror Romance is asking for some soft and mushy feels from the heart, and I’m not talking about when you’re holding the organ still hot and beating in your hands. Nora has successfully attained this lofty goal.
Nora had me giggling and outright laughing several times throughout the novel with quick banter and witty retorts interspersed throughout the dialogue and internal thoughts of the characters. Comedy aspect achieved.
The entire book is steeped in 1980’s references to many slasher movies, from Friday the 13th to Chopping Mall. All of these movies I remember. But to add to the atmosphere, Nora has used many pop culture references as well. I thought I was pretty astute when it comes to this, and even still I had to Google a few of them. Again, very clever writing.
I have read some of the other reviews of this book, and I get it – this may not be for everyone, but Nora took me back to high school. As a confused gay teen, I remember what it was like sitting in a class and thinking, “I’m not like everyone else.” I empathized with David, one of the main characters to the point where I was reliving my high school years, and let me tell you, they were their own version of hell, its own horror novel. I also understood the self-esteem issues that both Betsy and Kathleen faced. Their responses to the stressors of high school couldn’t have been more polar opposites, and quite often Kathleen was beyond crude, but I knew people exactly like this.
Youth who were trying to figure out who they were, struggling with identity issues, body acceptance issues, faith crises…and each person I knew dealt with it differently. Some were attitudinal and rebelled against any kind of authority. Some banded together in tight-knit cliques and tortured anyone who didn’t fit in (an attempt to make their group ‘the norm’), where others used substances to find solace.
Regardless of how we dealt with the rigors of coming into our adulthood, each of us was our own worst enemy and were highly critical of not only others but of ourselves. And I saw each of Nora’s main characters doing exactly that.
So, where others took issue with language, fatphobia, homophobia, and misogyny, I saw the main characters berating themselves and others because they were teens, struggling to find personal and peer acceptance.
Now let’s add in an escaped mental health patient who will stop at nothing to return to his past…and we get the horror.
The best definition I’ve ever seen of horror is simply this: A good horror story does one of two things (or both). You’re either grossed out or made to feel uncomfortable (that’s often where the ‘scary’ comes in). Nora succeeded on this level as well. The slasher deaths were exactly what I was expecting and they were difficult to read. I was sufficiently grossed out. The slasher party scene (slasher crasher) was filled with just the right amount of tension and the plot leading up to this pivotal scene was filled with hooks to keep me reading.
Overall, as I said earlier, brilliant. Well done, and a smashing debut!
Rating:
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Meet the Author:
Born in Syracuse, NY, David Nora was a normal child until he saw THE EXORCIST at the age of seven. Sleeping with an actual vile of holy water, he finally recovered with his first viewing of the meta-slasher comedy, SCREAM. Since then he has been devouring everything horror related–except the CHILD’S PLAY movies. He wants nothing to do with that devil doll. Currently, he lives in New York City with his beloved stuffed polar bear, Po Po.
J.P. Jackson 