Official Review: Tendrils in the Dark

[Sam Ibeh]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Tendrils in the Dark" by Martin V. Parece II.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Life has a way of taking us through dark and dangerous moments that we never prepare for. When everything seems to be normal, a sinister force can flip our world over.

Tendrils in the Dark by Martin V. Parece II is a compilation of 8 horror stories filled with bizarre, grotesque, evil, and terrifying events. The eight short stories (and an additional untitled bonus story) in the book span across different times, geographical locations, and kinds of people. However, they have one thing in common — the main characters encounter evil spirits or monsters that endanger the people. As all adventure stories go, the protagonists have to find a way to defeat the evil and darkness confronting the people. You'll have to read these short stories to know whether they'll eventually succeed or fail.

I enjoyed reading all the stories in this book. However, my favorite is the fourth, The Lady in Yellow, because it had the most depth, and it employed offhand humor that made it more interesting to read. I also liked how it ended, leaving the reader to speculate on what the main character's final decision would be.

What I liked most about the book was that the stories were suspenseful. The fact that I could not predict what would happen next made it a page-turner for me. I was so curious to know the next line of action that I almost thought some stories were abrupt.

The writing style is appealing to me because it's very descriptive. The author made his scenes as realistic as possible by adding many details without deviating from the stories' focal point. The narrative technique makes it easier to follow the stories as it's not stilted or uncomfortable; it flowed freely. It is usually challenging to write short stories because authors have to fit many background details and backstory into a few paragraphs. However, the author manages to do this without cutting out essential information.

Despite the brevity of the stories, the book was riddled with errors. It got me a little distracted while reading the book — I had to take the time to figure out what the corrections should be. This was the only thing I disliked about this book.

Overall, I wouldn't explain why I enjoyed spending a few hours getting horrified, scared, and exasperated, but I did. I'd rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, and I'd recommend it to any horror story aficionado. The profanities used in this book are up to a level where parental guidance would be required for readers who are 13 years and below.

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Tendrils in the Dark
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[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

Great job with the review!
The bizarre, grotesque, evil, and terrifying events found in this book are not my cup of tea, but bravo to the author.

[Hazel Arnaiz]

Just in time for Halloween. But I hope the errors get fixed. Thanks for the review.

[Drianie]

This does seem like an appropriate reading choice for this time of the year. It’s good to know the author managed to incorporate all the necessary information while keeping it interesting and suspenseful at the same time. I enjoyed reading your elaborate review!

[Cynthia Olyy]

Evil and terrifying events are not things I want to read right now. Maybe later. I'll check back later.

[shamayelnur]

I love suspenseful horror novels. This sounds like a perfect pick for me. Your review was helpful too and helped me to judge this book. Thanks a lot for the review!

[MURANGA9]

Although it's scary reading the book, I do enjoy the anxiety brough about by such books. I will definitely give it a try. Awesome review .

[NetMassimo]

This seems a nice horror story, too bad there are so many errors that can distract you from reading it. Thank you for your great review!

[Raluca_Mihaila]

Thank you for your informative review! I am a bit fan of horror books, but I prefer the novels. I feel that the short stories are at disadvantage, since the the author doesn't have enough time to build the suspense required for a good scare .

[GNerd]

I hope the author takes this great book through another round of proofreading. Honest review you've got there.