Larry reviews New York Times bestselling author RL Stine’s first adult fiction novel “Red Rain” coming out October 9th, 2012.

RL Stine, master of children’s nightmares delves into scaring his old fans once again as he dives headfirst into adult horror fiction. ~Larry, The Founding Fields

I was and still am a fan of RL Stine’s YA titles Goosebumps and Fear Street so when I heard the master of children’s nightmares was going to be releasing an adult horror fiction I was excited, and fearful as well. Sometimes when authors are switching from young adult fiction to adult fiction they try to hard, adding things that really do not need to be there to make it adult, and it ultimately ruins the books, and sometimes our outlook on the author.

When I first received the book I was super excited and tore into it, due to being home and work it took a bit longer to read then a book normally does. The book is a page turner, Stine does an outstanding job holding the readers attention and just when you thought you figured things out he had no problem throwing a wrench in to your thinking and created a nice plot twist. He had me guessing all the way until the ending and wrapped up the entire book really nicely. Every scene in the book plays well to the story and there is no real proverbial fat that we have to chew while reading this.

The characters in this book are thought through but not over done in explaining them. Some authors do an incredible job in character creation, sometimes even overdoing it. To me a prime example of this is Stephen King or JK Rowling who can create characters you will cry about if something happens to them or want to reach into the page and strangle just through their sheer stupidity or attitude. R.L. Stine, while he does a great job of creating characters he does not go deep in depth about them. Which for some people will be a good thing, and others bad. While reading this book I did see many similarities to King’s writing syle, so in a way this is King-lite, great writing style and storytelling without tons of extra stuff.

If you were a fan of RL Stine when you where a kid then I am glad to say that Stine pulls off the transition to an adult horror writer expertly. Upon opening his book I found myself in a matured Goosebumps book, this time with all the gory details we wanted when we were younger, with a bit of sex added to truly add elements to the story, not just to spice it up.

I am giving this book a solid 9/10. All the elements of a great novel are present and this could even be enjoyed by out of genre readers as well as people seeking a nice horror filled night. If you ever where a fan of Stine the get this book.  Also if you are a fan of Stephen King I would say that you would also enjoy this book a lot too.  Ultimately if you just want a good horror/thriller novel then this should be good for you.

 

Travel writer Lea Sutter finds herself on a small island, Cape Le Chat Noir, off the coast of South Carolina.  A merciless, unanticipated hurricane cuts a path of destruction and Lea barely escapes with her life.  She has an overwhelming desire to help the devastated island. In the storm’s aftermath, she discovers orphaned twin boys and impulsively decides to adopt them.

The boys, Samuel and Daniel, seem amiable and immensely grateful. Lea’s family in Sag Harbor, Long Island – husband Mark, a child psychologist and newly minted bestselling author of a controversial parenting book and their two children, Ira and Elena – aren’t quite so pleased.  Then strange things begin to happen.  No one could have anticipated the twins’ true nature…how could they?  Or predict that within a few weeks’ time, Mark will wind up implicated in two brutal murders? Or that the twins would have some strange power over Ira and Elena…and all the children in the neighborhood?

As the town dissolves into a place of unending fear and horror, seemingly led by the twins, Lea and Mark must ask themselves, is a child’s life worth protecting above all else?  How far will they be willing to go to bring back order-and will it cost them their family?

In RED RAIN, R.L. Stine proves that he can not only scare children and teens, but adults as well! With the success of Goosebumps and Fear Street in the 90′s, it is virtually impossible to find a person in his or her twenties or thirties who was NOT an R.L. Stine fan. RED RAIN is for those millions of now adult readers who grew up on the beloved master of the genre, and for every fan of deviously inventive horror.

RED RAIN: A Novel
Touchstone Hardcover / Simon & Schuster
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Price: $24.99
ISBN: ),

R.L. Stine lives in New York City with his wife, Jane, an editor and publisher, and their dog, Minnie. Please visit him at www.RLStine.com.