Nightmares and Dreamscapes discussion

We the mods have decided to choose the horror genre for the Big Buddy Read that will start August 1st. We will not put an end date on these reads as we feel that no one likes to be crunched with their reading time. If you start late that is fine and you can finish the read whenever.

We will be reading the book, Prey by Graham Masterton.

Story synopsis:

There's something in the attic of Fortyfoot House. Something that rustles. Something that scampers and scratches. Something with fur, far more terrifying than a rat. — Recently divorced, David Williams takes a job restoring Fortyfoot House, a dilapidated 19th-century orphanage, hoping to find peace of mind and get to know his young son, Danny. But then he hears the scratching noises in the attic. And he sees long-dead people walking across the lawn.

Does Fortyfoot House exist in today, yesterday, or tomorrow- or all three at once? Only one thing is certain- it is a house with a dark unthinkable secret that threatens to send David's world hurling into a living nightmare. A nightmare that only David himself can prevent- if he can escape the thing in the attic.



Whoever wants to join can and it is voluntary. Please use spoilers when necessary - thank you.

Have fun and enjoy the read!

Always down for Masterton! Excited for this read!

Also, this ebook is free on both KU and Scribd.

Definitely looking forward to this one! Masterton rocks! :)

Such a great classic from Masterton, really looking forward to it.

On a scale of 1 (Firestarter or Carrie) to 10 (The Saw movies), how scary/gross is this supposed to be?

And will all of the "Big Buddy reads" be Horror-themed?

Nyssa wrote: "On a scale of 1 (Firestarter or Carrie) to 10 (The Saw movies), how scary/gross is this supposed to be?

And will all of the "Big Buddy reads" be Horror-themed?"

It is suppose to be about a haunted house with maybe a creature feature within as well.

As far as all the books being horror themed - no - we will have other genres.

Okay, thank you.

Nyssa wrote: "Okay, thank you."

You are welcome. :)

Marie wrote: "We the mods have decided to choose the horror genre for the Big Buddy Read that will start August 1st. We will not put an end date on these reads as we feel that no one likes to be crunched with th..."

Definitely love Masterton, I’m in!

Anne wrote: "Definitely love Masterton, I’m in!.."

Awesome Anne! Welcome aboard! :)

Karla wrote: "Sounds awesome! Please, count me in!!"

You are definitely in my friend! :)

This sounds great!

Ohh this sounds so good, I'm excited !

2%: Who hates squirrels? What's wrong with this person? lol

I'm in Chapter 4 and so far really enjoy the writing and mystery surrounding the house.

(view spoiler)[ That mural in the chapel really was a cool find. I'm excited to find out what happened. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[ This quote about women enjoying abuse really is quite some theory though... "“The social condition is that men treat women as goddesses until they catch them. Then they exploit them, abuse them, beat them and vilify them. And the more they exploit them, abuse them, beat them and vilify them, the more women enjoy it.” (hide spoiler)]

I haven’t started yet but it will be next. I have to finish an ARC for another author first but it’s a novella so won’t take long.

Hey everybody! Just a reminder that this buddy read starts in August. Y'all can absolutely read it whenever you want of course! We'll just catch up on your spoiler comments when we start. Happy reading!

Sally wrote: "Hey everybody! Just a reminder that this buddy read starts in August. Y'all can absolutely read it whenever you want of course! We'll just catch up on your spoiler comments when we start. Happy rea..."

Oh! Thanks for the reminder! I’ll probably wait, so many books to get to. 😁

Oh I totally thought it was starting this month

@Trustno1 No worries! We posted it kinda early to make sure people could get copies in time. And you definitely don't have to wait, we can just respond to your spoilers later. Enjoy!

I started it last night a bit early. Good so far but I only read a little as I was finishing my last book.

Anne wrote: "I started it last night a bit early. Good so far but I only read a little as I was finishing my last book."

Cool Anne! Happy to see that you are enjoying it so far. :)

Now at 30% and cruising along. Hit the first major event and it was 😳

I’m a little over 50% and I’m so hooked. I’m seeing hints at things I’d like to mention but I don’t know how to hide spoilers.

So I finished it and enjoyed it. I posted a review but made it brief to not include spoilers. Can someone explain how to post with spoilers? I’ve seen it explained but I’m just not getting it. 😏

Hi Anne, if you click on the line that says (some html is ok) right above the comment box, like when you are typing a comment on here you get a list of the codes, towards the bottom is the spoilers comment.. just make sure to have no spaces between them. Where it shows ... you just write your spoiler and can do a preview before you post :)

Kasia wrote: "Hi Anne, if you click on the line that says (some html is ok) right above the comment box, like when you are typing a comment on here you get a list of the codes, towards the bottom is the spoilers..."

Thank you! Here goes…
So, did it work?

Nope! Ok I’ll try this way…

I’m still not doing it right. I did it and it just didn’t show up at all. Do I have to put each word in its own <>?

No you write <.spoiler> (without the dot after <) in front of the first word and (without the dot again) after the last word you want to hide.

Okay I deleted the important part when changing my message. You use <./spoiler> without the dot at the end of your spoiler.

Anne wrote: "Nope! Ok I’ll try this way…

I’m still not doing it right. I did it and it just didn’t show up at all. Do I have to put each word in its own ?"

This link is helpful it explains it pretty well :)

https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2....

(view spoiler)[is this it?
👏👏sorry to be such a dope! (hide spoiler)]

Ok, so what I wanted to say is (view spoiler)[I thought that Brown Jenkin sounded familiar so I looked it up and liked that Mastertson wrote something Lovecraftian but still good if you aren’t familiar with Lovecraft. (hide spoiler)]

Anne you did it! Well done, I had so much trouble figuring out how to do spoilers when I joined goodreads too.

Sally wrote: "Anne you did it! Well done, I had so much trouble figuring out how to do spoilers when I joined goodreads too."

Thanks, that makes me feel a little less stupid! 😜 I just didn’t get it that you actually have to put the word spoiler in. Glad to know now!

Sadly, I can't find an audiobook for this one.

I would like to join in this buddy read! I haven't started yet, but I read the synopsis and it looks like fun! I haven't done a group read in a while because life got... busy.... but I'm looking forward to chatting about the book with you all!

That's great Emma!I started last night but only made it 2 chapters in before bed.

The first chapter really grabbed me (with cold hands with somehow too-long fingers)! This promises to be a deliciously spooky one... 👻

Sorry guys I'm a late starter with this one ( a re-read for me, last time I read this I was 15 and it was 1996 lol) , but thank you for being here, means the world to us <3

Anne wrote: "Sally wrote: "Anne you did it! Well done, I had so much trouble figuring out how to do spoilers when I joined goodreads too."

Thanks, that makes me feel a little less stupid! 😜 I just didn’t get i..."

Won't click on your spoiler yet but well done, yay!

Emma wrote: "The first chapter really grabbed me (with cold hands with somehow too-long fingers)! This promises to be a deliciously spooky one... 👻"

Any author would love to have that blurb on their cover, the too long fingers, ugh, shiveringly good!

I will be joining this read sometime this week! Love Masterton! :)

I love the imagery of (view spoiler)[(on p30) describing the appearance of the house as "the same way in which a stick appears to be bent when you slide it into a pool of water." (hide spoiler)] It is such an evocative description; the image leaps to mind immediately and I experience not just the image or the recognition, but the disquiet that comes with it.

I know it's more common in older writing (such as from the 90s, when society accepted more of it in common discourse), but the casual sexism creeps in; though David seems to be a decent guy when dealing with (view spoiler)[Liz, all of a sudden after she shows some interest in him and especially after they [sort of] have sex. (hide spoiler)] there's a lot of incidental misogyny that just gets tossed in like it's a normal part of conversation. I have more thoughts on this but I won't fill this discussion with them.

That said, I am enjoying this book so far, and I can't wait to see what happens!

Emma wrote: "I love the imagery of [spoilers removed] It is such an evocative description; the image leaps to mind immediately and I experience not just the image or the recognition, but the disquiet that comes..."

I agree 100% about the casual sexism and misogyny Emma. Much more prevalent in books from the 80's and 90's. But, like you said, it's still an enjoyable and fun story. The other thing that made me do a double take was (view spoiler)[ when David immediately let this strange woman whom he'd just met take his 7 year old to the store without him. And then let her move in the same day he met her. That idea is inconceivable to me! (hide spoiler)]

But the creepy bits are excellent, love that stuff!

Yeah I sadly agree, it's all over these books. He definitely got better with not including that in his later books.

Right at the halfway point, on page 241. This book is fun and I can't wait to find out what's going on! (view spoiler)[ there is time travel, maybe a cult because they just found an upside down crucifix and very mysterious deaths. Everything you want in a horror! I'm also starting to question whether Liz knows something or is somehow involved. (hide spoiler)]

Whoa you are fast Sally! Im starting today sorry to be tardy :D

Kasia wrote: "Whoa you are fast Sally! Im starting today sorry to be tardy :D"

You're not tardy! We're partying in here all month!!