Nicholas Grabowsky Reviews The Calling

Horror_Writer

Paul M Strickler's 'The Calling' gets a Halloween blessing from the man who wrote the film....

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I do not hide in shadow, for I am the shadow; thus to hide, I hide within myself.

Horror_Writer · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 1:06 am Post subject:

Hey, guess what, Nicholas finally reviewed my book! I sent him a copy August 2006. According to his website, he read it and was going to post a review "any day now." That was back in July. Today, though, he finally put up a review. Here it is . . .

The Calling is a 500-plus-page-long, character-driven, lyrically-fluid tale that reads like a haunted house story with a Halloween funhouse ride-type pace that sometimes gets stuck in narrative before it starts off again and pulls you further into the ride. The way Strickler writes tells me he knows what he's doing, like he's written for awhile, though this is his first novel. I've said that before with other premiere writers who have put out first novels, and this is a way well-over obvious indication the chap's not only got some real talent, but the ambition of someone who believes in his work and the patience and diligence to pull out of himself a story so epic yet dealing with so tight a group of characters in a small town setting. Yes, it rides on Essence of King, of whom I'm certain is an inspiration to the author, but Strickler is his own voice here.

Basically, with this story, you've got a family who moves to a small town in northern Michigan and into the one house nobody in that town wants to live in. A guy who once lived there was very much into the Dark Arts, you see, and what happened there was so powerful that it wants to happen again, pulling the main character of the boy in the family further into intrigue, seduces him to discover just what it is that's happening to his family to find himself immersed smack down in the center of it. As it turns out, important people in the town are involved, and we find the source of unspeakable evil to be from a supernatural gateway where all the protagonist pieces are shuffling together throughout the story to eventually open and bring about a vengeful assault from the demonic forces beyond.

Paul Strickler has an impressive educational and professional history which largely involves the side of the brain that's opposite the creative side, working high-ranking positions in areas ranging from CIA computer operations to aerospace technology, which accounts for a good head-on-your-shoulders literary expertise and actually stimulates creativity, is what it seems to me in his case. I mean, a majority of computer geeks I know have a skill equivalent to a gerbil playing basketball when it comes to telling a story on paper, and Paul not only tells a story, but tells it well, and places enough dark and surreal visions in your head that it takes a few good nights of restless sleep to get over.

Bravo, and keep up the great work, Paul…….

- Nicholas Grabowsky
Author, Halloween IV

Thanks!

It's been "calling" to you? Watch out! Icon_devilgrin

My ambitious plan now is to do a third draft of my third novel and get it done by end of February next year. Then write two new novels by the end of the year (2008). I have their plots all figured out, just need a little more planning and they'll be ready to write. Super ambitious I know, but I'm going to go for it. Practice for my enrollment in a Master's program (which I'm still waiting to hear on my acceptance for).
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I do not hide in shadow, for I am the shadow; thus to hide, I hide within myself.

Lady Eldorath · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 2:00 am Post subject:

LOL. Yeah, I know what you mean. We have so many projects on the board right now but it's nice because we can break up our work. I have one children's book done and am almost done with the other for double submission. Being first time writers, our biggest issue is in we don'thave a publisher, we are not self publishing, and it's a great deal of work with our non-fiction pieces gaining permissions etc. But, I have faith that what is meant to be will occur-in its own time frame.

I never pegged myself though for the horror genre, that is why I used the terms I did but this has been a fascinating adventure and I can't even explain what this sort of genre does for one's own sense of humanity. I'm just grateful each day.

Anyhow, I'm rambling on your own thread lol. Keep me posted on the masters work though. I have just five classes left of my masters program and I'm so excited.
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"Weaken a bad habit by avoiding everything that occasioned it or stimulated it, without concentrating upon it in your zeal to avoid it. Then divert your mind to some good habit and steadily cultivate it until it becomes a dependable part of you. " P. Yogananda

Horror_Writer · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 4:36 am Post subject:

That's great though--having lots of projects going on at once.

I've even been considering writing these two novels at the same time--alternating between them. I don't think that would be a good idea though, but I have considered it.
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I do not hide in shadow, for I am the shadow; thus to hide, I hide within myself.

Albertus · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 7:56 pm Post subject:

Thats awesome HW! Congrats on the great review!
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"Some people see the glass half full. Others see it half empty. I see a glass that's twice as big as it needs to be." - George Carlin