Lucifer’s Mansion: A Hellsworld Hotel Prequel: Matthew Vaughn
Reviewed By Steve Stred
Vaughn is back, and to a lesser extent, so is the gang behind Hellsworld Hotel.
In the first release, we were introduced to the family behind the false haunted house business. A way for them to lure the public into their renovated building and kill with abandon and glee.
KR: You can read the Kendall Review by Ben Walker for Hellsworld Hotel HERE
Steve’s own review for Hellsworld Hotel will appear on KR soon.
Now, we jump back to the beginning, before the events of Hellsworld Hotel.
Vaughn is unflinching in the devastation and brutality that he delivers – think a Cannibal Corpse album brought to life. We get to sit back and live vicariously as new people visit the aptly named Lucifer’s Mansion and quickly get dispatched.
Vaughn paints with a deft brush when the machetes start hacking and the entrails start dripping. It really is a lot of fun to read. No one is spared and the beauty of all of this – is that the characters are pawns both in the book but also for the reader.
You see, the characters willing to enter this house – they want to be scared and shocked. So when scary, shocking events start to happen, they believe it’s staged. Even to the point where they will say “well that actor isn’t believable.” It works on such a great level that wherein typical horror books you may say “well that’s not real, why would you keep going?” The characters have to. It’s the only way to make it to the exit.
It also works in the sense that the characters are pawns for us, the readers. The people who come in and quickly get dispatched, simply don’t matter. They are a sparkling paint job on a muscle car. It’s the engine beneath the hood that matters the most.
That is where I was a bit let down. Where in Hellsworld Hotel we learn about and interact with the family behind the carnage, here they are but bit players.
That is the only minor critique I have, and it really is a minor one.
At the end, we see that more will come with Hellsworld Hotel 2 and I really can’t wait to see what happens. We now have some people looking for the family, as well as ties to Hellsworld Hotel that will need to be connected. Hellsworld Hotel 2 has just become one of my most anticipated releases and I can’t wait to see what Vaughn delivers.
Lucifer’s Mansion (A Hellsworld Hotel Prequel)
It’s Halloween night and for one small town it means the opening of the first haunted house attraction in their community, Lucifer’s Mansion.
A strange new family named The Harrington’s moved into an old schoolhouse and transformed the building over the summer. Now, on a warm October night, the place has opened to the public. Everyone’s excited to get into Lucifer’s Mansion, but how many of them are actually coming out?
Lucifer’s Mansion is a dark and extreme story set a few years before the events of Hellsworld Hotel, but can be read as a stand-alone story.
You can buy Lucifer’s Mansion from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Steve Stred
Steve Stred writes dark, bleak horror fiction.
Steve is the author of three novels, a number of novellas and four collections.
He is proud to work with the Ladies of Horror Fiction to facilitate the Annual LOHF Writers Grant.
Steve is also a voracious reader, reviewing everything he reads and submitting the majority of his reviews to be featured on Kendall Reviews.
Steve Stred is based in Edmonton, AB, Canada and lives with his wife, his son and their dog OJ.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred
You can follow Steve on Instagram @stevestred
You can visit Steve’s Official website here
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