“Anyone who likes a good ghost story is going to enjoy The Sorrows. Anyone who likes a ghost story where there’s no doubt the ghosts are undoubtedly real will love this novel.” – New York Journal of Books The Sorrows, an island off the coast of northern California, and its castle have been uninhabited since a series of gruesome murders in 1925. But its owner needs money, so he allows film … owner needs money, so he allows film composers Ben and Eddie and a couple of their female friends to stay a month in Castle Blackwood. Eddie is certain a haunted castle is just the setting Ben needs to find inspiration for a horror film. But what they find is more horrific than any movie. Something is waiting for them in the castle. A malevolent being has been trapped for nearly a century. And he’s ready to feed.
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The Sorrows by Jonathan Janz is suspenseful tale about two composers on a quest to become inspired. When they rent a month long stay at a castle on an island in the middle of nowhere in order to finish composing works for a horror flick, they had no idea what horrors were actually in store for them.
My goodness… where to begin with this review! This is very much a book that you just need to dive right into, so I will keep this very light.
This novel had an awesome mix of likable and unlikable characters, each of which were very compelling in their own ways. Claire was my personal favorite and I couldn’t help but root for her and hope that everything was going to work out in her favor.
The writing style was wonderful;
The dialogue was very realistic,
The descriptions were vivid,
The action was perfectly choreographed,
The relationships between each of the characters was interesting,
The pacing kept me hooked,
And the overall plot was super captivating!
I’ll leave the rest of the discovery up to you!
Do you remember those remakes of William Castle movies that came out in the early 2000’s? Like House on Haunted Hill or 13 Ghosts? They were were fun, had music video visuals (in a good way), and were a little mean-spirited? That’s kind of how this book read to me- a good midnight movie and for the most part I really enjoyed it. THE SORROWS is Jonathan Janz’s first novel and also the first of his I’ve read. It won’t be the last.
Ben and Eddie are composers who specialize in film scores. They’ve just been hired to score a major new horror movie, but Ben has writer’s block. Eddie thinks that spending some time in a castle on an island off the coast of Northern California will help Ben get his groove back. But no one has lived there since a bunch of people were killed there in the 20’s. Only one way on or off the island…what could possibly go wrong? Horror, gore, and more ensue!
I found this to be a very quick read. The chapters are short which kept me speeding along until the end. Once things hit the fan, they don’t let up and that propelled me through to the conclusion- I think I read the final third on one sitting. Every several chapters, there are journal entries from someone who used to live in the island that provide some context as to why the castle isn’t necessarily where you’d want spend a month completely cut off from the world; these were my favorite part because I really wanted to know more about what haunted the castle and why.
There are a lot more characters then the two I mentioned earlier- both on and off the island, and in the past revealed through the journal entries. While I felt like characters were a little thin, I did find myself invested in the more likable ones. The unlikable ones were extremely unlikable; no redemption in sight for most of them, no middle ground. And at least one truly vile one that you hope terrible things happen to, but I’m not telling.
My only gripe is that I wish we got to find out a little more about the entity and the island’s multiple mysteries (trying to avoid spoilers) as I still had questions in the end; there’s a sequel called CASTLE OF SORROWS and maybe we find out more there. It feels like there’s more to this island and I will definitely be scheduling a return trip!
In looking over the other reviews for this book, I’m finding myself in the minority. Most people seem to really love it; I found the book good but not great. There were a couple items that detracted from me enjoying it more. However, I am with the majority in liking Janz as an author and wanting to continue reading more of his books.
Ben Shadeland and Eddie Blaze are two film composers who are having problems writing the score to their latest project: a big budget horror movie by Lee Stanley. To find their muse and get the music completed, they isolate themselves on the Sorrows: an island and castle owned by Chris Blackwood, the gambling-addicted heir to the Blackwood fortune. They really aren’t isolated since Claire (a fan of Ben and want-to-be composer) and Eva (Lee Stanley’s assistant) join them. When mixing those four characters (and more) with the haunted history of the island and of the Blackwood family, the result spells doom for several of them.
While there were a lot of characters, I didn’t have any problems keeping track of them. Each fit their character-type enough to remember. However, they were more cliche than real. Chris’ father was the work-focused, unforgiving father who completely rejects his son. Ben’s ex-wife’s new boyfriend was a sleaze who physically abuses one kid and sexually abuses another. And Eva played the role of hot woman who solves things with sex. She was actually the most annoying because it was never clear why she was on the island other than to be a sexual catalyst. Plus when we readers discover her motivation, she became more confusing. In order to get revenge on the man who hooked her mom on drugs and then sexually abused her, Eva gets into a sadomasochistic relationship with the same guy so she can write an expose about it? WTF?! Then the whole second helicopter flying out to the island was too convenient. Anyway, I don’t want to vent. Overall, the book is good but with a bit too much suspense of belief. I’m rating it 3.5 but rounding it up to 4 since it was written by Janz and I would prefer he get more positive attention than negative.