Free Kindle & Nook Books; Halloween Reading no comments
Homeland: The Legend of Drizzt, Book I (Bk. 1) by R.A. Salvatore (4 1/2 stars/226 reviews) is free at both Barnes & Noble and the Kindle Store. This is the first book in the very popular fantasy series.
Barnes & Noble also has special pricing on three horror-themed ebooks just in time for Halloween. Each of the titles below are priced at $2.99 at B&N.
After Midnight by Richard Laymon ($5.59 for Kindle) (4 1/2 stars/17 ratings at B&N).
A young woman descends into an ever-escalating nightmare of murder and madness when her only defense against an intruder is a Civil War saber.
Dark Hollow by Brian Keene ($6.39 on Kindle) (4 stars/16 ratings at B&N).
Strange things are happening in the rural community of LeHorn’s Hollow: women are disappearing overnight, mysterious fires are seen in the woods and eerie piping music is heard. Dark Hollow was inspired by the classic horror story The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen.
Siren by John Everson ($5.59 on Kindle) 
(4 stars/8 ratings at B&N).
Evan is entranced by the alluring song of the beautiful naked woman he saw in the surf one lonely night. But this is no mere seductress. She is a siren, one of the legendary sea creatures who prey on unsuspecting men. And she has claimed Evan as her next lover.
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Some more ebooks to help you get into an All Hallow’s Eve mindset:
The Grimly Queen by Shayna Krishnasamy (4 stars/15 ratings) $1.99. This YA title seems to be exclusive to Kobo.
From the author of the astonishing young adult novel Home comes a haunting tale of identities taken, lost and found, and an obsessive friendship between two young women who have everything to gain from one another and nothing to lose but themselves. When a shy university sophomore begins to feel that her life is disintegrating around her she’s more than willing to accept glamorous Regan Lathie’s offer of an escape — a room in her apartment, away from the campus. But only once she’s moved in does she understand the true height of Regan’s status. As their friendship deepens and she is sucked further and further into Regan’s world, she begins to see that being Regan Lathie, the girl everyone desires, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and coming back to herself might be the only way she can escape The Grimly Queen.
Funland by Richard Layman (4 1/2 stars/28 reviews at Amazon) $5.49.
A growing group of leering, belligerent punks known as the Trolls are intimidating fun-seekers at the coastal amusement park Funland, and some of the local teens blame the Trolls for a series of missing persons and decide to fight back late one night. But what’s really behind the disappearances is waiting for them all in the funhouse. . .
The Lake and 17 Other Stories by David McAfee
(5 stars/12 reviews at Amazon) $0.99.
Seventeen short horror stories from the author of 33 A.D. and Saying Goodbye to the Sun.
The Red Church by Scott Nicholson (4 1/2 stars/31 reviews – Amazon) $0.99.
For 13-year-old Ronnie Day, life is full of problems: Mom and Dad have separated, his brother Tim is a constant pest, Melanie Ward either loves him or hates him, and Jesus Christ won’t stay in his heart. Plus he has to walk past the red church every day, where the Bell Monster hides with its wings and claws and livers for eyes. But the biggest problem is that Archer McFall is the new preacher at the church, and Mom wants Ronnie to attend midnight services with her.
Sheriff Frank Littlefield hates the red church for a different reason. His little brother died in a freak accident at the church twenty years ago, and now Frank is starting to see his brother’s ghost. And the ghost keeps demanding, "Free me." People are dying in Whispering Pines, and the murders coincide with McFall’s return.
The Days, the Littlefields, and the McFalls are descendants of the original families that settled the rural Appalachian community. Those old families share a secret of betrayal and guilt, and McFall wants his congregation to prove its faith. Because he believes he is the Second Son of God, and that the cleansing of sin must be done in blood.
Island Life by William Meikle (4 1/2 stars/11 reviews – Amazon) $2.99.
An archaeological expedition is intent on opening an old barrow on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides despite the reservations of the locals, who all know and fear the old stories. The scientists unleash a colony of murderous monsters from deep under the earth. As the released creatures swamp the island, slaughtering livestock and people alike, the humans must band together to combat it with few resources save their courage and wits.
Ruthless: An Extreme Shock Horror Collection by various authors (4 1/2 stars/2 reviews) $4.00. This one sounds really hardcore. Even the cover art looks like there was considerable pain involved.
"With Ruthless, Shane McKenzie has proved yet again that politesse is overrated, that it’s not necessary to be smooth and restrained, that sometimes horror needs to be rough and messy…this is the real deal. Hardcore, kick-ass, take-no-prisoners horror. It’s gross, it’s disgusting, it’s rough, it’s raw."-Bram Stoker award-winner Bentley Little This shocking short story collection includes sick and twisted tales by the following disturbed authors: John McNee, Daniel Fabiani, Lucas Pederson, Danny Hill, Jessy Marie Roberts, Shane McKenzie, Jared Donald Blair, Lesley Conner, David Bernstein, AJ Brown, Tom Olbert, Nate Burleigh, John "Jam" Arthur Miller, Thornton Austen, Aaron J. French, Eric Stoveken, Alec Cizak, D. Krauss and Airika Sneve. With introduction by Bentley Little.
Parasite: Six Tales of Speculative Terror by Dekker Dreyer (4 stars/4 reviews) $1.19.
In North Africa something washes ashore rotting everything, and everyone, it touches. On an alien world three astronauts realize the dangers of living off the land. In the shadow of a plane crash two survivors face off against a horde of clockwork monsters. ‘Parasite: Six Tales of Speculative Terror’ transports you to a nightmarish science fiction world where you can’t run, you can’t hide… and you’re never alone.
