Review Copy

I "discovered" Duncan Ralston last year when I finally got around to reading WOOM. Hey! No one ever accused me of being on top of my TBR pile which currently towers at well over 2000 books. Anyway, after reading that, I read the rest of his written works and tried to kick myself (couldn't reach) and wondered what next might be in store.

I heard talk of HELLOWEEN, saw the projected price to be $2.99 and assumed a novella. You know what they say about assuming? Yeah. So, HELLOWEEN is NOT a novella. It is as far from a novella as it is possible to get. I opened the bo0k and the contents listed four titles. Four novellas, maybe? Four short stories? No and nope, Look and the kindle locations. Over 9000. Color me confused. That translates to what, about 700 pages? Something like that.

Well, wordy it is. It was a good story but really could have used some editing. He tried to pack everything into this novel. Possession, murder, kidnapping, zombies, you name it it's in there. The dialog and descriptions are a little on the long side as well.

Like I said, good story, but long. Don't start until you have time. Duncan Ralston is well worth reading.

well fucking hello! i'm so glad i read this knowing i was in a Christmas spirit haha but then again i read Halloween theme books all year round. IT'S DESERVING MY 5 STAR!

the year 2000's nostalgia in this is real. it felt like i was watching a movie the entire time. 500 pages??? did it dragged? hell no this was a masterpiece. five teens set out to make a horror film for a school project at a Halloween haunt in the small town of Crooks Corner. when all hell breaks loose, a powerful entity emerges, able to control inanimate objects and use them to kill. The carnage is swift and deadly, a vicious attack that quickly overwhelms the town and its citizens. every single person in this town must fight for their lives and use all of their skills and to survive the night and possibly even save the world. OR DIE TRYING.

this is out now! i'm assuming it's on KU so get to reading!

So glad I squeezed this one in before the end of the year - it has turned out to be one of my favourite reads of 2024. It’s over 500 pages, but at no point did I feel it dragged. The action is constant, the deaths numerous, and all the killer inanimate object hilarious and terrifying at the same time. I loved the small town early 2000’s nostalgia, growing up in a small town myself. It really has it all - great writing, great characters, zombies, cults, creepy creatures, and even the Great Pumpkin! Releases December 24 - do yourselves a favour and pick up a copy!

Having recently read Woom, I went into Helloween expecting buckets of blood and nightmare fuel that would make me question my life choices. What I got instead was comedy horror with a “Goosebumps for adults” vibe, and honestly, it was super enjoyable! Imagine R.L. Stine discovered gore, and decided to sprinkle in a little existential dread for good measure; that’s Helloween.

There’s a perfect balance between story, character development, and good old-fashioned horror. The gore is there, but it’s not the main event. Instead, it’s the characters, who are well-developed and easy to root for, that steal the show. Even as the body count rises, you’re genuinely invested in who makes it out alive.

Overall, Helloween is a fun, gory read, with enough heart to keep you emotionally hooked, and enough humor to make you laugh while the blood flows. It’s perfect for fans of horror who like their scares served with a side of teenage attitude. Highly recommend - just don’t read it in a room full of toys, especially Furbies.

I've enjoyed Duncan Ralstons work. Helloween wasn't what I expected. It was a long read for me as there were several slows parts that seemed to just keep drowning on. There were also some great parts that kept me reading on. I became invested in some of the characters and would have liked more detail on the ending. There was some nostalgia while reading. When recommending reads, I'd still recommend Ralston, just not this book.

All I can say is wow!!!
Anything Duncan Ralston writes I will definitely have a good time with. He has a very unique writing style which I love. Who doesn’t love a book written about Halloween!? It’s the perfect setting. Spooky season, costumes , fear etc. All of this combined leads to this amazing book.
I did love the year the author decided to use as a base for this book. This is the year where things changed the world that left an impression on everyone and it marked a historical time in the world.
This book is about a small town that has their own secrets and unexplainable events that have occurred. Two scientists awake something they defies all logical explanation and changes one Halloween night into a Helloween endless nightmare night.
I loved the hero’s and the villains in this book. The characters were very likable and believable which is always important in a book. I couldn’t put this book down at all.
The book definitely add elements that are amazing. Think of Dean Koontz “Phantoms” added with Stephen King “Maximum Override” with a tiny dash of “The Stand” with a small town feel with a dash of comedy only Duncan can write, leads to this amazing book.
Thank you NetGalley and Duncan Ralston for the ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

Reading the premise and seeing the cover, I was excited to check this book out. A group of teens are shooting a horror film and supernatural things follow. But this was definitely not what I was expecting. There are so many extraneous details about things totally irrelevant, which I assume are for shock value, that the story crawls at a glacial pace. There is no point in going into excruciating detail of a guy going to the bathroom. The attempts at 2000s nostalgia (and over explaining of them) and slang are exhausting. I made it to 20% before I had to DNF.

When people say "this is the stuff from nightmares" this is what they mean. But in a FUN NOSTALGIC WAY. Had a lot of fun reading this. Thank you netgalley for the arc

Helloween is a very nostalgic horror book filled with all sorts of nightmare fuel. I always have fun reading Duncan Ralston's books and this one was no different. It did drag a little bit for me in the middle but I enjoyed this one and would highly recommend reading this during the spooky season!

A really good read. As someone who grew up in the early 2000s this book was a great blend of horror and nostalgia. I found that the book was a little bit slow in parts but it was overall a well paced horror/thriller. It was a great book overall and I’d really recommend it for the fall season!

Helloween by Duncan Ralston was the funnest romp with a book I’ve had all year.

This book genuinely has it all, friendship, possessions, furby’s, you name it!
So grab a Rockstar and hop into Helloween’s immersive aspect where I pictured myself right alongside the protagonists as all chaos ensues. It provides a blast from the past, full of throwbacks from multiple decades including pop culture and vernacular. It touches on what some would consider topics that changed the course of American history, but does it so great. Every element combined into this rollercoaster behemoth are everything I want and need when reading.

The phrase “Goosebumps for adults,” is being used to describe it, and that couldn’t be any more accurate. The comedy is blended with the horror.

So buckle (zip) up your Demonia boots and have a hauntingly good time.

This is an epic tour de force of supernatural horror with so much nightmare fuel you might not sleep peacefully for days after.

Set in a small town over Halloween night, an eldritch god is released from it's dark void underground after an accidental "sacrifice". It can possess and manipulate everything from humans to inanimate objects to even raising the dead to do it's bidding.

Rubber and plastic Halloween decor comes to life with horrific bloody consequences as a group of high schoolers, trying to make a student film for a class project, are thrust into a hellish and terrifying nightmare as they struggle to survive and stop the carnage.

The characters are all different and very well portrayed. You never know who's going to live or die as the body count keeps getting higher and higher.

Duncan takes the reader on a thrilling, never ending horror fest and drives the narrative like a runaway train. I highly recommend this one.

This was an enjoyable and interesting read that took me a while to get into but once I did I was in for the entirety, I couldn't put it down. I will definitely be rereading this next halloween

Really wanted to like it, as I still consider WOOM to be one of the all-time greatest extreme horror novellas ever written.

Great concept. It just moved a little too slow for my taste. A lesser page count would've helped immensely.

I love all things Halloween, so I jumped at the chance to read this novel which features delightful cover artwork. I've read several of Ralston's novels, and they have been hit or miss for me. This book has an interesting premise, but unfortunately I found it a bit of a chore to get through. I really enjoyed the part where all of the decorations in the haunted house become animated and start attacking people. Helloween seems to take inspiration from Maximum Overdrive and Desperation, but it's lacking what makes Stephen King novels great, namely characters that you care about. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC for me to review.

I’m about halfway through this book and I absolutely love it. Thank you so much for letting me read this. It’s so cute and I’m glad that it comes out the day before Christmas Halloween is my favorite. I can’t wait to buy it.

Every time I read a book by Duncan Ralston I end up having to sit back and wonder what kind of human I am if I enjoyed it. Helloween made me feel the same, 5 stars!