2 stars. I'm sure my rating would be much higher if anywhere on the book it said that this was the third book in a series. Since it doesn't, I can't give it any higher because there's a lot of stuff that didn't make much sense or have much of an impact because the events recall other books that I didn't read beforehand.

Very little horror on hand here. It didn't bother me so much that this was part of a series - it stood alone well enough until the ending called back to characters I didn't know - but the plot moseyed along despite the meager page count and nothing scary really happened. I was lured in by the back cover description of the Halloweenland amusement park since I have a thing about amusement park horror, but it features in the action of the story so slightly it didn't even need to be there.(view spoi...

My new book review video is up. In this episode, I discuss Halloweenland by Al Sarrantonio, give the history of the Jack o' Lantern, and I finally receive my pumpkin spice latte.https://youtu.be/vJ6MoWh_PUE

I picked this up at a used book sale because it had Halloween in the title, and I have a problem. (Maybe several? They include a bottomless love for horror and pathological book buying, to start.) I realized after I bought it but before I started reading that it was third in the series, and then went ahead and read it anyway. Life offers so few chances to be a rebel.Detective Bill Grant is used to the "weird shit” that happens in Orangefield every Halloween, but either he’s getting older or the

Really enjoyed this book! Definitely want to read the rest of the series. Loved Samhain's character.

A first-rate thriller featuring the reclamation of [occult] detective Bill Grant and Samhain, Lord of the Dead.

This was a random PaperBackSwap find for me and it sounded interesting enough and all in the Halloween spirit so why not, right? Except it was less than exceptional in its execution and was sorely lacking in its build-up of suspense and any scare factors. A lot of tell going on and short on the way of show so I just wasn’t invested in most of it.The pacing was, at times, awkward and seemed to stagger on some portions and fast forward through far too many more that probably would have been more r...

2.5 Stars rounded up to 3 Stars.This book was the finale to the Orangefield Series and there was some good points but also for me wishy washy points. The character development for Detective Grant was just sort of spotty especially with the 5 year time gap leaps. Character development for Reggie (Gina) Bright was too rushed and the development of Anna was not for me well defined enough. The Halloween feel for the town of Orangefield didn't hold up strong in this book at all. Yes, there was a

Probably the most well written of the trilogy, but not quite as much fun as the first book: Horrorween. This one was slightly less B-Movieish than book two: Hallows Eve, returning to the more straight up horror of book one.Sarrantonio called on some classic suspense, and pulled it off quite well, as I found myself staying up late into the night devouring every page. He even threw in a Dan Brown style surprise toward the end that added to the fun in a perfect way. It's a bummer that these books a...

This was the only Halloween book I was able to read for this season and it was a disappointment. Not a lot of action and the story just did not put me in the Halloween spirit as I had hoped.

3.5 but not good enough to round up to 4! overall was okay, super easy read. didn’t love the million chapters and storyline was a little odd at times but overall a decent halloween read

A bit disappointing. The protagonist, Detective Grant, missed a lot of things that should have been obvious to him, causing him to needlessly travel to Ireland. That just seemed to be simply an easy way for the author to impart some info regarding the history and origins of Samhain. The ending felt rushed and was ultimately unsatisfying.

If you want a fun and creepy read, than this is it! The words flow smoothly and the pages just fly by. As soon as I started this book, I got hooked. In fact I started reading this book in favor of the other one I was reading ... Just because it was more fun. And the other one is due in two more days too yet I ended up reading this one. That should say something right there.This book is about an Irish creature called Samhain. It's sort of creepy: a pale face with a red slash for a mouth and a bla...

The characters are cardboard cutouts who Sarrantonio seems to think are adequately defined by the objects around them and not by any interior life; the plot is thin and mechanical with an incomprehensible climax; the settings are wanly depicted and often unnecessary, as with the excursion to Ireland or the existence of the Halloweenland theme park. Really horrible.

This book is based on a 80-page short story by the same author called 'The Baby', which also came with the edition I got. Read that story and skip the actual novel. The short story is decent, gets to the point, and ends on a satisfying note.The novel dicks around Ireland for forty pages, doesn't establish the villain that well and makes you feel that not much got accomplished by the time you read the final page. Also, the 'twists' are just random curveballs from left field that don't make sense

I'm not a big fan of the Orangefield stories, but this one was a lot of fun. Detective Grant once again goes up against Samhain, but this time there is a twist. Marianne, who may or may not have had sex with the ghost of her husband, gives birth to a girl who has a very sinister purpose. Grant has to figure out a way to find this girl before she can destroy the world. There is a lot of fun in this, especially when Grant has to go to Samhain's home, to Ireland. Mr. Dickens's carnival is great, as...

I feel like some readers have judged this trilogy a little harshly. I think expectations were a little too high. So, here's my thinking on some of the points others have made:1. Not scary. Well, no, I myself didn't feel any level of fear from any of the three books in this trilogy. Frankly, I'm not sure I was intended to. I did like a lot of the various characters and I "cared" about them. But okay - so look at the covers, particularly the cute owl in the tree on the cover of book two. Does that...

Halloweenland is a novel that had its first breath as the short story ‘The Baby,’ and it is this short story which opens the book (and lasts the first 77 pages — and not to mention is included again at the end of the book as ‘The short Curious History of ‘The Baby”, serving no purpose but to seemingly take up space).Marianne Carlin wants a baby more than anything else in this world. Her husband, Jack, would rather drink and hang out with his friends. On the night when they plan to conceive their...

This is part of the 2008 Cemetery Dance book club(September selection). I've just received it in June of 2009. Mine is one of 1250 signed copies.Al must have written about some of these characters before, particularly the ex-cop - Detective Bill Grant. Or maybe he wrote about the town - Orangefield, New York.The cop has a real drinking problem which he has to overcome in order to investigate what exactly happened the night Jack Carlin died. His wife thinks he came home and made love to her. Afte...

This is the third book in Sarrantonio's Orangefield series... the writing was fine, with quick chapters, great pacing, and a pretty straight forward story. I really like Detective Grant... though towards the end i thought his dealings with his "enemy" were a little odd... also i broke my own rule which is never ever read a series out of order...as this was my first ever from Sarrantonio and there was some reference back to the other books... made me really wich i had read them.Also the back cove...