| Title | : | Paradise Club |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781941918821 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 278 |
| Publication | : | First published February 5, 2021 |
An event is taking place at Paradise Club that wasn’t on the brochure: a dangerous game pitting the hotel’s guests against a gang of bloodthirsty maniacs. Elliot Harper - family man and FBI agent - is about to find out how fast heaven can become hell when every single vacationer is forced to become a ruthless killer in order to survive. A team of killers have been unleashed, and they won't stop until every single guest is dead.
Let the mayhem begin...
Paradise Club Reviews
-
Chainsaws & Tentacles.
This was really good fun!
A group of people win an all-inclusive holiday to the paradise club - supposed to be a once in a lifetime experience- and it is! Characters were decent, the pacing was great, and the story was fun, with a few interesting twists. Interestingly enough, Meyer let his patrons decide what happens in the story, so, It's kind of a fan-made collaboration. A really cool idea.
Nothing too taxing on the brain, just a fun island bloodbath.
4 Stars. -
If you were to mix Cabin in the Woods, The Purge, the TV show Survivor and the Fyre Festival debacle into one, you might get something similar to Tim Meyer's Paradise Club.
This is definitely a book I probably wouldn't have ever picked up on my own if it hadn't been sent to me in my Night Worms book box, but they hyped it up so much that I really wanted to see if it was worth it. Spoiler: It was.
I've never read anything by Tim Meyer before, but his writing style felt like chatting with an old friend. He's extremely easy to read and is great at making likable, yet flawed characters that you feel invested in after only a few pages. The premise of Paradise Club also gives room for many of the characters to shine, as it's simply vacationers in a resort who have just discovered they will now be fighting for their lives. Like I said earlier, it's way more akin to The Purge and far less Lord of the Flies than it would seem at first.
This book is action-packed, gory, fast-paced, and overall an absolute blast to read. My few complaints come from how 0-100 the plot moved at the very beginning and the twist at the end. I would have loved to see the vacationers spend a little more time in paradise before all hell broke loose and the ending touched into some elements of horror I'm not always a fan of. Hint: there may or may not be an octopus. Regardless, it was the characters that kept me so invested in this story. Even characters I didn't like would surprise me with actions I didn't expect of them that still made perfect sense to their type of character. Characters like Anne were incredibly dynamic and fun to follow and even though I didn't like her as a person, I enjoyed reading every one of her chapters.
I will say, it seems like Meyer could have used a brief continuity editor. While this is super minor to the plot, he does seem to have forgotten that Brian met Anne at the beginning of the book, and doesn't actually meet her for the first time halfway through. But that's definitely a minor flaw I'm willing to overlook.
All in all, this book was great fun. I read it in about two days and never wanted to put it down. While I'm not crazy about the ending, I do adore Meyer's writing style and would love to check out more of his work. -
This was way more brutal than I anticipated, whoa! Meyer brought the clown wielding mallet down hard. Review soon!
-
The love child of James DeMonaco and Rob Zombie. Combine the Purge movies with '*31' and set it on a tropical island and you've got 'Paradise Club'. Tim Meyer is fast turning into one my favorite horror novelists.
More in depth review to follow after I let this sink in for a while and a re-read. -
Finally read my first Tim Meyer novel and now I DO NOT WANT TO STOP! What an incredible writer.
In Paradise Club we’re essentially following a group of people that have won a free vacation to stay at a resort, named Paradise Club, for a whole week. How fun, right? Well, there are a few things that the folks at PC are omitting from the details. Secretly, a group of the most deranged killers are also staying there. Before the week is over these killers are going to be released among the rest of the occupants! Can you imagine? Luckily, we have one of our main characters, Elliot Harper in attendance, along with his family, a wife and 2 kids. What is so lucky about having Elliot there? Well, he’s an FBI agent and willing to do what needs to be done in order to protect people.
This novel was action packed. I mean, there are serial killers on the loose with hundreds of civilians running rampant trying to escape these lunatics. Every corner I found myself holding my breath, expecting to be slaughtered through the pages. There is blood and gore galore. And I loved every second in slasher heaven! But just as I was getting nice and settled in the story, BOOM, I’m hit with a twist that honestly had me saying “WTF?!” I really wasn’t expecting this turn of events and found myself a little disappointed, but WAIT! Don’t write this novel off just yet because it redeems itself. As the story continues progressing this twist sort of grows on you due to the characters. The ending ripped my heart in two and while I wished that this would’ve ended differently I’m glad it didn’t because it gave me all the feels. And that ultimately is the whole point of reading for me, to give me the feels!
I GIVE THIS BOOK A MILLION STARS!!!! -
In 'Paradise Club', a group of lucky winners are whisked away to a tropical island for a much-anticipated luxury-filled vacation. Little do they know that a bloodbath and a fight for survival lie in store as vicious killers will be joining the fun.
Great premise with a strong beginning - excitement was in the air, mingled with some tension and mystery. The mandatory handover of all electronic devices was a surefire sign of impending danger. From that point onwards, it didn't take long for things to go from bad to worse.
One of my gripes was there were too many viewpoints and shifts which weren't deftly executed. Due to the meagre background information and lack of showing, I found the characters one-dimensional and felt detached from them despite the life-and-death situation they were caught up in.
The barrage of gore grew old and repetitive pretty quickly. The murders were written in such generic, unimaginative ways. Emotions weren't well conveyed which stood out especially when certain characters died. The reactions only lasted for a couple of seconds.
The purpose behind the fake-cation wasn't convincing enough for me:
Plot armour was evident for some characters but the worst was The ending was undetermined and weak, leaving many questions unanswered.
Overall, 'Paradise Club' was a fast read sans good characterization and strong motives. I would've preferred a laser-sharp focus on selected characters (such as Anne, Elliot and Marco) and more thought put into the relationships and murder scenes. -
An utterly insane premise that barrels through buckets of gore and insanity like a runaway train. Think The Most Dangerous Game meets H.P. Lovecraft, and throw in some splatterpunk while you're at it. Such a fun read. My only regret is that I didn't wait to read it while sitting under the sun at the beach. Pack this puppy up for your summer vacation this year!
-
** This review was typed on my phone so I apologize in advance**
Unapologetically gory, a heart stopper that will have you white knuckling this book until the very end. Tim Meyer knows how to deliver the goods when it comes to horror and I am not surprised that this was a glowing five star read for me.
A vacation that seems too good to be true on a remote island off the coast of America we are met with the Harper family who have won an all inclusive trip to paradise. Little do they know that they are in for the nightmare of their lives and it won’t stop until every ounce of blood has been shed.
I really enjoyed reading this I found it incredibly hard to put down at times I kept wanting to go back to it every opportunity I had which says some thing as a mother of two little ones who have homeschooling but that is how I felt. The characters were just everything that you were looking for in a weird/ cosmic horror type story. What I originally thought was going to be some kind of like slasher with a little bit of a mix of "Die Hard" and with I want to say "Fantasy Island" vibes, but it took a completely different turn than I was expecting. "Paradise Club" ended up being something like I can’t even really put into words without giving away spoilers. But all in all it was an incredible read, it was fast paced, and I was really rooting for the different “Survivor”type character narratives in the story. Alas in true horror fashion you can’t really have hope for anyone to really survive but in the end I was pleasantly surprised with the ending. There wasn’t a longing for more it was a very satisfying wrap up, and I felt like if there was more it would kind of end up ruining the story. In conclusion its characters had rooting capabilities, the story was a solid one and the ending was really the only ending you could have if you want to have some kind of satisfaction, all in all I really enjoyed it. Happy reading !! -
Tim Meyer's Paradise Club is utterly bonkers but in the best way possible. We have a plethora of characters, but thankfully each POV is given a separate chapter and it is easy to keep on track despite the large cast. The basic premise in a nutshell is that a bunch of people think they have won a luxurious beach holiday and in actual fact, they are being thrown into a killing spree Battle Royale-style, and there can only be one winner…
You can read Janine's full review at Horror DNA by
clicking here. -
Paradise Club is THE summery slasher book that you need! It's full of action and gore -- an island full of killers will have that effect! The chapters are short and the POVs are changing from one panicked person to another in peril causing this to be QUITE the page turner! Think winning a free beach trip is worth it? Read this and maybe you'll think twice. Check this one out!
-
This is definitely one of those books you read in a single day (and preferably at the beach): short chapters, relentless action, a constant switching of perspectives to keep things interesting, and loads of hair-raising tension mixed with brutal violence. The premise is compelling (hundreds of unwitting guests unwillingly placed in a death match game versus a gang of bloodthirsty maniacs), and I'm pleased to report the author pulls it off with all the pulse-pounding suspense and brutal kill scenes that you'd hope for.
It felt like a beautiful mashup of Battle Royale, Cabin in the Woods, and Dead by Daylight. I like that the killers each had their own "persona" they adopted when the game started, making them seem like boss battles in a video game. I also like that we got chapters from the perspectives of the guys running the game, as well as a host of other characters. And the genre shift in the final act is just wonderful. I know Tim writes in a variety of horror genres, but for some reason I just knew this was going to go into cult/cosmic horror territory (one of his specialties). No more spoilers, but it does and it's GOOD.
I couldn't get enough of this book. I also thought it was really interesting the way it was constructed. From what I understand Tim wrote it in pieces for his Patreon as a sort of a choose-your-own-adventure, meaning he would stop along the way and give various options and his fans would vote on how the story should progress. I love this type of interactive story telling, and I think it would be cool to see more stuff like it. -
Family man and FBI agent Elliot Harper has won the ticket to a much-needed family vacation to a beautiful Caribbean island resort known as the Paradise Club. Courtesy of esteemed social media millionaire Marco Pressley, the owner of the luxurious resort who was kind enough to select the winners, asking for very little in return except for the confiscation of his guests electronics so they may experience the full sensation of getting away from their previous lives for a while. Among the winners aside from Elliot and his family are Brian and his goofball jocky friends looking to cheer the depressed young man up after losing his girlfriend, a cold and distant woman who seems to be hiding a big secret named Anne, and an assortment of good natured folks looking to getaway from the stress of their daily lives.
When a cheap trip to Paradise sounds too good to be true, however, it's because it most certainly is. Marco Pressley never asked for anything in return, because a fresh batch of able bodies was all he and his bloodthirsty cohorts needed for a bit of hot summer fun. With no way to escape or call for help thanks to the confiscation of everyone's electronics, Pressley masterfully plans a brutal death game where only one winner is allowed to escape the island with their lives. Family and friends must turn on each other and fight for their lives as Pressley unleashes an army of psychopaths, serial killers and terrorists he employed through his disturbing connections on the dark web.
Paradise Club adds some serious spice to the death game genre by throwing people of all ages into a free-for-all slaughter fest that includes family and friends being forced to turn on each other. A deceivingly beautiful island resort setting making use of modern dark web and grimy millionaire conspiracy theories. All topped off with an unexpected pinch of otherworldly horror that promises some wacky and thrilling revelations. There's a much higher purpose behind the savage competition that adds depth to the overall narrative and makes the payoff feel worth it.
The characters are all very flawed and have some obnoxious personality quirks, but they're written in such an empathetic and lovable way that I ended up growing attached to every single one of them. The villains are scary and brutal as hell. Many characters who I thought were going to survive died horrifically. Despite being an extreme horror novel packed with gruesome violence and constant slaughter, there were some really touching backstories and impactful moments of character development that really pulled on the heartstrings. One of the best examples of the death game genre I've ever read next to my favorite Battle Royale.
***
If you're looking for some dark ambient music for reading horror, dark fantasy and other books like this one, then be sure to check out my YouTube Channel called Nightmarish Compositions:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs... -
Review to follow.
-
STAR REVIEW in the April 2021 issue of Library Journal:
https://www.libraryjournal.com/?revie...
and on the blog [link live on 4/5/21]:
https://raforall.blogspot.com/2021/04...
Three Words That Describe This Book:Violent, Fast Paced, Slasher Fun
Draft Review:
STAR Meyer, Tim. Paradise Club
A group of vacationers are welcomed to an island resort having won a contest to stay free of charge; however soon after they arrive, guests are alerted to a very deadly string attached. They are there as part of a sick game, a game that involves letting some of the world’s most notorious serial killers loose on the guests, in a mortal competition to see who can survive the week. And readers set off on a fast paced, gory, Slasher that is loads of fun to read. Peppered with short chapters, a cast of characters both sympathetic and evil, a constantly shifting point of view that heightens the already oppressive tension, and a satisfying supernatural twist right at the end, readers will be hard pressed to find a better example of the trending Extreme Horror subgenre this year. Just don’t expect everyone to make it through.
Verdict: While the plot has a few holes, readers will enjoy learning why in the must read “Author’s Note” attached to the end. Also, with the Slasher trope making a comeback this title will be in high demand with readers who enjoyed Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones, The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz, and the backlist gem Castaways by Brian Keene.
I loved this book. Also, I love Grindhouse Press
The slasher novel is a HUGE trends right now and this is a great option and it has a Cosmic twist.
A combo of NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUIN Stephen Graham Jones, THE RUINS by SCOTT SMITH, and MAYAN BLUE by the Sisters of Slaughter.
Also for fans of CASTAWAYS by Brian Keene and THE DARK GAME by Janz. -
2.5 I enjoyed the first half of the book when it was just humans against humans, but the odd twist and motive behind everything was just too bonkers for me.
-
Tim Meyer's PARADISE CLUB is a slasher barreling down the left lane of a five lane highway doing 107mph. Then, as if it forgot its exit was coming up, slams on and the brakes, pulls hard right and gets off the exit for Lovecraftian Occult novel.
In its wake, PARADISE CLUB leaves a large body count, pools of blood, fun characters and an ambiguous baddie named Tim Feely. The Club is a result of a voting process taken through the author's Pateon with results that are seamless to the unaware reader
PARADISE CLUB is wet horror fun that twists so hard I'm the end, you won't poop for weeks!
FEELY 4EVER -
A fast paced, adrenaline fuelled gore fest.
I did feel like the ending was quite abrupt, not as a whole, more the final few paragraphs and then the book just ends. -
What could be better than winning an all inclusive trip to an exclusive resort? It's the chance of a lifetime, especially if your life is over once you get there. The Harper family is about to find out that what sounds too good to be true probably is. What starts as a relaxing way to unwind and get away from it all leads to being trapped and hunted in the middle of nowhere with no way to call for help.
The owner of this lush tropical paradise has lured these unsuspecting vacationers to play a part in his twisted game. The more violent the death, the better for his diabolical plan. It's a bloody, gory, free for all, with lots of suspense and fast paced edge of your seat action. More than just a slasher type horror there is a hell of a twist into something even more dark and disturbing. Be careful which characters you get too attached to because you just never know who will survive to the heart stopping end.
5 out of 5 stars -
Well it's official, I'll never visit an island resort lol
The ending may have not been the one I had hoped for .... but HOW the novel/story was created is awesome!!!!! (Which you'll learn when ya get to that point) -
What a wild and bloody ride that I didn't want to get off of! I am a huge sucker vacation/beach/ocean horror, so I was immediately drawn to the promises of a PURGE-like horror set within the tranquil crystal clear water and sandy white beaches of an island paradise.
Paradise Club turns out to be anything but a paradise for its visitors. Once the guests have settled in, all hell breaks loose as the most brutal killers are unleased to slash and stab their through the bloodbath that is all part of a master plan their leader has concocted. The killers have one mission- spill as much blood as quickly as possible. And, things get really bloody, really quickly! Elliot Harper (and FBI agent) is vacationing with his family at the Paradise Club when the havoc begins, and he will stop at nothing to keep his family safe and to make it off this island.
If you're looking for a beachy slasher that you will literally FLY through, this is it! The chapters are short and bounce back and forth between several different characters, which keeps the pace up and gives you a lot of different perspectives of the events as they transpire. The characters are likeable which makes it easy for your to get invested in their plight. This is my first foray into Meyer's writing, and I really enjoyed the almost conversational element - like a friend was recounting their story to me. My one complaint- the ending threw me for a loop in the context of the story, and I was left feeling like the motives behind the killing spree were rather bizarre.
If a gory, summery slasher is what you're looking for, I think this one with satiate your appetite! -
When FBI profiler Elliot Harper and his family win an all-inclusive resort vacation on a tropical island, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get away from it all. Unfortunately, their lives may be cut unexpectedly short as they realize what the true purpose of the Paradise Club really is. Turns out, sadistic billionaire (is there really any other kind?) Marco Pressley has invited thousands of winners to the island for one purpose - to have each of them murdered in as spectacular and gory a fashion as imaginable by unleashing a wave of violent serial killers upon the resort.
Tim Meyer's Paradise Club is a freaking blast with its hugely cinematic Die Hard meets The Purge by way of TV's Survivor aesthetic. Once the game, known as The Skirmish, is launched, the rules are simple: everyone must kill or be killed, until only one winner is left standing. Separated from his family, Elliot has other plans, but he also has an island filled with bloodthirsty, slasher flick killers to contend with, like a pair of clowns with bloody mallets, a samurai, and a chainsaw-wielding maniac.
While there's plenty of violence, gore, maiming, and a trust no one ethos, fun is the real name of the game here for horror fans. Paradise Club has some neat, well-crafted action scenes and interesting characters to root for (the Harpers are the most obvious pick, of course, but I was most fascinated by Anne, a tough as nails returning contestant seeking revenge against Pressley), along with a few nifty shocks and surprises to keep you guessing.
Meyer has crafted a fantastic horror-movie-in-prose-form, summer blockbuster beach read with this one. Fair warning, though, by the time you reach the end of this story, you may never want to see another Sandals Resorts deal ever again. -
4.5 stars
F**king bonkers book – I loved it!
A select group of ‘lucky’ people have won a free trip to Paradise Club, what appears to be a luxury beach resort. Quickly though this turns out not to be as good as it sounds and before the reader knows it, the characters have descended into absolute hell. I find a lot of the time that the best horror stories work best with the "less is more" approach...other times though the opposite works just as well - like with this book. It's ott, it's fast paced, frantic and oh so bloody. The majority of the story feels like a blend of Rob Zombie’s ‘31’, ‘Battle Royale’ and ‘The Purge’, though still feeling very much like it's own thing and also somehow manages to be more gory than all three combined!
The story then takes a rather unexpected turn and descends into pure Lovecraftian cosmic horror. This did feel like quite a contrast to what before had mostly felt like a slasher-fest, and it may likely have a lot of readers thinking “WTF!?” This change of direction worked perfectly for me however, quite possibly due to the fact that I love cosmic horror in general ha but it also provides a brilliant incentive for the actions of the manics behind P.C.
There are quite a number of characters who’s perspective we follow, yet for most of the part they feel very well rounded. They all had distinct personalities which made them memorable in some form. You can feel yourself in their position, and imagine the hopelessness they must be feeling. Elliot Harper, a retired FBI agent makes for a very compelling main guy and I really felt his desperation to protect his family. This feels very much “bad things happen to good people”.
Heaven (or more appropriately hell) in a book for me. I’m new to Tim Meyer and cant wait to check out more of his stuff – he clearly has a twisted af mind which I can’t wait to delve into further! -
Literally the f***ing worst. And when I got to the phrase “kicked him in the jewel farm”, I needed no further convincing that this was written by a teenage boy on his iPad.
-
To be honest, I did not like the beginning. It seemed cliché and it didn’t really seem important to the story. The more the story went on and things started going down on the island, then it really picked up intensity. It just kept getting better. It ended up being a lot of fun.
Come to find out in the Afterward, this was a patreon “choose your adventure” type story where the fans choose what was going to happen and that helped clear up why some things didn’t tie back in -
The Hot Spot...
No spoilers. 3 stars. FBI agent Elliot Harper is suffering major job burn-out. This family trip to Paradise Club seems to be just what the doctor ordered...
... white sands, crystal clear waters, beautiful hotel and great food... except for that nagging problem of confiscation of all electronics at the ferry exit ramp to the island...
... what's with that?...
The family checks into their luxury suite and without even getting the chance to apply a first coat if suntan oil... or even change their clothes...
... they are plunged into a desperate fight for their lives. They are soon separated with no knowledge of the fate of the rest of their family...
The Harper family has arrived at Paradise Club... a real hot spot...
This was a no-brainer plot... if you could call it a plot by some stretch of imagination. There was zero character development and don't get too hooked on learning people's names and occupation because they are just fodder for the body parts mill which the entire story was about.
There was an attempt to explain it all away at the end but it was half-hearted. I felt like I was walking the streets of Knott's Berry Farm's Halloween Haunt (an annual Southern California event) complete with killer clowns and chainsaw toting psycho.
At the end of the novel was a note from the author stating he'd let his fan base dictate the characters demise... it seemed like it... it seemed like a free-for-all. Readers pay good money for the author's imagination not for his fans input.
DEAD DAUGHTERS by this author was much better. -
This book is for sure a cross between the White Lotus and the Menu. I have been missing the feel of White Lotus since I finished the second season so quickly.
This book was so popular on Booktok when I first joined and now I’m finally reading it. It did not disappoint with the dread ramping up from the beginning.
When you get told you’ve won an all exclusive vacation and it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Check trigger warnings. -
Paradise Club was an interesting mix of horror. From the outside, it seems like straight up survival horror with a mix of slasher, but as the book goes on there are some deeper elements that come into play.
I think this book and I got off on the wrong foot. I didn't really care for the characters or the jumpy narrative. The chapters were from many different points of view - from the guests of this resort to the people running the show - and most of them weren't more than a few pages long. It jumped and jumped and jumped. It made me feel disoriented at times and since there were so many characters, there were some times where I couldn't remember who was who. This was very gory and full of action. Despite the action though, this felt like it slogged. A lot of the first part of the book we were just following certain characters around as they ran and hid from the bloodshed. It felt formulaic. I did like the ending though, it took a turn that was very unexpected.
This was my first time reading anything from Tim Meyer, and even though I didn't *love* Paradise Club, I'd really like to read some of his more traditionally written work. -
How fun! I loved this book. Crazy ass story and just filled with constant action. At the end you get a little note from the author and find out something and I just don’t know what I feel about what he reveals, but still a fun, horrific, gore-filled adventure!
-
Whoa! I'm never going on vacation again.
