Session 9: The Official Novelization
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Average rating3.8
Session 9 The Official Novelization, is based on the classic 2001 motion picture by acclaimed director Brad Anderson. Released 23 years after the film first haunted audiences, this new novel by horror and dark fantasy author Christian Francis arrives just in time for the spooky season, promising to deliver a wealth of fresh nightmares to a new generation. Francis, known for his gripping novelizations of Wishmaster, Titan Find/Creature and Vamp, delves deeper into the eerie madness that made Session 9 such a horror gem. Set against the backdrop of the real-life abandoned mental institution, the Danvers State Hospital, the film’s atmospheric dread is reimagined on the page in Francis’ adept hands. This novel expands on the film’s screenplay, offering fans new insights into the characters’ psyches and unveiling more twisted, dark secrets from within the sinister asylum. “Bringing Session 9into a literary form has been a huge honor for me,” said Francis. “Brad’s movie is a personal favorite since I sat in the cinema watching it back in ‘01, and I relished being able to expand on its themes and explore the horrors within. My novelization is not only a tribute to Brad’s amazing creation, but also an invitation to revisit the fear that it first inspired in audiences.” Featuring a foreword by Brad Anderson
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Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
This is the first time I read a novelization of a movie so I don't know if it is always like this but I was a little disapointed by the lack of content? The book promised to delve deeper into the mind of the characters yet I felt like it was basically a retelling of the movie save for the last 10 or so pages, where they did add a bit of new content (both thoughts of a character and a bit of extra scenes)
I also feel like despite being a novelization the book tried too hard to be like the movie/like a movie in the sense that they would describe jump scares randomly? I get that in horror movies you see shadows and hear noises at random since the beggining and that's fine! Because that helps create atmosphere and build up tension. But books don't work the same way, it just doesn't translate the same to describe a place or a conversation and then throw something like “a shadow walked fast behind them without anyone noticing”. It's honestly comical and it feels like they didn't managed to properly translate the story to a different medium.
With that said, I think the last chapters of the book were VERY good! The way the author jumped from scene to scene between paragraphs describing the situations all at the same time, while all of the characters were experiencing a tense moment was amazing and it rised my tension lol.
I also enjoyed that they built up the ending a bit more than in the movie, because I was honestly confused after watching it, but even with just those little extra scenes I think it rounded the story nicely.
