Retro Reading: Jason's Curse by Eric Morse

Every morning Big Red would go down to the lake to fish and he wouldn't catch anything. He didn't understand the concept of fishing and didn't know worms were needed. The thing he liked was the ticking of the reel.

On this particular May morning, he caught something. That "something" was the mask of death, literally since the previous owner was Jason Voorhees.

In the second installment of the Camp Crystal Lake novels, Jason's Curse, the gullible Red would soon start on a killing spree a year after the mask was thrown into the lake.

Back in the city, Kelly Boone is starting a war of her own. She's preparing to go to Camp Crystal Lake to hunt down Jason for good. It's been a year since her brother Billy and his friends met their fate at the abandoned campground and she's out to get revenge.

Basically that's the plot in a nutshell for this second entry. Somewhere it isn't a bad book, but at the same time it's not a literary classic. For young readers, it would be perfect, especially those who are looking for a small scare while reading.

Author Eric Morse who started the Camp Crystal Lake novels a year after the release of the film Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday did hit his targeted audience. His core group of readers would have known about the film series and were at the age when they were seeking novels to read.

This novel, like the previous one, does have violence in it but it's not graphic. Morse was able to find the pulse of the series and turned his vision into a highly popular continuation of the film.

What's good about this series is the stories revolve around the mask and the possession the finder goes through. They finder has a moral dilemma between good and evil which makes the reader think of the consequences.

Although the mask links the series, this is the only follow up to the first novel Mother's Day. Also, what makes this a good read is the character of Big Red is an amputee and also has a glass eye. As "Jason" he receives his visions through the eye. Something very original in a novel.

If you have a child who likes to read and you think they may be interested in this series, I'd say the proper age would be about 13. With a new generation discovering "Jason" I'm sure they would appreciate the series.