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Book Review: The Bone Weaver’s Orchard by Sarah Read

The Bone Weaver’s Orchard by Sarah Read

Journalstone-Trepidatio, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1947654686

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

A young boy. A boarding school with dark secrets. Familiar ground for experienced horror readers, yet there’s something fresh and entrancing about Sarah Read’s debut novel that is utterly poetic in its horror. Expect a one-sitting reading if time permits. The writing is like a smooth blues ballad, sung by a virtuoso. Read has a voice that might remind one of Shirley Jackson melded with Neil Gaiman.

Charley Winslow finds himself at the Old Cross School for Boys, a tired boarding school that was once much more than what it now seems to be. Young boys are dropped there to be raised and educated by a faculty that is mostly apathetic. He attempts to fit in, but finds his only true companions are the ones he brought with him in his insect collection. Immediately bullied and beaten, Charley seeks to find a place for himself, and discovers that students tend to go missing.

He finds aid with the staff nurse and school gardener, who help him discover the building’s dark history, but it is his many-legged friends who lead him to a pool of blood hidden behind a wall, where the adventure truly begins.

The tall gray figure that visits at night is trying to tell him something– is it warning him or something much worse?

The Bone Weaver’s Orchard is best described with as little backstory and plot as possible. The secrets unfold quickly in this tale that will leave a scar, yet one that is so pleasantly attained. This is an auspicious debut that comes highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on March 4, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Glimpse by Jonathan Maberry

em>Glimpse by Jonathan Maberry

St. Martin’s Press, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1250065261

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

 

Fans hoping to find the swashbuckling heroics of Jonathan Maberry’s  Joe Ledger novels or the zombified madness of the Rot and Ruin series will be in for a big surprise with Glimpse. Maberry has penned a decidedly different book here, a thriller in the style of  The Twilight Zone, that skates on the edges of reality and stretches the imagination, while remaining a very human story.

Rain Thomas is a damaged woman suffering from PTSD.  A decade ago, at age 16, she gave up her baby boy for adoption. The decision sent her spiraling downward and developing a drug addiction. She regularly goes to Narcotics Anonymous and is trying to turn her life around. Then, on her way to a job interview, a strange old woman sits next to her on the train and hands her a pair of glasses with a crack in the lens.  When she looks through the glasses,  Rain sees things that aren’t really there. Rain arrives at the interview and discovers she missed it–  by an entire day.

A little boy that Rain sees when she puts the glasses on spurs her into a wild adventure that turns her already off-kilter life upside down. She keeps experiencing the menacing Doctor Nine in visions that may or may not be real: he’s a character that sidesteps the usual stereotypes in favor of something deeper and much more interesting.  Rain discovers that Doctor Nine and his minions steal time and life from his victims, those who are the walking wounded. Her compatriots at Narcotics Anonymous, an odd but entertaining group of characters, become involved in Rain’s adventure, sharing her visions and dangers as she struggles to hang on to her dwindling sanity. Adding to the strange brew of characters are Stick, a taxi driver, and Monk, a private investigator, both of whom have their own demons to battle.

Glimpse burns slowly at the start, but once the plot and characters begin to spark, it blazes to the end. Definitely a different turn for Maberry, but a strong effort, and a wild, hallucinogenic ride for his readers.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

 

Editor’s note: Glimpse is a nominee for the 2018 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel. 

 

Posted on March 4, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: The Hunger by Alma Katsu

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-0735212510

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

The release of Alma Katsu’s new historical horror novel brings with it comparisons to The Terror by Dan Simmons, even including both of them in social media ads. Do not be fooled. Yes, both authors bring impeccable research to fine stories and put you right there in the moment with ease, and both examine the human condition and how people can easily be turned to embrace their shadow selves, the monsters within the person.

However, there are a couple of major differences. First, The Hunger will not take the entire summer to read. At nearly a thousand pages, The Terror, while amazing, could be used as a weapon to literally knock someone out. Katsu’s story trims the fat, leaving a lean but thoroughly detailed and realistic story that doesn’t skimp on the details of the western mountains or pioneer life. Instead, she focuses on the relationships and the rot that crisis can reveal.

Many readers will be at least partially familiar with the story of the unfortunate Donner Party, a caravan of travelers who attempted to traverse the Sierra Nevada mountains, but were ill-prepared for the journey.

In a story where the ending is already written and most of the facts are substantiated, Katsu keeps the reader’s attention with compelling characters, and takes her time in building the burn. She introduces the many characters and allows them to maneuver through the plot, growing and festering in readers’ minds as they turn the pages. Her weaving together of the players in this horrific chunk of history creates a bloody tapestry that will intrigue the reader.

The most vividly drawn characters are Charles Stanton, a bachelor with the dark secret; Tamsen Donner, wife of George, who strongly believes in the supernatural and witchcraft;  James Reed, another party leader with a dark path; and Tamsen’s youngest daughter, who can hear the dead speak to her. Toss in some other players, and the stew simmers to a rich boil that threatens to destroy the group even before the true tragedy hits.

Katsu inserts the supernatural, or at least the vibe of it, which elevates the novel from pure historical fiction to historical horror, but she keeps the story lean. Reading it, one can almost feel the desolation of the mountains and the desperation their journey. By the time the climax unfolds, Katsu delivers on the promise hinted at in the beginning– a bit of a twist,  but just enough to create wonder Recommended reading for any thriller or history fan.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Editor’s note: The Hunger is a nominee for the 2018 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Novel.

 

Posted on March 1, 2019 by , Reply
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