The Sorrow King

Aug 07, 2012 mark monday rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horrortime, unstable-narratives, buried-treasure, teenworld

DO NOT RUN FROM THIS BOOK'S LURID COVER!

The Sorrow King is a real find. my only other experience with the author - the extremely goofy The Sex Beast of Scurvy Island - was not the best introduction to Prunty. the man is talented and the novel is unusually sensitive and moving. the imagery is unearthly. the writing is wry, lean, and clear-eyed. and the protagonists... heartbreaking. surpassingly so.

the story is one of classic horror. a sort of suicide virus is taking out the teens of Gethsemane,...more DO NOT RUN FROM THIS BOOK'S LURID COVER!

The Sorrow King is a real find. my only other experience with the author - the extremely goofy The Sex Beast of Scurvy Island - was not the best introduction to Prunty. the man is talented and the novel is unusually sensitive and moving. the imagery is unearthly. the writing is wry, lean, and clear-eyed. and the protagonists... heartbreaking. surpassingly so.

the story is one of classic horror. a sort of suicide virus is taking out the teens of Gethsemane, Ohio. moody teenager Steven flirts with his own depression. his father is a sensitive sort who has built up his so-called life as one of solitary contemplation. and then a troubled girl comes along, one who may be the link between the rash of suicides and a sinister supernatural presence with many names.

have you seen an obscure 80s horror film called Strange Behavior? if not, you should. it is also about a small town haunted by multiple deaths, and an offbeat but tender relationship between a father and son. the film has its moments of straight-up horror, but much of the tone is almost wistfully nostalgic. i was reminded of Strange Behavior while reading The Sorrow King, and i was reminded a bit of Twin Peaks as well - that same dreamy, at times surreally elegiac unearthliness. unlike Twin Peaks, The Sorrow King is not teeming with quirky characters. instead it has an almost underpopulated feel to it, a chamber piece of sorts, with three main characters and very little else in the way of supporting characters. we see the world through our three protagonists, and it is a very real world of sadness, lack of affect, and free-floating anomie, one where angst equals melodrama and is therefore skirted, where pathos equals mawkwishness and is likewise avoided. the dialogue is wittily off-kilter but is anchored by the depth, delicacy, honesty, and offhand despair of the characterization. in the end, the novel is a distinctly emotional experience. it is also full of surprises, both within the story and with the narrative itself - surprises that are often unpleasant yet exciting in their execution. i appreciate Anderson's smarts and especially his unsentimentality in constructing his novel. although it lead to a particularly painful and unexpected scene that left me genuinely upset.

one last thing: the novel portrays teenagers perfectly. well, certain sorts of teenagers - the moody ones, smart and self-absorbed and yearning and pitiless and awkward and melancholy. i remember the emotions on display, the casual cruelty, the equally casual tenderness, moving from nervous agitation to studied nonchalance, that feeling of being such a small player in life's strange pageant, that sense that - despite everyone saying the world will open up - that life after high school will just be a series of diminishing returns. the novel gets all of that without reducing its world to a BE Ellis level of predetermined nihilism. there are no false notes; the novel gets it right. i finished the last chapter and sighed, a thoughtful and sad and satisfied sigh.(less)

50 likes · like · see review

Mar 20, 2012 Caris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, horror, kindle

I first discovered Clive Barker in my senior year of high school. When I first cracked open the Books of Blood, I found something that rekindled a part of my being that I’d considered dead and gone. See, I started working in a library when I was sophomore. After two solid years of being surrounded by books for nineteen hours each week, I wanted nothing to do with them.

Looking back, I can see that I was just in a prolonged reading funk. These things happen. But being a teenager who never found h...more I first discovered Clive Barker in my senior year of high school. When I first cracked open the Books of Blood, I found something that rekindled a part of my being that I’d considered dead and gone. See, I started working in a library when I was sophomore. After two solid years of being surrounded by books for nineteen hours each week, I wanted nothing to do with them.

Looking back, I can see that I was just in a prolonged reading funk. These things happen. But being a teenager who never found his literary stride after being a voracious child-reader was difficult to manage. My brain thought I didn’t enjoy the activity anymore, much like my newfound aversions to my parents and sports. Luckily, I kept reading all this time. Even when I told my friends and teachers that I didn’t read in my spare time, I still had a novel on my bedside table that was swapped out fairly regularly. I still had to read to be able to fall asleep.

But I was bored. I didn’t like the adult novels I tried and I felt too disconnected from the teen horror novels I’d read up until that point. They were too predictable to deserve further analysis. And they were so tame.

The Books of Blood, though? There was something beautifully subversive about those stories. They were weird and perverse, filled with gore and sex and all of the adult things my brain wanted- all safely rooted in the genre I’d grown up enjoying most. What was more, I found a beautiful use of language that the books of my past lacked- metaphors, imagery, and sweet, sweet profanity.

Over the next year or two, I read everything Clive Barker wrote. I swore to everyone who would listen that his work wasn’t just horror- it was literary. He was head and shoulders above hacks like Stephen King and Dean Koontz (I’d never read either). And I stuck to my guns, even after I finished all of his work and had to branch out to new authors.

Until I met Jack Kerouac. When I finished reading On the Road, I drew a line in the literary sand, one that poor Clive would never be able to cross. I felt sad to have wasted all of that time on inferior books when Kerouac’s work had been available since the first time I drew breath.

There are two main characters in The Sorrow King, a father and a son. The father has mostly failed at life, but manages to happily manage a bookstore and maintains a relationship with his teenage son, who he doesn’t always understand. There is one touching scene in which the father reflects on his son’s reading choices, noting the switch from Cliver Barker to Jack Kerouac and how he’d made that same move himself.

And that’s very much what The Sorrow King is. It’s one of those transitional books. It’s not quite for adults and it’s not quite for young adults. I appreciated it because it didn’t speak clearly to me. As a rule, I don’t read horror. It’s a stupid rule, granted, but I tend to not like horror fiction. But this book seemed to have been written for me (either that or my past has been so sadly replicated by so many others that this reading transition is universal and I never knew about it). While reading it, I identified with the father and the son simultaneously. It was like watching two of my own developmental stages from an outside perspective. If that sounds kind of cool and creepy, it is. That those selves of mine were dropped into a fantastical fairy story only made things better. I was able to see what horror did for me as a teenager and why I outgrew it. It had to happen. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t go back to it and see it in another light.

I was wrong. When I dismissed Clive Barker as a waste of time after my first foray into literary fiction, I was, once again, demonstrating my own naivete. Nothing that moves you forward is a waste. Those tattered mass market paperbacks got me to where I am today.

Oh. You want to know about the book? It’s good. Really good. You should read it. (less)

17 likes · like · see review

Sep 02, 2011 Dan Schwent rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bizarro, horror, 2011

The town of Gethsemane, Ohio, is rocked by a string of suicides that some are calling The Suicide Virus. Meanwhile, troubled young teenager Steven Wrigley meets the girl of his dreams. But does his new lady love have some sort of connection to the suicide plague?

Some people seem to be afraid of the bizarro genre, thinking it's full of things like talking penises running for president, super heroes wielding magical dildos, people having sex with fruit, and pieces of furniture having sex with one ...more The town of Gethsemane, Ohio, is rocked by a string of suicides that some are calling The Suicide Virus. Meanwhile, troubled young teenager Steven Wrigley meets the girl of his dreams. But does his new lady love have some sort of connection to the suicide plague?

Some people seem to be afraid of the bizarro genre, thinking it's full of things like talking penises running for president, super heroes wielding magical dildos, people having sex with fruit, and pieces of furniture having sex with one another. While this is certainly true in some cases, it is not always the case. I like to think of the bizarro as writers writing what they feel like without the constraints of a conventional publisher. This book is a perfect example.

The Sorrow King is a chilling tale of a demon-like creature, the Sorrow King, that drives teenagers to commit suicide so that it can feed on their misery and the misery their deaths cause. Andersen Prunty does a great job maintaining a creepy mood throughout as the Sorrow King tempts his victims. Up until a huge twist near the end, I could easily see the Sorrow King coming from a major publishing house. Then came the twist, which I couldn't see any major publishing house putting out. I'm not going to divulge any more plot information at this time. I already feel like the back cover gives away a little too much.

The characters of Steven and his father are very well done. I liked the interplay between them as it nicely summed up their relationship, more like friends than father and son. The character of Elise could have used a bit more developing but I bought Steven falling for her so fast. After all, I was a hormone-driven teenage boy once.

Andersen Prunty's writing continues to impress me. I enjoyed Zerostrata quite a bit and, while it's a completely different kind of book, I enjoyed The Sorrow King even more. I almost wish I would have saved it until Halloween.

To sum things up, The Sorrow King is one the best bizarro books I've read so far and I recommend it to all the Bizarro-curious (or Bi-curious, as Steve Lowe calls them) readers out there.

(less)

31 likes · like · see review

Aug 09, 2011 Mike Kleine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Mike by: Andersen Prunty

The Sorrow King is one splendid and interesting read! While it certainly asks more questions than it answers, it still manages to tell an absolutely compelling horror story about the imagination and its power of persuasion. Prunty doesn't attempt to impress the reader with any twists or last-minute M. Night Shyamalan moments here, rather, he focuses on the dialogue, setting and story arc to create the rather unique tale of the Sorrow King. The book itself is neatly split into three different sec...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 26, 2011 Torie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I was first drawn to this book through Goodreads and was pulled in by its awesome title and cover. When I read the synopsis, I was hooked. I went to Amazon and found that Prunty had set his titles to 99 cents until the end of June and it just sealed the deal.

I started reading the book and have to admit, I was mightily discouraged. The protagonist, Steven, just starts off so unendearing and the weird, forced, unrealistic conversations that transpired between he and his father made me cringe. I ke...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 20, 2011 The Haunted Rose rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

The sorrow king really surprised me. I was imagining some same ole book on how horrible life is yada yada. Instead I got an amazing story basically about this regular teenager whose mother died and has a bad time talking to his dad. He starts to fall in love with a depressed teenage girl. She wants to be all alone so everytime she moves she builds an obscura. A place where she feels at peace. She has no idea that the sorrow king has chosen her to help with his evil plans. All over town kids drop...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 06, 2011 Monster added it · review of another edition

Teen suicides have paralyzed the town of Gethsemane, Ohio. Steven Wrigley’s nightmares spill over into his journal, record the names of the dead, and reveal clues to a bloodthirsty stalker. Unable to sleep peacefully, he walks the quiet streets till dawn, alone, until he meets Elise. Elise has a secret hideaway, the Obscura, that enfolds her and allows her to escape her anger, stress, and conscience, It’s the one place Steven won’t follow her. A monster watches her there, absorbing her anguish...more Teen suicides have paralyzed the town of Gethsemane, Ohio. Steven Wrigley’s nightmares spill over into his journal, record the names of the dead, and reveal clues to a bloodthirsty stalker. Unable to sleep peacefully, he walks the quiet streets till dawn, alone, until he meets Elise. Elise has a secret hideaway, the Obscura, that enfolds her and allows her to escape her anger, stress, and conscience, It’s the one place Steven won’t follow her. A monster watches her there, absorbing her anguish and growing stronger.

Steven and Elise know they are both somehow connected to the legendary horror gripping their town. The Sorrow King lurks, a fiend carved from wood and bone, whose empty black eye sockets melt like wax, who reeks of blood and decay. How can they possibly fight the terrifying entity who feeds on fear and misery? Will it demand the ultimate sacrifice from them? Will that be enough to appease its bloodlust?

Anderson Prunty’s novel, The Sorrow King, is a shocking work. The prose is tight and brisk, speeding the reader through scenes of teen angst interesting to any young adult reader. However, passages of serious gore, extremely graphic and disturbing sex, and horrific violence appear in nightmare sequences. These episodes are so terrifying and emotionally painful that they cause the teenage characters to commit suicide. This aspect pushes the fear and image envelope a full step past the rest of the book’s themes, and makes it difficult to recommend a particular age group. Certainly this book is not for anyone just looking for a few chills.

Having said that, the story is gripping, and the style straightforward and clean; just proceed with caution. The violent sequences are a definite speed bump to the flow of the novel and are not fully justifiable to the plot.

Prunty is the author several horror and cult titles including, My Fake War, Slag Attack (both from Eraserhead Press, 2010), Morning is Dead (Atlatl Press, 2010), and The Beard (Atlatl, 2009). His website, www.andersonprunty.com is very well linked to several horror genre publishing houses and sites.

Contains: graphic violence and sex, suicide
Reviewed by: Sheila Shedd(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 09, 2012 knig rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: bizarro

The Sorrow King is my Bizarro baptism. I come to it laden with some prejudice: I am very particular about supernatural horror: I don’t like the way it’s a carte blanche for authors to spew up Mephistolean apnoea with no rhyme or reason. Unless its Dune or some totally otherly world where I don’t mind raconteuring about the colour of nonsense. But, if its going to be Smallville in the US of A v. the Sorrow King, then I want it a la Shyamalan’s ‘the Sixth Sense’ mode: everything joined up in ratio...more The Sorrow King is my Bizarro baptism. I come to it laden with some prejudice: I am very particular about supernatural horror: I don’t like the way it’s a carte blanche for authors to spew up Mephistolean apnoea with no rhyme or reason. Unless its Dune or some totally otherly world where I don’t mind raconteuring about the colour of nonsense. But, if its going to be Smallville in the US of A v. the Sorrow King, then I want it a la Shyamalan’s ‘the Sixth Sense’ mode: everything joined up in rational and logical continuum despite the advent of the Dark Side.

This doesn’t happen in the Sorrow King. At least, not sufficiently. Prunty’s trifecta of characters (he doesn’t seem too bothered about fleshing out secondary characters), namely Connor, his son Steven and the requisite love interest, Elise, take up equal space centre stage so effectively there isn’t the one main character. Things happen to them which make no sense at all, unless I just accept a blanket pass for the supernatural to just wield its way hither and thither, another way of saying Prunty is too lazy to tie his themes together. For example, The Sorrow King can’t kill Elise, she is the only one he needs/can’t kill to achieve his ‘ghoulish’ mission. Well, why the hell is she the chosen one? Or should I just shut up and put up? Connor provides a conduit for the Sorrow King to materialise in his youth, yet its his son Steven who has to pay for this. First, why do either Steven OR Connor have to pay for letting the Genie out of the bottle? And if anyone has to pay, why should it be the son and not the father ‘wot done it? See, that’s the problem I have with supernatural horror: I just can’t grin and bear it.

The Sorrow King has one more serious flaw which rankled even more than the above. Who exactly is the target audience for this book? Is it YA fiction? It seems like it: Connor and Elise are just seventeen and in high school. So, a lot of teenage angst and the associated storming, norming and forming that goes with it, and best appeals to spotty pubescent who, like the opening character Jeremy Levine in the sorrow King, are best preoccupied with should they beat themselves off in front of the TV or not. On the other hand, Steve and Connor engage in some of the wittiest and most cynical/sarcastic conversation etudes I’ve read in a long time|: a real treat of wordplay. But, not the type associated with a seventeen year old at all. Ah, the vicissitudes…..

So, I’ve got very mixed reactions to this….perhaps whatever the target audience, it simply isn’t me.
Just under three stars on this one.(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Feb 05, 2011 Nick Cato rated it 5 of 5 stars

High school senior Steven lives in the small Ohio town of Gethsemane with his widowed father, Connor. Still dealing with the death of his mother 2 years prior, a rash of teenage-suicides hits the town, adding more pressure to both Steven and Connor's lives. To clear his mind, Steven begins taking long walks late at night. One night he spots a young redhead girl walking alone. He becomes obssessed with her, and even stalks her around school untl he discovers her name (Elise). When he meets up wit...more

7 likes · like · see review

Sep 27, 2011 Rowan MacBean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, that was weird. But really good weird. A lot of bizarro fiction is really out there, but this was a bit milder. You can almost imagine it actually happening. And the concept -- a 'suicide virus,' even though it's one caused by a supernatural being -- is a really disturbing thought.

I also like the way the author writes. Often, authors will try to Tell A Story -- they're trying to get a point across to the reader, whether it's a moral lesson or just "Look at me! I'm a really good writer!" I...more

like · see review

Feb 11, 2012 Miss Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was the first horror I'd read in a long time. The story built slowly, I put it down a couple times to breeze through a couple other titles first. Once I committed to it I read it through in a couple sittings. The Sorrow King character wasn't revealed until halfway through the book, maybe this was a construct to draw the reader into the story first. The teenage characters were a little bit too self-aware and mature to be realistic 15 and 17 year old kids but he covers that with the stilted d...more

like · see review

Jun 06, 2011 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-blog

The teens in Gethsemane, Ohio have begun killing themselves terrifyingly regularly. No one knows why. Steven Wrigley just wants to finish high school until the names appear. They’re in his hand writing, in his notebook. Clouds and suicides. Something is wrong in Gethsemane. Something is feeding off of the sorrow from the suicides.

Anderson Prunty’s writing in The Sorrow King makes me think of beat poetry. There’s a feel to it like the characters don’t quite know what to do with themselves and are...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 29, 2011 Matthew Vaughn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, bizarro, reviewed

I came across the name Andersen Prunty one day on Bizarro Central when they were announcing that the paperback of his novel Fuckness was available. The premise of that book sounded intriguing so I filed the name away as something to check out eventually. A while later I was on Bizarro Central again and they had a free fiction round up. Right there at the bottom of that list was that name again, Andersen Prunty, this time for the kindle version of The Sorrow King, for free. It’s almost near impo...more I came across the name Andersen Prunty one day on Bizarro Central when they were announcing that the paperback of his novel Fuckness was available. The premise of that book sounded intriguing so I filed the name away as something to check out eventually. A while later I was on Bizarro Central again and they had a free fiction round up. Right there at the bottom of that list was that name again, Andersen Prunty, this time for the kindle version of The Sorrow King, for free. It’s almost near impossible for me to pass up a free book, especially if it’s an author I’m interested in, so of course I grabbed it up. What I didn’t know at the time was that I would end up reading it so soon, and that when I started I wouldn’t be able to stop until I was finished.
The Sorrow King takes place in small town Gethsemane, Ohio where the local teenagers are plagued with what is being called The Suicide Virus. The kids are scared that they could be next, wondering if it truly is a virus could they catch it from their friends? The parents don’t know what to do to keep their kids safe, or what could possibly be causing a rash of suicides with teens that seemingly have no connection to one another.
The story focuses on Steven Wrigley, a depressed teen living full time with his father, Conner, after his mother’s untimely passing. Their relationship is more of two friends than father and son, no matter how much his father truly does worry about him. Steven has secrets that he doesn’t understand and can’t share with anyone else. Enter Elise, a girl he becomes infatuated with, a girl who has just as many secrets as Steven. Together they both play parts in the darkness that is closing in on Gethsemane, more so than they realize.
What impressed me most about Andresen Pruntys writing is his characters. He has a solid grasp on developing very real people. Stevens’s awkwardness with his hormonal feelings toward Elise reminded me so much of myself in high school. Prunty spells out the confusing emotions of a high school loner like he was following me around taking notes. I could feel for Conner as he struggles to be there for his son, as he tries to get Steven to open up without pushing him away. The fears that the teenagers endure from the Sorrow King are very real, and get you thinking about your own fears, how you would be able to deal with these situations.
The story itself should intrigue any fans of horror, or just fans of new and interesting stories. But the writing itself will draw you in and force you to stay on target until the very end, and like me, will probably leave the reader wanting more. From now on Andersen Prunty won’t just be a name I keep filed away for later, it’s one that I’ll be looking forward to and making an effort to find any other work from.

(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 01, 2012 ADignorantium rated it 2 of 5 stars

Every now and again, I find myself in the mood for a good horror read. Something to make my skin crawl. Something fun that will keep me awake at night.

The kids in Gethsemane Ohio are dropping like flies in apparent suicides. Steven Wrigley knows better, but how can he stop it? Thus begins the race to find answers.

I wanted to like Andersen Prunty's "The Sorrow King". The premise seemed just the thing to satisfy my need for a creepy tale to read before bedtime.

The good news is that it cured my ins...more

like · see review

Aug 24, 2011 Andersen Prunty added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: books-i-wrote, grindhouse-press

Now available in trade paperback and as a FREE Kindle download.

1 like · like · see review

Apr 12, 2011 Marsha rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Adults

Initially, when I read the description for "The Sorrow King" I believed the book to be written for Young Adults. However, after reading this story I must revise my opinion to say that I believe this book is more suited for adults.

When I was a child, there was a show on T.V. entitled "One Step Beyond." It had a similar premise as the Twilight Zone but supposedly the stories were based on real events. While reading "The Sorrow King" I felt as though I was living in a day in the "Twilight Zone" or...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 28, 2011 Steve Lowe rated it 4 of 5 stars

To those who might read this review,

This is not Steve, this is his widow. Yes, that is correct. Steve is dead. His last wish, which he pinned to himself before he took his own life, was for me to post this review for him. I do so begrudgingly.

And I lay the blame for my beloved husband’s death at your feet, Mr. Prunty. It was your book, The Sorrow King which drove him to this madness. Your skillfulness in capturing the mindset of downcast, suicidal teens and their daily angst so thoroughly depres...more

16 likes · like · see review

Jan 08, 2012 Belinda Frisch rated it 4 of 5 stars

Connor and Steven are a father and son living together in the sleepy town of Gethsemane, Ohio after the death of Steven's mother (Connor's ex-wife.) Steven is the expectedly outcast teen character and is pretty much a loner until he first sees Elise, a girl he adores.

Together, the two walk night after night, occasionally contemplating the rash of suicides that has overtaken their school like a virus. Steven is somewhat prophetic in that he's written several things in his notebook, even before t...more

1 like · like · see review

May 13, 2011 akalanaya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: general

I won this on Goodreads Giveaways.

I liked this book, and I thought the idea was unique, but I found it difficult to relate to the main character. It was only after the Obscura was mentioned that I began to really enjoy the novel; prior to that, I had been reading a chapter and then putting it down for a while.

I thought the story of the Jackthief was great. The suicides were interesting, because of what the teenagers saw and felt prior to death. It did remind me, as one reviewer has already menti...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 08, 2011 Dustin Reade rated it 5 of 5 stars

For a Prunty book, this one was pretty damned intense. I mean, his writing is unlike anyone else who has ever played with a pen or typer, and his stories are original, often quite funny, and always entertaining. And while they are always a bit dark, this one was like a night with no stars.
Prunty offers us real horror, complete with a seemingly unstoppable monster/demon-thing, and a death-mechanism that is unspeakable: teen suicide.
For, as one of the characters puts it in the novel: "What could...more

6 likes · like · see review

Sep 03, 2011 Bradley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-book

Free for Kindle for a limited time.

1 like · like · see review

May 11, 2011 Jodie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

Ooh! I was soo rubbing my hands together for this one and rightly so! Prunty has brought forth a delectable piece so vivid I almost felt like I was seeing it with my own eyes at times. A great piece!

What would you call him? Who, you ask? The person, the thing you are most scared of. What would he look like to you?

The only person that seems to have the slightest clue as to what might possibly be going on is Steven Wrigley and even he isn't so sure. Everyone is calling it "The Suicide Virus." Ste...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 28, 2012 Jessi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: but-why-is-the-rum-gone-mystery, gag-me-with-a-fork, it-scared-me, sex-that-gets-weird

I tried, but maybe this was just not my bag?
If we broke the elements of the story into parts I got most of them, there is a teenage boy who is lonely and a bit depressed, got it, there is a pretty girl with a secret, got it,
there is a surge in teen suicide in the past few weeks, got it,
there is a realm called the Obscura where you can feel power and happiness, but is also connected to cloud formation….

Yes what? I just could not for whatever reason get into the flow of this book and fully ..u...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jan 02, 2012 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, fiction, horror

After a recent slog through Stephen King's Insomnia, Anderson Prunty's Sorrow King came as a nice (but grim) surprise. The subject of teen suicide is a tough one. I've had friends, relatives, that have had to deal with such terrible occurrences. To see a life gone at such a young age is horrible. It turns life upside down. The subject matter is so painful that I wasn't even sure I wanted to read this book. But Prunty handles the subject with sensitivity, while still telling a horror story.

The t...more

9 likes · like · see review

Jun 03, 2012 Katy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of dark or bizarro fiction

Shelves: ebook

Book Info: Genre: Dark Fiction Reading Level: While the characters would make it YA, the content makes it Adult

Disclosure: I received a free copy from Amazon on a sale and am happy to provide an honest review.

Synopsis: "There are no happy endings in hell."

The papers call it “The Suicide Virus.” The teenagers of Gethsemane, Ohio, are killing themselves at an alarming rate.

Steven Wrigley is trying to survive his senior year of high school, still reeling from the death of his mother and adjusting t...more

4 likes · like · see review

May 02, 2012 Lea rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, read-2012, reviews, bizarro

Okay, I'm going to keep this short -- I normally love Prunty's work, and I've read and reviewed several. This one just missed the mark for me. There were many things I liked about it -- I thought the characters were very well done, and the interactions between them (for the most part) were believable. There was, initially, a lot of tension to the story, and I was very anxious to see how things would work out. But the negatives outweighed the positives for me. In a lot of ways, this felt like a S...more

1 like · like · see review

May 15, 2011 C.V. Hunt rated it 4 of 5 stars

What if the scariest thing you had to face was your own mind? Do you think that you would be able to fight through the madness, to save a town full of people, which have fallen under a sadistic spell? What if a monster of your imagination sprang to life?

I was a little hesitant when I read the synopsis to The Sorrow King. It didn’t look like something that I could fall into at first glance, but after reading a few reviews, I thought I would give it a shot since it was only $0.99 on Kindle. I’m gl...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 03, 2011 Brian Steele rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

I've been meaning to check out the work from Andersen Prunty for some time now, and the cover art to "The Sorrow King" had grabbed me early on. With an interesting premise, I opened an e-book version and hoped for the best. Simply put, I read the entire thing in one sitting and them immediately sat down to write a review for this amazing novel.

Other reviews will already cover the synopsis, so I won't bother with that. No, instead I'll tell you that Prunty writes in an effortless style that someh...more I've been meaning to check out the work from Andersen Prunty for some time now, and the cover art to "The Sorrow King" had grabbed me early on. With an interesting premise, I opened an e-book version and hoped for the best. Simply put, I read the entire thing in one sitting and them immediately sat down to write a review for this amazing novel.

Other reviews will already cover the synopsis, so I won't bother with that. No, instead I'll tell you that Prunty writes in an effortless style that somehow combines the best qualities of Stephen King and Clive Barker. We are introduced to real, believable characters who aren't weighed down by too much cliched backstory, and yet we're drawn into an arcane series of events that aren't overly esoteric.

There are whispers of modern humanity's existential crisis, but nothing ham-fisted, nothing spoonfed. It all plays out wonderfully for the reader. (I would especially love to see Ken pop up again.) We see so much half-concealed love between Connor and his son, Steven, that fragile bond that also plays out so well in the overall story. How can we expect young people like Steven and Elise to trust each other when they can't trust the world their own parents run? Perhaps it's these connections, especial so wonderfully detailed in the back-and-forth dialogue, that ultimately serve as the defeat to The Sorrow King.

Now, as an author in Ohio as well, I must point out how incredible Prunty has done in describing the madness that truly is this state's weather. That, along with his depiction of small, rural life in Ohio was quite accurate without resorting to caricature or hyperbole. It was refreshing to see an author do this in such an honest manner.

In the end, I feel this novel is not only a work that Prunty should be immensely proud of, but a work the horror community as a whole should embrace. This is exactly the type of novel that the new generation of readers are looking for, the type authors shouldn't be hesitant to write. And it makes me very excited to find more by Andersen Prunty.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Sep 11, 2011 Brad rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, bizarro, goodreads-author, ipod

I've wanted to read Andersen Prunty for a long time. Almost as long as I've been coming to goodreads. I mean, who wouldn't want to read books with titles like The Overwhelming Urge, Jack and Mr. Grin, Zerostrata, The Sex Beast of Scurvy Island and Fuckness? Maybe Jack van Impe and Jimmy Swaggart, but for the rest of us these titles are like lesbian porn smothered in chocolate. So bad for you in so many ways but impossible to avoid forever.

And I've finally done it. I just finished reading The Sor ...more

8 likes · like · see review

Apr 20, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: favorites, other-supernatural, horror

I don't often read horror novels, but this one sounded particularly interesting. It's a nice mix of supernatural and folk tale horror that can freak you out without even realizing it until you turn the lights out to go to bed.

I really liked this book. It was nicely paced and well written. Though the plot can get a little complicated, it is easy to follow which is always important. Every character can be related to, and you find yourself caring about all of them.

Another aspect about this book t...more

1 like · like · see review

title link	preview: The Sorrow King
avg rating	preview: The Sorrow King Goodreads rating: 3.72 (160 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10156063-the-sorrow-king?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348801513l/10156063.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10156063-the-sorrow-king?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Sorrow King by Andersen Prunty[/url]

The Sorrow King

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (4)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Andersen Prunty

Books by Andersen Prunty

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About The Sorrow King

Quotes from The Sorrow King