Steve Stred's Blog, page 63

Book Review: Quiet Places by Jasper Bark

Title: Quiet Places: A Novella of Cosmic Folk Horror

Author: Jasper Bark

Release date: September 29th, 2017

I’ve had this novella on my TBR for some time, but seeing the love the fantastic Dave Jeffery has for it, I bumped it up when I had gap arrive between longer reads.

I was really intrigued with the ‘Cosmic-Folk-Horror’ categorization, as that’s not a subgenre we see that often, or if we do, it’s frequently subdued and doesn’t push too far in either direction. So, this one had me excited to dive in and see what nightmares awaited.

What I liked: The story follows Sally, recently having moved to a small town where her boyfriend now lives. He comes from the town’s lineage, his family being paramount to the formation of the town and since then they’ve woven themselves into the fabric of day-to-day life. But now, he is the last in line.

The opening to this story is incredibly unnerving. We arrive to discover every person, except Sally, are essentially automatons – they stand lifeless and Sally moves them, cleans them and cares for them, all in the hopes that what has happened will be undone. It’s from that opening that Bark weaves the Cosmic elements as well as the folklore surrounding Dunballan, this small, odd town.

I really enjoyed the Beast and the role it played, and how Sally struggled with the distance between her and David but also her desire to lessen it. Bark does a great job of making them both enticing characters but also frustrating characters.

What I didn’t like: A lot of the folklore is learned through these old journals that Sally discovers and reads and, while I enjoyed learning about this folklore, I wasn’t so sure that the journals would’ve contained that much depth and detail, especially considering the time they were supposedly written in. 

Why you should buy this: Bark has written a very fast-paced story that asks the reader to suspend reality in the best way possible. The setting is great and the events surrounding the Beast and the bushes was fantastic. This one hits a lot of high notes and I think those seeking the ‘Cosmic-Folk-Horror’ subgenre will be very happy!

4/5

Book Review: Horrors Untold Vol 5 by Matt Wildasin

Title: Horrors Untold Vol 5

Author: Matt Wildasin

Release date: May 19th, 2022

It was only recently that I discovered Wildasin’s writing, with his co-authored piece ‘Baggage’ (alongside the awesome Simon Paul Wilson), which was a ton of fun and was a bigger story than the length of pages. It really caught me off guard with where it went and I was excited to read more of both authors.

When Wildasin reached out to see if I’d be up for an ARC of his next collection ‘Horrors Untold Vol 5,’ I said absolutely – I’d heard great things about the first four entries, and even though I’d not read them, I was excited to see just what Matt was getting up to within these releases.

What I liked: ‘Horrors Untold Vol 5’ features 8 stories of varying length from a flash fiction single pager to a couple pushing into novella length. It makes for a great time for the reader as nothing seems repetitive or forced into a word count parameter.

The highlights for me were;

Hall’s Tower – This one followed friends Matt and Will as they hiked into an ‘off the map’ abandoned location to see if all the rumors about ‘Hall’s Tower’ were true. You know how this one goes. If it’s in a horror collection – the rumors are true!Turkey Massacre – This story was a ton of fun. Something falls from the sky and mutates the turkey’s at a local free range turkey farm. Chaos and bloodshed ensue.Crazy Cat Lady – A great take on the ‘back from the dead’ zombie narrative. This one follows a lady, her cats and her efforts to keep everyone fed.

Overall, Wildasin gives us some really great takes on different storylines and even the flash fiction piece ‘Inevitable’ was poignant.

What I didn’t like: As with each collection of stories, some stories will work more than others. I’m personally not a big fan of Christmas/Santa horror stories typically (ironic I know, considering I had a story in an Xmas themed horror anthology), so that one was decent, but not one I would usually go out of my way to discover.

Why you should buy this: It’s always exciting to find new authors who have a solid writing voice and easy prose to read. I don’t say that as an offensive thing – I mean his writing flows and you get lost within the story quickly. Judging from both the co-authored ‘Baggage’ and this collection, I’ll need to read more Wildasin and I hope if you read this review, you’ll also dive into his catalog and check out his work!

This was a solid collection and shows his range and versatility really nicely.

4/5

Book Review: The Island by Adrian McKinty

Title: The Island

Author: Adrian McKinty

Release date: May 17th, 2022

**Huge thanks to Netgalley, Adrian McKinty and Little, Brown & Company for approving me for an ARC of this one!**

This book wasn’t on my radar until recently when a fellow reviewer posted about it. I figured I’d give it a shot, see if I would get approved for it, and to my utter surprise – I WAS! Now, I’ve never read anything from McKinty before, but have had his novel ‘The Chain’ on my ‘To Buy List’ since it came out. Not sure why I’ve not gotten around to both buying it and reading it, life I guess, but I was intrigued to see what he’d unleash on us with this one, ‘The Island.’

Now, the description itself doesn’t give us anything you’d consider groundbreaking or differentiating between a lot of the dark fiction books I read. Family goes on a vacation, things take a turn, those that live need to find a way to survive at all cost.

That’s fine, I’m ok with a common horror trope set up – BUT – this isn’t a horror novel. This is marketed as an action/adventure/thriller story, one that is already in development for HULU and because of that, I went in with my “gore-meter” already dimmed and my “extreme events” mindset dampened.

What I liked: I think the shining light in this story is the main character, Heather. Heather grew up on a small island near Seattle, living in an art commune. Eventually, she moves to the big city and while there, falls in love with Tom. Tom is a recently widowed doctor, now a single father of two teenaged kids. Doesn’t matter, they love each other and get married. That is all backstory, stuff we learn about, but it is key to why Heather’s story arc is the highlight. She transforms from a meek, worried, secondary spouse, to a take charge, survive at all costs provider and it was great to read.

The story itself follows the family as they head to Australia for a conference that Tom is speaking at. While there, they do some sightseeing and it’s on one of these excursions where they bribe their way onto a private island to try and see some wildlife. Something happens, they try to flee, but are stopped and from there, the story morphs into “we need to get off this island” territory.

McKinty does a great job of creating tension between the two kids and Heather throughout the first quarter, but there is a subtle shift when the trio is separated from Tom and the two kids understand Heather is their only hope to survive.

I thought the ending was good, if abrupt, and the pseudo-epilogue after was a touching closure to the story.

What I didn’t like: No matter how many times I reminded myself that this was a mass-market thriller, it still became a bit underwhelming at times with how dampened and polished some events felt. Some of the characters were too one dimensional (I hated Tom from the start, and the entire scene of him having a toddler meltdown over the rental company not having the specific Porsche SUV for him pushed me close into DNF territory he was such a knob) and stereotypical.

Why you should buy this: Don’t get me wrong, McKinty serves this up really nicely and the writing is a ton of fun. He has one of those writing voices where you don’t realize you’ve read as much as you have, because it flows so well.

I think for those who’ll see this on the bookstore shelves or grocery store lanes, this will be an exhilarating ride, but for those who enjoy a bit more of a visceral, descriptive island survival story, you’ll be underwhelmed.

Overall, a solid adventure story, if not a bit too commercial in spots.

3/5

Book Review: The Mud Man by Donna Marie West

Title: The Mud Man

Author: Donna Marie West

Release date: April 19th, 2022

When Tim McWhorter announced he was opening up his own publishing imprint, Manta Press Ltd., I was really excited. I’ve loved everything I’ve read from Tim and knowing he would be seeking out fantastic stories to release, I awaited the announcement of the first book.

‘The Mud Man’ by Donna Marie West had the honor and distinction of being the first release on the upstart press and after reading the synopsis I immediately preordered it for my Kindle. 

Now, one thing I want to clarify – as I read a lot of horror – I was kind of expecting this to be a dark fiction release, but can say now, that I’ve read it, it is not. That isn’t a bad thing at all, the writing and the story are really great, but if you know Tim from his horror novels or short stories, definitely don’t assume all he’ll be releasing through this imprint is brutality. 

No, ‘The Mud Man’ is an intriguing story that is layered in emotions, complexities and character depth that really highlight the plot arc of this novel.

What I liked: ‘The Mud Man’ follows anthropologist, Veronica, who gets a request to come view a strange discovery in Northern BC. Once there, the team on site reveal the frozen (but starting to thaw) body of an ancient man, seemingly locked in place for tens of thousands of years. But when Veronica goes to examine him closer, they realize that this man is someone still alive.

From here, West has us follow along as Veronica gains stewardship/legal guardianship of this man and arranges his care, recovery and they eventually develop a friendly relationship where the man teaches Veronica about his life while she teaches this man about the modern world. It is a sweet development and you can quickly see how Veronica losses any pretense of simply researcher and develops a bond and caring for this man.

The secondary characters are great throughout, one of my favorites early on being the physiotherapist, Ty, who has a ‘HOLY COW!’ moment, when the realities of this man’s actual age hit him during a therapy session. It was a really great and light hearted moment that connected that character with the man even more.

The ending is gut wrenching but pristine. An expected full circle development but still emotionally devastating and I’m glad Donna decided to end it how she did.

What I didn’t like: There’s an odd ethical dilemma that plays out near the beginning, once this man is found and transported to Veronica’s ex-husband’s facility for rehabilitation. They discuss it a little bit but it seems to be glossed over and I found that odd seeing as both of their education/occupations and the reality of who and what this man is. I was hoping there’d be a bit more about those implications throughout.

Why you should buy this: I don’t read enough fiction like this to make any comparisons to other books or even movies. What I will say, is that this reminded me of a lot of movies I used to watch growing up. The movies that connected with the watcher such as ‘Stand By Me,’ ‘My Girl,’ and even ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.’ These stories that show character connection through an odd/strange event/incident and how different relationships develop afterwards.

This was really well done and a really excellent first entry into the world by Manta Press Ltd.!

4/5

Book Review: Sinister Mix by Brian Bowyer

Book Review: Sinister Mix

Author: Brian Bowyer

Release date: April 17th, 2021

It’s interesting to me how wide the horror landscape is. You can have authors writing in different subgenres who are frequently posted about on one social media platform, but never so much as a peep on others.

Case in point – Brian Bowyer. I see Brian’s writing praised frequently on Twitter as being some of the most extreme stuff out there. I also see it a bit on IG. Very rarely do I see it on FB. That’s not to say there is anything bad about that, but it is to point out that we are currently having an overabundance of dark fiction riches to discover.

Bowyer is also very prolific, churning out a number of releases each year. I actually dove into a different release from him, but found it just wasn’t working for me. So, I took a look at his vast catalog and decided to dive into this collection, and I have to say – this one was a ton of fun.

What I liked: Bowyer’s writing is succinct and to the point. In each story within this collection, we are only really shown the gruesome event, which works to create a chaotic feeling as you go from one story to the next. Not to say we don’t get back story or any build up, we do, but often that is within the story, not before, which I think works really well.

A number of the stories really stuck out for me but I’ll highlight the four I think would be considered my favorite.

First Date – the opening story was also one of the best. It starts with a simple set up – an author goes on a first date, only to find out she’s a fan of his work. After spending the night together, she invites him to come out to see her farm and get some writing done. From here, things go south and Brian delivers a really chilling ending.

Maternal Flame – a horrible story about a boy who is kidnapped while out with his mom and the events that occur after. This one is both extreme but also incredibly sad.

Black Yacht – another story involving a parent and a child, in this case, a heroin junkie mother takes her child to the beach, hoping to score some drugs. While there a strange boat is docked just off shore. Someone offers the mother cash in exchange for the kid coming onto the boat alone for the day. Bowyer adds some X-Files-ish elements to create a really unnerving story.

Casa Fiesta – this one might be the most straight-forward story in the batch, but it follows a woman who goes on vacation by herself and discovers not all strangers have her best interests at heart.

Time and again, Bowyer really gives the story the worst possible moments and readers who like extreme will be really happy.

What I didn’t like: One thing I did find was there was some repetition in story themes and plots, which dampened the impact of those that came after. Case in point – ‘Maternal Flame’ is about a kidnapped child. Shortly after, we get another story involving a child and a similar ending to ‘Maternal Flame.’ Several stories later, ‘Black Yacht’ comes along, another story involving a parent and a child. Some readers may find not even variety to make their way through the darker pieces.

Why you should buy this: Bowyer writes with gusto and joy, you can practically feel his maniacal grin coming off each page when you read brutal passages. You know he had fun writing these extreme slabs of brutality and the reader definitely benefits from it.

If you’re looking for a quick, depraved cross-section of life’s worst moments, look no further, Bowyer has you covered!

4/5

Book Review: Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum

Title: Helpmeet

Author: Naben Ruthnum

Release date: May 24th, 2022

“noun: helpmeet
a helpful companion or partner, especially one’s husband or wife.”

First – huge massive thank you to Michael Kelly and Undertow Publications for sending me a digital ARC of this upcoming release. The previous digital ARC I’ve been fortunate to read from the mighty Undertow Publications was the stunning ‘Armageddon House’ by Michael Griffin and that one turned out to be one of my all time favorite books. Would lightning strike twice?

I very rarely mention a books cover in my reviews, but in this case, I must. Just look at that painting. My apologies, I thought I noted what it was called, but it was from approx. 1825 and not only does it accurately depict the story you’re about to read, but also the sense of unknown dread that accompanies the reader as you crack this one open.

In the advanced praise section prior to the story, author Craig Davidson likens this to the old masters, those who’ve come before who used sparse wording and simply prose, but managed to create massive, monstrous results, IE Algernon Blackwood as an example. Folks – Davidson was spot on.

What I liked: As both a fan of reading and writing novellas, ‘Helpmeet’ delivers everything you want in a novel in a smooth sixty nine pages. Not a word is wasted here and when I finished reading this over the course of about an hour last night, I was exhausted mentally and physically. This is an experience. I would compare it to when you first discovered a horror movie when you were young. You were captivated and had to sit rapt until it was over and you had to question yourself about what you just read.

‘Helpmeet’ delivers the same (as did Armageddon House for those wondering), and it was absolutely compulsive. The story follows Louise, the wife of a well to do doctor, Edward in 1900. Edward has come down with an odd affliction, one that is causing his body to rot, decay and fall off of his skeleton. He hasn’t much time left and needs to get to his out of state property before it is too late.

Ruthnum paints a picture of a dotting wife (who also used to a nurse) caring for her husband, even when he’s been a horrible man. Frequenting brothels, stepping outside of their marriage with other nurses and generally not being there for Louise. But what would normally strain this relationship, has been pushed aside by Louise, as she decides to stick with him and help him as he becomes unable to do most anything. I loved seeing how this one unraveled and when we arrive at an ending, that completely floored me and absolutely opened up a whole world of questions and enormous possibilities, I knew Ruthnum had decided to ‘go there’ for this story. Those who’ll read this will know what I mean. Just so, so phenomenal.

What I didn’t like: Ruthnum fit in a 500 page novels worth of story here, but even after all of that, I still wish we could’ve learned a little bit more of some specific events surrounding the ending. I hate being spoiler free for this specific reason, but boy, would I have loved to learn even 5% more!

Why you should buy this: This is what writing a classic story looks like in 2022. I struggle reading the old masters, Blackwood and Machen and others, because I find their writing can often be clunky and far too often the choice of phrasing is confusing and baffling. Not with Ruthnum, and not with ‘Helpmeet.’

From the first word to the very last word, this story crawls under your skin and I was often times reminded of Iain Reid’s work with ‘FOE,’ in that you know something is off, something not right, but even when you find out what it is, your eyes practically pop out of your skull. This was pristine storytelling and I’ve very thankful to have read this one. It’ll be staying in my head for a very long time.

5/5

Direct from Undertow Publications;

https://undertowpublications.com/shop/helpmeet

Amazon;

Book Review: Unbalanced by Jason Parent

Title: Unbalanced

Author: Jason Parent

Release date: April 4th, 2022

The last two reads from Jason that I’ve read have been both really well done, but also completely different in totally different genres. ‘The Apocalypse Strain’ was straight up Sci-Fi Horror goodness and ‘Eight Cylinders’ was a rock ‘n rolling Cosmic Horror novella. Sure sure, both were ‘horror,’ at the end of the day, but they were so far removed from each other that it worked really well to showcase Parent’s versatility.

Which brings me to ‘Unbalanced,’ Parent’s newest and latest dark fiction piece. We go from Cosmic Horror chaos and Sci-Fi terror to a dark, gritty crime piece filled with confusing claustrophobic bits and a wholly unsettling environment.

When this was announced, I was so excited for it – which may sound weird as in the past I’ve discussed my difficulties with crime fiction/detective stories – but knowing Parent was firing on all (oh lord) cylinders (I’m so sorry for that), I knew he’d deliver.

What I liked: ‘Unbalanced’ starts off with an unsettling opening and rapidly progresses into a chaotic twisting and turning of events. Parent does a great job of keeping us guessing while also seemingly giving us everything we need on a silver platter (only to frequently slam the serving lid down).

The story focuses on two main characters, Detective Royo and Jaden Sanders. After, what appears to be, a random attempted home invasion at Sanders apartment, Royo begins to try and piece things together. It was interesting to see Sanders character bounce back and forth between with it and not with it and I’d suspect that maybe this was Parent’s toughest aspect to write.

The added developments really work to highlight the scattered plot that rolls along throughout the entire story. It’s a tough thing to really describe and stay spoiler free while also still saying – it’s one of the main reasons why you should dive into this novel.

What I didn’t like: Look, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I do struggle with crime fiction and especially the ‘years beaten down’ officer/detective trope. I did find Royo to be a fresh take on this, but there were still times when I groaned at some dialogue (not that it was bad, just expected), as there are always things you can expect to be said during interrogations etc.

Why you should buy this: Parent continues to show his versatility and his ability to craft truly memorable characters and plots. This one will stand out from the normal gritty-crime novels because of the way Parent attacks the characters and the intricately woven plotlines and themes that crisscross from page one until the very end.

Another outstanding release from Jason and one I hope you’ll all grab and immediately push to the top of your TBR.

5/5

Book Review: Hummingbird by T.C. Parker

Title: Hummingbird

Author: T.C. Parker

Release date: May 16th, 2022

Huge thanks to Parker for sending me a copy of ‘Hummingbird’ for review!

‘Hummingbird’ is only my second experience with Parker’s writing, the first being her 2021 release ‘Salvation Spring.’ I enjoyed that one, but the synopsis for this one really had me intrigued, so I was excited to dive in.

Interestingly, it was author Hailey Piper’s blurb that really connected the dots for me, when at first I was wondering if I had missed something.

What I liked: ‘Hummingbird’ is essentially a half dozen interconnected novellas that arrive at a fascinating and equally horrifying ending/reality. At first, when I was finished reading the initial set up with Jodie and her story, I was thrown a bit when a seemingly whole other story was introduced and I was wondering if I had to read something previously, or if I’d someone completely missed this character.

But things unravel, we see different sides of the coin or in this case, more accurately a square, as characters cross over, storylines intersect and reveal themselves and Parker does a great job of adding more while subtracting just what needs to be subtracted.

A bit of a tangent – but when the show ‘True Blood’ started, my wife and I loved it. The first few seasons were great and it was captivating. Then the show started to add more and more random elements and things got watered down. Parker takes that same approach – but doesn’t bog anything down and certainly doesn’t add at random. She crafts a story that spreads its wings wide then pulls them in tight to finish everything off.

What I didn’t like: As I mentioned, at first I was a bit thrown off and almost wished that the opening salvo that ends with a fantastic moment involving Jodie was the entire thing and was a novella just of that. So, I want to implore you to stick with it. I can see some readers having the same head scratching aspect that I did and I promise it pays off.

Why you should buy this: If you like interconnected small town dark fiction, this one will be perfect for you. Parker adds a ton of topical social commentary but also infuses it with a smattering of vengeance and a dusting of ‘stick-it-to-them’ that really will get readers excited. The characters are all great, even the ones designed specifically for us to hate them, and Parker makes sure that the main, overall story is highlighted throughout.

Really well done!

5/5

Book Review: The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Title: The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga #1)

Author: John Gwynne

Release date: May 4th, 2021

Typically, you’ll see 95% of my reviews focused on dark fiction – horror all encompassing. But, from time to time, I step into the worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy. My history with Fantasy is limited – I do love my big two (for me at least): Patrick Rothfuss and George RR Martin. In fact, Rothfuss’ ‘The Name of the Wind’ was a massive slump buster for me almost a decade ago when I was struggling to find joy in reading again.

Saying that, lately, I’ve kind of ignored fantasy (even if I have a release (trilogy in progress) of my own in that genre) as I’ve not known where to turn. My brother-in-law, Devon, is a huge fan of R.A. Salvatore and his Drizzt novels, but I’ve looked and struggled to figure out where to dive in. On Twitter, Steven Gomzi has been raving about Gwynne for some time, and finally, seeing this AMAZING cover and a synopsis to match, I knew I needed to take the leap and dive in. Boy, was I happy to read this book. This is phenomenal storytelling on a grand scale. I personally loved how Gwynne was able to make me feel cold and dirt-crusted the entire time. As though I was there, alongside our three main characters throughout.

What I liked: A retelling of Norse Mythology, ‘The Shadow of the Gods’ takes place roughly 300 years after the Gods have all died out, we follow three characters as they journey in the same ‘direction,’ and that direction is vengeance.

Orka is a battle hardened woman, living with her husband and son, trying to let her boy grow up in peace, something they’ve not had much of. When her husband is murdered and her son is kidnapped, she takes off in search of him.

Elvar, the daughter of a Jarl (King), has fled her life and is now a warrior, wanting to make her way and be remembered in song, instead of being sold off to another Jarl to give them kids.

Varg, a thrall (slave) who is desperately seeking the aide of a witch to show him who killed his sister, so that he can avenge her death.

Gwynne switches between each storyline from chapter to chapter and it does two things really well – builds amazing tension AND frustrates the HECK out of the reader, but in the best way possible. Time and time again, we get a solid cliffhanger that in reality means, you have two chapters to get through before you return. And guess what? In those next two chapters, you’ll get two more cliffhangers and so on and so on. It made for truly captivating storytelling and as the reality of what is happening and where the story is going unfolds, the reader will be just as battered and bloodied as the characters we grow to root for.

The battle/action scenes here are stunning. Gwynne does an amazing job of bringing the action to life and it is described in cinematic swathes of blood and metal on armor.

Much like Martin, don’t believe any character is safe, but Gwynne does a great job of keeping his cards close and many of the unexpectedly character deaths were done phenomenally.

The ending sets up events for book two, which, in this case, I’m fortunate to have the book sitting there waiting for me on my Kindle!

What I didn’t like: Well, this is a fantasy novel, so always expect a ridiculous amount of food descriptions. Not as bad as Martin, but for once I’d love to see a passage read ‘they sat down for a dinner of duck and potatoes’ and not two paragraphs worth of food descriptions.

For me, the only thing that really grated on my nerves was the description of the head/brain as their ‘thought-cage.’ It made me chuckle at first and then became an annoyance when everything else is labelled/described as hand, arm, fingers etc.

Why you should buy this: ‘The Shadow of the Gods’ is really a perfect fantasy novel. Gwynne has created (recreated?) a stunning world where people are considered ‘tainted’ if they have blood of the Gods flowing through their veins and always looming is the stories and history of what those Gods did and what ultimately happened to them. This novel works as a pure fantasy read, or a really well done socioeconomic piece on current events. One can read it either way and truly get lost in the meanings behind everything, or simply enjoy it as a blood and battle epic.

My friend Steven Gomzi was spot on with this – Gwynne is truly a master and this series is second to none.

Amazing. And again, just look at that cover! And while you’re at it, look at the second book’s cover as well!

5/5

Book Review: The Haar by David Sodergren

Title: The Haar

Author: David Sodergren

Release date: May 20th, 2022

By this point, if you’ve read any of my work, you’ll be aware that David Sodergren has been pivotal in my progression as a writer. Since my collection ‘Left Hand Path: 13 more tales of black magick’ was eviscerated by some reviewers due to horrendous editing, Sodergren has been by my side guiding my writing, editing and copy/line-editing my work. So, it should be no surprise that I’m always excited to read what David conjures, knowing how phenomenal of a job he does taking my Playdough manuscript and turning it into a Marble work of art (lol).

Do I think David’s work is grossly overlooked? Absolutely. Look at his body of work thus far; ‘The Forgotten Island,’ ‘Night Shoot,’ ‘Dead Girl Blues,’ Maggie’s Grave,’ The Perfect Victim,’ and ‘Satan’s Burnouts Must Die!’ I would call all of these Indie Horror Masterpieces. Sodergren fully embraces the DIY Self-Publishing model and the level/caliber of books he’s given us are second to none. And I’m not going to include our co-written novel ‘The Navajo Nightmare’ as I think that would be too biased, but I will say, his opening salvo that makes up the story is simply one of the best Splatter-Western stories released in that genre over the last few years.

Which brings us to ‘The Haar.’ Maybe a year ago? eight months ago? I can’t fully recall, but at some point we were discussing what each of us was working on and what releases we had coming down the pipeline and he discussed this one. He’ll correct me if I’m wrong here, but I believe back then it was being referred to as ‘Witchaven’ and he jokingly called it his monster-romance novel. He wasn’t far off. And don’t get that phrase stuck in your brain and not take a chance because I used the dreaded ‘R’ word. No, instead, Sodergren does what he does best and gives us a stunning character piece layered below a horrific plotline.

What I liked: The story follows 80+ year old, Muriel McAuley, life long resident of the Scottish fishing town Witchaven. This was where she was born and raised, met and married her husband and continued to live when, years ago, his fishing boat was found, but no signs of Billy were ever found. Now, a billionaire American is buying up all of the land and houses, building a massive golf course and resort, but some residents are holding their ground and refusing to sell. Muriel being one of them.

The story itself follows Muriel as she struggles to comprehend how this place she loves with all of her heart is being ripped away from her. She doesn’t have many years left and just wants to enjoy them in the home she’s lived in for decades.

But, if you look at that synopsis closely, you’ll see Sodergren says this is a gore-soaked folk horror fairy tale, and that’s just what we get. We get a looming fog, the haar, that sweeps in one day and brings something from the ocean. Muriel saves it, connects with it and gets to experience some of life’s moments again. Things and memories she thought long since buried, returning and reinvigorating her.

With Muriel, Sodergren has really created a truly memorable character. From the words shared in the afterword, we see the why and how, but even without that piece of backstory, you’ll fall for her and want to root for her no matter the odds.

Now, I haven’t forgotten about that ‘gore-soaked’ aspect either. Expect the brutality and bloodbath that David is known for. Think ‘Maggie’s Grave’ and you’ll have an idea, and while this one doesn’t have as much as most of his books, it works perfectly to highlight the horrors and events Muriel is living through.

The ending was perfect and the varying POV’s we get to see some of those last moments through was fantastic to really highlight the emotional aspect of this book.

What I didn’t like: The main bad guy and his son, aka The Grant’s, I think were a little underutilized in the sense that I felt they loomed but their dirty work seemed too detached. It’s hard to really say everything and remain spoiler free, so I think once you’ve given this one a go, you’ll understand.

Why you should buy this: Sodergren is the rare combo of TBR-buster and book slump-buster. You always know that even a 300 page book of his will feel like a single sitting because you’ll be so entrenched in the world and his writing flows so beautifully, that you don’t realize how long you’ve been reading.

Muriel really is the best character he’s created yet and the relationship and tenderness we get to see and experience was second to none. I’ll be raving about this book until his next one comes out, but this shows why Sodergren is so good and hopefully now, he’ll stop being overlooked.

5/5