“Bug off or you’ll find that you have blown your mind”

22. Bethany’s Sin – Robert McCammon

So, moving to a small town can be very difficult. Especially if you are haunted by your past because that always comes with you and when you’re trying to deal with the nightmares and it seems like the town is making them worse. That’s what Evan is dealing with and he doesn’t seem to be the only man in town with some extra troubles like, say, missing limbs. Also, it’s too quiet there. I mean, personally, that would never be a problem, but for Evan and his small family, he sees the extreme quiet as suspicious.

Technically, he’s right to be suspicious. Bethany’s Sin isn’t just a town with a weird name. They also have a museum. A suspicious museum. It is also suspicious that the women in this town seem to be more in charge than any of the men… And there’s a hunt, at night, when the moon is strong, that is conducted by all women on horseback, like Amazon women, and I can see how Evan would not see any of that as cool. I thought it was cool.

You can tell it’s not McCammon at what will be his full strength as a novelist here, but it’s still fun and gory and graphic and worth it because he is such a great writer that even not full strength is great. And of course electric blue makes an appearance or two, as is traditional in McCammon books. This is a very early novel, but it was fun and I really enjoyed that it is a little more contained in scope since you’re stuck in the small town instead of, like, global consequences or a journey, even though I really like his journey stories too, this one was just quite punchy in one place.

 

Ozma also thinks the museum sounds cool and she’s fine with leading the hunt. She knows what to do.