The Winter People

by Bret Tallent

The Winter People talk in the wind and torment you in your dreams. They call an enormous blizzard to their aid and fall upon the tiny mountain town of Copper Creek. The residents and visitors of this quaint village have more to fear than the raging blizzard that has cut off their town from the rest of the world. They have more to fear than the nightmares they can't quite remember in the morning. The Winter People have come to feed. This is a fast paced heart pounding fearfest. It follows the lives of a small group trying to survive the greatest horror they have ever known. And an enemy like no other on earth.

330 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2013

Reviews

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of this horror/suspense novel takes an incident from Amerindian records and a legendary occurrence from the Western frontier, links them together, and then asks the question that every writer asks: “What if?” The Amerindian incident is ‘The Year the Stars Fell,’ which is taken from one of the Lakota Winter Counts, now thought to be a record of the Leonid Meteor Shower, probably in 1833. The other event contributing to the plot is the infamous Donner Party, which has long since passed out of the realm of reality and into folklore and the American subconscious. And then there is the “What If?”, which led the writer to postulate something that could almost be seen as a shipwreck, with some very dangerous castaways…the ‘Winter People’ of the title, beings of the frigid wastes who can travel upon the winds and who nurture a abiding hatred (and taste) for humanity.

The book is written using rotating points of view, always third person but relating events and emotions from the being (not always human) then occupying center stage in the novel’s action. It is a writing technique that helps keep the huge cast of characters separate in the reader’s mind while at the same time adding to characterization…in addition to comments by the omniscient narrator, we also understand how the characters relate to each other and how they view themselves. The characterization helps sustain the mounting suspense, and helps propel the action-filled plot. Anybody who likes the sort of disaster/monster/alien mockbuster films lensed by The Asylum (I do!) will also like this great story, even if ‘horror’ is not necessarily your genre of choice. If the book has a drawback, it’s an inconsistency in attribution and attendant punctuation, which, admittedly, is a small one, and its importance will be determined by how much of a grammarian the reader is…me, I tend to be fairly strict, but I will also overlook small errors when reading a good story, and this is a very good story indeed.

[Carolyn Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spine chilling mixture ofndian Folk-Lore and sheer terror. The writing in The Winter People reminded me of one of my favourite authors of terror, Dean Koontz. The story moved at a steady pace although at first the bouncing between characters and sometimes moments of time can be confusing but once you get the flow you will be spell bound. This is one of the only stories I have read than can include sheer terror with one simple question, "what if?"

[Anica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the story and how the book kept me on the edge all along. I never could guess what was next going to happen or who would make it or not. Really liked the whole concept.

[virginia stricklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frost Bite

Gives a new meaning to frost Bite. This book made you see all the character's personalities and made you care what happens to them. Descriptions so clear that I felt like I needed a snow suit or pot of coffee to get the chill off. Scary and good, what more do you need.

[Mona Petty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a thrilling story! Just what I was in the mood for.Terrifying, fast paced, bloody and so chilling, I had to read it with a blanket. However, it was difficult getting past the grammatical errors, and crude writing style, especially towards the end, and through the climax. There were a few factual flubs as well. For example, one character states that he can take Tylenol, but not acetaminophen. Ooops.

[Lon Bixby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was both on and off for me. I liked the opening teaser, a lot. It grabbed me. The story was fun, though quite predictable at times. The writing was good, though there was way too much back-story (flash-back) blah blah blah filler. I ended up skipping over these pages just to get back to the story. If you disregard those parts, it was a fun read.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. Always on the edge of your seat reading it, and tells lots of different stories of the townsfolk. I gave it 3 stars for the fact that it is alot like 30 Days of Night, except the monster isn't vampires. Some unbelievable situations too. But overall entertaining.

[Angie Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It was suspenseful, creepy, and hair raising....my kind of story! The story progressed at a good pace and kept my interest. The characters were engaging, even the most unlikable of the bunch. I look forward to reading more from Mr. Tallent.

[Robert B. Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter Chills and Thrills

Winter Chills and Thrills

Over all, a good book. No long boring introduction of characters, just jumps into the story. Carnage and mayhem, bloodshed and murder, pretty much throughout the book. I enjoyed it, and recommend it.

[Teresa G Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blah blah blah

Could be a really good read but there is WAY to much useless information. Get on with the story, is all I thought about while reading it.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, but inconsistent writing techniques and editing flaws got in the way of my enjoyment.