What do you think?
Rate this book
The Possession
A brutal murder. A seaside village drenched in fog. A vile history...
Aaron Andrews, a newly-minted doctor, returns to the village of Aetherton to take up his late father's practice. Hopes of easing into his new role and restoring the local clinic are dashed, however, when the disfigured body of a child is discovered in an empty flowerbed. Working closely with Evander Cochrane, the village's sole law enforcement officer, Andrews is forced to admit that the girl's death is anything but natural.
The deeper Andrews and Cochrane dive into the grisly crime, the more they learn about the village's sordid history. Though pleasant and easygoing on the surface, Aetherton's past holds many things—some of them remarkably dark. The village is soon visited by a powerful storm, leaving it without power or access to the outside world.
When the seaside village becomes entombed with fog, something begins to walk its footpaths and haunt its shores—something that should not exist...
THE POSSESSION is a tale of supernatural horror by Ambrose Ibsen, author of THE HAUNTING OF BEACON HILL and THE HOUSE OF LONG SHADOWS.
Aaron Andrews, a newly-minted doctor, returns to the village of Aetherton to take up his late father's practice. Hopes of easing into his new role and restoring the local clinic are dashed, however, when the disfigured body of a child is discovered in an empty flowerbed. Working closely with Evander Cochrane, the village's sole law enforcement officer, Andrews is forced to admit that the girl's death is anything but natural.
The deeper Andrews and Cochrane dive into the grisly crime, the more they learn about the village's sordid history. Though pleasant and easygoing on the surface, Aetherton's past holds many things—some of them remarkably dark. The village is soon visited by a powerful storm, leaving it without power or access to the outside world.
When the seaside village becomes entombed with fog, something begins to walk its footpaths and haunt its shores—something that should not exist...
THE POSSESSION is a tale of supernatural horror by Ambrose Ibsen, author of THE HAUNTING OF BEACON HILL and THE HOUSE OF LONG SHADOWS.
1 pages, Audio CD
Published August 27, 2024
238 people are currently reading
385 people want to read
About the author
Ambrose Ibsen
61 books667 followersOnce upon a time, a young Ambrose Ibsen discovered a collection of ghost stories on his father's bookshelf. He was never the same again.
Apart from horror fiction, he enjoys good coffee, brewed strong.
Apart from horror fiction, he enjoys good coffee, brewed strong.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
April 15, 2025
I normally enjoy this author's novels. This one started off promising, with Folklore and a vicious murder in a small, isolated village. Unfortunately, it felt like the new doctor, Aaron, and the Constable were mainly running around during a storm, finding out little things, and retreating to run around some more for the majority of the book. At about 85%, we FINALLY get to the "main attraction", but don't learn anything much as to the workings of its "system". The ending felt rushed, while I was hoping for more details regarding HOW this was going to work.
This one didn't work for me, but the premise was interesting, and I urge everyone to try it for themselves.
This one didn't work for me, but the premise was interesting, and I urge everyone to try it for themselves.
April 11, 2024
A Truly Creepy Read
So this one was truly creepy and I don't say that lightly. There are both some very freaky and disgusting scenes in here, enough to delight anyone who wants a fun scary story about a small dying village. And as usual about these small towns, it has some dark secrets. The village is called Aetherton and your visit may be filled of supernatural events.
This was a fun read. The story moved fast and it had started out with a murder. From there it rapidly grew dark as strange and very frightening supernatural events took over. The main characters of Constable Evander Cochrane and Dr Aaron Andrews race to figure out what in the world is going on. They struggle with it all in a very realistic way as who truly believes in spooks? Unfortunately for them its all very real.
And I must admit the ending shocked me. I never saw that coming! The ending was not like anything I had imagined.
If you want a fun scary story with great descriptions this is it...
So this one was truly creepy and I don't say that lightly. There are both some very freaky and disgusting scenes in here, enough to delight anyone who wants a fun scary story about a small dying village. And as usual about these small towns, it has some dark secrets. The village is called Aetherton and your visit may be filled of supernatural events.
This was a fun read. The story moved fast and it had started out with a murder. From there it rapidly grew dark as strange and very frightening supernatural events took over. The main characters of Constable Evander Cochrane and Dr Aaron Andrews race to figure out what in the world is going on. They struggle with it all in a very realistic way as who truly believes in spooks? Unfortunately for them its all very real.
And I must admit the ending shocked me. I never saw that coming! The ending was not like anything I had imagined.
If you want a fun scary story with great descriptions this is it...
September 14, 2024
It started off strong but then it kind of lagged towards the end.
December 18, 2024
I really enjoyed this story. I loved the ending. The characters where interesting but the thrill was the driving force of this book. Too me the the ending made it all. I will remember this for a long time. So far I have not been disappointed by Ambrose Ibsen!
October 8, 2025
TLDR; The story started off promising, and then slowly revealed that it had no idea where it was going or how to resolve anything it set up. The characters were flat and uninteresting and they seemed to have very little motivation and really unrealistic reactions that changed wildly depending on which scene they were in. It wanted to have the small-town-isolation atmosphere of a Stephen King novel and the peaceful-neighbors-turning-on-each-other psychology of "Hex", but it never understood what makes either of those things interesting or compelling.
It started off really interesting, but it seems like the author didn't know how to resolve anything and nothing in the beginning paid off in the end. The scares just seemed to be cheap thrills that didn't end up having much meaning or mystery to them except "Scary thing happens, whoa isn't that messed up. Anyway, moving on..." The scares were really well-paced and well-written, so it was extra disappointing when they turned out to have nothing much to do with the mystery.
I kept waiting to learn more about the main characters and the villagers, but nothing really meaningful happened, and then most of them died and then the book ended. It was really bizarre.
I think this was a translated novel that was originally written within the context of a different culture, so I'm not sure what things may have been lost in translation or which things were just poor writing, but I was frequently taken out of the fiction when characters had unrealistic or flat reactions to things. Nobody seemed to have much motivation for making any of the decisions they made, and their reactions to things seemed to change from scene to scene. Mostly, the characters seemed to be very calm and accepting of the supernatural and fantastical things around them, and totally cool with murder and human sacrifice at the drop of a hat without any buildup or motivation.
**Spoilers from here on out because I have many thoughts and nowhere else to vent them**
The ending was inscrutable. The rising action was when the doctor and constable finally saw what it was that they were up against, and them resolving to end the evil once and for all. They figured out the weakness, they had a plan, they prepared for it, they had their individual introspective monologues, and then the constable completely gave up at the very slightest resistance (and a very silly counter argument made by the evil cultists) and promptly killed himself in front of everyone. The doctor had a very weird about-face where suddenly he found that the human-sacrifice-cult wasn't really that urgent of a threat after all; not enough to back his buddy up and choose to argue AGAINST sacrificing people to an eldritch horror. And then he was promptly (and easily) murdered and tossed off a cliff.
All the while, the side-character villagers are reacting with calm confusion instead of outright hysteria in the face of the constable they have known for years shooting himself in the head in front of them, the doctor and his mother suddenly disappearing RIGHT afterwards (the entire town was there and nobody saw them being killed and tossed off a cliff outside??), a local girl being brutally murdered and miraculously appearing later alive and unharmed, and watching the body of the constable being dropped into the sea and brought back to life. They reacted to these events the same way they would if they learned a respectable member of the community had been embezzling or that a local flock of sheep wandered away.
The entire book was setting up the choice that the villagers had to make by the end and constantly reiterating the question about wether or not these people were "good people" deep down, or if they were weak-willed and desperate enough to make a deal with a devil. Although this was clearly the setup for the book, it wasn't necessarily done well. There was no buildup or psychology put into why any of the villagers might choose to accept an eldritch god that demands human sacrifice. Even terrible, evil choices have a reasoning behind them, however awful that reasoning might be. (An example would be "Hex" by Thomas Olde Heuvelt.) We were never given any kind of journey or spiral into madness that would lead seemingly good, kind people to accept horror and human sacrifice. People usually don't go from 0 to letting a demon rip the face off a child. We were also not given any evidence of their humanity; no examples of friendships or familial bonds that might lead us to believe that they could potentially make the right choice. In the end though, none of them really got to make any choice at all. They were never given the whole story and they sort of blindly followed whoever was speaking at that moment without much resistance, and then it was revealed in a sort of future epilogue that they were all cool with the eldritch death cult and had embraced it wholeheartedly. Nothing was even mentioned about the "human sacrifice" bit of the covenant, or wether people struggled morally with it, or who they might be sacrificing, or if they even sacrificed anyone at all.
We were given a reasoning several times in the book; many characters sort of mention their fears that their town will be dissolved if the old population dies off and no one new comes to live there. (There is a hint of economic disparity and the gap between wealthy communities and poor communities, but that's never really explored in any meaningful way. The reason for the town's decline is frequently described as "not having enough shops or things to do." There really aren't any examples of poverty or lacking in any of the villager's perspectives, just thoughts about how they are "far away from other towns" and that there "aren't any zoos.") The fear that their "culture" and "way of life" will disappear is mentioned several times, but we are never given any example of how this town's culture is unique or even what their "way of life" is. I don't think anyone's culture should be eradicated, but it would have been nice to at least know WHAT their culture IS or what parts of it are important to them. We are just told that the inhabitants love the town and don't want to leave or see it abandoned, and that should be enough of a reason to go from peaceful villagers to crazy-human-sacrifice cultists. That, and they wanted to be young and hot again.
It started off really interesting, but it seems like the author didn't know how to resolve anything and nothing in the beginning paid off in the end. The scares just seemed to be cheap thrills that didn't end up having much meaning or mystery to them except "Scary thing happens, whoa isn't that messed up. Anyway, moving on..." The scares were really well-paced and well-written, so it was extra disappointing when they turned out to have nothing much to do with the mystery.
I kept waiting to learn more about the main characters and the villagers, but nothing really meaningful happened, and then most of them died and then the book ended. It was really bizarre.
I think this was a translated novel that was originally written within the context of a different culture, so I'm not sure what things may have been lost in translation or which things were just poor writing, but I was frequently taken out of the fiction when characters had unrealistic or flat reactions to things. Nobody seemed to have much motivation for making any of the decisions they made, and their reactions to things seemed to change from scene to scene. Mostly, the characters seemed to be very calm and accepting of the supernatural and fantastical things around them, and totally cool with murder and human sacrifice at the drop of a hat without any buildup or motivation.
**Spoilers from here on out because I have many thoughts and nowhere else to vent them**
The ending was inscrutable. The rising action was when the doctor and constable finally saw what it was that they were up against, and them resolving to end the evil once and for all. They figured out the weakness, they had a plan, they prepared for it, they had their individual introspective monologues, and then the constable completely gave up at the very slightest resistance (and a very silly counter argument made by the evil cultists) and promptly killed himself in front of everyone. The doctor had a very weird about-face where suddenly he found that the human-sacrifice-cult wasn't really that urgent of a threat after all; not enough to back his buddy up and choose to argue AGAINST sacrificing people to an eldritch horror. And then he was promptly (and easily) murdered and tossed off a cliff.
All the while, the side-character villagers are reacting with calm confusion instead of outright hysteria in the face of the constable they have known for years shooting himself in the head in front of them, the doctor and his mother suddenly disappearing RIGHT afterwards (the entire town was there and nobody saw them being killed and tossed off a cliff outside??), a local girl being brutally murdered and miraculously appearing later alive and unharmed, and watching the body of the constable being dropped into the sea and brought back to life. They reacted to these events the same way they would if they learned a respectable member of the community had been embezzling or that a local flock of sheep wandered away.
The entire book was setting up the choice that the villagers had to make by the end and constantly reiterating the question about wether or not these people were "good people" deep down, or if they were weak-willed and desperate enough to make a deal with a devil. Although this was clearly the setup for the book, it wasn't necessarily done well. There was no buildup or psychology put into why any of the villagers might choose to accept an eldritch god that demands human sacrifice. Even terrible, evil choices have a reasoning behind them, however awful that reasoning might be. (An example would be "Hex" by Thomas Olde Heuvelt.) We were never given any kind of journey or spiral into madness that would lead seemingly good, kind people to accept horror and human sacrifice. People usually don't go from 0 to letting a demon rip the face off a child. We were also not given any evidence of their humanity; no examples of friendships or familial bonds that might lead us to believe that they could potentially make the right choice. In the end though, none of them really got to make any choice at all. They were never given the whole story and they sort of blindly followed whoever was speaking at that moment without much resistance, and then it was revealed in a sort of future epilogue that they were all cool with the eldritch death cult and had embraced it wholeheartedly. Nothing was even mentioned about the "human sacrifice" bit of the covenant, or wether people struggled morally with it, or who they might be sacrificing, or if they even sacrificed anyone at all.
We were given a reasoning several times in the book; many characters sort of mention their fears that their town will be dissolved if the old population dies off and no one new comes to live there. (There is a hint of economic disparity and the gap between wealthy communities and poor communities, but that's never really explored in any meaningful way. The reason for the town's decline is frequently described as "not having enough shops or things to do." There really aren't any examples of poverty or lacking in any of the villager's perspectives, just thoughts about how they are "far away from other towns" and that there "aren't any zoos.") The fear that their "culture" and "way of life" will disappear is mentioned several times, but we are never given any example of how this town's culture is unique or even what their "way of life" is. I don't think anyone's culture should be eradicated, but it would have been nice to at least know WHAT their culture IS or what parts of it are important to them. We are just told that the inhabitants love the town and don't want to leave or see it abandoned, and that should be enough of a reason to go from peaceful villagers to crazy-human-sacrifice cultists. That, and they wanted to be young and hot again.
March 1, 2024
This book is so atmospheric. I suppose it helps that we're getting another atmospheric river here in California and this macabre book is perfect for the weather. The village reminded me a lot of Lovecraft's "The Shadow of Innsmouth" with how desolate and bleak it is. The book starts out with a bang and it keeps getting creepier and creepier, with the storm being a key factor and fueling the madness that quickly takes hold of the village (amongst other things). Chapter 14 in particular, with Arthur AND THE F$#%*ING EYEBALL, IYKYK, is nightmare fuel.
Great read, now I need a palate cleanser, like the Holy Bible.
Great read, now I need a palate cleanser, like the Holy Bible.
January 1, 2025
This is my favorite Ambrose Ibsen book to date! I do have a few minor criticisms that I'll list below, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book overall.
Everything I loved:
- Set in small village by the sea (love me some small town and seaside settings [say that five times fast])
- The atmosphere was CREEPY. Like legitimately made my skin crawl multiple times
- The antagonist is one of the scariest things I've ever read about.
- The folklore?? On point. I have no idea if it's based on real folklore or if it was invented, but either way, it had all the hallmarks of a solid oratory legend.
Constructive criticims
The Title: I think the title is somewhat misleading. I'd argue that a title like "The Possession" connotes demonic possession of some sort, but that's not exactly what happens here. I'm not claiming that I have a better title in mind, but I did want to point out that I don't think it really encapsulates the story.
Showing vs telling: This is something I've noticed overall in Ibsen's work and isn't specific to just this book. Ibsen does an excellent job of creating a strong historical foundation for his stories, but pertinent information is often revealed in the form of lengthy character monologues. I think incorporating more epistolary elements or flashbacks in the stories would be a great way to deliver this information to the reader without having it delivered in a speechlike manner.
As I said, I really loved this book overall and think it's one of Ibsen's best books. It has a unique twist to it, and the antagonist is like nothing I've ever encountered before.
Everything I loved:
- Set in small village by the sea (love me some small town and seaside settings [say that five times fast])
- The atmosphere was CREEPY. Like legitimately made my skin crawl multiple times
- The antagonist is one of the scariest things I've ever read about.
- The folklore?? On point. I have no idea if it's based on real folklore or if it was invented, but either way, it had all the hallmarks of a solid oratory legend.
Constructive criticims
The Title: I think the title is somewhat misleading. I'd argue that a title like "The Possession" connotes demonic possession of some sort, but that's not exactly what happens here. I'm not claiming that I have a better title in mind, but I did want to point out that I don't think it really encapsulates the story.
Showing vs telling: This is something I've noticed overall in Ibsen's work and isn't specific to just this book. Ibsen does an excellent job of creating a strong historical foundation for his stories, but pertinent information is often revealed in the form of lengthy character monologues. I think incorporating more epistolary elements or flashbacks in the stories would be a great way to deliver this information to the reader without having it delivered in a speechlike manner.
As I said, I really loved this book overall and think it's one of Ibsen's best books. It has a unique twist to it, and the antagonist is like nothing I've ever encountered before.
May 29, 2024
I have a deep appreciation for Ambrose Ibsen's books. Over the past year, I've read many of his works and found them to be compelling, slightly terrifying, and overall thoroughly enjoyable. However, I encountered some difficulties with "The Possession."
To be clear, this is an excellent story. The premise is unique, the twist near the end is genuinely surprising (I won't spoil it here), and the character reactions, settings, and atmosphere are, as always, superbly described. So why did I find it challenging to read? I believe it comes down to Ibsen's choice of language in this particular novel. At times, the prose felt archaic, reminiscent of an older era. This occasionally distracted me, as I had to consult my Kindle dictionary more often than usual to understand certain words.
This might be a personal quirk, so I encourage readers not to be deterred from purchasing this book. As I mentioned, it is another captivating story from Ibsen, and it pains me to express any criticism. However, if Ibsen reads this review and considers revisiting his writing style, he might adjust if others share similar feedback.
To be clear, this is an excellent story. The premise is unique, the twist near the end is genuinely surprising (I won't spoil it here), and the character reactions, settings, and atmosphere are, as always, superbly described. So why did I find it challenging to read? I believe it comes down to Ibsen's choice of language in this particular novel. At times, the prose felt archaic, reminiscent of an older era. This occasionally distracted me, as I had to consult my Kindle dictionary more often than usual to understand certain words.
This might be a personal quirk, so I encourage readers not to be deterred from purchasing this book. As I mentioned, it is another captivating story from Ibsen, and it pains me to express any criticism. However, if Ibsen reads this review and considers revisiting his writing style, he might adjust if others share similar feedback.
June 13, 2024
The suppression
Omg this book has so much potential but it just missed the mark greatly. First off there was really 1 possession and it was only talked about in one scene. This town is being taken over by an entity but we get one good moment with said evil being and the rest is just wasted with villagers acting like cult members. I wanted more descriptions of this being I wanted more moments of Vega Mater ( the name of being) the book didn't really start picking up and getting good until you're about 86% in to the book by then its to late since story is about to end and leave you still hungry for the evil being when all you've been getting is an appetizer of weirdo villagers acting more like cult members rather than anything of one possessed, it was an overall decent reading but would I suggest it to others no would I read it had someone told me the supernatural aspect is little sprinkles throughout the book no but maybe this could be an interesting read for someone else to you i say happy reading hope you do what i couldn't and enjoy it!
Omg this book has so much potential but it just missed the mark greatly. First off there was really 1 possession and it was only talked about in one scene. This town is being taken over by an entity but we get one good moment with said evil being and the rest is just wasted with villagers acting like cult members. I wanted more descriptions of this being I wanted more moments of Vega Mater ( the name of being) the book didn't really start picking up and getting good until you're about 86% in to the book by then its to late since story is about to end and leave you still hungry for the evil being when all you've been getting is an appetizer of weirdo villagers acting more like cult members rather than anything of one possessed, it was an overall decent reading but would I suggest it to others no would I read it had someone told me the supernatural aspect is little sprinkles throughout the book no but maybe this could be an interesting read for someone else to you i say happy reading hope you do what i couldn't and enjoy it!
March 17, 2025
I love Ambrose Ibsen's books. Over the last year or so I have read so many and found them to be page turning, a little bit scary and overall a great read. However, I really struggled with The Possession. Don't get me wrong, this is a great story. The premise was different, I was shocked near the end (I won't say why as it will spoil the storyline) and the descriptions of the character reactions, locations and mood were, as usual, fantastic. So, why did I find it a bit hard to read? I believe it was his choice of words in this novel. At times I felt like I was reading something from a different era (think old worldly). I often found myself distracted trying to figure out what a word meant. This is probably just me, so please do not let this put you off purchasing this book. As I said, it was yet another great story from Ibsen and it pains me to have some negativity towards his book. However, if he reads the review and did have a change in writing style, he may change back if others provide the same feedback.
May 29, 2024
I love Ambrose Ibsen's books. Over the last year or so I have read so many and found them to be page turning, a little bit scary and overall a great read. However, I really struggled with The Possession. Don't get me wrong, this is a great story. The premise was different, I was shocked near the end (I won't say why as it will spoil the storyline) and the descriptions of the character reactions, locations and mood were, as usual, fantastic. So, why did I find it a bit hard to read? I believe it was his choice of words in this novel. At times I felt like I was reading something from a different era (think old worldly). I often found myself distracted trying to figure out what a word meant and referred to my kindle dictionary more than a few times.
This is probably just me, so please do not let this put you off purchasing this book. As I said, it was yet another great story from Ibsen and it pains me to have some negativity towards his book. However, if he reads the review and did have a change in writing style, he may change back if others provide the same feedback.
This is probably just me, so please do not let this put you off purchasing this book. As I said, it was yet another great story from Ibsen and it pains me to have some negativity towards his book. However, if he reads the review and did have a change in writing style, he may change back if others provide the same feedback.
September 21, 2024
This book creeped me out a lot. It was very descriptive, and at times gross - which really added to the overall atmosphere of the book.
The pacing was pretty solid, I didn’t find that it had many lulls which was great (although, the author seemed to have some obsession with making every character at some point stutter - I think each chapter has someone stuttering). I also found some of the descriptors that author chose were unnecessarily .. unique? I don’t know how else to explain it other than it felt like they were trying to show off their vocabulary.
The only other thing I found to be a little of a let down, was the ending. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be overly satisfied when there was 10% of the book left - but overall it was a good book.
The pacing was pretty solid, I didn’t find that it had many lulls which was great (although, the author seemed to have some obsession with making every character at some point stutter - I think each chapter has someone stuttering). I also found some of the descriptors that author chose were unnecessarily .. unique? I don’t know how else to explain it other than it felt like they were trying to show off their vocabulary.
The only other thing I found to be a little of a let down, was the ending. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be overly satisfied when there was 10% of the book left - but overall it was a good book.
June 10, 2024
Unique and engaging
The 5th star wasn't so much that I absolutely loved the book as a whole, but for the nuggets of word dessert, that were in the first half of the book! I always enjoy this author's incredibly unique storylines and for his way with words, and in this book, the latter was more true than ever. There was a plethora of moments that made me smile purely from the unique marriage of words. I would read the first half again just for that! I recommend the book if only just for that. I enjoyed the story. It kept me engaged and was a truly unique story, as this author is a master of.
The 5th star wasn't so much that I absolutely loved the book as a whole, but for the nuggets of word dessert, that were in the first half of the book! I always enjoy this author's incredibly unique storylines and for his way with words, and in this book, the latter was more true than ever. There was a plethora of moments that made me smile purely from the unique marriage of words. I would read the first half again just for that! I recommend the book if only just for that. I enjoyed the story. It kept me engaged and was a truly unique story, as this author is a master of.
November 5, 2024
Another example of how HORRIBLE narration can just ruin a good story.
Normally I would really give Ambrose Ibsen's books a high rating because I really enjoy and love the way he writes a ghost story......however, I really was disappointed with how awful the narration was on this story of a small village that is in the grip of a horrrifying epidemic of some very creepy goings on, and I actually thought that it was possibly done with AI. I would recommend this fairly creepy story to anyone who reads horror......BUT do not make the mistake of listening to the audio. This would be better enjoyed I know if I would have physicallly read the book.
2.5 stars
Normally I would really give Ambrose Ibsen's books a high rating because I really enjoy and love the way he writes a ghost story......however, I really was disappointed with how awful the narration was on this story of a small village that is in the grip of a horrrifying epidemic of some very creepy goings on, and I actually thought that it was possibly done with AI. I would recommend this fairly creepy story to anyone who reads horror......BUT do not make the mistake of listening to the audio. This would be better enjoyed I know if I would have physicallly read the book.
2.5 stars
April 27, 2024
The first half of this story is creepy, eerie, and incredibly atmospheric. I was a little creeped out reading the first half, which is a good thing. You get some of the traditional haunting, possession vibes. The book was well written.
The second half seemed to drag on for me. It’s not a long book, mind you, and it took me 12 days to finish. It became more about an ancient religious cult and the mystery behind it, and I think the writing was a little dense. The second half was just less scary though still very atmospheric. It was interesting and I enjoyed the ending.
The second half seemed to drag on for me. It’s not a long book, mind you, and it took me 12 days to finish. It became more about an ancient religious cult and the mystery behind it, and I think the writing was a little dense. The second half was just less scary though still very atmospheric. It was interesting and I enjoyed the ending.
November 18, 2024
Usually I am a huge Ambrose Ibsen fan and most of his books have been easy 5 stars for me. This one however fell a bit flat.
While he did a great job building up the small rural town vibes and sense of dread, I just wanted more from the story. The pacing was a bit slow and I wanted more creepy Vega Mater action.
Also the title seems a bit misleading as there wasn't a whole lot of actual possessions going on like I was expecting.
This one wasn't bad in any way but just not really my style overall.
While he did a great job building up the small rural town vibes and sense of dread, I just wanted more from the story. The pacing was a bit slow and I wanted more creepy Vega Mater action.
Also the title seems a bit misleading as there wasn't a whole lot of actual possessions going on like I was expecting.
This one wasn't bad in any way but just not really my style overall.
October 14, 2024
3.5★ - the first half was very strong, with extremely creepy vibes and some visceral scary scenes that appeared much sooner in the book than I was expecting. the second half begins to wane a bit, and I was hoping for much more from the vaga mater than ended up happening. the ending was really more of a cult/human vs human conflict, and we didn’t get a big bad monster scene. that being said, the ending was very eerie and kinda bleak! overall, a good frightening read for the season.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2025
2.5
While there were some truly spooky, hair raising moments brilliantly written and evocative, this mostly features Aaron and Cochrane running around in the rain. I don’t think I enjoyed the intermittent POVs from other villagers. While I can get on board conceptually with what was going on, I think it was a lot of build up for a very rushed conclusion. Overall I was disappointed with the whole.
While there were some truly spooky, hair raising moments brilliantly written and evocative, this mostly features Aaron and Cochrane running around in the rain. I don’t think I enjoyed the intermittent POVs from other villagers. While I can get on board conceptually with what was going on, I think it was a lot of build up for a very rushed conclusion. Overall I was disappointed with the whole.
February 28, 2024
Had to grab this the moment that Mr Ibsen announced it. First and foremost, love the cover. The story is interesting, from the first chapter it grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. You get the right amount of backstory, horror, action, mystery and suspense. The ending was exactly what I was hoping it would be.
March 6, 2024
Ambrose went rather darker this time than he usually does and again it's awesome! I like darker reads, and Ambrose continues to deliver quality work, engaging characters and creepy, spooky atmospheric reads!
April 26, 2024
Page Turner
This book was a fun read. The author being brave enough to broach the subject of honoring Ancient Deity even with the christian negative attitude associated with having different beliefs. I look forward to this writers next book.
This book was a fun read. The author being brave enough to broach the subject of honoring Ancient Deity even with the christian negative attitude associated with having different beliefs. I look forward to this writers next book.
September 10, 2024
great scary book!
I enjoyed how easy this book was to read. The story line wasn’t too predictable by any means. It had a Stephen king feeling to it at times. It’s a great book for fall.
I enjoyed how easy this book was to read. The story line wasn’t too predictable by any means. It had a Stephen king feeling to it at times. It’s a great book for fall.
October 20, 2024
Solid 3. Story of a remote village with a dwindling population… I think the story took place in an English seaside but the narrator was American so the story didn’t feel like the contiguity was right. May be just me but it took away from the story.
Not creepy at all like other reviews
Not creepy at all like other reviews
March 4, 2024
enjoyable Read
I have read many of this author’s books and this is one of his best. If you enjoy a good horror book, I highly recommend this one.
I have read many of this author’s books and this is one of his best. If you enjoy a good horror book, I highly recommend this one.
March 13, 2024
I've read a load of Ibsen work and this it's by far his best
Ibsen has really knocked it out of the park with this one. By a wide margin this his his best work
Ibsen has really knocked it out of the park with this one. By a wide margin this his his best work
March 21, 2024
I am a huge Ambrose Ibsen fan, buuuuut this was not my favourite.
April 21, 2024
ok
Was ok, but not as good as some others. Not sure if I cared for the ending…probably won’t read again.
Was ok, but not as good as some others. Not sure if I cared for the ending…probably won’t read again.
April 27, 2024
Good as always
I really liked the book but was sad when a main character got killed off. But the author never fails to write a great book.
I really liked the book but was sad when a main character got killed off. But the author never fails to write a great book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2024
I wavered between 3 and 4 stars. The story is creepy. I think if books like the “ The Ritual” scare you, this will do it. I hated the ending though. Had to knock a star off for that.
July 7, 2024
Spooky
I liked this one. I honestly couldn't predict any of it! Very interesting and creepy. I won't be saying "vaga mater" anytime soon ;)
I liked this one. I honestly couldn't predict any of it! Very interesting and creepy. I won't be saying "vaga mater" anytime soon ;)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews