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Raven
A fox in a leg-hold trap may gnaw off its own foot to escape...rats in a too-small cage will devour the weakest members of the pack to ensure survival of the strongest...a group of humans, trapped like animals will sacrifice anything - or anyone - to gain their freedom....
Imagine Agatha Christie's And Then There Were a small group of people trapped in an isolated place, disappearing one by one, prey to all the stresses and strains of being hunted. Add Charles Grant's proven skill with suspense and his ability to fathom and display the inner workings of the human heart and mind.
The result is Raven, a gripping, fast-paced thriller that begins in a familiar classic American setting - a roadside motel and restaurant - and drives, without pause to an unexpected and startling conclusion.
A late-winter blizzard has closed the road beside Maclaren's Food and Lodging. The staff of three - Neil Maclaren, former cop turned motel-keeper; Julia Sanders, as capable handling trouble as she is mixing drinks; Willie Ennin, whose fondness for knives makes him a superb cook - prepare to entertain their few customers through a long winter night, unaware that they are being watched.
The customers are a motley crew. Three Nester Brandt, the towns greying curmudgeon; and a pair of star-crossed lovers, Ken Havvick and Trish Avery. Three Hugh Davies, fast-rising star of all-night talk-radio; and Ceil and Mandy, two women he claims are his sisters.
They all have secrets, secrets which have attracted the watcher. Nester Brandt is the first to die, gunned down outside the restaurant by a silent man in a long black coat, a man whose pitiless gaze is as fixed and glittering as a raven's.
Nester's death is only the beginning as this gathering of strangers becomes first prey, then hunters. They have learned too much about each other in a single snow-filled night.
Like rats caught in a trap...
Imagine Agatha Christie's And Then There Were a small group of people trapped in an isolated place, disappearing one by one, prey to all the stresses and strains of being hunted. Add Charles Grant's proven skill with suspense and his ability to fathom and display the inner workings of the human heart and mind.
The result is Raven, a gripping, fast-paced thriller that begins in a familiar classic American setting - a roadside motel and restaurant - and drives, without pause to an unexpected and startling conclusion.
A late-winter blizzard has closed the road beside Maclaren's Food and Lodging. The staff of three - Neil Maclaren, former cop turned motel-keeper; Julia Sanders, as capable handling trouble as she is mixing drinks; Willie Ennin, whose fondness for knives makes him a superb cook - prepare to entertain their few customers through a long winter night, unaware that they are being watched.
The customers are a motley crew. Three Nester Brandt, the towns greying curmudgeon; and a pair of star-crossed lovers, Ken Havvick and Trish Avery. Three Hugh Davies, fast-rising star of all-night talk-radio; and Ceil and Mandy, two women he claims are his sisters.
They all have secrets, secrets which have attracted the watcher. Nester Brandt is the first to die, gunned down outside the restaurant by a silent man in a long black coat, a man whose pitiless gaze is as fixed and glittering as a raven's.
Nester's death is only the beginning as this gathering of strangers becomes first prey, then hunters. They have learned too much about each other in a single snow-filled night.
Like rats caught in a trap...
255 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1993
3 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
About the author
Charles L. Grant
309 books263 followersCharles Lewis Grant was a novelist and short story writer specializing in what he called "dark fantasy" and "quiet horror." He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Geoffrey Marsh, Lionel Fenn, Simon Lake, Felicia Andrews, and Deborah Lewis.
Grant won a World Fantasy Award for his novella collection Nightmare Seasons, a Nebula Award in 1976 for his short story "A Crowd of Shadows", and another Nebula Award in 1978 for his novella "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye," the latter telling of an actor's dilemma in a post-literate future. Grant also edited the award winning Shadows anthology, running eleven volumes from 1978-1991. Contributors include Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, R.A. Lafferty, Avram Davidson, and Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem. Grant was a former Executive Secretary and Eastern Regional Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and president of the Horror Writers Association.
Grant won a World Fantasy Award for his novella collection Nightmare Seasons, a Nebula Award in 1976 for his short story "A Crowd of Shadows", and another Nebula Award in 1978 for his novella "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye," the latter telling of an actor's dilemma in a post-literate future. Grant also edited the award winning Shadows anthology, running eleven volumes from 1978-1991. Contributors include Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, R.A. Lafferty, Avram Davidson, and Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem. Grant was a former Executive Secretary and Eastern Regional Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and president of the Horror Writers Association.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 31, 2017
This two stars have a reason. The writing is fantastic no doubt about it but I didn't enjoy the characters and the ending.
I felt that most of the book was a little confusing. I will explain now. There isn't a single chapter. The book is separated for paragraphs and one paragraph you are following Neil and the other you are following Julia or Ken or Trish or Brandt or Mandy or even our Main antagonist (but this one was the easier).
Thats why I couldn't enjoy more of the book. I am sorry because I had good hopes for it.
Everyone of the eight characters a backstory (ones more developed than others) and something that interconnect them all.
Our main antagonist was vague and emotionless (for a reason). The ending was good I think but didn't save my savouring of the book.
I will read other books by Charles L Grant whom I consider an excelent prose writer... Examples:
Past sunset in early February, the worst time of the year. Too far from Christmas and too far from spring. Too cold. Too quiet. The light, never strong, too soon gone. Trees without leaves, scarred back, empty nests, fading into the dark; weeds along the roadside, trembling stiffly, shedding burrs, flaring in passing headlights, and fading into the dark; house lights and streetlamps and traffic signals growing brighter, growing brittle, trying desperately, and failing, not to fade into the dark.
No Snow.
No wind.
The landscape grey and dead.
I felt that most of the book was a little confusing. I will explain now. There isn't a single chapter. The book is separated for paragraphs and one paragraph you are following Neil and the other you are following Julia or Ken or Trish or Brandt or Mandy or even our Main antagonist (but this one was the easier).
Thats why I couldn't enjoy more of the book. I am sorry because I had good hopes for it.
Everyone of the eight characters a backstory (ones more developed than others) and something that interconnect them all.
Our main antagonist was vague and emotionless (for a reason). The ending was good I think but didn't save my savouring of the book.
I will read other books by Charles L Grant whom I consider an excelent prose writer... Examples:
Past sunset in early February, the worst time of the year. Too far from Christmas and too far from spring. Too cold. Too quiet. The light, never strong, too soon gone. Trees without leaves, scarred back, empty nests, fading into the dark; weeds along the roadside, trembling stiffly, shedding burrs, flaring in passing headlights, and fading into the dark; house lights and streetlamps and traffic signals growing brighter, growing brittle, trying desperately, and failing, not to fade into the dark.
No Snow.
No wind.
The landscape grey and dead.
May 2, 2015
A group of people, caught in an isolated restaurant late at night, are terrorized by an unknown person, who may be supernatural. This is an interesting idea, and I wish I could have liked the end result better. Alas, I simply could not warm up to this book, because:
1. I found the staccato writing style, full of sentence fragments and sudden paragraph breaks, to be distracting and occasionally hard to follow. (In the interest of fairness, I have to admit that I have a long-standing dislike of too many sentence fragments. It's right up there with second person POV on my literary pet peeves list.)
2. The characters were neither sympathetic nor believable. The next time you are out in public somewhere, take a look around. Would a half dozen of your fellows actually be reduced to killing each other off in just a single stressful night? (Note: if you are a maximum security prisoner, gang member or soldier of fortune, this mental exercise probably won't prove my point, which is--NO! Even under severe stress, these people seemed to break down way too quickly.)
3. The ending was kind of predictable, and still made no sense whatsoever.
Well, it was a quick read, and better luck next time....
1. I found the staccato writing style, full of sentence fragments and sudden paragraph breaks, to be distracting and occasionally hard to follow. (In the interest of fairness, I have to admit that I have a long-standing dislike of too many sentence fragments. It's right up there with second person POV on my literary pet peeves list.)
2. The characters were neither sympathetic nor believable. The next time you are out in public somewhere, take a look around. Would a half dozen of your fellows actually be reduced to killing each other off in just a single stressful night? (Note: if you are a maximum security prisoner, gang member or soldier of fortune, this mental exercise probably won't prove my point, which is--NO! Even under severe stress, these people seemed to break down way too quickly.)
3. The ending was kind of predictable, and still made no sense whatsoever.
Well, it was a quick read, and better luck next time....
November 23, 2013
4.5, rounded up.
Raven is one of Grant's tales that takes a more "introspective" look at people and their mentality. It all takes place in a single night. A small group of people stuck together in a small-town bar. What happens when one of them is picked off by a shadowy figure in the cold, dark night? The changes that their minds undergo as they each try analyzing what is taking place around them. Unable to leave, unable to act against an adversary that they can't understand. Grant is a genius when it comes to exploring the human psyche. He takes us through an unbelievably tense night, showing us how each individual reacts to the tension surrounding them. A great look at the damage the human mind is capable of producing, all on its own.
Raven is one of Grant's tales that takes a more "introspective" look at people and their mentality. It all takes place in a single night. A small group of people stuck together in a small-town bar. What happens when one of them is picked off by a shadowy figure in the cold, dark night? The changes that their minds undergo as they each try analyzing what is taking place around them. Unable to leave, unable to act against an adversary that they can't understand. Grant is a genius when it comes to exploring the human psyche. He takes us through an unbelievably tense night, showing us how each individual reacts to the tension surrounding them. A great look at the damage the human mind is capable of producing, all on its own.
November 24, 2011
No wonder folks have listed this as one of his best. This thing is FABULOUS. A novel with no chapters, because it happens in one night, and Grant's pacing is MASTERFUL. Haunting and melancholic, but with resolution, also. Another winner, in my book...
November 19, 2013
I liked this. Unfortunately, having read previous work by Mr Grant, I was expecting brilliance, and while it was good, it didn't quite live up to my expectations - hence what may seem to be a rather miserly rating for something I've just professed to like...
While I was convinced by the general ambience built here, something felt a little lacking. The characters could have been slightly better drawn, and both the build up and the resolution lacked... something. So good. But could have been better. That said, a very short book...
While I was convinced by the general ambience built here, something felt a little lacking. The characters could have been slightly better drawn, and both the build up and the resolution lacked... something. So good. But could have been better. That said, a very short book...
November 11, 2017
The writing style was entertaining and the characters had a good amount of depth considering the book is fairly short. The ending was a bit rushed. It made sense for the story to end when it did, but when it reached that point, instead of fading out, it just ends rather abruptly. The last 2 or 3 paragraphs just made me say, "Wait, what? How??"
April 28, 2021
How did I ever stumble across this book, I find myself wondering. Certainly, Charles Grant is not an author I am familiar with. None of my friends or family recommended it. It isn’t on any bestseller list that I’m familiar with, so, ohhh... that’s right, I found this book on Goodreads and decided to give it a go. That, my friends, is a trend I am beginning to regret after a string of truly unenjoyable books I never would have come across otherwise. Nevertheless, I have a large stack of Goodread-recommended books that I have to work my way through and this was one of them.
So here it is...
This book opens with the hours leading into a snowstorm, which will inevitably trap a group of highly obnoxious, unlikeable people, in a remote cabin/restaurant area, where they will be off/on “terrorized” by a mysterious man in black, who appears after the arrival of an unnaturally large Raven.
What you have here, in my opinion, is a mess. It is a book with no chapters. It is a whopping 200 pages long and felt 3x longer. It took me far too long to read such a short book when I was not low on time. The writing is fairly good but extremely vague and the point of view shifts randomly between paragraphs and sentence fragments with bits of stream of consciousness from characters that leave you backtracking to figure out who exactly is thinking or saying these things.
It is almost pure dialogue... Julia said this and then Willie said that and then Brandt says this and then Neil said that and then Ken said this and then Willie said that and then Julia said this and Neil said that... I’m not a fan of that AT ALL, and have to say that the dialogue did not add ANY dimension or relevance to the plot AT ALL, rendering it completely unnecessary and on my list of things that should have been chopped. The characters start out with brief descriptions and are then experienced purely through their dialogue until 2/3 of the way through the book when you start getting the frantically shifting points of view.
I have seen reviews that compare Raven to And Then There Were None, but I would lean harder into Identity coupled with (a non-funny version of) Tucker and Dale Versus Evil, because the characters of Raven do not vanish one by one but begin offing one another for various reasons after the Raven’s arrival.
The last 50 pages were very, very hard to follow due to the shifting viewpoints, reaching the final reveal that the mysterious man in black is actually.... wait, what???? I’m serious, much as I did not enjoy this book, I went back and reread the ending multiple times, backing up further and further, trying to find what I missed that made the ending plausible. It’s not there, folks. The ending, while clever, is not possible given the story we are presented with.
Though impossible, the ending is heavily hinted at and not surprising in the least. The only surprise here is that Grant did not feel it was necessary to explain to us exactly HOW such an ending was possible, after alluding to it for 180 pages. Seriously, it is so unbelievable that a flying pirate ship might as well have landed to carry the man away without explanation. It wouldn’t have been any less likely.
So here it is...
This book opens with the hours leading into a snowstorm, which will inevitably trap a group of highly obnoxious, unlikeable people, in a remote cabin/restaurant area, where they will be off/on “terrorized” by a mysterious man in black, who appears after the arrival of an unnaturally large Raven.
What you have here, in my opinion, is a mess. It is a book with no chapters. It is a whopping 200 pages long and felt 3x longer. It took me far too long to read such a short book when I was not low on time. The writing is fairly good but extremely vague and the point of view shifts randomly between paragraphs and sentence fragments with bits of stream of consciousness from characters that leave you backtracking to figure out who exactly is thinking or saying these things.
It is almost pure dialogue... Julia said this and then Willie said that and then Brandt says this and then Neil said that and then Ken said this and then Willie said that and then Julia said this and Neil said that... I’m not a fan of that AT ALL, and have to say that the dialogue did not add ANY dimension or relevance to the plot AT ALL, rendering it completely unnecessary and on my list of things that should have been chopped. The characters start out with brief descriptions and are then experienced purely through their dialogue until 2/3 of the way through the book when you start getting the frantically shifting points of view.
I have seen reviews that compare Raven to And Then There Were None, but I would lean harder into Identity coupled with (a non-funny version of) Tucker and Dale Versus Evil, because the characters of Raven do not vanish one by one but begin offing one another for various reasons after the Raven’s arrival.
The last 50 pages were very, very hard to follow due to the shifting viewpoints, reaching the final reveal that the mysterious man in black is actually.... wait, what???? I’m serious, much as I did not enjoy this book, I went back and reread the ending multiple times, backing up further and further, trying to find what I missed that made the ending plausible. It’s not there, folks. The ending, while clever, is not possible given the story we are presented with.
Though impossible, the ending is heavily hinted at and not surprising in the least. The only surprise here is that Grant did not feel it was necessary to explain to us exactly HOW such an ending was possible, after alluding to it for 180 pages. Seriously, it is so unbelievable that a flying pirate ship might as well have landed to carry the man away without explanation. It wouldn’t have been any less likely.
January 16, 2020
With Grant, I like his style more than anything else. His plots are usually a bit nebulous, and end suddenly, with a bit too much vagueness for me, but the sheer act of reading his books is a pleasure. I can see it wouldn't be for everyone; "glacial" best describes his pacing, but the deliberate way he draws out his novels is what creates the atmosphere and allows him to show instead of tell. It's a comforting sort of read, even though his novels are so dark.
Raven is a modern take on "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", with a more sinister, supernatural angle. Six people are trapped in a diner by a menacing, faceless person outside refusing them leave, and over time, the tensions force them to turn on each other. It's not an original plot by any means, but again, his books are more about style than story, giving credence to King's (or Straub's, or possibly even someone long before either of them) adage, "It's not the story, but he who tells it." Grant is certainly unique in the horror field.
Raven is a modern take on "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", with a more sinister, supernatural angle. Six people are trapped in a diner by a menacing, faceless person outside refusing them leave, and over time, the tensions force them to turn on each other. It's not an original plot by any means, but again, his books are more about style than story, giving credence to King's (or Straub's, or possibly even someone long before either of them) adage, "It's not the story, but he who tells it." Grant is certainly unique in the horror field.
December 6, 2019
A group of people at a small restaurant/bar in the middle of nowhere, in the 1980s. In a snowstorm. Late at night. The phone lines are down and no one has been driving down the instate... not even the county sander. No one.
And out in the woods is a man in black, with a black hat and a familiar, but unknown, face. And a shotgun. He's already killed the first man who attempted to leave. Shooting him (or did you miss? Every time?) has no effect. He just appears, raises panic, then disappears-- without leaving prints in the fresh snow.
Then there's the Raven. Big, Black. Too big. And ravens don't fly around at night. And why does the raven never appear when the man in black does? And what do either of them WANT?
They want death. And more death.
A quintessential horror story of man being isolated with man. And what happens when their humanity starts to fall apart.
And out in the woods is a man in black, with a black hat and a familiar, but unknown, face. And a shotgun. He's already killed the first man who attempted to leave. Shooting him (or did you miss? Every time?) has no effect. He just appears, raises panic, then disappears-- without leaving prints in the fresh snow.
Then there's the Raven. Big, Black. Too big. And ravens don't fly around at night. And why does the raven never appear when the man in black does? And what do either of them WANT?
They want death. And more death.
A quintessential horror story of man being isolated with man. And what happens when their humanity starts to fall apart.
July 5, 2022
Still out here searching for a great thriller, this wasn't it. I predicted it from the beginning but I still had hope that I'd be wrong. The atmosphere was set - this was the best part of the whole book. The writing set the mood so well - it really felt like you were in that bar with the group of characters. The characters were an unlikely bunch but each an easily believable portrayal. The "incidents" were so mysterious and kept me thinking maybe it won't end the way I think it will - but I was wrong. It had such a build up that fell too flat for me. ****SPOILER***** I just wanted it to be something supernatural or otherworldly. Why does it always have to be boring and just be a regular crazy person lol. I hated that you were made out to see this guy as "not that bad" except he's murdering everyone and forgetting about it.
Want to read
May 26, 2024I am sorry to leave a comment here under reviews for a book that I have not read yet but I wanted to assign a date for this book and the date set functionality of the website currently seems to be broken. If they get this working I will use this and delete this review.
03-30-2007
03-30-2007
June 24, 2018
Too many characters and they were not fleshed out enough. But that ending though....🤯
November 17, 2023
Two stars for story, but a bonus star for truly enjoyable prose
May 2, 2016
Wonderfully atmospheric riff on the 'AND THEN THERE WERE NONE' template.
Grant's prose has a distinct rhythm that would probably annoy as many readers as it attracts. But if you can get on its wavelength this is an absorbing chiller you're not likely to forget any time soon.
Grant's prose has a distinct rhythm that would probably annoy as many readers as it attracts. But if you can get on its wavelength this is an absorbing chiller you're not likely to forget any time soon.
April 18, 2016
I was liking it until the end. It got a little too frenetic, if that is possible.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews