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The Bright Lands

John Fram (Goodreads Author)

3.43 · Rating details · 2,564 ratings · 676 reviews

The town of Bentley holds two things dear: its football, and its secrets. But when star quarterback Dylan Whitley goes missing, an unremitting fear grips this remote corner of Texas.

Joel Whitley was shamed out of conservative Bentley ten years ago, and while he’s finally made a life for himself as a gay man in New York, his younger brother’s disappearance soon brings him b ...more

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Hardcover, 480 pages

Published July 7th 2020 by Hanover Square Press

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· 2,564 ratings · 676 reviews

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Feb 22, 2020 Chelsea Humphrey rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Chelsea by: Dennis

Shelves: scared-suspense-reads, recommended, from-publisher, buddy-reads, bookstagram-made-me-do-it

Oh ok, I see you John Fram. I've been begging for more unique and creative crime fiction for what feels like decades, and low and behold Stephen Queen is here and he has delivered! Funny story: I reviewed this book in my head back in February, and apparently thought I reviewed it here as well, but... SURPRISE! Alas, in my head it stayed. But that's ok because I'm here reviewing it now!

"His brother was not the first troubled football player to confide in Joel. All week in Manhattan he had thought Oh ok, I see you John Fram. I've been begging for more unique and creative crime fiction for what feels like decades, and low and behold Stephen Queen is here and he has delivered! Funny story: I reviewed this book in my head back in February, and apparently thought I reviewed it here as well, but... SURPRISE! Alas, in my head it stayed. But that's ok because I'm here reviewing it now!

"His brother was not the first troubled football player to confide in Joel. All week in Manhattan he had thought of nothing but a sticky summer afternoon a decade ago, of a truck cab spiked with the smell of spearmint, of a man with shocking green eyes and a bad neck shaking his head with the effort and saying, "Don't play that game if you can help it, Whitley." Joel would cut off an arm to ensure Dylan never suffered the same fate as that ruined man."

Imagine if Friday Night Lights and any one of Stephen King's stories had a lovechild, and you would probably end up welcoming a spunky little bundle of The Bright Lands. From the very first page, Fram has saturated the story with mystery, suspense, and a special brand of dread that grows with each breath of this tale. It's a dread that is both fantastical and allegorical. Typically I don't like my thrillers packaged in a 500 page count, but John has proven me wrong by showing me just how much this story needed the hefty chunk. This novel is meaty in more ways than one, 😏, and once you've finished the book you realize just how relevant the issues included, such as corrupt police, the continuing plight of the LGBTQIA+ community, and toxic masculinity are in our present world.

description

It's near impossible to talk about any specific plot points, because spoilers, but I will say that the pacing and way that the author chose to tell this story really spoke to me. The first 3/5 of the book is really this building suspense where the reader is dying to answer some of the questions upon questions as to what is really going on in this small Texas town, and the remaining 2/5 of the book is straight up balls to the wall action. When I got "there" (trust me, you'll know it when you hit that section), I had to finish the book in one sitting, because I couldn't breathe until everything wrapped up. SHMERMALARMA I am dying to talk about this book more, but I think I should leave it at this-if you enjoy well written, character driven crime fiction with a hefty dose of well-researched horror, you simply cannot miss The Bright Lands. This book was a pleasure to read, and it only seems fitting to post my review during Pride month, so maybe my self-sabotage was for good reason.

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy. ...more

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Jul 22, 2020 Gabby rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror, inspirational, 5-star-books, arc-or-won-or-received, read-in-2020, all-time-favorites, thrillers-or-mystery, liked-it, favorites, lgbt

The more I think about this book the more I want to rave about this book. I finished this a few days ago now and I've been trying to figure out how to voice my thoughts on this. This is a horror/mystery/thriller novel about a gay man named Joel who is currently living in New York when he hears news of his younger brother going missing in the small conservative town in Texas where he is from. He decides to go back to this small town, and when he does, the horror begins.

I loved the tone of this b The more I think about this book the more I want to rave about this book. I finished this a few days ago now and I've been trying to figure out how to voice my thoughts on this. This is a horror/mystery/thriller novel about a gay man named Joel who is currently living in New York when he hears news of his younger brother going missing in the small conservative town in Texas where he is from. He decides to go back to this small town, and when he does, the horror begins.

I loved the tone of this book, it felt like a thriller novel because you spend a lot of time trying to figure out what happened to Dylan and there's a lot of mystery there. You are following many POV's which could get overwhelming but I kept a list of characters in my notebook to keep track of who was who. One of the main characters is a female sheriff and you follow along with her as she tries to find out exactly what happened to Dylan. I also love the atmosphere in this book it has these creepy small town claustrophobic vibes and all the main characters are football players and cheerleaders and it's very high school but not in the juvenile way that I usuallu can't stand. Each POV was so compelling and interesting.

I was surprised by the amount of social commentary in this book about many important things like toxic masculinity in sports, especially sports like football, and the corruption of the local police and how they are cruel and unfair to gay people or Black people. I love when a horror book can feel extra scary because of how real it feels, and how much it mirrors our own society and this book definitely does that. Each one of these characters felt real to me, and the horror they experience really jumps off the page.

The ending of this book is where it started to lose me a bit as I was reading it. It feels like a completely different book to be honest, and I was having a hard time getting on board with it and I was mostly confused. However, after I finished this book I looked up a bunch of interviews with the author and theories other people have on the ending (and you know I love a book that provokes discussion) and I was AMAZED by what I found. It honestly just made me love the book even more to be able to discuss the ending with other people and figure out what they think it all means. I found a comment from the author about the ending that blew my mind, it said:(view spoiler)

So after some more thought, I'm giving this book 5 stars. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I finished reading it, and I love that. A lot of people are saying this is like Stephen King but gay, and I mostly agree with that. It definitely has that Stephen King horror kind of vibe going. But I wish there were more books like this, an ownvoices gay horror book! I can't wait to see what John Fram writes in the future, he is a super talented writer and I am obsessed with this debut novel. ...more

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Jul 11, 2020 Larry H rated it it was amazing

4.5 stars, rounded up.

Wow, what a ride this book took me on!

If Stephen King and John Boyne were to have a literary baby, it might resemble John Fram’s debut novel, The Bright Lands . But to try and compare it to something else does it an injustice—this is part mystery, part allegory, part social commentary, and part horror novel, with emotional heft to boot.

Joel Whitley couldn’t wait to flee his tiny Texas town after he was publicly outed during high school. But texts from his younger brother ...more

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Feb 25, 2020 Dennis rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Dennis by: Chelsea Humphrey

Shelves: horror, supernatural, thriller, 2020-read, coverporn, crime-fiction, dark, mystery, 2020-pub, contemporary

The Bright Lands is hands down one of the best debut novels that I've ever read. This Stephen King meets Grindr horror novel will exceed any of your expectations.

Surrounding small Texan town Bentley, there lies a secret hidden deep within the town's history. Joel Whitley, a former resident of the town, has moved to New York to start his life over after growing up with the homophobic ridicule that he received as a teenager. His life isn't perfect, but as an adult he has been able to use that The Bright Lands is hands down one of the best debut novels that I've ever read. This Stephen King meets Grindr horror novel will exceed any of your expectations.

Surrounding small Texan town Bentley, there lies a secret hidden deep within the town's history. Joel Whitley, a former resident of the town, has moved to New York to start his life over after growing up with the homophobic ridicule that he received as a teenager. His life isn't perfect, but as an adult he has been able to use that shame and mask it with money, beauty, and a whole new life that is completely different from the one he had as a child. One night, his younger high school aged brother, Dylan text messages him in trouble. Joel is quick to see that there's some type of dilemma that his brother is struggling with and decides to take a flight back home to check in on him.

When Joel arrives to Bentley, he realizes that the town has hardly changed in their social acceptance towards anyone that is deemed "other". Dylan, however, is the star quarterback for the Bisons (the town's team and mascot). Dylan is attractive and popular and basically the town's celebrity—why would Dylan need help from his older brother? Soon after Joel gets his footing in Bentley, his brother vanishes without a trace. The town is in turmoil after their golden boy disappears and Joel feels responsible. As Joel begins to search for his brother, he reconnects with a person from his past that opens up old wounds. The duo notice that the there's an underlying secret masking this town and whatever it is, has something to do with Dylan's disappearance.

I feel like I gave you too much information, but then I realized from the synopsis that I did not. This book is thiccccc at almost 500 pages, but I read the book in two days because I was completely addicted. The writing is very easy to get lost into and it's definitely a fast-paced book. I was buddying reading this book with my book pal Chelsea, and was only supposed to read a few chapters to see how it was. WRONG MOVE—I continued to read hours later. #Oops. That being said, The Bright Lands is reminiscent of Stephen King as in that there's a supernatural element in the book, but hardly too much where it takes you to the realm of unbelievability.

I fell in love with so many characters in this book. So many of them were relatable to me—even as a kid growing up on Long Island. Without spoiling anything, there's quite a few characters that hit close to home for me. As you read, you'll think you know what's going to develop, but I'm telling you now that you will have no idea.

When I began reading this book:
-I questioned where all the gay was.
-I believed that the mystery would be easy to find out.
-I didn't understand why a book would be this long for a mystery.

I WAS WRONG ON ALL ACCOUNTS. This book has plenty of gay; the mystery is very, very difficult to just come up on your own, so good luck trying to figure it out; and the length of the book was important because it showed the mystery behind the people and town of Bentley appropriately. In fact, I want more! Long story short, The Bright Lands is definitely a contender for my top 10 books for 2020 and I can't wait to see what you all think of it. John Fram, congratulations on your first novel. ...more

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Jul 08, 2020 AnnaLuce rated it it was ok

Shelves: 6-not-for-me, lgbtqia, disappointing-reads, 2020-reviews

At first, I was intrigued by The Bright Lands: a small town in Texas, missing teen(s), possible evil entities...I kind of expected it to be a modern take on Twin Peaks by way of Stephen King. Sadly, The Bright Lands never delivers on its intriguing premise. The writing leaves a lot to be desired, the dialogues are at best clumsy and at worst embarrassingly clichéd, the characterisation is sparse and tends to rely on tired stereotypes, the storyline is unfocused and unnecessarily convoluted, and At first, I was intrigued by The Bright Lands: a small town in Texas, missing teen(s), possible evil entities...I kind of expected it to be a modern take on Twin Peaks by way of Stephen King. Sadly, The Bright Lands never delivers on its intriguing premise. The writing leaves a lot to be desired, the dialogues are at best clumsy and at worst embarrassingly clichéd, the characterisation is sparse and tends to rely on tired stereotypes, the storyline is unfocused and unnecessarily convoluted, and the supernatural elements felt out of place.
The novel doesn't really have a protagonist. We jump from character to character, without gaining any insight into who they are, most of whom are indistinguishable from each other. We are first introduced to Joel Whitley, who is in late twenties and lives a nice apartment in New York. He gets a series of texts from his younger brother, Dylan, who happens to be the star of his football team, if not their small town's golden boy. Worried for him, Joel returns to his hometown of Bentley. Joel is understandably not keen to return to his homophobic community, especially after what happened before he left.
When Dylan disappears Joel reconnects with his ex-girlfriend, Sheriff’s Deputy Starsha Clark who still hasn't forgiven him for 'misleading' her. Dylan's teammates and his girlfriend are clearly hiding something, and there are rumours about a place called 'the bright lands'.
Many of the town's inhabitants begin to have nightmares hinting at some sort of Big Evil.
Joel never felt like an actual person. We know he's gay and that his brother is missing. Other than that? Not much. His life in New York for example is only vaguely alluded to (only in those instances in which Joel notes that he now has plenty money) and his relationship with his mother is non-existent (for the matter she only has a cameo here and there...weird given that it is her son who is missing). He mostly reacts to things for plot reasons, but he really has 0 interiority.
The football team and cheerleaders are one-dimensional. They speak in clichés and their motivations are lazily unconvincing.
The adult men in this town are a similar shade of rugged bigot, the women and the girls instead are 'badasses'.
What I'm getting at is that the characters were utterly ridiculous. Which would have been fine if it wasn't for the fact that I was supposed to take them seriously.
John Fram tries to incorporate in his story topical themes such homophobia (which reigns supreme in Bentley), racism, police incompetence and corruption...but the way he addresses these is questionable. Suggesting that all homophobes are actually closeted gay or bi-curious men...is yeah, not great (as if straight men aren't homophobes?). The novel's portrayal and treatment of queer men leaves a lot to be desired. Also, why are there no queer women or non-binary folks in this town?

There is a lot of not telling, not enough showing. Chapters end in predictable cliffhangers, usually with a character learning or seeing something important, and it takes sometimes a few chapters before we return to that character and we get to read what all the fuss was about.
The latter half of the novel is utterly ludicrous. I can sort of see what Fram wanted to do...but I can't say that he manages to pull it off. For one, I just didn't buy into it. Second, the whole supernatural subplot was laughable...and this novel was meant to be a 'horror'? Mmh..
The Bright Lands lacks emotional weight. The characters seem really unfeeling, or perhaps they just don't register that they are feelings things such as anger or grief. They merely go from place to place.
This was a bland novel....and I'm not sure I will approach Fram's future work.

Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads ...more

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Jul 09, 2020 Elle rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Elle by: Dennis

Shelves: 2020, author-is-nice

Say hello to the Thriller of the Summer!

There’s something terrifying in Bentley, Texas. Or is it something terrorizing Bentley? In this small football town with secrets to spare, there’s just as much menace lurking in the shadows as walking the streets in broad daylight.

After ten years, Joel Whitley has found himself back home at last. Concerned by the panicked messages he received from his younger brother, Dylan, Joel makes his less-than-triumphant return to the place that all but ran him out Say hello to the Thriller of the Summer!

There’s something terrifying in Bentley, Texas. Or is it something terrorizing Bentley? In this small football town with secrets to spare, there’s just as much menace lurking in the shadows as walking the streets in broad daylight.

After ten years, Joel Whitley has found himself back home at last. Concerned by the panicked messages he received from his younger brother, Dylan, Joel makes his less-than-triumphant return to the place that all but ran him out of town a decade prior. What’s surprising is not how much has changed since then, but how much seems to have remained frozen in time. And when Dylan goes missing shortly after his arrival, Joel will have to confront his own ghosts before trying to understand his brother’s.

This book is a lot, but in the best way. There’s obviously the mystery around Dylan’s disappearance, but that’s only a part of a larger one looming over the entire town. The Bright Lands is a nearly 500 page monster of a book that I absolutely tore through (sorry Nat, couldn’t wait xoxo), and the stakes only increase with every passing chapter. There’s horror and supernatural elements, along with some raunchier stuff that probably won’t make it to cable television. That’s fine, though, I prefer Netflix anyways. 💅🏼

The roving perspectives took me a beat to get a handle on, but it ended up being one of my favorite aspects of the story. Through each (I counted 5?) differing character POVs, the reader is given the opportunity to view the same scenes with new eyes. What’s it like to observe the in-crowd as opposed to being a part of it? How does it feel to be inside a corrupted police force vs being the target of one? I think John Fram balanced a lot of social issues (especially ones that have come up more in recent months) impressively well considering this book was written months to years prior.

(view spoiler)

Anyways this book is not going to be for everyone. There’s gore and spooky shit and it’s hella gay. If that’s not your bag that’s fine, but honestly I think it’ll be your loss. The last quarter or so goes off the rails in exactly the fashion I love, so while there’s a lot of character-driven writing, there’s absolutely no skimping on the action. I don’t know what John Fram is working on next but I’m pretty nosy so I’ll try my best to find out. 🕵️‍♀️

*Thanks to Jamie for my giveaway copy! ...more

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Mar 23, 2020 Tucker (TuckerTheReader) added it

Recommended to Tucker by: Dennis

Shelves: horror, lgbtqia, unrated, magical-realism, thriller

Many thanks to Harper Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review

There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach.
-Aesop

For the third time in my reviewing career, I am leaving a book unrated because there are no ratings that feel fair to this book. I originally decided four stars but then went down to three stars and then all the way down to two stars but after drafting this review, I realized that I didn't stand by any of those ra ...more

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Aug 22, 2020 Zoeytron rated it liked it

Shelves: public-library

The small town of Bentley, Texas is crazy about their high school football team in a Friday Night Lights sort of way. The players garner plenty of adoration from the town folk. Sidewalks are rolled up early on game nights so that everyone can attend. As the team readies itself to vie for a championship, the excitement of the town is at a fever pitch. It's not the time for the star quarterback to disappear.

This was to be a mashup of horror and suspense/thriller. Several other reviewers hav ...more

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Aug 07, 2020 Frank Phillips rated it really liked it

Well, that's was about the most heartbreaking ending I could have imagined :( What an AMAZING tale this book told! I loved it, yet hated it, because as much as a fictional paranormal-thriller-mystery-suspense novel can, this reminded me very much of my childhood as a closeted queer adolescent growing up in a rural community in northwestern Oklahoma, much like the fictional town of Bentley, TX in this book. It reminded me of the gossip, fear and judgement of anything remotely different, and just Well, that's was about the most heartbreaking ending I could have imagined :( What an AMAZING tale this book told! I loved it, yet hated it, because as much as a fictional paranormal-thriller-mystery-suspense novel can, this reminded me very much of my childhood as a closeted queer adolescent growing up in a rural community in northwestern Oklahoma, much like the fictional town of Bentley, TX in this book. It reminded me of the gossip, fear and judgement of anything remotely different, and just how much I always wanted to out of of that place as quickly as possible after graduation! It also reminded me of how much small communities gravitate around those Friday night lights and the local sports standouts. Much like in this story, the town I grew up in shut down the night of an important game, and transformed into a ghost town on the weekend of the playoffs. The support successful sporting teams receive from small communities very much impact and mold those young men and women participating in one way or another. I loved that there were those old-timers that always came back for games (some never left) and couldn't quite seem to move on past their former glory days, and found myself smiling as I remembered my group of fellow bench-warming friends. Needless to say, the atmosphere in this book was STELLAR.
I had some issues with the multitude of characters, and found it difficult to keep everyone straight (no pun intended!). Despite the variety of characters, I felt that they were all very fleshed out, and could imagine them vividly. My only other issue with this one was that I felt that the supernatural being, which was extremely scary, could have had more of a presence, and felt myself wanting a few more creepy, spine-tingling scenes. I would recommend this book to a variety of genre fans. In fact, I think this is one of those amazing genre-defying books a lot of people will enjoy. I can't believe this is a debut, and have extremely high hopes for this author and am on the edge of my seat waiting for his follow up novel!!! ...more

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Sep 27, 2020 Michelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: sept-2020-reads, maybe-reads

This is a very difficult book to review.

I really liked it. I applaud the author for having the courage to write a story that provides a closer look at what it means to be gay in small town America - a football town no less. I thought it was very well written and the concept was very creative and has an important narrative of what it means to acknowledge your true self. I think it's also worth noting how much it must mean to the LGBT community to have this out there in the world. I'm sure the bo This is a very difficult book to review.

I really liked it. I applaud the author for having the courage to write a story that provides a closer look at what it means to be gay in small town America - a football town no less. I thought it was very well written and the concept was very creative and has an important narrative of what it means to acknowledge your true self. I think it's also worth noting how much it must mean to the LGBT community to have this out there in the world. I'm sure the book doesn't even cover one tenth of what it means to grow up gay in a world that doesn't accept you for who you are, but it provides an opportunity for someone who might be feeling lost, alone or helpless that they are seen. (I thought the author's note was very touching on this very point.) Outside of all that - it was just a fun book to read. I loved these characters!! I've seen some reviews where people had a hard time feeling connected, but I didn't experience that at all. I saw every single one of them like they were standing in front of me.

So what's it about? Joel Whitley left Bentley, TX as soon as he could and now resides in NYC. He gets a text from his younger brother (football hero and starting QB), Dylan, that surprises him. His brother is unhappy and wants out of the life he is on the path to lead. Joel wants to be there for his brother so he hops on a flight to TX just in time to witness his brother win an important game. They interact for a few minutes and then he's gone. That's the last time Joel will ever see his brother alive.

While reading this, I often described it to others as a mix between Friday Night Lights and Stranger Things. There definitely is a horror element, but I was disappointed there wasn't more. I think sometimes what makes a particular 'mystery entity' more frightening is the absence of a description or concrete evidence that it exists?? Bird Box is what comes to mind here. I thought this book delivered on that brilliantly, until I was just kind of left hanging. Soooo you're not going to give me a little something after almost 500 pages??? Um okay. So that was kind of a wah wah for me. Maybe other readers would be fine with how it was handled, but I was left wanting more.

Then there is the last third of this book. (view spoiler)

All in all, there is absolutely no way I'm going to be able to tell you if you'll like this book. You're just going to have to read it for yourself. I know that despite a feeling disappointed in some ways, I will absolutely consider this a book I'm glad to have read and I will anxiously await John Fram's next book.

Review Date: 09/29/2020
Publication Date: 07/20/2020 ...more

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Jul 06, 2020 Paul rated it it was amazing

Such a propulsive read. I burned through the last 250 pages in one sitting.

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Jan 14, 2021 Kelli rated it it was ok

Shelves: audio

Well, no one could ever say they saw that ending coming!
Unfortunately for me, I found it completely and utterly unbelievable that so many people would be complicit, so that killed it for me. I'm also not entirely sure I fully understood the ending, as it was chaotic and difficult to follow. Lots of POVs and similar characters also added to the confusion.
2.5 stars ...more

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Oct 12, 2020 Fiona rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror, theyve-taken-the-town

Broken men and frightened men. A missing shirt, a bloody jacket, a bloody sock. Escort ads and drugs and dick pics, oh my. Bag boys, old boys, golden boys, gone. A hate crime or a love crime. A shallow creek, an iron slab, a pit.
A warning etched with the point of a knife: GET OUT NOW FAG.

I slept on this one for quite a while, but in my defense, I saw football and switched off before reading anything else. The book description doesn't entirely do it justice in any case - though it made for a very ...more

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Apr 30, 2020 Janelle Janson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller, 2020, from-publisher-or-author

Firstly, if you’re not following on Instagram (@john.fram) I don’t even understand what you’re doing with your life. He is the sweetest person, and he wrote a wildly fantastic debut. It’s perfect for summer reading and will take your mind off the world around us.

There is a full cast of characters to follow, and the book itself is nearly 500 pages, but don’t let that intimidate you. The story moves along quickly, and there is never a dull moment. THE BRIGHT LANDS utilizes a slew of fantastic comp Firstly, if you’re not following on Instagram (@john.fram) I don’t even understand what you’re doing with your life. He is the sweetest person, and he wrote a wildly fantastic debut. It’s perfect for summer reading and will take your mind off the world around us.

There is a full cast of characters to follow, and the book itself is nearly 500 pages, but don’t let that intimidate you. The story moves along quickly, and there is never a dull moment. THE BRIGHT LANDS utilizes a slew of fantastic components such as horror, noir, suspense, and thriller, while also incorporating social commentary, strong and intriguing characters, and many of the all too important *gasp* worthy moments. Can you tell how much I love this book?! My advice is to go in blind, but I’ll leave you with a brief description.

In the small rural Texas town of Bentley, the star quarterback on the high school football team, Dylan Whitely, goes missing. Shortly before, Dylan’s older brother, Joel, receives several alarming texts from his brother, so he reluctantly decides to return home to help him. Joel left town ten years ago after a traumatic experience of being outed in high school. He lives a satisfying life in New York City with a successful career, but he cannot ignore his brother’s distress call for help. Football is no joke in Texas, so when the star quarterback goes missing, it shakes the town up.

As you can imagine, homophobia, racism, and misogyny run rampant, so I love how John writes his characters. The female Sheriff’s Deputy, Starsha Clark, is working the case and handles herself like a pro in a town full of toxic masculinity. I have a soft spot for Joel, but I loved every primary character in this book. Mind you, it’s not because they are magically perfect; it’s because they are sympathetic characters filled with complexity and depth.

John is not only a talented writer, but he wrote an emotional story with unique twists and original characters. I’ve never read a story with queer characters written in this way - he executed it perfectly. It’s a novel that keeps on giving - I think about this book constantly, and it keeps getting better with every thought. ...more

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Sep 01, 2020 Shaun Hutchinson added it

This book was...strange. It reminded me of Christopher Rice's A Density of Souls.

I thought the town and the oppressiveness was handled really well. The writing was good, the obsession with football was spot on. The pacing kept me turning pages. If the end of the story had been just about a small-minded town burying its gays, I think I would've enjoyed it more. However...

That ending(view spoiler) ...more

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Apr 25, 2020 Isabel • The Crime Bookshelf rated it really liked it

4.5 STARS.

Thank you so much to John Fram and Hanover Square Press for the gifted ARC of THE BRIGHT LANDS! WOW this was such a fantastic debut novel 🙌🏼 If you guys love amazing and spooky character driven novels, you definitely need to check this one out when it releases JULY 7th!
⁣
My favorite thing about this book was how real the story and characters felt. This book did an amazing job at fleshing out all of the characters and making them feel so realistic and relatable 👌🏼 I also really enjoyed ...more

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Apr 26, 2020 Jordan (Jordy’s Book Club) rated it really liked it

QUICK TAKE: Friday Night Lights but with an LGBTQ+ twist. I know others are going nuts for this one, and I really enjoyed 75% of it, but the ending kinda took me out of it. I was here for the moody and atmospheric, the grounded horror story of a gay man returning to his southern homophobic hometown to find his missing brother and confront the monsters of his youth (both literal and figurative...). The mystery kept me invested and intrigued, but the expansive cast of characters and "balls-to-the- ...more

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Aug 24, 2020 Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery-thriller

3.5 Stars
This was a well written slow paced character driven mystery novel that centered around a small town filled with secrets and deep-seeded prejudice. The story highlighted the ugly realities of hate crimes that are committed against gay people. I was intrigued by the story at first, but it failed to fully hold my attention and, admittedly, I was disappointed by the ending.

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Jun 29, 2020 Jane rated it really liked it

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at https://www.NerdGirlLovesBooks.com.

This book is a creepy, weird mixture of mystery/suspense and horror - a combination that works surprisingly well. I couldn't stop reading it, even though part of me didn't want know anything more about what happens and just wanted to go on about my life.

The town of Bentley is a typical Texas small town. Young and old alike - their entire world revolves around high school football. As a gay man growing up in southern Tex 4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at https://www.NerdGirlLovesBooks.com.

This book is a creepy, weird mixture of mystery/suspense and horror - a combination that works surprisingly well. I couldn't stop reading it, even though part of me didn't want know anything more about what happens and just wanted to go on about my life.

The town of Bentley is a typical Texas small town. Young and old alike - their entire world revolves around high school football. As a gay man growing up in southern Texas, Joel Whitley had a difficult life in Bentley. He fled town for New York City ten years ago after a big scandal and never looked back. He's now a successful business man that is able to be himself in his new city. But, a troubling text from his younger brother Dylan, who is the star quarterback player on the high school football team, suddenly takes him back to the town he vowed he'd never step foot in again.

Sheriff’s Deputy Starsha Clark, who used to date Joel in high school, never left town and has been able to make a life for herself, although she is still haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her older brother ten years ago. She's not happy about Joel's appearance in town, but when Dylan goes missing after the Friday night football game, they find themselves thrust together to investigate the missing boy.

Dylan's friends and teammates are definitely hiding something, and Joel and Starsha must keep digging to get to the truth. Complicating matters are the disturbing nightmares they, and other town members, start having the night Dylan went missing. Things definitely aren't as they seem, and supernatural forces may be in play. Joel and Starsha may find out what's going on - but do they really want to know the answers?

I can't go into much detail beyond this without spoiling it for you. This book caught my attention and didn't let go until the end. I stayed up until 4am to finish it because I just had to know how it ended. It is very well written and while the story unfolds slowly in the beginning, the pace quickens as it gets weirder and creepier. The author plants little tidbits throughout the book, which peaked my interested until I was dying to find out what the heck was going on. While I guessed some of the mystery, I had no idea other things were going to happen - and that's what you want in a mystery/thriller. Some of the story is very salacious and pretty far-fetched, but hey, if you're going to write something that is really "out there", you might as well go for it.

Frank depictions of topics including child abuse, drug addiction, misogyny, and antigay are scattered throughout the book. It definitely isn't for the faint of heart and if you're put off by graphic sexual content, violence, cursing and hate speech (derogatory words used against homosexual characters), you should pass on reading this book.

This book is original and was quite a surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend you read it.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Jun 16, 2020 Chandra Claypool (WhereTheReaderGrows) rated it really liked it

Police corruption, small town secrets, peer pressure, homophobia, racism and misogyny - these are a few topics you can expect to be brought up in this wonderful debut novel by Fram. This suspenseful thriller with light horror undertones is one to put on your TBR. Don't let the page count dissuade you - each page is necessary to tell this enthralling tale set in a small town in Texas.

This book hooked me right from the beginning, then tapered off while building its suspense and then explodes at th ...more

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Feb 25, 2020 Vonda rated it it was ok

This story is Friday Night Lights redux horror style. The book was written like a YA with unneeded overdone cuss words. There were sex scenes that were too intense and wasn't warranted for this story, on that basis it was written like erotica, which I have never read. It was everywhere and never quite sure what it wanted to be. ...more

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May 22, 2020 Jessica Woodbury rated it liked it

Shelves: arc-provided-by-publisher, lgbtq, horror, crime-mystery

Is the Horror/Mystery mashup going to be a thing? Because I would very much like that to happen. Let's do that.

If you are looking for a big, fat horror novel, one with a deep, lurking evil in a small town, this book will give you that. If you would like that book but also want a book about the horrors of high school football in a Texas town where somehow the worst thing you can possibly be is a gay man, but also the entire culture is centered around a sport where men in tight pants push up again Is the Horror/Mystery mashup going to be a thing? Because I would very much like that to happen. Let's do that.

If you are looking for a big, fat horror novel, one with a deep, lurking evil in a small town, this book will give you that. If you would like that book but also want a book about the horrors of high school football in a Texas town where somehow the worst thing you can possibly be is a gay man, but also the entire culture is centered around a sport where men in tight pants push up against each other, and no one really acknowledges the contradiction there, then this is definitely the book for you.

I admit to getting a little restless and wondering about the pacing of this book. E-reader problems. I had no idea this clocks in at nearly 500 pages and instead felt like I was just reading really slow, lol. Now that I know it is a big fat doorstop instead of a spry little thing, it all makes much more sense. I had to reevaluate a lot of my responses to this book once I realized it was different than what I thought it was. So here are my updated thoughts on what this book is and who it's for.

Like a lot of Big Fat Horror Books, this has a relatively long list of characters and moves between several of them in the narration. By the climax, almost every character is on page at once and it was only then that I started to feel more fuzzy on who was who. There were some side characters I clearly hadn't paid enough attention to that ended up being important, and it started to feel a little messy at that point. But before that, I was really impressed with how every time another character's point of view was added to the story, it felt natural and comfortable. I already had some idea of who that character was, and by adding that character's point of view it expanded my opinion of them as well as the story itself. It's here that Fram is at his best, slowly building the plot, and gradually acquainting us more deeply with this town and the people in it.

For me, the two big weaknesses were our protagonist, Joel, and that climax. For the latter, well, I can't think of hardly any big fat horror books that have a good climax. It is to be expected. This one just starts to get interesting but then becomes the kind of big, messy, what-is-happening climax you get from a lot of thrillers. You can't exactly tell who is where, and what is going on, just that a lot of things are happening at once. Mostly Fram does this above-average for a thriller, but it gets a little more stuck with the Big Bad. Also famously sloppy in horror books, wanting to both explain things but be mysterious, finding the balance between wrapping things up and leaving them open is notoriously difficult. Here, I think Fram would have done well to give us just a LITTLE more. Every detail opened things up rather than closing it off, made things more interesting rather than less. But with so much going on, the book seemed to give in to the big thriller ending more than anything else. I felt like we were just starting to get somewhere and then it was all over. This is particularly frustrating because I thought the themes Fram was getting into were so interesting. I wanted more of it, I wanted to dive into the weirdness and the contradictions of the masculinity on display.

As for Joel, with so many interesting characters around him, he is mostly empty. A blank slate. He is the guy who was outed to the whole town. He was the guy who left for the big city. But outside of those traits, there is not much to him and I wanted more.

I noted, with a wry chuckle, a review that basically said this book had too much sex, which made me chuckle. This book has very little actual sex, and what it has is just enough to let you know sex is about to be had. Sex is an unavoidable part of the plot in a book with gay characters where the fact that they are gay is central to the plot. Always expect those kinds of reviews in a book with any queerness in it at all, heaven forbid we actually exist in the world. Horror as a genre is heavy with white men, but they are mostly straight white men and the genre has been in serious need of queerness and we haven't made nearly as much progress there as we have with getting women and authors of color added into the mix, so I'm pleased to see this one on the scene. ...more

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Jun 01, 2020 Sadie Hartmann rated it really liked it

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Goodreads
Fram's debut novel resonates on a personal level. My hometown nestled in the Sierra Nevada Foothills had an unhealthy obsession with High School football. Our small-town community rallied around anything and everything having to do with the football team, but little else.
Playing for the team was like a badge of honor; an instant boost into the popular-kids sub-culture at school. All the other extracurricular activities were shadowed by the eclipsing glory o ...more

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Apr 06, 2020 James rated it it was amazing

"I’m going to make a bold statement, and I promise you it’s not hyperbole: with The Bright Lands John Fram has written a better Stephen King novel than King himself has in over a decade. I know, I know; but hear me out…"

Read my review in full at whatjamesread.com
Follow @whatjamesread on Instagram. ...more

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Oct 18, 2020 Cody | CodysBookshelf marked it as dnf

hey, i’m hating this. fuck it.

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Aug 19, 2020 LoneStarWords Deb Coco rated it it was ok

I always open my reviews with a quote, and so it's never good when I can't find even one to share. So we will start there.

I had some high hopes for The Bright Lands but it did not turn out well. I feel strongly that this book bit off way more than it could chew, and tried to be too many things. You've heard lots of reviews state it is "Beartown meets Friday Night Lights" and for the first 1/3, I'd say that I maybe got a twinge (a very, very, very tiny twinge) of the Beartown comparison. But the ...more

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Aug 09, 2020 Carol rated it it was amazing

It’s an absolutely wonderfully told story with crime fiction mixed with horror straight out of your worse nightmares. My kind of book in every way possible. We visit the conservative Texas town of Bentley where the residents live, eat and breathe Friday night high school football. I’m not taking about being average ‘fans”…I’m taking about overwhelming, over-the –top obsession. They would do literally anything for the players and very soon they will get a chance that they never in their worse nig ...more

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Jul 08, 2020 Laura Peden rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audible, audiobooks, mostanticipated2020

The Bright Lands is one of the most impressive debuts I’ve ever read. All the comparisons to Friday Night Lights meets Twin Peaks or Supernatural are spot on. This book is not going to be for everyone...it’s Queer Horror, but I absolutely loved it. John Fram’s newly given nickname, Stephen Queen, is so accurate! His writing is character driven & lets just say he’s not afraid to go THERE...I can’t wait to read what he writes next.

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Sep 26, 2020 Christian rated it really liked it

Shelves: released-2020

Ratingwise, this is somewhere between a 3 1/2 and 4 stars for me. 3 1/2 feels too weak and 4 feels too generous, so make of that what you will.

The Bright Lands and I were off to a rough start. I'm not sure if it was my mood or just the book, but I had a tough time getting into it. The writing made it super hard for me to really connect with the (large cast of) characters, and I felt that they were all very one-dimensional, with one or two traits that were supposed to form a person. It was rather ...more

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Mar 24, 2020 Becky Spratford rated it really liked it

Review in the June 2020 issue of Library Journal and on the blog: https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detai...

Three Words That Describe This Book: supernatural mystery, shifting pov, terrifyingly realistic

Draft Review:

Bentley, Texas loves its football, and when star quarterback, Dylan, contacts his older brother, Joel, their unsettling conversation leads Joel back to the town where his personal demons still thrive. But when Dylan goes missing, it quickly becomes apparent that something even more sin ...more

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About John Fram

John Fram

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I'm John Fram, a lapsed Texan and debut author of the supernatural thriller THE BRIGHT LANDS, due out in July 2020 from Hanover Square Press. Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box, describes it as "absolutely enthralling," Christopher Golden calls it "compelling as hell," and Edmund White (the one and only) calls it "Gothic, Faulkernian...and very, very sexy." I'm just grateful a childhood spent playi ...more

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“In all of his Instagram photos, Joel’s little brother had never once appeared to be anything but affable and handsome and casually, ruthlessly charming in the way of Southern boys who knew their towns were made for them.” — 3 likes

“Kimbra had been around football long enough to understand that its players weren’t just boys throwing a ball: they were everything the men of this town used to be, or never were, the walking realization of every frustrated hope and squandered opportunity and dream.” — 1 likes

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