The Unspoken

by Thomas Fahy

To escape their abusive childhood, a group of friends burned down the religious compound where they were raised—ignoring the prophecy that says their worst fears will consume them within five years of the fire. Now, almost five years have passed, and one by one, the teens are turning up dead. They are in a race against time—with their worst fears not far behind.

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Mystery, Teen, Fiction, Cults, Adventure

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 5, 2008

About the author

Thomas Fahy is a nonfiction writer, novelist, and professor of literature and creative writing. His most recent book, The Life of the Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald, is being released in the fall of 2025. He has also published essays on everything from Paris Hilton and 1980s vampire films to contemporary television and theater. His works have been translated into several languages, and he has been interviewed by the Associated Press, Salon, and other publications, as well as radio hosts in the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and Malaysia. He was recently featured in a documentary about Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood for Arte Television and on the BBC radio program “Literary Pursuits.”

When he is not writing, Dr. Fahy performs regularly as a classical pianist with the New York Piano Society and has appeared in recent concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Merkin Concert Hall, and other venues in New York City.

Reviews

[Jay G · Rating 1 out of 5]

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

1.5 Stars

5 years ago, six kids were the only remaining survivors of a fire taking the lives of every adult in a religious cult called The Divine Path. A few days prior to the leader, Jacob's, death, he had prophesied that the six children would die from their worst fears in 5 years, signalling the apocalypse and the beginning of the new world. Five years later, after the mysterious death of one of the six children, they all make their way back to their home town of Meridian to pay their respects. Brought together again, the remaining children realize that the cult may not be behind them after all.

This book wasn't a bad book... It just wasn't interesting in any way. I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters and it didn't have me on the edge of my seat needing to know what happened next. It was very predictable and I was able to call all the major plot twists as well as the ending easily.

[Indy Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book by Thomas Fahy, a well played out plot with enough suspense and gore to spook you. Good title, after all it is true that are greatest fears are always 'Unspoken', they are so intense that somehow by voicing them we make them come to pass.

[Amara Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Five years ago six children who lived with their families in Jacob Crawley's Divine Path religious cult escaped by burning the compound to the ground. They are reunited at the funeral of Jacob's son, Harold. Harold died of drowning-his worst fear-even though his body was found miles from any water. And it seems that each of the teens is marked for murder-as Crawley had predicted years earlier. Can any of these teens save themselves?" (The Unspoken story preview, by Thomas Fahy)

This book was not particularly captivating. The plot line was interesting however, but the way the story was written just wasn't satisfying. All the characters you could see anywhere, they are very cliché and don't have much development or interesting aspects to them. There is a quiet shy girl character, who loves books. The main character who is the one to try and fix things, has a tragic backstory with family. There is an edgy girl who mingles with the attractive guy the main character has liked for years and there is another guy who is goofy and sly. They don't have much a reader can digest further and attach themselves to. It's a basic character line with not much involved.
The story itself is interesting but the book is so short that nothing really gets delved further into. It's all so expected. A cheesy horror with no development. As the story progresses the plot gets easier to guess and there aren't any major plot changes or twists that makes the story more interesting. There is backstory and such but only adjacent to the main character or short necessary plot lines needed to progress the emotional aspect of the characters portrayed. There isn't much suspense or thrill, it just progresses without much to think about.
I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn't all that satisfying to read. For a plot line like this one, I was expecting there to be more secrets and inviting captivating turns that really kept me engaged. But that wasn't there. This book doesn't have a lot to offer besides a mediocre read. Again, its an interesting plot line with a lot of potential but the author just seemed to not put a lot of effort into that potential. It could have been so much more, and I wish it was.
Overall I would give this book 2 stars, only because the plot line was interesting but it wasn't well written. I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Cortney Burdette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Giving this a star rating, it’d be at about 2 stars. I enjoyed the book at the beginning but I got to about 40 pages in and the whole story started to confuse me. It was an interesting book, but I didn’t fully understand it from the beginning anyways. I didn’t really like anything in the book being confused. I would recommend this book to people who can figure through challenging books and that like horror fiction.

[Alicia Impink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just ok. This is another one of those books where i really liked the premise but reading it felt like I was reading a rough draft. It wasn't sloppy or anything, but there just didn't feel like enough meat to the story. The ending is also rather lackluster- no spoilers- but like I finished it and thought to myself, "...ok...and?" It's like a summer-time popcorn horror movie you watch for something to do. It's fine. But you won't talk about it afterwards

[Addy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was very boring and throughout the book, the details were pretty morbid. The deaths of the kids were described in such detail, it was very hard to read and usually I like scary book/movie. However, I would only recommend this book to someone who could tolerate the detailed and morbid deaths of teenagers and a very boring and predictable plotline.

[Chelsea Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced story. Had me gripped early on. The details of the deaths are gory and keeps you wondering what is going on and how are these people dying so... supernaturaly? I enjoyed it up to the end. The ending was a bit of a let down as it just stops... otherwise I enjoyed it for what it is.. a teen horror

[Susan McGilvray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy and gruesome - good read. Liked Allison and her 5 cult saved friends.

[Tiffany Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this quick, fast paced book! It was a quick read for me. If you enjoy thrillers, then you will enjoy this!

[Sahara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot line but hard to follow sometimes.

[Ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was my favorite book as a high schooler.

[AngelaY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Fahy's The Unspoken follows the story of six kids after they murder and escape their religious cult. Right before the death of the cult leader, Jacob, he predicted that in five years time, each of them would die from their worst fear. More less, Harold, one of the six surviving kids dies from his biggest fear—drowning. After receiving an anonymous email, the remaining five kids reunite in the small town of Meridian, North Carolina to pay respects to Harold. Soon after the funeral, another one of the six kids is mysteriously killed. The group learns that one by one, their worst fear is killing them. They try to put an end to the horror by getting to the root of the curse. The group discover that their entire life has been a lie.

The story consists of many themes, but the most prominent theme is fear. The characters have lived their entire lives dreading what would happen tomorrow and the level of fear escalates as the characters learn that they will soon die from what they are most afraid of. Alison, the main character, as well as a tough and loyal teenager is persistent to finding out who or what is the cause of these deaths. Even though she knows that her death is soon coming upon her, she is still persistent to ending the problem rather than the problem ending her.

This book was one of the best stories I have read in a long time. What made this book so good was how suspenseful and creepy it was. The author could write about a tissue and it would still give me the chills. The story was so vivid that it was almost like watching a movie. The vivid descriptions makes the reader feel the fear that the characters are experiencing. Also, who doesn't enjoy a story about a psychotic religious leader brainwashing a whole town about his prophecy? The religious element of the story brings the creepiness of the book to a whole other level.

What I really disliked about the book was that the story was so short that there was almost no character development. I could barely explain the characteristics of some of the main characters because the book doesn't explain a lot about the personalities of the characters. Also, the story had too much foreshadowing which caused the story to be very repetitive and predictable.

I would recommend this book to people that enjoy horror and/or religious stories. If I could compare this book to another book, I would consider The Unspoken as the more simplified version of Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. Both books share the ideas of death and religion and the need to fulfill a prophecy. Also, both stories share a psychotic religious character as the antagonist. Like I said before, the writing in the story is very vivid. Because of this, there are some parts of the story that are very gory. If that's what you enjoy, then this is the book for you.

[Jojobean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ehh. It was really short and you never really get to really know the characters.

The synopsis of the book was basically this: Allison is one of the six children of the Divine path Cult that was run by the man Jacob who saw himself as a prophet. Jacob prophesied that in five years time the children of the divine path would die by being consumed by their greatest fears. Their deaths will be followed by the apocalypse. The children had suffered at the hands of Jacob and decided to kill him. They burned the whole camp site where they lived down. They tried to save their parents but when they went to them, they were already dead. Allison speculates that they were poisoned. After burning down the cult and its leader, the six children were split up and put in foster homes all over the U.S. Five years later the first of the six children, who are 17 now, dies by drowning, which was his greatest fear. All of the other kids go back to their home town for the funeral of there friend and that's when all the shit goes down.

Like I said, you never really get to know the characters as much as you would like. Most of them die right away in the book anyway. You just get the jist of what they're like. For instance, Emma loves books and is kinda nerdy and quiet. Jade is basically an angry drunk slut who has three boyfriends and likes to drink, curse and lashes out. Ike is like the class clown, making jokes and being sarcastic. David is the serious hot guy. Allison is the confused girl who still has a crush on David. Basically all stereotypical personalities.

So anyway basically David and Allison have to find out whose killing their friends, which they do and try to stop him. The ending of the book really bothered me because it is a cliffhanger without any real ending. Its frustrating because this is a standalone book with an unclear ending. I hate that.

Reading about the cult was interesting as were what each character saw in the pit that was in the confessional, in the cult. Each character, save for Emma and the first dead boy, tell about what happened in the confessional and the events that led to their being in the confessional. Through these tales you learn what each of the characters greatest fears are. Each kid has some kind of scar from their time in the pit of the confessional.

The killings are gory and have lots of blood. The ending is very action packed and bloody as well. The book also alternates between the present and the deaths of the kids to the past and the kid's time in the cult.

This book is a quick read. Its ok but not great.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

[Doryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think about your worst fear. Now, what if you were told that in 5 years you will die because of that fear? For the main character, Allison, her worst fear is the least of her worries. In addition to being epileptic, she is faced with many hardships, as well as keeping the memories of her dark past from the present people in her life. She, however, is not alone facing these difficulties. She among the other 5 surviving cult children now faces a new threatening force together. Although, Allison is smart; she knows that the only way to stop the reality of her past is to stop the person who is trying to recreate the same events in her future. Except, is Allison really strong enough to stop this force threatening herself and her friends’ lives?
Five years have gone by since the Divine Path, the cult Allison’s family was in, had burned down into flames. In those five years the six surviving children Allison, Ike, David, Emma, Jade and Harold, have been put into separate foster families all over the country in attempt to escape from their darkened past. It is the same year that their cult leader, Jacob, told them that they were going to meet their demise. However, the unexplainable death of Harold seems to bring all of them back to same place that ruined their lives, the Meridian. Allison herself is skeptical about coming back to Meridian and the thought of Jacob being correct eats away at her the entire trip. At the same time, she is also blinded by her first love, David, and becomes more vulnerable. Since the first and second death, Allison and the remaining friends set out to search for the person responsible for the deaths and to possibly put an end to it before their own inevitable deaths. The idea of death makes this book much more exciting and suspenseful making the reader want to turn the next page. With each agonizing event, leaves Allison and the reader to think. This makes the reader make many assumptions about the story and brings them closer to the killer making the ending very obvious.
So will Allison find the person responsible for her friend’s death in time? Being so blinded by her love, and having to worry about death leaves her weak, emotionally and physically. However, it is because of the same reasons she is still searching for the answer. It is mainly up to Allison to avenge their deaths or at least die trying.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allison and her five friends survive the fire that destroys the Divine Path where they live with their parents. In fact, they plan the fire that burns the religious compound to the ground. The fire is intended to kill cult leader Jacob Crawley who calls himself a prophet. His abuses are destroying them all. The next time he disciplines them, he may kill them.

Their plan allows them to save their families, but when they try to rescue them, they are already dead. Without families, they have no one but each other, until the sheriff of Meridian, North Carolina decides they should go their separate ways. They'll each have a fresh start where no one knows who they are or what has happened to them. He sends them to live in different parts of the country and they are not told where the others are going.

When Harold, the first friend dies, he is somehow returned to Meridian, where his body is found in a tobacco field. Allison remembers Jacob's prophecy. He told them that within five years they would all die by the thing that frightens them the most.

Harold's funeral is to be held in Meridian. Allison goes to the funeral hoping the others will also come. Once there, she realizes that they've been lured back to Meridian to die.

Jacob Crawley and his side-kick, the doctor, are truly terrifying characters. Fahy has written a suspenseful horror story, moving from the present and flashing back to the past to show the time the friends spent in the Divine Path compound. The grim earlier events could have stretched the horror and suspense if they were told as a part of the story. The rather disappointing ending ties together the plot threads about Allison's little sister who was murdered before Jacob Crawley came to Meridian, rather than giving her death the importance it deserved.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Marie Robinson for TeensReadToo.com

This is a really spooky book. The prologue had me scratching my head a bit, and I admit that I wasn't sure if I would like the rest of the novel. But it is undeniably creepy, and by the end of chapter one I was hooked.

There are no wasted scenes in this book. Even a ride that two characters take in a car is a chance for character development and flashbacks to flesh out the story. Piece by piece, the terrifying experience that these six kids shared is revealed through a well-crafted plot.

Five years ago, six kids were the only survivors of a fire that took the lives of the adult members of the brainwashing cult in which they lived. "In five years' time, your greatest fear will consume you. It will rob you of your last breath." This is the prophecy that they face today. They manage to escape the cult and try to move on with their lives, but cannot forget those ominous words spoken by their cult leader before his death.

Brought together again under mysterious circumstances, it becomes clear that some of the evil that haunted them from within the cult still runs free. One by one, the friends are killed, in increasingly gruesome ways, while those remaining try to desperately to find some answers and some peace.

With echoes of Edgar Allan Poe, the macabre, murderous details of the plot become a metaphor for these individuals to find control over their own lives, and to live their lives on their terms. The question is: will any of them live long enough to figure out how to do it?

The ending is satisfying, with enough details left open-ended to encourage a sequel. I fully expect to see this story on the big screen.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Unspoken is about the teen survivors of a creepy cult that their parents belonged to. The kids escaped five years ago, when they set fire to the cult’s headquarters, killing Jacob Crawley, the powerful and frightening leader of the cult. Split up and sent to foster families across the country, the teens have not kept in touch with each other…until one of them ends up dead. They meet up together for the funeral, returning to Meridian, the small Southern town where it all happened. It seems as if Jacob’s terrifying prophecy is coming true-five years later, they are all being hunted down and murdered by their worst fears.

The Unspoken reminded me a bit of the Fear Street books that I used to read as a young adolescent. Violently gory and a little bit naughty (the f-word makes an appearance here and there!), but clearly written for the younger set of the YA audience. The Unspoken is a bit higher quality (especially in terms of creating scarier jolts), than a lot of the Fear Street books, however, it’s really not that far off a comparison. I found it hard to read at times, in part because it’s extremely cheesy, but also in part because it slips into present tense, third-person narration...which is irritating.
All in all though, I’d say that The Unspoken has its place on the shelves for younger teen horror fans. It’s simple and it’s scary in the same way a PG13 horror movie can be. It’s also short and certainly moves along at a reasonable pace. I would not recommend it, however to any older teens (or adults, for that matter) or readers seeking something at all sophisticated or truly chilling. There are better and scarier books out there for older teens (and adults).

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allison, David, Emma, Jade, Ike, and Harold are from Meridian where everyone believes in a prophet Jacob, everyone but them. They believe that everything Jacob says is a lie and all he says about the end of the world is stupid. They decide to set fire to Jacob's cabin because he's been poisoning their parents with words and promises he can't keep. As they set it on fire, Jacob tells them that in five years, their greatest fears will kill them. True to his words, the first of them, Harold, dies by his greatest fear: drowning. As more of them die, leaving only David and Allison, they must find who's behind all of this. They find out that it's their friend, The Doctor, who had survived the fire and was the one behind everything, even controlling Jacob. The book ends with David and Allison wondering if they're going to be fine because they only have 93 days according to The Doctor and he's somewhere on the loose.

I picked this book because I've been reading a lot of romance novels this month and decide to read a entirely different genre. I finished this book because I wondered if the kids would survive or not.

I recommend this book to Olivia because she likes reading from all different genres and this will give her a chance to read all the genres she likes, in one book.

The Unspoken was an incredible book filled with powerful words that left a deep impact on me. It was breath-taking and emotional. The Unspoken is amazing.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was an interesting enough diversion. I was hooked right off the bat by the premise, but was not very impressed with the writing and found it increasingly formulaic and predictable the further I went. Think teen horror movie as a book.

Allison is one of six seventeen-year-olds to have survived the tragic fire that killed their parents and all other members of a religious cult five years earlier. Well, they didn't just survive the fire, they're responsible it; they were hoping to kill cult leader Jacob so they could escape his influence, but Jacob anticipated them and poisoned all of the adults the night they burned the compound. Jacob also predicted that each of the six would die in five years time from their worst fears to usher in God's wrath and the return of the cult members. Allison opens her email one morning to find that Harold has died of apparent drowning even though he was miles from the nearest body of water. She has spent five years fleeing from her youth and trying to erase her memories of Jacob and his cult, but now she must return for Harold's funeral to face down her demons.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. Who isn't fascinated by cults and the motivation and brainwashing that go on in the members. The premise of this book was really interesting. 6 kids survive the mass killing of their cult and kill the cult leader, 5 years later they return to the town for the funeral of one of the 6 survivors, after receiving an email about his death from an unknown source. Sounds interesting right? Too bad it wasn't. There was a definite "Final Destination" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" feel to this book that took it from interesting to ridiculous. The 5 kids come back to Meridian for the funeral of the 6th and one by one they die. The kicker? Their deaths were predicted by the cult leader - he told them they'd all be killed in 5 years by their worst fears, and surprise, they're being killed off one by one by their worst fears. Some of the plot points were random and seemed to be tossed in for no reason. I didn't identify with any of the characters and while I found the cult leader and the doctor fascinatingly creepy and disturbing, it wasn't enough to keep me interested in the story. Not a book I'd recommend.

[Adriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another book I read over the summer. This book was really good because a random serious of events had happened in order. This was a kind of freaky book because it was a bout a boy that dies a sea and then when a couple friends come together to remember their friend they remember him saying a couple words that if he ever died they would all die with him. They were stressed because they didnt know if they should believe it or not but then slowly it started happening and one by one each of these kids started dieing after his death. Kid after kid gets murdered and dies. There was six of them and Jacob the boy who died at sea and now all of them were dead. All this come to a sad end and as they left the place they were at because of the fire bad things happened to them in return.
This book was good and pretyy intresting because I kept reading to see whhat would happen with all the teens. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes freaky terror and myterious books.

[Anna Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok so I picked this book up because it looked like a cross between Stephen King and crazy science fiction. The whole idea of each person dying off from their greatest fear also sounded good. However, the killings were basically a background story and weren't focused on at all. It was also very confusing and really bizarre. Another thing that was weird was the whole religious thing-it didn't even make any sense-and was just kinda dumb. The author made it sound like the whole plot of the book was based on religion, not the actual murders. Also new characters kept on appearing in the book and there was just too much dialogue and very little description on the actual story.
I don't know-it was really weird and I only got half way through it.
Don't be confused- it sounds really good but this book sucked.

[Tadams1201 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was scary and sad that Allison friends dead but she knows that they was part of the Divine Path but they suppose to died in the old church but they escape by the fire.Allison have a seizure and her family died of car crash and her little sister died of slather by something but she can't remember what the person look like, and she live with her foster parents.Allison have scars around her neck and she left her foster family of living in Meridian to see her old friends. Allison friends name is David,Emma,Jade, and Ike and all of them is part of Divine Path and they escape from the fire in the old church.They was drinking in the Hotel until Alison have a dream about Emma that she died of lighting that burn her eyes. When Allison wake up and didn't know that Emma have a Hotel, she and Ike got inside and saw Emma dead in her bed with name eyes.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five years ago, Allison and the other children of the Divine Path took the future into their hands and destroyed the cult. Now, one of the teens is dead and the others return to the small town, only to find that perhaps their leader's prophecies are coming true.

This was not quite what I expected. It was short and quick-paced, but there were a lot more things they could have done with the story. I expected more information about the cult in general, as well as more about Allison's sister's murder. I was also terribly disappointed in the ending. I expected a bigger twist as well as more explanation and a more definitive conclusion. Interesting, but not the best.

[Laurie Treacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Six teens, victims of sadistic cult leader Jacob, reunite at the funeral of his son, Harold. These teens were trying to get their lives back but some unseen person doesn't want them to. Has returning to the town of their horrible childhood made them victims all over again? Chilling and very creepy, Fahy has crafted an interesting tale which one will find hard to put down. Each scene seems like a movie scene, visually entertaining, but at times it is hard to feel for the characters since we never really get to know them that well. Fast paced, well plotted, this is a good book to pick up and read on a stormy night. Just make sure to lock your doors.

[Emma Zoudo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading the book, "The Unspoken", by Thomas Fahy because it is scary. I rated this book four stars because it never got boring to me and I could not stop reading. "The Unspoken" is about six teens who were the only survivors of a "religious cult", that was destroyed by a fire. A prediction was made that each teen would die by their worst fear. Five years later, one of the teens drown and slowly the rest start dying. The only way to stop this is to find the "root of the curse". I loved the fact that all these teens relate to each other I also liked all of the suspense. Overall, I recommend the book, "The Unspoken", by Thomas Fahy.

[Trevor Oakley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book to plow through while home sick from work -- it had that teen horror flick feel to it. Five years after the cult leader and its members died, a group of teens who escaped The Divine Path return to the cult's town to attend a funeral. The deceased is the leader's son, and is the first of the teens to die according to a prophecy. Picture the roach motel from the film "Vacancy", the cast from "Cabin Fever", and the revenge-suspense blend from the "Scream" trilogy and you've got The Unspoken!

[Samantha Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was originally fascinated by the books description. anything religious cult affiliated is usually very interesting. I was very disappointed that Thomas Fahy did not allow us to get to know these characters better and by how quickly this book was able to be read. It also had too much forshadowing which made it lack suspense. quickly after beginning this book I was able to figure out who was behind everything and who would survive of the 6. the ending has left me wondering if a sequel is in the works though.

[Christiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book first start off about what happen to her sister and mom. Then her and her dad follow this man name jacob who call his self a prophet. He believe in that god can cure everybody that got a sickness so he take all there medication away. So jacob caught alison trying to steal the box of the paass so he took her to the darkness and stamb her. Then when jacob came back he felt that everyone should get punish so het burn all the parent that was in the church.

[BxerMom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't think this book was too bad in the beginning...it was slow moving and held my attention just enough for me to keep reading. I wish I had stopped and moved on to a better book. I was completely disappointed by the ending. It was rushed and left open and I can't stand books like that.
Basically....children raised in a cult, cult leader kills all but six kids, six kids kill cult leader, five years later kids start dying.