Published by Random House - Ballantine Genres: Fiction, Horror, Paranormal, thriller
Format: ARC, eBook
4.5 Stars
So many things happened long ago. So many things are happening in the present.
Nate and Maddie both have experienced things their past that still linger beneath the surface. Hiding, dormant, waiting to come to the surface. Maddie was always an artist. When she was a child, she was in her room, yet witnessed something and began making haunting sculptures. Nate, former police officer now game warden, grew up in a home in the country with his abusive father. When his father passed away, Nate is left his childhood home. Their son, Oliver (Olly) feels things deeply, specifically he can feel the pain in (of) others.
Now living in Nate’s childhood home, things are beginning to happen. Strange things. Creepy things. Sinister things. Each member of the family feels and experiences them. What do they make of them? Are they only tired from moving? Is it stress? Moving to a new place and changing schools is hard, but Oliver begins to make friends (and catches the eye of two bullies), but one of them is not like the others. He has a dark edge; he has secrets and a love of dark magic.
Soon things take a dark turn…
Weighing in at 544 pages this book packs a punch. It begins with circling ants and just keeps getting creepier from there. This read like a horror story from yesteryear. Reminiscent of all the horror greats. I loved how things began to happen, it is almost as if they house is saying “shh, don’t get too comfortable, be on the ready, get prepared because, things are about to get REAL really fast.” There is a sense of foreboding, a sense of dread, a sense of danger, and an underlying current of unease. Plus, the chapter headers! Very clever.
Wendig has crafted such a dark and creepy tale while giving nods to those writers who influenced him. This was pure magic! Besides the storyline, this book gave me the same chills that I experienced when reading early King.
For me, this book was more creepy than scary. I loved the underlying feel of it. That river of dread, the unease about what could/would happen next. You know that dread and unease that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The characters in the book experienced it as did I.
Be warned there is a lot going on in this book. I will not mention everything because I do not want to give away the farm, so just know that Wendig throws everything but the kitchen sink at these characters. It is a dark journey from page one. With a lot going on, there is a lot to tie up. Not everything will be tied up to everyone is liking but I did not mind.
This book is on the longer side, but it did not feel long to me. Some readers may feel the length of it. His previous book Wanderers felt way too long to me but I also did not enjoy that book as I did this one. So happy I decided to give him another chance.
Creepy, dark, and full of dread.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.