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inky_bat's review
4.0
There was this heart-warming, 1950's Southern Americana, dirt country Tennessee feeling about it that I just loved.
Jeb is a really innocent and brave kid from the wrong side of the tracks. He is faced with a few horrific challenges all at once in his young little life, one being a cunning snake-like monster thing that is taking out the townsfolk. In order to save them all, he must be brave and go on quite an epic adventure into the mouth of Fear County, facing its many hellish foes, along with a few special companions.
All of the characters were bursting with personality and many of them just so endearing. It took me longer than normal to finish this one just because I found myself savoring it. At the mention of his granny making the most delicious southern breakfast spread with cathead biscuits, I actually took a pause and made them myself!
Jeb is a really innocent and brave kid from the wrong side of the tracks. He is faced with a few horrific challenges all at once in his young little life, one being a cunning snake-like monster thing that is taking out the townsfolk. In order to save them all, he must be brave and go on quite an epic adventure into the mouth of Fear County, facing its many hellish foes, along with a few special companions.
All of the characters were bursting with personality and many of them just so endearing. It took me longer than normal to finish this one just because I found myself savoring it. At the mention of his granny making the most delicious southern breakfast spread with cathead biscuits, I actually took a pause and made them myself!
nikkijames611's review
5.0
I don’t feel like any words could describe what an amazing wonderful book this is. Its a coming of age story with a very unique storyline. It’s one of those books that you are so sad when it ends and leaves you wanting more. It took me on an emotional ride with all the feels and is a truly magical, beautiful story with amazing characters. This has definitely moved into my top 5 of all time! If you haven’t read it, you need to, you won’t be disappointed.
buildhergender's review
5.0
I enjoyed this book immensely. Set in the years post World War 2. The description of the life that the protagonist lived and his surroundings felt fleshed out and was a pleasure to read.
Spoilers
I expected a book about a town taken over by some type of lizard monster and that the protagonist, Jeb, would have to kill it. Did not expect any kind of magical elements or much of a story besides a paint by numbers monster comes to town, kills people, kid kills monster.
And at first that is how this book starts. The reptile comes into town, starts with animals but as it grows it begins to capture and feed off of humans. Despite the size of the monster you would at first be mistaken to think this animal could be substituted for any other type and the book stay the same.
But then the story takes a turn and we find that it has intelligence. And more than that it is from the county below which is named Fear. Most of the book is filled with Jeb's trip into Fear county in order to talk to a Granny lady who is said to be the one good thing in Fear county.
And unlike most books where they might just hint there is some magic in the world and at play, this book embraces it.
Jeb's journey through Fear county reads a bit like the gunslingers journey's through the wastelands in the Stephen King series, however shorter yet still interesting and well written.
There are a few main conflicts besides the monster, Jeb's grandmother having cancer, his father being brain addled from the war, and his friend/guide being a black man in a white filled country, and they are no surprises with how these end up.
The book will probably not have any surprises for you plot wise, but it is still a good read for the journey taken and how well it is written.
Spoilers
I expected a book about a town taken over by some type of lizard monster and that the protagonist, Jeb, would have to kill it. Did not expect any kind of magical elements or much of a story besides a paint by numbers monster comes to town, kills people, kid kills monster.
And at first that is how this book starts. The reptile comes into town, starts with animals but as it grows it begins to capture and feed off of humans. Despite the size of the monster you would at first be mistaken to think this animal could be substituted for any other type and the book stay the same.
But then the story takes a turn and we find that it has intelligence. And more than that it is from the county below which is named Fear. Most of the book is filled with Jeb's trip into Fear county in order to talk to a Granny lady who is said to be the one good thing in Fear county.
And unlike most books where they might just hint there is some magic in the world and at play, this book embraces it.
Jeb's journey through Fear county reads a bit like the gunslingers journey's through the wastelands in the Stephen King series, however shorter yet still interesting and well written.
There are a few main conflicts besides the monster, Jeb's grandmother having cancer, his father being brain addled from the war, and his friend/guide being a black man in a white filled country, and they are no surprises with how these end up.
The book will probably not have any surprises for you plot wise, but it is still a good read for the journey taken and how well it is written.
shanblackman's review against another edition
4.0
Creature horror with a ton of heart. Really enjoyed it.
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5*
FEAR was a crazy mixture of: creature feature/coming of age/evil in a small town horror. It just doesn't get much more fun than that!
In the backwoods of Tennessee, young Jeb Sweeney is fighting for his family. His farmer father has been turned into a simpleton, thanks to a war injury. His mother is gone and his grandmother is gravely ill. There are bullies around their small town and on top of that, some kind of creature has arrived and it's killing anything it can get its hands on. What is a young man supposed to do about all this? You'll have to read FEAR to find out!
I have to admit that this book brought me back to the old days when I first started reading horror. (For me, those old days are in the late 70's, early 80's.) Back then, there were a lot of tales like this and they were beefy ones too-500 pages or more. You really would settle in with a book and it would go everywhere with you until you finished it. Coming of age tales were especially popular during that time, but not all of them were great. FEAR was though and I'll tell you why.
We have a family we can care for, more than one antagonist, a compelling setting, and best of all? A creature that can only be described as....SCARY. Sprinkle in some older women busy working their mojo, a traveling blues-man and an entire county of scary creatures, and you have the recipe for F-U-N!
This tale did start out slowly as we got to know everyone, the town, and the stories surrounding Fear County. Around about the halfway point, things ramped up and then the pace flew through the second half- I had a very hard time putting it down. I suspect that these days, an editor would have cut down the word count a bit, and even though I enjoyed the slower pace of the beginning, I can't deny that a few words could have been cut without hurting the book overall. For that I deducted half a star.
FEAR is exactly the type of book that inspired in me a love of horror fiction and dark fiction in general. We have a dirt poor family, a young man to root for, a setting of the small town, and nearby? A place so haunted and scary that no one ever goes there. I mean, really, for a horror fan-what's not to like? I highly recommend this book, especially to fans of coming of age horror and creature features.
Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2F7eSYa
*I purchased my copy with my hard earned cash back in 2014. I'm so glad I finally read this book!*
**Ronald Kelly was kind enough to join the Horror Aficionados Group for a group read of this story. Thank you, Mr. Kelly! I had a great time!**
FEAR was a crazy mixture of: creature feature/coming of age/evil in a small town horror. It just doesn't get much more fun than that!
In the backwoods of Tennessee, young Jeb Sweeney is fighting for his family. His farmer father has been turned into a simpleton, thanks to a war injury. His mother is gone and his grandmother is gravely ill. There are bullies around their small town and on top of that, some kind of creature has arrived and it's killing anything it can get its hands on. What is a young man supposed to do about all this? You'll have to read FEAR to find out!
I have to admit that this book brought me back to the old days when I first started reading horror. (For me, those old days are in the late 70's, early 80's.) Back then, there were a lot of tales like this and they were beefy ones too-500 pages or more. You really would settle in with a book and it would go everywhere with you until you finished it. Coming of age tales were especially popular during that time, but not all of them were great. FEAR was though and I'll tell you why.
We have a family we can care for, more than one antagonist, a compelling setting, and best of all? A creature that can only be described as....SCARY. Sprinkle in some older women busy working their mojo, a traveling blues-man and an entire county of scary creatures, and you have the recipe for F-U-N!
This tale did start out slowly as we got to know everyone, the town, and the stories surrounding Fear County. Around about the halfway point, things ramped up and then the pace flew through the second half- I had a very hard time putting it down. I suspect that these days, an editor would have cut down the word count a bit, and even though I enjoyed the slower pace of the beginning, I can't deny that a few words could have been cut without hurting the book overall. For that I deducted half a star.
FEAR is exactly the type of book that inspired in me a love of horror fiction and dark fiction in general. We have a dirt poor family, a young man to root for, a setting of the small town, and nearby? A place so haunted and scary that no one ever goes there. I mean, really, for a horror fan-what's not to like? I highly recommend this book, especially to fans of coming of age horror and creature features.
Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2F7eSYa
*I purchased my copy with my hard earned cash back in 2014. I'm so glad I finally read this book!*
**Ronald Kelly was kind enough to join the Horror Aficionados Group for a group read of this story. Thank you, Mr. Kelly! I had a great time!**
mikekaz's review
4.0
This was my first novel by Ronald Kelly and I liked it. The story was solid and enjoyable with good characters that were very easy to picture and imagine.
The story focuses on Jeb Sweeny, a ten-year-old boy who is forced to take adult actions in order to solve the problems in his life. His father is shell-shocked and doesn't remember who he is. His grandma is dying of cancer. And Jeb's crush turn girlfriend has been kidnapped by a snake-dog creature that nearly embodies evil. Jeb starts on a journey to solve his problems by going into the heart of Fear County and facing any demons he finds along the way.
As I mentioned, one of the things that I really like about the story was the great characters. I could very easily picture them in my mind. This was probably helped along because I listened to the audiobook and J. Rodney Turner did a great job of narrating the tale. His voice for each character helped make them clear in my mind. On the other hand, one of the things that got repetitive was the different creatures or weird being that the characters kept running into on their journey. As they were on their quest for the cures to solve Jeb's problems, they would run into one batch of weirdness after another. It was repetitive but at the same time it wasn't a big deal. If the journey had been easier or shorter, it would have seemed too easy. From a narrative perspective, it did turn into a "what problem are they going to run into next?" type of thing. Switching back to the positive, the story was set shortly after World War II. I've been so used to stories being set in the 80s lately that this was a welcome change. And a very believable one. Kelly made the feel of the 40s in Tennessee come across easily in the story. Or at least what I would believe it would be like living in Tennessee in the 1940s. Big picture, the story is good, enjoyable, and something I would recommend. It might be a tad predictable at times but that doesn't mean you should avoid it. Because you'll regret it if you do.
The story focuses on Jeb Sweeny, a ten-year-old boy who is forced to take adult actions in order to solve the problems in his life. His father is shell-shocked and doesn't remember who he is. His grandma is dying of cancer. And Jeb's crush turn girlfriend has been kidnapped by a snake-dog creature that nearly embodies evil. Jeb starts on a journey to solve his problems by going into the heart of Fear County and facing any demons he finds along the way.
As I mentioned, one of the things that I really like about the story was the great characters. I could very easily picture them in my mind. This was probably helped along because I listened to the audiobook and J. Rodney Turner did a great job of narrating the tale. His voice for each character helped make them clear in my mind. On the other hand, one of the things that got repetitive was the different creatures or weird being that the characters kept running into on their journey. As they were on their quest for the cures to solve Jeb's problems, they would run into one batch of weirdness after another. It was repetitive but at the same time it wasn't a big deal. If the journey had been easier or shorter, it would have seemed too easy. From a narrative perspective, it did turn into a "what problem are they going to run into next?" type of thing. Switching back to the positive, the story was set shortly after World War II. I've been so used to stories being set in the 80s lately that this was a welcome change. And a very believable one. Kelly made the feel of the 40s in Tennessee come across easily in the story. Or at least what I would believe it would be like living in Tennessee in the 1940s. Big picture, the story is good, enjoyable, and something I would recommend. It might be a tad predictable at times but that doesn't mean you should avoid it. Because you'll regret it if you do.
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