leighanneslit's review against another edition
4.0
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review
Let me start off by saying that there aren't very many authors that have made me afraid of sleeping with my back to the door, but that's how I felt when I was reading this! While I was reading I kept looking back, expecting one of the creatures out of this book to be staring me in the face. That being said, I really liked this book!
It is obvious that Moreland did a lot of research for this novel. There was a lot of research that must have been done on Catholicism as well as some of the Native American tribes that appear in this book. That's something that I could really appreciate. There are a lot of authors that don't take the time to research as they should.
With that, Moreland spends a lot of time giving his characters a lot of depth. From Father Xavier to Anika, all of the major characters, you really got a sense of who they were and why they were that way. You could relate to them and like them (in most cases). And then he makes the villain so despicable that you have so much hate for him, but he still scares the hell out of you.
My favorite part though, were the demons. He describes these creatures so vividly that I actually dreamed about them. And they're scary. Not to mention that there is a fair amount of gore sprinkled throughout this book, which I thought was fantastically executed.
Moreland does a fantastic job introducing the characters, making to connect with them and going through the story with them, making you just as scared as they are. There's also a level of suspense as you wait to find out where these creatures are coming from and how they are going to be stopped.
Overall, fantastic book and it was a fantastic read for October! If you love horror and don't mind gore, I highly recommend that you check this book out! I give it 4 out of 5 stars!
Let me start off by saying that there aren't very many authors that have made me afraid of sleeping with my back to the door, but that's how I felt when I was reading this! While I was reading I kept looking back, expecting one of the creatures out of this book to be staring me in the face. That being said, I really liked this book!
It is obvious that Moreland did a lot of research for this novel. There was a lot of research that must have been done on Catholicism as well as some of the Native American tribes that appear in this book. That's something that I could really appreciate. There are a lot of authors that don't take the time to research as they should.
With that, Moreland spends a lot of time giving his characters a lot of depth. From Father Xavier to Anika, all of the major characters, you really got a sense of who they were and why they were that way. You could relate to them and like them (in most cases). And then he makes the villain so despicable that you have so much hate for him, but he still scares the hell out of you.
My favorite part though, were the demons. He describes these creatures so vividly that I actually dreamed about them. And they're scary. Not to mention that there is a fair amount of gore sprinkled throughout this book, which I thought was fantastically executed.
Moreland does a fantastic job introducing the characters, making to connect with them and going through the story with them, making you just as scared as they are. There's also a level of suspense as you wait to find out where these creatures are coming from and how they are going to be stopped.
Overall, fantastic book and it was a fantastic read for October! If you love horror and don't mind gore, I highly recommend that you check this book out! I give it 4 out of 5 stars!
ptaradactyl's review against another edition
1.0
I expected the book to read like something Holmesian, since he's my reference point for detectives in that era and Conan Doyle never shied away from the macabre.
It wasn't.
It's a book with demons, secret societies, cannibals, uncatchable killers, and lots of lust, and it STILL managed to be boring.
It is a creepy premise- an evil is stalking settlers in an isolated fort and turning them into zombie-like killers. And the first several chapters do put chills on the back of your neck.
Then it gets so overblown it's almost comedic. A lead hero that all women want and all men want to be has the only adult female characters throwing themselves at him repeatedly. Then there's a revelation! And a confession (literally)! And contagion! And another confession! And another revelation! And a fire! And a First Nations ritual that's super dangerous but only takes nudity and two pages to resolve.
I'm still not sure how the white buffalo got to Ontario, either. Or is they said "sure" quite so often in the 1870s.
I'd really love to reread this book after it went through a thorough scrubbing to remove the anachronisms.
It wasn't.
It's a book with demons, secret societies, cannibals, uncatchable killers, and lots of lust, and it STILL managed to be boring.
It is a creepy premise- an evil is stalking settlers in an isolated fort and turning them into zombie-like killers. And the first several chapters do put chills on the back of your neck.
Then it gets so overblown it's almost comedic. A lead hero that all women want and all men want to be has the only adult female characters throwing themselves at him repeatedly. Then there's a revelation! And a confession (literally)! And contagion! And another confession! And another revelation! And a fire! And a First Nations ritual that's super dangerous but only takes nudity and two pages to resolve.
I'm still not sure how the white buffalo got to Ontario, either. Or is they said "sure" quite so often in the 1870s.
I'd really love to reread this book after it went through a thorough scrubbing to remove the anachronisms.
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