scottneumann's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
rngilmer's review
3.0
It was a little repetitive for my taste, and it seemed like there were too many similes. But the story was intriguing and the ending packed a pretty good punch.
grammarchick's review
1.0
Semi - Pet Sematary rip-off. Grim and predictable without any characters I felt remotely invested in. Alan and Heather have suffered two miscarriages when Alan's estranged uncle dies, leaving Alan his house in North Carolina. Near the house is a lake that is supposed to have special healing powers, although they come with strings attached and some of the outcomes aren't pretty. The lake doesn't bring people back from the dead, but it's pretty close to Pet Sematary with the whole scenario of abusing Native American healing magic with horrific results. It's obvious what Alan is going to do after he finds out about the lake and it ends as you can probably imagine.
sarah1984's review
4.0
24/2 - Cradle Lake by Ronald Malfi - let's see if you can give me nightmares. I wish I'd had E. watching over my shoulder, guiding me to the great horror writers, while passing by the dubious ones (still up in the air as to where Cradle Lake belongs in those categories). To be continued...
25/2 - I started this last night and have read a little over 100 pages. Near the beginning Malfi himself mentioned Ira Levin's Stepford Wives and I immediately began seeing the town's husbands/men as Stepford Husbands - they're all healthy, tanned and show terrifyingly false happy-faces. So far the town's women/wives haven't been featured much. The only woman I know anything about is Heather, Alan's wife, who has suffered through two miscarriages and is now in the midst of a deep depression. I have never had a child, let alone a miscarriage, so I have no real understanding of what Heather is going through; but, at the same time I'm finding Heather hard to empathise with because she has responded to her situation with what I consider the ultimate in selfish behaviour - suicide or in her case attempted suicide, twice (I think you can count almost taking a bottleful of pills - pills in the hand, ready to toss them back - as attempted suicide). Heather isn't the only one who suffered the loss of her babies. What about Alan and first having the tragedy of two miscarriages, and then having to deal with a seriously suicidal wife and the possibility that the next time he takes his eyes off her, she may be successful in her attempts to kill herself.
Not particularly scary, but what Hank told Alan about the husband and wife who used the pond and were corrupted, instead of healed, by it, was disturbing. Maybe that's where this is heading for Heather and Alan, I guess I'll see soon.
Oh P.S. I HATE the name Hammerstun, it sounds like a pro wrestler or superhero name. Why didn't Malfi go with Hammersmith or something a bit more normal? You don't have to be this original in your character naming - there are many Smiths, Browns and Jacksons in this world, you can use those names as well as make up your own. To be continued...
Later the same day - Okay, I'm totally freaked out by the thought of invading vines growing through the cracks in the house, behind the fridge, but Alan, he just cuts them out, trying to ignore the strangeness of the disgusting, warm, purple, blood-like sap that oozes out as he attacks them. He turns away for a second, to get his microwave-warmed coffee, turns back to the fridge for the milk and THEY'VE GROWN BACK, and this time right through the back of the fridge! The vines are grabbing the milk and a holding a banana in mid air!! How does Alan react to this re-enactment of The Day of the Triffids? He cuts them out a second time, gathers them all up in a trash bag along with the food they've contaminated and puts them in the bin at the street! Who of you reading this wouldn't have a screaming/heart attack in the face of instantaneously regrowing, bleeding vines that are invading your fridge? This isn't a persistent weed that keeps growing through the cracks in your driveway every few months, this is one second regrowth of vines that BLEED! Totally unrealistic reaction, even from a man who just learned about a magical lake that heals some and corrupts others. Before I started writing this update I added another half star to my rating due to the fact that I'd been death-grip holding the book as I read the 'the vines grow back instantaneously' scene, but now I'm thinking of deducting it again due Alan's unrealistic reaction to the creepiness. To be continued...
Later that night - Evil intelligent birds. I don't like birds much to begin with - too many evil bird movies. Instead of the usual crow or raven, it's buzzards that sound like their child-sized. I like bird s that could eat a dog whole even less than I do normal birds. Then you add in Cory, who looks to be turning into a Village of the Damned child, and the whole book is getting creepier by the page. Now (10:45 pm) I'm starting to hear things, and when Alan's father, Bill spoke to him in the Morehead room of death I swear I heard a door creak and sat bolt upright in bed. Remembering the scene and the simultaneous, mysterious (because everyone's asleep) door creak is making my heart pound with a little renewed terror. Thank goodness it's not a howling wind kind of night, or I'd be a gibbering mess by now (said the girl who likes horror and was looking forward to any nightmares created by this book). To be continued...
Even later that night - As Alan becomes more and more obsessed with the lake and the Morehead massacre story Heather becomes less and less a part of the story. I assume she's still there only because I haven't been told otherwise. Considering what happened in the Morehead house I wonder if Heather might not take the part of the murdering spouse because Alan's gotten over her miscarriages too easily (in her eyes), or something like that. So far, despite being unhealthily obsessed with Owen Morehead and over-using the lake, Alan seems to be suffering no ill-effects from his morning swims. He's the healthy one (like Sophie Morehead), while Heather's depression only seems to be getting worse (like Owen Morehead). To be continued...
26/2 - On page 175 - sounds like the Winchester boys need to make a visit, they'd have old Adaby fixed up in no time.
Why on earth wold Alan refuse, while not orders, a doctor's recommendation that after two suicide attempts (see, even the doctor considers the situation with the pills an attempt, even though she didn't actually take them) Heather be hospitalised? What makes him think that he can deal with what's going through her mind on his own? Why is 'having her at home and watching her' a more logical treatment then a medication regime and therapy? If he'd agreed to the doctor's recommendation to hospitalise her, Heather may have been able to work through this crushing depression, they may even be 'happy' again and trying to get pregnant again (if that's what they chose to do). But instead he's poisoning her with vengeful magic lake water - and that kind of situation can only lead to bloody mass murder and suicide. To be continued...
Later that night - Jerry Lee's last days being spent with owners that no longer smelt (or whatever it was about them that disturbed him) like themselves made me really sad. Thinking about the four dogs we've had to put down and how horrible it would have been for them if we were no longer ourselves and they felt they couldn't trust us anymore makes me a bit teary-eyed for poor, faithful Jerry Lee. Not only that, but to find the evil buzzard literally knocking on the door, as if asking to be let in for its dinner, at the sight of Jerry Lee's dead body - that was dreadful.
Why do people never listen to the Indian witch doctors? Alan went to all that trouble to find George, but as soon as he got back in his car he never gave the warnings another thought. Was it because the lake had already corrupted him so much that it removed the memory from his mind or did he not believe in the lake, and therefore what George was warning him of, and so just laughed it off. The episode with George was before he started feeding the lake water to Heather, so it's not like he had her amazing improvement to motivate him into ignoring George's warnings. It was so abrupt, the forgetting of the warnings, that I'm going to go with the lake 'stealing' his memories. The other two possibilities seem less likely. The nights where he wakes up sure there's someone in the house, and searches through the house, feeling a presence, but never finding anyone was particularly heart-stopping because I've done the same thing at home - positive I heard something and being terrified of what I might find if I leave my room but feeling I have to anyway - thank God it's always been the cat jumping on the bench and bumping into something in the process. To be continued...
27/2 - The ending felt a bit rushed. We had all this build up which was exciting, and at times scary, and then it was the climax and then it was over. Once Alan worked out what was going on with the foetus it all seemed to be over in 50 pages, or so (by the way, thanks for the horrible imagery in relation to what the foetus was doing and what Alan was doing with his hands during some of the nights). I wish there had been more explanation of the evil buzzards, the Indian myths and spirits of the forest and I would've liked to know what Heather's long term reaction to her third 'miscarriage' might have been. Maybe have Alan wait a few days before he drags her to the lake to 'fix' her. I will definitely be looking for more of Malfi's books.
25/2 - I started this last night and have read a little over 100 pages. Near the beginning Malfi himself mentioned Ira Levin's Stepford Wives and I immediately began seeing the town's husbands/men as Stepford Husbands - they're all healthy, tanned and show terrifyingly false happy-faces. So far the town's women/wives haven't been featured much. The only woman I know anything about is Heather, Alan's wife, who has suffered through two miscarriages and is now in the midst of a deep depression. I have never had a child, let alone a miscarriage, so I have no real understanding of what Heather is going through; but, at the same time I'm finding Heather hard to empathise with because she has responded to her situation with what I consider the ultimate in selfish behaviour - suicide or in her case attempted suicide, twice (I think you can count almost taking a bottleful of pills - pills in the hand, ready to toss them back - as attempted suicide). Heather isn't the only one who suffered the loss of her babies. What about Alan and first having the tragedy of two miscarriages, and then having to deal with a seriously suicidal wife and the possibility that the next time he takes his eyes off her, she may be successful in her attempts to kill herself.
Not particularly scary, but what Hank told Alan about the husband and wife who used the pond and were corrupted, instead of healed, by it, was disturbing. Maybe that's where this is heading for Heather and Alan, I guess I'll see soon.
Oh P.S. I HATE the name Hammerstun, it sounds like a pro wrestler or superhero name. Why didn't Malfi go with Hammersmith or something a bit more normal? You don't have to be this original in your character naming - there are many Smiths, Browns and Jacksons in this world, you can use those names as well as make up your own. To be continued...
Later the same day - Okay, I'm totally freaked out by the thought of invading vines growing through the cracks in the house, behind the fridge, but Alan, he just cuts them out, trying to ignore the strangeness of the disgusting, warm, purple, blood-like sap that oozes out as he attacks them. He turns away for a second, to get his microwave-warmed coffee, turns back to the fridge for the milk and THEY'VE GROWN BACK, and this time right through the back of the fridge! The vines are grabbing the milk and a holding a banana in mid air!! How does Alan react to this re-enactment of The Day of the Triffids? He cuts them out a second time, gathers them all up in a trash bag along with the food they've contaminated and puts them in the bin at the street! Who of you reading this wouldn't have a screaming/heart attack in the face of instantaneously regrowing, bleeding vines that are invading your fridge? This isn't a persistent weed that keeps growing through the cracks in your driveway every few months, this is one second regrowth of vines that BLEED! Totally unrealistic reaction, even from a man who just learned about a magical lake that heals some and corrupts others. Before I started writing this update I added another half star to my rating due to the fact that I'd been death-grip holding the book as I read the 'the vines grow back instantaneously' scene, but now I'm thinking of deducting it again due Alan's unrealistic reaction to the creepiness. To be continued...
Later that night - Evil intelligent birds. I don't like birds much to begin with - too many evil bird movies. Instead of the usual crow or raven, it's buzzards that sound like their child-sized. I like bird s that could eat a dog whole even less than I do normal birds. Then you add in Cory, who looks to be turning into a Village of the Damned child, and the whole book is getting creepier by the page. Now (10:45 pm) I'm starting to hear things, and when Alan's father, Bill spoke to him in the Morehead room of death I swear I heard a door creak and sat bolt upright in bed. Remembering the scene and the simultaneous, mysterious (because everyone's asleep) door creak is making my heart pound with a little renewed terror. Thank goodness it's not a howling wind kind of night, or I'd be a gibbering mess by now (said the girl who likes horror and was looking forward to any nightmares created by this book). To be continued...
Even later that night - As Alan becomes more and more obsessed with the lake and the Morehead massacre story Heather becomes less and less a part of the story. I assume she's still there only because I haven't been told otherwise. Considering what happened in the Morehead house I wonder if Heather might not take the part of the murdering spouse because Alan's gotten over her miscarriages too easily (in her eyes), or something like that. So far, despite being unhealthily obsessed with Owen Morehead and over-using the lake, Alan seems to be suffering no ill-effects from his morning swims. He's the healthy one (like Sophie Morehead), while Heather's depression only seems to be getting worse (like Owen Morehead). To be continued...
26/2 - On page 175 - sounds like the Winchester boys need to make a visit, they'd have old Adaby fixed up in no time.
Why on earth wold Alan refuse, while not orders, a doctor's recommendation that after two suicide attempts (see, even the doctor considers the situation with the pills an attempt, even though she didn't actually take them) Heather be hospitalised? What makes him think that he can deal with what's going through her mind on his own? Why is 'having her at home and watching her' a more logical treatment then a medication regime and therapy? If he'd agreed to the doctor's recommendation to hospitalise her, Heather may have been able to work through this crushing depression, they may even be 'happy' again and trying to get pregnant again (if that's what they chose to do). But instead he's poisoning her with vengeful magic lake water - and that kind of situation can only lead to bloody mass murder and suicide. To be continued...
Later that night - Jerry Lee's last days being spent with owners that no longer smelt (or whatever it was about them that disturbed him) like themselves made me really sad. Thinking about the four dogs we've had to put down and how horrible it would have been for them if we were no longer ourselves and they felt they couldn't trust us anymore makes me a bit teary-eyed for poor, faithful Jerry Lee. Not only that, but to find the evil buzzard literally knocking on the door, as if asking to be let in for its dinner, at the sight of Jerry Lee's dead body - that was dreadful.
Why do people never listen to the Indian witch doctors? Alan went to all that trouble to find George, but as soon as he got back in his car he never gave the warnings another thought. Was it because the lake had already corrupted him so much that it removed the memory from his mind or did he not believe in the lake, and therefore what George was warning him of, and so just laughed it off. The episode with George was before he started feeding the lake water to Heather, so it's not like he had her amazing improvement to motivate him into ignoring George's warnings. It was so abrupt, the forgetting of the warnings, that I'm going to go with the lake 'stealing' his memories. The other two possibilities seem less likely. The nights where he wakes up sure there's someone in the house, and searches through the house, feeling a presence, but never finding anyone was particularly heart-stopping because I've done the same thing at home - positive I heard something and being terrified of what I might find if I leave my room but feeling I have to anyway - thank God it's always been the cat jumping on the bench and bumping into something in the process. To be continued...
27/2 - The ending felt a bit rushed. We had all this build up which was exciting, and at times scary, and then it was the climax and then it was over. Once Alan worked out what was going on with the foetus it all seemed to be over in 50 pages, or so (by the way, thanks for the horrible imagery in relation to what the foetus was doing and what Alan was doing with his hands during some of the nights). I wish there had been more explanation of the evil buzzards, the Indian myths and spirits of the forest and I would've liked to know what Heather's long term reaction to her third 'miscarriage' might have been. Maybe have Alan wait a few days before he drags her to the lake to 'fix' her. I will definitely be looking for more of Malfi's books.
paperbackstash's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
Ronald Malfi is a talented writer; I'm enjoying going through his collection of stuff. This one doesn't beat other favorites I've found, but it's still demented and pure horror. The middle is a little weighed down by that pregnant pause of waiting for something to start happening, but the first and last quarter make it all worth out. Bleak as hell and surreal, it reminds one a little of Pet Semetary at first, although there are still enough differences to make this only similar and not imitation. Have a soft spot for the neighbor Hank and always found Heather a bit annoying, but overall the characterization was also top notch. Full review to come.
Ronald Malfi is a talented writer; I'm enjoying going through his collection of stuff. This one doesn't beat other favorites I've found, but it's still demented and pure horror. The middle is a little weighed down by that pregnant pause of waiting for something to start happening, but the first and last quarter make it all worth out. Bleak as hell and surreal, it reminds one a little of Pet Semetary at first, although there are still enough differences to make this only similar and not imitation. Have a soft spot for the neighbor Hank and always found Heather a bit annoying, but overall the characterization was also top notch. Full review to come.
chryssie's review
3.0
Every now and then I like to read a horror and I enjoyed this one, to a degree. The strangeness of the story kept me intrigued as I couldn’t wait to discover more about the mysteriousness of the lake, but to me, it wasn’t ever truly told, not completely anyway and it still had me wondering about the lake after the end. Unfortunately what let the whole book down, was the ending, it was simply very disturbing. I found it a little sickening and didn’t like how I felt after finishing the book. This read was definitely something different.
addison_reads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Cradle Lake is located on tainted land that once brought healing powers to the Native Americans who lived there. Now the lake offers something far more sinister and dark to the suburbanites who have taken over the forest around what was once a sacred and peaceful place. Malfi uses the emotional turmoil of a couple who have lost a child to highlight the evil that lurks below the waters.
Malfi is becoming a must-read for me in the horror genre since discovering him earlier this year.
Malfi is becoming a must-read for me in the horror genre since discovering him earlier this year.
truebookaddict's review
5.0
As usual, Malfi has a way with totally creeping me out. A feeling of underlying dread throughout the story, which is what I really love in horror. The use of Native American folklore was very effective in getting across the whole "you're messing around with nature....stop" mindset. Also, nothing is free. In the end, we end up paying, one way or another. Seriously, I have not been disappointed by a single book I've read by this author. Though I'm working through his backlist, I have his new one on pre-order. Comes out in July...[bc:Come With Me|56029579|Come With Me|Ronald Malfi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1606214615l/56029579._SY75_.jpg|87269767]
This one [bc:December Park|17802356|December Park|Ronald Malfi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1395145819l/17802356._SY75_.jpg|24903872] I will probably save for, get this, December. Clever. Seriously though, if you haven't read this author, and you're a fan of horror, you are missing out.
This one [bc:December Park|17802356|December Park|Ronald Malfi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1395145819l/17802356._SY75_.jpg|24903872] I will probably save for, get this, December. Clever. Seriously though, if you haven't read this author, and you're a fan of horror, you are missing out.
endlessreader's review
2.0
Ahhh, Cradle Lake...or as I'm now not-so-fondly calling it "In which we have a whole lot of meh." I'm calling it that because, as you probably guessed it, for me Cradle Lake was just, well...a whole lot of meh. Nothing too impressive...
My favorite horror books are the ones with a semi-slow build up with just enough action to get you really creeped out. Cradle Lake was a lot of slow build up...that led absolutely nowhere. It was somewhat intriguing at the beginning. However, once I finished it, I realized that nothing really happened in the middle. Interesting beginning, repetitive middle, wannabe explosive ending that just fell flat because you could see it coming from a mile away.
However, I was impressed with the easy, breezy writing style of Cradle Lake. This made the pages seem as though they were flying by...even though nothing was happening and I didn't know why they were flying by. It's an enigma.
Overall, I found Cradle Lake to be meh. It wasn't creepy. It wasn't scary. The characters somewhat fell flat. However, the relationship between the two main characters was kind of interesting. Plus, I didn't actually stop reading the book, which is a plus, I guess... I don't know. I say skip it.
My favorite horror books are the ones with a semi-slow build up with just enough action to get you really creeped out. Cradle Lake was a lot of slow build up...that led absolutely nowhere. It was somewhat intriguing at the beginning. However, once I finished it, I realized that nothing really happened in the middle. Interesting beginning, repetitive middle, wannabe explosive ending that just fell flat because you could see it coming from a mile away.
However, I was impressed with the easy, breezy writing style of Cradle Lake. This made the pages seem as though they were flying by...even though nothing was happening and I didn't know why they were flying by. It's an enigma.
Overall, I found Cradle Lake to be meh. It wasn't creepy. It wasn't scary. The characters somewhat fell flat. However, the relationship between the two main characters was kind of interesting. Plus, I didn't actually stop reading the book, which is a plus, I guess... I don't know. I say skip it.