Book Review: Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman
Media Type: Ebook
Title: Those Across the River
Author: Christopher Buehlman
Publisher: Ace
Pages: Hardcover; 357
Release Date: September 6, 2011
Source: Library
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Genre: Horror
HDB Rating: 3 Keys to My Heart
Recommended to: Readers who enjoy slow burn reads, and don’t have a problem with violence.
Failed academic Frank Nichols and his wife, Eudora, have arrived in the sleepy Georgia town of Whitbrow, where Frank hopes to write a history of his family’s old estate-the Savoyard Plantation- and the horrors that occurred there. At first, the quaint, rural ways of their new neighbors seem to be everything they wanted. But there is an unspoken dread that the townsfolk have lived with for generations. A presence that demands sacrifice.
It comes from the shadowy woods across the river, where the ruins of Savoyard still stand. Where a longstanding debt of blood has never been forgotten.
A debt that has been waiting patiently for Frank Nichols’s homecoming…
Truth be told, this book read a little slow at the beginning. A lot of attention was paid to Frank’s backstory and, although I felt like it was important, it started to feel a little drawn out after a while. Frank is a veteran, and Buehlman shows how much that still haunts him through the use of dream sequences. Which is actually a good idea! However there are a lot, and after a while they’re repetitive. I felt like I could easily understand Frank’s head space without the monotonous use of these dreams. Plus, and I’m not being a prude here at all trust me, there are also a LOT of references to sex is this book. If you’re not comfortable with some steamy scenes, you might want to skim read. Let’s just say that Frank and his beau have a very, very healthy sex life.
Now, to the part that made me whiz through this book! Buehlman puts a character into the mix that is fascinating, mainly because he’s so secretive. As the book progresses, and he becomes more essential to the plot, you begin to realize what really lurks beyond the river. I do think he could have been used a little more heavily, but I was happy with his interactions with our main characters. He pushed the book forward, keeping things mysterious, and really upping the tension.
The other great part about this book is that once the action gets going, it is like a freight train! There are definitely some gory scenes in this book, just to warn you, but it all fits perfectly where it should. “Those Across the River” is an apt title, and all I kept wondering is why everyone didn’t just run away and never look back. Yes, I know there wouldn’t be a story then. That’s what I’d do though. I want to live. LOL.
Overall, a solid book! Buehlman intrigues me, so I’ll be searching out more of his work.
