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billymac1962's review against another edition
5.0
Greg Gifune is always a treat.
So far his stories have slightly fallen short of the five star mark for me, but there is one attribute that always hits five-star quality: his writing.
This guy is tough to beat. His prose is engaging, he is descriptively gifted, and his dialogue is genuine.
The Rain Dancers is a 77 page novella that tells the story of a couple who have returned to her small town to settle her late father's affairs, namely preparing his house for sale. On a rainy night, a stranger shows up at the door...
Yes, this is very creepy, and I loved how Gifune pulled me through it. I finished it yesterday, and I am still thinking about it.
I started out this review thinking that I would give this one four stars, but the quality of storytelling really deserves more. Let's say four and a half. And let's round it up, he deserves it.
So far his stories have slightly fallen short of the five star mark for me, but there is one attribute that always hits five-star quality: his writing.
This guy is tough to beat. His prose is engaging, he is descriptively gifted, and his dialogue is genuine.
The Rain Dancers is a 77 page novella that tells the story of a couple who have returned to her small town to settle her late father's affairs, namely preparing his house for sale. On a rainy night, a stranger shows up at the door...
Yes, this is very creepy, and I loved how Gifune pulled me through it. I finished it yesterday, and I am still thinking about it.
I started out this review thinking that I would give this one four stars, but the quality of storytelling really deserves more. Let's say four and a half. And let's round it up, he deserves it.
jeanne_i_d's review
4.0
It was suggested in a review by a GR friend to "read this book at night all in one sitting". I took that suggestion too far. I started reading this book one very dark night while camping in a very isolated camp site where the only things you could hear were the crackling of brittle tree branches and occasional weird animal/bird squeaks (oh and did I mention I was the only one awake). However, the noise that put me over the edge was hearing a car (or truck!) in the distance slowly driving along the old campsite roads. Well that was enough for me. I stopped reading immediately and ended up finishing this novella in the middle of the day safely locked in my house with my two big dogs beside me. Trust me, this highly recomennded novella was still creepy even in daylight....
the_enobee's review
5.0
That was heavy duty all the way through. This is the first Gifune I've read, and I'm really excited that I've found this author. An atmospheric tale of the supernatural, the suspense builds with interspersed hints that give glimpses of the true nature of things but leave you questioning until the end. The ending hits like a load of stones and reverberates until your brain finally seizes on meaning. Loved it and would recommend to all fans of the supernatural.
dantastic's review
4.0
When Will and Betty Colby are at her recently deceased father's house preparing it for sale, an old man shows up out of the rain. Bob Laurent claims to be a friend of the family. But why can't Betty remember him? And why is he putting his hands all over her...
The Rain Dancers is one creepy little novella. It's basic premise reminds me of Joe Lansdale's Mr. Weedeater a bit. Bob Laurent shows up, undermines Will, and has some pretty sinister intentions. In addition to Mr. Weedeater, The Rain Dancers reminds me of Stephen King's It as well.
Gifune's writing conveys a growing feeling of unease from Will very well. The story goes down a dark path and events Betty herself can't remember come to light.
Since it's a novella, that's about all I'm prepared to reveal at this time. The Rain Dancers is a worthwhile entry in to the DarkFuse novella series and will likely prove to be a very memorable read. Four out of five stars.
The Rain Dancers is one creepy little novella. It's basic premise reminds me of Joe Lansdale's Mr. Weedeater a bit. Bob Laurent shows up, undermines Will, and has some pretty sinister intentions. In addition to Mr. Weedeater, The Rain Dancers reminds me of Stephen King's It as well.
Gifune's writing conveys a growing feeling of unease from Will very well. The story goes down a dark path and events Betty herself can't remember come to light.
Since it's a novella, that's about all I'm prepared to reveal at this time. The Rain Dancers is a worthwhile entry in to the DarkFuse novella series and will likely prove to be a very memorable read. Four out of five stars.
megare's review
1.0
I hate works where you are left to guess a half of the important stuff. Annoying.
paulataua's review
4.0
Will and Betty are cleaning up her recently deceased father’s house when an old man arrives. The man claims to be a friend of the family and seems to know so much about Betty as a child and her family that it seems unconscionable not to let him come in out of the rain. Strangely, however, Betty has no memory of him. And so the mystery begins. It is a fairly solid genre piece, but it is so skillfully done, and even if the core of the story is easy to work out early on, the end is both unusual and satisfying.
jasonsweirdreads's review against another edition
5.0
The Rain Dancers was a pleasant surprise. I have heard of Gifune's writing from the Goodreads group Horror Aficionados for some time now, but never really took the plunge. Recently, I joined the DarkFuse book club, and this is one of the novellas that I got for free for joining.
Getting the novella for free wasn't the pleasant surprise, though that was pleasant enough. No, what grounded me and got my head spinning was the great characterization and dialogue within this short, intense masterpiece.
Will and Betty return to Betty's hometown a year after her father's death to clean out his house and put it up for sale. On their first night a terrible rainstorm hits, and with it comes Bob Laurent. Bob claims that he's an old friend of Betty's father who moved away when Betty was only a teenager. He says they were so close that Betty used to call him "Uncle Bob." This appears to be true, because he knows an awful lot about Betty and her family.
The only problem is, Betty doesn't remember Bob Laurent. As the night, and Bob's visit, wears on, Betty slowly begins to remember Laurent. More importantly, she remembers what he is.
The Rain Dancers is tense from beginning until the end and I had a lot of fun reading it. It read very well as a novella, but I could see it being adapted as a play and/or a movie as well. A very engaging story and highly recommended.
Getting the novella for free wasn't the pleasant surprise, though that was pleasant enough. No, what grounded me and got my head spinning was the great characterization and dialogue within this short, intense masterpiece.
Will and Betty return to Betty's hometown a year after her father's death to clean out his house and put it up for sale. On their first night a terrible rainstorm hits, and with it comes Bob Laurent. Bob claims that he's an old friend of Betty's father who moved away when Betty was only a teenager. He says they were so close that Betty used to call him "Uncle Bob." This appears to be true, because he knows an awful lot about Betty and her family.
The only problem is, Betty doesn't remember Bob Laurent. As the night, and Bob's visit, wears on, Betty slowly begins to remember Laurent. More importantly, she remembers what he is.
The Rain Dancers is tense from beginning until the end and I had a lot of fun reading it. It read very well as a novella, but I could see it being adapted as a play and/or a movie as well. A very engaging story and highly recommended.
ghostly1's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure about this. Started out strong, spooky, atmospheric, then just got confusing and weird.
Spoiler
Why did Will have to participate in (the ritual?) whatever the kids were doing in the yard at the end? Why did they have to do that? Was that punishment for killing a pedophile? Where did they people go? Did Betty hang herself because she now remembered what had happened to her as a child and what she did?stewie's review against another edition
4.0
The ending is a bit rushed, but part of that niggle is because the rest of this novella is so damn good.
You can read my full review at HorrorTalk.com.
You can read my full review at HorrorTalk.com.
spookshow's review against another edition
3.0
You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com
Actual rating of 3.5
It's raining hard and it's pitch black outside. Betty and Will are at her father's house in order to organise the estate for sale after his death. Will has never felt comfortable in this house, him and Earl (Betty's father) never really saw eye to eye, but he tolerated him for Betty's sake. So when Will sees headlights coming up the driveway, he is instantly put on alert. There's no reason for anyone to be at the house besides them, and there's no way that anyone could accidentally stumble across it unless they knew where the house was, something is not right. When he answers the door to one of Earl's old friends, Bob Laurent, he's still uneasy, but not sure why. When Betty can't quite remember the man, he knows that there is something seriously not right about the whole situation. But what is he to do? Throw an old man out into the pouring rain at night? Even if he IS making lewd comments and inappropriate physical advances on Betty? There's something not right about this whole situation, though Will could never dream of what that something is.
This was a decent story. It was one of those ones where you are in exactly the same boat as the characters you are reading about. They have no idea what's going on, and neither do you. You know that SOMETHING is going to happen obviously, but you don't know what. This was a major aspect in this story being a compelling page turner. I felt that I just HAD to know what was going to happen next, what the whole purpose of it was, and who the hell was Bob Laurent. Gifune does a fantastic job of setting the scene, he makes you FEEL the isolation of the characters, and the confusion they experience. The characters themselves were well written, there's not a great amount of detail that goes into them, but we definitely get a sense for who they are as people.
The burning question in my mind while reading this story was WHO THE FREAKING HELL WAS BOB LAURENT? What did he want? Why did he just show up out of nowhere? Why the hell was he being creepy and being physically inappropriate with another man's wife? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! Gifune did an amazing job at really making you feel as out of the loop as Will. When Betty decides that Bob is harmless and doesn't believe a single thing that Will is trying to tell her, I got frustrated. How could she NOT feel creeped out by the man. Yes he's old, but that doesn't make him any less of a pervert. I found her to be incredibly naive at times. Though as the story unfolded everything started to make more and more sense.
I worked out part of what the go was, which was pretty easy to see after a while if you're picking up on the cues laid down by the author. It wasn't until the end where we're hit with another big reveal that I was like "...Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh riiiighttt, so that's a thing" If you've read it, you'll know what I mean, if you haven't, well maybe you should to find out :)
I felt that the revelation at the end was well thought out, but executed a little poorly. When I read it, I sat for a second while my brain caught up and worked out what I was reading. Once I was pretty sure I had gotten it, I actually looked up other reviews of this book to definitely make sure that I was reading it right and had gone to the place that the author wanted me to. Even though this is a book that is obviously supposed to make you think about what you're reading, implore you to pay attention to even the smallest details, and get to the conclusion on your own without being lead to it by the nose, I still feel like the ending could've been made a little more clear than what it was. As I said, I was pretty sure I had worked it out, but had to look up for confirmation in case I had totally missed the mark of the ending (which I hadn't thankfully) which I thought sucked a bit. I just wanted even one line to come right out and say "BLAH! This thing that you're thinking, yes it is correct". I also want a little bit more backstory with Will. Why did this happen? Is there a reason behind it? I want to know more. Thought the author is probably leaving that part up to the readers imagination to make of it what we will.
All in all, this was a fast paced read, it was incredibly compelling, I just felt that it dropped the ball a bit when it came to wrapping it all up and the characters were a teeny bit flat. If you like horror, give it a go.
Actual rating of 3.5
It's raining hard and it's pitch black outside. Betty and Will are at her father's house in order to organise the estate for sale after his death. Will has never felt comfortable in this house, him and Earl (Betty's father) never really saw eye to eye, but he tolerated him for Betty's sake. So when Will sees headlights coming up the driveway, he is instantly put on alert. There's no reason for anyone to be at the house besides them, and there's no way that anyone could accidentally stumble across it unless they knew where the house was, something is not right. When he answers the door to one of Earl's old friends, Bob Laurent, he's still uneasy, but not sure why. When Betty can't quite remember the man, he knows that there is something seriously not right about the whole situation. But what is he to do? Throw an old man out into the pouring rain at night? Even if he IS making lewd comments and inappropriate physical advances on Betty? There's something not right about this whole situation, though Will could never dream of what that something is.
This was a decent story. It was one of those ones where you are in exactly the same boat as the characters you are reading about. They have no idea what's going on, and neither do you. You know that SOMETHING is going to happen obviously, but you don't know what. This was a major aspect in this story being a compelling page turner. I felt that I just HAD to know what was going to happen next, what the whole purpose of it was, and who the hell was Bob Laurent. Gifune does a fantastic job of setting the scene, he makes you FEEL the isolation of the characters, and the confusion they experience. The characters themselves were well written, there's not a great amount of detail that goes into them, but we definitely get a sense for who they are as people.
The burning question in my mind while reading this story was WHO THE FREAKING HELL WAS BOB LAURENT? What did he want? Why did he just show up out of nowhere? Why the hell was he being creepy and being physically inappropriate with another man's wife? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! Gifune did an amazing job at really making you feel as out of the loop as Will. When Betty decides that Bob is harmless and doesn't believe a single thing that Will is trying to tell her, I got frustrated. How could she NOT feel creeped out by the man. Yes he's old, but that doesn't make him any less of a pervert. I found her to be incredibly naive at times. Though as the story unfolded everything started to make more and more sense.
I worked out part of what the go was, which was pretty easy to see after a while if you're picking up on the cues laid down by the author. It wasn't until the end where we're hit with another big reveal that I was like "...Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh riiiighttt, so that's a thing" If you've read it, you'll know what I mean, if you haven't, well maybe you should to find out :)
I felt that the revelation at the end was well thought out, but executed a little poorly. When I read it, I sat for a second while my brain caught up and worked out what I was reading. Once I was pretty sure I had gotten it, I actually looked up other reviews of this book to definitely make sure that I was reading it right and had gone to the place that the author wanted me to. Even though this is a book that is obviously supposed to make you think about what you're reading, implore you to pay attention to even the smallest details, and get to the conclusion on your own without being lead to it by the nose, I still feel like the ending could've been made a little more clear than what it was. As I said, I was pretty sure I had worked it out, but had to look up for confirmation in case I had totally missed the mark of the ending (which I hadn't thankfully) which I thought sucked a bit. I just wanted even one line to come right out and say "BLAH! This thing that you're thinking, yes it is correct". I also want a little bit more backstory with Will. Why did this happen? Is there a reason behind it? I want to know more. Thought the author is probably leaving that part up to the readers imagination to make of it what we will.
All in all, this was a fast paced read, it was incredibly compelling, I just felt that it dropped the ball a bit when it came to wrapping it all up and the characters were a teeny bit flat. If you like horror, give it a go.