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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
I wasn't sure if I was going to like this for the first chapter or two but I found the Caske family enthralling.
A phenomenal read! This was not the book I was expecting. Parts are truly horrifying but I was surprised by the world building and the human story. I love this book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Extremely character driven series about the progression of a family and a mysterious woman that becomes a part of it. Very well written and the audiobook narrated by Matt Godfrey is done masterfully.
The Blackwater Saga is a collection of six novellas: The Flood, The Levee, The House, The War, The Fortune, and The Rain.
The stories follow the rise and fall of a prominent Alabama family at the hands of a dangerous river monster. The story begins when young, handsome James Caskey finds a beautiful well-dressed woman in the ruins of a hotel during the flood that nearly obliterated Perdido, Alabama, on Easter Sunday in 1919. I’m not going to give spoilers here, but yes, this story is about a controlling mother-in-law, the intricate social rules of affluent Southern women, and yes, a river monster.
Let’s just say that even after you know who and what the river monster(s) is and can do, it never becomes formulaic or predictable. That monster keeps you on your toes wondering what it’s gonna do, to whom, how and why, for the entire six-book series. And at several points, you’re actually rooting for the monster!
McDowell, who died tragically too young at 49, was a rare talent. His books make me 1. Not want to stop reading because I absolutely have to know how it ends, and 2. when the book is finished, I feel sad that it’s over. Like, really sad. Yes, he’s that good.
His writing is impeccable, firmly rooting you in a place, often small rural towns near the Gulf Coast. And no one else writes about family relationships, particularly Deep South families, like McDowell. His monsters are always original, as well. And if you’re like me and you’ve seen hundreds of scary movies and read lots of horror fiction, it’s rare that a monster surprises you. He manages to create new boogeymen, and make their existence and actions seem real, natural, and inevitable no matter how over the top the monster might seem at first.
I am very thankful that Valancourt, an excellent horror small press, has revived his work and saved it from obscurity.
Michael McDowell wrote dozens of paperback horror novels in the 1980s, at the height of the horror fiction craze, but those works (without Valancourt) would have been largely forgotten. You won’t find his books on bookstore shelves and maybe only a couple on your local library shelf, which is a shame. Because if you love stories with supernatural elements and you haven’t read Michael McDowell, then you’re totally missing out. Even Stephen King loved him, calling him the “the finest writer of paperback originals in America.” (Stephen’s wife Tabitha even finished one of McDowell’s books,Candles Burning , for him.)
You are probably already familiar with McDowell's work, even if you haven't read any of his books. He wrote the screenplay for Beetlejuice. He also wrote screenplays for the Tales from the Darkside television show and the Tales from the Darkside movie segment “Lot 249,” about an Egyptologist who reanimates a mummy to take revenge on people who’ve slighted him. (Christian Slater, Julianne Moore, and Steve Buscemi star in this segment.)
The stories follow the rise and fall of a prominent Alabama family at the hands of a dangerous river monster. The story begins when young, handsome James Caskey finds a beautiful well-dressed woman in the ruins of a hotel during the flood that nearly obliterated Perdido, Alabama, on Easter Sunday in 1919. I’m not going to give spoilers here, but yes, this story is about a controlling mother-in-law, the intricate social rules of affluent Southern women, and yes, a river monster.
Let’s just say that even after you know who and what the river monster(s) is and can do, it never becomes formulaic or predictable. That monster keeps you on your toes wondering what it’s gonna do, to whom, how and why, for the entire six-book series. And at several points, you’re actually rooting for the monster!
McDowell, who died tragically too young at 49, was a rare talent. His books make me 1. Not want to stop reading because I absolutely have to know how it ends, and 2. when the book is finished, I feel sad that it’s over. Like, really sad. Yes, he’s that good.
His writing is impeccable, firmly rooting you in a place, often small rural towns near the Gulf Coast. And no one else writes about family relationships, particularly Deep South families, like McDowell. His monsters are always original, as well. And if you’re like me and you’ve seen hundreds of scary movies and read lots of horror fiction, it’s rare that a monster surprises you. He manages to create new boogeymen, and make their existence and actions seem real, natural, and inevitable no matter how over the top the monster might seem at first.
I am very thankful that Valancourt, an excellent horror small press, has revived his work and saved it from obscurity.
Michael McDowell wrote dozens of paperback horror novels in the 1980s, at the height of the horror fiction craze, but those works (without Valancourt) would have been largely forgotten. You won’t find his books on bookstore shelves and maybe only a couple on your local library shelf, which is a shame. Because if you love stories with supernatural elements and you haven’t read Michael McDowell, then you’re totally missing out. Even Stephen King loved him, calling him the “the finest writer of paperback originals in America.” (Stephen’s wife Tabitha even finished one of McDowell’s books,Candles Burning , for him.)
You are probably already familiar with McDowell's work, even if you haven't read any of his books. He wrote the screenplay for Beetlejuice. He also wrote screenplays for the Tales from the Darkside television show and the Tales from the Darkside movie segment “Lot 249,” about an Egyptologist who reanimates a mummy to take revenge on people who’ve slighted him. (Christian Slater, Julianne Moore, and Steve Buscemi star in this segment.)
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was more of a southern family saga than a horror story but that’s ok! He really nails the whole southern thing! Especially the fact that the South is really run by women !
While I really enjoyed the magical realism and underlying horror of this book, I could have done without:
1. Black characters lacking agency/desires/arcs. Murdered white characters return to seek revenge, but the murdered Black character is forgotten.
2. The only queer coded male character being drawn to young boys.
3. A woman having a positive lifestyle and personality change due to a rape. This happens twice.
1. Black characters lacking agency/desires/arcs. Murdered white characters return to seek revenge, but the murdered Black character is forgotten.
2. The only queer coded male character being drawn to young boys.
3. A woman having a positive lifestyle and personality change due to a rape. This happens twice.
well damn that was GÜD. an 800 page chonker of a novel that basically takes place within a one block radius over the course of 70 years. an intergenerational family tale as they say in the business. with big burritos like this i gotta be in the mood & im glad to say after reading 4 novellas in a row i was fully prepped for a hefty story. its like a southern cross between john steinbeck's east of eden with gabriel garcia marquez & a lil guillermo del toro sprinkled in. the horror in this one was very much on the periphery. in that respect it reminded me of little,big by john crowley (one of my all time favs). there was maybe 10 pages of supernatural/horror every 100 pages. if that. but when the otherworldly did rear its head oh boy was it intense & effective. in between the wild frightening scenes that creep in, honestly not much happens in this book. but thats not to say it wasnt an incredibly compelling read. its a deep dive into 3 generations of a rich family in a small alabama town & all their ups & downs & quarks & alliances & lies & sweetnesses & swapping of children & then bubbling underneathe it all...the horror. i was so invested in every character. i didnt even skim the long passages about the family's finances. its just that GÜD. the tightly written prose kept nothing drawn out too long & the years moved quickly. its easy for me to say that this a masterpiece. an under the radar classic not just of horror but of novels in general. happy to have lived in this tale & sad to leave!
informative
mysterious
slow-paced