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louloureadsbooks's review
4.0
I quite enjoyed this story. Yes it's dated but there's something about it. I like the fact that although John is very well respected and liked, he doesn't always save the day, at least not totally by himself.
My only gripe is, for the price (£5. something or other on kindle) there shouldn't have been any typos and there were quite a few.
And I REALLY wish the rest of the Silver John series were available!
My only gripe is, for the price (£5. something or other on kindle) there shouldn't have been any typos and there were quite a few.
And I REALLY wish the rest of the Silver John series were available!
sisteray's review
4.0
This isn't a masterpiece or anything, but I found it really charming. The dialect and polite perspective in this weird Appalachian supernatural story made up for the rather mundane structure. For the most part, Silver John just hangs out in his new friends' cabin, a bunch of weirdos keep dropping by and they venture out to explore the various creepy neighbors from time to time. And, this isn't a spoiler as the novel makes it pretty clear what's going to happen, it culminates into what you think is going to be a home invasion story.
The whole thing kind of feels like an early 80s made-for-TV movie. But one you have an endearing nostalgia for.
The thing I think I liked the most about this was the distinctly Christian magic. It made real what many Christian superstitions perpetuate, including the I Ching parallel of opening a bible to see what random quotes predict, The Sator Square, etc. It doesn't really come across as goofy and totally works well in the world he paints.
The Appalachian propriety both makes this book uniquely compelling in a horror story, but also makes everything rather absurd and long winded as characters are in serious danger, but people feel compelled to talk things out constantly. But it all works well enough.
Having now read Wellman's first two Silver John novellas, I feel that while I enjoyed them, they both might have been better trimmed tighter to novelettes. That's not going to stop me from reading the rest of this series, eventually.
The whole thing kind of feels like an early 80s made-for-TV movie. But one you have an endearing nostalgia for.
The thing I think I liked the most about this was the distinctly Christian magic. It made real what many Christian superstitions perpetuate, including the I Ching parallel of opening a bible to see what random quotes predict, The Sator Square, etc. It doesn't really come across as goofy and totally works well in the world he paints.
The Appalachian propriety both makes this book uniquely compelling in a horror story, but also makes everything rather absurd and long winded as characters are in serious danger, but people feel compelled to talk things out constantly. But it all works well enough.
Having now read Wellman's first two Silver John novellas, I feel that while I enjoyed them, they both might have been better trimmed tighter to novelettes. That's not going to stop me from reading the rest of this series, eventually.
thecommonswings's review
4.0
What a strange little book - it feels like a charming, low budget, ramshackle rural horror film from the mid seventies and I enjoyed it very much. Something about the small scale universe of it (effectively it’s a siege story but with thinly veiled vampires) and Wellman’s obvious knowledge of the milieu is very charming. Occasionally there’s the sense of the writer throwing way too much scholarship, and showing off a little in the process, at the page but again that’s quite sweetly done. I really enjoyed it, mainly because it doesn’t go for huge elder god rural horror. It knows what it wants to do and is resolutely old fashioned but that’s in no way a bad thing at all
jayrothermel's review
5.0
Huge improvement over the first novel, The Old Gods Waken.
A fine folk supernatural thriller with a hint of Men in Black/Whisperer in Darkness in is about the seige of a mountain cabin.
A fine folk supernatural thriller with a hint of Men in Black/Whisperer in Darkness in is about the seige of a mountain cabin.
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