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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
Wonderfully creepy story!
My initial thought about this story which takes place in a small North Carolina town is that it could be described as “Andy of Mayberry meets Stephen King”. But Nicholson has a unique writing style that can only be compared to King in the way he draws the reader into the story with his well-developed characters and deceptively easy to read narrative.
I loved the way he told this story by rotating through the perspectives of everyone involved. Although the fact that there was something seriously creepy going on at the Red Church was established right away, the details were slowly and artfully revealed through the thoughts of the townsfolk – and even the “thing” from the Red Church. The “voice” of each character in the story is unique, and, even though Nicholson is an adult male, the “voices” of the children and females in this story sound very authentic.
Scott Nicholson is a master story teller and I can’t wait to read more of his work.
My initial thought about this story which takes place in a small North Carolina town is that it could be described as “Andy of Mayberry meets Stephen King”. But Nicholson has a unique writing style that can only be compared to King in the way he draws the reader into the story with his well-developed characters and deceptively easy to read narrative.
I loved the way he told this story by rotating through the perspectives of everyone involved. Although the fact that there was something seriously creepy going on at the Red Church was established right away, the details were slowly and artfully revealed through the thoughts of the townsfolk – and even the “thing” from the Red Church. The “voice” of each character in the story is unique, and, even though Nicholson is an adult male, the “voices” of the children and females in this story sound very authentic.
Scott Nicholson is a master story teller and I can’t wait to read more of his work.
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ever Had The Feeling That Something Is Watching From The Shadows? Everything a great horror novel should be! Beautifully paced, with characters that are very believable, The Red Church was a frightening thrill-ride of a book. Poetic, and insightful, wonderfully written, just brilliant. I've got a fairly strong tolerance for such things, but this left me with a really good dose of the creeps, and I look forward to reading more by the author.
To use a line from Fifty Shades ... This book is Fifty Shades of Fucked-Up
Review pending.
Review pending.
This was a freebie that I downloaded via the epic kindle giveaway. It was creepy. A little too something for my tastes. I tend to like horror stories that make sense to me. Things that could actually happen. This was too far off the realm of possibility for me. There seems to be a couple other books in a series. Not sure if I'll try to read them though since I have a bunch of stuff on my Kindle waiting to be read.
So, while this wasn't exactly my cup of tea, it was worth my time to read it.
So, while this wasn't exactly my cup of tea, it was worth my time to read it.
My first Scott Nicholson book was As I Die Lying, which is an extremely hard act to follow. I enjoyed this book for the wonderful sentences Nicholson crafts, but I found the plot to be confusing at first, and threadbare at the finale. I was also distracted by the repetition of Jesus being Ronnie's savior. It caused the ending to drag on a little long for me. Beautifully described setting, however. I love how the author includes all of the senses in his descriptions.
A little bit too much of church talk but I love all books from this author!
The Red Church was an enjoyable horror story marred by a tacked-on ending.
Whispering Pines is a quiet North Carolina mountain town. At least, until a pair of local boys uncover the grisly, mutilated body in the boneyard of the haunted Red Church.
It isn't long before there are more victims, and the great-grandson of the original preacher of the Red Church comes back to town.
Sheriff Frank Littlefield has to figure out what's happening in his town and put a stop to it. Young Ronnie Day has to figure out why everything strange is centered on that church, and why his mother has started going there.
I thought Nicholson hit a lot of great notes with this book. The feeling of adolescent fear and confusion from Ronnie is spot on. The reveal of the town's history is slow enough to be tantalizing but fast enough to keep you hooked. The characterization of the main characters is well fleshed out, though the supporting cast can be a little flat.
Once the main action is complete, the explanation for what's happened seems to come out of left field. There were a few indications that pointed toward it earlier in the book, but it turned out to be completely different from every in-character theory of what was going on.
I will probably be coming back to Whispering Pines and Sheriff Littlefield again.
Whispering Pines is a quiet North Carolina mountain town. At least, until a pair of local boys uncover the grisly, mutilated body in the boneyard of the haunted Red Church.
It isn't long before there are more victims, and the great-grandson of the original preacher of the Red Church comes back to town.
Sheriff Frank Littlefield has to figure out what's happening in his town and put a stop to it. Young Ronnie Day has to figure out why everything strange is centered on that church, and why his mother has started going there.
I thought Nicholson hit a lot of great notes with this book. The feeling of adolescent fear and confusion from Ronnie is spot on. The reveal of the town's history is slow enough to be tantalizing but fast enough to keep you hooked. The characterization of the main characters is well fleshed out, though the supporting cast can be a little flat.
Once the main action is complete, the explanation for what's happened seems to come out of left field. There were a few indications that pointed toward it earlier in the book, but it turned out to be completely different from every in-character theory of what was going on.
I will probably be coming back to Whispering Pines and Sheriff Littlefield again.
The author was very generous to send me this ebook, I appreciate this introduction to his fine work.
Ronnie Day is a 13 year old boy in a rural town, having some family problems between his mom and dad. And to make things worse he has to pass by the haunted Red Church every day when coming back from school with his younger brother Tim.
This church has a history dating back to the 1860's when Reverend Wendell McFall started the idea of God having a second son. He was hung by the people of the town on a Dogwood tree outside the Church.
It is rumored that he is still haunting the Church.
Now, a new Reverend is in town. He bought the Red Church from the previous owner and wants to start preaching there.. Who is this preacher?! Non other than Archer McFall.. A decedent of the former hung preacher and preaching his same ideas. And this is not his first time in this town.
One day, when coming back from school the boys get attracted to something in the Graveyard next to the Church and discover a dying man there. They get so scared they run home but Ronnie falls and gets a broken nose.
Then more residents die in very weird unexplained deaths.. And the Church bells starts ringing.. although there is no rope!! Ronnie suspects it's the Bell Monster from the Church that is doing the killing and the ringing.
The Sheriff of the town has a past history with the Red Church when his younger brother dies there in a freak accident. He believes the Church is haunted too.. When he tells his deputy that.. she thinks he has gone insane!!
Ronnies dad knows Archer from before, when David's wife joined with Archer years ago.. Now since he is back, Linda seems to have changed and she is joining with Archer again and becoming his devoted follower as she has been before.
It's up to David to try to save his wife and kids from Archer, because he is the only person who knows how dangerous Archer is.. And try to get the Sheriff to believe what is really happening in town to try to save it's people.
I was amazed at how great this book was.. The writing was so fluid and gripping it had me agitated when I had to leave the book and tend to my busy life! I kept wondering what will happen next.
Time flew when I was reading.. I loved the vivid details and the writing style.. The cover art is a plus too.. it just adds to the flavor of the book.
This author is a favorite author for me now!! I will check out his other books soon.
As for why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 well that is because of the Christian theme of the book.. It's more Christian fiction than just ordinary fiction and I don't really enjoy those undertones since I'm not a Christian myself.. but that is personal, you might enjoy that.
This is definitely a recommended book for horror fans!!
BTW, the author's website is a treat.. I totally enjoyed it
Ronnie Day is a 13 year old boy in a rural town, having some family problems between his mom and dad. And to make things worse he has to pass by the haunted Red Church every day when coming back from school with his younger brother Tim.
This church has a history dating back to the 1860's when Reverend Wendell McFall started the idea of God having a second son. He was hung by the people of the town on a Dogwood tree outside the Church.
It is rumored that he is still haunting the Church.
Now, a new Reverend is in town. He bought the Red Church from the previous owner and wants to start preaching there.. Who is this preacher?! Non other than Archer McFall.. A decedent of the former hung preacher and preaching his same ideas. And this is not his first time in this town.
One day, when coming back from school the boys get attracted to something in the Graveyard next to the Church and discover a dying man there. They get so scared they run home but Ronnie falls and gets a broken nose.
Then more residents die in very weird unexplained deaths.. And the Church bells starts ringing.. although there is no rope!! Ronnie suspects it's the Bell Monster from the Church that is doing the killing and the ringing.
The Sheriff of the town has a past history with the Red Church when his younger brother dies there in a freak accident. He believes the Church is haunted too.. When he tells his deputy that.. she thinks he has gone insane!!
Ronnies dad knows Archer from before, when David's wife joined with Archer years ago.. Now since he is back, Linda seems to have changed and she is joining with Archer again and becoming his devoted follower as she has been before.
It's up to David to try to save his wife and kids from Archer, because he is the only person who knows how dangerous Archer is.. And try to get the Sheriff to believe what is really happening in town to try to save it's people.
I was amazed at how great this book was.. The writing was so fluid and gripping it had me agitated when I had to leave the book and tend to my busy life! I kept wondering what will happen next.
Time flew when I was reading.. I loved the vivid details and the writing style.. The cover art is a plus too.. it just adds to the flavor of the book.
This author is a favorite author for me now!! I will check out his other books soon.
As for why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 well that is because of the Christian theme of the book.. It's more Christian fiction than just ordinary fiction and I don't really enjoy those undertones since I'm not a Christian myself.. but that is personal, you might enjoy that.
This is definitely a recommended book for horror fans!!
BTW, the author's website is a treat.. I totally enjoyed it