Reviews

The Shepherd of the Black Sheep by Kristopher Triana

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the_ratking's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

georgesreads's review against another edition

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4.0

Shepherd Of The Black Sheep juxtaposes (what I've read of) Kristopher's typical work. Just teetering on the edge of extreme horror, this is an EXCELLENT slow-burn, mainly psychological horror. It seems that as you turn the page, the grip that this will have on you becomes tighter and tighter until you simply can't put it down. This is gritty and depressing and miserable. Triana quickly presents us readers with a harsh truth, and we find the denial and turmoil we see in the protagonist reflected in ourselves. It's immersive, it's raw and it's brutal.
First, Tom lost his wife Betty. This staggering loss was quickly followed by the deaths of his daughter (Dawn) and her husband. Perhaps, had the circumstances been different he would have reverted to old habits and drunk himself into stupor, but now with his grieving 10 year old grand-daughter Paige to look after... he has to step up. His concern for his grand-daughter (who lost her parents in a car accident) intensifies dramatically when whilst playing with her friend Alice, the pair are threatened by a mysterious man- and only Paige makes it out alive.
Ultimately, Triana provides us with a poignant study on sacrifice and family, that will definitely hit home. There's an impressively wide cast of characters for such a short (but sharp) book, all of which were developed and three dimensional. Both the characters of Tom and Paige are incredibly intriguing, and I really felt for them at points. Triana creates such an interesting narrative without constant action and brutality, and clearly has an excellent range. Kristopher is one of biggest names in modern horror, and I understand why.

bobmetal's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

paulataua's review against another edition

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4.0

Grandfather Tom is given custody of his granddaughter after his son and daughter-in-law are killed. Tom is going to do his best to give her the best of upbringings. Unfortunately, that turns out not to be that easy as things slowly get darker and become more disturbing. This is my third Triana novel, all so very different—one I loved, one I hated, and this one lying somewhere between. The story was interesting without being enthralling or exciting, and had I rated it immediately on finishing I would have given it a standard three stars. And then it got me thinking…