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A review by whatmeworry
The Forgotten Girl by Rio Youers
4.0
This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com - the publisher provided a copy for review consideration
I first got into horror in the 1980s, when Hollywood was trying forget the nasty excesses of the 70s and was plundering the 50s back catalogue for ideas. John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ is the best of the remakes from that time (in fact it’s probably the best remake ever) but it’s definitely not the only one. In literature, authors like Stephen King weren’t exactly retelling stories from the 50s, but they were definitely paying homage to them. Skip forward to the 2010s and a similarly nostalgic eye is being cast upon 1980s horror. ‘Stranger Things’ is a smash and the recent movie adaptation of King’s ‘It’ chooses the 1980s rather than the 1950s for it’s backstory. Everything old is new again, as they say.
Rio Youers’ ‘The Forgotten Girl’ captures that modern 1980s nostalgia, despite being set in the present day. It’s a psychic thriller that’s reminiscent of books like Stephen King’s ‘Firestarter’; that turns out to be both a good and a bad thing. It’s well paced, gripping and has a heart; but it’s also a bit too familiar.
The plot is that of a straightforward thriller, with a horror twist. Protagonist Harvey gets attacked by a gang of thugs looking for a girlfriend he doesn’t remember having. As the story develops we discover that Sally (the girlfriend) has the ability to wipe people’s memories and has a powerful enemy in the vicious politician Lang. There are plenty of thrills, some brutality and a respectable emotional core in the chase that follows. It’s gripping, very readable and I ended up really caring about the characters. If there is a problem with the story, it’s that the “boy meets girl, boy saves girl” thing doesn’t feel that fresh in 2019.
It’s still a fun ride though. Youers has a great sense of pace and a talent for creating people with believable motivations, even when the things they are doing are either fantastic or appalling. He’s definitely a talented writer, but the book ends up feeling a bit too much like other things. Its central theme is the abuse of power, its setting is small-town middle American and its heroes are blue collar joes. In the end, as fun as it is, it ends up feeling like a really cover version of a Stephen King novel. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but I suspect Youers can do better.
I first got into horror in the 1980s, when Hollywood was trying forget the nasty excesses of the 70s and was plundering the 50s back catalogue for ideas. John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ is the best of the remakes from that time (in fact it’s probably the best remake ever) but it’s definitely not the only one. In literature, authors like Stephen King weren’t exactly retelling stories from the 50s, but they were definitely paying homage to them. Skip forward to the 2010s and a similarly nostalgic eye is being cast upon 1980s horror. ‘Stranger Things’ is a smash and the recent movie adaptation of King’s ‘It’ chooses the 1980s rather than the 1950s for it’s backstory. Everything old is new again, as they say.
Rio Youers’ ‘The Forgotten Girl’ captures that modern 1980s nostalgia, despite being set in the present day. It’s a psychic thriller that’s reminiscent of books like Stephen King’s ‘Firestarter’; that turns out to be both a good and a bad thing. It’s well paced, gripping and has a heart; but it’s also a bit too familiar.
The plot is that of a straightforward thriller, with a horror twist. Protagonist Harvey gets attacked by a gang of thugs looking for a girlfriend he doesn’t remember having. As the story develops we discover that Sally (the girlfriend) has the ability to wipe people’s memories and has a powerful enemy in the vicious politician Lang. There are plenty of thrills, some brutality and a respectable emotional core in the chase that follows. It’s gripping, very readable and I ended up really caring about the characters. If there is a problem with the story, it’s that the “boy meets girl, boy saves girl” thing doesn’t feel that fresh in 2019.
It’s still a fun ride though. Youers has a great sense of pace and a talent for creating people with believable motivations, even when the things they are doing are either fantastic or appalling. He’s definitely a talented writer, but the book ends up feeling a bit too much like other things. Its central theme is the abuse of power, its setting is small-town middle American and its heroes are blue collar joes. In the end, as fun as it is, it ends up feeling like a really cover version of a Stephen King novel. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but I suspect Youers can do better.