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A review by mad_about_books
The Moore House by Tony Tremblay
5.0
I've been reading horror, in its many forms, for a very long time. There is supernatural horror and psychological horror, but what about religious horror? Is there such a thing? Looking back, I am asking myself now if THE EXORCIST was supernatural horror or religious horror. Either way, it was disturbing. Actually, there is more horror in the teachings of the Catholic church than I've ever found in anything else I've read. Be it Stephen King, or Jack Ketchum or Bram Stoker, the whole burning in hell thing seems so much worse than mere vampires, werewolves or ghosts. I have long believed that religion, in general, is responsible for more earthly atrocities than any other institution.
It would seem that the Catholic church is in sync with Newton's Third Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if there is God there has to be Satan; if there is a heaven, there must be a hell. One of the reasons I have been drawn to the horror genre is to escape the real-world horrors that surround us on a daily basis. No matter how gruesome, written fictional depictions of evil are only as bad as the picture I can paint in my mind's eye.
It is difficult to review a book so antithetical to my own belief that we must live our lives here on earth for the good of our fellow man and not for the demands of some mythical god or demon. That being said, the writing is, for the most part, excellent. If I am not a god follower, I am a follower of good writing. There are some genuinely horrific scenes that will make your toes curl. Tony Tremblay has gotten the point across that although we are meant to see this as a tale of the supernatural, it is also a story of corruption of the agencies on which we must depend for our safety. How do you tell local law enforcement that it is a demon at work and not a serial killer? It is also an account of personal weakness so despised by religion. The conflict between reality and the Catholic church is tangible.
It would seem that the Catholic church is in sync with Newton's Third Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if there is God there has to be Satan; if there is a heaven, there must be a hell. One of the reasons I have been drawn to the horror genre is to escape the real-world horrors that surround us on a daily basis. No matter how gruesome, written fictional depictions of evil are only as bad as the picture I can paint in my mind's eye.
It is difficult to review a book so antithetical to my own belief that we must live our lives here on earth for the good of our fellow man and not for the demands of some mythical god or demon. That being said, the writing is, for the most part, excellent. If I am not a god follower, I am a follower of good writing. There are some genuinely horrific scenes that will make your toes curl. Tony Tremblay has gotten the point across that although we are meant to see this as a tale of the supernatural, it is also a story of corruption of the agencies on which we must depend for our safety. How do you tell local law enforcement that it is a demon at work and not a serial killer? It is also an account of personal weakness so despised by religion. The conflict between reality and the Catholic church is tangible.