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A review by trudilibrarian
The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin
3.0
The blurbs and recommendations that brought this book to my attention really had me psyched to read it. The cover art is suitably creepy and the fact that this is a debut author from Down Under intrigued me. The Aussies have been doing some pretty memorable things with cinematic horror of late -- let's see what's happening on the page, shall we?
This book starts out so very strong. Irwin can write, make no mistake. There is a fluidity and nimbleness to his prose – a real juiciness - that will make most literary critics swoon and forgive Irwin’s choice of supernatural subject matter. I loved the writing, but I need more than just the writing if I’m going to fall into a full about-face swoon myself. So yes, back to the beginning and all that burgeoning potential that had me slavering for more.
The opening chapters to this book are some of the strongest I’ve read in a long time. The set up is quick and ruthless, yet subtle and quiet at the same time if that makes any sense at all. There’s something very 60’s British horror about it: man experiences tragedy, returns home to escape painful reminders, back into the memories of a childhood tragedy that has haunted him all his life. Oh yeah, and he can see dead people. But not just ghosts in the traditional sense – Nicholas Close bears witness to ghosts locked into the loop of the exact machinations of their particular method of demise. Trust me, this is more horrible and fantastic than I can describe in my review and probably turned out to be my favorite element of the entire novel.
Furthermore, Irwin creates a dense atmosphere that’s ripe with creep – small town, small shops, weird locals, and an overgrown wood nestled in the middle of it all. There is a presence that stalks the wood, a force that keeps development out yet invites the young and vulnerable in. When Nicholas was 10 he loses his best friend in these woods to violence, and now these many years later he must uncover and confront whatever malevolent forces have haunted this town for over a century.
Great setup ... I just felt it lost something major in the execution. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few AMAZING scenes that did creep me out – if you suffer from arachnophobia in the least this book will likely send you to the nuthouse. But by the time we begin to unravel “the mystery”, I started to feel a little let down, and frankly a little bored.. Plus, I never really warmed up to any of the characters – they felt cold, and acted cold to one another even as they run to the other’s rescue. The climax was just too "Hollywood" which I felt betrayed the book’s earlier setup and the promise it makes to the reader.
There are scenes in this book rendered so effectively I could easily give them 5 stars; unfortunately by the book’s end, those scenes became outnumbered by a slide into mediocrity. I am left underwhelmed and saddened by my disappointment. I was so ready to rave.
This book starts out so very strong. Irwin can write, make no mistake. There is a fluidity and nimbleness to his prose – a real juiciness - that will make most literary critics swoon and forgive Irwin’s choice of supernatural subject matter. I loved the writing, but I need more than just the writing if I’m going to fall into a full about-face swoon myself. So yes, back to the beginning and all that burgeoning potential that had me slavering for more.
The opening chapters to this book are some of the strongest I’ve read in a long time. The set up is quick and ruthless, yet subtle and quiet at the same time if that makes any sense at all. There’s something very 60’s British horror about it: man experiences tragedy, returns home to escape painful reminders, back into the memories of a childhood tragedy that has haunted him all his life. Oh yeah, and he can see dead people. But not just ghosts in the traditional sense – Nicholas Close bears witness to ghosts locked into the loop of the exact machinations of their particular method of demise. Trust me, this is more horrible and fantastic than I can describe in my review and probably turned out to be my favorite element of the entire novel.
Furthermore, Irwin creates a dense atmosphere that’s ripe with creep – small town, small shops, weird locals, and an overgrown wood nestled in the middle of it all. There is a presence that stalks the wood, a force that keeps development out yet invites the young and vulnerable in. When Nicholas was 10 he loses his best friend in these woods to violence, and now these many years later he must uncover and confront whatever malevolent forces have haunted this town for over a century.
Great setup ... I just felt it lost something major in the execution. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few AMAZING scenes that did creep me out – if you suffer from arachnophobia in the least this book will likely send you to the nuthouse. But by the time we begin to unravel “the mystery”, I started to feel a little let down, and frankly a little bored.
Spoiler
Paganism, blood sacrifice, haunted wood, meh… it’s been done beforeThere are scenes in this book rendered so effectively I could easily give them 5 stars; unfortunately by the book’s end, those scenes became outnumbered by a slide into mediocrity. I am left underwhelmed and saddened by my disappointment. I was so ready to rave.