**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on gore, animal abuse, excessive violence, kidnapping, & others.
In 1903 a lawyer travels to the countryside to stand over the bed of a dying man, to update his final Testament that reflects the whispers of the man before passing on. Unfortunately, Gerard realizes that his bedroom door is being locked from the outside, day in & day out, & his only source of social interaction is the delivery of his meals by a morose servant who seems to vanish at the drop of a hat. Back in the city, Realyn awaits with desolate dread, the return of her fiancé; having pleaded with him to not traverse the countryside for no other reason than she felt in her bones that he should not go. Amongst the cast of characters that the reader encounters we see the flummoxed behaviours of people who are both miraculously courageous in the dead of night & suddenly withheld by fear in broad daylight. Every bizarre action culminates in a grand battle of brute force & will against the demons who manifest themselves into beauty & beast.
Readers who are knowledgeable about the work of Bram Stoker will immediately recognize this book for what it is; an exact replica of the delivery of "Dracula" (1897). I can appreciate when an author seeks to pay homage to a classic piece of literature however, I could not piece together the premise of this plot with a thick enough thread to lead me to the conclusion that Stoker’s estate might view this as being a tribute rather than a copycat. Early on in my reading, I posed the question as to whether or not "Nosferatu"’s (1922) fate would befall this work as well or, perhaps had there been some understanding between the two parties that I am not aware of. Therefore, because I am unfamiliar with the legality behind the decision to entirely replicate the plot of "Dracula" in this modified work, I shall review the book at face value & speak no further on the similarities between the two works.
I will praise Hault for what he sought to achieve with this book. I truly think that with some tweaking & changes, made to the delivery of the story, he could have great success in translating his story into a movie format. The scenes that were intended to render terror & horror would so delightfully play out in a film & I do feel hopeful that this book will find its way into the hands of someone who could recreate the gore written in this story so as to really terrify audiences of all ages.
That being said, I found myself laughing more often than I thought was intended. I truly appreciated the desire for Shapeshifters & Changelings to feature in this plot. However, the writing style left something to be desired. Often, due to the intense similarities between Stoker & Hault’s delivery, I felt confused if the story was taking place in a more modern setting or in times of old. Due to this, & the inconsistent approach of vocabulary & grammar of the characters (primarily the women), I was unable to fully immerse myself in the story.
By this I mean, sometimes Raelyn would speak very eloquently & as a woman in the United Kingdom of 1903 might be expected to vocalize things. Then, she would employ curse words & be saying she wanted to murder someone & run rampant in the middle of the night chasing blood trails. Had the character been developed over the course of the story I might have viewed this shift appraisingly. Unfortunately, her character & that of Jayda’s felt somewhat out of place in the time & period in which the story takes place.
Perhaps I need it explained to me but, how is a woman who is weeping into her journal about the departure of her husband, the same person who is opening her door in the middle of the night when she knows there is a terror out in the streets mutilating animals? This same person is said to be a doctor but, looks upon her cousin, Nathan, who is very evidently having a psychological break, & decides to leave him to his own devices even after watching him consume an entire rat in a single gulp. The inconsistencies made it difficult to appreciate all the effort that was put forth in vanquishing the demons because everyone made such pitiful decisions throughout the story.
This book would benefit from a longer lead-up to the panic that the characters experience. Gerard is in the castle for something like two (2) nights & is immediately in hysterics because the door to his room is locked. He rants on & on about being a prisoner right after arriving & there was little build-up to his feeling that way. This alongside the descriptions of babies being kidnapped in the surrounding village & the appearance of a demonic ape; I wanted to understand the actual dread that was being trailed throughout the story but, I had to laugh because we read so little of anything to allow us to feel afraid.
It is difficult to write horror, I am not taking that away from the author & I am not saying that they did a horrendous job. What I am saying is that the scene in which Nathan eating an entire rat is gruesome & should be played up. Instead, Raelyn walks away thinking “ew”. The scene in which a giant-fanged primate is gripping the side of the estate as Gerard holds on to bricks for his life should have been further explored & because the story was written through journal entries, if a character was too frail to explain something, we didn’t hear about it again.
The folktales surrounding Shapeshifters live in almost every culture & society of people. The stories following these horrific creatures are as common in our verbal histories as any other. It would have been to the benefit of the story to lean into that. This story had so many good opportunities to instil horror into the hearts of the reader; mothers watching their children adopt adult-like facial patterns & perform absurd physical actions only to fall into death days later is horrific — describe that further, tell me what the surrounding areas think about these happenings.
Overall, had the retelling of folktales & myths been done in a different way I think I would have really loved the story. The combined efforts of Shapeshifters with Changelings were so very interesting & the addition of gruesome behaviour from otherwise psychotically sane individuals was enticing. Had we explored that further, rather than the emotional ineptitudes of all the characters, I would have felt more favourably about the book. I will hold out hope that this story becomes a movie because I truly feel as though the scenery could present a viewer with a horrific story.
Thank you to NetGalley, TCK Publishing & Lucas Hault for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!...more
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