Those Across the River Review
By
John Michael Decker
The year is 1935. Frank Nichols, a former history professor from Chicago, has moved to the quaint little town of Whitbrow, Georgia with his paramour Eudora. Frank’s intention is to write a book chronicling the history of his ancestor, an infamous Civil War general. But Whitbrow is a town with many dark secrets. Secrets which threaten to erode not only Frank and Eudora’s newfound happiness, but their belief in a rational world as well. There is something evil dwelling in the old Savoyard Plantation across the river. It is something ancient with a connection to Frank that he can scarcely imagine. It has a long memory… and it is patient.
Thus begins Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman. The best horror novel I have read in years. I say this not because Chris Buehlman is a dear friend of mine. I say it honestly because it really is just that good. Although this book won’t be released until September of this year, I have been lucky enough to receive an advanced copy. To say that Those Across the River is a page-turner is putting it mildly. I’ve been busy and yet I still burned through this novel in three days.
Christopher Buehlman excels at pacing and he is a confident enough storyteller so that he really takes his time setting up his scenes. He is a master of language and this book effortlessly transported me to another time. Another place. I felt all of the pressures of surviving in the Great Depression. I could smell the sweat of the characters as they were traipsing through the dark woods. I could hear all the sounds of the humid August night in Georgia. The tension was slowly ratcheted up, and the more I read, I found myself being filled with a deepening sense of dread. I was fully invested in the characters so when the truly horrific stuff happened it was well earned by the author.
Now there are a lot of people who are going to read this and compare Chris Buehlaman to Stephen King or Dean Koontz. I would dispute this claim. Don’t get me wrong… the material in this book is similar to things that have been covered by other horror authors. And I am a big fan of King and Koontz. But to me, reading a novel by someone like Stephen King is like eating at McDonalds. It’s good, it’s fast, and it’s usually pretty satisfying. But reading a Christopher Buehlman novel is like dining on filet mignon with an interesting red wine and classical music playing in the background. This is literary, historical, horror and I really think that Buehlman’s unique writer’s voice puts him in a category all his own. I can easily see this book being translated into a movie. I can see Chris attaining real fame with this work. So if you want to get in on the ground floor of something really special, I highly recommend that you pre-order a copy of Those Across the River today.
Copyright 2011 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
http://www.amazon.com/Those-Across-River-Christopher-Buehlman/dp/0441020674
