[Review] - The Chill
The Chill
Scott Carson
Published by Atria
This book is a solid melding of horror, supernatural thriller, and historical fiction.
The book is about a flooded-out town. A town that had been homesteaded by European families in the 1600's. So it was somewhat of an ancient place as far as Europeans establishing community in America. Our setting is upstate New York in the Catskills Mountains. The town is flooded out, eminent domain invoked, to create a reservoir to supply water to New Your City.
There is a vengeance. The dead from this place seem to stay around, while the living descendants are also bonded to this place and thus its revenge. This vengeance is directed at the city and those that flooded their homes, churches and families. The spirits of Galesville are waiting on an alignment of sorts, waiting on conditions to prime for their plans to be feasible. Good Lord willing let the creek rise.
What I liked about the book: I enjoyed the setting, The Catskills were a pretty backdrop and didn't feel much different than a lot of the Carolina fiction that I read. The vast majority of the story takes place in that mountainous region. I also enjoyed the setup of the character of Aaron Ellsworth. He is a local son of the sheriff, a coast guard washout that finds his course through these catastrophic scenes.
I have not read Koryta before. Carson is a pen name. I will admit that I don't understand the purpose of using a pen name for the book but then having that information released before the book is even released. I don't pretend to know how these things work.
These ghosts have power and purpose but it really felt a bit much. Their power to do certain things, alter physical aspects to serve their purposes was a bit out there.
This book is 450 pages long. It felt a bit watered down for me no pun intended. Maybe bloated. Ultimately I liked it, but it was somewhat predictable. I read a lot of small press horror and there really is not set of rules for those. This seemed to follow a predictable set of guidelines, no real surprises.
Rating: 3 Stars
Link to purchase: https://bookshop.org/books/the-chill-9781982104597/9781982104597
Review by Well Read Beard
Twitter: @WellReadBeard
I received this book from the author for review consideration.