31 July 2015

Review #289: Forsaken (Shadow Cove Saga, #1) by J.D. Barker



My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“If you really want to upset a witch, do her a favor which she has no means of repaying. The unfulfilled obligation will nag at her like a hangnail.”

----Terry Pratchett



J.D. Barker, an American author, pens a heart-stopping and extremely hair-rising story, Forsaken that is the first book in the Shadow Cove Saga series, that accounts the story of a writer who writes horror thrillers and want to be one of the best writers this world has ever known, but little did he knew that the story that he is penning with his words could actually happen parallely in his own family home.


BEWARE: Because this book is definitely going to be a bumpy ride through witchy drama, spells, curses, creatures of the nigh, blood, goth and shall I continue?? Everything that is sure to give you the chills and the thrills.




Synopsis:

Book One of the Shadow Cove Saga

From the witch trials of centuries past, an evil awakens.

Inspired by Actual Events
Excerpt from the Journal of Clayton Stone – 1692
She was examined today without torture at Shadow Cove township on the charge of witchcraft. She said she was wholly innocent of the crime and has never in life renounced God. I watched as they brought her out. A poor, sickly thing, worn by her time behind the walls of her prison. Her bared feet and hands bound in leather, her clothing tattered to that of ruin. Despite such condition, her head was held high, her eyes meeting those of her accusers. She still refuses to provide her name so we remain unable to search baptismal records, nor has her family stepped forward to claim her as their own. We have no reason to believe she is anything but an orphaned child. I find myself unable to look at her directly in the moments preceding her trial. She is watching me though; with eyes of the deepest blue, she is watching me.
Thad McAlister, Rise of the Witch

When horror author Thad McAlister began his latest novel, a tale rooted in the witch trials of centuries past, the words flowed effortlessly. The story poured forth, filling page after page with the most frightening character ever to crawl from his imagination. It was his greatest work, one that would guarantee him a position among the legends of the craft.

But was it really fiction?

He inadvertently opened a door, one that would soon jeopardize the lives of his family.

She wants to come back.

At home, his wife struggles to keep their family alive. Secretly wondering if she caused it all…a deal she made long ago. A deal with the Forsaken.



Thad McAlister is an author who writes ghost stories and stories from the horror fiction genre. He sets to write his new book which is pure evil and the way he writes his story it feels like he has forever knew this terrific and horrifying story about witches and their curses. Upon finishing the book, he was sure that he has created a masterpiece in the world of horror fiction, but little did he know that his story have put things into motion, like his words became a window to this scary story into his own home. And the power wants Thad as their right hand to take that revenge that they wanted to take for so long, resisting them might have to cost his precious family of a beautiful and very pregnant wife and his lovely daughter. Rachel McAlister knew that she is the one who is responsible for the evil in their home since she made a promise that she shouldn't have made ages ago.


There are two stories that run in parallel or rather say in a perfect tune. The present day revolves around the McAlister household where situation turns bad to worse with every passing minute, then there is the story world, where we could see the excerpts from Thad's book or rather say like a journal, which is even more sinister than the reality. The story takes place in a three day's time span and it is enough to creep the hell out of not only the McAlister family but also out of us. The darkness and that eerie mood is evident right from the very first page, and immediately it hooks us right into the very heart of the story. What I loved most about the book is the timing of the occurrence of each event in this book which is so much in sync with one another.

There were moments when I had to close my eyes to stop myself from visualizing those scenes and the author's attention and keen to every minute details is enough to give me a nightmare in the night. The writing quality is exceptional and one of a kind and honestly I hardly read anything so evil and filled with darkness which is enough to drown us into it's wickedness. The narrative is engaging and has an ability to create a sense of fear into our minds. Since the plot is layered with twists and unexpected turns and events, it keeps us on our edges till the last page thus resulting to a very fast pace.


The characters that are perfectly etched out with layers of flaws thus providing a realistic edge to their characterization and thus somehow we could relate to their mental fears and all the issues closer to home. The grip that the author have on his characters is something really brilliant to watch it unfold once the creepy things start happening in their household. The character's developed like anything and with the progress of the story the depth to their demeanor increased thus letting us wide into the minds of his characters both evil and good ones.

Most striking characteristic of this book is that not for one single moment the book makes us feel like the story is so vague or even fictional, since the author has layered with valid logic to justify the events and surprisingly each creepy events from the witch trials to the events happening inside the house all feel very real, sometimes I even had to look up.

The mystery and the horror are depicted with sheer perfection, especially the fact that we know what is going to happen next still couldn't stop ourselves from reading the story, like thoroughly arresting. The mystery unravels like a movie on a slow motion, thus giving us an adrenaline rushing feel. The climax is brilliant and ends with a slight cliffhanger and whoever readers this book will be forced to wonder what will happen next, which I'm doing eagerly.

Verdict: Horror fans do grab a copy of this book now if you want to have a bone chilling experience!

Courtesy: Thanks Maxine once again for this great book. 
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Author Info:
J.D. Barker holds a B.A. in English from Beaumont University and currently lives in Shadow Cove, Massachusetts where he is hard at work on his latest novel.
Visit him here


Book Purchase Links:

1 comment:

  1. I like the idea of the two stories really working well running at the same time in this book. Sometimes switching between the two can be disjointed and all, but it seems like the author has handled it perfectly here.

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