A friend recommended this book to me when I mentioned other supernatural books I enjoyed. I thought this would be more of an action/lust novel, but it turned out to be a gruesome horror novel. Somehow, I think I became more freaked out by the book than I would a movie. I think it is because when I read a book, the pictures are inside my mind, not on a movie screen.
I am terrible at handling suspense and this book had tons of it. I couldn't stop reading until I was finished. I needed to know if the good guys triumphed and the bad guys died. I won't tell you who won and who died, but the master bad guy is mentioned in the epilogue, giving it a creepy, lingering finish.
Sins of the Flesh by Don Davis and Jay Davis is haunting. I think it is mostly so because it draws on local legends. It mentions a couple cities that anyone around the US has heard of, like Chicago and St. Louis, but it is mostly focused on a little farming community in the boot heel of Missouri, called Gideon. The authors incorporate flashback scenes to draw you into the complex plot even further, and construct a nearly real world around the reader with their detailed imagery. You can almost feel the stifling blackness of night in some of the scenes, and hear the screams of the victims of the wendigo.
The wendigo is the monster in this novel. It is a shape-shifting monster that starts out human, but then acquires a taste for human flesh and when the hunger strikes it, the body of the wendigo turns into a large, hairy, muscular beast that stands nearly 8 feet tall on his hind legs. His very long claws are silver in color and his mouth stretches to 2-3 times the size of a normal human's, with sharp, pointed teeth lining the inside. Not only can he shape shift between his original human shape and that of the beast, he can change into anything. In the book, he impersonates loved ones and victims of his other crimes to draw his new victims in. At the last second, when he has them in his grasp, he changes into the terrifying monster he is. Because it was created by evil magic, only magic can stop it. You will not find the typical witch on a broomstick in this novel, though. Greatness is thrust upon one of the younger characters and I think that makes the story all the more believable. The authors don't sensationalize the common concept of the supernatural, distorting it to a ridiculous proportion, and they keep in mind that the whole idea of a monster and magic are far-fetched, but they draw you right back in with that skepticism.
If you have a weak stomach, I do not recommend reading this. Almost every one of the horrifying deaths brought by the wendigo is described in sharp detail. This is a perfect story to read, if you are fond of suspense, when you are out camping or to retell when you are at home with friends late at night.
I, personally, am not a big fan of horror and suspense, but I will be the first to say that these authors did a fantastic job in writing this book.
I am terrible at handling suspense and this book had tons of it. I couldn't stop reading until I was finished. I needed to know if the good guys triumphed and the bad guys died. I won't tell you who won and who died, but the master bad guy is mentioned in the epilogue, giving it a creepy, lingering finish.
Sins of the Flesh by Don Davis and Jay Davis is haunting. I think it is mostly so because it draws on local legends. It mentions a couple cities that anyone around the US has heard of, like Chicago and St. Louis, but it is mostly focused on a little farming community in the boot heel of Missouri, called Gideon. The authors incorporate flashback scenes to draw you into the complex plot even further, and construct a nearly real world around the reader with their detailed imagery. You can almost feel the stifling blackness of night in some of the scenes, and hear the screams of the victims of the wendigo.
The wendigo is the monster in this novel. It is a shape-shifting monster that starts out human, but then acquires a taste for human flesh and when the hunger strikes it, the body of the wendigo turns into a large, hairy, muscular beast that stands nearly 8 feet tall on his hind legs. His very long claws are silver in color and his mouth stretches to 2-3 times the size of a normal human's, with sharp, pointed teeth lining the inside. Not only can he shape shift between his original human shape and that of the beast, he can change into anything. In the book, he impersonates loved ones and victims of his other crimes to draw his new victims in. At the last second, when he has them in his grasp, he changes into the terrifying monster he is. Because it was created by evil magic, only magic can stop it. You will not find the typical witch on a broomstick in this novel, though. Greatness is thrust upon one of the younger characters and I think that makes the story all the more believable. The authors don't sensationalize the common concept of the supernatural, distorting it to a ridiculous proportion, and they keep in mind that the whole idea of a monster and magic are far-fetched, but they draw you right back in with that skepticism.
If you have a weak stomach, I do not recommend reading this. Almost every one of the horrifying deaths brought by the wendigo is described in sharp detail. This is a perfect story to read, if you are fond of suspense, when you are out camping or to retell when you are at home with friends late at night.
I, personally, am not a big fan of horror and suspense, but I will be the first to say that these authors did a fantastic job in writing this book.
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