Rick Hautala (1949–2013)

As we grow older, we tend to think of childhood as a golden time, when the hours poured through our fingers like water, glistening and plentiful. Summers were especially wonderful, those days when school was out and there was nothing to do but play. But when we call up specific memories, they never seem quite so golden; our friends never seem quite such good friends; and there are terrors that we have worked hard to forget. Perhaps that’s why so many books have been written about that time show more when we transition from childhood to young adulthood, the moment when we begin to regard our childhood fancies as childish.

For Jackie, the main character in Rick Hautala’s Reunion, that “moment” comes in late August, just a couple of weeks before he is to begin attending junior high school. Jackie is camping out in his backyard with his best friend, Chris Hooper. Chris has a great plan: after everyone’s asleep, they’ll steal away and head for the country club, where there’s a high school class reunion going on. They’ll swipe themselves a couple of steaks and have a great time. Jackie’s not sure why he’s so completely opposed to this plan; it’s not that he’s chicken, and he’s no goody-two-shoes, either. It just doesn’t feel right.

John is getting ready to attend the same high school reunion, but he is attending as someone who graduated forty years ago. He is scared to death of this gathering, for reasons he won’t divulge. His wife doesn’t understand it; why did they spend all the time and money to get back to Rockport, Maine from California if he’s so reluctant to actually go to the party? And circumstances seem to be colluding to ensure that they don’t get there at all: a mechanical problem with the plane, no car at the rental place, a mixed-up hotel reservation, and then, to top it all off, a tire blows out when they’re finally on the road. But John is determined to get to the country club despite how frightened he is, because he has a task to accomplish once he’s there.

Jackie ultimately doesn’t have much choice about going, because Chris insists. As they run up and over the bridge, Chris far in the lead, they pass through a strange fog. Isn’t fog supposed to stick to lower places, not higher ones? And why does this particular fog seem so strangely greasy? Why does Jackie feel – changed somehow after that run through that cloud?

Jackie and John are about to collide, thanks to the fog. If I said any more, I’d spoil this lovely, nostalgic novella. The story has a mood that matches that of Robert McCammon’s Boy’s Life or Dan Simmons’s Summer of Night, one that brings memories of climbing trees, roaming in the green woods, and doing stupid things that we should never have survived – but most of all, of that special moment when we started to recognize that childhood was ending. Hautala remembers the awkwardness of feeling betwixt and between, no longer a child but not yet an adult, and he conveys it with pitch-perfect dialogue, both interior and exterior. And Hautala also knows how to write about the yearning for childhood adults experience as they remember those long, lazy days before they were old enough to work, when summers stretched out almost endlessly. Reunion is a lovely story. show less

I went camping when I was a kid and this was the type of story that we told around the campfire----well, maybe not as violent as this, but the same type of story. And we scared the crap out of each other. Set in Maine, up on Mount Agiochook, two climbers encounter bad weather and amuse themselves with campfire tales. The fun is short-lived when encounter a legendary creature from Indian folklore that turns out to be much more than just a legend and much nastier than any campfire story. Think show more you know how this story goes? No, actually you don't. It is safe to say that no one is safe from the Mountain King, who is not an unthinking eating machine but is actually an intelligent and sadistic predator on the hunt. Extremely violent and surprising in its plot twists, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I also enjoyed the incorporation of Indian legends into the story and plan on reading Hautala's UNTCIGAHUNK next. show less

Well-written and awful. The descriptions are vivid and explicit - of things I really don't want to read about. Not just the sex (though that was explicit and weird), but, for instance, a detailed description of someone vomiting. Ugh. The foreshadowing (if you can call it that) is extremely heavy-handed - in the first couple chapters, we are reminded over and over (and over and over and...) that Samael is a demon and that Claire doesn't know. Once she finds out, there are more reminders of show more stuff that we-the-readers know that one or more characters doesn't. That's extremely annoying. But the thing that made me stop reading and start skimming was that Samael, unlike demons in most urban fantasies, is not depicted as a reasonably good guy with a nasty job - he truly enjoys seeing, and causing, pain. Claire's obsession with him doesn't read like love - it reads much more like he's controlling her, though he says he's not (but demons lie). And a _lot_ of tell-not-show - as far as I got we are told over and over that Samael wants to reform, or will want to. There's nothing in his behavior that shows it, though. I couldn't handle the story. I did read - skim - all the way to the end; I saw some of the later events, but it didn't change my opinion. Didn't enjoy it at all, and will avoid other books by Hautala. show less

In reviewing this book, I read an advance review copy of the eBook edition. It's an interesting premise, but I'm not sure Hautula *quite* pulls it off. Maybe it's a man trying to write a woman's perspective, or maybe the intricacies of the story were just a touch beyond the writer's reach. Either way, the story was clunky at times, and seemed forced at others. Samael's sudden desire to go good reads too shallowly to be believable. So is the heroine's willingness to say "What the heck? Sure, show more he's a demon, but he's great in bed (another poorly handled concept), so it's cool." Too contrived, with not enough depth, not enough struggle, and therefore, not really believable. Don't get me wrong, it was an entertaining read, and I really like the idea - I think it just needs....finesse. It's always hard to tell with an eBook, but it seemed really short; I got thorough it in a day. Maybe another pass or two might have fleshed it out a little? In keeping with the slightly unfinished feel, (though I have found this with other with review copies), this book needs another edit. There are enough gaffes that it's noticeable, though they don't detract from the story too badly. Mostly it's things like one character saying "I'm glad we met." and the other replying "I do, too." Say what? He also uses a sort of awkward backward foreshadowing (e.g. "She didn't know X at that time, but she would soon"). That's a little clunky by itself, but often he doesn't ever go back and cover whatever X was. For a reader who likes detail, it was annoying. Overall, if you just want a quick, fun, "gothic" romance, it's OK. If you are a stickler for grammar, smooth writing, or consistency, look for more polished authors. show less