Owl Goingback

This was fun...brutal, but a spooky and atmospheric fun read.

The writer didn't overly, heavily detail the gore, but it was still part of the story. It seemed there to highlight the seriousness of the threat. Coyote isn't playing around.

This had a grownup fairytale vibe to the storytelling, with the magical woven into our reality so perfectly.

Although this doesn't come from my ancestral tribes, it stems from my ancestral world. As a Native American, I understood this Native American show more fantasy-horror from a cultural prospective...yet it felt like the story could be enjoyed by anyone from any heritage.

My favorite part of this story, is that Raven is good. I wasn't surprised that few stood against Coyote, since humanity has treated wildlife very badly, yet It felt right and it wasn't surprising that Raven decided to stand with humanity.

Depending on tribe, the trickster Coyote can be helpful, or a very slippery ally, or a very dangerous foe. This story highlights the dangerous Coyote. And hints at his immortality.

Although, it might have been interesting if Brother Fox was good in this story. Be shown in a role of trying to calm Coyote's rage...but I guess I'm getting too tribally specific there.

Would have preferred it if some the murdered characters had survived, especially since this seems like a set up for a series. But I enjoyed this fast read...brutal at some times, sad in some huge ways, but absolutely fun in-between the "oh nooo" moments.

If this is a series, I will be looking for the next parts in this story. show less

The reason I picked this up is because it won a Bram Stoker award the year I was born, 1996.

A really gore heavy and gruesome monster story. Great tale of ancient evils reawakened to take vengeance on man. The heroes of the story are likable but just shy of being fantastic and lovable. They both felt slightly lack luster. The overall lore and soft world building around this monster was pretty cool.

If Owl Goingback had spent some more time getting me invested in the characters I could see show more this being a perfect book, but alas… they were killed off too quickly. show less

Overall, I actually quite enjoyed this one, though I have some issues overall.

Let's start with the things I wasn't crazy about. And yeah, the first two will likely not sit well with some, but..

First, don't expect any strong women in this story. There's none. They're either partners who get upset if hubby's late for the dinner she's spent the afternoon cooking, or they're just there to complete a task. I would have loved one significant female role.

Second—and yes, I understand this is going show more to sound a bit odd for a novel written by an Indigenous author—is that it felt a bit "White Saviour-ish" having Sheriff Skip Harding (who we find out is one-quarter Indigenous) is the guy that is the only hope to take on the Crota. But hey, I'm an old white guy, so I don't necessarily have a lot of skin in the game. It's just my perception.

Third, there were times when the pacing felt off. This book starts off with a fairly decent bang, and then keeps banging for a bit. But then there's a couple of long stretches where we're fed a lot of information that likely could have been dialed back, or even removed altogether. This novel felt like it should just be one of those lean, mean creature features (as much as I loathe that term, it does feel apt here). Instead, we got a bit more than we needed, with some really odd plot decisions. As an example, with no spoiler, why was the chest hidden in the way it was (you'll know when you get there)? There's literally no explanation for it, other than Harding couldn't find it before then without messing with the plot.

Finally, the ending. It should have been big. It should have been epic. It should have left me breathless. Instead it was more of a, oh! Here it comes! Here it...oh. It's over? Already? Okay.

That being said, I have to make it clear that, despite some weird decisions, overall this book was a blast. Imagine Jaws crossed with The Manitou and you're getting close.

Definitely worth the read, and I'll absolutely come back for more Owl Goingback books. show less

I had heard about this book for a while, which was originally published in the 1990s. My overall impression was that it was adequate but not particularly gripping horror. The story is about an ancient creature of evil called the Crota, which had been trapped underground but was released by an earthquake and went on a killing spree. There is a lot of gore and Native American mysticism, based on the author's native heritage. While I liked the premise, I found the story overall to be flat and show more the characters to lack depth. I never got invested in the characters' outcome or felt really scared by the Crota. show less