Those Across the River

Frank Nichols had carried on an affair with Eudora Lehman for two years before her husband discovered them. Disgraced and blacklisted, Frank has been unable to find another job in a University, but, in what appears to be a great stroke of luck, he inherits a house from his late mother’s sister. She warns him to just sell the house – to not move down to Georgia – but he decides that it would be a good idea to write a book about his great-grandfather who, after the end of the civil war, refused to release his slaves and treated them so badly that they rose up in revolt and killed him, his family and all his livestock. So, he and Dora move to Whitbrow, Georgia, where Dora has been offered a teaching position to replace Frank’s aunt show more in the high school. However, it’s not long after they arrive that Frank begins to notice the superstitious awe with which the townfolk view Megiddo forest, across the river. Once a month, on the full moon, they send two pigs over the river – no one is really sure how this began, although there are a lot of rumors. However, times are hard, and the townfolk decide to stop wasting pigs they could be eating. That’s when things begin to go horribly wrong. That’s when people begin to die …

I’ve read a lot of creepy books over the past couple of months; I think this is the creepiest. The build-up of suspense and horror starts slowly and subtly, with hints and clues and vague allegations. However, once those across the river are revealed completely, things progress rapidly. A crescendo is reached and it seems like that might be the end, only for things to start back up, reach another crescendo … it’s like watching a horror movie when you think the monster is dead, but they aren’t really and they pop back out at you time and again. I loved it - I think it might give me nightmares, but I loved it! If you like horror, you will LOVE “Those Across the River.” show less

My best advise is to give this book some time to develop. The feel of the book is so different from my normal readings that I thought this would fizzle out into a Did Not Finish. I did press on, though, and the reward was tenfold.

What a novel! Dealing with the supernatural often means suspending disbelief and quietly going along for the ride in most cases. But this whole situation felt believable and real. I could sympathize with the plight of Frank Nichols; experience his physical pain and his emotional breakdown. What life can do to pretty much break a person. The atmosphere is heavy, the despair evident and the creatures within this book, just plain awesome. I loved to see the transformation of Nichols, from someone willing to gently show more meander through life into a completely shattered soul. Very few true horror stories other than Stephen King can hold my interest. I will definitely give Christopher Buehlman another read. show less

Buehlman uses familiar horror tropes – heirs moving to an inheritance, urban sophisticates moving to a small town, Yankees moving to the South, the continuing judgment on slavery, and, last but not least, werewolf lore – to create a surprisingly fresh novel. I found the two main characters made the novel: a philandering former college professor/nightmare-haunted veteran and his lover and, eventually, bride, a beautiful woman who is committed to him without losing any of her own identity. Their fight against the consequences of their inheritance, and the town’s abandonment of a tradition, creates a story that is exciting, horrific, moving, and somehow believable.

Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman was for me, a great Halloween read. It was atmospheric, had some truly terrifying moments and was well written. Set in the Depression years of the early 1930s, the setting had an authentic Southern small town feel. The suspense built slowly, but like a pot slowly bubbling away on a back burner, the reader knew the boiling point was coming.

As the tension slowly rises, we get to know the main characters, Frank and Dora. Having inherited his aunts’ house in Georgia, they have come from Chicago to build a new life for themselves. Dora has a teaching job and Frank is planning on writing a book about his grandfather who at one time was a slave owner and owned a large plantation across the show more river from the town. Frank quickly learns that visiting the woods on the other side of the river is not only unpleasant, it is downright dangerous. But it is soon apparent that “those across the river” are not staying on their side but are crossing over and bringing death and mayhem with them.

In the last third of the book, the action is amped up and the contrast from the slow, sleepy beginning to the violence and terror is intense. Yes, there is gore and brutality aplenty, but there is also a haunting sadness to this story that is told in such a lyrical manner that Those Across the River will be a book that I long remember. show less

Well shit! This was not what I was expecting at all! Uh-uhhh!!!
This was somewhat of a slow burner in the beginning, but man did it build into something pretty wild!
Christopher Buehlman's writing style is beautifully descriptive and interestingly addictive. His ability to create a real picture of a small southern town filled with real southern-minded people was impressive.
The first time Frank encountered the boy in the forest, I was at first convinced that this would be somewhat of a zombie horror novel. As I read further, there were a few clues and hints I picked up that this was not going to be the case, and it was kind of interesting when I realized that this was actually going to be a modern twist on a very old horror style, if you show more know what I mean.
Mr. Buehlman, I think you just gained a new fan! I enjoyed this thoroughly, and I will be eagerly looking for more of your books! show less

The thing is, I don't even like horror as a genre - I am simply one who travels to the places Buehlman takes me. I go willingly, for the beautiful writing, the insights, the details that make places and people come alive, even when I wouldn't go somewhere similar with someone else.

This book is profoundly disturbing and unsettling. There are themes and concepts in here that really bother me. Still. If you like this genre you would do well to travel there with Buehlman. Even if you don't like this genre, he is a masterful story teller and I'd suggest at least looking at Between Two Fires and the Blacktongue books, both of which I loved. For myself, I can say that I'm in for a ride to the next places he's headed, no matter where or when show more they may be. show less

After struggling to get into and through this novel, I finally decided that the core story and the best part of the novel is actually between pages 309 and 332 in the hardcover edition. From "A baby was crying," to "I missed," there's a decent short story, with mystery, suspense, horror, narrative structure. The rest of the novel, while interesting in parts, felt tedious and over-explained. There are very few mysteries here that aren't revealed through monologue. At least one of these is a Bond-villain-type exposition, which just felt clunky and amateurish (not to mention unsatisfying).

One tiny editing thing that got under my skin at the very beginning of this novel: "I imagine they would have sewn the earth with salt if it had occurred show more to them." (p. 37) I'm pretty sure the author means "sown." I know it's a small thing, but it rankles and really, if an editor doesn't care enough about a novel to fix these things, then why should I care enough about the novel to read it? (Of course, joke's on me because I read the whole thing.) show less