Those Across the River

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

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

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

What a delightfully creepy story! Two northerners, Frank and Eudora, come to a small Georgia town in the midst of the Depression, fleeing from the scandal that their romance and marriage caused. At first, things seem placid and slow in the little town, but then don’t they always? Trouble begins when the town collectively decides that the economic hardships caused by the Depression mean it can no longer continue the decades-long tradition of setting two pigs loose in the woods across the river during the full moon. No one talks out loud about why the pigs are sacrificed every month, and it seems likely the current generation doesn’t really know the reason. They soon find out, though, and poor Frank and Eudora get caught up in the show more town’s nightmare in a way that leaves them both scarred forever. I thought the best part of many very good parts was the ending, which seems as though it is going to be a quiet little epilogue. But then, when you’re dealing with those across the river, nothing is as it seems. show less

"Those Across the River" is a masterfully written debut novel from Christopher Buehlman. It follows Frank Nichols and his wife Eudora as they move to rural Georgia to inherit a house from his aunt. Frank plans to write a book about the history of his family, their plantation, and the terrible events that happened there. But what first appears to be a sleepy little town soon turns into a fight for survival against something they have never imagined.
Buehlman’s novel transports the reader back in time to the rural South with his powerful descriptions and high quality of writing. Once the action starts, about halfway through the book, it doesn’t let up until the very last sentence. This is a wonderful debut filled with suspense, show more horror, action, and adventure. The reader expects a story about the horrors of war or perhaps a ghost story, but what they end up receiving is wholly unexpected and will leave them thinking and talking about the novel long after they have finished.
Disclosure: I received my copy of this book free from Library Thing, but this had no effect on my review or opinion of the book. show less

Whitbrow is a forgotten backwater Georgia town in a forgotten backwater time. The time is 1935, back when Huey Long was assassinated on the statehouse steps in Baton Rouge. But few people remember such things anymore. None of the houses and precious few of the businesses in Whitbrow have power, and the hardware store owner moonlights as the Sheriff. None of the local residents ventures over the river to where the ruins of an old plantation are said to lie, a plantation whose owner was so evil that his slaves rose up and killed him. People tell stories to explain why they won't go there, but they know they are just stories. Yet every month the town gets together and holds The Chase, a ritual older than anyone can remember. Despite their show more scant resources, local farmers donate two hogs, which are then decorated with garlands of flowers by local girls, taken across the river on the makeshift ferry and released. None is ever seen again.

Enter Frank Nichols, a wounded Great War veteran escaping a checkered past, who hopes that an inherited house might provide just the new start that he and his young 'wife', Eudora, need. While Eudora replaces Frank's deceased aunt as schoolteacher, Frank settles down to write a book about his grandfather, the aforementioned evil plantation owner. In his quest for understanding, he is drawn over the river in search of the ruined plantation. What he finds sends him scurrying back across the river, uncertain what exactly he encountered and whether he wants to share what he has seen with others.

As Frank and Eudora begin to adapt to life in Whitbrow, they are are invited to a townhall meeting to discuss whether or not to abandon The Chase. What they decide will change Whitbrow forever.

Christopher Buehlman's debut novel is an atmospheric and spooky tale told in a sultry southern prose. It has a pagan feel to it reminiscent of Thomas Tryon's 'Harvest Home' one of my all-time favorite horror novels. It is told with great appreciation of folklore and its roots and it is also intensely erotic.

Buehlman introduces us to multifaceted characters who are intensely human, with strengths and weaknesses, characters that we can both admire and dislike, often at the same time. This is not the type of book where, shortly after being introduces to a character, you can check them of as black hats or white hats. This is, after all, a southern town and everyone has their secrets.

The review copy of this book was obtained from the publisher via the Amazon Vine Program. show less