Rockinghorse

I received an ARC version of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, where to start? Williams Johnstone wrote some really enjoyable and at times bad dream inducing horror novels back in the 70’s and 80s. This was not one of them. What a hot mess this book was! It was as if the author had three books, possibly four, in mind and decided to write them all in one book. It was like Sybil wrote a horror novel.

We have, all in one book, (1) a demon possessed toy story, (2) a haunted house story, (3) a dark conspiracy/devil cult come to kill you story, and (4) a woods full of fairies and creepy (and apparently very smelly) creatures that aren’t quite human story. Full of characters acting in show more unbelievable ways, plot twists that seem to exist to create yet even more unrealistic situations to the point that my eyes were starting to hurt from rolling them so often. A plot so over the top that it makes Evil Dead 2 seem like the evening news.

When I finished I was left with the impression that Johnstone just threw everything into this book to see what would work or just to have fun. I imagine that he had a good time writing it and I certainly wasn’t bored reading it. It was certainly entertaining, even if at times it was just to see exactly how outlandish it would get. I did find the religion aspect extremely heavy handed but it was clearly intentional. Johnstone certainly wasn’t agnostic in his story writing. I have been reading/re-reading several of his books that are now coming out from Kensington Press (to whom I say thank you from the bottom of my 80’s horror loving heart) and have noticed that Johnstone has two types of characters: God fearing folks and nasty devil worshipers. No agnostic middle of the road types. At times the story was a bit preachy, especially with several deus ex machina (literally) plot devices in which the characters started saying that things were occurring because He (capital H) wanted them to…

All in all, still fun in an over the top 80’s way by a guy who was one of the originals and who takes that concept to new levels---just don’t look for any real scares in this one. show less

"It came in the dead of night--a rhythmic creaking sound that only the children could hear. Jackie and Johnny tried not to listen. But it called to them, whispering of evil, luring them into the darkness of the attic. . .as they took turns riding it . . .they couldn't know that their own innocent eyes had taken on a strange new gleam ..."

--That's straight off the back cover. And that description is what I bought, hoping to read. Yes, there are two children named Jackie and Johnny. Yes, there's an evil rocking horse. Otherwise, it could have been describing a completely different book. The horse didn't lure the children anywhere, no one ever rode it, and there was nothing strange about the children's eyes.

I tore through the book looking show more for those parts, and not finding them. What I did find was a supernatural force that was inconsistent in the rules it operated by, and an antagonist that is so powerful, Johnstone had to resort to a partial deux ex machina to even give the protagonists a chance.

As I read the book, I got the distinct impression that there was major after-publisher-acceptance revision in the latter half of the book, and my gut says it was a better story before. show less

I have to say first that this description seems a bit off to me, Jackie and Johnny did not take turns riding the horse... nor were the they only ones who could hear it. Anyway on with the review.

Lucas and Tracy Bowers, a not so happily married couple have been arguing, mainly over the success of Tracy's career. They decide to pack up their kids Jackie and Johnny and take a road trip to Bowers House for the summer. Bowers House is a mansion in Georgia that belonged to Lucas's grandparents before their deaths. He has not been to see it in years, and has been unable to sell it. Right before they leave, Jackie and Johnny both have strange dreams about a rocking horse.

"They's them that say the place is haunted"

When they arrive, there is of show more course a strange cast of characters, including a caretaker who tells them the house doesn't want to be sold. There are rumors of devil worship going on in the woods and before discovering an old rocking horse they do indeed hear hoof beats and whinnying.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, but after that it all began to get a bit too crazy, even for me.

3 and a half out of 5 stars from me
I received an advance copy for review show less

This had me turning pages, had some really gruesome and creepy scenes. Something about it had that 80's horror movie feel. The ending was my only issue. It felt a bit rushed and the dark creepiness of the book became kind of silly. That being said, I did like this author's writing style and would be interested in reading more of his books.