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Loading... A History of Fear: A Novel (edition 2022)by Luke Dumas (Author)
Work InformationA History of Fear by Luke Dumas
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. A History of Fear by Luke Dumas is a strong debut that looks at evil in its many forms, from the religious to the secular. This is basically a "found manuscript" story with holes in that manuscript being filled by a journalist. The story of the protagonist's life coupled with the events just prior to his crime is presented in very clear prose. Though overwritten in places, the ways in which anxiety and panic are expressed were especially effective. I found part of the big reveal to be problematic for me. I can't go into detail without giving away the story, but I am uncomfortable with feeling like it fits into old harmful stereotypes. I think Hale's personal history is supposed to mitigate this, but I don't think it succeeded. Recommended for readers who like a more subtle horror-ish story. This is one of those books that will either pull you in right away or it probably isn't your cup of tea. Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Goodreads giveaway. no reviews | add a review
Fiction.
Horror.
Suspense.
Thriller.
HTML:This "disorienting, creepy, paranoia-inducing reimagining of the devil-made-me-do-it tale" (Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World) follows the harrowing downfall of a tortured graduate student arrested for murder. Grayson Hale, the most infamous murderer in Scotland, is better known by a different name: the Devil's Advocate. The twenty-five-year-old American grad student rose to instant notoriety when he confessed to the slaughter of his classmate Liam Stewart, claiming the Devil made him do it. When Hale is found hanged in his prison cell, officers uncover a handwritten manuscript that promises to answer the question that's haunted the nation for years: was Hale a lunatic, or had he been telling the truth all along? The first-person narrative reveals an acerbic young atheist, newly enrolled at the University of Edinburgh to carry on the legacy of his recently deceased father. In need of cash, he takes a job ghostwriting a mysterious book for a dark strangerā??but he has misgivings when the project begins to reawaken his satanophobia, a rare condition that causes him to live in terror that the Devil is after him. As he struggles to disentangle fact from fear, Grayson's world is turned upside-down after events force him to confront his growing suspicion that he's working for the one he has feared all this timeā??and that the book is only the beginning of their partnership. "A modern-day Gothic tale with claws" (Jennifer Fawcett, author of Beneath the Stairs), A History of Fear marries dread-inducing atmosphere with heart-palpitating storyte No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Top-notch psychological horror!
Cw for assault/abuse and suicide - SUPER dark read ( )