Here Abide Monsters

A young man, looking to escape his family for a long weekend, meets a young woman and her dog looking for her family's cabin. He volunteers to lead her up to the cabin in spite of the roads reputation as the local "Bermuda Triangle". Every 30 years people disappear there. They get into an accident and find themselves lost in a countryside filled with wandering bands from different historical times as well as elves and blue-skinned UFO aliens.
The book has a marvelous setting and set-up but then sort of fizzles out. The action occurs near the end and is fairly stereotyped. The wanderers are left with 2 bad choices but there is no clear indication which way they will go. Ultimately unsatisfying.

re-read 8/3/2023

2/5

This was my first Andre Norton, and boy was it middling.

It really does have an interesting concept: what if all mythical creatures, and human disappearances are from/go to the same alternate dimension of earth? Cool right? Well, Norton takes that decent start and does nothing much with it at all. Most of the time, she spends time about writing either lots of dialogue or internal monologue between the humans lost in the alternative realm, as they wring their hands about what they can do to save themselves. Little to no effort is put into descriptions of these fantastical places, the action that ensues, or on a decent plot.

Whats worse is the not so subtle subtext of christian allegory. The humans who lose themselves to 'The People" show more are redeemed, safe, and presumed a part of some greater collective. They gain powers that protect them from the horrors of the world, where those humans who refuse salvation stay and suffer because of their individual sins. Heaven and hell. Bleh.

There's also a weird YA tinge to the whole story, while the emotion and tone change wildly throughout. I did appreciate the mysterious/dream like quality that she was able to imbue the story with, but it's a little to tiny of a consolation prize.

Overall, it's not abhorrent, but it's nothing special either. I have a feeling the memory of this one will slip out of my mind within the next few weeks, hopefully to be replaced by something more deserving. show less

Very dull. A young man getting away from his father and his manipulating step-mother offers to accompany a young woman who is taking party supplies to a friend's cabin by a route known for mysterious disappearances at widely spaced intervals. They find themselves in an alternate world with the geography of the Ohio they left behind but a wishy washy pseudo Celtic pseudo medieval fairy land beset with alien abductions via flying saucers with arbitrarily opposed flying cigars. Neither the fantasy nor the sf elements have roots or depth beyond kiddie TV and while interesting characters are set in place only the slightest play is given to all but one or two. I have enjoyed one or two clear mixtures of SF and mid-20th cent fantasy which have show more come much closer to working, but this is a flat fail. show less

A really good book. I recommend it to anyone, any age old enough to read.