Ratings3
Average rating4.2
Equal parts haunting and horrifying, this literary horror novel gives readers insight into the mind of a controlling homicidal man and the son who must stop him. "Marvin Burke is one of the great monsters of literature, a figure of immense, credible terror and savagery."--Cory Doctorow, author of Little Children and coeditor of Boing Boing Imagine your father is a monster. Would that mean there are monsters inside you, too? Nineteen-year-old Ry Burke, his mother, and little sister eke out a living on their dying family farm. Ry wishes for anything to distract him from the grim memories of his father’s physical and emotional abuse. Then a meteorite falls from the sky, bringing with it not only a fragment from another world but also the arrival of a ruthless man intent on destroying the entire family. Soon Ry is forced to defend himself by resurrecting a trio of imaginary childhood protectors: kindly Mr. Furrington, wise Jesus, and the bloodthirsty Scowler.
Reviews with the most likes.
This one is going to stick with me for a while. Horrible events; beautiful and heartbreaking writing. Really, really amazing.
I was amazed by how well Kraus managed to maintain the tension in this novel. Really, the events take place over just about two days and they are two days filled with horror that had me (ME!) biting my nails and trying not to puke all at the same time. There are some scenes in this book.....let's just say they will stay with me a long, long time. Shudder. I will not list the range of emotions I went through reading this book, but they were many.
I took a star away only because I thought some bits dragged out unnecessarily. Also, sometimes the action happened so fast that what actually happened was confusing and I found myself rereading and rereading to regain the thread.
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