Winterset Hollow

3.25 stars 
Dark low fantasy horror following three friends as they to on a pilgrimage to their favourite author's house, author of a tale about a tribe of animals preparing for their festival, but what was supposed to be a simple trip takes a turn for the worst. 

This was a mixed bag for me. The theme and plot were really original and interesting. I also liked the « horror » twist to an original fable like story, the overall themes of the book. The main character Eamon was interesting enough and I liked his friendship with Mark and Caroline. To be honest the more compelling characters arrived later into the story (no spoilers), though I wished some of them were more fleshed out 
However the execution overall didn't work for me.  The writing was good technically but felt too descriptive and there was too much superfluous details. I felt it kept me from caring more about the story and characters. 
It lacked the tension and page turning feel, especially when the book twists into violent action and gore. 

All in all a very interesting world building and story but the execution left me unsatisfied.

This one was tough. On one hand when the story finally kicks off it’s an interesting thriller filled with action, but it takes 40% of the book to finally get there. I managed to stick it out to the kickoff point, only to be met with the characters who were clearly placed to be killed off (read: little character building) to be killed off and for the main three characters to stay alive with the exception of a fake out death scene that annoyed me enough to finally put down the book. There is a nagging plot thread that wanted me to continue to read the book, but I just can’t force myself to read it any longer after forcing myself for the first half.

4.5 stars

A trip to visit the estate once owned by the author of their favourite book, turns into a nightmare for three friends.
If you're expecting a gentle fantasy, this is not the book for you.

2.5 stars. Such a premise. A pretty solid start and then about 175 pages of violent, monotonous action interwoven with heavy-handed allegory. Durham can write, and well, which makes it all the more disappointing.

A bit long for my tastes.

The character building was pretty excellent, at first Durham offers us a cast of characters that seem pretty one dimensional and later introduces elements that ask us to question our perception so that we have both the fun of familiar archetypes and the challenge of things being deeper than they appear.

The magical realism part and horror part transition was seamless and the shift in tone between the 2 was chef's kiss.

Very unusual and not at all what I was expecting. This is a dark fantasy or I'd even say a social horror about the dominance of one culture over the other, and the repercussions of past generations mistakes - told in a mind boggling way. The writing is excellent too.

I definitely did not enjoy reading “[b:Winterset Hollow 58934632 Winterset Hollow Jonathan Edward Durham https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630955865l/58934632.SX50.jpg 92874648]”. [a:Jonathan Edward Durham 21791156 Jonathan Edward Durham https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1631055667p2/21791156.jpg] tells the story of a group of admirer's of a children's novel about anthropomorphised animals with a dark horror twist... The protagonists “damaged” Eamon, “dumb but kind” Mark and “smart and comforting” Caroline visit their idol's lonely island - and that is where the cookie already starts crumbling: Lots of people visit said island every single year, lots of people vanish without a trace - and there are no investigations, no tabloids reporting on it; nothing...Ok, so let's suspend some disbelief - and meet an anthropomorphised rabbit, frog, fox, and bear. Who all speak English (apart from the bear). And throw parties and a lot more...Disbelief is wearing thinner... When those animals start murdering the “guests” and a hunt for our three heroes embarks, things get rough: There's lots of violence, brutality and a casual cruelty to it all that made me feel deeply uncomfortable. From outright gore (unquotable...) to pure horror which the author seems to subscribe to enthusiastically:»His death was nothing like it was supposed to be ... nothing like anything they'd ever watched on the silver screen or seen scratched out in big, bright colors in a comic book. It was anything but immediate and [he] fought it the whole way, his limbs flailing and his throat pumping out the most horrid, confused moans that any of them had ever heard. It was all so ghastly that [it] proved to be the most palatable part of his last moments. Even the scent of him soiling himself as his life wriggled from his clutch was far more bitter. It was all so incorrect ... and each of them knew they would never be able to wash away its stain.«Describing the death of a human being like that - to me - is exceptionally disgusting and only justifiable in very few cases. A fictional novel is not one of them.Denis Scheck, a German literary critic, has coined a very fitting word for large parts of what this book consists of: “Gewaltpornographie” (violence porn).Even if all of this was an allegory on colonisation (which does make some sense) it would only make limited sense because those suffering under the yoke of their oppressors are by no means better than them. I felt no sympathy for any of the characters; I just despised them to different degrees.Sadly, the writing is very heavy-handed, flowery and stilted as well. The author seems to be trying to emulate older (outdated) literary styles (the Brothers Grimm come to mind) in a modern setting which simply doesn't work very well.Durham also takes generous helpings from cheap thrillers: The murderer always comes back at least once, sometimes even twice or thrice! At this point, my disbelief was entirely gone and my eyes started hurting from all the rolling they did...Towards the end the madness at least grows some method and while still completely icky, the book comes to a somewhat satisfying conclusion.Three stars out of five because there are some redeeming aspects for this book. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

Read the full review at https://talesfromabsurdia.com/book-reviews/winterset-hollow-book-review/

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Winterset Hollow is a novel about a novel called Winterset Hollow.

Sound confusing? Don't worry – it isn't.

Jonathan Edward Durham's debut novel is, however, a fascinating blend of genres.

Dark fantasy meets metafiction, whilst whimsical children's fiction meets slasher. The result of this rather outlandish experiment is a remarkable piece of fiction that sticks long in the memory.

A lot of love and attention has gone into Winterset Hollow, and it shows. It's a fantastic debut effort, and I'd strongly encourage my readers to add this to their TBR lists – especially with it being available on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited programme.

Around the world, Winterset Hollow is a book cherished by countless people. When a group of fans earn ferry tickets to Addington Isle, they jump at the chance to visit their beloved author’s residence. It’s Barley Day, after all, a day of celebration in the Hollow. But for some this Barley Day will be their last. And they will soon find, that the precious book they all hold so dear, was crafted from blood and lies.

Winterset Hollow is a book that leans heavily on the literature side of writing. Settings are described in great detail, making sure to explore each room and area the characters enter. The vocabulary used is flamboyant and emphasizes the use of complex sentence structure. And there is a large amount of buildup and foreshadowing. It is a book that takes a while to move the plot forward as it spends a good amount of time building up each character and the essence of their position in life.

While Winterset Hollow has an extremely slow start, once the hunt begins it does pick up the pace. Though I do wish the sudden aggressiveness of the antagonists was more of a surprise. Foreshadowing was used a bit too much to send red flags to the readers, and I knew something was coming around the corner. Even the way the hunt began was a bit anticlimactic and the first death wasn’t quite unexpected. And while the hunt was intense and nerve-wracking, there were moments where long descriptions cut into the flow of the story and disrupted the pacing. But I will say, Finn, is a terrifying creature to have chase you. He is merciless and cruel. The perfect example of embodied rage and long-held grudges.

And then there is the overarching question of why? Why were these creatures so many humans loved across the world these tattered bitter versions of themselves? The slow reveal and the ensuing journey of discovery our three main protagonists underwent to piece this together was well done. Each new part of the puzzle they discovered was more disturbing than the last, and the final reveal of it all was well worth the wait. I also enjoyed the way the writing style jumped from one perspective to the next, allowing readers a full view of all the motivations and happenings of the story. This version of the third-person point of view was executed well and enriched the overall emotional impact of the story.

Would I compare this to Redwall? No, no I would not. This was pitched to me as a horror version of Redwall and it most certainly is not. The writing style is vastly different and even the origin of the characters in their Hollow is more akin to Watership Down than Redwall. Winterset Hollow is its own brand of dark fantasy, filled with complex characters and haunting revelations. If you enjoy novels that take the time to dive into motivations and develop an intricate set of characters and situations, give Winterset Hollow a try.