Revenant

Rating:
Summary: A stunning novel of grief and redemption
Review: A mother whose children were killed in a car accident. An old woman whose husband lies in the grip of Alzheimer's. A man who longs for the sister he loved as a child. A fifteen-year-old girl who aborted her baby. A little boy whose mother abandoned him as an infant. One by one these and others are led by the ones they grieve for to the hidden town of Revenant. The ghosts are not merely of the dead, but of those who once were or might have been. Revenant feeds on the grief of the living. Some will break free of their emotional chains; others will be consumed. In her third solo novel, Melanie Tem again displays her mastery and understanding of human nature with astounding depth. Though her award-winning first novel, 'Prodigal', remains my favourite, this book is also remarkable in it's way. Truly one of the finest writers of original, modern, *meaningful* horror fiction. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The loved lost.
Review: A mother whose children were killed in a car accident. An old woman whose husband lies in the grip of Alzheimer's. A man who longs for the sister he loved as a child. A fifteen-year-old girl who aborted her baby. A little boy whose mother abandoned him as an infant. One by one these and others are led by the ones they grieve for to the hidden town of Revenant. The ghosts are not merely of the dead, but of those who once were or might have been. Revenant feeds on the grief of the living. Some will break free of their emotional chains; others will be consumed. In her third solo novel, Melanie Tem again displays her mastery and understanding of human nature with astounding depth. Though her award-winning first novel, 'Prodigal', remains my favourite, this book is also remarkable in it's way. Truly one of the finest writers of original, modern, *meaningful* horror fiction. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning novel of grief and redemption
Review: It's unfortunate that this novel is marketed solely to a horror audience, because in addition to being horror, it's also one of the finest modern novels I've read in years. An exploration of grief, hope, and coming to terms with loss couched in the form of a very unusual ghost story, this is one book that ought to be brought back into print immediately and marketed to a much wider audience. I would recommend it highly to anyone who has suffered a major loss, or to anyone just looking for a well-written, moving story with some very creepy moments.

Rating:
Summary: You can pass on this one...
Review: The other reviews posted here provide an adequate synopsis of this book, so I'll limit my remarks to a few opinions.

First of all, the book is definitely not scary; nor does it try to be. So if you want the crap scared out of you, look elsewhere.

Second, the novel does not have a conventional structure. It reads like an "ensemble cast" movie. There are about 10 sets of characters, and the book is constructed of episodes that involve each set of characters. There is only minimal interplay between them, and this comes near the end of the book. This lack of connection between them is one of the book's major weaknesses, and makes the whole experience seem limited and rather unsatisfying.

Tem is skillful at characterization and dialog. But I still found myself not caring very much about anyone in the book. A few characters were more interesting than others, but none of them really left me wanting to know what happens next. In fact, after about 50 pages I was constantly thinking, should I quit reading this and move onto something else?

While I did manage to finish the book, I can't say I recommend it. Life is short, and there are a lot of great books out there. This is not one of them. If you want scary and interesting, try Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" or Richard Matheson's "Hell House."

Rating:
Summary: Haunting, Finely Written
Review: This book is about grief and how people deal with it. There was a mother who lives with the illusion that both her children are still alive. A teenaged girl keeps seeing the ghost of her aborted fetus. And, a father who has lost his son. All three converge together in a ghost town called Revenant, which is hungry for human grief.There, they must face their loss and choose to let go of their pain or join the ghostly population. It was a great story, the emotions and the settings so well written that I was totally immersed until I finished the book.

Rating:
Summary: Haunting, Finely Written
Review: This book is about grief and how people deal with it. There was a mother who lives with the illusion that both her children are still alive. A teenaged girl keeps seeing the ghost of her aborted fetus. And, a father who has lost his son. All three converge together in a ghost town called Revenant, which is hungry for human grief.There, they must face their loss and choose to let go of their pain or join the ghostly population. It was a great story, the emotions and the settings so well written that I was totally immersed until I finished the book.