Rating: 
Summary: A Keeper
Review: The problem with genre fiction is that so much of it is cruft. Sineater, however, is a daimond in the rough. Massie's writing style is evocative and vivid without becoming florid. Reading this novel I had a definite feel for exactly what things looked like, how they felt, and how they smelled. The characterizations were strong and even her touches on the minor characters leave the reader feeling like they are actual people with full lives outside of their small parts in the unfolding story.The plot is a bit slow and wanders off track in a few places, but this book is not about the plot. This is a novel of human interactions and reactions, a novel about people. The true story lies in the way in which the town is dealing with their own changing traditions. That said, I was very impressed with the fact that the action sequences are unusually well-done and, occasionally, exciting. I read this novel straight through in one sitting and would recommend it to just about anyone, horror fan or no. I wish I'd waited and got a hardback edition.
Rating:
Summary: A Keeper
Review: The problem with genre fiction is that so much of it is cruft. Sineater, however, is a daimond in the rough. Massie's writing style is evocative and vivid without becoming florid. Reading this novel I had a definite feel for exactly what things looked like, how they felt, and how they smelled. The characterizations were strong and even her touches on the minor characters leave the reader feeling like they are actual people with full lives outside of their small parts in the unfolding story. The plot is a bit slow and wanders off track in a few places, but this book is not about the plot. This is a novel of human interactions and reactions, a novel about people. The true story lies in the way in which the town is dealing with their own changing traditions. That said, I was very impressed with the fact that the action sequences are unusually well-done and, occasionally, exciting. I read this novel straight through in one sitting and would recommend it to just about anyone, horror fan or no. I wish I'd waited and got a hardback edition.
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing Story
Review: This book was absolutely hypnotic in its exposition, suspense and characterizations. I found I was actually holding my breath during many of the critical scenes. Fabulously written. Top rate. And emotionally wrenching to read! Wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing Story
Review: This book was absolutely hypnotic in its exposition, suspense and characterizations. I found I was actually holding my breath during many of the critical scenes. Fabulously written. Top rate. And emotionally wrenching to read! Wonderful!
Rating: 
Summary: GRIM...GRIPPING...ATMOSPHERIC
Review: This is an exceptionally well written horror novel and one of the best of its genre. This Bram Stoker Award winning novel is set in the backwoods of Virginia, and the author's talent as a writer gives the reader a real feeling for the place about which she is writing. It is a grim, gripping, and highly atmospheric horror novel about a backwoods town in which some of the residents practice an old time religious custom...one that requires the service of one known as the "Sineater". By custom, the Sineater is one who redeems the souls of the dead by eating food laid out on the bodies of the dead before they are buried. In eating the food, the Sineater is symbolically redeeming their souls, as the food represents their sins. The living are forbidden to look upon the countenance of the Sineater. That taboo, however, has been violated, as the Sineater now has a wife and family, even though they, too, must avert their gaze. The family is also to be shunned by the people of the town. Yet, the youngest member of the family, Joel, attends school in town. Though his company is generally avoided by nearly all, he manages to touch some hearts, and some folks actually interact with the child much to their ultimate dismay, as someone appears to be very angry with this break in tradition. The goodness and sensitivity innate in Joel, as well as his touching appreciation of friendly overtures by others, and the discovery of his own humanity, is a wonderful counterpoint to the evil let loose upon this backwoods town and the ignorance which fuels customs that are destructive and inhumane. This is a horror novel well worth reading.
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