The Fates

Rating:
Summary: A weak first novel by a good writer.
Review: Thomas Tessier is a talented author and I was pretty excited when I found a copy of this book. It was his first novel, published in the late 80's, and the cover was distincly horror. I was hoping for something gritty and scary and I was curious to see what his "premier" was like. I'm sorry to say, that it was pretty disappointing. It had an interesting premise: Strange sentient lights begin appearing around a small town in various forms. Children see a luminescent blue mist that appears to them in the woods like a holy visitation. Others see it on the horizon like blue flames, dancing over the town. Before long, it turns dark and vicious and innocent people in the town are torn limb from limb when it manifests into a whirlwind-like poltergiest... Sounds pretty cool for a horror novel, huh? Unfortunately, Tessier didn't seem to know what to do with the idea. The characters are very well drawn and handled with above average skill but it's not enough to carry a story that runs out of steam about mid way through. Even with the action-packed final chapters, the story has no where to go and Tessier doesn't seem to care in the end. His explanation for the supernatural entity was very weak, almost as though he had painted himself into a corner and didn't know how to resolve it. I can't recommend this particular book, but I can recommend his later work. Tessier grew to become an excellent writer. His book PHANTOM is a much better introduction, for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of reading his work.

Rating:
Summary: A weak first novel by a good writer.
Review: Thomas Tessier is a talented author and I was pretty excited when I found a copy of this book. It was his first novel, published in the late 80's, and the cover was distincly horror. I was hoping for something gritty and scary and I was curious to see what his "premier" was like. I'm sorry to say, that it was pretty disappointing. It had an interesting premise: Strange sentient lights begin appearing around a small town in various forms. Children see a luminescent blue mist that appears to them in the woods like a holy visitation. Others see it on the horizon like blue flames, dancing over the town. Before long, it turns dark and vicious and innocent people in the town are torn limb from limb when it manifests into a whirlwind-like poltergiest... Sounds pretty cool for a horror novel, huh? Unfortunately, Tessier didn't seem to know what to do with the idea. The characters are very well drawn and handled with above average skill but it's not enough to carry a story that runs out of steam about mid way through. Even with the action-packed final chapters, the story has no where to go and Tessier doesn't seem to care in the end. His explanation for the supernatural entity was very weak, almost as though he had painted himself into a corner and didn't know how to resolve it. I can't recommend this particular book, but I can recommend his later work. Tessier grew to become an excellent writer. His book PHANTOM is a much better introduction, for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of reading his work.