The Red Church

Rating:
Summary: Old Testament vs New
Review: A small Appalachian town is the setting for this unusual horror thriller. There is an old church with a bad reputation. It is said to be haunted. Several generations ago the preacher was hanged by his congregation.

But now the church is bach in business. The Church of the Two Suns is now there. The idea is that G-d had two sons. The first, Jesus, failed in his mission. Now a second son has been sent. This one talks of sacrifice and trials like in the Old Testament.

The new preacher is the great-grandson of the infamous Hung Preacher. But is he what he says and his flock believes? Is there any truth to the idea of the Second Son?

This book builds its suspense nicely with small tidbits of horror added early to help set the stage and hook the reader. I have read a lot of horror novels but I had a hard time guessing where this one was going. It is definately not a stock plot and the characters are very interesting.

If you want a horror novel that can deliver the horror but isn't like the rest, take a visit to The Red Church.

Rating:
Summary: NC Loves It
Review: As a graduate of the author's university, I have to confess that I have been to the church in Valle Crusis that the story is based upon.
What a thrill it was to picture the structure that I had visited at night, looking to be scared. The local stories as to why the preacher's tombstone has to face the congregation for eternity are not half as interesting as the author's twisted tale of the locals and their devotion to God.
Good read, especially if you know the area!

Rating:
Summary: A Reader's Opinion
Review: As an unpublished writer, my opinion on writing styles and formats and first books is probably not worth a grain of salt to anyone reading this review. HOWEVER, as a reader of many, many, MANY horror and suspense novels, short stories and the like--I think my opinion may be worth much more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Scott Nicholson's book, The Red Church, so much so that I have already put his upcoming book, The Harvest, at the top of this years Christmas list. I enjoyed reading this book because I felt there were many twists and turns--you weren't really sure which supernatural force was truly responsible for the haphazard demise of this small mountain town and most importantly--you cared about what happened to the boys. I found this to be a fun read and would recommend it highly to anyone looking to sample a new writer's work.

Rating:
Summary: A flawed first novel.
Review: Built during the Civil War under the guidance of Reverend Wendell McFall, Potter's Mill Baptist Church provided a venue for the Reverend to preach his blasphemous sermons declaring the existence of God's "Second Son," whose mission on earth is to undo the good done by Jesus. In his madness, the preacher even went so far as to have the church painted red, in order to "bring the first son around to protect them from the second." Although many thought him crazy, McCall attracted a loyal following, at least until the day a child was found dead on the altar of the church, sacrificed by the Reverend in an attempt to emulate the actions of the biblical Abraham. Outraged, his parishioners used the church's bell rope to hang him from a dogwood tree.

Cut to present day, when the quiet of Potter's Mill is shattered by several particularly brutal murders. Sheriff Frank Littlefield and his partner investigate, but find few solid leads. Are the murders connected to the mysterious Archer McFall, who has returned to the town after a twenty-year absence to reopen the dilapidated Red Church? Or were they committed by a demon linked to McFall's ancestor Wendell? Littlefield, who finds both explanations plausible, is determined to discover the truth, even at the risk of his life.

Reading the praise heaped on Nicholson by such established writers like Sharyn McCrumb, Bentley Little, Kevin J. Anderson, and Stewart O'Nan, one might conclude that he's the second coming of Stephen King or H.P. Lovecraft. That's not the case. The Red Church is a typical first novel, one whose positives barely outweigh its negatives. Although Nicholson writes with undeniable energy and verve, and is capable of evoking genuine scares in his readers, his work is derivative, and filled with errors in continuity and logic, so many that one wonders if anyone at Pinnacle bothered to edit the book. These errors sabotage the narrative, constantly jolting reader out of the reality into which Nicholson so strenuously labors to draw them. Still, the book possesses a goofy breathlessness that keeps one turning pages despite its numerous flaws, marking Nicholson as someone who bears watching.

Rating:
Summary: Ummm..... Really wanted to like this one.
Review: Call me old-fashioned, but I feel that a horror novel should at least:
1)approach scaring the reader.
2)have characters that the reader _wants_ to form some kind of attachment to.
3)provide a story that is both 'unique' and exciting.
4)have an ending that leaves the reader at least nodding with a 'not bad old-timer' look on the face.
5)ummm... Whatever
This book failed on every count... Though it was a quick/fun read (hence the star) I feel that episodes of 'Trading Spaces' have scared and compelled me more. This will not stop me from picking up the author's second book. I feel that his writing style is easy on the eyes and moves along quite well.

One other note: I really feel that 'The Red Church' hints at some reservations about oragnized religion on the author's part. Certain exchanges in the book felt more like a 'let's see if I can be critical of religion and shock the reader' ploy, which come out looking more like high school angst against going to church... As a fan of Lovecraftian writing and a 'scholar' of world religions I really wanted to like this book but was quite let down. Just my 2 cents

Rating:
Summary: Give me that old time Terror!
Review: Chills are plenty in Scott Nicholson's debut horror novel! A red church in a small town in north carolina houses a ancient evil! ...Nicholson's chilling horror novel's theme of religious fanaticism that sometimes dwells in rural towns and the scenes of terror are described in ghoulish detail!
the characters are very memorable ... Zombies and ghosts also are some of the elements in this chiller. The novel ends with one of the creepy finals in I've ever read as you find out source of the evil that resides in the red church. Unforgettable tale of terror!

Rating:
Summary: Campy, Old-School Horror
Review: Fans of early King and Barker will dig this. Nicholson may do to backwood North Carolina what King did to rural Maine. The southern lingo, and the tabacoo chewin', god-fearin' folk characters give this book a charming appeal.

Set in the mountains, a descendant of a hung preacher who had proclaimed the coming of a "second son" comes home and buys "the red church". Soon enough, this mysterious preacher draws a following, and the rest is for you to stay up all night and find out.

I won't spoil the ending, but will tell you that I personally loved it. It's one of those that could spring various interpretations.

So...what are you waiting for?

Rating:
Summary: A promising new horror writer's debut novel
Review: Horror has a promising new author in Scott Nicholson. While this debut novel is not perfect, it is a compelling read that moves purposefully from start to finish, exuding a consistent level of creepiness. The plot itself never bogs down, which is a definite plus. The characters are not quite as fleshed out as I might like, but I feel like I got a pretty good glimpse at most of them and what they were about. Good and evil is somewhat blurred in many cases, but I definitely found myself pulling for the youngsters Ronnie and Timmy Day and for Sheriff Littlefield. The reader probably comes to know the sheriff more than any other character because for him the events of this story do not begin in the present but, instead, years earlier during his childhood. One Halloween night, he watched his younger brother die, hanged from the belfry of the mysterious red church, pushed by the hands (actually talons) of the horrible Bell Monster; perhaps even worse, he saw the image of the cackling Hung Preacher hanging from the limb of the dogwood in front of the church, the very tree on which that infernal preacher was hanged by his own church members four generations earlier. The guilt, fear, and horror of that night have haunted the sheriff for many years, and Nicholson conveys this inner turmoil pretty well to the reader.

The Hung Preacher died long ago, but his descendant Archer McFall has come back home to reopen the Red Church and preach his own twisted sort of religion. He is the second son of God, he proclaims, here to undo the damage done by the first son, the liar Jesus who promised everyone salvation if they would just believe; Archer, the second son, insists that sacrifice and suffering is required in order to receive salvation. His congregation is made up of the descendants of the men and women who murdered his great-great grandfather, and he insists that they must make great sacrifices to atone for the actions of their own ancestors. For some reason which is never quite clear, Archer specifically needs Ronnie Day, and Ronnie's mother, a former disciple of Archer, will do anything to please her supposed savior. Standing in the way of this ordained fate for the boy are Ronnie's father and the sheriff.

I have no complaints about the ending. There are a few little potholes in the road along the way, but that is almost to be expected in an author's first published novel. A couple of things at the end didn't make perfect sense to me, but Nicholson did a commendable job of leaving no important issues unaddressed. There are no grand surprises at the end, but a twist or two make sure that the conclusion is not totally predictable. The blasphemy perpetrated by Archer may offend those with strong Christian beliefs, but this book is in no way anti-religious. It merely employs Archer's [wrong] testament to serve as the lever on which the whole novel is balanced. Obviously, Nicholson has some talent, and he knows how to tell a good story; I will be looking forward to his second novel. There is definitely a good bit of potential here for the future.

Rating:
Summary: Rural gothic that chills the bones
Review: I am always searching for fresh new faces in the horror field. Scott Nicholson has received quite a lot of attention since the publication of The Red Church, his first novel. What attracted me most to this novel was its summary at the back, which seemed original and quite elaborate for the plot of a horror paperback . Just like you would never recommend a deeply religious person to sit through The Exorcist, you would definitely not want such a person to read The Red Church either. This novel takes religious fanaticism to morbid extremes.

In the 1800's, reverend Wendell McFall' sermons declared the existence of the second son of God, whose mission it is to destroy the work and the existence of Jesus, God's first son. McFall had his church painted red to summon the first son to defeat the second. But when he sacrificed a newborn child to support his rantings, his congregation hung him from the rafters of the church.

Fast forward to present time. The Red Church still stands but has long been abandoned, used only as a site for Hallowen pranks and as a place for the young to drink and fornicate. When a mutilated body is discovered on the grounds of The Red Church by 13-year-old Ronnie and his young brother Tim, it shocks the townfolk and law enforcement officials of this peaceful and sleepy mountain community. When a second and third body are discovered, Sheriff frank Littlefield senses that these murders are not being committed by a raving lunatic or a serial killer but that The Red Church is in some way responsible. Frank doesn't think it to be a mere coincidence that theses murders started occuring when Archer McFall, a descendant of the hung preacher, returns to town and purchases The Red Church in an effort to restore it to its past glory.

The Red Church explores many different kinds of horrors. Things that go bump in the night, religious blasphemy, etc. There is also a nice sub-story involving the breakdown of a family unit. David Day is a firm believer in Christ, as are his sons Ronny and Tim. His wife Linda, however, is a fervent follower of Archer McFall's unorthodox (to say the least) Red Church. Archer's sermons encourage sacrifice as a way to purify the blood of those whose ancesters had a hand in the hanging of Wendell McFall. It's quite interesting and quite eerie to read about the inner struggles Linda faces between the love that she has for her children and her duty as a member of The Red Church to offer her children as sacrifice.

One thing I will say about this novel is that it is very audacious, perhaps a little bit too much so. Nicholson throws a lot of supernatural sub-stories our way such as the hung preacher, the bell monster, the temple of the two sons, etc. We get the impression while reading the novel that these elements are important to the story's denouement yet Nicholson doesn't develop or explore these concepts fully. Truth be told, there are way too many things going on in this novel of 350 pages for things to make perfect sense. Also, I found it to be a tad bit unrealistic that absolutely everyone in the mountain town of Whispering Pines is deply religious, either a zealous follower of Archer's church or of the chirch of Christ. ...

That said, I really enjoyed The Red Church. It is a highly original and creepy novel and as far as the minor squibbles I have about it these are not so much neatives, just things for Nicholson to improve on in his follow-up novel.

Rating:
Summary: Rural gothic that chills the bones
Review: I am always searching for fresh new faces in the horror field. Scott Nicholson has received quite a lot of attention since the publication of The Red Church, his first novel. What attracted me most to this novel was its summary at the back, which seemed original and quite elaborate for the plot of a horror paperback . Just like you would never recommend a deeply religious person to sit through The Exorcist, you would definitely not want such a person to read The Red Church either. This novel takes religious fanaticism to morbid extremes.

In the 1800's, reverend Wendell McFall' sermons declared the existence of the second son of God, whose mission it is to destroy the work and the existence of Jesus, God's first son. McFall had his church painted red to summon the first son to defeat the second. But when he sacrificed a newborn child to support his rantings, his congregation hung him from the rafters of the church.

Fast forward to present time. The Red Church still stands but has long been abandoned, used only as a site for Hallowen pranks and as a place for the young to drink and fornicate. When a mutilated body is discovered on the grounds of The Red Church by 13-year-old Ronnie and his young brother Tim, it shocks the townfolk and law enforcement officials of this peaceful and sleepy mountain community. When a second and third body are discovered, Sheriff frank Littlefield senses that these murders are not being committed by a raving lunatic or a serial killer but that The Red Church is in some way responsible. Frank doesn't think it to be a mere coincidence that theses murders started occuring when Archer McFall, a descendant of the hung preacher, returns to town and purchases The Red Church in an effort to restore it to its past glory.

The Red Church explores many different kinds of horrors. Things that go bump in the night, religious blasphemy, etc. There is also a nice sub-story involving the breakdown of a family unit. David Day is a firm believer in Christ, as are his sons Ronny and Tim. His wife Linda, however, is a fervent follower of Archer McFall's unorthodox (to say the least) Red Church. Archer's sermons encourage sacrifice as a way to purify the blood of those whose ancesters had a hand in the hanging of Wendell McFall. It's quite interesting and quite eerie to read about the inner struggles Linda faces between the love that she has for her children and her duty as a member of The Red Church to offer her children as sacrifice.

One thing I will say about this novel is that it is very audacious, perhaps a little bit too much so. Nicholson throws a lot of supernatural sub-stories our way such as the hung preacher, the bell monster, the temple of the two sons, etc. We get the impression while reading the novel that these elements are important to the story's denouement yet Nicholson doesn't develop or explore these concepts fully. Truth be told, there are way too many things going on in this novel of 350 pages for things to make perfect sense. Also, I found it to be a tad bit unrealistic that absolutely everyone in the mountain town of Whispering Pines is deply religious, either a zealous follower of Archer's church or of the chirch of Christ. ...

That said, I really enjoyed The Red Church. It is a highly original and creepy novel and as far as the minor squibbles I have about it these are not so much neatives, just things for Nicholson to improve on in his follow-up novel.