Bastion Falls

Rating:
Summary: Bastion Falls & Storm of the Century
Review: I can't help but compare this one with King's "Storm of the Century". In both stories a small town is cut off from the outside world by a severe storm. Then strange things begin to happen. The stage is set for what could be an intense and intriguing story of good and evil. But, soon the readers will notice why King is still the king, and Moloney will have a long way to go. In King's story people die for sins they have committed. Thus the readers have a feeling that justice is being served. Regardless whether we agree the way justice is handed out, at least in that moment the book connects with our emotion. In Bastion Falls, people die, well, basically for remembering some long lost friends, foes or loved ones. How should the readers feel about such a development? Should we feel sorry for the victims? Should we feel just? The problem is we don't know how to feel about it. The story never quite connects with something deep inside us. In "Storm", King has one more twist which is that the town has to deal one of their children to the demon. This sets up the final moral conflicts and tensions among the characters. What happens in Bastion Falls? We never quite understand where the "black things" come from, why they come, what they want, and in the end, where they go. People simply die, and that's the end of it. King's story is more than just horror: it is moral, it is philosophical, and it is human. Perhaps that's not what we would normally expect from a "horror" fiction. But by putting "Storm of the Century" and "Bastion Falls" side by side, we will notice what separate a good horror fiction from an average one.

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: It is a decent novel for a first book. I found the story a bit slow in places, but overall I enjoyed it.

Rating:
Summary: I'm cold thinking about it
Review: It was a little boring at first and then it started to pick up. I enjoyed and I would recommed it!

Rating:
Summary: SNOWED UNDER
Review: One has to admire the effort of freshman novelist Susie Moloney (Who went on to write the much better "A Dry Spell") for trying to create a terrifying situation, and involve many characters. Unfortunately, so much time is spent on the development of the characters and their "dark secrets" than to explain exactly what kind of horror the citizens of this little town are facing.
Suffice to say, the constant snowfall is unnerving and provides quite a "chilling" (no pun intended) atmosphere for this brooding tale.
The main characters are Marilyn, a woman recently divorced, who returns to Bastion Falls to start life over again. And that's basically all we know about her background. The other focal character is Shandy, a fifteen year old teenager, cursed/gifted with the ability to read minds and predict the future. She is romantically involved with the rather self-serving David, and their romantic plight falls under the weight of not only the snow but Ms. Moloney's incomplete development.
The character of Candace Bergen (that's right, she shares the same name as Murphy Brown, and it was intentional) is so overdramatic that she comes across rather cartoonish, and by the end we don't know what happened to her. Also, there's mention of a body behind Northern Lights, and we never find out who it is, unless it's the carefully concealed identity of the town mayor?
I liked Hickory, the phys-ed teacher, only because he seemed the most real of the characters, and he wasn't overused.
The climax is rather disappointing, considering what you've been waiting for. But alas, you get no real info on what happened at Fort Bastion and what these dreaded black things are, what they really want, or where they go.
Living in an area where schools are cancelled after the first snowflake, it was amusing to see how the school principal has to call a meeting of the school board at 3:30 p.m. to discuss what to do with all the kinds who got snowbound. Should have sent them home earlier, maybe?
Also, the scenes involving Tully and Emma are grotesquely overplayed, and if Moloney expected sympathy for Emma, she doesn't get it from me.
All in all, it has a spooky feel and would make an interesting book to read during a snowstorm.
MILDLY RECOMMENDED.

Rating:
Summary: SNOWED UNDER
Review: One has to admire the effort of freshman novelist Susie Moloney (Who went on to write the much better "A Dry Spell") for trying to create a terrifying situation, and involve many characters. Unfortunately, so much time is spent on the development of the characters and their "dark secrets" than to explain exactly what kind of horror the citizens of this little town are facing.
Suffice to say, the constant snowfall is unnerving and provides quite a "chilling" (no pun intended) atmosphere for this brooding tale.
The main characters are Marilyn, a woman recently divorced, who returns to Bastion Falls to start life over again. And that's basically all we know about her background. The other focal character is Shandy, a fifteen year old teenager, cursed/gifted with the ability to read minds and predict the future. She is romantically involved with the rather self-serving David, and their romantic plight falls under the weight of not only the snow but Ms. Moloney's incomplete development.
The character of Candace Bergen (that's right, she shares the same name as Murphy Brown, and it was intentional) is so overdramatic that she comes across rather cartoonish, and by the end we don't know what happened to her. Also, there's mention of a body behind Northern Lights, and we never find out who it is, unless it's the carefully concealed identity of the town mayor?
I liked Hickory, the phys-ed teacher, only because he seemed the most real of the characters, and he wasn't overused.
The climax is rather disappointing, considering what you've been waiting for. But alas, you get no real info on what happened at Fort Bastion and what these dreaded black things are, what they really want, or where they go.
Living in an area where schools are cancelled after the first snowflake, it was amusing to see how the school principal has to call a meeting of the school board at 3:30 p.m. to discuss what to do with all the kinds who got snowbound. Should have sent them home earlier, maybe?
Also, the scenes involving Tully and Emma are grotesquely overplayed, and if Moloney expected sympathy for Emma, she doesn't get it from me.
All in all, it has a spooky feel and would make an interesting book to read during a snowstorm.
MILDLY RECOMMENDED.

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: This was quite good. Not at all what I expected, but worth the time reading.