The Pines

Rating:
Summary: Well-crafted treatment of the Jersey Devil legend
Review: This horror novel has been a guilty pleasure of mine for years. In it, Robert Dunbar tackles the legend of the Jersey Devil -- the supposedly satanic half-man, half-beast that has terrorized residents of southern New Jersey since the 18th century. Dunbar takes this legend, along with its Pine-Barrens setting, and runs with it. The story revolves around a widowed young woman, her troubled son, her co-workers in a rural ambulance unit, and her cop boyfriend. I don't want to give away anything, but I will say that Dunbar's re-working of the old legend is very imaginative and at times truly scary. For example, he has a scene involving several young couples camping in the Pine Barrens that does a terrific job of playing on fears that anyone who has ever been alone in the woods at night has had.

My only criticisms are that Dunbar at times descends into Clive-Barker-style gross-out violence, and that he unfairly portrays the "Pineys" as depraved mental defectives. This book should definitely not be viewed as a travel guide! As entertainment, however, it is great fun.