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| The Call |
Title: The Call
Author: Peadar O'Guilin
Publication Date: 8/30/2016
Pages: 312
How I Found It: Someone recommended it to me on Twitter when I asked for scary book recommendations.
Date Completed: 10/7/17
Summary: Ireland has been blocked off from the rest of the world. One by one, its teenagers disappear for three minutes and four seconds. Most of them return dead and even deformed. Teenagers who have yet to be called are trained at intense schools, hoping what they learn will one day save their lives.
What I Thought: Someone in the Twitter book community recommended this to me after I asked for scary book recommendations. As you know, I'm on a hunt for a good, terrifying psychological thrilled this Halloween season.
This really wasn't what I was looking for, but it was a quick, interesting read.
The premise is basically that a magical, evil population of fairies (called the Sidhe, but possibly similar to leprechauns, which are more familiar to Americans). The humans evicted them from Ireland two thousand years ago and banished them to a terrible land without color. Now, they are taking their revenge. The protagonist of the novel, Nessa, suffers from polio, which most believe will doom her in her inevitable flight from the Sidhe.
Honestly, I didn't find this book that scary, so it didn't do what I was hoping it would. However, it was an interesting idea and I did enjoy reading it. It's always nice to read about a local culture when the author clearly knows what he or she is talking about. If O'Guilin's name doesn't tip you off, the authenticity of Irish culture and legend certainly will.
So, my hunt for a truly scary October novel continues. Along the way, this was a nice two-day diversion. Really, it fits in with my Halloween-themed reading well. After all - violent, mystical creatures occupy a great amount of the cultural space around the holiday. If you really like fantasys novels, particularly ones with some violence, you'll like this. I don't think I'll read the second book in the series when it comes out, but I'm not upset that this one landed in my hands.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Will I Re-Read: Nope
A Reduced Review: A unique fantasy novel that, though not really what I was looking for, made for a nice October read.
I was reading this article by MMD this morning about books with unreliable narrators or ambiguous endings, and it made me think of your search for a scary thriller. Not sure if any of them will catch your interest (most thrillers are too creepy for me, so I haven't read most of the books on the list), but I thought I'd share just in case!
ReplyDeletehttps://modernmrsdarcy.com/unreliable-narrators-ambiguous-endings-books/
This is a good list! Thanks for sharing!
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