Snowblind by Christopher Golden

Snowblind by Christopher Golden
Buy Snowblind by Christopher Golden at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Horror
Reviewer: Margaret Young
Summary: Twelve years ago, Coventry Massachusetts was struck by a deadly storm. Now it's coming back and bringing far more than ice and freezing temperatures. This book will have you pulling the quilts up a little closer as the chill sinks in - it is just the book for a cold and stormy winter night.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 310	Date: January 2014
Publisher: Headline
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1472209580
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People in Coventry Massachusetts get nervous when a big storm comes in. Many have never come to terms with the legacy of killer storm a dozen years before. The townspeople have a sense of foreboding, as if they realise the storm was something more than a natural disaster. But for Jake Schapiro the storm was never an act of God. If anything it was closer to an act of something pure evil. Jake saw the creatures that rode the storm, and saw them claim his brother. He has spent twelve years wishing for another chance, and he is about to get it. This storm is just as cold, just as brutal and just as deadly as the last, but this one is bringing something else. Along with the bitter winds, snow and ice, this storm will bring back the dead. When you lose someone you love, the longing, or wishing for just one more day, one more hour or even a few minutes can be overwhelming - but there is an old saying: be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

I love a good horror story, but I do not have the slightest shred of belief in ghosts or the supernatural, so it takes a good author to allow me to suspend my disbelief and immerse myself in the story. I don't read this genre often, but I don't have a specific genre of books that I enjoy. I demand a engaging plot, well developed characters, and a certain quality of writing. If anything my genre of choice would simply be good books, and this is good.

I really enjoyed reading this, despite the fact that Snow Blind's biggest shortcoming is also my biggest bugbear in fiction - a lack of adequate development of the characters. This was always going to be an issue for a book with 310 pages and twenty main characters that I could think of off the top of my head. This story commands such a large cast, that full development of every character has become nearly impossible. This can make for more difficult reading at first, but the author ties all these stories together well, and I did feel they were all necessary by the end of the story. Jake Schapiro was without question, my favourite character, perhaps because he was the one I have the most in common with, but I also felt as if he might have captured something of the author himself. While some of the other characters may not have been as three dimensional as I would have liked, that can not be said for Jake. Snowblind does however, have one other minor shortcoming. I like a strong sense of resolution in the ending of a good book. I felt this did leave a few loose ends. But while I was not completely satisfied by the ending, he did leave some room for a sequel, and I have to admit, I'd be among the first to buy it.

I usually do not like to compare one author to another, but in this case, the comparison with Stephen King's early works is inescapable. Snow Blind takes place in a small New England town, has a tense and atmospheric feel to it, includes a huge cast of characters and a supernatural presence which is just a bit too far fetched - but like King, Golden has managed to pull it off. I won't go as far as to say that Golden has beaten the master at his own game. Not many horror writers can match King at his best. But if I had read this book without knowing the author's name, I would have been convinced Stephen King had penned this tale, and while this may not quite match King's finest works, like 'The Stand' or 'The Shining', it compares well with many of Kings other books. If you enjoy Stephen King, than I would strongly recommend you try this book as well. And if by chance you enjoy King, but are not a fan of exceptionally long novels, this book will be a pure delight. This is very reminiscent of many of King's epic novels, but condensed into much fewer pages. It is in short a very large story in a smallish book.

If this book appeals then you might also enjoy:

NOS-4R2 by Joe Hill

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

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