Alison Littlewood has written one of the better ‘atmospheric’ horror novels in recent years. A Cold Season tells the story of Gloria “Cass” Cassidy who moves with her young son to her childhood home in rural area of the UK. Her husband has been presumably killed in action in Afghanistan, and she is hoping to rekindle the carefree and charming experiences that she had in her younger years for her grieving son, Ben. From the very beginning, the idyllic memories of her hometown are nowhere in evidence as the village of Darnshaw is the epitome of creeping terror. She rents an apartment in an old mill that is in the process of being converted into condos and apartments. Trouble is, they are the only tenants and many of the units are not even completed – and the one below their second-story unit has no windows making it open to the elements. The townspeople are decidedly unfriendly, the kids are menacing, a series of crippling snowstorms knocks out phone and internet service (and this part of England seems to lack any kind of snow removal equipment), Ben is transforming from a grief-stricken kid to a malevolent presence, and the local school teacher (one of the two adult males seemingly in town) is downright weird.
There is much to like about A Cold Season. This is quiet horror at its best. The tension is subtle but chilling; Ben’s change from a sweet kid to something eerie is very frightening. In fact, this kid is a poster child for the ‘creepy-kid’ horror genre, and Ms. Littlewood is to be commended for this deft portrayal. There is one passage with the boy and rats in an unfinished unit that is unnerving as hell. The entire book is reminiscent of Rosemary’s Baby to some degree.
If I have one complaint, it is with Cass’ character. The woman is clueless at times. The evidence that something awful is happening continuously knocks her over the head and she discounts the evidence with frustrating regularity. The ending too was a little disappointing – part of which was due to the fact that the setup was very well done (and the reader is kept in the dark very effectively) so that the finale is kind of a letdown. Nonetheless, this is a great horror tale from a new talent.
There is much to like about A Cold Season. This is quiet horror at its best. The tension is subtle but chilling; Ben’s change from a sweet kid to something eerie is very frightening. In fact, this kid is a poster child for the ‘creepy-kid’ horror genre, and Ms. Littlewood is to be commended for this deft portrayal. There is one passage with the boy and rats in an unfinished unit that is unnerving as hell. The entire book is reminiscent of Rosemary’s Baby to some degree.
If I have one complaint, it is with Cass’ character. The woman is clueless at times. The evidence that something awful is happening continuously knocks her over the head and she discounts the evidence with frustrating regularity. The ending too was a little disappointing – part of which was due to the fact that the setup was very well done (and the reader is kept in the dark very effectively) so that the finale is kind of a letdown. Nonetheless, this is a great horror tale from a new talent.
RSS Feed
