Anthony Hains
  • Home
  • Books & Novellas
    • Wrath of a Minor God
    • Terrain of Lost Souls
    • Sins of the Father
    • Nightshade's Requiem
    • Sleep in the Dust of the Earth
    • The Torment
    • Sweet Aswang
    • The Disembodied
    • Dead Works
    • Birth Offering
  • Bio
  • Blog

The Vagrants: A review

8/30/2015

 
Picture
Young journalist Daniel Finley goes undercover for six month living among the homeless under a bridge in Boston. He develops relationships with these people and develops an unanticipated sense of compassion and empathy for them. He also learns about a deranged cult of homeless individuals whose leader possesses a supernatural ability to control his followers. To make matters worse, the cult seems to be preparing for a massive apocalyptic event – which they will trigger. Daniel’s immersion into this subculture pays off for him personally as he publishes a riveting account of his experience. But, this sets things into motion including strange murders, a vicious run in with an Irish organized crime ring, and an unplanned return to the Boston underground.

The Vagrants is the second work I have read by author Brian Moreland. Like The Devil’s Woods, which I enjoyed tremendously, this novella is a multi-layered story which combines thoughtful character development, a believable backstory, and a jaw-dropping ending that keeps you glued to your e-reader. The pace is well done. There are enough chills in the early reading to cast the first part of the book in an eerie light. The reader begins to interpret seemingly neutral occurrences in a haunting way. I was roughly three-quarters of the way through the story, when I found myself being creeped out – which prompted me to read non-stop well past my bedtime. I thought I had this thing figured out when Brian pulled the rug out from underneath me and sent the story going in a direction that I didn’t see coming. The final action races along like a plunging roller-coaster, and I could only hang on and go a long for the ride. Thrilling, claustrophobic, and unnerving – The Vagrants is all these and more. A fine example of an urban horror story.  


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Anthony Hains is a horror & speculative fiction writer.

    Archives

    January 2020
    January 2018
    July 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    Categories

    All
    Academia
    Adolescents
    Apocalypse
    Birth Offering
    Birth Offering
    Dead Works
    Horror Authors
    Horror Fiction
    Horror Fiction
    Influences
    Psychology
    Real Life Horror
    Real-life Horror
    Reflections
    Reviews
    Ryan Braun

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.