5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A nice little horror/dark fantasy thriller..., August 27, 2006
This review is from: Cairnwood Manor: Shadows over Somerset (Paperback)
Bob Freeman's Shadows Over Somerset is a contemporary horror/dark fantasy tale that chronicles the rather mysterious Cairnwood family and the individuals/entities who come to be at odds with them. It's not always simple to tell who's protagging and who's antagging, though, as the Cairnwood family is something of a mess. They've got heroes, they've got werewolves, they've got vampires...they've just got all kinds living under the family name. Their homestead, Cairnwood Manor, situated in a dark corner of Indiana, is reminiscent of the classical mansion full of secrets, a la Collinwood from Dark Shadows; in this tale, however, the secrets are multiplied something like tenfold.
Freeman's storytelling is enjoyable, particularly during the action-packed scenes of character conflict. I did have a problem with the lack of breaks between paragraphs when scenes changed, though I'm not sure whether this was a copy-editing gaffe or something done intentionally. Whichever, it's cumbersome, and it brings the flow of the drama to a screeching halt on any number of occasions, particularly because there are so many characters to follow. Better structuring of the book's passages would have helped distinguish what's happening when and to whom. In fact, I would like to have seen better copy-editing in general, as there are numerous small problems that a second trained eye could have easily caught and fixed. KHP Publishing, take note.
Regardless of its problems, Shadows Over Somerset is a generally entertaining novel, fast-paced, and vividly rendered. With its dark, gothic atmosphere and occasional moments of breakneck action, it's got a little something for fans of every dark persuasion.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Cairnwood Manor, April 19, 2009
This review is from: Cairnwood Manor: Shadows over Somerset (Paperback)
Bob Freeman is an excellent author, you can't go wrong reading any or all of his books.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Cairnwood Manor: A nice place to visit..., January 17, 2008
This review is from: Cairnwood Manor: Shadows over Somerset (Paperback)
As a real lover of horror and vampires, I could find nothing wrong with Cairnwwod Manor or it's inhabitants except of course they are not your average family even though there both good and bad among them.
It was a thrilling, chilling read, filled with all the good things and beasts I love about horror. Mr. Freeman is a wonderful writer portraying these characters in a way that kept me riveted to my chair. I am looking forward to the next tale of Cairnwood Manor and it's inhabitants.
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