The Cleansing [Hardcover]

John D. Harvey (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0870541811 | ISBN-13: 978-0870541810 | Publication Date: October 2002 | Edition: 1

THE CLEANSING tells the story of a violent American Indian wolf god, Wanata, who comes to Earth to make humanity accountable for its abuses against nature.

As strange events unfold in Alaska, freelance journalist Savannah Channing is sent to investigate the story of a rampaging wolf pack systematically destroying entire villages. By the time she arrives, the devastation has spread into a horrifying holocaust that test the mettle of the military forces and a brutal bounty hunter they have employed.

Then Wanata's cataclysmic mission goes terribly wrong. An Indian Shaman's magic turns him into a mortal human and he is forced to interact with those he was sent to punish. He must use his wits to survive in a weaker human state while also holding his pack together.

Inexorably, Savannah and Wanata converge into a spine-chilling conclusion that is fresh and original and violent. The writing is taut and gripping. John Harvey tells his suspenseful, episodic drama through the eyes of Savannah and Wanata in such a cunning way that the reader is left in a state of unrelenting tension--anxiously craving for a sequel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this lively, inventive first novel, Harvey offers an intriguing premise, vivid characters, a fast-moving plot and solid prose. Because the growing human population threatens the planet's ecology, a Nature spirit in the form of a huge wolf is born out of the earth to lead wolf packs against us. While Wanata, the supernatural being, starts organizing thousands of wolves and dogs in Alaska, the author introduces the major human characters in an efficient montage of brief scenes: Savannah Channing, a resourceful, outdoor-loving journalist; John Merwyn, a young Native American who rejects his heritage; and Chase Perry, a sociopath who enjoys hunting dangerous animals and raping women. The plot is more in keeping with the game-playing of military SF than the formless uncertainty of much horror fiction, as Wanata musters his forces while the humans try to figure out how to stop him. There's even a surprising amount of sly humor, especially in the sarcastic conferences of the wolf/dog high command. Toward the end, though, readers may begin to wonder how Harvey will wind everything up satisfactorily. In fact, the story just stops, waiting for a sequel that, according to the author bio on the dust jacket, Harvey intends to write after he's produced a prequel to use up the research he accumulated for this novel. A thrifty decision perhaps, but one that may leave a lot of readers frustrated.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A very good story and a surprising outcome make this a wonderful addition from Arkham House and good first novel. -- Baryon Magazine, Issue 89

Every event a climax, every climax explosive, every turn of the page absolutely necessary. An unending roller coaster of thrills. -- Infodad.com

Here's a first novel worth noting. It's a big, sprawling werewolf tale carving its own trail among Native American legends. -- Cemetery Dance #43, 2003

The Cleansing documents John Harvey as a truly gifted writer and storyteller, and is enthusiastically recommended reading for fantasy enthusiasts. -- Midwest Book Review, December 8, 2002

The Cleansing is a pleasure to read. Harvey guides readers through his universe with a sure hand and memorable characters. -- Hellnotes Newsletter, February 6, 2003

With the atmosphere of a dark contemporary fantasy, it would be a shame if its audience was limited to horror. -- Chronicle Magazine, January 2003, Issue 232

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 319 pages
• Publisher: Arkham House Pub; 1 edition (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870541811
• ISBN-13: 978-0870541810
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,974,159 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars man's best friend, November 22, 2002

By 

Mark Garofalo (providence, ri United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cleansing (Hardcover)

Four days after I completed reading The Cleansing I was driving and there was a rather large stray dog strolling down the somewhat busy street. He had a swagger that clearly stated he was not fazed by the large autos passing him by. My thoughts suddenly turned to the story of Wanata and his supernatural mission to cleanse the Earth. Not since Stephen King wrote Cujo has a story about "man's best friend" shaken my nerves as much as "The Cleansing". The story is a suspenseful meandering around Native American legends and current human arrogance towards the planet. The Cleansing successfully reminds us that we need to pay attention to our environment without being preachy or authoratative. Cujos...I mean Kudos to John D Harvey on the success of his first novel. I keenly await the promised follow-up to the adventures of Wanata and Savannah.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed "The Cleansing" thoroughly!, November 18, 2002

By 

Glenn Rivard (Massachusetts (USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cleansing (Hardcover)

If you're thinking about buying this book, jump right in and you won't be disappointed. I was on page 9 of the book when I knew this was a story I was really going to sink my teeth into and enjoy. On page 26 I was reeled in - hook, line, and sinker. I found myself staying up late (telling myself "Ok, just one more chapter" often turned into 4 more chapters!) , reading at lunch time, any time I could find to see what happened next. It's a real page-turner.

I enjoy this genre and have read many books by Stephen King, Peter Straub, Dean Koontz (spelling?) and others. For me, "The Cleansing" fits right in with many of the stories from these other authors that I've enjoyed and recommended to friends and family. John D. Harvey provides rich detail in the characters and the scenes of the story and creates wonderful images. He also has a good sense of humor that catches you off guard at times during some of the more dramatic moments of the story.

Read it, by all means!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Harvey, where are the sequels?, August 29, 2007

By 

Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cleansing (Hardcover)

The title of John Harvey's first novel stirs memories of the seventies and eighties (when titles of most horror novels included but two words, one invariably being "The"). The narrative style, however, is a throwback to a much earlier era. Harvey's straightforward and earnest storytelling brings to mind the pulps. The book exhibits energy, wit and invention, but the old fashioned prose might have readers believing it's a reprint from the first half of the twentieth, rather than an original work from the first half of the twenty-first, century.

Mining Native American legend for the raw material of his first novel, Harvey tells a tale of an ancient being emerging from his rest into the modern world. The initial focus is on the medicine men of several North American tribes, men who are haunted by dreams of the wolf spirit Wanata, whose periodic visits to the mortal plain over the centuries have inevitably resulted in the destruction of whole segments of the animal kingdom. Wanata is charged with keeping nature in balance--if a particular species has upset that balance, its numbers must be reduced to restore harmony. In the past, this meant the destruction of buffalo or deer. This time around, Wanata's target is mankind itself.

Once you get past the odd formality of the writing (it's not clear whether this was Harvey's intended effect, or simply his normal literary voice), The Cleansing is a pleasure to read, remarkably free of the common flaws that plague most first novels. Harvey guides readers through his universe with a sure hand, providing a plethora of memorable characters (freelance journalist Savannah Channing and Tungtawnee medicine man Laughing Wolf are two of his more vibrant creations) and generous doses of humor along the way. Harvey is clearly unafraid of taking chances in service of his story--although all of his characters are put in peril, the least expected and most likeable members of his cast suffer the most harm, ratcheting up the suspense quotient.

The novel suffers as Harvey's narrative slows almost to a crawl towards the end, ostensibly because this is the first novel of a planned trilogy. Hopefully Harvey is saving equally engaging material for books two and three, and not simply running out of steam. Time will tell.