Customer Reviews

Edgewise

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There are a few things we can count on Graham Masterton to deliver with each horror novel he writes. First, he will flesh out characters who we can believe, understand, empathize wtih, and relate to. Second, he will pick an out-of-the-ordinary, supernatural entity of some kind, research the heck out of it, and present it to us in amazing detail. Lastly, he will wrap up his tale in a climax that is original, and that goes beyond just a hack-and-slash resolution; A Masterton climax is a thinking-person's climax. With Edgewise, Masterton explores the Native American, North Woods legend of the Wendigo, and delivers in all of the areas we would expect him to.

Lilly BLake is a real-estate broker and single mother. Her life is changed one night by a group of masked men who break into her home, kidnapping her children, lighting her on fire, and leaving her for dead. When the FBI fails to locate the missing children, Lilly vows to get them back, no matter the cost. At the advice of a co-worker and friend, she seeks the aid of a Native American shaman, to whom Lilly promises to pay an unobtainable fee. The shaman calls upon the fierce tracking skills of the Wendigo, the ancient spirit of the forest and the hunt.

But when her children are returned, and their kidnappers gruesomely dealt with, Lilly comes to realize that she cannot repay the debt owed to the Wendigo. Soon, the tables are turned, and Lilly's own family becomes the target of the animalistic spirit's hunt. Unless she can find a way to appease the Wendigo, she will lose far more than her children.

Delivering in a style that is a bit more gruesome than many of his recent works, Masterton has produced a real page turner with Edgewise. The only question I'm left with is this: Why is Masterton not a bigger name in the genre of horror?

This here's a rather satisfying supernatural thriller that taps into the myth of the Wendigo. A quick easy read, that is better than most horror novels. Graham Masterton has written some 70! novels, and from my limited exposure, does seem to be quite reliable.

This was a very scary book. A little graphic at times. but a very very good book. Makes you think twice about messing with certain forces! Be careful who you make a promise to! Highly recommended.

Once you pick up this book, it is hard to put it down. I believe I read this book in one sitting. I have only read two of Graham Masterton's books, and I will definitely be reading more. I had only two complaints about this book. One, the heroine really got on my nerves. How stupid can you be to think you can welch on a deal made with a supernatural entity? Two, I think the Wendigo could have been developed a little bit more. Aside from that, the story was very well written and developed, and it was action packed enough to keep you reading. It was definitely hard to put down.

Graham is my favorite writer. He is the one whose books I have discovered in my father's library during my teenage years and whose imaginative writing has started my insatiable taste for horror books. No one writes like Masterton and his use of folklore and different legends, spirits and creatures mixed with the world of humans always comes out with shockingly dark results that somehow seem possible. Some of my favorite books by the author are the earlier ones, I still have a very distinctive memory of books such as Tengu, Prey, The Sphinx, Picture of Evil, Pariah, Flesh and Blood, The Ritual and countless others.

Edgewise is his newest work out in paperback and this time the topic deals with Native American spirits and folklore. I have previously enjoyed the Manitou books by Graham, especially Manitou 2, which had a banging ending that I still remember so this story line felt familiar and in Graham's hands it melted like putty.

This tale begins with a violent intrusion to Lily Blake's house. In the middle of the night the action starts off right away before the reader gets their guard up. Her children are taken away and Lily is left to die in a horrible way. Unable to locate her kids she waits for weeks for the help from FBI but when all conventional methods of search come up with no results, she turns to a darker side for help. A Shaman by the name of George Iron Walker helps to summon the Wendigo, spirit of hunt that smells like burnt electricity and appears to be a hologram of a deer man, standing on two feet, limbs twisting backwards, antlers with sharp points and black eyes, oh yeah did I mention that he's a cannibal, that's right, he kills by eating his pray. He sniffs for tracks of her missing children and disappears to take his revenge on the person who took them.

When things go awry Lily realizes she took on more than she could handle and the horrific invisible to some demon is out on a hunt for her and her family. The bodies pile up; people aren't as safe as they appear. On top of that certain characters tracks though the line of morals and trustworthiness making the reader ponder the actions that are turning out in front of their eyes more. It all happens in whirring snow storms, dark woods with grey wolves and quiet night houses that squeak when the hunter is in them. Graham was breathed great atmosphere to his novel; the visuals are very strong and stimulating. The deaths were also pretty graphic, nothing I couldn't handle but my eyes would open rally wide on some sentences, I simply had to read them out loud to my boyfriend who was near by and watched for his grossed out reactions. The ending as usual was great; he never fails to connect all the plots into one tight braid that sometimes leaves something to the imagination after the last page is read.

Edgewise was fast paced and easy to read, something that can be devoured in two sittings and thought of pleasantly after. I really enjoyed finding out what the title really meant as that is thoroughly intermixed with the story. Now more Masterton please...

- Kasia S.

How do you enjoy a story when you so completely dislike the main character? Not only does she repeatedly go back on her word, she's also a passive-aggressive racist. Lastly, this story is simply chock-full of stereotypical worn-out memes.

Not as gripping and horrific as the Manitou series,maybe because it is not as terrifying enough.The whole story started off well enough,and ended with some surprises,but somehow something is missing in between.

This is my second foray into Masterton's bizarre world, and it will certainly not be my last. He does a marvelous job with the drama of the mother losing her children and her desperation to get them back, spending a full third of the book on her plight alone. It's an exceptional buildup to the introduction of a suspicious private eye, a determined Native American and his mystic daughter, and the legendary Wendigo. In fact, the descriptions and history of the Wendigo alone make for a good read by itself, but the context of this character plays perfectly in this story. It seamlessly blends the modern day with past indiscretions against the Native American people, their legends, and the universal need to remain conncected...to ones people, family.

Perfect book? No, but five stars for a throughly entertaining read in one afternoon.

I picked up this book because I'd been interested in the Wendigo since I was little, when I first read the classic Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I would have been better off reading it again, even though it was only a couple pages.

To say I came away from this book disappointed is an understatement. Frankly, I'm surprised there are this many positive reviews about it. Aboout a chapter in, when I was first introduced to FLAME; Father's League Against Mother's Evil, I knew I was in for something particularly awful. With a group as ridiculous as this being the main antagonist, it became virtually impossible to suspend disbelief.

Furthermore, much has been said about the gruesome violence in the in the book, and far from shocking or horrifying; I found it rather laughable. The only scares from this book come from body parts being thrown around and intestines being dragged across rooftops? Give me a break. This is what's wrong with the horror genre as a whole. You take a concept and attach some supernatural violence to it and you have your average horror novel.

Particularly insulting is how he mentions the Algernon Blackwood story, and how he supposedly got the mythology of the Wendigo wrong. This novel is not worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as Algernon Blackwood's the Wendigo.

The Algernon Blackwood piece is actually what I would steer potential readers of this book to. His short story can be found in the Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood, and a few other collections. If you are interested in the Wendigo at all, this is really where you should start. He portrays the Wendigo as it should be portrayed; a mystical force of nature, not some Jason Vorhees type monster ripping apart a group if idiotic and unrealistic mysogonists. In his Wendigo, you are treated to the overwhelming power of nature, and the unknown. To this end, he creates an atmospheric sense dread unequalled by any horror writer living today.

Stay away from the cheap thrills, and instead look back to the work of a true master.

I've been on a Masterson kick lately; buying all his books I can get my hands on.
Edgewise starts of fast and easily paced to get you right in the action. And, well, it never let's up. That's a promise.
Masterson can do some serious damage to your head with his creations that seem as real as day and night.
This is a great read for any fan of horror!
--Joseph McGee, author of In the Wake of the Night, Phil's Place, Darkness Won't Rest: Phils Place II and Snow Hill (forthcoming)