Customer Reviews

The Farm

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In this novel, Katy Logan and her daghter Jett move to the mountain town of Solom, NC, after Katy marries Gordon Smith, who owns some farmland in the mountains. Katy agress to move because she believes it will be good for Jett, since it will get her away from the drugs and crime that are all too prevalent in big city life. What Katy does not realize, however, is that what is lurking in Solom may be far more dangerous than those things. Mysterious things begin to happen once they move to Solom. Jett has the feeling she is being 'watched' by Gordon's herd of goats, and she begins having hallicinations(or are they?) about a mysterious long dead preacher who is rumored to roam the mountains every several years, riding his horse Old Saint, and looking for his next victim, who he would carry off to the great beyond. Also, Jett hallicinates (or does she?) about a scythe wielding scarecrow that may be stalking her when she wanders into the dark shadows of the barn.

This novel was well paced, and made me feel as if I was in Solom. This novel was very suspenseful, creepy, and atmospheric. This author's descriptions made me feel like I was wandering down an old country lane, or across a pasture late at night, and being stalked by a creepy scarecrow with a scythe. If you like novels that really creep you out, then I highly recommend that you get this book.

As a fan of horror in general, and LITERATE horror in particular, Scott Nicholson keeps improving in my opinion. His newest, The Farm, exudes a sense of creepiness and "there's something not quite right here" overall. While the small town horror angle has been played up for years, and is somewhat tired, this book makes the reader feel right at home in the small town of Solom. Many comparisons have been made between Nicholson and King/Koontz, but i feel he is more akin to Bentley Little in the sense of unease reading one of his books instills in you(a BIG compliment in my opinion).

At their core, the authors of classic horror novels - I'm thinking the early works of Stephen King, Peter Straub, or Thomas Tryon - understand the subtlety of terror - that truly scary stories build slowly from anomalies in natural, everyday events, gradually pulling the reader irresistibly into what they know will be eventually scaring the pants off them. Regrettably, this subtlety is lost on Scott Nicholson in this flat and disconnected yawner of "horror" fiction.

Recently divorced Katy Logan and her "Goth-lite" twelve-year daughter, "Jett", leave their life in Charlotte behind and head for the hills of western North Carolina with new husband/step-dad Gordon Smith, a professor of religious history. One never grasps Katy's attraction to this pompous buffoon, but before the first page has turned we're experiencing our first haunting, and then serving up a smörgåsbord of ghouls - carnivorous goats, scarecrows that simply won't stay staked, a headless housewife, and a centuries-dead circuit preacher. While Nicholson borrows liberally from the literature - Tryon's "Harvest Home" and King's frightening short story, "The Man in the Black Suit" come to mind - this conglomeration of demons conjures up about as terror - and makes about as much sense - as an episode of "Scooby Doo". To make matters worse, Nicholson, whose bio puts him in Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, writes of these rugged mountain people with thinly veiled contempt, going beyond simple stereotype to patronize and condescend. But in a bizarre and certainly unintended way, "The Farm" was a perversely entertaining novel. Nicholson's fumbling inaccuracies with topics across a wide range - twelve-year olds, geography, economics, firearms, and even the relatively pastoral Charlotte, a drug infested Las Vegas-like Sin City in Nicholson's world - makes for a comical backdrop. The author may not be able to tell a Kalashnikov from a cabbage, and his deliciously indignant and out-of-context political ramblings blunt hopes for any possible redeeming horror value by the time it caravans to a ham-fisted climax in keeping with 400 pages of silliness the precede it.

So, no, despite strong reviews from Amazon readers, I didn't find much to recommend in "The Farm", scary only in the abysmally clumsy plot and insipid dialogue. I'll admit that good horror is hard to find these days - Joe Hill didn't really do it for me either - but you may want to consider Susan Hill's "The Woman in Black" as an example of classic horror the way it was meant to be read.

This summer, I discovered Mr. Nicholson's work and his novels have proven to be great reads. However, none of those past books can compare to the enjoyment of The Farm.

This writer excels at penning excellent imagery when it comes to the scenery of his story. As I read this book, I felt like I was somewhere in Appalachia (or however it's spelled.) You could feel the country breeze and smell the trees. That's how intricate this man's writing is.

The story itself is downright eerie. I really enjoyed how Mr. Nicholson incorporated folklore into things. It really proved to be an interesting mix.

If you're a fan of The Harvest, The Home or any of Scott Nicholson's past works, you'll enjoy this, but you don't need to be acquainted with his other books to like The Farm. This is horror prose at its best and should be read by anyone and everyone who enjoys the genre.

Scott Nicholson is an authority on Appalachian folklore, and his ambitious new novel, The Farm, is based on the primitive religion of the early Scots/Irish settlers in the region. Not since The Amityville Horror has a haunted house story been so darkly intense, so ominously atmospheric. Nicholson adds layer upon layer of complexity as the story builds toward its prolonged and amazing conclusion.

When Katy's marriage ended with Mark Draper, a well meaning but workaholic husband and father with a drug problem, she wanted to make a fresh start with their eleven-year-old daughter, Jessica ("Jett"), who had also begun experimenting with drugs. She met Gordon Smith, a professor of comparative religions, specializing in the primitive religions of the people of rural Appalachia, and although Gordon was somewhat cold and aloof and a bit pompous, he offered the stability she and Jett needed in their lives. Despite the fact that she was not in love with him, Katy agreed to a hasty marriage, and the three of them moved into his old family farmhouse in the tiny town of Solom, North Carolina.

As attractive as the move from the big city had seemed at the time, life in Solom was far from idyllic. Gordon grew ever more emotionally withdrawn and his attitude toward Jett, one of sullen tolerance at best, deteriorated even further.

But Katy had problems of her own. The scent of lilacs kept occurring in the house, she heard whispering or footsteps when she was home alone, and items mysteriously fell off the pantry shelves and broke. Katy became more and more obsessed with Gordon's dead wife, trying her recipes and even wearing her dresses.

As Katy lost touch with herself and fell further under Rebecca's spell, Jett found herself on her own, facing dangers not even the evils of the city had held, including a menacing scarecrow that seemed to come to life, and goats that were not only drawn to the scent of blood but had a taste for flesh as well.

Most bizarre of all was Gordon's ancestor, Harmon Smith, a Methodist preacher who settled in Solom two hundred years ago. Harmon was a circuit rider, traveling by horseback from village to village to preach the Gospel. Envied by the other local preachers, real trouble started when he abandoned the Methodist teachings and reverted to the pagan religion of the Old Country. When he began offering sacrifices to the goddess of fertility, his crops and animals flourished, but so did the hatred toward him by the leaders of the other religious sects. Legend had it that three of them ambushed and murdered him on a desolate mountain pass and buried parts of his body in three different graves. But Harmon was not finished with Solom. He returned periodically to claim a new sacrifice. Yet as dreadful as the Circuit Rider may be, even darker powers may be at work here.

The Farm is a complex and suspenseful tale, the characters are strong and convincing, the writing is tight, and Nicholson handles this long and elaborate story with a masterful touch.

He does make the mistake of calling the Celtic deities by the names of their Greek counterparts, and the story has one or two other minor inconsistencies, but these things do not greatly distract from the story as a whole.

Scott Nicholson is the author of The Harvest, The Manor, The Home, and the Stoker Award finalist The Red Church. The Farm, Nicholson's finest work to date, is a gripping nightmare of a tale. Highly recommended.

Oh my God, I hated this book!

I was patient with it. The first 30 pages were pretty interesting. But then it was just ridiculous. The characters are annoying and completely unrealistic. Especially the mother! After nearly 200 pages I gave up on this book. I didn't care about any of the characters and I didn't care if the bad guy got them or not.

I would not recommmend this book to anyone.

To be fair to the author, I should state that I am little more than halfway through with the book. The reason why I am reviewing the book at this juncture is to warn those who are considering purchasing this book that is starts off very slow and at the halfway point not much of anything has happened.

Scott Nicholson seems to enjoy writing and often goes off on a tangent, instead of just getting on with the story. That said, no doubt he is a great storyteller and a fabulous writer. This is the third novel of Scott's that I have read. I believe his debut novel, The Red Church is his finest yet. The Home was also a bit slow moving for me and quite boring. I am very close to putting down The Farm, but with 160 so pages to go, I think I will hang in there. I hope it gets better.

One writer that hardly ever fails to keep my attention is Dean Koontz. He is a master storyteller and writer. He uses actual technique, whereas writers like Scott don't follow any guidelines. Also, Scott tends to be a little self indulgent in his writing. I'd prefer more story and less author intrusion. But I guess it's personal preference, right? The reviews are positive for The Farm and I do enjoy Scott's writing style. Just prepare yourself for a potentially difficult read (difficult to stick with it, that is).

The latest from the new master of horror, who once again gives us a Novel, written to become a jewel in this genre.

This Appalachian gothic thriller develops around the strange history and obscure secrets of a tiny, rural mountain community.

THE FARM
by
Scott Nicholson

Reviewed by Nickolas Cook

Scott Nicholson has gone and done it again.
The author of THE HOME, THE MANOR, THE HARVEST, and THE RED CHURCH has upped the scales of conventional horror with his newest offering, THE FARM. And if you didn't think goats were scary little creatures, you will by the time you're done with this one.
Katy Logan and her teenaged goth daughter, Jett, move to the small backwoods Appalachian town of Solom so that Katy can give a go at her new marriage to Gordon, a college professor with a decidedly ultra-religious bent. Life on the farm is pretty quiet. You've got your basic walking, blade wielding scarecrows, and your rutting, flesh eating goats, and the occasional undead specter seeking revenge.
But the spooks aren't the only scary items in this novel. Check out the locals. There are more churches per square mile than you can shake a cross at. Although tourist trade isn't so bad- if you can overlook a shade or two running lose around town. And there's the anti-government drug dealer living next door, who has an arsenal that would be the envy of most third world countries.
As an author, Nicholson has consistently shown improvement and confidence in his choice of stories, and imbues his characters with real emotions that we can connect with. In THE FARM, he picks out the strongest theme of the book, religion, and uses it to expose the hypocrisies of even the most zealous of bible thumpers. No one is safe. Just when you think you've got the story pegged, Nicholson comes along and upsets the apple cart with an unexpected twist. There are a few scenes between mother and daughter that could easily be mirrored in the real world, concerning drug use and promises broken. And the locals feel as authentic as a lost 'Deliverance' scene on page.
The weakest part of the novel comes in the interactions between Katy and Gordon. I'm not sure any woman who had already been through a nasty marriage before would stick around with someone who has become so obviously unhinged, even if she is trying to provide a stable life for her child. She starts out as a strong woman, but soon descends into the clichéd notion of the powerless woman who does what she is told by her man, no matter how insane as it sounds. Some of this powerlessness is explained later in a nice story twist, but may come off as forced to some.
But, hey, don't let that stop you from picking up THE FARM, because this is grade-A gothic horror made fresh by one of the best voices in the genre.
After reading it, I don't even feel safe around goat cheese.
Thanks, Scott Nicholson!

--Nickolas Cook

Another fine novel from the masterful Mr. Nicholson. It's scary. It's eerie. It's suspenseful, and the characters are very well-drawn. I disagree with folks who think it's slow at the beginning. On the contrary, I found the introduction of characters, etc., in the beginning very interesting. The Gothic girl is great--very well done (especially writing from a man's POV <smile>). In my opinion, the goats added to the ambience. However, I do agree that some of the motivations of characters did elude me at times, but overall, I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers and/or supernatural thrillers.

I can't wait to read his next novel!

Lynne Logan
Author of The Crime Chronicles of Decker Zane