Customer Reviews

Fiends

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

 

 

I had the toughest time trying not to finish the book. This is a page turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It has everything your heart could desire out of a story. But mostly it has raw fear. The characters are fast-moving as well as the adrenaline. If you dont finish this book in a day then you have got the wrong one. My advice to you is...read on. I loved it!

The "huldufolk" of the book are a truly scary creation and they are actual folk creatures from Iceland (I looked them up on the web after reading this book). The best parts of the book are set in the past, after the folk are accidentally set loose and take over a remote farming village. There are some great scares and a true atmosphere of evil and foreboding--the sort of thing Mr. Farris does so well in his books. Scenes set in the modern day (well, the '70s) aren't quite as effective, but all in all, this is one great book and is certainly well worth the effort it might take to track down a used copy. One of Mr. Farris' best books, along with _All Heads Turn as the Hunt Goes By_ and _Wildwood_.

Perhaps I was expecting a different kind of book...something a little more apocalyptic.

The characters are well written, however some are a little one dimensional. To be fair, the one dimensional characters are supporting characters. However, I felt that the Enid Walker character could have been fleshed out a little better.

The creatures central to the story, The Huldufolk, are intriguing and definitely the only truly original aspect of the book.

The non-linear story telling was handled well but it seemed to be abandoned quickly in the second half of the book.

Basically, the book starts out promising. I thought it would be similar to "Salem's Lot" or "They Thirst" (two better books than this one). However, it quickly turns into a "Slasher flick" kind of story only you have the Huldufolk instead of Jason or Freddy...as well as a much lower body count.

If you want a "TRUE" synopsis, it's this: A bunch of teenagers go exploring caves in a state park and get attacked by Huldufolk, who are kind of like vampires, only they steal skin instead of blood. The predictable stuff happens and the book ends. It's not bad for a quick read but don't expect to be blown away.