Customer Reviews

Tower Hill

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

 

 

It doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to notice that the field of horror is male dominated, probably more so than mysteries or science fiction. The biggest female name in the genre is Anne Rice, and even she is not so much a horror writer as an author who uses the trappings of horror (vampires, witches, etc.) to tell dark fantasy stories. It isn't really fair, because a woman can write just as well (or just as poorly) as a man. Sarah Pinborough is hardly a household name, but her book Tower Hill is an example of a horror novel comparable to many other mid-tier writers of the genre, regardless of gender.

In a way, Tower Hill is a buddy novel. Unfortunately, in this case, the buddies are a pair of murderous thugs who have a plan to take over the small Maine college town called Tower Hill. One becomes the new town priest (after disposing of the real one), while the other becomes a professor who also leads a club delving into the paranormal. Between the church and the club, most will be drawn in, where they will be slowly transformed into a sort of pod people.

Liz and Steve are a couple apartment-mates who are also part of the freshman class at the university. Liz has grown up in a repressed highly-devout environment which gives her a skepticism about the new priest. Steve is a kid from Detroit whose poverty will put work ahead of any gatherings. Together, they are a couple of the few who realize that something sinister is going on, but even they don't realize that these evil doings have a supernatural quality; the priest and professor are using Tower Hill to transform themselves into something more than human.

Pinborough's writing style makes this a fast-moving story which is good for around 85% of the book. The ending - as in many horror novels by many authors - is rather flaky, though there a couple nice twists too. Overall, this is worth reading. If you read a lot of horror, you won't find anything exceptionally different about Tower Hill, but you also won't find anything all that bad either.

It is rare that I give a horror novel 5 stars, but then again it is rare that a horror novel evokes a sense of disturbed creepiness in me. I won't say that it "scared me" but it did keep me engaged from beginning to end, and for some reason this book came across as more plausible than many of the other supernatural horrors that I have read. It could be that it is a Christian based horror; I don't know that an atheist would find this as creepy as I did.

Short Summary - Tower Hill is a tiny town that hasn't change for decades, housing a large church, a small university and a very small town population. Two not so nice individuals (one is a depraved serial killer) have followed a series of riddles and clues to find their way to Tower Hill where they discover two religious artifacts hidden... and the rituals required giving them the power of God, but it requires the help of the townspeople. Two college students and a police deputy find themselves in a bizarre situation as suddenly the sleepy little town becomes host to a series of murders and mutilations, and the townspeople suddenly aren't acting the way they should.

Pinborough's characters are very real and conflicted. Almost equal time is spent between our four "good guys" and our two "bad guys" and as the reader you get a bit of a sense as to how this can play out, however nothing is spoon-fed to you. I appreciate the intelligence of her horror, the concept of biblical power in the wrong hands is believable to me (I mean Hitler was hunting for religious artifacts from all religions) and although at first it seems a bit strange that religious items of this magnitude would be hidden in "the new world" Pinborough does an excellent job of connecting all of the dots for us without breaking down into pages of exposition. Though there is one element of the story that didn't make a whole lot of sense and was never truly explained I'll forgive her for that because I enjoyed the rest of the book so much (for those of you who have read the book - the item in the town drunk's pocket really has no explanation at all, it is to that which I am referring).

This book takes on a very creepy vibe right from the beginning and you can feel your mind thinking "no, don't do that!" as you read what the characters are doing, because they are so real, you genuinely want them to make it out of this okay. As with any good horror, not all of them do (I hate the ride off into the sunset endings of many horror novels). The resolution is what is expected, and the story maintains its level of creepiness throughout. This is only the second of Pinborough's novels that I have read, and I have to admit that I like her sense of mood, and her ability to maintain it from beginning to end. There is some gore in this book, and a bit of sex, but what keeps this book moving is the characters and the overall sense of panic that the reader develops. If this were a movie, you wouldn't be able to keep yourself from yelling at the screen "NO, don't eat that!" "Don't go in there!" or "Dear god, don't trust HIM!!!" the fact that this book made me feel that way is what bumped this up to a 5 star book, even though it had some flaws.

This will probably not be for everyone, and may be scarier to Christians than non-Christians who may find this to be a load of garbage. This doesn't require a lot of Biblical knowledge to enjoy; most of us are at least familiar enough with the beginning of Genesis to comprehend what is going on. I really enjoyed this book and hope that you do too!

What better place to open a chasm of destruction and chaos while gaining supernatural powers than a small, quiet New England town of Tower Hill. Where nothing changes dramatically, where the residents are sweet and students who come to the University are charming and peaceful and best of all, totally unsuspecting of something evil creeping their way. Well, say goodbye to sanity and student life, sinister forces in disguise of good have taken claim of the sleepy town and after they are done wringing every little last drop of blood they will feed in more ways than one.

This creepy horror is delicious and impossibly hard to put down, yet easy to read and digest. Sarah Pinborough has done am impressive job with connecting the reader to the inner most feelings of the main character - Liz, while giving some great insight to the bad guys, switching between the two polar opposites until the final clash in the end. Right of the bat, we know that something fishy is going on, it's pretty obvious to us- the silent watchers behind the page as two men pretend to be something else. One comes as a priest and the other as a teacher, both with dark plans in mind and sick ideas motivating their seemingly innocent behavior in the small town. The reader is aware than the wolf in sheep's clothing is sowing the seeds in the hearts and minds of the residents and the students, but we sit helpless unable to leap through the pages and help, watching something dark unfold. I think this direction made the book even more exciting, knowing that evil is brewing, watching Liz and her friends plow through the challenges and seeing who falls and who survives was half the fun. When the weirdness of the new church makes Liz question her own faith, she realizes that it's not her that is wrong but the church and the new priest. She also notices that her friend Angela starts changing after attending a weekend club set up by the new teacher. The town and its inhabitants are changing form both sides and pretty soon there is barely anyone left who is even aware of the danger or of the changes taking place in their minds, souls and bodies.

This was total candy for my brain; eerie, creepy, full of ominous atmosphere that cloyed each page, making it thick with anticipation and eagerness for the truth to come out. The ending was a bit startling, I would never have expected for the events that perspired to occur but it was good, albeit a bit fast. The uphill trip (reading the story) was probably the best part since the suspense was very entertaining, just as a good book should be.

- Kasia S.

I would agree with most of the reviewers here. This is an easy read, and a worthy investment if you'd like to escape for a bit. Tower Hill is a small college town that includes a gothic church with a mysterious history that is being targeted by two unsavory characters. The story takes its times unfolding, can be quite bloody at times, and does not spend a lot of time wandering away from the primary plot. Religion is used as a context only - and in quite an imaginative way - but this is far from anything spiritual. There is good pacing and always a reason to continue reading when one comes to the end of a chapter. Characters are fairly well defined for such a short novel, and it is easy to lose yourself in the tale in one setting. Overall, a very satisfying read, and not my last with this author.

What a great story! I felt like I was reading a classic "horror" novel from back in the day. No over the top gore, excessive expletives. Very real characters and excellent scenery description. I am always searching for religious horror-there's not a lot around-so I was very pleased to come upon this book. It is probably just me but I felt an explanation of some sort should have been given as to why Al Shtenko knew what he did and why. Highly recommended!

I have to strongly disagree with "Ravenska" concerning the Christianity aspect, people the world over have heard of the God v Devil argument, if not in their religion, there have been countless movies, TV and books about it and as far as knowing Genesis; it's all spelled out clearly in the book no prior knowledge required. (I'm very shocked at Amazon for printing such a biased review!)
Anyway, this is my third Sarah Pinborough book (The Taken & The Reckoning) and I can never put them down. She has a way of drawing you straight into the book and keeps your attention all the way through, you feel like you know her characters personally! I just love her work and now I'm off to download The Breeding Ground and The Feeding Ground. Keep them coming Sarah!

This book is a tale of terror in the classic tradition, but with a modern feel. Sarah Pinborough will give you a serious case of the creeps from cover to cover.

Tower Hill was the first Sarah Pinborough novel I've read and I found it very enjoyable. It was very well written, well-plotted, and I found the characters interesting and appealing.

The story concerns the small college town of Tower Hill, focusing mainly on Liz and Steve, two freshman at the small college, as well as Jack and Gray, two secretive men with dark designs for the town. Liz is trying to distance herself from her close knit religious family and Steve is trying to escape his white trash roots in Detroit. Meanwhile, Jack and Gray have replaced the town's Catholic priest and a professor at the college, respectively. As their plan unfolds, the town and the school begin to change, and not for the better.

Liz and Steve are among the few who notice that something is not quite right in Tower Hill. The others include Al Schtenko, the recovering town drunk, and a police deputy. Their growing alienation from the town is handled quite deftly by Pinborough and gave me an Invasion of the Body Snatchers feeling. Her story pacing was excellent and built to an ending I didn't really expect. I found the religious elements of the novel to be fascinating and made the story more compelling to me.

My one complaint about the novel is that I thought Pinborough could have spent more time fleshing out her characters. It's not that they were flat, I simply feel that she could have provided more detail, particularly about Al Schtenko, the deputy, and the two evil protagonists. I won't offer any spoilers, but Schtenko has aid from a very mysterious source and I would have liked a more in-depth understanding of that relationship in particular. I actually think that it was because I liked the story and the characters so much, I was left wanting a little more detail than what she provided.

This was a great book and a solidly creepy premise that had me hooked. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

This is my 2nd book I read by Sarah Pinborough. She really knows how to grab a reader's attention and tell a great story. I couldn't put this book down! Entertaining and scary! Highly recommended.

Tower Hill by Sarah Pinborough is about a New England town called, yep, Tower Hill. A new year of college has started and new students Liz, a Maine island girl with a religious history, and Steve, a ruffian from Detroit looking to start a new life elsewhere are in for a treat as well as the whole town. Aside from the students there is also an new teacher and a new priest that has arrived. There is no secret who the antagonists are, but what they are trying to accomplish sends the whole town into a religious nightmare.

The plot is straight forward and there really is not much guessing at all as to what is going on in the town. The book begins well enough and shows promise right from the start. As the story progresses, it really doesn't seem to move very fast. Sure the changes in the town are spread out at good intervals, but I never really get the feeling of suspense or dread. There are some great visuals of Tower Hill and the surrounding countryside. AS for the characters, I really wanted to care about them more and root for them, but as the story progressed, I became a bit bored. Later, the town drunk becomes a central figure and other reviewers have questions about one part of something that is with him. My answer to this would be to believe in miracles. Guidance can come from anywhere, even a higher power. The pacing is rather stagnant. I pretty much had to push myself a little to finish this one.

Some Criticisms

1. The book started out nice enough, but eventually lost is edge. I guess I was expecting a little more from the story.

2. There wasn't much mystery as to the happenings of Tower Hill and what was going on. Sure, there are some things that needed explaining to keep the plot gong and give some history as to where things are coming from, but aside from that, the story came across one dimensional and a bit flat.

3. There is a part where one of the characters parents show up towards the end that didn't add as much as I thought it would. I was hoping for them to play a more integral part in the climax and yet did not.

Some Positives

1. The visuals were great. Ms. Pinborough has a definite talent for using words to paint pictures in her book. She doesn't over burden with details yet you feel like you are right there experiencing the environment.

2. When there is excitement, the story is very engaging. The reader is grabbed and forced to turn the pages to get through the scene. It was these parts that got me through to the end.

3. The twist at the end was awesome. I was not expecting the climax to take the turn that it did. Not only was it a twist in the story, but it made sense and was plausible as far as supernatural horror goes.

Overall, it was an average horror story. There was much room for improvement. This might seem like a negative review for a 3 star rating, however, the writing and the positives make up where the rest lacks. If I find another book by Ms. Pinborough that grabs my attention, I will try her again. To those who love supernatural, religious, horror, then you may like this one. If you are running out of horror stories to read, you may also want to give this one a chance. Now, if you are looking to get into reading horror, or supernatural horror with a religious base, then you may want to try something else.

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