The Unspoken [Mass Market Paperback]

Thomas Fahy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2009

To escape their abusive childhood, a group of friends burned down the religious compound where they were raised—ignoring the prophecy that says their worst fears will consume them within five years of the fire. Now, almost five years have passed, and one by one, the teens are turning up dead. They are in a race against time—with their worst fears not far behind.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Five years after the fiery death of Jacob Crawley, a self-styled prophet and founder of a cult called The Divine Path, five teens are reunited by the death of Crawley’s son, Harold, who was found drowned, miles from the nearest water. Holed up in a motel in their former hometown, the teens soon begin to suspect that they might be facing death in the way each one fears the most—just as creepy Jacob Crawley once prophesied. Sure enough, one by one, they start to die. Fahy, the author of the adult horror novel Night Visions (2004), makes his YA debut with this story, which reads like a screenplay and is filled with horror-movie conventions (though, mercifully, no one goes into a dark basement). That said, the white-knuckle moments will hold genre fans, and an equivocal ending that suggests a sequel might be waiting in the wings. Grades 8-12. --Michael Cart --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Teeth-clenchingly suspenseful at times and deliciously creepy at others, Fahy (Night Visions) delivers a classic horror story with his YA debut, about a religious cult destroyed by a fire and the six teens who escape. He pulls out all the necessary stops as he constructs the terrifying story of what comes to pass five years later as the surviving teens are being murdered one by one, according to the cult leader's prophecy. The author gives readers gory visual descriptions of the crime scenes, tension-building cliffhangers and the type of unexpected surprises that if translated to film would make moviegoers scream, and he nails each device beautifully. An element of genre-specific camp attaches to some of the scenes; for example, the main character, Allison, has epileptic seizures during which she envisions each murder before it happens; and in a pivotal sequence, Allison assumes the killer is dead, but readers know otherwise. Executed with panache, these familiar elements only add to the overall thrill. A page-turner that just might keep readers up at night--especially given the loosely resolved ending. Ages 12-up. (Feb.) -- From Publishers Weekly (February 11, 2008) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; Reprint edition (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416940081
• ISBN-13: 978-1416940081
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #766,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Issues > Dysfunctional Relationships
  • #87 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Horror

More About the Author

Thomas Fahy grew up in Los Angeles, California. He has studied literature and music throughout his life and received undergraduate degrees in both fields from the University of California at Davis. After earning a Ph.D. in literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he taught at several schools in California. He now lives in New York, where he is a professor of literature and Director of the American Studies Program at Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus. You can visit him at thomasfahy.com or on Facebook at http://bit.ly/ut3nl

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, January 24, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unspoken (Hardcover)

This is a really spooky book. The prologue had me scratching my head a bit, and I admit that I wasn't sure if I would like the rest of the novel. But it is undeniably creepy, and by the end of chapter one I was hooked.

There are no wasted scenes in this book. Even a ride that two characters take in a car is a chance for character development and flashbacks to flesh out the story. Piece by piece, the terrifying experience that these six kids shared is revealed through a well-crafted plot.

Five years ago, six kids were the only survivors of a fire that took the lives of the adult members of the brainwashing cult in which they lived. "In five years' time, your greatest fear will consume you. It will rob you of your last breath." This is the prophecy that they face today. They manage to escape the cult and try to move on with their lives, but cannot forget those ominous words spoken by their cult leader before his death.

Brought together again under mysterious circumstances, it becomes clear that some of the evil that haunted them from within the cult still runs free. One by one, the friends are killed, in increasingly gruesome ways, while those remaining try to desperately to find some answers and some peace.

With echoes of Edgar Allan Poe, the macabre, murderous details of the plot become a metaphor for these individuals to find control over their own lives, and to live their lives on their terms. The question is: will any of them live long enough to figure out how to do it?

The ending is satisfying, with enough details left open-ended to encourage a sequel. I fully expect to see this story on the big screen.

Reviewed by: Marie Robinson

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Scary Thrill Ride, May 24, 2008

By 

S. Rosenberg (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unspoken (Hardcover)

This book was suspenseful from start to finish. I liked the author's style, which made for a fast-paced read that kept me guessing throughout the book. The focus on the psychological torment and early brainwashing of the characters was especially disturbing, and it made me think about what kind of impact growing up in a cult would have on a person. Even the ending is more ambiguous than in most thrillers, though I was still satisfied. For anyone who enjoys a smart and scary thriller, I would definitely recommend this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I never wanted to put it down., August 11, 2008

By 

Max (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unspoken (Hardcover)

Ever read a book from cover to cover without setting it down? That was this book for me. It was a VERY suspensful story, the ending took me by surprise. I would recomment this book to anyone who likes suspense/thrillers/horror, though it was not "graphic" horror.