Customer Reviews

The Unspoken

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

 

 

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

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.

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.

Set in rural North Carolina, right in the middle of the "bible-belt" region, "The Unspoken" has a ring of truth to it. Six teenagers are brought back together five years after surviving a fire that destroyed the religious compound they lived in ... as well as all the adults that lived there. The six young adults are now afraid a prophecy that foretold their deaths is coming true. Thomas Fahy has written this book on a 12 year old and up level but it is very readable and entertaining for adults as well. The story also relays a serious message to our young people today... extreme religious fantasist that exert total control over people's lives are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.

Bought as a Christmas present for my 15 yr. old son,he is an advanced reader and past the young teen material, but enjoys stories where the main characte(s) are in his age group. I took a shot with this title and story line and am happy that he enjoyed it as much as he did.

"The Unspoken" has a good premise, but is not fully developed in this novel. I never really related to the characters. They come on stage for such a brief time, that the reader never gets a chance to know them. This left me with very little feeling as they died one by one. I was actually thinking "Good, there goes another one. Now let's get this story moving." There were also characters that were introduced for apparently no reason. The Sherriff's deputy and the witch are two. These are two characters that could have used more page time. And if I were in the Sherriff's office for the upteenth time, because yet another one of my friends was murdered and I was a suspect, I wouldn't be asking questions about a stupid painting. The end of the novel is set up for a sequel, but instead of being excited and wanting to pre-order, I just thought what a waste of paper. Too many questions were brought up, but not developed enough to make me interested.