The Vanishing [Mass Market Paperback]

Bentley Little (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2007

In Beverly Hills a businessman slaughters his entire family and leaves behind a video of the massacre and a cryptic message: "this is where it begins." Sure enough, it is only the beginning. Children everywhere are either being killed or are disappearing. Social worker Carrie Daniels wants to know why. God help her when she finds out.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Those with weak stomachs will want to skip Little's latest shocker (after The Burning), which dishes out blood, bowels, mutilation and rape with an unsettling knack for the truly repulsive. Parallel stories revolve around several bloody episodes in which previously respectable California businessmen turn into raving killers, torturing and slaughtering their families. Heroes Brian Howells, a journalist investigating a blood-stained letter from his estranged father, and Carrie Daniels, a social worker looking into a series of beastly birth defects, team up to find out what's behind it all. As Brian and Carrie unearth the secrets of families and friends, flashbacks tell the story of a 19th-century would-be gold prospector who discovers primordial, succubuslike beings swarming the Californian backwoods, beings that now stalk a present-day family on vacation. Little's swift prose jumps from one gut-twister to the next, providing an engrossing if familiar romp that ends in a messy Lovecraftian climax, which may prove too absurd for some readers to swallow. Despite shortcomings, Little again displays, with a plethora of gore and perversion, his robust ability to disgust (and delight) even the most seasoned horror enthusiast. (Aug.)
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About the Author

Bentley Little was born in Arizona a month after his mother attended the world premiere of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. He is the author of ten previous novels, including The Revelation, The Mailman, The Summoning, Death Instinct (published under the name Phillip Emmons), University, Dominion, The Ignored, The Store, The House and The Town. An acknowledged master of horror, he is currently at work on his next novel.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Signet (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451221850
• ISBN-13: 978-0451221858
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I wish I could say it was better but,, September 6, 2007

By 

Guy Smiley "Mr Fixit" (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vanishing (Mass Market Paperback)

Bentley Little writes 2 types of books. Horrific satires of modern institutions, and ultimate evil books. The satires (The Store, The Mailman, The Policy, The Ignored, The Association) are excellent. The others (The Return, The Revelation, Dominion, The House) have some kind of ultimate evil that doesn't feel familiar to the reader. These don't usually come out too well and this is one of those.

I've read almost every one of his novels and I recommend many of them to anyone who won't get offended by taboo subjects in the name of horror.

Also a warning about his endings. No matter how good the rest of the book is, the ending always falls apart. He just can't write endings that live up to the rest of the book. But his great stuff doesn't really need a good ending. I'd go buy The Store, or The Walking (about witches and zombies) if you haven't already. Save this one for later if you want to read everything Little.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly recommended..., November 26, 2008

By 

Rodney A. Warren "Coachrod1" (Riverside, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vanishing (Mass Market Paperback)

Being a fan of most genres of literature and a high school English teacher, I try to read as many authors as I can to have a wide range of knowledge. I consider myself a huge horror fan and this was my second book by this author.

I can't really recommend this book but I wouldn't say it was a waste of my time. It took me about 100 pages to start getting into it and after that time was invested, I thought it moved quickly and kept my interest. I liked the Brain and Carrie characters. I hated Andrew though (I guess that's good writing).

This book really isn't scary so much as it is disturbing. From the fathers killing their sons at the beginning to the "organic Milk" farm, it was pretty gross (again possibly because of good writing).

I wouldn't recommend it to my high school students to read, or my son for that matter who I give most of my books to read afterward.

Last note: If I was a distant relative of John Sutter, I would sue! :)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not his best, definitely his worst!, November 4, 2008

By 

R. Mastromauro "Loving life as a Mom" (Fresh Meadows, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vanishing (Mass Market Paperback)

I am generally a huge fan of Bentley Little his stories are generally entertaining and at times when they are a bit more subdued they have much more depth then people give him credit for (The ignored).

I felt this novel was so grotesque and disgusting, it was only that, the story was ludicrous, the ending was just plain stupid and everything in between was completely un-entertaining. The bloody and violent scenes were disgusting but it seemed as though they were gross just for the sake of being gross.

This has got to be the worse story line he's ever had, and this comes from a Little fan!

anyway pick it up at your own risk.