Customer Reviews

The Walking

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Bentley Little is able to take the tried-and-true horror formula and work wonders with it. In THE WALKING, he draws from witchcraft, ancient curses and evil revenge to weave a tale that is both creepy and fun to read.
Miles Huerdeen is a detective who takes on a seemingly typical stalking case only to find himself in the middle of some bizarre supernatural phenomenon that threatens to destroy the world. What he finds is a string of horrific murders as well as more than one walking corpse; all these events eventually tie together, and Miles plays a more important role than he ever could realize. Everything keeps pointing to Wolf Canyon which was once home to a thriving witch community but is now under water between two dams. Miles starts to uncover the government secret of the canyon as well as long-buried secrets involving his father and a vile curse spoken by an ancient being.
Reading any Little novel is always a roller coaster ride. He is quite adept at setting mood and pace, and his plots are typically imaginative and captivating. The Walking is a typical Little novel. Although the dramatic build-up leads to a somewhat anti-climactic ending, the book itself is quite simply a lot of fun and well worth the read.

Bentley Little is capable of writing brilliant, thought provoking social satire imbued with horrific elements. For this type of Bentley Little book, check out "The Store," or "The Association." But Little is also capable of writing straight horror, the type of horror that delivers the jolts while telling a great story with appealing characters and haunting atmosphere. For this type of Little story, look no further than "The Walking."

"The Walking" is the story of Miles Huerdeen. Miles works at a private detective agency in Los Angeles, California. Miles's life isn't the most fascinating existence in the world. He gets to do some interesting work, but most of the time he spends his days toiling away on divorce cases. Miles is divorced from his wife Claire, a fact that his father, Bob, never lets him forget. Bob thinks Miles should get out more, but Miles is reluctant to change his routine. This all comes to a crashing halt when Miles takes on a new case that leads to a supernatural discovery: there are people who start walking after they die.

While Little tells us the story of Miles and the walking dead, he also acquaints us with a spooky tale in the late 19th century. This account explains the formation of a town populated with unusual people. When the town welcomes a strange newcomer, all heck starts to break lose. The people rebel against this newcomer and her violent ways by committing murder. But murder sometimes isn't enough to stop the truly depraved. When the U.S. government destroys the town some years later, a series of events is set in motion that eventually reach out not only to Miles Huerdeen, but other people throughout the United States.

This is a scary story with a lot of creepy atmosphere and gruesome deaths. The eeriest parts of the book deal with the walking dead. With unseeing eyes and cold, gray skin they continue to walk even when held or strapped down. Little creates a lot of good scenes with these grim zombies that definitely deliver the goose bumps. But it isn't just the walkers that scare; descriptions of a haunted canyon out in the desert are downright chilling, as are encounters with the strange force that seeks revenge on those who wronged it. Little is effective with his scenes because he doesn't try to explain every detail to the reader. In the haunted canyon, Little doesn't reveal what hides in the shadows or what instills fear in those who pass by. All that is shown is that something is terribly wrong.

The build up to the finale is exciting. Regrettably, the showdown between Miles and the evil presence was a lot like watching the air leak out of a balloon. Nothing spectacular happens in this final encounter. It's not as though the being is some pencil necked geek because Little spends most of the book showing us the being's power. To dispose of the villain this easily makes the reader feel as though they were robbed. It is becoming apparent that Little does this frequently in his books: great build-up, disappointing come down.

The unsatisfactory ending doesn't mean the book is not worth reading. Bentley Little is one of the premier horror authors producing works today. It is only a matter of time before we see a film version of one of his books. In the meantime, give this book, and his others as well, a chance.

Wow! This was a sursprise. My friend Pam kept telling me to read this & I kept putting it off. I didn't think it was going to be very good. I thought it might be lame. I was wrong. I loved this book. It keeps the reader wanting to find out why these people are still walking. This is a true page turner. Loved the story as well as the characters. If you like King & Koontz,then you're going to LOVE Bentley!!!! I went out & bought 3 more books by him. Happy Haunting.

Immediately, this first sentence pulls you into one of Bentley Little's best stories. Little is a master of indirect horror, creeping terror lying in wait within the most common of people and places, later exploding into outright terror. 'The Walking', in my humble opinion, is Little's most striking ventures, beginning by directly chilling your blood to icy levels and leading you into a world of the creepiest of zombies, witches, and dark places which hold dark secrets.

Written with a 'Now' and 'Then' alternating chapter theme, 'The Walking' tells the story behind the Wolf Canyon dam, and the town destroyed by the dam. A town built by and inhabited by witches, now underneath a lake that pulls the dead to it where they walk beneath the spooky waters.

William Johnson and Jeb Freeman were founders of the town of Wolf Canyon, back when it was only six witches hiding from society. The town grew, and Isabella arrived, marrying William. Isabella, a powerful witch, holds the town in a state of both unity and fear, keeping strictly to her strange magics.

Miles Huerdeen is a private investigator dealing with the depression of divorce from his wife Claire and watching after his elderly father, Bob. But when Bob dies and continues to walk, his purpose vapid and uninterruptible, Miles gets his first glimpse into something terrible that is happening to the dead once again.

Through his investigations, Miles will find his ties back to the town of Wolf Canyon, and then he must figure out a way to put to rest the remaining, demonic powers that Isabella put into motion so many years ago.

Terrifying zombies, witches, vampyrs, unnatural landscapes, a dark and creeping atmosphere, and the horrifying intent purpose of the dead all lead Miles to the dead lake at Wolf Canyon where he must confront the evil that still manifests from the late Isabella and her city of witches.

Masterfully told, with some twisting surprises, 'The Walking' is one of the creepier books I've read. The ending is a bit anticlimactic from all the previous build-up, but still left a satisfying taste in my mouth, fleshy and cold. Enjoy!

This book was my first venture into the world of Bentley Little (and I'll confess that it was a library venture, not a purchased one). Right from the start he casts the reader into the strange world of the occult, putting forth an interesting and creepy prologue that really hooks your attention and never lets it go.

At least until much later, that is. While the first half of the book is fascinating - incorporating the unique concept of The Walking into both the modern world and the frontier towns of the early days of the American West - the second half felt too rushed, too forced. Events no longer played out with a natural feeling, instead seeming scripted. And yes, I know, it's a book; scripted is the way it was put together. But the second half just didn't feel like it meshed well with the first. In fact, I'd swear that Little was watching an X-Files marathon while writing the last 150 pages or so (there's even one character that bares a striking likeness to Fox Mulder, intentional or not).

But despite the finale I'd still recommend this book, just as I'm planning to read more of Little's work, and The Walking is still a fun story, with a great concept and one worth exploring as a reader.

If you liked the X-Files, do yourself a favor and pick this book up. It's a fun read when it's dark outside and the wind is howling, but I wouldn't consider it scary.

If you think you don't like "horror" or "supernatural" books, read the first 8 pages of this book. If you can put it down after that, you've got more willpower than I did. But DON'T start reading this one unless you're willing to read it all. You will not want to put it down. The characters, the story and the suspense (who ARE the walking? Why are they acting as they do?) will keep you riveted to every page. Little is an absolute master of the genre, who has even gotten raves from Stephen King (no slouch himself).

Horrible deaths await the characters in this book--undeserved deaths, for the most part--but I was able to read "The Walking" through the night without turning on extra lights or calling extra cats into the bedroom for company. Horror is the 'oh yuk, how can these hideous events be happening' reaction. Terror is knowing that in the darkness, if you reach for the light switch, something will realize exactly where you are.

That said, this novel is hard to put down. It has likeable, interesting characters and an evil vampyr named Isabella, who has understandable motives for murder. Bentley Little's finest descriptions are reserved for her vengeful killings. The story jolts forward with death after gruesome death, but the reader finally catches on to the reason for the murders and the walking zombies, without too much prodding from Bentley Little. It's always a pleasure to deduce whodunit and why without a flat-out, often tedious explanation from the author.

This novel's main protagonist, a nice-guy private detective named Miles Huerdeen is asked to investigate the mysterious stalking of an old man. Another one of his cases ends abruptly when his client is torn in half, lengthwise. Old men are dying horrible deaths all around him. Then his own father dies, walks out of the morgue and disappears.

Several hellish visions and deaths later, Miles realizes that a monster is waiting for him in the depths of Wolf Canyon, where a village of witches had been deliberately drowned by a government hydroelectric dam.

"The Walking" isn't the scariest or most gruesome horror novel I've ever read--go to Stephen King for those superlatives--but it is clever, non-stop reading.

Why not the most intellectual of fares, The Walking is a still a very entertaining read. There were several parts scattered throughout the novel that acually gave me the "heebie-jeebies" and that is rare, for I do not scare easily when it comes to literature. But Little did it. Sure, he might not have the glamour of a King or a Koontz, but when you want horror go with him. For iy's a day when it seems that our favorite horror authors have grown up and graduated from the genre, King has moved on to the Green Mile and other more realistic and mature fare, while Koontz seems to be stuck in a perpetual run of psychological thrillers, but, although the old has moved on, there are still a few writers out there keeping the world of darkness alive, and Little is a good example. I can't really say what this book is about, because to find out that, you should read it, not listen to a half baked, crackpot reviewer like me. Seriously, what credentials do I have? None. Exactly, so why are you even reading this? Because you're bored, I understand, that's what I'm here for. But, anyhoo, read the book, it's good. Oh, and pay particular attention to the apple scene, just reading it made my teeth hurt.

The Walking is one of Little's better plots. He weaves a fine story between "Then" and "Now." He confirms his place as a "Master of the Macabre."

The only reason I didn't give this a 5-star was because the story moved slowly at times, but it still was better than "The Town", which is probably Little's worst book. The beginning was great and probably let down some fans, because the ending doesn't live up to the start of the book.

Miles character wasn't fleshed out all that well, although his father was. If Little has a flaw, the key character might be it. However in the Store, his main character was awesome, same with the Association, which is his best work, I think.

The Walking is about a story of Witches who die after a flood leaves them buried alive under a lake, where years later dead start to walk to. Miles goes after his father with his ex-wife and fellow PI. They confront the evil and it does kind of leave us hanging, but this is an enjoyable ride.

Bentley Little has had around ten horror novels published in the past ten years. All but two of them have been entertaining reads that have held the reader from the beginning until the end of the book. "The Walking" is one of those two.

Like all his novels, Little does an excellent job of setting up the story and develops it at a rapid pace. However, some of his works, including this one, tend to have only a so-so or rushed ending. This one definitely had a rushed ending.

The story revolves around a number of people on a list that have died, but their bodies started and continued to walk after their death. A small group of relatives to the dead band together to determine why and to where these people are walking. The story flips from the present to the past a number of times. The present part of the story is excellent and the past is sometimes lacking. Eventually, Little merges the two at the ending. However, this ending did seem to be rushed and not as satifying as it should have been.

If you're a Little fan, definitely read this one as it's still a good read. It's not up to par with his better works ("The Store", "The Summoning", "The Revelation"), but it is better than at least one of his other works ("The Town").