Customer Reviews

Wither

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Windale, Massachusetts has a heritage of witches. Three evil women were accused of witch craft and hanged over three hundred years ago. However, Wither, Rebecca, and Sarah did not die. Now, they are little more than monsters with a caretaker who is more of a slave to them. He must feed them and then dispose of the remains. It used to be cattle. Now they mainly feed off the college students who dwell in town.

THIS Halloween, the three witches plan to drain the life force of three women, so they may "live" again. Wendy is a college student who dabbles in white magic. Karen is a single, pregnant professor. Abby is an eight year old who stumbles across the graves of the three witches. The circle is cast. The battle begins.

***In a word, "WOW!" I wish I could make all horror fans go purchase this one! It's hard to believe this is J.G. Passarella's first novel. From page one chills went down my spine. I never put the book down. A definate "Keeper" to be read many times in the future. It is a dark, irresistible, and demonic story to keep you up at night!***

I throughly enjoyed this book. The story line has strong elements of the supernatural, and presents my favorite horror archetype: the witch. The portrayal of the witch is very original from all other books I've read on the topic. This book employs a small town atmosphere that creeping horror has always thrived on, and it is written with the efficiency of a film (which is no suprise when you consider that the two authors who make up "J.G. Passarella" are screenwriters.) This is one of the finest debut novels of the year, and one of the finest I've read in general (a tittle it shares with Karen Hall's "Dark Debts.")

This not normally the type of book I would read, but I borrowed this book from the library and read it in two days! The first day I went to bed with the book and was so captivated that I was shocked when I looked at the clock and saw 3:00 AM! I was halfway through the book and finished it the next day. HOWEVER, I didn't sleep well since the story was so haunting and utterly terrifying!

Mr. Passarella portrays in this book a charming college town on the brink of terror beyond imaging. The town has a centuries old history of three witches condemned to die in the only witch trial the town. Unlike many innocent women convicted of being witches during their time, these were not innocent women, they were evil to the core -- the worst of all three was one called "Wither". The three witches come back to terrorize the small town in the 20th century and steel the lives of three innocent people -- a college professor, a young college student, and an 8 year old girl. To tell much more of the story would ruin the mystery that unravels in it the book.

The characters are well developed, particularly the character of Wendy a girl who dabbles in white magic and believes she has brought the terror to her sleepy town accidently and also believes that she must find away to banish it on her own.

Read it, but make sure you leave a light on because you won't sleep well when you do!

This novel definitely deserves its Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel in Horror. A fast paced, bloody read with characters developed way beyond your average horror fare. The witches/monsters were written in vicious cinematic action sequences that scream MOVIE (apparently if you believe the back of the book, this is already in progress). My only complaint here was the somewhat predictable ending, but I guess that's what people want. A very nice twist on what BAD witches really are. The character of Wendy really stands out, kind of a cross between Glenda, Good Witch of the North and Dr. Van Helsing. Her character was developed to the point where she felt almost like a long lost sister. A weird one, but a sister nonetheless. This is an excellent horror novel that flirts very close with "Classic" status. Any tale that takes a small, New England town, witchcraft, monsters, and throws it against the backdrop of approaching Halloween deserves to be read. Especially if you claim to be a Horror fan. Check this book out and find out what witches really look like, and how they can fly without broomsticks!

Windale, Massachusetts has a heritage of witches. Three evil women were accused of witch craft and hanged over three hundred years ago. However, Wither, Rebecca, and Sarah did not die. Now, they are little more than monsters with a caretaker who is more of a slave to them. He must feed them and then dispose of the remains. It used to be cattle. Now they mainly feed off the college students who dwell in town.

THIS Halloween, the three witches plan to drain the life force of three women, so they may "live" again. Wendy is a college student who dabbles in white magic. Karen is a single, pregnant professor. Abby is an eight year old who stumbles across the graves of the three witches. The circle is cast. The battle begins.

***In a word, "WOW!" I wish I could make all horror fans go purchase this one! It's hard to believe this is J.G. Passarella's first novel. From page one chills went down my spine. I never put the book down. A definate "Keeper" to be read many times in the future. It is a dark, irresistible, and demonic story to keep you up at night!***

I love this novel! You get to follow Wendy as she takes risks and pushes her Wiccan spiritually to new levels. Mean while she has to use her powers to fight an evil that has been dormant for centuries and has now awakened to feed and rejuvenate. This evil is causing 3 Windale women (8 year old Abby, Wendy, and Karen a professor) to relive the lives of 3 executed witches as they begin to realize that they are targets also.
This is a must read for all horror fiction fans. It is also the first of a series of three novels (Wither's Rain and Wither's Legacy) and the series only gets better.

While browsing a Borders Paperback section looking for interesting titles to buy my wife for her Birthday one year I came upon 'Wither's Rain' which I later found out was a sequel story to the first entitled 'Wither'.

Not knowing who John Passarella was at the time, neither of us read the book and honestly it sat in the pile of 'to read' books for almost two years collecting dust...

Browsing a different Borders I came upon 'Wither' and without a moments hesitation picked it up because of its familiarity. This was yesterday. Today, John Passarella has a lifetime fan! 'Wither' is by far one the BEST stories I've ever read.

As an avid reader of all genres I can honestly say that this book was not only written extremely well but it was fun, thought provoking, and so well developed that you will fall in love with the characters overnight. I know I did.

Ok, I picked this one up after hearing several rave reviews. I wasn't disappointed. The novel flows steadily from page one. It has all the elements of a good, sturdy page-turner: evil forces at work in a small town, grotesque beings out for nightly feedings, a somewhat naive young witch coming to terms with her own power, a town's secret history coming back to haunt the residents, and a non-stop air of suspense to keep you reading long into the night.

All seems well in the quiet college town of Windale. Residents are gearing up for the annual Halloween celebration that milks the New England town's history of a notorious witch hanging. There's only one problem: the witches didn't really die the first time around and now it's their turn to flex some supernatural muscle. Enter Wendy (the good witch), Karen (pregnant with her first child) and 8-year-old Abby who has one of the most irresponsible fathers in all of literary history. They are the unsuspecting targets of the local evil witches who have now evolved into powerful, hungry, flying beings. Throw in some gruesome murders, some magical spells and some small-town hysteria, and you have a formula for mayhem.

WITHER is horror lite. It's a quick, easy read with a strong storyline. I liked the characters, I liked the monsters and I liked the combination of telling the history of the witches through dream sequences as well as present-day happenings. WITHER reads like a movie script but has the suspense to keep it going. It's worth the read!

Seldom do I encounter that movie that keeps me up at night. The last time I read a book which scared me so, I can't even recall; until, that is, I opened the cover of Wither.

I seem to have a sixth sense about novels at times-- this one I found on the bargain rack at the local book store, unused for less than $4.00. "Looks intriguing" I thought. "And if it isn't, well, it was only $4.00". If asked to buy it now at $20.00, I'd offer 30.

Set in Windale, Mass., Wither is an intricate novel that leads the reader through a twisted tunnel, only to spill them out into a voluminous cavern at its' climax, flooding them with emotions that had lurked just beneath the surface the entire time. The writing style itself is fairly simplistic, but the stories intricacies far surpass any frivoloties the author could have used. In fact, the very simplicity of the words is at times what frightens the most.

For a debut novel, this book is outstanding. For all readers dying for a chill up their spine, this book is the way to go.

J. G. Passarella's Novel "Wither" was a genuinely fun novel to read. The book is full of believable characters that are easy to identify with. The young female protagonist of the book, a college student who dabbles in "white magic" is presented in a realistic and non-judgemental way. The author has done a great service in his novel by avoiding stereotypes that would have been be so easy to fall into.

While the emphasis of the novel is clearly on entertainment and giving the reader a satisfying scare, there is a lightly written moral subtext that gives the novel enough substance to go with the fun that the novel will stay with you long after you have read it.

R. D. Field