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The Fisherman Paperback – June 30, 2016
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length282 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWord Horde
- Publication dateJune 30, 2016
- Dimensions6 x 0.64 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101939905214
- ISBN-13978-1939754837
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Product details
- Publisher : Word Horde (June 30, 2016)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 282 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1939905214
- ISBN-13 : 978-1939754837
- Item Weight : 14.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.64 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #35,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #185 in Sea Stories
- #2,056 in Horror Literature & Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author

John Langan is the author of two novels, The Fisherman and House of Windows, and three collections of stories, Sefira and Other Betrayals, The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies, and Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters. The Fisherman won the Bram Stoker and This Is Horror Awards for superior achievement in a novel. With Paul Tremblay, Langan co-edited Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters. He's one of the founders of the Shirley Jackson Awards, for which he served as a juror during its first three years. Currently, he reviews horror and dark fantasy for Locus magazine. In 2020, his fourth collection, Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies, will be published by Word Horde Press.
John Langan lives in New York's Hudson Valley with his wife, younger son, and many, many animals. He holds a first degree black belt in the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviewed in the United States on August 3, 2023
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Our book club read this book this summer. There were eight persons in attendance, ages 32 to 43, of varying backgrounds and lifestyles. We rate books on aspects such as quality, readability, likability, and overall book club cred (discussion, games, themes). This book rated our second highest scored read of all time. The book club absolutely loved this read… perhaps adored is a better word. There was just so much to discuss. The most common feedback was that this book is an absolute FEAST for the imagination. We were wild with it. The discussion was rapid, excited, and deep. We could have easily gone on for several more hours, but time ran short. What surprised everyone is that this genre (the horror/fantasy aspect) is not our usual taste (we love contemporary thrillers and literary pieces) but somehow it just worked for everyone, including the most select of us. We fell down the rabbit hole on this one, shooting literary references back and forth that we found within the pages. Folklore, mythology, religion, and of course the classics…. The list could go on and on. But it’s not a pretentious read. The story is very natural and smooth, with word play, wit, and references just beneath the surface. We loved pretty much all of the characters. I feel like I cannot do this book justice, but here are some of my personal thoughts down below.
I always add book club triggers to these reviews. To avoid spoiler issues, it’s at the very bottom of this review. Please scroll down if you have concerns about this book in a discussion setting.
Personal notes as a reader:
Rarely do I become so obsessed with a book. I am in love with The Fisherman, and have been thinking about it near constantly. Looking at good and bad reviews, it seems like some negative reviews focus on the "story within a story" aspect of this novel. So it's no spoiler to share from the top that this book has two tales in it: the current day story of Abe and Dan, two widowers who find friendship and a mutual love of fishing together, as well as a complete backstory and history of both the region and The Fisherman. These two stories are about equal in length. If you go into this expecting this story to simply be Dan and Abe's story, you could be frustrated. I personally loved the "backstory" portion of this book and I almost wish the description of the novel was clearer in this aspect. I was also pleased that the story didn't go back and forth between times as these stories often do (The Winter People, The Chalk Man, Bring Me Back, etc.). It's a common enough trope to tell a story this way, but it was refreshing to try something new. It basically allows the backstory to roll out in one long narrative, completely enrapturing. I supposed the irony of the Fish Tale may have escaped some (or perhaps, they got the joke, but didn't find it funny) but the middle yarn wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining if it didn't channel the concept of a Fish Tale - perhaps one of the biggest you'll read.
Although I adored this love letter to Melville (my heart be still) as an examination of the pasteboard mask (and indeed, I feel like Langen succeeded at punching through a wall between our void and the next) as well as the white whale and Leviathan, I was far more enraptured by the love letter to Lovecraft. I was obsessed with Lovecraft when I was younger, and this novel brought back so much joy and imagination to my adult heart. I haven't felt so carried away by fantasy since I was much younger, when this type of macabre seemed real, when magic seemed like a possibility. My cynical adult mind enjoys fantasy in novels with the Knowing that it's simply not real - like watching a horror movie but seeing the cowl edge in the mask, knowing it's only silicon and red paint. I love horror and fantasy, but I'm too skeptical at this point to be taken away. The Fisherman, in all its glory, was the first book I've read in years that I literally forgot my surroundings and was transported to a fantastical world where anything seemed possible. The child inside of my heart was terrified, excited, thrilled, sad, amazed.... and for that I gave this book the full amount of stars. I found myself quite literally in this magical place.
Triggers: Please do not read if you do not want spoilers. The purpose of this review is, again, as a candidate for a book club setting. I used to get asked a lot about discussion “triggers” (concepts that could cause harm a person in discussion if not handled properly). This particular book has a single topic that comes to mind that could present a trigger issue. This book is about widowership. There are at least half a dozen different explorations of men being widowed. Not only the two main characters, but many of the side characters, including the villain and his sponsor. To be completely honest, and though there was at least more than one person there who could relate to this trigger, not a single person was affected in a negative way and, in fact, thought the exploration was beautiful and elegant. This is also not a huge spoiler as the concept is laid out right away, within the first few chapters. Otherwise, this book handles many of the common tropes in horror and fantasy... death, magic, religion, etc.
First, up front, it’s a slow build, but I think this book lends itself to audio better. It is, after all, a series of big fish stories, so to say. Also, The narrator is pitch perfect. He has that older man voice that gives you the authentic Big Fish Story vibe while weaving in the cosmic / occult / folk horror menace that lies at the heart of this tale. The threat is of cosmic proportions, both multifaceted and far reaching, though rooted in man’s will to change reality and the lengths to which he will go and the powers he will struggle to enslave so that he may shape the world as he sees fit and restore what he has lost. I love the idea of the black waters, where they originate and the horror of their influence and the things that dwell within. It’s a fantastic story of interconnecting threads and one I would love so see the author revisit and expand on some of the things he mentions but does not pursue, like the city by the dark sea. There is more here he could mine for sure.
Second, this book’s structure is layered like a parfait or something. Starts with our main characters, who are then told an incredible and hard to believe fish story of cosmic horror proportions by a person who had it delivered to them by someone else who received it from first hand witnesses. So, it’s enough to make you wonder whether the facts have been skewed in the passing down but your gut tells you probably not by much. And boy is that “big fish story” a doozie!! Then as the main fish story, which takes up over half of the book, concludes, the story continues with our two main characters and their journey to fish in the Dutchman’s Creek, which was the source of the main fish story they just finished listening to.
While the tale they are told is wild and incredible and epic with moments of horror, the final adventure into Dutchman’s Creek is where events become far more disturbing. And damn, that last line.
I really have very few complaints about this book. Really only one about the book itself. At times when there are large portions of running dialogue, the authors strict use of “said”, “says” etc dialogue tags becomes annoying, particularly in audio format. But it’s tolerable for those short sections. My other complaint is that the author and publisher did a horrible job of pitching this novel to the average reader. As you can see in the picture, the cover art communicates nothing in particular. It is absolutely vague and could just as easily be on the cover of a general fiction novel as one of cosmic horror. The synopsis doesn’t help either. “A possibility too fantastic to be true” and the suggestion of a “dark pact” is all we are given to hint at the nature of the story. Which is why it has taken so damn long for me to take the plunge and tackle this book. Despite hearing and seeing so many great reviews, nothing about the cover or synopsis grabbed me. Zilch. Not one bit. Which made me pass it over for something else more interesting time and time again. But, after many friends kept encouraging me to give it a shot, I finally decided to make it happen. And holy hell, am I ever glad I did. This is probably the best novel I’ve read or listened to in the last few years. The ones sitting at the top of my list until now are Song of the Death God by William Holloway, The City by S. C. Mendes, and Last Days by Adam Nevill. That’s been my top three for awhile. But damn, now The Fisherman is playing king of the hill for the top spot.
If you don’t mind slow burns, and you enjoy cosmic / folk horror with some occult aspects, then you should absolutely buy and read this book. And I also highly recommend the audible version. The narration was fantastic, imo.
Top reviews from other countries
Por lo demás, gran compra a un precio muy bueno
Die beiden Angler schlagen Howards Warnung in den Wind und brechen zum Dutchman's Creek auf. Dort angekommen, werden sie mit einem Grauen konfrontiert, das am Creek seinen Anfang nimmt und weit in eine andere Dimension reicht..
Wer sich eine elegant geschriebene Mischung aus "Shadows over Innsmouth", "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" und "Pet Sematary" vorstellen kann, ist beim "Fisherman" gerade richtig. Der üppige Erzählstil packt den Leser von Anfang an und läßt ihn nicht mehr los. Der Horror-Faktor hat dabei weniger mit Splatter-Orgien zu tun, sondern ist eher psychologischer Natur. Ich jedenfalls habe mich lange nicht mehr so gegruselt...
And this edition has the most wonderful book cover i have ever seen...period
Go buy it...you won’t regret it
Reviewed in India on August 13, 2019
And this edition has the most wonderful book cover i have ever seen...period
Go buy it...you won’t regret it











