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kathydavie's review
5.0
First in the Silver John science fiction fantasy series revolving around a folksinging guitar player and his friends. This story takes place on Wolter Mountain in the Appalachians.
My Take
I love Wellman’s use of language and his folksy approach . . . and I’m at a loss to explain how varied this is. It’s the people and their inner goodness. John’s warm and comforting reassurances. The Chief’s snarky sense of humor about “white man” expectations, lol, even as he steps up when it’s evil come a’calllin’. There’s also Holly’s blend of college education and warm-hearted acceptance of a less scholarly angle.
For such a short story, 186 pages, you can’t help but be impressed with the level of background detail and the wealth of Wellman’s imagery. Wellman shows you how it’s done *grin*.
If you love history, culture, self-sufficiency, and the underdog winning out, you can’t help but love Wellman’s The Old Gods Waken.
The Story
It’s lucky for the Forshays that Luke befriended Silver John at that festival, for he knows how to deal with the deadly magic that flows down the mountain.
Even luckier that Rueben Manco is willing to root out that evil and endure the seven tests.
The Characters
Silver John is a balladeer who wanders the mountains collecting folk songs and battling evil. Evadare is John’s fiancée. Holly Christopher is a friend of John’s and a scholar of folklore with university learning and an appreciation for what she can discover outside a university.
Creed Forshay owns a farm up in the Appalachian mountains. Luke is his son, who helps him work the land and has degrees in English and history.
Rueben Manco is Cherokee, a medicine man, and a graduate of Dartmouth, for all that he likes to fool around with people’s expectations.
Brummitt and Hooper Voth are brothers who inherited the old Gibb place up on the mountain top. Jonathan Gibb was the last of his line and a complete loner. John Gibb was the ancestor who first settled this homestead.
The Cover & Title
The cover is fantastical with a an old hermit carrying a long-handled sickle as he wanders an alien landscape with mountains in the background and a full moon hovering while lightning crackles in the sky above.
The title is the aim of the Voth brothers, to see to it that The Old Gods Waken.
cheesestraws's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
nlord's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
faustian_bargain's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
brandonadaniels's review
2.0
This was just okay, and I ended up falling off a little over halfway through. Silver John is an early occult hero, and Manly Wade Wilson is a largely forgotten genre legend. I leaned about him and this series from Mike Mignola’s dedication in in Hellboy: The Crooked Man.
pizzamyheart's review
3.0
Folk horror is extremely underrated.
This story takes place in the Appalachia region. Many of the characters have knowledge in the old folk tales or pagan traditions. They cover many stories and references in a short period of time. There are druids and trials, but the main folk element is the Raven Mockers. Raven Mockers are from the Cherokee legends. According to the legends, Raven mockers are mostly invisible, except when they're about to feast on a new victim. They will devour the heart of the victim and will absorb the extra years of their life. It's truly a terrifying folk creature.
Now onto the book itself. This was my first forage into the Silver John stories. It was a tough start. There was little character development to grow attached to any character and there were so many characters introduced that it was hard to keep them straight. The real strength lies in the journey and Silver John's survival through the trials. It mirrors the trials and tests that characters would go through in traditional folk/fairy tales. If you can get through the first 60 pages, it's a nice book for an afternoon read.
This story takes place in the Appalachia region. Many of the characters have knowledge in the old folk tales or pagan traditions. They cover many stories and references in a short period of time. There are druids and trials, but the main folk element is the Raven Mockers. Raven Mockers are from the Cherokee legends. According to the legends, Raven mockers are mostly invisible, except when they're about to feast on a new victim. They will devour the heart of the victim and will absorb the extra years of their life. It's truly a terrifying folk creature.
Now onto the book itself. This was my first forage into the Silver John stories. It was a tough start. There was little character development to grow attached to any character and there were so many characters introduced that it was hard to keep them straight. The real strength lies in the journey and Silver John's survival through the trials. It mirrors the trials and tests that characters would go through in traditional folk/fairy tales. If you can get through the first 60 pages, it's a nice book for an afternoon read.
desi728's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
louloureadsbooks's review
4.0
I listened to this on Audible, I ummed and ahhed for a bit as I'm not a massive fan of the narrator (he's definitely not bad, just not my favourite). Anyway I'm very glad I went for it and took the trip into the Appalachians.
I've not come across either author or character before, so a pleasing discovery. It's a simple but deceptive story as there's more to John than first meets the eye, although you get hints but not much more. Rather than frustrating, I found this added to the enjoyment.
I know this story was written long before, but it reminded me in parts of T Kingfisher's The Twisted Ones, I think it was the mountains and the descriptions of the strangely formed rocks. And yes, I know TTO was inspired by a different book, but still.
Shame Audible only has the one book available. I really enjoyed this and I'll hunt out the next story in book or ebook form.
I've not come across either author or character before, so a pleasing discovery. It's a simple but deceptive story as there's more to John than first meets the eye, although you get hints but not much more. Rather than frustrating, I found this added to the enjoyment.
I know this story was written long before, but it reminded me in parts of T Kingfisher's The Twisted Ones, I think it was the mountains and the descriptions of the strangely formed rocks. And yes, I know TTO was inspired by a different book, but still.
Shame Audible only has the one book available. I really enjoyed this and I'll hunt out the next story in book or ebook form.
dantastic's review
3.0
While Silver John is staying with his friend Creed Forshay and Creed's son Luke, odd things start happening, odd things that seem to center on Forshay's new neighbors, two Englishmen named Brummitt and Hooper Voth. Can Silver John stop the Voth's from using Druidic magic to release an ancient evil?
Silver John is back in a full length novel. If you've read [b:Who Fears The Devil|939467|Who Fears The Devil|Manly Wade Wellman|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1316512706s/939467.jpg|924442], you know what to expect. The Old Gods Waken reads like an expanded version of a Silver John short story. All the things I liked about the Silver John short stories were here: Silver John himself, his bits of lore, and ancient evils lurking just around the corners of the Appalachian mountains.
The supporting cast was a little ahead of its time. Reuben Manco could have easily been a stereotypical Indian character and it was nice to see him mocking such stereotypes. Holly was a much stronger character than most female characters of the period, back when women in pulp stories were either victims or bait. The Voth brothers were suitably creepy and I loved how Wellman wove the Raven Mockers of Indian mythology into a story about druids.
It wasn't all roses and sunshine, though. I felt like parts of the story were a little on the convenient side and I didn't think the writing was as good as it was in the short stories in Who Fears the Devil.
Really, no big complaints. It was nice to read about Silver John again. I'd give it a 3.5 if I could.
Silver John is back in a full length novel. If you've read [b:Who Fears The Devil|939467|Who Fears The Devil|Manly Wade Wellman|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1316512706s/939467.jpg|924442], you know what to expect. The Old Gods Waken reads like an expanded version of a Silver John short story. All the things I liked about the Silver John short stories were here: Silver John himself, his bits of lore, and ancient evils lurking just around the corners of the Appalachian mountains.
The supporting cast was a little ahead of its time. Reuben Manco could have easily been a stereotypical Indian character and it was nice to see him mocking such stereotypes. Holly was a much stronger character than most female characters of the period, back when women in pulp stories were either victims or bait. The Voth brothers were suitably creepy and I loved how Wellman wove the Raven Mockers of Indian mythology into a story about druids.
It wasn't all roses and sunshine, though. I felt like parts of the story were a little on the convenient side and I didn't think the writing was as good as it was in the short stories in Who Fears the Devil.
Really, no big complaints. It was nice to read about Silver John again. I'd give it a 3.5 if I could.
steven_v's review
4.0
This is a very enjoyable, quick read from Manly Wellman, who is the author of many Silver john short stories. This one is his first novel, and I think it was very well done. I adore the writing style, how John's narrative voice shines through -- "Gentlemen, let me tell you..." he will say to the reader. I live in NC, though not the mountain area where this takes place, and several of the speech patterns Wellman uses in the story, are still alive and well today in the area. He represents them well, and it seems so effortless. (I'm sure it wasn't.)
The characters are interesting -- there is John, of course, but also Reuben Manco, the Cherokee shaman who helps him out through the 2nd half of the book, and Holly Christopher, the historian from UNC- Chapel Hill, and the Forshays, whose land is being threatened by some unpleasant neighbors.
I only have to slight disappointments with this novel, that prevented me from giving it 5 stars. One was that John hardly used his silver-strung guitar at all, and since that is his trademark, I kept looking for it to factor in... but it never did. The second was that the ending felt kind of abrupt -- all these dangerous forces are arrayed against our heroes, and it seems hopeless and then, in 5 pages, the novel is done. The ending could have been a bit more satisfying.
However, the book as a whole is an enjoyable read, and definitely felt like a solid addition to the Silver John mythos. If I can find it (these books are almost impossible to get in hard copy and mostly don't exist as eBooks), I will try the 2nd book in the novel series later this year.
The characters are interesting -- there is John, of course, but also Reuben Manco, the Cherokee shaman who helps him out through the 2nd half of the book, and Holly Christopher, the historian from UNC- Chapel Hill, and the Forshays, whose land is being threatened by some unpleasant neighbors.
I only have to slight disappointments with this novel, that prevented me from giving it 5 stars. One was that John hardly used his silver-strung guitar at all, and since that is his trademark, I kept looking for it to factor in... but it never did. The second was that the ending felt kind of abrupt -- all these dangerous forces are arrayed against our heroes, and it seems hopeless and then, in 5 pages, the novel is done. The ending could have been a bit more satisfying.
However, the book as a whole is an enjoyable read, and definitely felt like a solid addition to the Silver John mythos. If I can find it (these books are almost impossible to get in hard copy and mostly don't exist as eBooks), I will try the 2nd book in the novel series later this year.