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vondav's review against another edition
5.0
Richard is travelling back to Blackwater Valley to honour his wife Michelle's final wishes of scattering her ashes on her birthday in their hometown. His wife whilst battling Leukemia was killed by a hit and run.
Travelling with him was their young daughter Katie. Katie is an exceptional girl with inherited powers. Katie can see ghosts, but it doesn't stop there, she can also heal people and animals by removing their illnesses and also get them to see what she can see. Nobody else knows how special she is except her dad.
Whilst in Blackwater, Richard takes time to reconnect with Michelle's family and his old school friend Tommy, who due to his own loss ended up getting into trouble.
Unbeknown to the residents of Blackwater, evil has established itself in their small town. Ancient plague pits opening up all over town, unexplained deaths and birth deformities in animals are just the start.
Throughout the trip Katie's life is in danger but no one is aware of this until near the end. With the help of Tommy and a local witch can Richard save his little girl?
The history of the town and the local residents idiosyncrasies kept the story flowing and gained my interest. From the moment I started reading, I was hooked.
Richard's memories of growing up in Blackwater and his time with Michelle show how raw his grief is, and it is incredibly moving.
Whilst reading this book you sense that something is going to happen and when it does it is big!
This is the first book I have read by this author and it won't be the last.
If you like Stephen King, then William R Gorman is an author you need to look out for.
Travelling with him was their young daughter Katie. Katie is an exceptional girl with inherited powers. Katie can see ghosts, but it doesn't stop there, she can also heal people and animals by removing their illnesses and also get them to see what she can see. Nobody else knows how special she is except her dad.
Whilst in Blackwater, Richard takes time to reconnect with Michelle's family and his old school friend Tommy, who due to his own loss ended up getting into trouble.
Unbeknown to the residents of Blackwater, evil has established itself in their small town. Ancient plague pits opening up all over town, unexplained deaths and birth deformities in animals are just the start.
Throughout the trip Katie's life is in danger but no one is aware of this until near the end. With the help of Tommy and a local witch can Richard save his little girl?
The history of the town and the local residents idiosyncrasies kept the story flowing and gained my interest. From the moment I started reading, I was hooked.
Richard's memories of growing up in Blackwater and his time with Michelle show how raw his grief is, and it is incredibly moving.
Whilst reading this book you sense that something is going to happen and when it does it is big!
This is the first book I have read by this author and it won't be the last.
If you like Stephen King, then William R Gorman is an author you need to look out for.
lilyn_g's review
4.0
Blackwater Val is a small town where something has gone horribly wrong. In the tradition of Stephen King, William Gorman gives us a book that's all about an almost unimaginable evil. The characters of Blackwater Val are ones you easily like or happily dislike. . They're not fully fleshed out, and they're definitely stereotypes, but he writes them in such a way that you don't care.Even though the violence starts almost immediately, the book has a 'slow burn' feel to it. The author has a habit of giving you scenes that propel the plot, and peppering in scenes of violence. I actually liked this. I'd be getting a bit antsy within a certain chapter, and suddenly someone gets gutted. Makes a horror hound happy, it does.
There are lots of deaths, violence, and mayhem that delight the casual reader in Blackwater Val. However, there's more than a few reasons why you may want to carefully consider who you recommend it to. This book, whilst not stuffed with it, does have quite a few scenes of disturbing imagery. Most of the truly disturbing imagery revolves around dead children. There are two baby deaths that happen (though they're not described in detail). There's also a few scenes with an aborted fetus. If you've ever had a loved one cremated, there's a scene where they talk about cremation that will bother you. Even now I have to force my thoughts away from it.
Gorman spends about half the book building things up. This makes it so he can gleefully engage in an epic battle of good versus evil at the end. If you're someone (like me) who likes to get right into the thick of things, the first half will be a bit of a bear. I found myself walking away from it to go do something else a few times. However, finally all the threads are in place, and I got hooked. From there on, I didn't want to put Blackwater Val down.
Overall, Blackwater Val is a solid read from a talented author. It disturbed me, creeped me out, and made me think. While it's not the type of book I willingly pick up because I don't like slow-burns, I still enjoyed it. I'd recommend it to fans of Stephen King and William Peter Blatty.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the publisher for review consideration.
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