Prince of Darkness by Barbara Michaels
Publisher: HarperTorch, 2005
Genre: Horror
Sub-genre: Occult
Read the full (spoiler-free) review here.
Upon reading the title, my husband wanted to know if Ozzy Osbourne was the hero. That would certainly make for an... uh... interesting novel, wouldn't it? But no. No Ozzy.
Most of the story follows Peter Stewart, the proverbial stranger in a strange land. He shows up in the quiet, prestigious town of Middleburg with a mysterious goal, one he has to get in good with the locals to accomplish. The locals, however, are a tight-knit and snobbish community, and not very welcoming to newcomers who ask too many questions. Are they hiding something? And why does this town, with its rich occult heritage, balk at the mention of the word "witch"? And why is it Peter constantly feels like he's being watched, even when nobody's around?
Unfortunately, I never felt like I got to know Peter, despite the fact that three quarters of the story is told from his perspective. He's purposely portrayed as a big mystery, as part of the mystery in the book is figuring out who Peter really is and why he's gone to Middleburg in the first place. I got pretty annoyed with all the not-so-veiled hints pretty quickly; they never added up to the answer, just served to drive it into the reader's head that HAY YOU GUYS, QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERING! This might not have been quite so irritating coming from another point of view, but when the main character is the one not telling the readers what's going on, it gets frustrating pretty quickly.
I very much enjoyed the prose style, and the dialogue was cleverly written. For a book that promised to be a dark, creepy story, though, it failed to deliver on that point. So much of a book like this depends on the tone, and while it wasn't cotton candy light, it also wasn't what I expected to find from something marketed as a horror novel. The occult themes are mostly what seems to convince people this is a "gothic novel." Still, mystery fans should find something to their enjoyment here, provided they're prepared for more "mystery" and less "thriller."
Genre: Horror
Sub-genre: Occult
Read the full (spoiler-free) review here.
Upon reading the title, my husband wanted to know if Ozzy Osbourne was the hero. That would certainly make for an... uh... interesting novel, wouldn't it? But no. No Ozzy.
Most of the story follows Peter Stewart, the proverbial stranger in a strange land. He shows up in the quiet, prestigious town of Middleburg with a mysterious goal, one he has to get in good with the locals to accomplish. The locals, however, are a tight-knit and snobbish community, and not very welcoming to newcomers who ask too many questions. Are they hiding something? And why does this town, with its rich occult heritage, balk at the mention of the word "witch"? And why is it Peter constantly feels like he's being watched, even when nobody's around?
Unfortunately, I never felt like I got to know Peter, despite the fact that three quarters of the story is told from his perspective. He's purposely portrayed as a big mystery, as part of the mystery in the book is figuring out who Peter really is and why he's gone to Middleburg in the first place. I got pretty annoyed with all the not-so-veiled hints pretty quickly; they never added up to the answer, just served to drive it into the reader's head that HAY YOU GUYS, QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERING! This might not have been quite so irritating coming from another point of view, but when the main character is the one not telling the readers what's going on, it gets frustrating pretty quickly.
I very much enjoyed the prose style, and the dialogue was cleverly written. For a book that promised to be a dark, creepy story, though, it failed to deliver on that point. So much of a book like this depends on the tone, and while it wasn't cotton candy light, it also wasn't what I expected to find from something marketed as a horror novel. The occult themes are mostly what seems to convince people this is a "gothic novel." Still, mystery fans should find something to their enjoyment here, provided they're prepared for more "mystery" and less "thriller."