You may be wondering if I read this book right as the film is coming out for a reason, but I am unfortunately not that well put together. I honestly had no idea there was a movie. I stumbled across the audiobook on Hoopla and thought it looked promising, and the rest is history. In hindsight, I’m sure they were featuring the audiobook in anticipation of the film, so their ploy worked on this out-of-the-loop reader.

Synopsis

Mina, a young woman still mourning the recent loss of her mother, goes on what she thinks is a temporary journey into the woodlands of Connemara in the west of Ireland in an effort to make a little extra cash. She’s in the company of only the yellow one, a golden conure she has been tasked with delivering to a buyer who lives in the region. When her vehicle mysteriously dies and the night brings on pure silence only broken by terrifying screams that seem to come from inhuman hosts, Mina finds herself finding shelter with other wayward travelers who suffered similar fates in an odd bunker of glass. During the day they may roam the countryside in search of food, but at night they must stay visible for the Watchers, supernatural entities that will let the people live as long as they can observe them. If they run, they will die.

Review

A.M. Shine, an Irish writer and lover of classic horror, is dubbed as an author of “literary horror.” I think this is a very apt description, as Shine’s prose shines rather brightly. *snort* Sorry, moving on. Seriously, I loved the flow of his writing, his description, character development. I saw some readers complain of purple prose. If you’re new to that concept, it’s language that is overly flowery bordering on pretentious. I disagree, because I loved it. Then again, I hate the concept of purple prose, though there are times when I agree with the sentiment. No one likes a show off. However, hear me out…

Horror is a genre that requires a certain amount of visualization. Whether that’s the artistry of a film building the suspense or the language of an author stimulating your imagination, they won’t be effective unless they help you see what they want to convey. Good horror is scary. Superb horror permeates your psyche and leaves you looking over your shoulder in the dark for weeks to come. It’s terrifying in its clarity and makes you question whether the impossible is really impossible. Was this quite superb? It comes close, because Shine is highly skilled. I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book and even found myself taken by surprise by certain details which probably shouldn’t have been quite as surprising as they were, and that’s to Shine’s credit. Looking back, I see the bread crumb trail that he left, but I was too busy worrying about that damn bird to notice.

Another impressive aspect of this novel is its incorporation of Irish folklore and culture. This was a factor that made it so much more traditionally Gothic, pulling from these ancient tales of old, infusing that little bit of extra to make those old tales truly terrifying. I mean, that’s not really a new thing, but I thought Shine did it well.

Overall, this is a great work of horror. It’s a great mix of classic and modern elements, and his character-driven approach is highly effective as it makes you care so much more about these people. Mina and Madeline are both especially complex, and it’s their dynamic that really pulls the story along. The creatures don’t even make a visual appearance until well into the novel, but their presence is still intensely terrifying because of their sounds and the claustrophobic nature of being completely surrounded.

This is the first A.M. Shine novel I’ve had the pleasure of reading, and I will be picking up more. Additionally, this audiobook is fantastic as narrated by Jacqueline Milne. I highly recommend.

First Published October 14, 2021 by Head of Zeus. Audio edition published January 1, 2022 by W.F. Howes Ltd. ISBN 9781004081783. Runtime 9 hrs. 27 mins. Narrated by Jacqueline Milne.