Ahhh… nothing like the annual summer family camping trip, right?Malcolm, his wife Sam and their two kids have been staying at the same cabin, at the same campground for years now. Heck, Malcolm’s been coming to the campground since he was a kid.Miles and miles of groomed trails, hiking, kayaking on the pristine lake. What’s not to like?But this year… well this year’s different. You see, roof … different. You see, roof repairs have caused them to have to change their plans. Now they’re staying at the cabin at the end of season, in fact they’re the last campers before it closes for the winter.
While happy to be spending time with the family, Malcolm feels a shift.
The caretaker next door makes it known he hates him.
The trees… move and dance, as though calling him, beckoning him.
Then on a seemingly normal kayaking trip, the family makes a discovery.
YOU TAKE FROM ME
I TAKE FROM YOU
Something’s out there, just on the other side of the fence. Malcolm’s positive it’s just the caretaker trying to scare him, teach the family a lesson.
But what if it’s not…
What if there is something out there?
The Stranger is the second novel from Steve Stred and 9th release overall. The Stranger is another offering following in the footsteps of similar books Invisible, YURI and The Girl Who Hid in the Trees. As Steve describes his works; “dark, bleak horror.”
With this release, Steve has decided to look deeper into what makes humans tick. He confronts two key elements of mankind; bigotry and our environmental footprint.
Featuring stunning cover art by Chadwick St. John (www.inkshadows.com), The Stranger will be a story that will leave you feeling uneasy and have you looking at the trees differently.
Maybe it’s not the wind making the branches sway…
Maybe…
It’s…
The Stranger.
more
In The Stranger we follow Malcom and his wife Sam as they head up to their timeshare in the woods in late October. Things are unsettling right from the start. The peaceful wilderness that they knew from previous years has been replaced by something ominous in the dark woods beyond the back fence. By the time Malcolm and Sam’s kids have joined them there have been numerous disturbing events and the story kicks into high gear. This is a dark, violent novel about race, fragile ecosystems and the many kinds of horror man inflicts on others.
I loaded The Stranger on my Kindle and read it on a six hour flight. I was so deep into the story that when the flight attendant asked me a question it took me a moment to come back to myself—I was on a plane, not in the woods. It’s definitely a binge read type of story.
This was my first experience with Mr Stred but it won’t be my last.
This was an enjoyable and gleefully dark tale of man versus nature, but also of the sins of the father, specifically those borne of ignorance and intolerance.
This latter theme of indigenous racism is handled well when the protagonist (hero certainly doesn’t fit this intolerant character) Malcolm really finds himself waist deep in the smelly stuff, however, my one gripe is that until this point, his history of racism is unremarked upon, with his family being unawares of his prejudice despite them habitually frequenting the same tribal-run camp ground for years. Because of this, when Malcolm shows his true colours it felt a little forced at first, but before too long Malcolm is being the dirtbag we’re all desperate to see suffer, and boy do we.
The lore of the supernatural forces behind the comeuppance is interesting, and I would have quite enjoyed a bit more of it, but it might have interfered with the breakneck pace of the story.
All in all, this was indeed a dark and bleak tale of man’s powerlessness in the face of an ancient evil, with some great action, gross violence, and most importantly (to me anyway) an engaging finale which ties it together well.
I look forward to reading more of Mr Stred’s work.
P.S. the monstrous image at the back of the book which inspired this story is indeed a great little fluke of ash and mineral. Good eye, Steve.
4.5 ! This story takes place in an end-of-season, mostly closed campground! Malcolm has been vacationing here for many years but due to necessary repairs this year’s trip has been pushed way back into the fall season! Malcolm senses that it’s different this time, something’s out there, just on the other side of the fence!
I really enjoyed how Steve describes the trees in the forest! I could see them in my mind swaying, moving, reaching out with branches and hanging over trails and roads! He ties in some Native Indian beliefs that lead the reader deeper into the forest!
The character of Malcolm is hard to like but near the end I felt sorry for him and his outlook on life! And this ends with a revealing twist! Didn’t see it coming!