Town [Mass Market Paperback]

 

 

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This is the second Bentley Little novel I have read and as with the last I'm also impressed with this one. Little proves to be one of the best horror writer of our times.
The Town is filled with great characters and a great plot with keeps you guessing as you pass chapter after chapter. My only issue was the turning of the main character(Gregory) from good guy to bad. It happened very quickly and I'm still not sure what caused it. Other than that it's a great horror read.

This is a moderately entertaining horror story, though not one of the author's best. Here, California lottery winner Gregory Tomasov is now a man of means. He decides to move himself, his wife, their three children, and his mother, back to his home town of McGuane, Arizona. The Tomasovs are of Russian extraction and were brought up in the Molokan religion. As a group, Molokans are milk drinking pacifists, who live strictly by the tenets of the bible and recognize both Christian and Jewish holidays and celebrations. This makes them a much misunderstood group, and their beliefs have subjected them to persecution throughout the ages. Gregory's mother is an old school Molokan, although Gregory and his family have fully assimilated into the American culture.

When they move to McGuane, the Tomasovs are, unbeknownst to them, moving into a house where mass murders took place, as a man killed his entire family and himself in one night of senseless carnage. Meanwhile, Gregory's mother, Agafia, is very upset that her son did not invoke the old Molokan tradition of inviting Jedushka Di Muvedushka to come live with them in their new house in McGuane. He is what Molokans call the Owner of the House, an unseen little man with a beard who keeps those in the house safe from harm.

When they get to their new house, it seems that the town is going through some changes. Evil seems to be lurking everywhere and odd things seem to be happening....in the dark. Despite being reunited with his best friend from childhood, Paul Mathews, owner of the local coffee house, it seems that maybe moving back to McGuane wasn't such a good idea for Gregory and his family. Their house has some of the family members spooked, and the old ritual bath house on their property has a miasma of evil hanging over it. As more and more bad things happen in the town and to the townsfolk, the talk is that perhaps the newcomers are responsible. Moreover, to the locals all the Molokans in the town seem to be suspect, as well.

Meanwhile, Agafia has joined up with other members of the local Molokan church, as she knows that evil is afoot in the house in which she, as well as her son and his family, are living. She also knows it is afoot as well as in the ritual bathhouse. She feels that it is up to her to cleanse the house and bathhouse of the evil within. She believes is her fault bad things are happening for not having invited the Owner of the House to live with them, as Molokan tradition demands. Evil, however, will not go down for the count without a fight, a fight that is proving to be more than that for which even Agafia bargained.

With most of the author's works, there is a jarring sexual note that is interjected into the story. This book is no exception. Some of it is, as always, shocking. The only difference is that, in addition to being shocking, there is one incident that is absolutely side-splittingly funny and involves probably one of the most grounded characters in the book, Odd Morrison, the local handyman. You will know what I mean when you get to that part of the book. It is, in fact, the highlight of the story in my estimation. I do not know when I last laughed so hard. Odd is one of my favorite characters in the book, along with Agafia. All the others pale in comparison.

In any case, while this is not one of the author's best efforts, fans of the author and those who enjoy the horror fiction genre will derive a modicum of enjoyment from its pages.

I am a fan of horror, and usually gobble up anything I can get my hands on. I came across this book in a used bookstore, and having heard the name of Bentley Little before, I thought I should give it a chance.

This book was absolutely stupid. I don't want to give anything away by revealing the premise, but trust me--your patience will not be rewarded by the ending. It's a completely ludicrous and juvenile plot that makes no sense.

Bentley Little could not keep the momentum up in this book either. His pacing was way off. There were times when the suspense would start to build, and I would think to myself that this book may not be so bad after all--then Little starts plodding along again at the same boring pace. I would actually skip paragraphs at a time--and not miss anything relevant to this thin story.

I couldn't wait to finish this book so I could pick up a Richard Laymon novel.

While I've heard many good things about Little, I doubt those compliments came after anyone had read this book. It really is stupid and not worth your time. Pass on it.

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4.0 out of 5 stars OK but not the best
This book was somewhat drawn out and went around the block a few times or should I say "Town". Read more

Published on July 7 2004 by E. King

3.0 out of 5 stars Weird!
This book was ok. It had a slow start but then all of these weird things started to happen that meade me continue to read. Read more

Published on April 8 2004 by E. King

5.0 out of 5 stars First book read by Bentley Little - Bought every other since
This was the first book that I read by Bentley Little. I have purchased and read every book since! This book was one of my favorites by Bentley Little, with only two that I liked... Read more

Published on Jan 6 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars What a bad book!
When I picked up this book about a couple years ago, I thought it sounded cool. It was called, "The Town", and the premise sounded really cool. Read more

Published on Oct 21 2003 by Shauna N. Rushing

4.0 out of 5 stars Chilling tale of a town
I was suprised that this book didn't get the creditablity it deserved. If you're an avid reader of horror, especially when the story entails good vs evil, you'll enjoy this book... Read more

Published on Oct 2 2003 by Toni R. Tippin

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as Bad as People Think
If you have never visited the strangely warped worlds of Bentley Little, but avidly wish to do so, you might want to start somewhere else than "The Town. Read more

Published on Jun 9 2003 by Jeffrey Leach

1.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing horror experience
I really wanted to enjoy this book, since I'm on the hunt for a new-to-me horror novelist that I can enjoy. Read more

Published on Mar 26 2003 by cathst

2.0 out of 5 stars Little - The Town
A year or so ago, I picked up Little's The Association on a whim and I truly enjoyed it. Since then, I've experienced good and bad sides of Bentley Little. Read more

Published on Mar 25 2003 by Chris MB

1.0 out of 5 stars Kind of like a bad B-movie
I picked this up after reading some good reviews on Amazon of the author and after noticing some awards the author received and praise from other authors. Read more

Published on Mar 3 2003 by 2cents

1.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Little, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!
I am a very avid reader of Bentley Little's books, so naturally, i couldn't wait to pick this one up to start reading it. Boy do I wish I hadn't! Read more

Published on Feb 24 2003 by amanofstructure

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