October 6, 2011

The Shadowing: Hunted - amazing book

The Shadowing: Hunted by Adam Slater

I began reading this with a bit of fear and trepidation. It has "horror" in its labelling, so I was a little afraid it would be too graphic. While there is a graphic murder, it isn't gratuitously violent. Slater wrote a book that I couldn't wait to get home from work to read, staying up into the wee hours to read.

This story, written in third person, is almost exclusively from the point of view of Callum Scott - a teenager who has had the ability to see ghosts all his life. However, there is a demonic killer on the loose, and occasionally we see things from the monster's point of view. The Shadowing is coming ... and I don't want to say much more for fear of spoiling the book for future readers.

The thing that impressed me the most with this book is how Slater creates a setting that is creepy and beautiful at the same time. He lives in a tiny, crumbling cottage with his Gran and their cat. The walk home from school is through Marlock forest - a place that is haunted by ghosts, a hell hound, and eventually the demonic killer. The setting is so well rendered it becomes a character in and of itself. You can feel the damp darkness of the forest and fear what lurks there.

This was the first book in a series. I'll be anxiously awaiting the next installment.

1 comments:

Belgie said...

This is a very quick read because the story moves along at such a good pace. The characters are well developed, and there is character growth as Callum learns that he cannot ignore his gift anymore, and he starts to accept what he is. Callum lives with his grandmother, and their relationship changes over the course of the story as well. The characters are never sacrificed for the plot, they act and react just the way they should. But don't get me wrong, there is lots of action in the book to keep you on the edge of your seat! The suspense and build up to the end is what kept me up reading til the wee hours!

I am SO happy that this is the first in a series, and I am anxiously waiting for the next book! The story was wrapped up in a way that left it quite obvious that this is just the beginning, and I for one cannot WAIT to find out where the author takes us next!

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