Lee Thompson

A book which I ultimately just decided wasn't for me. The overall novel wasn't outside the sort of thing I look for in a horror novel, but the plot unfolded a little slowly for my tastes and there were other problems. It felt like it should have been a short story. The characters also didn't appear to be plausible within the context of the various situations. It was like: "You know that I think about it later over this cup of coffee, I should probably have done something about those four dead and mutilated girls I saw them just burying in the woods after I got whacked on the back of the head, and while I'm on it, I wonder what's up with my relationship with Kat and what about that brother I killed." Just doesn't ring true, like what or how real people would do or react to a particular fact or situation.

Characterization is key in a novel like this where the novel is mostly driven by their reaction to the outre elements when they are introduced. The setting here is a so-called typical town, not one of the levels of purgatory where you would already expect more unnatural behaviour in people. [a:Robert McCammon|5244478|Robert McCammon|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1378395125p2/5244478.jpg] and [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] are masters of this subgenre, and even [a:Gary Braunbeck|9811106|Gary Braunbeck|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Muriel Gray|237540|Muriel Gray|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] do a better job of this when they dip into it. I just ultimately didn't buy the inner thoughts, actions, or dialog and therefore the characters became something two dimensional who didn't involve me in the decidedly eerie goings on.

I'm sure there are plenty who will be entertained by this novel and presumably the rest of the Division Mythos novels, just not me.… (més)

It is always a pleasure to read the first book in a series and realize that you have a whole group of books to look forward to. That is how I felt when I finished Before Lenora Wakes. Great characterization and a compelling plot highlight this introduction to a dark world where nothing is as it seems. Where monstrous exteriors do not speak to the true character and seeming innocence and helplessness belies a powerful malevolence. And it is going to get darker from here. In the last year I have discovered several great writers whose work I enjoy in the realm of dark fiction and now I can add Lee Thompson to that list.… (més)

Nursery Rhymes 4 dead children is a great mystery story and a great fantasy/horror story but it is much more than those things. It is the type of book that I think of when I use the term "literary horror."

Two old friends are brought together in a perfect storm of tragedy that may have been caused by or perhaps may in turn be feeding a demonic intrusion into the town of Division. Magic, both dark and good, runs deep in this town and through generations of its inhabitants. We are witnessing the result of years of evil acts which have thinned the boundary between this world and the realm of demons as well as taken its toll on the children who grew up in this town and were in many ways used as pawns. No character is without his or her scars; no soul remains unbattered. Each person carries his personal losses; but it is how they bond together in mutual pain and need that brings out the message in this book. As one character explains, they seek to be a redeemer---that is what I feel the message of this book is: that from pain, sacrifice, even horror, it is possible to defy and defeat seemingly insurmountable odds, and that love and loyalty can bring redemption to all those with the courage to seek it.… (més)

On the surface, this novel is about how one catastrophic event can be a defining moment, a pivot point, for the lives of all the people involved. All are changed and ultimately they must all face their demons alone. It is more "realistic" and stylistically very different from "Nursery Rhymes for Dead Children" and in many ways darker.

Lee Thompson is a very good writer. Most novels feature formulaic and structured plot and draw from an accepted palette of symbolism or metaphor to create a desired artistic effect. Sort of like a Currier and Ives Christmas scene. Just as we are supposed to, we smile with remembrance and recognize ourselves (idealized, of course) in the work.

Thompson doesn't let you off that easily. He rips his chest open and lays his suffering on that page and we cringe as we recall our own suffering and shudder as we recognize our own weaknesses in his characters. We can feel him do this and it changes us.

The reader can sense the truth and real suffering behind these characters and is forced to look inside themselves and the reader who approaches these novels with an open mind and heart will be moved by them. Sometimes there aren't solutions and sometimes the pain just doesn't go away.… (més)