Member Review
Review by
Martin P, Reviewer
As fine a folk horror tale as I've ever read.
"Sorrow Spring" opens in 2019, with a woman attempting to clear an old house, full of memories, and an old man, mourning the loss of a sister, long gone. Flash back to 1978, when twelve-year-old Rina Pine is taken by her mother from their commune, to the isolated village of Sorrow Spring where she is to live with her aunt Agatha. Rina soon discovers that the village is run by the "sistren" a group of women, headed up by her aunt, whose pagan beliefs are linked to a spring which is said to have healing properties. It also seems Rina's family is revered in the village and she is about to be inducted. But when a child goes missing and a mother is killed, she finds herself drawn into deep and menacing cycle of ages old beliefs, rituals and customs.
For me, the star of the book is the village of Sorrow Spring, isolated, insular and steeped in paganism. The sistren rule it quietly but completely, although it seems their time may be coming to a close. All the key elements are here - the village, deep in rural England, with a big house, a church, with graveyard, and a Moot Hall, where the Sistren meet and the villagers, suspicious and fearful. Rina is completely alone, abandoned, and with only a life in a friendly close-knit commune to sustain her she finds it a cold and frightening place. In the present timeline, things really hot up, as the village seems even more hostile to outsiders than 40 years ago. What happened?
I'm not a fan of dual timeline stories, even though they seem to be the norm nowadays, but it works well enough in this book, and much of the story takes place in the past anyway. As Rina in 1978, and her aunt in 2019 each seek to discover the secrets of Sorrow Spring, the events start to converge, and the climax is worth the wait. There's tension, mystery and a growing sense of the inevitable, as we learn what happened 40 years ago.
This book is a wonderful entry into the folk-horror genre and I'm sure fans will love it. Film-wise, think "Wicker Man", "The Witches" or "Robin Redbreast" and you get a sense of the growing tension and claustrophobia that inhabit each page. The author is from Worcestershire, so clearly understands that part of the country.
Fans of Catherine Clements and Andrew Michael-Hurley's book "The Loney" will love this. Heartily recommended.
"Sorrow Spring" opens in 2019, with a woman attempting to clear an old house, full of memories, and an old man, mourning the loss of a sister, long gone. Flash back to 1978, when twelve-year-old Rina Pine is taken by her mother from their commune, to the isolated village of Sorrow Spring where she is to live with her aunt Agatha. Rina soon discovers that the village is run by the "sistren" a group of women, headed up by her aunt, whose pagan beliefs are linked to a spring which is said to have healing properties. It also seems Rina's family is revered in the village and she is about to be inducted. But when a child goes missing and a mother is killed, she finds herself drawn into deep and menacing cycle of ages old beliefs, rituals and customs.
For me, the star of the book is the village of Sorrow Spring, isolated, insular and steeped in paganism. The sistren rule it quietly but completely, although it seems their time may be coming to a close. All the key elements are here - the village, deep in rural England, with a big house, a church, with graveyard, and a Moot Hall, where the Sistren meet and the villagers, suspicious and fearful. Rina is completely alone, abandoned, and with only a life in a friendly close-knit commune to sustain her she finds it a cold and frightening place. In the present timeline, things really hot up, as the village seems even more hostile to outsiders than 40 years ago. What happened?
I'm not a fan of dual timeline stories, even though they seem to be the norm nowadays, but it works well enough in this book, and much of the story takes place in the past anyway. As Rina in 1978, and her aunt in 2019 each seek to discover the secrets of Sorrow Spring, the events start to converge, and the climax is worth the wait. There's tension, mystery and a growing sense of the inevitable, as we learn what happened 40 years ago.
This book is a wonderful entry into the folk-horror genre and I'm sure fans will love it. Film-wise, think "Wicker Man", "The Witches" or "Robin Redbreast" and you get a sense of the growing tension and claustrophobia that inhabit each page. The author is from Worcestershire, so clearly understands that part of the country.
Fans of Catherine Clements and Andrew Michael-Hurley's book "The Loney" will love this. Heartily recommended.
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