Little Heaven
Ratings17
Average rating3.3
An all-new epic tale of terror and redemption set in the hinterlands of midcentury New Mexico from the acclaimed author of The Troop—which Stephen King raved “scared the hell out of me and I couldn’t put it down...old-school horror at its best.” From electrifying horror author Nick Cutter comes a haunting new novel, reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian and Stephen King’s It, in which a trio of mismatched mercenaries is hired by a young woman for a deceptively simple task: check in on her nephew, who may have been taken against his will to a remote New Mexico backwoods settlement called Little Heaven. Shortly after they arrive, things begin to turn ominous. Stirrings in the woods and over the treetops—the brooding shape of a monolith known as the Black Rock casts its terrible pall. Paranoia and distrust grips the settlement. The escape routes are gradually cut off as events spiral towards madness. Hell—or the closest thing to it—invades Little Heaven. The remaining occupants are forced to take a stand and fight back, but whatever has cast its dark eye on Little Heaven is now marshaling its powers...and it wants them all.
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3.5/5
Maybe the most conflicted novel I've ever read. Theirs some aspects I loved. Like the writing, the characters and the ideas put forth. All well done. Nick cutter is so good at describing characters and horrific scenery. I love it. Reminds me of classic King.
My cons are pretty reader dependent. I didn't not care for the structure of this novel. It time jumps but you have the present story and just when things get ramping up. You have a whole middle portion that stops that momentum and starts over. The back story is good. But you keep wanting to know the other half going on in the present state.
Also. The parallels to Jonestown were a bit much. Obviously we got some supernatural stuff. That's excellent but the Jonestown stuff, you know where it's going.
Also. The ending. It's bleak. But I don't think it's earned. And it's kinda not as impactful as it should be.
I love a good chunky novel. But at almost 500 pages. This could've been trimmed. I love the ideas and overall story. I just didn't care for the execution.
Looks like I'm late to the Little Heaven party. Sorry. I really dragged on this one. Which is interesting, considering I devoured The Troop and The Deep. But this one...
Granted, I don't usually care for bounty hunter stories (Cowboy Bebop being an exception), but I reaaaalllly liked The Troop (especially giddy having spent childhood summers on PEI), and I rather enjoyed The Deep. But this one left me cold. I was excited over the cult aspect, but I was hoping for something like Ti West's The Sacrament. But the characters here never felt quite real enough for me, more tropey. I really only cared about the relationship between Minerva and Ebenezer. Not the backstory so much as how it informed their present relationship. And Nick Cutter is always brilliant at grue and body horror. He's practically flawless. But the story just didn't do it for me, which makes me sad.
