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After winning the custody of her two young children from her
ex-husband, Lily Blake is assaulted in the middle of the night
and narrowly escapes being burnt alive. Her children are kidnapped
and, when the FBI fail to find them, turns to John Shooks,
a shady Native American Private Investigator. He in turn takes
her to George Iron Walker, a Sioux shaman, who summons up
a hunter forest spirit called a Wendigo. For payment he demands
a piece of land sacred to the Mdewakanton Sioux, which the
company Lily works for is selling for development. Too late,
she discovers that the Wendigo is effectively cannibalistic
and kills her ex-husband. She tries to call the deal off,
but once the spirit is set on its path it can't be stopped.
When she fails to secure the piece of land too, the Wendigo
begins to attack everyone close to her. With no other choice,
Lily is forced to go on the offensive, but the Wendigo exists
in only two dimensions, so it can turn edgewise and seem to
disappear...
Graham Masterton is a prolific writer of thrillers, short
stories, historical fiction and even non-fiction (allegedly!)
sex manuals, but is best known for his horror fiction - and
with some justification. I have been an enthusiastic follower
of his work in this genre since the heady days of The
Manitou (his first offering in this field)
which was published to great acclaim in 1976 (I have the Star
paperback from 1977) and hit the bestsellers list. Since that
time Masterton has authored a veritable plethora of high-quality
horror tales. His foremost skill, I believe, is the enviable
ability to take a legend with supernatural qualities and place
it in a modern and believable setting so that the whole feels
entirely convincing. Unlike Stephen King, who can bore the
pants off you with pages of pointless descriptive passages,
Masterton utilises vivid metaphors so that you can picture
exactly what he means in one or two sentences.
With Edgewise, Graham Masterton returns to familiar
territory with the use of Red Indian (or Native American)
spirits and human guides (or Shamen) both good and bad. There
are some similarities to the aforementioned The Manitou,
with a vengeful spirit and an even more powerful entity waiting
to enter from the sidelines and take its revenge on the white
man for betrayals and so many deaths. However, this is an
individual tale in its own right which motors along at a cracking
pace, with characters which rise from the page with a life
of their own. There's only one other writer I've come across
who can consistently conjure relatable players in this way,
and that is Raymond E. Feist. This book also benefits from
at least two false endings, so there is no fizzling out at
the conclusion.
A new paperback division of Severn House is welcome indeed.
With many of Masterton's books in recent years appearing in
hardback format for library distribution only, people such
as myself, who like to own each title for their collection,
have found it difficult to locate a copy outside of the publisher
or major outlet. I long for a return to the days when I can
walk in to any good book shop and simply pick-up one of his
new books. Manitou Blood and the latest Night Warriors
book were exceptions. Perhaps this new trade paperback division
from Severn is the result of public opinion.
In short, a highly enjoyable read (if a little over-priced),
with a comfortable writing style and edgy plot. Graham Masterton
has come home (no, he really has; he's returned to live in
Britain!).
Ty
Power
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