PDF The Elementals Michael McDowell Michael Rowe 9781941147177 Books
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"The finest writer of paperback originals in America." - Stephen King
"Surely one of the most terrifying novels ever written." - Poppy Z. Brite
"Beyond any trace of doubt, one of the best writers of horror in this or any other country." - Peter Straub
"Readers of weak constitution should beware!" - Publishers Weekly
"McDowell has a flair for the gruesome." - Washington Post
After a bizarre and disturbing incident at the funeral of matriarch Marian Savage, the McCray and Savage families look forward to a restful and relaxing summer at Beldame, on Alabama's Gulf Coast, where three Victorian houses loom over the shimmering beach. Two of the houses are habitable, while the third is slowly and mysteriously being buried beneath an enormous dune of blindingly white sand. But though long uninhabited, the third house is not empty. Inside, something deadly lies in wait. Something that has terrified Dauphin Savage and Luker McCray since they were boys and which still haunts their nightmares. Something horrific that may be responsible for several terrible and unexplained deaths years earlier - and is now ready to kill again . . .
A haunted house story unlike any other, Michael McDowell's The Elementals (1981) was one of the finest novels to come out of the horror publishing explosion of the 1970s and '80s. Though best known for his screenplays for Tim Burton's Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas, McDowell is now being rediscovered as one of the best modern horror writers and a master of Southern Gothic literature. This edition of McDowell's masterpiece of terror features a new introduction by award-winning horror author Michael Rowe. McDowell's first novel, the grisly and darkly comic The Amulet (1979), is also available from Valancourt Books.
PDF The Elementals Michael McDowell Michael Rowe 9781941147177 Books
"I will admit, I think this is the kind of book either you love or you hate. I, obviously, loved it, but I can understand why it would drive people away.
This book starts us off at Marian Savage's sparsely attended funeral (and it is so for a reason) and bounds off from there. I enjoyed the relationship between the Savages and the McCrays, these two Southern genteel families that happened to find themselves together in a summer and drew closer from there. It's the Savages that are the stranger (and more interesting) of the two clans, although the McCrays aren't without their own peculiarities. I will note that the relationships, particularly the one between Lukar McCray and his daughter, India, can turn some people off. It's definitely not a normal father-daughter bond (India acts more like a 16 - 18 year old the majority of the time rather than the 13 year old we're told she is), but as the book went on I found myself just accepting it to enjoy the storyline more. Yes, it's weird - they curse at each other, she calls him by his first name, there is a part where he sunbathes naked on the beach and India just acts like it's some crazy thing her father does - but I found it more quirky than anything else.
I liked the way it let you focus on the characters and their issues before the supernatural crawls in. Once we start getting more pieces to the puzzle, the book ramps up the pace and bad goes to worse real quick. I loved the house and the way it was haunted - not by spirits, per say, but by something deeper and darker that doesn't care about rhyme or reason, it just wants. I agree that there aren't complete answers to some of the questions I had, particularly about the Savage family, but it didn't bother me enough to take away from the book. The ending wasn't perfect and left a few things to be desired, but I loved the way the horror crept in. At a beach house, who ever suspects sand on their floor or in their pant leg as something other than what it was? If anything, I wish there was more to this story; had a prequel or sequel been written, I would have devoured that the instant I finished this.
Whatever drawbacks the novel has, it still warrants a read. The characters become likable the more you learn about them, the story immerses you and doesn't let go, and the scares are worth it when they happen - very original! You'll never go to a beach house again and look at the sand the same way."
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The Elementals Michael McDowell Michael Rowe 9781941147177 Books Reviews :
The Elementals Michael McDowell Michael Rowe 9781941147177 Books Reviews
- I have to shout a thank you out to the folks at The Nocturnal Reader’s Box, and of course Grady Hendrix and Paperbacks from Hell for introducing me to this author. Nocturnal Reader’s had to post a picture of the very pretty book you see above, and then after reading the blurb, I simply had to read it. Hearing Hendrix sing McDowell’s praises in Paperbacks from Hell cemented my decision.
This book features two wealthy Mobile, Alabama families, the McCrays and the Savages. The two families have been friends for years, and the McCray daughter is married to the surviving Savage son. But the Savages are an old and strange family, and after the traumatic funeral of the Savage matriarch, the two families descend on their shared vacation spot Beldame. Beldame consists of three identical old Victorian houses on a spit of sand in the Gulf of Mexico. One house traditionally occupied by the McCrays, another by the Savages, and one that is slowly being consumed by the sand dunes. But as the days drag by, it becomes more and more obvious that the abandoned house isn’t so empty. Something is occupying the crumbling building, something evil, something hungry . . .
This is easily one of the best horror books I’ve read in a long time. My biggest regret is that I didn’t read any of McDowell’s books years ago (The Elementals was originally published in 1981). I am very glad that McDowell’s book are starting to garner fresh attention, both through Paperbacks from Hell and Valancourt Books’ gorgeous paperback editions.
The Elementals is delightfully scary without needless gore. I’m not some wilting flower, but I have to say that the recent popularity of “torture porn†style horror simply made the genre gross and not very much fun. There were a couple of places in this book where I was so utterly creeped out that I found myself holding the book as far away as possible, because it was freaking scary but I still needed to find out what happened. This is the reading equivalent of watching a scary movie through your fingers, and it totally works.
Horror buffs who’ve not read McDowell’s books should start now. Right now. McDowell is an incredibly talented writer who chose to use his gifts for cult horror books, and I think we should all be grateful. Expect a review of Cold Moon Over Babylon, also by McDowell (and one of the books in October’s Nocturnal Reader’s Box), in the near future. - I will admit, I think this is the kind of book either you love or you hate. I, obviously, loved it, but I can understand why it would drive people away.
This book starts us off at Marian Savage's sparsely attended funeral (and it is so for a reason) and bounds off from there. I enjoyed the relationship between the Savages and the McCrays, these two Southern genteel families that happened to find themselves together in a summer and drew closer from there. It's the Savages that are the stranger (and more interesting) of the two clans, although the McCrays aren't without their own peculiarities. I will note that the relationships, particularly the one between Lukar McCray and his daughter, India, can turn some people off. It's definitely not a normal father-daughter bond (India acts more like a 16 - 18 year old the majority of the time rather than the 13 year old we're told she is), but as the book went on I found myself just accepting it to enjoy the storyline more. Yes, it's weird - they curse at each other, she calls him by his first name, there is a part where he sunbathes naked on the beach and India just acts like it's some crazy thing her father does - but I found it more quirky than anything else.
I liked the way it let you focus on the characters and their issues before the supernatural crawls in. Once we start getting more pieces to the puzzle, the book ramps up the pace and bad goes to worse real quick. I loved the house and the way it was haunted - not by spirits, per say, but by something deeper and darker that doesn't care about rhyme or reason, it just wants. I agree that there aren't complete answers to some of the questions I had, particularly about the Savage family, but it didn't bother me enough to take away from the book. The ending wasn't perfect and left a few things to be desired, but I loved the way the horror crept in. At a beach house, who ever suspects sand on their floor or in their pant leg as something other than what it was? If anything, I wish there was more to this story; had a prequel or sequel been written, I would have devoured that the instant I finished this.
Whatever drawbacks the novel has, it still warrants a read. The characters become likable the more you learn about them, the story immerses you and doesn't let go, and the scares are worth it when they happen - very original! You'll never go to a beach house again and look at the sand the same way. - This is a good gothic, curse-ridden southern horror story that reads well. Taking place in the far south on the Gulf, the tale begins with the funeral of a matron with some strange burial rituals that set up the story. From that point on we get to know several family characters both direct descendants and those that marry into the family. The book is heavy with good ritualistic description and the characters are well-thought out. You get a feeling for each one and what their reactions might be.
However, little happens in the way of scares for about two-thirds of the book before it really kicks in. Mind you, the first part is rich in detail, atmosphere and character set-up – there just isn’t much action other than the oppressive heat everyone endures on vacation while on the gulf.
Once the story about the families and the three vacation homes they inhabit beings to roll, it’s the hottest day of the year. You really get a feel for the heaviness of the weather and the lack of energy. The scares come fast and steady. There are no real ‘got you’ scares but a procession of occurrences that lead to an inevitable, but fairly predictable ending. In fact, we really never know why the homes are cursed or why some of the ‘spirits’ or ‘elementals’ do what they do. It all just happens.
This is a fast easy, enjoyable read that will hold your suspense. It may not hold all your answers and may not scare the daylights out of you, but there is some value here. I found it interesting that one of the major characters keeps repeating that, the ‘spirits’ don’t want you to know the truth and they try to deceive or trick you. That’s certainly true here, as we don’t always know why the ‘spirits’ did what they did.
