Synopsis
The halls are familiar. Lucianne “Lucky” Boyle knows that much. But how she came to be in this strange place that tries to make itself look like home is a mystery. Filled with doors that have no handles, rooms that shift to almost familiar, and faceless people in blue, Lucky is determined to find a way out to get back to her family and the man she loves. Until her family starts to show up, one by one, to lead her down a dark and twisted path that ends in a terrible truth.
Review
The imagery from “The UnGodly Duology” still haunts me, and “Threads of Ash” is a masterpiece of dark fantasy. When I heard S.H. Cooper was releasing a new horror novella, I jumped at the chance to get an advanced review copy.
Lucky is trapped in a nightmare. Imprisoned in a house she doesn’t recognize, and with no memory of how she got there, she desperately searches for her family. Will she find them? More importantly, can she discover where she is and why she is there?
This is Lucky’s story. Told from her first-person point of view, the reader is thrown into her fear and confusion from the start. We learn about her family. Mother, Father, and older brother, Kenny. We also discover the man in Lucky’s life. Kenny’s best friend, and their neighbor. Stark Lee Stanton.
Excellently paced, and filled with the author’s trademark terrifying descriptions, we learn what is going on at the same pace as Lucky, as she goes on a journey to unravel the circumstances that have led her to this point.
Lucky is an unreliable narrator, and there is an aspect to this story that I don’t want to spoil, but that I caught onto within the first couple of pages. This aspect to the character made her more sympathetic, as well as enhancing the horror and terror of the tale. However, it is definitely something that will have you returning to the beginning if you only realize this at the end of the book.
I love S.H. Cooper’s writing style. She conveys a lot with a few sentences. Like a master painter, her skill with language produces vivid pictures with few words. Her imagination astounds me, and her use of imagery is truly terrifying. She has a knack for turning everyday situations into something horrific. Her characters are real people, so you care about them as you read their story, and there is profound sadness as well as a pervasive atmosphere of dread in their tales.
Lucky can’t escape her past, and this is a big theme in the book. It shows the ripple effect of actions and how selfish choices don’t just damage you in the moment, they continue to inflict pains for years to come.
The setting is very important to this book. There are two important settings really. One is the horrible place where Lucky finds herself. This nightmarish place is terrifying and provides a lot of sympathy for the character.
The second setting is Lucky’s home. The farm where she lives with her family is almost a character in itself. The various locations she frequents with Stark, the small world of Lucky’s family and acquaintances, all combine to create an atmosphere that contributes to the main plot of the story. Location, place and identity are very important in this book, and the settings play into this in a big way.
The pacing is spot on. The book starts with a mystery. Where is Lucky and why is she there? As she explores and tries to solve this mystery, while being bombarded with nightmare visions, we are also shown Lucky’s life before she came to this place. Slowly the threads build a picture of a young woman desperate to cling to her dreams, and Lucky’s story comes together. I liked the nonlinear structure and the puzzle like nature of the book. As stated earlier, some of the pieces I guessed before they were provided, while others were a surprise. It built to a very satisfying picture when all the pieces were put together.
It was easy to empathize with Lucky from the beginning. It is such a horrible idea to find yourself in a weird place and have no idea how you got there or how to escape. The author uses this connection to good effect as the story unfolds. As we learn more about Lucky, we are challenged to remain sympathetic towards her. She is a frightened young woman who makes mistakes with huge consequences, which makes her pitiable if not exactly endearing. Each new development produces a visceral reaction and the author certainly knows how to play upon your emotions. Lots of surprises in this story.
This is a mystery puzzle and the book keeps the readers interest as each new piece of the puzzle is revealed, keeping you on the hook until the final revelation. The beauty of this book is that the humanity of the character’s and Lucky’s situation keeps you invested over and above the mystery aspect of the book. There is a lot to this story, and it is interesting to contemplate the dilemmas it raises.
While not a weakness, I would have liked a larger speculative fiction element. However, with a book this clever and satisfying, it isn’t a detraction.
While the horror is much more human than her other books, fans of S.H. Cooper are in for a treat with this novella. It has all the character depth, imagination and story complexity that readers have come to expect from her work.
Not only for horror fans, this book will also appeal to those who love thrillers, mystery and suspense. If you like dark stories that make you think, this is the book for you.
There is an element of this book that resonated very strongly with me. Perhaps because of my personal experience it stood out to me more and made me immediately feel for Lucky. I felt the author handled this aspect beautifully with real sensitivity and compassion.
I highly recommend this book. It is a thoughtful, sad book full of longing and real human relationships that takes tragedy one step further into horror. I like that my strongest impression, that will linger with me for quite some time, is the human story of the characters rather than the chills.
I really wish I could talk more openly about this book, but I don’t want to spoil it. I think it is a wonderful book from an accomplished author with great mastery of the language and a huge imagination tackling a difficult subject with depth and heart.
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