The Poacher

by Brian McNaughton

Easton was a small, quiet town in Vermont. City people, like Dave and Carol, thought it fulfilled their dreams... until that terrifying day when bloodshed and violence arrived in the presence of the Poacher.

The town folk said the poacher wasn't natural, wasn't human. His dogs ran with him, slept with him, even talked to him. Then, his dogs started to kill for The Poacher.

Genres: Horror

254 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Brian McNaughton was an American writer of horror and fantasy fiction who mixed sex, satire and black humour. He also wrote thrillers.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Poacher comes off as more of a psychological thriller than horror, yet it does have a decidedly awesome creep factor that builds as the novel unfolds. McNaughton meanders at bit with the tale at first, providing the backstory in occasional flashbacks, but he introduces the main characters off the get go. Our protagonist, Dave, recently moved to Vermont with his family (wife (Carol) and two teenagers, one boy, one girl) from NYC; as a 'hack' writer, he figured he could earn his daily bread just about anywhere, and always had some fondness for a rural lifestyle. The antagonist, 'Buster', also lives in town, in his old family shack, and makes a living largely by poaching and doing odd jobs. Buster possesses a fierce reputation in town and always travels with his dogs-- both big, mean and smart.

The novel starts with Dave sitting along in the local watering hole, having a beer, when Buster comes in. It seems Buster gets cash from the pub owner for deer meat on the sly (hey, cheaper than beef!), but Pete, the owner of the pub, obviously has no love for Buster. Buster, however, has a lot of love for Pete's young wife; in fact, they were an item back in high school. Things start to get ugly when one day, a pack of dogs were taking down a stag on Dave's property. Dave tried to kill the deer to put it out of its misery; he did so, but in the process killed one of the dogs. As fate would have it, it was Buster's dog. Well, Dave found the collar and went to find Buster; Pete warned him when he asked where Buster lived that he should just keep quiet, as Buster is loco to say the least. Dave finally tracked down Buster at his shack, and after informing him of his dog, barely escaped with his life...

What made this so fun concerns the razor sharp characters developed without excess description; McNaughton focuses upon their minds rather than their eye color, etc. Carol, Dave's wife, hates the country and the domestic drama adds some flair. The 'feud', however, between Dave and Buster takes center stage and McNaughton ran with this for all it was worth. While a relatively straight forward plot, McNaughton does toss in some twists, and the denouement? Super. 3.5 good doggies, rounding up for the ending.

[Todd Charlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.5
When is Goodreads going to have half stars?
This book is very rare, so rare, Brian McNaughton rewrote it as Buster Callan. From the cover it looks like an animal attack book. There are a few animal attacks but this book has so much more. Good story and character, well constructed with a satisfying pay off. real underground horror.

[Mikepottz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buster is a loner, hunter, poacher, dog lover, racist, bang your misses, punch out anybody, sometimes softy, piss taker who loves his dogs more than anything. His dog will be accidentally shot by a city dweller who relocates to the country. Buster will kill all his chickens, kill and hang this guys dog. Both these guys will bond through killing each others dogs. The things go bonkers, busters dog goes nuts kills a few people, buster will rape his enemy/somewhat friends cheating wife and eventually buster is killed by his own dog.