The Ridge

by Lisa W. Cantrell

When Nick Vears's ex-wife and new family literally explode, leaving his daughter untouched amid the carnage, Nick becomes the prime suspect. But he knows something horrible happened at the house known as the Ridge, and only he and his daughter stand in the way of evil.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

338 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1989

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this book was... interesting. Strange. Somewhat incomprehensible. The Ridge opens up with a family of five spontaneously combusting in the middle of the night, the only survivor being the eldest child, a girl by the name of Sara. In the aftermath, her father, an assassin by the name of Nicholas Vears, must investigate the house where Sara's family died, figure out what happened to them, and see if he can stop it before it happens again.

The culprit of these murders was... not as frightening as I think the author intended it to be. Several times, I found the creature, called "The Bright Thing" (yes, really), to be almost Lovecraftian in its execution. There was no real explanation as to what it actually was or where it came from, and even its description I found to be unclear and hard to envision -- which I imagine was the author's intention. It also held a maddening, hallucinatory effect on any poor souls that came into its vicinity. Even so, I found that it didn't exactly carry the same kind of impact that Lovecraft's monstrosities carry. It was more like a cosmic horror that was really bad at its job, or Lucifer if he got his ass kicked by a little girl.

The ending was also rather abrupt and left a few too many questions without answers. It had little to no resolution, leaving me feeling as if the fates of some of the characters, especially Sara, were left dangling. There should have been at least one more chapter to expound upon what else happened in the aftermath of the climax, but alas, no.

Still, I can see what Lisa Cantrell was going for here, and considering the story she was trying to tell, she did a good enough job. I thought her writing style had a nice flow to it and did a good job at expanding on the unease of the setting, even if the actual creature behind the unease didn't move me. Altogether, The Ridge was an enjoyable read. It's worth a look if you like pulpy, supernatural horror and broody assassins. Personally, I think I would have preferred if the book had a more pedestrian antagonist, but that's just my personal taste.

[Horror Guy · Rating 3 out of 5]

After hearing some of the hate for Lisa W. Cantrell's first work The Manse, I had very low expectations going in. Indeed, most of the things these people mention: slow pace, lack of engagement is here. It's shame too since Lisa W. Cantrell does seem very capable of writing well and there's the occasional cool, weird idea that comes into play (The Bright Thing, the main threat of the book, is the coolest part of it), most of it is spent with filler.

250 pages would probably be the best page-count for this sort of story, but it's bloated to 326 pages instead, presumably because of the standard Stephen King-size horror novels that people seemed to be craving.

If I'm able to find her other novels for cheap, I'll pick them up, however, since all their covers are pretty solid.

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good story. Well worth the time checking this out if you’re into the likes of fantasy and horror stories. Things aren’t what they appear on the ridge. This is an unbelievable horror story about a man and his daughter discovering a lot about them in the mist of what happened at the ridge. Many get involved but the unknown forces seem to have total control over all things and has planned a take over of unworldly proportions that the father – daughter duo can not stop it.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting plot concept and what should be captivating character themes with the protagonist seem to fall flat in the face of an unexplained villain that doesn't really do much until the last twenty pages. Not so much a slow burn as a slight smoulder.

[S.E. Martens · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Ridge" is a crumbling stone castle that was once a monastery controlled by an order of "mad monks." They were a cult who worshipped something in the surrounding rock, until one day they all vanished without a trace. The Ridge was then purchased by a family, who were in the process of renovating it. Unfortunately for them, they get exploded by mystical forces in the prologue. The only survivor is a seven-year-old girl named Sara, miraculously unharmed.

Sara's bio dad, Nick Vears, just so happens to be an assassin and when he comes to take custody of her, he immediately draws the suspicions of state investigator, Special Agent Lew Harris.

There is also a group of young would-be musicians living in a beach house not far from the Ridge. The band calls themselves KAFKA (all in caps) and their leader, Set Reynolds, likes to yell at storms for fun and feel "the Power." He discovered a magic "Mindstone" left behind beneath the Ridge and has been sneaking in there with his band, trying to revive the power that the original cult stumbled upon.

This sounds like a wild set-up, but a slow pace and unengaging characters really drag this novel down. The idea of having a hardboiled assassin in this type of haunted house situation is interesting, but more could have been done with it. The Ridge is an atmospheric setting and the descriptions of the ruins and the surrounding ocean were well done. I wish we had a bit more action, though.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short take:

What a kooky read! Cantrell throws a funky mix of tropes into the story and arranges everything into a neat, sometimes awesome tale. I am jealous that this kind of book used to grace shelves across booksellers.


More thoughts:

This book makes me think of "Heathers," as in, "Wow, I don't think people make stuff like this anymore." I could be mistaken in this sentiment in a factual sense, but in my own experience, I am not coming across this kind of zany material in contemporary fiction--and by zany, I mean the amalgamation of elements that really shouldn't mix together but somehow do, and in such intriguing ways! I did find the ending to be less effective than these proceedings and I don't give a pellet of poo: the ride was great.

I am being vague here because I do not want to spoil the discoveries that await the patient reader who will seek and find a used copy of this woefully out-of-print paperback. "The Ridge" is a fun, vibrant gem that deserves further reading in the years to come.

[Reevrb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, love the way she writes!