The Headless Rider

Strange Matter #26

by Marty M. Engle, Johnny Ray Barnes

139 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1997

Reviews

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeff Strand meets Shivers lol. This book was surprisingly action-packed (for a kids horror story, that is) and defied my expectations for an obscure knockoff—whilst not blowing me away either. I liked the writing, and the pacing kept consistent and fast throughout the story. I enjoyed the experimental aspects of the book, like it being one massive scene, having perspective changes (sort of since it’s third-person), and obviously being packed with action and more tense scenes. There’s some solid characters here, particularly Leonard, who’s a bi’ bri’ish mi’ I add. The book is also very enjoyable and the threat is definitely legit, adding some genuine stakes here. However, the book has some faults when it comes to the villain—what is he? What’s his deal exactly? Why is he evil when he was set up to be misunderstood? And, what’s with that dissatisfying payoff to his malevolent nature? We don’t even know WHAT he is, as Leonard brings up random details that make me question everything about the dude. But back to his conclusion… the Headless Rider seemed to be going for a “misunderstood bad guy” route (mild spoiler), which was fine as there already was another more real threat, and then dropped it immediately. No payoff to his suffering, no reason for his evil, no nothing. Disappointed there… but nonetheless, there’s some exposition problems. The book seems to jump into things immediately, which I wasn’t too big on. It felt like I was reading chapters that you’d fine halfway through a kids-horror novel at the very start. It didn’t work well imo. There’s also the fact that I’m not big on action, since I find it a bore most of the time unless done well—and it’s done… fine, but I can’t ignore my disinterest in it. Also, there’s a real lack of a plot, which didn’t help. Overall, 7.5/10. It’s pretty good, and this series is definitely intended to be read in order, though you can enjoy this by itself fine.