Shatter

by John Farris

SHATTER A novel that joins two generations in fear. SHATTER The story of a murderer's son who returns to the scene of his father's crime only to fall in love with the daughter of his father's victim. SHATTER An epic of love and terror that combines the darkest passions of all...

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.

Reviews

[A.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd already read All Heads Turn As The Hunt Goes By, Minotaur, When Michael Calls and Wildwood before I read this, so I expected more than I got. And while this is my least favorite Farris book so far, it didn't suck--the story arc and the terrorists interesting--it just never delivered on the promise of the book description. I'm still going to buy and read all his other books.

[tam tam]

this toook forrrrrrever for me to finish. that is all.

[Tommy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read other books by John Farris and really enjoyed them. He's known for supernatural horror, and the back of the book indicated that's what this 1981 novel would be. But it was not. That actual text on the back says, "Anne is pursued by relentless evil, by nightmare forces which will never quit... across oceans, continents, time itself. And their monstrous terror knows no end." For one thing, the character's name is Anneliese, no one in the book calls her Anne. And those "forces" are really just terrorists, mobsters, and horny philanderers. There is a lot of cheating on spouses, and lots of excuses for why it's "perfectly normal" for men to have affairs on the side, and "nothing to be ashamed of." In this gross, disappointing little book, men get away with murder. Literally. And the women fawn at their feet, infatuated and there only to reflect the blinding light of these "great" men. Bleck.

[rndgmoat · Rating 2 out of 5]

John Farris is a highly-regarded writer in the mystery, horror, and thriller subgenres. He's also a frequent presence in many used book shops, resulting in me randomly acquiring about half of his catalog from the late 70s through the 80s. Unsure where to begin, I picked this one up at random and packed it away for a recent camping trip...what an odd little book.

Farris' novel opens with a pretty chilling account of an in-process murder discovered by the victim's daughter. We then jump forward a couple decades, and see the grown up child as a successful fashion designer in West Germany. All, however, is not well; it turns out that Annalise (sp?) is being stalked by persons unknown. There are creepy phone calls and escalating thoughts of violence that threaten Annalise's fragile psyche. We then jump across the ocean and find ourselves in the richest parts of Savannah, GA, home to an aristocratic clan of capitalists led by the dashing, handsome, and charismatic Frank, a man all women (even his daughter in law) feel drawn to. He's a bit of a romantic cliche. Turns out, however, that all is not well here, either. This rough and tumble uber-masculine man's man is actually dying of a brain tumor. Oh and, well, it turns out he's the one that brutally murdered Annalise's mother all those years ago, when she wouldn't accept the end of their affair. Mistakes were made!

Frank confesses this dark secret to his son David, who worships dear dad, shortly before killing himself at sea while on a father-son fishing trip. David, feeling that his world has come undone, sets out to fulfill his dad's dying wish--give Annalise the $200,000 "sorry I killed your mom!" payoff that Frank has been secretly hoarding. To do so, he recruits dad's brother Joby Ben, a high-ranking JAG officer stationed in Germany. He then, of course, becomes erotically obsessed with Annalise and embarks on a torrid overseas romance.

The plot takes a while to come to full boil, but once it does we have fanatical left-wing terrorists, international drug smuggling, and a pretty gory and intense final battle at a genuine medieval castle high in the mountains.

All in all, not a bad thriller, but one that takes an unforgivably long time to get going. While I read the final 150 or so pages on my camping trip, I previously struggled to churn through the opening sections while at home, as it seemed like there was always something else I would rather be reading. It's an odd blend of a thriller and a romance, with equal parts groan-worthy purple prose and random lines of real literary beauty. The plot is highly improbable and somewhat ridiculous. Not a hit by any stretch of the imagination, but it didn't turn me off of Farris completely. I'm game to try something with slightly higher reviews.

[Shannon Howse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an okay read in the beginning. I really found the ending hard to get through though, as the dialogue bogs down to a slow crawl and the narrative picks up two-fold. The writing was also a bit flowery for my taste and I found myself skipping a few lines. All in all though, it was a good storyline and somewhat likeable characters. I don't find myself liking the main character though, and how he just falls in love with Annaliese without even really getting to know her, nor do I find it convincing that someone would simply decide in a matter of HOURS to disown his wife of 10 years and his daughter for a complete stranger. It's quite unrealistic-a fling, yes, but to determine right away within a few hours of meeting someone that you're going to upset your whole life is unrealistic- the build up to this point just isn't there for me, there was not enough interaction or time for this to be a rational thought process.

[Joe Xtarr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was superb and super easy to get lost in, but the story lacked a real punch. The reveals were a let-down and the action, particularly the ending, was lackluster. The first 80% of the book had me totally hooked so I feel disappointed overall after finishing, but it's still good enough for a positive review.

Spoiler alert:
Franziska should have killed David so Annalise could split the money with Reba. Frank should have suffered more. I hope it took a long time for him to drown.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is something I love about Farris that I can't quite put my finger on. One thing for sure is he makes the utmost out of his thesaurus. And half of this is set in my town so that's always cool. He also has a way of making his sex scenes really creepy (in a pervy way), but somehow erotic (but maybe that's me)!