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The Fates
When Martin Lasker first sees the mutilated cow on Bondarevsky’s farm, he wonders what on earth could have caused it. But as more and more disasters occur and strange lights start to appear in the quiet town of Millville, Lasker is drawn into the mystery.
Now, he is convinced something larger must be happening.
To the small-town citizens of Millville, the lights all mean something different.
To Marge Calder they are neon lights. To Joe Garfield, they are a warning. To the Pomar children, they are a miracle, Our Lady returned. To Father Lombardy, they are evil made manifest. To Studevant, the Police Chief, they are mindless destruction.
For Lasker, the most important questions where these lights could come from, and what could they mean?
But the answers to these questions may be more painful than anyone expected…
In this thrilling scifi-horror novel, Millville and its citizens are subject to a destructive force that will uproot the very core of the town. With The Fates , Tessier brings together mystery, science, and horror in this twisting tale that will chill you to your core.
Now, he is convinced something larger must be happening.
To the small-town citizens of Millville, the lights all mean something different.
To Marge Calder they are neon lights. To Joe Garfield, they are a warning. To the Pomar children, they are a miracle, Our Lady returned. To Father Lombardy, they are evil made manifest. To Studevant, the Police Chief, they are mindless destruction.
For Lasker, the most important questions where these lights could come from, and what could they mean?
But the answers to these questions may be more painful than anyone expected…
In this thrilling scifi-horror novel, Millville and its citizens are subject to a destructive force that will uproot the very core of the town. With The Fates , Tessier brings together mystery, science, and horror in this twisting tale that will chill you to your core.
- GenresHorrorScience Fiction
217 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
18 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Tessier
197 books105 followersThomas Tessier grew up in Connecticut and attended University College, Dublin. He is the author of several acclaimed novels of terror and suspense, plays, poems, and short stories. His novel Fog Heart received the International Horror Guild's Award for Best Novel, was a Bram Stoker Award finalist, and was cited by Publishers Weekly as one of the Best Books of the Year. He lives in Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 16, 2025
Here's a better image of the 1986 Berkley mass-market. I see some mixed reviews here, but Tessier has never let me down yet (and Finishing Touches is an absolute masterpiece, imo).
December 2, 2016
thank you to netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this title.
Thomas Tessier is often overlooked by the public I fear because he's overshadowed by his genre peers.
that is a shame as his prose is articulate and economical, he doesn't inflate his word count and yet has written a creepy and excellent story. and one of the beautiful things about this novel is the story concludes with as much of the unknown as it had at the beginning yet instead of seeming unresolved it is as though Tessier credits his readers with enough intelligence and creativity to draw there own conclusions about the ending.
Thomas Tessier is often overlooked by the public I fear because he's overshadowed by his genre peers.
that is a shame as his prose is articulate and economical, he doesn't inflate his word count and yet has written a creepy and excellent story. and one of the beautiful things about this novel is the story concludes with as much of the unknown as it had at the beginning yet instead of seeming unresolved it is as though Tessier credits his readers with enough intelligence and creativity to draw there own conclusions about the ending.
February 5, 2025
Thomas Tessier's first novel feels like a JG Ballard apocalypse run through an Arthur Machen filter. The forces of nature revolt and mankind's sanity is the first thing to fall. The supernatural appears like a Rorschach test, and everyone's individual reactions expose the worst of their nature. Some people cheat on their wives, others go mad with power, and others play chess, which everyone knows is the #1 sign of madness.
February 14, 2016
Morde & Mirakel: Was ist los in Millville, New England?
Als zum ersten Mal die Schiffe der spanischen Armada vor Amerikas Küste auftauchten, konnten die amerikanischen Ureinwohner darin – so heißt es – nicht die sich nähernde Flotte erkennen, da ihnen solche Schiffe vollkommen unbekannt waren. Ähnlich ergeht es den Bewohnern des Städtchens Millville, das von plötzlichen gewaltsamen Todesfällen und Vandalismus heimgesucht wird: was hat es mit dem sonderbaren blauen Leuchten im Wald auf sich? Ist es die Jungfrau Maria, die Kinder in der Erscheinung erkannt haben wollen, oder vielleicht ein UFO, wie andere glauben? Sheriff Sturdevent tappt genauso im Dunkeln wie der katholische Priester Lombard, denn die unerklärlichen Phänomene sind genauso schwer als Verbrechen wie als Kirchenwunder erklärbar.
Der Tonfall in Tessiers erstem Roman ist unaufgeregt, fast sachlich reiht er die Ereignisse aneinander: hier eine grausam verstümmelte Kuh, dort ein Auto, das sich ohne erkennbare Ursache total zerlegt; Scheiben, die aus den Rahmen gesprengt werden und Bücher und Gegenstände, die plötzlich mit Wucht aus den Regalen schießen; und schließlich auch mehrere unerklärliche Todesfälle, die nicht nur dem Sheriff Rätsel aufgeben. Der fleißige Leser von Horrorromanen wird sofort dämonische Aktivitäten Argwöhnen, der Leser von Science Fiction-Romanen UFOs dafür verantwortlich machen. Den Einwohnern von Millville aber drängt sich keiner dieser Erklärungsätze auf, die uns im Alltag ja auch nur ein Kopfschütteln abnötigen würden. Überhaupt werden Ursache und Wirkung lange Zeit gar nicht in Zusammenhang gebracht, und genau das macht für mich den Reiz aus. Hier wird kein UFO gesichtet und sofort gewusst, dass es vom Mars (oder der Venus) kommt, sondern seltsame Phänomene und Ereignisse stehen lange unverbunden nebeneinander.
Die Vorstellung, jemals einem UFO zu begegnen, hat etwas zutiefst erschreckendes, und so macht es auch absolut Sinn, wie Tessier die künstliche Grenze zwischen SF und Horror missachtet.
Als die Katastrophe eskalierend ihren Lauf nimmt, deutet sich schließlich eine andere Erklärung an, die mich nicht ganz zufrieden gestellt hat, aber das ist Geschmackssache und war zum Zeitpunkt der Erstveröffentlichung vermutlich in gewisser Weise aktuell.
Als zum ersten Mal die Schiffe der spanischen Armada vor Amerikas Küste auftauchten, konnten die amerikanischen Ureinwohner darin – so heißt es – nicht die sich nähernde Flotte erkennen, da ihnen solche Schiffe vollkommen unbekannt waren. Ähnlich ergeht es den Bewohnern des Städtchens Millville, das von plötzlichen gewaltsamen Todesfällen und Vandalismus heimgesucht wird: was hat es mit dem sonderbaren blauen Leuchten im Wald auf sich? Ist es die Jungfrau Maria, die Kinder in der Erscheinung erkannt haben wollen, oder vielleicht ein UFO, wie andere glauben? Sheriff Sturdevent tappt genauso im Dunkeln wie der katholische Priester Lombard, denn die unerklärlichen Phänomene sind genauso schwer als Verbrechen wie als Kirchenwunder erklärbar.
Der Tonfall in Tessiers erstem Roman ist unaufgeregt, fast sachlich reiht er die Ereignisse aneinander: hier eine grausam verstümmelte Kuh, dort ein Auto, das sich ohne erkennbare Ursache total zerlegt; Scheiben, die aus den Rahmen gesprengt werden und Bücher und Gegenstände, die plötzlich mit Wucht aus den Regalen schießen; und schließlich auch mehrere unerklärliche Todesfälle, die nicht nur dem Sheriff Rätsel aufgeben. Der fleißige Leser von Horrorromanen wird sofort dämonische Aktivitäten Argwöhnen, der Leser von Science Fiction-Romanen UFOs dafür verantwortlich machen. Den Einwohnern von Millville aber drängt sich keiner dieser Erklärungsätze auf, die uns im Alltag ja auch nur ein Kopfschütteln abnötigen würden. Überhaupt werden Ursache und Wirkung lange Zeit gar nicht in Zusammenhang gebracht, und genau das macht für mich den Reiz aus. Hier wird kein UFO gesichtet und sofort gewusst, dass es vom Mars (oder der Venus) kommt, sondern seltsame Phänomene und Ereignisse stehen lange unverbunden nebeneinander.
Die Vorstellung, jemals einem UFO zu begegnen, hat etwas zutiefst erschreckendes, und so macht es auch absolut Sinn, wie Tessier die künstliche Grenze zwischen SF und Horror missachtet.
Als die Katastrophe eskalierend ihren Lauf nimmt, deutet sich schließlich eine andere Erklärung an, die mich nicht ganz zufrieden gestellt hat, aber das ist Geschmackssache und war zum Zeitpunkt der Erstveröffentlichung vermutlich in gewisser Weise aktuell.
December 18, 2015
Thomas Tessier's debut novel is a strange and unique take on the 'catastrophe' novel that was so popular in the seventies. In that decade, we had forest fires, earthquakes, plane hijackings and plane crashes, tidal waves, typhoons, sinking cruise ships, nuclear bombs, meteors, even runaway blimps. Essential to these films (and novels as well) were the wide cast of characters who had to fight the odds to survive. Tessier takes this structure and plays with it, and in the end, serves up a humorous, odd, and at times, heartfelt take on a suburb going against a calamity of nature rooted in the unknown. Let's just say there is no Charlton Heston here to grit his teeth and save the day.
Synopsis: A small New England town is visited by blue/grey fire-like lights. Either they appear as harmless levitating apparitions, or they materialize out of nowhere and proceed to rip and ravage the town, including many of its citizens. Are these forms of a biblical nature? Extraterrestrial? Environmental? Tessier doesn't try to sew up a clean expository line to why and how. His main goal is to play with the template of a metaphorical apocalypse, and how it affects the quaint suburban landscape, that in later years, was used for many horror novels set in the suburbs (see Peter Straub's 'Floating Dragon' as a high watermark).
'The Fates' is an original novel that in some ways reminded me of Chet Williamson's 'Ash Wednesday', where the narrative of a town becomes the focus, not necessarily the questionable evil invading its seemingly safe and subdued borders. Lastly, Tessier is so underrated. Read this. Read 'Fog Heart'. Read them all.
Synopsis: A small New England town is visited by blue/grey fire-like lights. Either they appear as harmless levitating apparitions, or they materialize out of nowhere and proceed to rip and ravage the town, including many of its citizens. Are these forms of a biblical nature? Extraterrestrial? Environmental? Tessier doesn't try to sew up a clean expository line to why and how. His main goal is to play with the template of a metaphorical apocalypse, and how it affects the quaint suburban landscape, that in later years, was used for many horror novels set in the suburbs (see Peter Straub's 'Floating Dragon' as a high watermark).
'The Fates' is an original novel that in some ways reminded me of Chet Williamson's 'Ash Wednesday', where the narrative of a town becomes the focus, not necessarily the questionable evil invading its seemingly safe and subdued borders. Lastly, Tessier is so underrated. Read this. Read 'Fog Heart'. Read them all.
November 30, 2016
https://anaslair.wordpress.com/2016/1...
However, there were a lot of characters. For the first fifth of the book we are bombarded with new characters and new situations.
Then they start coming together and things pick up a bit but I still found the pace fairly slow because there were just too many characters to keep track of and not much was happening.
The point of view changed constantly in the same chapter and the ARC needs thorough revision. Not only were the subchapters not easily separated but there were several words mistyped, such as bam instead of barn and modem instead of modern or fed instead of feed, and a serious lack of punctuation.
Storywise, there were a few attempts to liven things up and shock the reader, such as mentions of bestiality, but for the most part I kept wanting something new to happen and some answers to be given.
Overall, I thought it was an interesting and even thought provoking book but it came across as an essay on how people would react when they were faced with something they could not comprehend and that just isn't enough to make a book stand in my opinion, let alone with such a poor resolution.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
However, there were a lot of characters. For the first fifth of the book we are bombarded with new characters and new situations.
Then they start coming together and things pick up a bit but I still found the pace fairly slow because there were just too many characters to keep track of and not much was happening.
The point of view changed constantly in the same chapter and the ARC needs thorough revision. Not only were the subchapters not easily separated but there were several words mistyped, such as bam instead of barn and modem instead of modern or fed instead of feed, and a serious lack of punctuation.
Storywise, there were a few attempts to liven things up and shock the reader, such as mentions of bestiality, but for the most part I kept wanting something new to happen and some answers to be given.
Overall, I thought it was an interesting and even thought provoking book but it came across as an essay on how people would react when they were faced with something they could not comprehend and that just isn't enough to make a book stand in my opinion, let alone with such a poor resolution.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
October 18, 2017
A little bit paint by the numbers - not as a powerful as Phantom or his short stories - but still en enjoyable ride.
October 16, 2021
Unfortunately a rather weak first novel (1978) but one should be tolerant because the writing is basically very good. The problem is that it is overly ambitious, falling into the gap between an attempt at 'literature' and genre writing for the market - in this case, horror.
As so often when an ambitious new (at that time) entrant into the field cannot decide whether he wants to write something serious or thrill and shock, the work falls between stools - and so fails to achieve either aim to the degree that he might have done if just one had been concentrated upon.
The underlying idea or theme is a good one. It is on the edge of the Lovecraftian (or cosmic). Unknown forces rip a small town and people to pieces but only in random places and ways, blind to the meanings imposed on them by humans, and then just disappears.
The horror that Tessier appears to have wanted to deliver was one that clearly derived from fear of war, nuclear war in particular, but perhaps is even more salient in the age of random terror although the car accident or air crash might be another example.
When bad things happen to ordinary people enormous psychological effort is put into giving it meaning by observers or survivors. Rationally we might generally trace a line of causes and effects but this is not the same thing. People want to believe there was a purpose related to themselves.
The more an outrage is delinked from ordinary cause and effect usual to a culture (such as mechanical failure or human error in ours), the more it gets attributed to conscious malignancy and, if that fails, to abstract evil to which there can be violent reactions.
The key to dealing with evil is always that it should relate to the survivor or the victim in some way. Tessier's 'good idea' is that this relationship may be without foundation. This should represent true horror to many people. The idea is so good that it compounds the disappointment.
Tessier goes as far as he can with the randomness and untouchability of the 'evil' which may not be evil at all, just outside a concern for humanity and unconnected to humanity. You cannot fight this thing. It has to just go away. Or you have to give it meaning regardless. Or become despairing.
One other solution is hinted at towards the very end - one of acceptance and moving on - but this, of course, does not fit well with the thrills and excitements of genre horror which is generally more than good descriptions of cows, people and property being torn apart.
Substitute a description of a cow being torn apart by a land mine in a war story for the same cow being torn apart by an unknown force in a horror novel and we can see that what is shown to us is the same thing. What matters is the context - war or the unknown.
By making the unknown unknowable, the dramatic tension collapses if the cosmic is set in ordinariness. The horror of the unknown generally requires a lot of cultural and linguistic paraphrenalia around it (as provided by Lovecraft) to allow us to be excited by it.
In the end, this becomes a war novel without a war to its name. Random destruction in a small town (the small town location being the classic trope of American horror) where the victims care about what causes it all but where the reader loses interest half way through.
Here, bad things happen to good or at least ordinary people in apparently random ways in a world where 'God is dead'. Tessier turns this into a force that might be pagan but might be simply meaningless and random.
Although not referenced in the novel, we might think of the Shoah at this point which might be seen clinically as a set of cause and effects, have greater meaning imposed on it (an incursion of evil perhaps or God turning away), be seen as meaningless or simply be 'accepted'.
None of these approaches is going to change history although one approach might suggest ways of ensuring it does not happen again, another might give comfort, another lead to cynicism (or realism) and another ensure individual psychological recovery.
The fact that there is going to be no resolution in the novel is flagged up so early that we are left with a choice - be disappointed in it as a horror novel without closure or more horrible horrors to come or as a novel about 'meaning' that spends too much time trying to be a horror novel.
The idea is thus not presented with 'bite'. The gruesome images of horror in the first half related to individuals become 'socialised' into small town wreckage along the lines of 'The Blob' only to lose track of the psychology of the victims because the task was too great.
A good genre horror tale and the possibility of a novel about the meaninglessness of ordinary human tragedy and how we humans cope with it as it unfolds compete to get out of the door and then get stuck in it together.
As a first 'learning on the job' it is still better than a lot of first novels (notably the over-literary rubbish first produced by the likes of Graham Greene which I have reviewed elsewhere) and shows us an inherent writing talent that has made me interested enough to want to read his later works.
As so often when an ambitious new (at that time) entrant into the field cannot decide whether he wants to write something serious or thrill and shock, the work falls between stools - and so fails to achieve either aim to the degree that he might have done if just one had been concentrated upon.
The underlying idea or theme is a good one. It is on the edge of the Lovecraftian (or cosmic). Unknown forces rip a small town and people to pieces but only in random places and ways, blind to the meanings imposed on them by humans, and then just disappears.
The horror that Tessier appears to have wanted to deliver was one that clearly derived from fear of war, nuclear war in particular, but perhaps is even more salient in the age of random terror although the car accident or air crash might be another example.
When bad things happen to ordinary people enormous psychological effort is put into giving it meaning by observers or survivors. Rationally we might generally trace a line of causes and effects but this is not the same thing. People want to believe there was a purpose related to themselves.
The more an outrage is delinked from ordinary cause and effect usual to a culture (such as mechanical failure or human error in ours), the more it gets attributed to conscious malignancy and, if that fails, to abstract evil to which there can be violent reactions.
The key to dealing with evil is always that it should relate to the survivor or the victim in some way. Tessier's 'good idea' is that this relationship may be without foundation. This should represent true horror to many people. The idea is so good that it compounds the disappointment.
Tessier goes as far as he can with the randomness and untouchability of the 'evil' which may not be evil at all, just outside a concern for humanity and unconnected to humanity. You cannot fight this thing. It has to just go away. Or you have to give it meaning regardless. Or become despairing.
One other solution is hinted at towards the very end - one of acceptance and moving on - but this, of course, does not fit well with the thrills and excitements of genre horror which is generally more than good descriptions of cows, people and property being torn apart.
Substitute a description of a cow being torn apart by a land mine in a war story for the same cow being torn apart by an unknown force in a horror novel and we can see that what is shown to us is the same thing. What matters is the context - war or the unknown.
By making the unknown unknowable, the dramatic tension collapses if the cosmic is set in ordinariness. The horror of the unknown generally requires a lot of cultural and linguistic paraphrenalia around it (as provided by Lovecraft) to allow us to be excited by it.
In the end, this becomes a war novel without a war to its name. Random destruction in a small town (the small town location being the classic trope of American horror) where the victims care about what causes it all but where the reader loses interest half way through.
Here, bad things happen to good or at least ordinary people in apparently random ways in a world where 'God is dead'. Tessier turns this into a force that might be pagan but might be simply meaningless and random.
Although not referenced in the novel, we might think of the Shoah at this point which might be seen clinically as a set of cause and effects, have greater meaning imposed on it (an incursion of evil perhaps or God turning away), be seen as meaningless or simply be 'accepted'.
None of these approaches is going to change history although one approach might suggest ways of ensuring it does not happen again, another might give comfort, another lead to cynicism (or realism) and another ensure individual psychological recovery.
The fact that there is going to be no resolution in the novel is flagged up so early that we are left with a choice - be disappointed in it as a horror novel without closure or more horrible horrors to come or as a novel about 'meaning' that spends too much time trying to be a horror novel.
The idea is thus not presented with 'bite'. The gruesome images of horror in the first half related to individuals become 'socialised' into small town wreckage along the lines of 'The Blob' only to lose track of the psychology of the victims because the task was too great.
A good genre horror tale and the possibility of a novel about the meaninglessness of ordinary human tragedy and how we humans cope with it as it unfolds compete to get out of the door and then get stuck in it together.
As a first 'learning on the job' it is still better than a lot of first novels (notably the over-literary rubbish first produced by the likes of Graham Greene which I have reviewed elsewhere) and shows us an inherent writing talent that has made me interested enough to want to read his later works.
December 3, 2017
Review: THE FATES by Thomas Tessier
This is my fourth novel by this author [and fourth consecutive] and so far THE FATES and WICKED THINGS are my favourites. Neither has certain characters who gripe me, as do SHOCKWAVES and RAPTURE (in the first, Byron Matthews, obsessed crime-fighting District Attorney.; in the second, single-minded and equally obsessive Jeff Lisker). I quite liked and admired the protagonist in WICKED THINGS, and I easily empathize with the characters in THE FATES, many of whom find themselves confronted with events impossible to predict, imagine, or comprehend, sometimes with deadly consequences.
THE FATES also has somewhat of a Lovecraftian overtone. The disaster that overtakes the community of Millville, Connecticut, is unknowable, fickle, undeniably cosmic, fits into a given individual's or group's frame of reference, demonstrates no concern for humans, animals, plants--and is terrifyingly implacable. Like Lovecraft, this novel is both horror and science fiction.
This is my fourth novel by this author [and fourth consecutive] and so far THE FATES and WICKED THINGS are my favourites. Neither has certain characters who gripe me, as do SHOCKWAVES and RAPTURE (in the first, Byron Matthews, obsessed crime-fighting District Attorney.; in the second, single-minded and equally obsessive Jeff Lisker). I quite liked and admired the protagonist in WICKED THINGS, and I easily empathize with the characters in THE FATES, many of whom find themselves confronted with events impossible to predict, imagine, or comprehend, sometimes with deadly consequences.
THE FATES also has somewhat of a Lovecraftian overtone. The disaster that overtakes the community of Millville, Connecticut, is unknowable, fickle, undeniably cosmic, fits into a given individual's or group's frame of reference, demonstrates no concern for humans, animals, plants--and is terrifyingly implacable. Like Lovecraft, this novel is both horror and science fiction.
October 5, 2017
It was an ordinary New England town. Until the eerie lights started shimmering - and then the killing began.
I read this book. I liked this book. I'm not entirely sure what happened in this book. The book ends with just as many questions as the beginning had. There is a paranormal(?) entity of mass destruction destroying the town and the people who live there. You never get a clear cut answer as to what this entity is or why it is there. There are a lot of characters in the book, and each one views the entity differently and comes up with a different theory / answer as to what it is.
* I think* the author is trying to say that sometimes bad things happen, no matter if you are good or bad, and that it doesn't matter what the reason is. Life is random and bad shit just happens. It's not an act of God. It's not because of nature. It's not because of aliens. It's just there. Don't waste your time trying to figure out the why, because it will only drive you crazy... because there is no why. It just is. .... I think...? I could be wrong. I don't really know.
I personally would have preferred a clear cut answer and method for taking care of the entity. I get that the author wanted you to draw your own conclusions to the book, but that left it a little too open ended. It was a quick read. Well written book. A little bit confusing.
I read this book. I liked this book. I'm not entirely sure what happened in this book. The book ends with just as many questions as the beginning had. There is a paranormal(?) entity of mass destruction destroying the town and the people who live there. You never get a clear cut answer as to what this entity is or why it is there. There are a lot of characters in the book, and each one views the entity differently and comes up with a different theory / answer as to what it is.
* I think* the author is trying to say that sometimes bad things happen, no matter if you are good or bad, and that it doesn't matter what the reason is. Life is random and bad shit just happens. It's not an act of God. It's not because of nature. It's not because of aliens. It's just there. Don't waste your time trying to figure out the why, because it will only drive you crazy... because there is no why. It just is. .... I think...? I could be wrong. I don't really know.
I personally would have preferred a clear cut answer and method for taking care of the entity. I get that the author wanted you to draw your own conclusions to the book, but that left it a little too open ended. It was a quick read. Well written book. A little bit confusing.
August 28, 2013
Just reread this and I'd forgotten how good it is. The story is very fast and gripping and in places reads like an uber-black comedy. It is also, like all of Tessier's books, commendably short. Such leanness and sure-footedness reminds me of John Wyndham, but if you're looking for a story with a tidy Wyndamesque puzzle-solving ending look elsewhere. However, if you want to read about what it might actually feel like to live in a small quiet town when 'improbable' tornado-like forces abruptly begin causing havoc, if you want some sense of how horror-struck and helpless and grasping for ludicrous explanations it renders the inhabitants, then buy this now!
November 9, 2021
There were a lot of problems in this digital copy of the book (typos, punctuation, capitalization), but the biggest problem was with the story itself. This read more like a 1950s B-movie sci-fi flick than anything else. Kind of preachy, no relatable characters, nonsensical plot, and zero redeeming features.
1 out of 5 stars.
1 out of 5 stars.
March 1, 2021
Enjoyable novel. Well written. Fast paced. Central premise is a bit silly/underdeveloped but whatever.
December 13, 2016
Thank you to Netgalley, Endeavour Press and Thomas Tessier for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.
You can find my reviews both on Amazon and Goodreads from today. On Goodreads under Karen whittard and on Amazon under k.e.whittard.
Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. I really struggled with this one. The first half of this book just feels like an onslaught of new characters as we are introduced to one after another which is really difficult to keep up with.
I found the pace of this book really slow and I found it really hard to want to read it. For me the constant change in who was narrating the book when it flips between characters in the middle of a chapter was frustrating.
Sadly this book wasn't for me. I hope others find it better.
Happy reading everyone
You can find my reviews both on Amazon and Goodreads from today. On Goodreads under Karen whittard and on Amazon under k.e.whittard.
Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. I really struggled with this one. The first half of this book just feels like an onslaught of new characters as we are introduced to one after another which is really difficult to keep up with.
I found the pace of this book really slow and I found it really hard to want to read it. For me the constant change in who was narrating the book when it flips between characters in the middle of a chapter was frustrating.
Sadly this book wasn't for me. I hope others find it better.
Happy reading everyone
September 18, 2012
Enjoyed the mystery and the message of this story
January 9, 2017
I kept waiting for the plot to happen. This is a ninth grade short story expanded into a Kindle book. Pass.
December 31, 2021
As I was reading Thomas Tessier’s The Fates, I was reminded of the common writing advice to make everything do double duty. If you’re establishing your setting, make sure you’re also creating atmosphere or tension. If you’re depicting a conversation, make sure you’re also delivering characterization. Thomas Tessier does very little of this. On occasion, he builds in ominous signs of how the town will soon be terrorized by a slowly wafting, blue light, but on far more occasions, he simply describes basic character interactions that go nowhere and lend nothing to the story.
It takes a lot for me to say this (and somewhat pains me since I spend so much time encouraging my own students to avoid vapid criticisms like these), but this book is boring. The characters are hardly even one dimensional. Their lives all revolve around one spoke (teaching or playing chess or being a beautiful, young girl). The story shifts back and forth between them with no momentum or development. There is no terror or suspense and hardly anything bloody or horrific.
Apparently, the book takes a more philosophical approach to its horror, merging old school pulp storytelling with the likes of Donald Barthelme. And there are a few comments here and there that briefly raise an interesting question like when a doctor mentions that cancer might be a check on evolutionary progress. But, otherwise, the book spins its wheels–in terms of both its narrative and ostensibly deeper meanings–without ever gaining any traction. If I really want to be scared by the random meaninglessness of the universe, I’ll go find some Ligotti or reread Archibald MacLeish’s truly horrific poem “The End of the World.”
It takes a lot for me to say this (and somewhat pains me since I spend so much time encouraging my own students to avoid vapid criticisms like these), but this book is boring. The characters are hardly even one dimensional. Their lives all revolve around one spoke (teaching or playing chess or being a beautiful, young girl). The story shifts back and forth between them with no momentum or development. There is no terror or suspense and hardly anything bloody or horrific.
Apparently, the book takes a more philosophical approach to its horror, merging old school pulp storytelling with the likes of Donald Barthelme. And there are a few comments here and there that briefly raise an interesting question like when a doctor mentions that cancer might be a check on evolutionary progress. But, otherwise, the book spins its wheels–in terms of both its narrative and ostensibly deeper meanings–without ever gaining any traction. If I really want to be scared by the random meaninglessness of the universe, I’ll go find some Ligotti or reread Archibald MacLeish’s truly horrific poem “The End of the World.”
January 22, 2018
Interesting and different but ended somewhat abruptly.
July 19, 2019
The fates by Thomas Tessier.
A good read with likeable characters. A little slow but I read it. Just took my time. 3*.
A good read with likeable characters. A little slow but I read it. Just took my time. 3*.
June 12, 2023
a really fun small town horror story. lot of great imagery and you get a real feel for the setting of Millville despite the book only being a little over 200 pages
February 19, 2017
Life goes on
Its all about perspectives. You see what you want to see. But in the end all will die or just vanish from the pages of the book. A well written incomplete story of a march thru life to death.
Its all about perspectives. You see what you want to see. But in the end all will die or just vanish from the pages of the book. A well written incomplete story of a march thru life to death.
February 9, 2017
It's difficult to know what to write about this book. It's not scary or (thankfully) gory. It's narrative moves quickly and effectively but never did I engage or empathise with any of the characters, which is good as the author has a habit of killing them off. The explanation of the events is never confirmed but, on the other hand, neither do we have a ridiculous entity to blame. All a little unsatisfying I thought.
November 25, 2016
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.
Martin Lasker finds a mutilated cow on a local farm - and this is just the beginning of the creepiness that ensues in this book. Strange lights have been showing up everywhere - and every one has a different explanation to them. But what is the truth? The author does a great job of pulling you into this book and making you wonder what will happen next.
I highly recommend this one to fans of horror and suspense. Does not disappoint.
Martin Lasker finds a mutilated cow on a local farm - and this is just the beginning of the creepiness that ensues in this book. Strange lights have been showing up everywhere - and every one has a different explanation to them. But what is the truth? The author does a great job of pulling you into this book and making you wonder what will happen next.
I highly recommend this one to fans of horror and suspense. Does not disappoint.
November 23, 2016
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Enjoyably thrilling and frightening, this is a great short horror novel. When the unknown threat of bluish-gray flashing lights visits a small New England town, the effects are catastrophic. I think the fact that it is so fast and inexplicable is at the basis of this well-written horror. Recommended.
Enjoyably thrilling and frightening, this is a great short horror novel. When the unknown threat of bluish-gray flashing lights visits a small New England town, the effects are catastrophic. I think the fact that it is so fast and inexplicable is at the basis of this well-written horror. Recommended.
January 18, 2017
Could use a good editor to clean up the punctuation mistakes and run on sentences. Good idea for a story but long in the tooth. It was ok. Not enough "oomph" for me. I started flipping pages near the end due to the lengthy conversations. Also, felt like there should have been more info on the Fates. It was like "oh it's the Fates, ya know." Writing is decent.
July 3, 2020
4 stelle fino all’anno pagina prima della fine.
Un finale così tronco e sospeso, peraltro inutile, è una delusione che vale una stella in meno.
Un finale così tronco e sospeso, peraltro inutile, è una delusione che vale una stella in meno.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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