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Hemlock Pond
Megan Parker and her young son move into an old farmhouse with a haunted pond on the property. But they find there is more living in the pond than only fish and turtles. Far more…
Megan soon discovers the dark curse of Hemlock Pond will touch her family in ways she never could have imagined.
Megan soon discovers the dark curse of Hemlock Pond will touch her family in ways she never could have imagined.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 21, 2012
2 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Alan Nayes
25 books379 followersAlan Nayes is the author of numerous novels and short stories. He resides in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 25, 2012
(This review can also be found on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl).
Wow, what a fantastic horror read!! It seems I've been on a horror kick here lately, but I can assure you my next review isn't a horror one. Anyway, wow I absolutely loved this book!! This is how horror should be.
Megan and her seven year old son Zach move to Hemlock House to be closer to Zach's eye doctor after following Zach's bout with eye cancer and losing his eye. Megan receives a warning from the town crazy to leave Hemlock House while she still can and how evil lurks in Hemlock Pond. Ignoring the advice of the deemed town crazy, Megan falls in love with Hemlock House. However, soon, strange things start happening that get harder and harder to explain. Maybe the town crazy isn't crazy after all.
I think the title to this book is a great choice. Hemlock Pond doesn't sound very menacing, yet it really is once you read the story. It's a way to throw people off the scent if you will.
The cover to this book is definitely creepy looking. However, I don't really think the picture of the two girls on the cover really matches the story. Those two girls are never mentioned. I just wish the cover would've at least featured characters from the actual story.
The world building and setting are written beautifully! I love Nayes' descriptions to describe Hemlock House and the surroundings. Hemlock House sounds absolutely gorgeous, and it really does sound like a place you'd like to live, thanks to the way the author describes it, but you soon realise that it's actually quite a creepy place.
The pacing was fantastic in Hemlock Pond. I found myself staying up later than I meant to when reading this book. The chapters flow into each other making you lose track of time. Never once does the pacing become too slow or too fast.
The dialogue and wording are done well. I enjoyed the conversation between the characters, especially between Megan and her son Zach. The characters interact very well, and it never feels odd or forced. There is swearing in this book so be warned if you aren't a fan of swear words.
The characters were all so fantastic and well developed in Hemlock House. You could actually feel Megan's need to protect Zach after all he'd gone through. Her decisions to do things also felt like what any mother would do. Zach comes across as a normal seven year old boy. I thought he sounded super cute, and I loved his curiosity. Edsel, the caretaker, quickly became my favourite character. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but he came across as the caring, grandfatherly type.
I thoroughly enjoyed Hemlock Pond by Alan Nayes. I felt it was well executed and well written. The idea behind it seemed to be quite original. The only (small) downside was that in some places, it was quite predictable.
I'd recommend this book to all fans of horror ages 18+.
Hemlock Pond by Alan Nayes gets a 4.5 out of 5 from me.
Wow, what a fantastic horror read!! It seems I've been on a horror kick here lately, but I can assure you my next review isn't a horror one. Anyway, wow I absolutely loved this book!! This is how horror should be.
Megan and her seven year old son Zach move to Hemlock House to be closer to Zach's eye doctor after following Zach's bout with eye cancer and losing his eye. Megan receives a warning from the town crazy to leave Hemlock House while she still can and how evil lurks in Hemlock Pond. Ignoring the advice of the deemed town crazy, Megan falls in love with Hemlock House. However, soon, strange things start happening that get harder and harder to explain. Maybe the town crazy isn't crazy after all.
I think the title to this book is a great choice. Hemlock Pond doesn't sound very menacing, yet it really is once you read the story. It's a way to throw people off the scent if you will.
The cover to this book is definitely creepy looking. However, I don't really think the picture of the two girls on the cover really matches the story. Those two girls are never mentioned. I just wish the cover would've at least featured characters from the actual story.
The world building and setting are written beautifully! I love Nayes' descriptions to describe Hemlock House and the surroundings. Hemlock House sounds absolutely gorgeous, and it really does sound like a place you'd like to live, thanks to the way the author describes it, but you soon realise that it's actually quite a creepy place.
The pacing was fantastic in Hemlock Pond. I found myself staying up later than I meant to when reading this book. The chapters flow into each other making you lose track of time. Never once does the pacing become too slow or too fast.
The dialogue and wording are done well. I enjoyed the conversation between the characters, especially between Megan and her son Zach. The characters interact very well, and it never feels odd or forced. There is swearing in this book so be warned if you aren't a fan of swear words.
The characters were all so fantastic and well developed in Hemlock House. You could actually feel Megan's need to protect Zach after all he'd gone through. Her decisions to do things also felt like what any mother would do. Zach comes across as a normal seven year old boy. I thought he sounded super cute, and I loved his curiosity. Edsel, the caretaker, quickly became my favourite character. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but he came across as the caring, grandfatherly type.
I thoroughly enjoyed Hemlock Pond by Alan Nayes. I felt it was well executed and well written. The idea behind it seemed to be quite original. The only (small) downside was that in some places, it was quite predictable.
I'd recommend this book to all fans of horror ages 18+.
Hemlock Pond by Alan Nayes gets a 4.5 out of 5 from me.
August 28, 2012
This is one of those books that you don't want to read while alone. Or with your back to a door. Or a mirror. Ideally, nowhere near a body of water or an old farmhouse. If you live on a patch of farm land with its very own pond, you might just be encouraged to move. Possibly three hundred miles away.
I'm already a huge fan of Alan Nayes's work, having read and loved both Gargoyles and Girl Blue, but I believe Hemlock Pond is officially my favorite now. It is just as beautifully written as Alan's other books, if not even more so, and covers so many of the hard themes that people connect with -- loss, despair, and anger. Underlying it all, Hemlock Pond asks you, What would YOU do for your child? From page one,I was absolutely hooked on this book. It gripped me so hard that I stayed awake into the wee hours just to finish it, and then not only couldn't I fall asleep as I still pondered what I'd witnessed, but I woke up *still* thinking about it. It's one of those books that stays with you long after you're done.
If you only read one of Alan's books, read this one. But if you only read one of Alan's books, you're crazy. Go read them all. I highly recommend Hemlock Pond and his others. Just be sure to keep the lights on.
I'm already a huge fan of Alan Nayes's work, having read and loved both Gargoyles and Girl Blue, but I believe Hemlock Pond is officially my favorite now. It is just as beautifully written as Alan's other books, if not even more so, and covers so many of the hard themes that people connect with -- loss, despair, and anger. Underlying it all, Hemlock Pond asks you, What would YOU do for your child? From page one,I was absolutely hooked on this book. It gripped me so hard that I stayed awake into the wee hours just to finish it, and then not only couldn't I fall asleep as I still pondered what I'd witnessed, but I woke up *still* thinking about it. It's one of those books that stays with you long after you're done.
If you only read one of Alan's books, read this one. But if you only read one of Alan's books, you're crazy. Go read them all. I highly recommend Hemlock Pond and his others. Just be sure to keep the lights on.
October 14, 2012
great story. A little weird at times but that adds to the story. Heartfelt and scary at the same time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews