What do you think?
Rate this book
They
They walk among us unnoticed, unassuming.
A year after the auto accident that killed his wife, Vince Walters is finally beginning to move forward with his life. With the support of friends, he's digging back into his career and even beginning to date again.
When his estranged mother, Maggie Walters, is murdered, Vince is stunned by the hideous nature of the crime. Maggie lived a quiet life in a small, rural, Pennsylvania town, attending church, reading the Bible, and subscribing to an increasingly paranoid view of the End Times as prophesied in The Book of Revelations. Her brutal killing, which bears all the signs of being related to a sinister satanic cult, is inexplicable given her life of faith.
However, a visit from a childhood playmate confirms what Vince is beginning to uncover about his mother's that she was involved with a cult during his early childhood, but later defected and went into hiding with him. As hard as Maggie worked to bury her dark past, it seems that they found her.
Now they've found Vince. And this time, they are not going to give him up.
They have plans for him.
A year after the auto accident that killed his wife, Vince Walters is finally beginning to move forward with his life. With the support of friends, he's digging back into his career and even beginning to date again.
When his estranged mother, Maggie Walters, is murdered, Vince is stunned by the hideous nature of the crime. Maggie lived a quiet life in a small, rural, Pennsylvania town, attending church, reading the Bible, and subscribing to an increasingly paranoid view of the End Times as prophesied in The Book of Revelations. Her brutal killing, which bears all the signs of being related to a sinister satanic cult, is inexplicable given her life of faith.
However, a visit from a childhood playmate confirms what Vince is beginning to uncover about his mother's that she was involved with a cult during his early childhood, but later defected and went into hiding with him. As hard as Maggie worked to bury her dark past, it seems that they found her.
Now they've found Vince. And this time, they are not going to give him up.
They have plans for him.
ebook
First published January 1, 2011
15 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
J.F. Gonzalez
80 books366 followersJesus F. Gonzalez was an American author, primarily of horror fiction (writing under the pseudonym J. F. Gonzalez). He has written many notable novels and has done collaborations with Bram Stoker Award winners Mike Oliveri and Brian Keene. His novel Survivor has been optioned for film.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 30, 2014
Good story idea slow plot
This story had a lot of potential and did live up to some of it. The basic premise, a satanic ritual murder and a mother and child hiding from an elaborate organization, definitely had potential. The author thoroughly researched his topic and had tons of documented information he wove into the story.
Ordinarily, this is a huge plus. I enjoy well researched books with hard information blended into the plot. Unfortunately, the author chose to repeatedly info dump his research into the plot, typically having a knowledgeable character tell a clueless character what is going on.
This is, undoubtedly, a valid technique. The problem here is it takes over the story for chapters at a time. There are sections of this book begging the author to advance the story rather than continue to provide background information but he chose to ignore them.
I gave this book three stars instead of two due to the elaborate research and interesting plot, but the story moves very slowly for the most part and required patience and determination to finish.
This story had a lot of potential and did live up to some of it. The basic premise, a satanic ritual murder and a mother and child hiding from an elaborate organization, definitely had potential. The author thoroughly researched his topic and had tons of documented information he wove into the story.
Ordinarily, this is a huge plus. I enjoy well researched books with hard information blended into the plot. Unfortunately, the author chose to repeatedly info dump his research into the plot, typically having a knowledgeable character tell a clueless character what is going on.
This is, undoubtedly, a valid technique. The problem here is it takes over the story for chapters at a time. There are sections of this book begging the author to advance the story rather than continue to provide background information but he chose to ignore them.
I gave this book three stars instead of two due to the elaborate research and interesting plot, but the story moves very slowly for the most part and required patience and determination to finish.
March 16, 2013
Another cool read from JF Gonzalez. Vince arrives back in LA after his mother is brutally murdered only to find himself being shot at. Who killed his mother and why? Does someone want him dead too? Vince's life is turned upside down after the revelations of an old friend (Frank Black) who mysteriously steps back into Vince's life... Who are They? Read the book and find out!
September 10, 2013
This book had a solid story idea, but the info dumps bogged me down so much I couldn't get into it.
December 22, 2017
While THEY was a good book, it wasn't a great book. There were aspects that I enjoyed but there were also a few things that detracted from that enjoyment. The story follows Vince Walters.
It has been a year since his wife died in a car accident and Vince is starting to get back to a normal life. However, his mother is killed in a vicious manner and Vince must go back to his childhood home to handle her affairs. Vince stopped talking to his mother years ago due in part to her religious fanaticism and Vince's repressed upbringing. Shortly after his return, Vince is approached by Frank Black, a childhood friend who awakens odd memories from Vince's past. And this is where the mysteries and conspiracies about Frank's and Vince's past begins.
I suppose I should start with the good. The book was well written with believable characters who mostly reacted as you would think. There was a ton of research performed to cover the various topics and religions; that research and depth of knowledge was very obvious. It was nice to see Corporate Financial as a unifying thread within the mythos created by Gonzalez; the corporation was the source of problems in other books so its return was welcome. And as a total side, I enjoyed that parts of the book were based in Orange County in California. I lived in the area for years and it was cool to know all the areas the characters visited. My biggest problem with THEY was the conspiracy, specifically following the conspiracy and the depth of it. There was a large chunk of the middle of the book where dozens of characters were introduced along with all of their ties to each other and to the conspiracy. I had a hard time remembering who was who and why they were important. I suppose it was necessary to show the complexity of the conspiracy but I got lost during this part. And considering the heart of the book is the conspiracy and They who are part of the conspiracy, it meant that I was lost during key parts of the book. I also wasn't completely happy with the epilogue. The character that was included there was changed from the rest of the book and not acting like himself. And it didn't seem like a change that was part of his character growth. All told, I still enjoyed the book but I would not classify it as Gonzalez's best work. For that, I would point to SURVIVOR. I look forward to continuing through the rest of Gonzalez's books.
It has been a year since his wife died in a car accident and Vince is starting to get back to a normal life. However, his mother is killed in a vicious manner and Vince must go back to his childhood home to handle her affairs. Vince stopped talking to his mother years ago due in part to her religious fanaticism and Vince's repressed upbringing. Shortly after his return, Vince is approached by Frank Black, a childhood friend who awakens odd memories from Vince's past. And this is where the mysteries and conspiracies about Frank's and Vince's past begins.
I suppose I should start with the good. The book was well written with believable characters who mostly reacted as you would think. There was a ton of research performed to cover the various topics and religions; that research and depth of knowledge was very obvious. It was nice to see Corporate Financial as a unifying thread within the mythos created by Gonzalez; the corporation was the source of problems in other books so its return was welcome. And as a total side, I enjoyed that parts of the book were based in Orange County in California. I lived in the area for years and it was cool to know all the areas the characters visited. My biggest problem with THEY was the conspiracy, specifically following the conspiracy and the depth of it. There was a large chunk of the middle of the book where dozens of characters were introduced along with all of their ties to each other and to the conspiracy. I had a hard time remembering who was who and why they were important. I suppose it was necessary to show the complexity of the conspiracy but I got lost during this part. And considering the heart of the book is the conspiracy and They who are part of the conspiracy, it meant that I was lost during key parts of the book. I also wasn't completely happy with the epilogue. The character that was included there was changed from the rest of the book and not acting like himself. And it didn't seem like a change that was part of his character growth. All told, I still enjoyed the book but I would not classify it as Gonzalez's best work. For that, I would point to SURVIVOR. I look forward to continuing through the rest of Gonzalez's books.
November 25, 2018
This was a great read! The first half of the book gave you a load of information, but was really slow going. It kept me interested enough to keep going though. The second half picked up and stepped out of just people sitting around and talking. Lots of action, plenty of stuff in this book to spook even the most hardcore horror fans (I had a few moments where I was legitimately creeped out. Not as rough or gruesome as some of his other books, but this one does a good job of further tying Gonzalez' Survivor and Hanbi cycle books together.
Read this, you'll be glad you did!
Read this, you'll be glad you did!
May 5, 2019
Aside from the fact that Marilyn Manson was repeatedly named when the occult and Satanism were mentioned, I really enjoyed this book. Vince and his mother are estranged after she became a religious zealot [trust me, she had her reasons]. When she is murdered in a supposed home invasion , the waterfall effect begins..........
April 27, 2020
A bit long considering it kept repeating a recap of the history of the cult and the protagonist's connection. No development of the supernatural aspects so they felt out of place for an otherwise dramatic action story.
January 16, 2016
I'm so much more than a little disappointed with this book. The blurb had me gripped right from the get go, and I was really looking forward to reading a rather cultish book. However this just didn't compare to the last cultbased book I read, Last Days by Adam Nevill.
This book was an extremely slow mover and requires a large amount of determination and perserverance in order to reach the conclusion. I say it requires a large amount of perserverance because the sheer number and length of the info dumps is mind boggling. Not only this but one of the double crosses is obvious straight away, there's a major lack of action and the epilogue is boring.
There was no satisfaction in this book for me so I'm sorry to say it only gets one star.
This book was an extremely slow mover and requires a large amount of determination and perserverance in order to reach the conclusion. I say it requires a large amount of perserverance because the sheer number and length of the info dumps is mind boggling. Not only this but one of the double crosses is obvious straight away, there's a major lack of action and the epilogue is boring.
There was no satisfaction in this book for me so I'm sorry to say it only gets one star.
July 26, 2013
Sometimes the book could be somewhat redundant and in need of some editing. Overall, it was a good story and a real twist on books like The Omen and Baal. There is an atmosphere of extreme paranoia and you wonder who can be trusted. By the time I was half way through--I couldn't stop. The very end of the book seemed extraneous. Still--it is a good read.
February 7, 2013
Not your typical "I'm being hunted by a Satanic cult" thriller. J.F. Gonzalez has a good following with fans of small press horror, but he's an excellent author. I hope he gets more mainstream exposure!
January 27, 2020
Excellent supernatural thriller! Very edge of your seat pacing and an interesting theological premise.
January 30, 2014
I enjoyed this one.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews