Symphony

Millennium Quartet #1

by Charles L. Grant

When a preacher who has lost his faith suddenly discovers that he possesses the ability to heal and perform miracles, he becomes a reluctant participant in the battle against evil as he sets out to save a teenage girl and stop the occupants--who may be demons--of a mysterious car.

The approaching end of the century makes this the perfect time for the Millennium Quartet by the USA Today bestselling author. These striking novels reveal the cataclysms that will result when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse sweep across the world at the turn of the millennium. The first horseman is Death.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Apocalyptic

302 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Charles Lewis Grant was a novelist and short story writer specializing in what he called "dark fantasy" and "quiet horror." He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Geoffrey Marsh, Lionel Fenn, Simon Lake, Felicia Andrews, and Deborah Lewis.

Grant won a World Fantasy Award for his novella collection Nightmare Seasons, a Nebula Award in 1976 for his short story "A Crowd of Shadows", and another Nebula Award in 1978 for his novella "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye," the latter telling of an actor's dilemma in a post-literate future. Grant also edited the award winning Shadows anthology, running eleven volumes from 1978-1991. Contributors include Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, R.A. Lafferty, Avram Davidson, and Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem. Grant was a former Executive Secretary and Eastern Regional Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and president of the Horror Writers Association.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Symphony is the first in a quadrilogy of books featuring each of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, each set in a small, rural town in the United States. It's a nice effect; Grant creates a microcosm of society where the apocalypse begins, taking what would normally be an epic story and condensing it into small town America. The story follows Grant's usual style, with a long build-up among a large cast of characters, with the final confrontation taking place in the last quarter of the book. This time he mixes in some of the signs of the Apocalypse, giving the story a different flavor from his other small-town America stories. There's even a neat bit of narrative toward the end of the book where Grant passes the narrative from character to character as they pass each other on the street, creating a chain that takes the reader from one end of town to the other.

(Some trivia: Black Oak is the name of the main road through the town that serves as the setting for the story, which is also the name of the X-Files-ish series Grant wrote in the late 1990s.)

For me, I think Grant is an author I can appreciate without feeling the need to read everything he wrote (despite doing pretty much just that). It's like classical music; I can appreciate it for what it is, but it's not something I want to listen to every day. Symphony, like most of his novels, isn't perfect (I wasn't entirely clear how the protagonist could have defeated the antagonist, as I felt like Grant didn't develop that enough), but it's an entertaining read nonetheless, and an intriguing beginning to the series.

[Julie Akeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kinda got peeved here when I picked up the book in this quartet and realized I had the fourth book. so I had to download the first book, I wished it said more clearly it was the fourth book. Still, great story, loved the narrative parts, every thing runs fast pace and it's really impressive. Kinda puts a kink in my reading goals as I'm trying to read books I already have and want to move out. Wanted to avoid a series but didn't realize I had the fourth book but not the others. Now to find book number two.

[Jaime · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the most unsatisfying and boring books that I have ever picked up. I could not finish this book - only the second time this has happened to me. The pace is extremely slow and the main characters were one-dimensional. I believe that Grant tried to emulate Stephen King's THE STAND but failed miserably. I cannot recommend this novel.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

"'Vengeance is mine,' saith the lord"

I picked up book 4 of this Millennium Quartet almost 2 decades ago not realizing it was the very end of a series. I loved that book so much, and read it over and over. Fast forward to a few years ago when I contemplated a reread and realized, whoops, there are 3 other books. So, here I am starting from the beginning and I can honestly say I love it! Granted, I know how this all ends, but in a way that's making it all more enjoyable.

The millenium is fast approaching and chaos begins to flourish. Reverend Casey Chisholm is only a man, but his town's life could depend on him as the hoof beats of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse begin approaching.

I had a few moments as I read where things were a little confusing or worded oddly. For the most part though, I loved the writing in this story! It feels very much like poetry, and the break up of the parts keeps the pace moving quickly. It felt like a journey as well, at times. Like we are traveling in the car with Susan, or being transported to memory jumps with Casey.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Casey, a small town preacher, is losing his faith, yet suddenly he seems to be able to perform miracles. Are these gifts from God or sendings from an ancient Enemy? Miles away, violence and death lie in the wake of a nondescript car whose inhabitants may not be completely human. Their journey will end in Casey's backyard. When the preacher reluctantly takes up the battle against evil, his whole town is forced to choose sides in the war between light and darkness. People's true natures are revealed as the battle lines are drawn and the countdown to the Millenium begins. (cover blurb)

Great book! Fast entertaining read, and it sets up the following three in good order. Besides that, it's got a cool holographic cover...

[Nichole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally I found the narrative a little lacking; it might well have been a personal taste issue. The pacing dragged periodically. Otherwise, I really don't have complaints, it just didn't hit any of my sweet spots, I suppose. The characters were well developed, but even though the stakes were set reasonably high in the novel, I didn't feel it. Not a bad read at all and for anyone considering it, it's worth a shot! My experience was just that it didn't grip me as tightly as I'd hoped. I do have the next in the series, so I'll hopefully get to that sometime this year and maybe that will draw me in a little more!

[Ami Nosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, how I love Reverend Casey Chisholm. The action star type antihero with a seedy past who found Jesus and has been assigned to preach in a busybody small town. And when things go awry, his Lilith-May-Care attitude of apathy is refreshing.

This is a fun little action horror book. No real depth, the writing is choppy and unrefined at times, and the names of characters make the story seem dated. In other words, it's not destined to be a classic, persay. But does a horror series about monsters and mayhem strive to be that?

This is a fine read if you're looking for a simple small town horror tale to pass a stormy autumn evening.

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Millenium Quartet begins with this book, "Symphony." The four demons of the apocalypse are coming, and the first of them is Death. This is Death's story, and the story of a single human being who might just have the power to stop - delay? - the oncoming demon.

Casey, a small town preacher, suddenly starts showing major miraculous abilities - even though he is losing his faith. A chosen one to defeat a demon? When the whole town suddenly splits along the sides of dark and light, forced to choose between good and evil, the way the tale twists will certainly keep you guessing.

[Matt Arrowood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually still carry a copy around with me

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The construction of this book was all over the place, there were far too many characters and too many of these were uninteresting to me and the were moments when I felt like someone had torn pages from my (digital) copy just to confuse me.

I have read this author before and I find his prose to be simple and at times compelling, but I am most familiar with him as an editor to quite a few anthonlogies I read growing up. This is surprising as its the editing of Syphony that really seems to let it down the most, taking out those unnecessary characters and putting more emphasis on the lead four would have been a real push for this book; for me - in fact - putting the emphasis on the group of "villains" and their mission would have been a more interesting angle.

The core of the story revolves around Casey, a small time preacher who can perform miracles and is destined to be the foil for Death - one of the Four Horsemen - but for me Casey is underwritten and somewhat uninteresting. He follows the tired old "man of faith who loses his faith" plotline and we never really learn the whys and wheres of it all.

I didn't dislike Casey, but he was a secondary character and not the lead needed to perform a beat-down on Death itself and it never seemed to occur to him (or the author) that in doing so he was doing not the work of his God, but the work of the Devil; I mean, wasn't the Apocalypse ordained by God in the first place?

This is one of the questions that Syphony sidesteps and it weakens the book for it to do so.

There is a far more interesting story here. One of a man of God, a man of faith, who loses his faith because he finds he has to oppose his God's will to unleash the Apocalypse.

I mean thats a story I'd like to read.

[Steven Belanger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too much to say about this one, oddly appropriate, as the novel doesn’t end up saying or doing much, either. I grabbed this trilogy because Stephen King liked the author so much, and published a story in a collection Grant edited.

I kept waiting for the story to go somewhere, and it kept looking like it was going to, but ultimately it never did. The character-building was good, though there were so many, it became a bit of a challenge to keep everyone straight.

Then I kept expecting that something dire would happen to someone, but that never really happened, either. I especially thought it would in the last few pages, thinking it was a slow build with a big payoff. But that didn’t happen. You do care for the characters, I guess, though only Casey, the reverend, and a few others get a really solid build. You might wonder why Casey does a few things, as I did, and you may wonder if he could do those things, as I did. Apparently he could, and does, though it all feels underdeveloped and understaged by the end.

Grant said he wrote “quiet horror,” which this is, so I thought maybe some things would stay with me and give me food for thought. But that didn’t really happen, either. So ultimately it’s a pleasant read, and despite what I’ve written, it never did quite get frustrating, either.

But it could’ve and should’ve been a whole lot better. I have the other two downstairs somewhere, I think, so I may read them. But if I didn’t already have them, I’m not sure I’d go get them.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spooky creepy tale of a small town in a heatwave where a priest tries to do his best with and for his friends and neighbours, while across the country a car picks up odd passengers and heads for the town, leaving destruction in its wake. It's the eve of the Millennium and in some ways it all seems a bit tame and understated, to be honest, especially compared with the last few years - we've had Death, War, Pestilence and whichever one is in charge of climate change to contend with - but it's a nice slow character-driven build to a fiery climax that marks the start of the quartet.

[Spencer Rich · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understand that this author is responsible for some X Files novelizations. Makes sense. This book is clearly coming from the realm of Twin Peaks, X Files, Northern Exposure, and The Stand mini-series. But it doesn't really hold up. People like Lynch can get away with leaving some unexplained open ends in his work, but this just felt poorly connected.If you're going to be "modernist" or whatever, you have to be...well, really GOOD. This guy is no Faulkner or Kafka.

[M.Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the worst reads I have ever had. The characters were lifeless and seemed to have no purpose. The ending left me so disappointed and honestly made me not want to pick up the rest of the series. I would look for another book if you ever come across this. Honestly, the world-building was the only plus, and the dog.

[Elena Johansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ page 100. Weird and disjointed and pretentious.

[Wesley Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I wanted from a Charles L Grant novel, which seems to be going against the grain, but each to thier own. Have all 4 of the series, so I'll be reading 'In the mood' next.

[Mae ❀ Paper Rêveries · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first thought when finishing the book: Oh thank God it's over. I nearly abandoned this one twice. Once about 100 pages in, and again at around 230. By that point I'd told myself I had simply gone too far into it to abandon. Just slam through it, I encouraged myself.

This book was a major turn off to the apocalypse genre as a whole. The concept was wonderful, the execution was horrendous. It is too slow for too long, with too many characters you don't give a damn about. At quite a few parts I kept thinking some people were others, and couldn't keep track of who said what. Then once the climax hits it lasts for 20 pages (I feel like there's a 'that's what she said' joke in there somewhere). You never know who to root for because Charles Grant doesn't ever fully explain the plot. The entire book is some weird meta version of the end of the world, where most of the story needs to be done in your own head through assumption. Usually I like that kind of stuff, where the reader is left to do their own interpretations. But this was much too vague and nothing close to enjoyable. As I sit here thinking about it, I have yet to understand who the antagonist really was and what Casey, the main character, actually did to fight them off.

I also didn't realize, when I started Symphony, that it was the first of four books-- I don't know why I thought all four horsemen would be in one tiny book but I did. Of all the horses, Death should've been the most exciting. Extremely disappointed that I won't get to hear about Famine-- Jeepers I can't imagine how excrutiating that story must be. Sorry Grant, but I won't be picking up any of your other books anytime soon.

[NightAuditMan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up the third book in this series some time before this one without relizing it was part of a set. I read that book and quite enjoyed it and when I discovered that there were more I thought hey what the heck.

I picked this one up not too long after but just never got around to readinging it.

I should have never picked it up. The characters were dull and not fleshed out very well. The writing was pretty plain. And the plot just too forever to go anywhere. I had no problems at all reading only a couple of pages and then putting in the ol' bookmark and leaving it for a while.

I say pass if you can, read only if you must.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was like a condensed, reversed (bad coming to good instead of good going towards bad) version of Stephen King's "The Stand"; with bits of "Tommyknockers", "The Mist", and "The Gunslinger" thrown in. It wasn't bad, I just felt like I'd been there and done that. Perhaps if I hadn't read the aforementioned King books, I would have enjoyed it more.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been great. Very predictable.

[Tim Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent start to the series, but nothing overly spectacular.

[Mindex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent writing, attention to detail is great. You can absolutely picture the people and events. To be continued.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, sort of like The Stand.