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Hoodoo Man
Book by Harris, Steve
416 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1992
1 person is currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Steve Harris
11 books17 followersLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Steve Harris is a retired English novelist who was known for his work in the horror genre.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_H...
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Steve Harris is a retired English novelist who was known for his work in the horror genre.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_H...
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 21, 2024
The Hoodoo Man chronicles the life of Danny Stafford, from age 5 to mid 30s, but Danny is not your average fella. When he was five, his older brother accidently shot him in the face with a rifle; little Danny 'died' several times after that, but the doctors brought him back. The only permanent damage seems to be a bone fragment piercing this pineal gland (and some dead brain tissue). Yet, Danny will never be the same.
Danny used to suffer from what his father called 'wakemares', e.g., dream-like hallucinations when he was awake, but recovering from the accident his wakemares intensified. Indeed, he seems to suffer from rather destructive visions-- people being murdered, planes crashing, etc. Perhaps the damage to his pineal gland unleashed some latent psychic powers. That, or he is going insane. Which is it? Harris will keep you guessing through out the novel...
Harris writes well, and while this hits doorstop territory at over 600 pages, it flows nicely. Hoodoo man refers not to voodoo here, but the idea of a person who brings bad luck, and Danny seems to have lots of that! At times touching, other times horrific, this really is a tour de force. 4 hoodoo stars!
Danny used to suffer from what his father called 'wakemares', e.g., dream-like hallucinations when he was awake, but recovering from the accident his wakemares intensified. Indeed, he seems to suffer from rather destructive visions-- people being murdered, planes crashing, etc. Perhaps the damage to his pineal gland unleashed some latent psychic powers. That, or he is going insane. Which is it? Harris will keep you guessing through out the novel...
Harris writes well, and while this hits doorstop territory at over 600 pages, it flows nicely. Hoodoo man refers not to voodoo here, but the idea of a person who brings bad luck, and Danny seems to have lots of that! At times touching, other times horrific, this really is a tour de force. 4 hoodoo stars!
May 8, 2018
Budgie as a weapon? Sure, why not.
Danny Stafford was an ordinary kid until his brother shot him in the face. It was an accident that changed Danny, but it isn't until his 30s that the change fully takes hold. Now in a stable relationship, renovating a house, and working a dead-end job, Danny's life is turned upside down. And that's before the Hoodoo Man starts coming for him.
Back in my formative years, the local librarian introduced me to the adult section of the library after I'd read everything on offer for young adults and kids. This novel, The Hoodoo Man, was the first she pulled off of the shelf for me to try. A brand new horror novel by a UK author. Bit of a leap. But I was hooked. I clearly remember devouring this book, to the point that I missed at least one meal.
Twenty-six years later I wanted to test if my memory of this novel held up. Was The Hoodoo Man as good all these years later, or was I just an impressionable kid who had just discovered his first horror novel? Oh, it stands up alright. It has aged very well and I wasn't disappointed at all. My immediate response upon finishing was to exclaim "Well, I'm going to have to find more of Steve Harris' books."
This is where this story becomes interesting. The Hoodoo Man was Steve's third novel and it was his most successful, it put him on the map, and became his website's name. But his career was all but over by the time his seventh novel was released and he retired at the end of the 90s. His career came to an end after his publisher was bought out and he was dumped. He had one completed novel he was shopping around, another in the works, and a third that had originally been intended as his sixth novel but was deemed too terrifying*. Harris' novels went out of print and after no success in finding a new publisher, he retired from writing.
In this day and age, a writer in this situation would probably take their back-catalog and self-publish, then release their new material. Of course, a publisher would be unlikely to let an author go out of print. But it does make me wonder how many authors are in a sense lost to us because of the machinations of the publishing world. I guess they won't be getting any money from me** hunting down Harris' back-catalog in the secondhand stores.
*The Switch was an attempt by Steve to bring the reader as close to feeling actual pain as possible. Back when his website was active I read an excerpt and can confirm that he succeeded. I have never looked at liver the same since.
**Obviously, Steve won't be either.
http://www.shadow-writer.co.uk/kinter...
Danny Stafford was an ordinary kid until his brother shot him in the face. It was an accident that changed Danny, but it isn't until his 30s that the change fully takes hold. Now in a stable relationship, renovating a house, and working a dead-end job, Danny's life is turned upside down. And that's before the Hoodoo Man starts coming for him.
Back in my formative years, the local librarian introduced me to the adult section of the library after I'd read everything on offer for young adults and kids. This novel, The Hoodoo Man, was the first she pulled off of the shelf for me to try. A brand new horror novel by a UK author. Bit of a leap. But I was hooked. I clearly remember devouring this book, to the point that I missed at least one meal.
Twenty-six years later I wanted to test if my memory of this novel held up. Was The Hoodoo Man as good all these years later, or was I just an impressionable kid who had just discovered his first horror novel? Oh, it stands up alright. It has aged very well and I wasn't disappointed at all. My immediate response upon finishing was to exclaim "Well, I'm going to have to find more of Steve Harris' books."
This is where this story becomes interesting. The Hoodoo Man was Steve's third novel and it was his most successful, it put him on the map, and became his website's name. But his career was all but over by the time his seventh novel was released and he retired at the end of the 90s. His career came to an end after his publisher was bought out and he was dumped. He had one completed novel he was shopping around, another in the works, and a third that had originally been intended as his sixth novel but was deemed too terrifying*. Harris' novels went out of print and after no success in finding a new publisher, he retired from writing.
In this day and age, a writer in this situation would probably take their back-catalog and self-publish, then release their new material. Of course, a publisher would be unlikely to let an author go out of print. But it does make me wonder how many authors are in a sense lost to us because of the machinations of the publishing world. I guess they won't be getting any money from me** hunting down Harris' back-catalog in the secondhand stores.
*The Switch was an attempt by Steve to bring the reader as close to feeling actual pain as possible. Back when his website was active I read an excerpt and can confirm that he succeeded. I have never looked at liver the same since.
**Obviously, Steve won't be either.
http://www.shadow-writer.co.uk/kinter...
February 23, 2020
Never heard of Steve hArris to be honest found out obout him in back of Bentley little book giving him praise and fair play he's got talent or should I say had talent I've been buying his books up online he's not got many so you can find them but some people got them at stupid prices but I digress he's definitely worth a read I recommend to anyone who loves there horror he can certainly tell a tale!!!!!!
April 21, 2019
I can't believe so few people have read this. I absolutely devoured it in my teen years. Amazing read.
December 16, 2025
Could have done with a tighter edit. Overwritten and no real narrative thrust. Good idea but not fully realised.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews