The Sacrifice of Anton Stacey

by Christian Francis

As the snow beats down on a small Appalachian town of Folksville, the Stacey Brothers meet to bury their father. Their bittersweet reunion soon turns into terror, as under the cover of darkness, something unnatural starts to make its way throughout the town. Something that spreads a rot so monstrous, that nothing can survive.

Audible Audio

Published March 17, 2023

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anton Stacey is one of the two sons of Pastor Stacey, an old fashioned fire and brimstone preacher of a small mountain town. After escaping the fundamentalist violence routinely offered as their fathers answer to any question, Anton leaves for the big city. Here he builds a life and forgets his past until one day a message from his brother tells him of his fathers death, and a request to attend the burial.

As overjoyed as he is to reunite with his brother, Anton is in no rush to rekindle his relationship with the town or anyone in it. But when his brother calls he has no alternative but answer, and this brings him face to face with a horror far worse than anything he experienced in his youth.


I’ve listened to several books performed by Christian Francis, and he is as dependable here as he usually is. He doesn’t have the range as some performers, those people who manage to do things with their voices that seem to defy reality, but he always differentiates between characters well, and the production is always clear and seamless.

However, this is the first non-novelization I have read from him, and though I think he writes well I didn’t enjoy this story as much as I had hoped. The first two chapters of “The Sacrifice of Anton Stacey” follow the familiar theme of “child escapes abusive religious parents” which essentially becomes little more than a reiteration of already overly familiar themes. It came across as a little heavy-handed, and added little beyond the usual stereotypes. As an opening it left a lot to be desired, but once we get past this and into the story it moves along at a nice pace. Though there does seem to be a scatological fixation and an overall emphasis on the “gross” rather than horror.

The later chapters, when reality seems to break down around the brothers, I found much more engaging, and the sympathetic bond between the brothers added a great deal to the tension.

This is where the story shined, and it was a shame that there was not more of it in my opinion. I think there was too much time wasted on the horrors of their father (and the condemnation of religion that came with that) when we could have been treated to some bonding between two brothers who had taken very different paths in life.

Even though my response to this story is a bit lukewarm, I think it’s probably worth listening to for most horror enthusiasts. As I often say, a lot of this is down to personal taste, and your mileage will almost certainly vary.

[Horror DNA · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Sacrifice of Anton Stacey, Christian Francis beautifully and terrifyingly pulls back the curtain upon the very idea of family, particularly the relationship between fathers and sons, and examines the power and pain of those connections. The story grows and develops in ways that will surprise the reader, yet are wholly in keeping with the characters and the complexities of the relationships they inhabit. Plato’s question, “...shall they in all their actions be true to the name?” simmers under every line in this story.

You can read Joe Haward's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[David Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was tricked by this one!

90 pages seemed like a really small amount and I initially thought perhaps it was too short to have a lasting impact.

WRONG!

The first 35 pages of this story were plodding along nicely, with background on the Stacey brothers and their father, along with the townsfolk and the kind of place you find yourself in. That, however, is where the normality ends. Out of nowhere, the horror quite literally bursts onto the page bringing Christian's usual level of vivid imagery and detailed descriptions, which truly reveal the proverbial guts of the tale.

I feel like I need another book, or at least a sequel novella following what happened after the ending, because I feel like this needs to be explained. Maybe it's my need to have closure on something, but there was enough material in 90 pages to fill a 300 page novel, and I'd love to read more.

[Blair Cousins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audio version and was really engaged with the characters. It's also narrated by the author (what a treat!). The author did a good job of making you care about the characters. The only heads up I can give, is that if you're not in the mood or head space for religious trauma, you might want to skip it. Otherwise, I found this to be an engaging mystery.

[Y.S. Leija · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this audiobook for one reason only, the singing. I have read a few of this authors books and maybe I’m just easy to scare and gross out but he gets me all the time! If you enjoy horror and gore you’ll like this book or any of his books for that matter. As always this is just my opinion and I invite you to form your own.

[Deni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the book while working and it did the trick of me not getting borec, so I consider it a success. I enjoyed the pace of the book and the plot was interesting. That being said, I wish the author didn't go with the "kill your gays" trope (I get that everyone died, but still annoying).