Land of Hope

by Cate Baum

Has the land come to mimic us vile deeds, or have we only mimicked the land?

Daughter. Mother. Glory. Wife of The Devil O’ Th’ Moor. Hope Gleason has many names. The child of a shepherd raised in the remote moors of Northern England, Hope has always understood the satanic brutality of the land. But when an ear-splitting, unknowable sound destroys the nearby village, Hope must embark on a dangerous journey to survive through the ravaged land with a lad, newly orphaned and alone, under her wing. As they trek the wilds together to find her husband, her violent past chases her at every turn and long-buried memories begin to resurface.

A pitch-black, magnetic, and unforgettable meditation on the nature of love, evil, and the power of redemption, Land of Hope mixes history and the myths of the English moors to tell a compelling modern English fable of serial killers at the end of the world.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, British Literature

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2025

Reviews

[Tracey Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This feels like another “written specifically for me” novel.

[kerry_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope Gleason is the daughter of a shepherd, born in the remote moors of Northern England. She is also married to one of the most heinous serial killers Britain has seen. But it’s been over a decade since he was imprisoned and she has a new life now she enjoys, until a mysterious sound causes mass death across the land. She finds herself to be alone amongst the dead.

Some of you may have clocked onto which true story this is based on, minus the apocalypse part of course!

The story started off very relaxing, talking about Hope’s home and her local village. Then, suddenly there was dread, gore and terror. I was hooked! I absolutely sped through the pages. I loved how poetic the descriptions of the land were. It was beautifully written - it felt very fresh because of this, along with its plot and narrative style.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Diana]

I want to say the author bit off a bit more than she could chew for a debut novel (Fred and Rose West style serial killer couple, some sort of apocalyptic event, found footage/ spoken monologue format, all written in dialect), but in all honesty it’s probably just that I struggle with books written in dialect.

[oliver bjorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, I didn't hate it, I didn't love it.

The story centers around a Myra Hindley esq character trying to live her life in the Moors after the sentencing of her sadistic pedophile husband who she was an accomplice. But then something happens in their part of the part of the world (or further its never actually stated what it is) that forces her out of hiding and back in search of said psycho path. On the way she meets a child (terrible thing considering her background) and they go on a trip to finer her husband and save the lad.

The book is written in a Yorkshire verbatim which as a northerner I had no issue with, but I can imagine even a little bit south of the border or abroad that people would struggle with the language. There isn't a bibliography like you find in trainspotting to tell you what the words mean.

I wish the author would have at least explained or revealed what actually happened with the noise.

But, some parts of the book were excellent and suspenseful, wasn't a huge fan of the husband chapters, they dragged but I understood why they happened before meeting the guy.

[Stuart Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting concept. Well-told except a few philosophical passages that add little to the story.

Scottish moors are hit by an American (likely) weapon that kills everybody but an imprisoned serial killer of children, his complicit but long-separated wife, and a small boy.

Maybe the end of the world. Certainly the end of the Scottish moors.

Interesting characterization. Quite possibly the most annoying child to ever grace a dystopian fiction.

[Ellie Beagley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*