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Cold on the Mountain
All they wanted was a vacation to the Grand Canyon. Instead, they found themselves on a collision course with a terrible, timeless darkness.
Welcome to Adrienne, home to history’s worst serial killers and mass murderers. Nestled in an isolated meadow high in the Sierra Nevada, Adrienne is sort of like a cosmic lint trap. It collects the universe’s negative energy—all of our blackest human impulses—before purging that darkness back into the world in a yearly lottery. From Hitler to Bin Laden…Bundy to Gacy, Adrienne is the way station for dark energy that doesn’t just pass on—it passes through.
When Phil Benson decides to take an unmarked detour over the mountain, he drives his family into the mouth of madness, where they are forced to join a captive labor pool with little hope for freedom. Escape is pointless and time stretches out into eternity, with every new day the same as the last.
Sometimes, it’s better just to skip the shortcut.
With echoes of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” Stephen King’s Needful Things, and Blake Crouch’s Pines series, Cold on the Mountain treads the boundary between horror and supernatural suspense.
Welcome to Adrienne, home to history’s worst serial killers and mass murderers. Nestled in an isolated meadow high in the Sierra Nevada, Adrienne is sort of like a cosmic lint trap. It collects the universe’s negative energy—all of our blackest human impulses—before purging that darkness back into the world in a yearly lottery. From Hitler to Bin Laden…Bundy to Gacy, Adrienne is the way station for dark energy that doesn’t just pass on—it passes through.
When Phil Benson decides to take an unmarked detour over the mountain, he drives his family into the mouth of madness, where they are forced to join a captive labor pool with little hope for freedom. Escape is pointless and time stretches out into eternity, with every new day the same as the last.
Sometimes, it’s better just to skip the shortcut.
With echoes of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” Stephen King’s Needful Things, and Blake Crouch’s Pines series, Cold on the Mountain treads the boundary between horror and supernatural suspense.
- GenresHorror
294 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 2015
46 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Powell
24 books44 followersDaniel teaches a variety of writing classes at Florida State College at Jacksonville. He has published numerous short stories and critical essays in journals, anthologies, and magazines, and his novellas have been recently collected in Maximum Dark Four Tales of Suspense. He recently completed his doctoral degree (emphasis on digital media studies) in the Texts and Technology program at the University of Central Florida.
He enjoys fishing the tidal creeks of Duval County and jogging the haunted shell mounds of the Timucuan Preserve. He shares a small home near Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway with his wife, son, and daughter.
Other works include:
Cold on the Mountain
The Reset
In the Walls and Other Stories
The Silver Coast and Other Stories
These Strange Worlds Fourteen Dark Tales
You can learn more about Daniel’s upcoming writing projects by visiting The Byproduct, his web journal on speculative storytelling.
He enjoys fishing the tidal creeks of Duval County and jogging the haunted shell mounds of the Timucuan Preserve. He shares a small home near Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway with his wife, son, and daughter.
Other works include:
Cold on the Mountain
The Reset
In the Walls and Other Stories
The Silver Coast and Other Stories
These Strange Worlds Fourteen Dark Tales
You can learn more about Daniel’s upcoming writing projects by visiting The Byproduct, his web journal on speculative storytelling.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 15, 2017
This is a solid little horror novel that feels more like an expanded short story. There are no side plots or other distractions here, just a Point A to Point B story about a family that takes a shortcut in the Sierra Nevada mountains that leads them into the small town of Adrienne, a place where evil gathers (literally, all the bad people of the world end up here after they die).
As part of the contingent of "normals" that blunder into Adrienne, Phil and Wendy Benson are forced to work for the "dark ones" to earn a chance for a once-a-year lottery that sees a bunch of people, both good and bad, released back into the world via magic portal. Adrienne is host to demons, serial killers, Joseph Goebbels ("Call me Joseph") and the teenage Columbine killers who are never mentioned by name and are weirdly depicted as cartoonish villains.
There is some nice tension as the family struggles to both follow the rules and sometimes defy them, knowing the dire consequences of being caught, but the story is almost too efficient as it speeds along to the endgame, the various pieces all falling in place so quickly there is little time to allow events to sink in. The reader learns about Adrienne but it only ever feels like the surface is examined.
Phil, the protagonist of the story, comes across as a decent but ultimately bland kind of everyman. Bo, his brother on the other side, leads a search to find him and his family, and at one point he and his girlfriend come to believe it's essential to get the local sheriff on-board to make their kooky plan to free the normals of Adrienne work, though it's never stated exactly why he's needed. The sheriff is nice enough as a character, but he becomes increasingly non-essential as the story progresses, to the point where I almost felt his alleged need was a deliberate red herring.
The conclusion will likely leave a lot of readers with a "What happened next?" feeling but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Overall, Cold on the Mountain has a comfortable old school horror feel to it. The journey is brisk--perhaps too much so--but the action certainly keeps rolling along.
As part of the contingent of "normals" that blunder into Adrienne, Phil and Wendy Benson are forced to work for the "dark ones" to earn a chance for a once-a-year lottery that sees a bunch of people, both good and bad, released back into the world via magic portal. Adrienne is host to demons, serial killers, Joseph Goebbels ("Call me Joseph") and the teenage Columbine killers who are never mentioned by name and are weirdly depicted as cartoonish villains.
There is some nice tension as the family struggles to both follow the rules and sometimes defy them, knowing the dire consequences of being caught, but the story is almost too efficient as it speeds along to the endgame, the various pieces all falling in place so quickly there is little time to allow events to sink in. The reader learns about Adrienne but it only ever feels like the surface is examined.
Phil, the protagonist of the story, comes across as a decent but ultimately bland kind of everyman. Bo, his brother on the other side, leads a search to find him and his family, and at one point he and his girlfriend come to believe it's essential to get the local sheriff on-board to make their kooky plan to free the normals of Adrienne work, though it's never stated exactly why he's needed. The sheriff is nice enough as a character, but he becomes increasingly non-essential as the story progresses, to the point where I almost felt his alleged need was a deliberate red herring.
The conclusion will likely leave a lot of readers with a "What happened next?" feeling but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Overall, Cold on the Mountain has a comfortable old school horror feel to it. The journey is brisk--perhaps too much so--but the action certainly keeps rolling along.
August 9, 2017
Very good. Best horror slash supernatural book I've read in ages.
This story flowed really well and the writing very good. I probably should have given it four stars but i didn't get a real feeling of horror anywhere so dropped one star for that. Still a good read and i would certainly read more of this author's work.
This story flowed really well and the writing very good. I probably should have given it four stars but i didn't get a real feeling of horror anywhere so dropped one star for that. Still a good read and i would certainly read more of this author's work.
July 18, 2017
Soooooooo Good
I own and have read all of the e-books this author has on Amazon. This book is actually my favorite, what an amazing idea. I usually remove books from my Fire tablet that I have read. Not these books. I will read them again. A good book is a good friend. Sir, get busy, I want more!
I own and have read all of the e-books this author has on Amazon. This book is actually my favorite, what an amazing idea. I usually remove books from my Fire tablet that I have read. Not these books. I will read them again. A good book is a good friend. Sir, get busy, I want more!
September 3, 2017
This book was so good could not put it down, literally. I had spent the last few hours to finish reading this book hoping for the ending to be was I was wishing for. And it was! This is a must read, I highly recommend this book. You won't be sorry, I know you will enjoy this. Not giving away the story.......READ IT!
September 7, 2017
Wow, this is a great novel. The characters and the story line are wonderful...
Isn't it just like a man to not ask for directions or go down an unknown highway taking a short cut?
Just kidding!!
Highly recommend!
Isn't it just like a man to not ask for directions or go down an unknown highway taking a short cut?
Just kidding!!
Highly recommend!
September 9, 2017
Refreshing
This book was a welcome change from all the horror tropes I've become so familiar with. If you're tired of the everyday, take a trip to the mountain... just don't take the shortcut ;)
This book was a welcome change from all the horror tropes I've become so familiar with. If you're tired of the everyday, take a trip to the mountain... just don't take the shortcut ;)
October 20, 2018
A family spring break goes terribly wrong when a shortcut takes them to a town in a different dimension. The characters were well developed and it was a good story about the importance of closeness as a family. It was an enjoyable read, just didn't knock my socks off.
March 19, 2020
Great book
I haven't been writing ratings lately, just giving stars but this book was unbelievable. I could not put it down, what a well-written book ;a page-turner I couldn't wait to get to the next page.
I haven't been writing ratings lately, just giving stars but this book was unbelievable. I could not put it down, what a well-written book ;a page-turner I couldn't wait to get to the next page.
July 22, 2017
Scary but worth reading
September 28, 2017
It's more like 3 and a half stars. Was totally not what I was expecting, but a fun read either way.
June 15, 2015
“Cold on the Mountain” was a fun and freaky read! The premise is one that I think many readers will find immediately appealing: a shortcut through the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the border between Nevada and California is actually a portal to a very dark town called Adrienne. Why the darkness? The town is where serial killers and other famous murderers go when they die and where they wait for their lottery number to be called in order to be re-born and provide darkness to the world in order to balance the light.
Many poor, unfortunate travelers are accidentally caught in the portal during the periods it opens to release dark energy and to restore normals who had previously gone missing. These normals have been kept in indentured servitude to the dark forces. They are there to provide labor and the occasional necessary sacrifice to denizens of Adrienne.
This story centers on a family of four: Phil, his wife Wendy and their two daughters Cammie and Carrie. As they are caught in the portal, they must face the dangers inherent in living with people like John Wayne Gacy who runs the local hotel and Joseph Goebbels, the town’s current mayor. Along the way they meet Albert De Salvo a.k.a. the Boston Strangler who happens to be the landlord of another normal, Denny Wren, a San Francisco 49er also caught and who had been helping others acclimate during his two decade stay in Adrienne. An interesting cast of characters populating Adrienne provide an portrait of the town and there is some wonderful black and gallows humor.
The people that have gone missing have not disappeared without notice however. There are many family members on the outside of the portal seeking resolution to the loss and hopefully recovery of the missing. This group is led by Bo, Phil’s brother and Bo’s wife Kelli. They are joined by Miriam who escaped from the portal and who had come to understand how it worked and had developed a technique to access it and the sheriff, of a skeptic of Miriam’s but willing to try anything to solve the large number of missing persons cases in what essentially amounts to the mirror town located outside of the portal, Bishop.
All manner of events transpire to those on both sides of the portal. The grand finale takes place during the yearly opening of the portal where the lottery is drawn for both dark energies to be reborn and normals to re-enter Bishop. This is a thoroughly entertaining story. I was loath to put it down. I almost managed to read it in one sitting. I look forward to more stories by this author. A short book, but worthy of four stars!
Many poor, unfortunate travelers are accidentally caught in the portal during the periods it opens to release dark energy and to restore normals who had previously gone missing. These normals have been kept in indentured servitude to the dark forces. They are there to provide labor and the occasional necessary sacrifice to denizens of Adrienne.
This story centers on a family of four: Phil, his wife Wendy and their two daughters Cammie and Carrie. As they are caught in the portal, they must face the dangers inherent in living with people like John Wayne Gacy who runs the local hotel and Joseph Goebbels, the town’s current mayor. Along the way they meet Albert De Salvo a.k.a. the Boston Strangler who happens to be the landlord of another normal, Denny Wren, a San Francisco 49er also caught and who had been helping others acclimate during his two decade stay in Adrienne. An interesting cast of characters populating Adrienne provide an portrait of the town and there is some wonderful black and gallows humor.
The people that have gone missing have not disappeared without notice however. There are many family members on the outside of the portal seeking resolution to the loss and hopefully recovery of the missing. This group is led by Bo, Phil’s brother and Bo’s wife Kelli. They are joined by Miriam who escaped from the portal and who had come to understand how it worked and had developed a technique to access it and the sheriff, of a skeptic of Miriam’s but willing to try anything to solve the large number of missing persons cases in what essentially amounts to the mirror town located outside of the portal, Bishop.
All manner of events transpire to those on both sides of the portal. The grand finale takes place during the yearly opening of the portal where the lottery is drawn for both dark energies to be reborn and normals to re-enter Bishop. This is a thoroughly entertaining story. I was loath to put it down. I almost managed to read it in one sitting. I look forward to more stories by this author. A short book, but worthy of four stars!
April 7, 2015
Wow great supernatural thriller page turner, Read this in a couple of days. Unique story line and very creepy. It sure made me hope a place like Adrienne does not exist in our world! Chilling! And the ending.......that poor baby and his parents :(
Please note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review
Please note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review
September 22, 2015
Won this book here on goodreads. Great book. Well written. Surprising characters. Lots of twists and turns. Can't wait to read more.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews