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Brujo
Santa Catalina Island is a peaceful, colorful resort, the perfect weekend vacation spot for Trevor Baldwin and his young son Mark.
They don't know that the spirit of the last Indian shaman has been disturbed by condominium excavation, that the Brujo has awakened and looked upon his land, despoiled by the white man, and is enraged! He will have his revenge, for his power is undimmed by death.
Within hours, Santa Catalina becomes a killing ground, as the forces of nature rise up to destroy the works of man. And Mark Baldwin's soul is the survivors' last defense.
They don't know that the spirit of the last Indian shaman has been disturbed by condominium excavation, that the Brujo has awakened and looked upon his land, despoiled by the white man, and is enraged! He will have his revenge, for his power is undimmed by death.
Within hours, Santa Catalina becomes a killing ground, as the forces of nature rise up to destroy the works of man. And Mark Baldwin's soul is the survivors' last defense.
- GenresHorror
338 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 15, 1986
32 people want to read
About the author
William Relling Jr.
26 books1 followerWilliam Edward Relling Jr. (March 15, 1954 – January 22, 2004) was a St. Louis-born horror/mystery writer. He graduated from Lutheran High School North in 1971. He was a member of the Colin Sphinctor Band and in 1978 moved to Los Angeles with the band. When the band broke up, Relling chose to stay in Los Angeles, where he continued writing. Fellow writer Gary A. Braunbeck wrote of Relling's death by suicide in his 2010 book To Each Their Darkness.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 20, 2020
Brujo
By William Relling Jr.
Tor Horror.
1986.
🎃🎃🎃
As far as 80s horror paperbacks go, Brujo is one I see around pretty regularly in used shops. Inexpensive copies pop up very often in book groups I am a part of. It has a very attractive cover, in fact, it's one of my favorite covers.
So, with a seemingly extensive print run and a great looking book, why isn't there much discussion about Relling Jr.'s debut novel?
Relling is actually a very good writer, sitting in a similar class to Laymon as far as delivery goes. It's very straightforward, direct prose that reads like it was written for mass consumption. No high art here, just good old fashion storytelling.
It's very fast paced, constant action going on in the pages. There's tons of crazy animal attacks, lots of pecked out eyes, cats eating babies, pigs bashing people to death, bees taking planes down...you certainly won't be bored with Brujo.
Unfortunately, you won't care about any of the characters. You won't stay engaged because you've read it before. It's another story of an evil Indian spirit's sacred land being desecrated causing havoc. It's another story of a newly divorced single parent thrown right in the middle of it, and of course their kid is inexplicably involved.
It's the lack of true identity, and overt presence of countless cliches that keep Brujo at middling levels and hold it back from superiority.
I will say Relling Jr. never bores, and I will gladly read him again. It's very apparent in Brujo that he can write fantastic action sequences, and his next book, New Moon, seems to be more of an Action novel with horror elements, so it may pan out a bit better.
Anyway, you can do much worse than Brujo, and if you ever see it cheap, grab it. I wouldn't go out of my way for it though.
Brujo
By William Relling Jr.
Tor Horror.
1986.
🎃🎃🎃
As far as 80s horror paperbacks go, Brujo is one I see around pretty regularly in used shops. Inexpensive copies pop up very often in book groups I am a part of. It has a very attractive cover, in fact, it's one of my favorite covers.
So, with a seemingly extensive print run and a great looking book, why isn't there much discussion about Relling Jr.'s debut novel?
Relling is actually a very good writer, sitting in a similar class to Laymon as far as delivery goes. It's very straightforward, direct prose that reads like it was written for mass consumption. No high art here, just good old fashion storytelling.
It's very fast paced, constant action going on in the pages. There's tons of crazy animal attacks, lots of pecked out eyes, cats eating babies, pigs bashing people to death, bees taking planes down...you certainly won't be bored with Brujo.
Unfortunately, you won't care about any of the characters. You won't stay engaged because you've read it before. It's another story of an evil Indian spirit's sacred land being desecrated causing havoc. It's another story of a newly divorced single parent thrown right in the middle of it, and of course their kid is inexplicably involved.
It's the lack of true identity, and overt presence of countless cliches that keep Brujo at middling levels and hold it back from superiority.
I will say Relling Jr. never bores, and I will gladly read him again. It's very apparent in Brujo that he can write fantastic action sequences, and his next book, New Moon, seems to be more of an Action novel with horror elements, so it may pan out a bit better.
Anyway, you can do much worse than Brujo, and if you ever see it cheap, grab it. I wouldn't go out of my way for it though.
March 4, 2021
A very average story that may have seemed better if I hadn't already read the much more interesting and creepy "The Manitou". Very Masterton-Lite.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews