Eel River

by Shannon Page

Strange things begin happening on the back-to-the-land commune. Yet the adults, busy grooving out with easy drugs and free love, shrug off each tragedy.

Only the ten-year-old Princess understands what’s really going on. A dark presence has emerged on the Land, and it seems that it speaks to her. Can she hold onto her tenuous influence over the presence long enough to save her family?

Genres: Horror

ebook

First published December 19, 2013

About the author

Shannon Page was born on Halloween night and raised without television on a back-to-the-land commune in California. Her work has appeared in Clarkesworld, Interzone, Fantasy, Black Static, Tor.com, and many anthologies. Books include Eel River; the collection Eastlick and Other Stories; Our Lady of the Islands, co-written with the late Jay Lake and named one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2014, and the collaboration Orcas Intrigue (under the pen name Laura Gayle). Her many editing credits include the essay collection The Usual Path to Publication and the anthology Witches, Stitches & Bitches. Shannon is a longtime yoga practitioner, has no tattoos, is an avid gardener, and has recently relocated with her husband, the artist and writer Mark J. Ferrari, to Orcas Island, Washington. Visit her at www.shannonpage.net.

Reviews

[Lisa Eckstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes place in a northern California hippie community during the early 1970s. The author drew from her own childhood in choosing this setting, but the novel she created is a creepy, disturbing horror tale.

The story comes at us from the perspectives of the ten-year-old Princess, the Mom, and the Dad. The characters are never referred to by any names other than these, which suggests a fairy tale quality that is nicely subverted as events become both more earthy and more unearthly. Something evil is happening on the Land, and the Princess understands that this time it's not make-believe. Her parents are preoccupied with the practicalities of starting a community, and they'd just as soon leave their dreamy, independent daughter to her own devices.

The shifting points of view are used to great effect to build a huge amount of suspense and dread. I'm not normally a horror reader, and I appreciated that the scariness in this story was mostly of a subtler nature, mixed in with some well-placed humor. It's definitely a creepy book, but probably not terrifying to most, and I'd recommend it to others interested in giving horror a try.

[Kenneth Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eel River refuses to be easily classified. It is that unique and interesting. I'm struggling to find the words to explain how much I enjoyed this book without giving away any details. As the first published novel of a writer who's been steadily making herself known in the anthology world, Eel River is tasked with the all too crucial job of telling a good story while showcasing the potential of the author. In both regards, it succeeds. I was hooked from the beginning and read the whole book in no time because I couldn't stop reading.

Eel River is destined to be timeless by avoiding the pitfalls of bogging the story down with unneeded details while maintaining the essence of the story and its characters. It also excels at being a horror story that is just the right amount of creepiness and mystery to be interesting and exciting without being extreme. One last word of praise that I have for this book: the writer exhibits her knowledge of the hippy life with a certain level of objectivity that is impressive by showing the negative as well as the positive aspects of choosing such a way of living.

[Melani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic horror subplot of new people coming to untouched land and finding an ancient evil. What makes it different is the setting, a hippy commune in northern CA. Knowing the author grew up in a similar situation it almost reads like a revenge story where she kills the people she grew up with.

I had a hard time liking any of the characters as the adults are so clueless as to be stupid and you can see the problems said cluelessness causes even without the supernatural element. Interesting story, and I'm glad it didn't glamorize life on a commune.

[Cliff Winnig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book in two days. I really connected to the characters and cared about their fates. The plot unfolded beautifully, so I always wanted to know what happened next, right up to the end. The setting is particularly vivid, quite evocative of time, place, and the hippy subculture.