The Fearful

by Keith Gray

In 1699 William Milmullen took his six pupils to the lakeside but only he returned after a creature rose up from the water and devoured the six boys right before his eyes. The whole town was shocked and terrified by the tragedy. Many were now too frightened to go out on the lake to fish, and the town's economy was under threat. William Milmullen recovered from the shock of what he'd seen. He named the creature 'The Mourn', and declared himself 'Mourner'. He took upon himself the responsibility to appease the creature by feeding livestock into the lake and vowed his family would forever be responsible for the safety of the town, and that every Milmullen son would take the mantle of Mourner at the age of 16. This novel is set in the present day, and nobody believes in monsters anymore. These days the town is somewhat embarrassed about its monster stories and to many the Milmullen family is a bit of a joke. The family, however, have held onto their duty, believing that if they forsake the creature it will rise from the lake again. Tim Milmullen turns 16 in a week's time. On his birthday he will become the 13th Mourner. But Tim doesn't know if he wants the role. For one thing all the kids at school tease him, calling his father crazy, saying Old William back in 1699 killed the schoolboys himself and made up the story. And Tim's biggest problem is that he doesn't know if he believes in the legend or not. How can he dedicate his whole life to something he has never seen? The Fearful is a story about Faith, about why some people believe in things they've never seen, and about society's intolerance towards others' beliefs. But at its heart it's a tale of a father and son trying to understand each other's ways.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 1997

About the author

Keith Gray grew up in and around Grimsby and Cleethorpes on the east coast of England and decided he'd better take his writing ambition seriously after achieving 0% in his accountancy exams. His debut, 'Creepers', was published when he was only 24 and was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize. Since then his books have either won or been shortlisted for awards all over the world including the Sankei Cultural Publishing Prize of Japan, the American Library Association Best Books (YA) and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. In the UK his bestselling novel 'Ostrich Boys' was shortlisted for the prestigious CILIP Carnegie Medal, the Costa Children's Book Award and won the Scottish Children's Book Awards, and has been adapted for the stage. Keith has been a reviewer for both the Guardian and Scotsman newspapers. In 2017 he moved to live in Vienna, Austria, with his partner, their daughter and a parrot called Bellamy. Keith is a co-founder of Sunday Writers’ Club.

Reviews

[Amit Sareen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're into monster mysteries, if you've heard about Nessie and any such legends and you enjoy thinking about those, you'll enjoy this book.

This is the first time I picked a Keith Gray book and I'm sure to dig out all his books now. What a gripping novel! It's not just the story, the way it has been written is just superb. The book had me gripped on page 1, and by page 45 (that's when I actually looked at a page number for the first time) I think I had already given 5 stars to it in my mind.

The plot, the storyline, the character portrayal; the emotions, the turmoil in the mind...to believe or not believe... The author has beautifully placed each aspect. Simply loved it.

[Alex Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far more nuanced and ambiguous than I would have expected in a YA novel.

[Samvika · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone into thrills and scares, monsters and mysteries this book is a must-read, it will captivate you and you won't want to put it down. It takes off slowly but speeds up to the point where you need to know what happens next. A book about faith, belief, and courage, Gray puts fear and hope into words. In a world where people are pushed to believe in the unimaginable.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to keep reading, the book had far more potential! Disappointing!

[Lesley Bird · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really struggled to keep reading to the end, had some good parts.

[Harsh Thakkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow in the start, not a book I would recommend to adults, but yeah very well written for teenage readers.
Till the mid way, you won't get real FEEL of the book, but after that, its like a fast flowing river.
You flow with story and emotions expressed btween characters.
Specially father son moments are something that I really enjoyed and read more than once.
End of the book is the best part, but yeah its the end so you gonna miss it when you're done with it.

[Ellie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to force myself to finish this book after picking it up for the third time in an attempt to read it cover to cover - I wish I hadn't.

The novel is badly developed and has a very tedious, repetitive storyline, the main character is seemingly 'one-dimensional' and has very few opinions. He is weakly developed and a boring character to focus the story on, I never grew to like the character and felt myself sighing at his actions from time to time. However, despite this I did enjoy Gray's general writing style I just disliked the plot, characters and storyline.

Throughout the book I felt there was a huge lack of action and plot however I tried to plough through the chapters in hope of a decent ending but there was no such climax and the book ends rather abruptly.

Needless to say, I doubt I will ever pick up this novel to read it again, the synopsis of the book is very deceiving and this is hardly even dwelt on throughout. Overall, I wouldn't recommend the book unless you enjoy reading about under-developed characters who sit at a table eating and then arguing, or stand by a lake gazing into the distance murmuring the same continual thoughts to the reader.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tale of the Loch Ness Monster's secret cousin.
Beautifully written, engrossing and interesting fantasy.
Many issues are dealt with in this novel, from peer pressure and bullying, family matters and friendships, to beliefs and legends. Could seemingly natural disasters actually be caused by a monster?
The characters are realistic and they come alive. You can sympathize with the main character's struggles. Wanting to please his parents, yet wanting to make his own choices and believe what he wants to believe in. Though he did annoy me a bit.
The cover sums it up. Dark with a hint of light. Spooky, creepy, weird and individual

[Angela Randall]

This was one of the books featured at the back of The Spook's Curse, so I'm guessing if you liked that book this one might go down well too.

[Mary Manley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was honestly hoping for somthing more with this book. Its about a boy's discovery of himself and who he is and what he is capable of. I was dissapointed in the ending but understand they all can't have happy endings. This ending was just left without enough for me sad or not.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a okay book. To be honest I had to force myself to finish it. Very boring and a disappointing ending. Wouldn't recommend it.

[Siân · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book for its interesting concepts. It amazes me how one person managed to create an entire belief system and make it so believable. A great quick read.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book surprisingly.

[Lucy Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have given 4 stars if not for the ending!