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The Gorge
With men and bloodhounds in pursuit, distraught woodsman Nathan Mires, flees into the rugged wilderness of southern Appalachia seeking the sanctuary of an isolated gorge, deep within the Blue Ridge Mountains. But soon after arriving in the gorge, he discovers his problems have only just begun. Haunted by an unspeakable evil, Mires accepts his fate. He’ll never leave this mountain alive…
262 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 15, 2011
35 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Jason L. McPherson
2 books6 followersA writer of Appalachian-themed thriller and horror novels, Jason lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Carolina's with his wife and four children. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys the culture and the many fascinating stories that abound in the Appalachian region.
His stories are born while gazing at the stars by a campfire, listening to the gurgling water of the Chattooga River, hunting in the wilds of the Pisgah National Forest and his many lone camping trips in the Appalachian Mountains he calls home.
Back porch storytelling is a time-honored tradition in the Blue Ridge Mountains and he hopes to pass that tradition along to his readers…one horrifying tale at a time.
His stories are born while gazing at the stars by a campfire, listening to the gurgling water of the Chattooga River, hunting in the wilds of the Pisgah National Forest and his many lone camping trips in the Appalachian Mountains he calls home.
Back porch storytelling is a time-honored tradition in the Blue Ridge Mountains and he hopes to pass that tradition along to his readers…one horrifying tale at a time.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 23, 2012
Review of The Gorge by J. L. McPherson
Review requested by author via Mallory Heart Reviews FB Page
What an electrifying, vividly scenic, Supernatural thriller! I truly raced through this book in one sitting. I loved the background, the Supernatural elements (all of them), the good character delineation, and the way in which author J. L. McPherson has manipulated a multiple-plot thread story without once losing control of what he is attempting. The novel begins with the tribulations of Nathan Mires of Western North Carolina, but although Nathan is an important person throughout the plot, he is not the only one, nor is he the central character. Instead, the story centers around a locale, Weeping Rock Gorge in the Pisgah National Forest of the Southern Appalachians, still a wild and isolated location, despite the rampant overdevelopment of the past 80 years. It is around that Gorge and its existence and those “tools” through which it works-both otherworldly and human-that the plot lines of this story revolve and evolve. The ending was so incredible that I wish I could mention it, but for the sake of the avid readers to come, I shall not explain it.
“The Gorge” is graphically violent, but in the context of this novel as Horror and Supernatural, I did not consider the violence overdone or unnecessary (although I did grit my teeth on a couple of occasions). Rather, what happens here makes sense in the context of the novel. I will, however, rate it 18+ due to the violence and some situations.
The author provided a copy of this book in return for my fair, honest, and impartial review.
Review requested by author via Mallory Heart Reviews FB Page
What an electrifying, vividly scenic, Supernatural thriller! I truly raced through this book in one sitting. I loved the background, the Supernatural elements (all of them), the good character delineation, and the way in which author J. L. McPherson has manipulated a multiple-plot thread story without once losing control of what he is attempting. The novel begins with the tribulations of Nathan Mires of Western North Carolina, but although Nathan is an important person throughout the plot, he is not the only one, nor is he the central character. Instead, the story centers around a locale, Weeping Rock Gorge in the Pisgah National Forest of the Southern Appalachians, still a wild and isolated location, despite the rampant overdevelopment of the past 80 years. It is around that Gorge and its existence and those “tools” through which it works-both otherworldly and human-that the plot lines of this story revolve and evolve. The ending was so incredible that I wish I could mention it, but for the sake of the avid readers to come, I shall not explain it.
“The Gorge” is graphically violent, but in the context of this novel as Horror and Supernatural, I did not consider the violence overdone or unnecessary (although I did grit my teeth on a couple of occasions). Rather, what happens here makes sense in the context of the novel. I will, however, rate it 18+ due to the violence and some situations.
The author provided a copy of this book in return for my fair, honest, and impartial review.
Read
December 18, 2013Action-packed with a surreal, almost hallucinatory quality and very vivid descriptions of the Appalachian setting.
June 26, 2014
One of my favourite things about The Gorge is the setting. What an epic location for a creepy story involving dark voices, a charismatic cult leader and the ghosts of a long dead Indian tribe. The vast wilderness of The Blue Ridge mountains, expertly described by the author, lends itself to a wild, creepy story, both violent and scary in equal measure, but never predictable.
Nathan Mires is comfortable in and knows the mountains well, it is the obvious place to flee when voices in his head cause him to go on a murderous rampage, but the voices know the mountains very well too and tighten their grip on him, using him as a physical force to defend their sacred grounds against any they deem as unwanted intruders. Nathan is powerless against them and succumbs to their will, killing more. The story could have followed a predictable path here, with a background of Native American spirits in a wild and lonely environment, but new storylines and layers are added to an already thrilling creepfest. A pastor with a devoted following stirs up trouble in the local town, setting his flock on a collision course with Mires and a far darker evil than even a cult leader with a god complex can comprehend.
Nathan Mires is comfortable in and knows the mountains well, it is the obvious place to flee when voices in his head cause him to go on a murderous rampage, but the voices know the mountains very well too and tighten their grip on him, using him as a physical force to defend their sacred grounds against any they deem as unwanted intruders. Nathan is powerless against them and succumbs to their will, killing more. The story could have followed a predictable path here, with a background of Native American spirits in a wild and lonely environment, but new storylines and layers are added to an already thrilling creepfest. A pastor with a devoted following stirs up trouble in the local town, setting his flock on a collision course with Mires and a far darker evil than even a cult leader with a god complex can comprehend.
Read
December 14, 2015Supernatural Thriller
Cults, cannibals, bodies piling up. Pretty good story about people possess by an ancient curse in southern Appalachian backwoods. Lots of action.
Cults, cannibals, bodies piling up. Pretty good story about people possess by an ancient curse in southern Appalachian backwoods. Lots of action.
July 25, 2018
The Gorge
This OUTSTANDING BOOK is one you will not soon forget. It starts with A INDIAN LEGEND and takes you through it and gives you a a look at EVIL THAT NEVER DIES. Strong characters and we'll written I read it in one sitting.I TOTALLY RECOMMEND IT. You will not be DISAPPOINTED.
This OUTSTANDING BOOK is one you will not soon forget. It starts with A INDIAN LEGEND and takes you through it and gives you a a look at EVIL THAT NEVER DIES. Strong characters and we'll written I read it in one sitting.I TOTALLY RECOMMEND IT. You will not be DISAPPOINTED.
July 29, 2018
Good book
Very interesting book has a little bit of everything in it.I would recommend it didn't take long i read it in one day gives you more time to read more books. I would read more of his books
Very interesting book has a little bit of everything in it.I would recommend it didn't take long i read it in one day gives you more time to read more books. I would read more of his books
August 31, 2019
This was a decent one-time-read. It didn't blow my mind or anything, but I did like the overall concept and story. (God help me for saying this about a book) I think it would make a great movie.
That's really all I have to say about it. Take that as you will.
That's really all I have to say about it. Take that as you will.
January 9, 2020
This was better than I had expected...
March 16, 2017
Sorry to the author, but I didn't
like the story.
like the story.
March 12, 2017
Mystery, suspense and supernatural
I enjoyed the concept of this story, not vampires or werewolves or the other typical monsters. This was filled with human monsters who had a kickstart to crazy by some Native American hoodoo. It was almost a series of stories/events that could have been complete short stories, but the ending brought them together. I thought the transitions between sections could have been smoother, but overall I would recommend this to my friends.
I enjoyed the concept of this story, not vampires or werewolves or the other typical monsters. This was filled with human monsters who had a kickstart to crazy by some Native American hoodoo. It was almost a series of stories/events that could have been complete short stories, but the ending brought them together. I thought the transitions between sections could have been smoother, but overall I would recommend this to my friends.
February 14, 2012
This was a very strange book but I found I couldn't put it down. This is a twisted story of cults, ghost Indian tribes, Cherokee Shaman, evil possession, cannabalism and more. The end left you hanging with a number of questions, at least that's the way I felt, but it wasn't the worst book I've ever read and so much was going on that I felt compelled to finish it. This book is not for everyone.
December 30, 2011
An okay story and not badly written but the typos were so numerous that I had to stop frequently to figure out what the author meant. I sincerely wonder if the author re-read the book before it was published, or if anyone at all read it before it was published. Actually, I would not recommend anyone read it because of the errors.
January 2, 2012
If I didn't have such a hard time leaving books unfinished, I probably would have put this one down. It certainly was action-packed, but not one bit of it was believable. Only one of the characters was remotely likeable, and holy cow could the book have used an editor, or even a proofreader. Add an abrupt, anticlimactic ending, and you've got a solid 2-star book.
October 19, 2012
The Gorge is a dark, fantastic tale set in the splendor of the
Appalachian Mountains. Mr. McPherson weaves together storylines
against a backdrop so rich and textural, that the reader is drawn in and
witnesses the story unfold along with the characters. The Gorge is
quite original and well structured. A very entertaining read.
Appalachian Mountains. Mr. McPherson weaves together storylines
against a backdrop so rich and textural, that the reader is drawn in and
witnesses the story unfold along with the characters. The Gorge is
quite original and well structured. A very entertaining read.
May 16, 2012
I don't like to trash other peoples hard work but this was bad. I couldn't even finish it. I stopped six chapters in but should have stopped after two. The story line was almost impossible to follow and just didn't make sense to me.
February 15, 2012
strange, unbelievable story, which sort of made it intriguing
February 29, 2012
Not a bad story. It left me a little short in parts of it, but overall, it was a good story. If you like reading things about the Apalachian people, you might like this book.
November 13, 2015
Creepy story!
June 18, 2016
Wow!
That was a book to read! A crazy twisting story line that ran full speed until the last line. The best book I've read in a while. A totally unexpected plot. Wow!
That was a book to read! A crazy twisting story line that ran full speed until the last line. The best book I've read in a while. A totally unexpected plot. Wow!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews