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Night, Winter & Death
NIGHT
The town of Yocum Valley is in for the longest, darkest night it has ever known. A night that will make some doubt their sanity, and others fear for their lives. A night when the heinous curse of its tainted ancestry will rise, in the form of a living horror, to seek savage vengeance….
WINTER
The beast will stalk during the coldest, cruelest winter on record, in a place that is frozen, snowbound … and trapped at the mercy of something unspeakable, with a taste for human flesh and a thirst for human blood….
DEATH
It’s waiting in the cold and dark to strike, again and again. And the terrified, disbelieving citizens are about to find themselves under siege—by something partly human partly animal … and completely deadly.
The town of Yocum Valley is in for the longest, darkest night it has ever known. A night that will make some doubt their sanity, and others fear for their lives. A night when the heinous curse of its tainted ancestry will rise, in the form of a living horror, to seek savage vengeance….
WINTER
The beast will stalk during the coldest, cruelest winter on record, in a place that is frozen, snowbound … and trapped at the mercy of something unspeakable, with a taste for human flesh and a thirst for human blood….
DEATH
It’s waiting in the cold and dark to strike, again and again. And the terrified, disbelieving citizens are about to find themselves under siege—by something partly human partly animal … and completely deadly.
- GenresHorrorWerewolves
283 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 14, 1990
9 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 6, 2018
A very good example of the "supernatural evil threatens small town" theme, one of my favorite horror tropes. Even better when the town's buried by a snowstorm and cut off, with the residents all turning on each other until it's pure chaos.
Here's the basic scenario:
A creature with a thirst for human blood is stalking the small mountain village of Yokum Valley, a result of an old curse that's been all but forgotten among the townspeople. Only one teenage kid named Zach suspects the truth, and of course no one believes him, but he must convince the sheriff, his teacher Mona, and a local reclusive horror writer to help him stop the monster before it's too late. As a bonus, it's the most brutal winter in the valley's history when the bodies start piling up.
What puts this novel a notch or two above the scores and scores (and scores) of similar ones from the era is the way author Lee Hawks* keeps the action and tension high throughout, with just enough characterization so you give a crap about what's happening. There's no mystery here. The reader knows who/what the nefarious beast is from the start, but that doesn't detract at all from the story.
Oftentimes with novels of this ilk, my interest will start to wane a little during the latter portions, but not so here. This actually gets more intense as it goes, and the stakes are constantly raised. Having the town snowbound and isolated is a feature that always enhances a horror novel, imo, and it's no different with Night, Winter & Death. Snow just seems to make everything scarier.
It's more fun than frightening for the most part (though there are a few pretty chilling moments), with no-frills, workmanlike prose and a 'Salem's Lot-era King vibe that I dug. But of course I'm predisposed toward liking that sort of thing.
4.0 Stars.
*actually mystery writer Dave Pedneau, who also wrote another horror novel, How Dear the Dawn, under the name Marc Eliot.
Here's the basic scenario:
A creature with a thirst for human blood is stalking the small mountain village of Yokum Valley, a result of an old curse that's been all but forgotten among the townspeople. Only one teenage kid named Zach suspects the truth, and of course no one believes him, but he must convince the sheriff, his teacher Mona, and a local reclusive horror writer to help him stop the monster before it's too late. As a bonus, it's the most brutal winter in the valley's history when the bodies start piling up.
What puts this novel a notch or two above the scores and scores (and scores) of similar ones from the era is the way author Lee Hawks* keeps the action and tension high throughout, with just enough characterization so you give a crap about what's happening. There's no mystery here. The reader knows who/what the nefarious beast is from the start, but that doesn't detract at all from the story.
Oftentimes with novels of this ilk, my interest will start to wane a little during the latter portions, but not so here. This actually gets more intense as it goes, and the stakes are constantly raised. Having the town snowbound and isolated is a feature that always enhances a horror novel, imo, and it's no different with Night, Winter & Death. Snow just seems to make everything scarier.
It's more fun than frightening for the most part (though there are a few pretty chilling moments), with no-frills, workmanlike prose and a 'Salem's Lot-era King vibe that I dug. But of course I'm predisposed toward liking that sort of thing.
4.0 Stars.
*actually mystery writer Dave Pedneau, who also wrote another horror novel, How Dear the Dawn, under the name Marc Eliot.
November 18, 2023
Nice little creature feature from Hawks and worth a read if you like 80s horror and werewolves. Night, Winter & Death takes place in the small, isolated town of Yocum Valley, somewhere in Appalachia on a mountain plateau. In days of yore, early settlers fought the Shawnee there and legend has it that a Shawnee medicine man placed a curse on the settlers. Time moves on and now, circa 1990, Yocum Valley is still plodding along.
Our main protagonist, 17 yo Zach, works on the school newspaper and recently got a gig at the town's newspaper as well. Zach loves journalism and one of his teachers at school, Mona, thinks he may have what it takes to make it. The tale starts off with the chronicle of the last days of Horatio Corley, the eldest resident of the town who would pass away just before his 105th birthday. Hawks has some fun here, with old Horatio being primarily known for passing bad gas loudly and hence, not exactly very endearing. At his sparely attended funeral, Zach hears about the 'curse' when Mrs. Roberts, who lived with Horatio at the Yocum Valley rest home, tells everyone there that Horatio needs to be buried that day because of the curse. (Because the ground is frozen, the funeral director was planning on holding the body until a thaw).
Zach is all fired up about the curse, but no one seems to take it seriously, including his editor at the paper. Zach tries to see the old lady at the home to get her story, but is constantly rebuffed. He does find someone in town, a reclusive author, who tells him about it, but again, no one else seems interested until bodies start piling up...
Hawks gave this plenty of atmosphere as the lonely valley gets hit with a strange, localized blizzard about the same time the phones fail and all that. The trope here is the classic 'small town with a dark secret' and Hawks does a fine job with it, as he does with the creature . Futher, Hawks can write and this speeds along at a nice pace. The denouement did not rock my boat; it felt too abrupt and pat, or I would have rounding this up to 4. As is: 3.5 shifty stars!!
Our main protagonist, 17 yo Zach, works on the school newspaper and recently got a gig at the town's newspaper as well. Zach loves journalism and one of his teachers at school, Mona, thinks he may have what it takes to make it. The tale starts off with the chronicle of the last days of Horatio Corley, the eldest resident of the town who would pass away just before his 105th birthday. Hawks has some fun here, with old Horatio being primarily known for passing bad gas loudly and hence, not exactly very endearing. At his sparely attended funeral, Zach hears about the 'curse' when Mrs. Roberts, who lived with Horatio at the Yocum Valley rest home, tells everyone there that Horatio needs to be buried that day because of the curse. (Because the ground is frozen, the funeral director was planning on holding the body until a thaw).
Zach is all fired up about the curse, but no one seems to take it seriously, including his editor at the paper. Zach tries to see the old lady at the home to get her story, but is constantly rebuffed. He does find someone in town, a reclusive author, who tells him about it, but again, no one else seems interested until bodies start piling up...
Hawks gave this plenty of atmosphere as the lonely valley gets hit with a strange, localized blizzard about the same time the phones fail and all that. The trope here is the classic 'small town with a dark secret' and Hawks does a fine job with it, as he does with the creature . Futher, Hawks can write and this speeds along at a nice pace. The denouement did not rock my boat; it felt too abrupt and pat, or I would have rounding this up to 4. As is: 3.5 shifty stars!!
September 20, 2020
1.5 stars but I’ll be generous because the author, Dave Pedneau (Hawks was one of his several pseudonyms) can write, does a very good job of setting up his small-town tale and a mysterious curse. Characters, dialogue, pacing are fine... but the story begins to meander on and on and on and the “werewolf” angle could’ve been much stronger for a horror novel. Disappointing indeed but has some acceptable qualities as noted.
November 6, 2019
2.5 stars.
Serviceable but shallow horror story that wouldn't have lost anything by being half as long. The author also seems to have an obsession with people pissing themselves. When people aren't pissing themselves (and it seriously happens four or five times) then they are thinking about trying not to piss themselves. It gets very distracting.
Serviceable but shallow horror story that wouldn't have lost anything by being half as long. The author also seems to have an obsession with people pissing themselves. When people aren't pissing themselves (and it seriously happens four or five times) then they are thinking about trying not to piss themselves. It gets very distracting.
April 5, 2020
Not A Romantic Werewolf!
If you like those love sick romantic type of werewolves, then this book is not for you. This book is the kind of old school, creature feature type of werewolf horror. The kind that’s scary and horrific! Like a werewolf story is supposed to be. Also, another thing I liked about this book is that it is not a series. Too many times I buy a book to read and I have to buy the next few books for closure! With this book, you won’t have to. A five star horror!
If you like those love sick romantic type of werewolves, then this book is not for you. This book is the kind of old school, creature feature type of werewolf horror. The kind that’s scary and horrific! Like a werewolf story is supposed to be. Also, another thing I liked about this book is that it is not a series. Too many times I buy a book to read and I have to buy the next few books for closure! With this book, you won’t have to. A five star horror!
September 21, 2019
Perfect example of old school werewolves. Loved the execution.
September 2, 2020
A great horror novel that manages the balancing act between creature feature and hard hitting horror.
December 10, 2018
It all starts when a man dies! An elderly lady tells everyone that unless he is buried properly right away, the curse will awaken. Nobody listens because the ground is too hard, and they call her a kook. But when Ernie is doing his rounds, he encounters the curse and nothing is ever the same for him again!
I thoroughly enjoyed the plot! It starts out slowly, but the tension builds continuously until the curse takes effect and then it ramps up even more. I enjoyed the take on the werewolf and how the curse takes effect, it was a nice twist. The characters were all well written and developed. It was easy to connect with them and become invested in their tale.
In all, this was an unexpectedly good read! I wasn't too sure what to expect, but what I got was a great werewolf read. I look forward to more from this author.
This seems to be Jon Oaks' first narration and he did really well. He was clear, easy to follow and read this well. I did find his voices for certain characters were very similar, but since it's his first time, I'm impressed with how good he did.
I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.
I thoroughly enjoyed the plot! It starts out slowly, but the tension builds continuously until the curse takes effect and then it ramps up even more. I enjoyed the take on the werewolf and how the curse takes effect, it was a nice twist. The characters were all well written and developed. It was easy to connect with them and become invested in their tale.
In all, this was an unexpectedly good read! I wasn't too sure what to expect, but what I got was a great werewolf read. I look forward to more from this author.
This seems to be Jon Oaks' first narration and he did really well. He was clear, easy to follow and read this well. I did find his voices for certain characters were very similar, but since it's his first time, I'm impressed with how good he did.
I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.
January 19, 2019
Audible:Loved it! A perfect old fashioned monster book!Written in the 1990's,this book is before cell phones or computers.It is when you had to trudge through snow to ask questions about the possibility of shape shifters.I loved all the reminders of the age.Jon Oak was perfect as narrator. I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.
July 17, 2023
This book would have easily been a 4 or 5 star read for me if not for one glaring issue - cringy misogynistic writing.
It was going great until it introduces the main female character, Mona, in a shower scene and spends a whole page describing her 'ample breasts', 'dark nipples' and 'crevice of her womanhood' (vomits) for no reason, and then flippantly moves onto describing how her family died tragically the next page. If I'm reminiscing about my dead family I'm not going to be thinking about how the water is cascading down my boobs.
The book goes on to be very good in all other aspects - likeable cast of characters, incredible atmosphere, well-built tension in the spookier scenes. I'm a fan of werewolf media and the werewolf in this book is definitely an interesting one, especially since I also like how it showed another aspect of horror in the situation, in how panic can quickly bring chaos and bring out the worst in people. I was very engrossed in the writing when it wasn't having one of its ick moments.
But sometimes there will be a scene with a woman and the issue rears its head again. A woman discovered naked, bleeding and injured and the cop's first response is to whistle and call her a 'looker'. A girl being mauled to death and we have to hear about her 'pale flaccid nipple' while it happens. Multiple sexual assault scenes towards women. It gives the impression of them just being sex objects rather than people, which is especially an injustice to Mona as she's a really cool character otherwise.
Overall, a good story with some great moments but incredibly frustrating to read as a woman.
It was going great until it introduces the main female character, Mona, in a shower scene and spends a whole page describing her 'ample breasts', 'dark nipples' and 'crevice of her womanhood' (vomits) for no reason, and then flippantly moves onto describing how her family died tragically the next page. If I'm reminiscing about my dead family I'm not going to be thinking about how the water is cascading down my boobs.
The book goes on to be very good in all other aspects - likeable cast of characters, incredible atmosphere, well-built tension in the spookier scenes. I'm a fan of werewolf media and the werewolf in this book is definitely an interesting one, especially since I also like how it showed another aspect of horror in the situation, in how panic can quickly bring chaos and bring out the worst in people. I was very engrossed in the writing when it wasn't having one of its ick moments.
But sometimes there will be a scene with a woman and the issue rears its head again. A woman discovered naked, bleeding and injured and the cop's first response is to whistle and call her a 'looker'. A girl being mauled to death and we have to hear about her 'pale flaccid nipple' while it happens. Multiple sexual assault scenes towards women. It gives the impression of them just being sex objects rather than people, which is especially an injustice to Mona as she's a really cool character otherwise.
Overall, a good story with some great moments but incredibly frustrating to read as a woman.
May 17, 2021
The plot of the book read like a B horror movie, it goes about as one would expect. Aside from the convoluted method of the creation the werewolf doesn't function too differently- even though the others are done through the typical method but seem to change faster. The characters themselves are rather one dimensional: the protagonist, the female lead, cop, tragic werewolf, and writer/love interest- who is totally not gay (actual plot point), horny old lady and creep the mayor (who is honestly more disturbing than the werewolf). However, I do have to admit the bond between Mona and the werewolf was well done and ultimately made the end have some tragic weight to it.
This book was written in 1990 and it shows at points.
Also there is a lot of character peeing themselves, it happens 4/5 times. The first few pages involve how bad an old man's farts smelled. Two fake outs with a dog. I swear the werewolf's color changes halfway through. Hilariously the female lead, Mona, is introduced in a shower scene- and the next page goes into how she lost her mom, fiancé, on her graduation day, emotional whiplash.
If you are sensitive to sexual abuse, look elsewhere the finale is bad. The female lead is assaulted twice (two different scenes, the just prior mention finale and one before that). Also a weird one with one of the werewolves' victims.
This book was written in 1990 and it shows at points.
Also there is a lot of character peeing themselves, it happens 4/5 times. The first few pages involve how bad an old man's farts smelled. Two fake outs with a dog. I swear the werewolf's color changes halfway through. Hilariously the female lead, Mona, is introduced in a shower scene- and the next page goes into how she lost her mom, fiancé, on her graduation day, emotional whiplash.
If you are sensitive to sexual abuse, look elsewhere the finale is bad. The female lead is assaulted twice (two different scenes, the just prior mention finale and one before that). Also a weird one with one of the werewolves' victims.
April 22, 2023
'Night, Winter and Death' by Lee Hawks, a pseudonym of Dave Pedneau. The book was written in 1990 and is set in a small town, ravaged by heavy snowfall. The book starts with the funeral of the town's oldest resident and one of the funeral's attendees starts about an old curse. No one really takes the old lady seriously - she's been talking about the curse for ages - apart from young high school student Zach, who has a part-time job at the local newspaper. It soon becomes clear that people should've believed the old lady... The story had a great set-up: small town, winter atmosphere, interesting curse and set in the early 90s (bit of nostalgia there 😁). Unfortunately, it didn't entirely work out for me. Many details about the curse are left vague, certain characters don't really work and the dialogue isn't exactly fitting at times. The creepy, almost suffocating atmosphere a winter/blizzard setting can create, didn't really come out here. The ending felt rushed and a bit anticlimactic. It wasn't a bad novel, not at all, but it could've been so much more.
February 20, 2021
Good werewolf horror
I had no idea what to expect buying this kindle edition but i read a review in an other place, a Facebook group i think and it got me curious as i love werewolf horrors and by that i mean the real stuff, not the romantic garbage. And this book didn't disappoint me, it is the real stuff with blood and gore and genuine horror like a werewolf novel should be. The story takes place in a small community and the werewolf origin is based on indian lore and a local curse that works very well. It's among the better in the genre i've read and my only complaint is the ending, it happend so fast and felt rushed and to easy but let not that stop you from having a good time, i recommend it to any fans of monsters and werewolfs
I had no idea what to expect buying this kindle edition but i read a review in an other place, a Facebook group i think and it got me curious as i love werewolf horrors and by that i mean the real stuff, not the romantic garbage. And this book didn't disappoint me, it is the real stuff with blood and gore and genuine horror like a werewolf novel should be. The story takes place in a small community and the werewolf origin is based on indian lore and a local curse that works very well. It's among the better in the genre i've read and my only complaint is the ending, it happend so fast and felt rushed and to easy but let not that stop you from having a good time, i recommend it to any fans of monsters and werewolfs
December 5, 2024
A very solid, competently written werewolf horror novel. Lee Hawks, a pseudonym for Dave Pednau, puts enough original spins on werewolf lore to make this a very entertaining read, even for jaded horror fans. He also a talented writer, with a great sense of pacing and atmosphere to go along with very well written gore and mayhem. If I could criticize one thing, one character, the evil mayor, is a little melodramatic, not quite Snidely Whiplash, but his broad characterization stands out, as all the other characters are pretty believable. Hawks delivers in 283 pages what a less talented author of the paperback horror boom of the 1980s/early 90s would have stuffed with padding for probably closer to 400 pages. Nicely done!
November 4, 2024
Needful Things, but with werewolves.
If you’ve read Needful Things you’ll understand the comparison as the story progresses. And it does a great job of progressing the story at the perfect pace. I picked this book out a long time ago and just now got to reading it and did so in 2 sittings because I couldn’t put it down. I prefer a good werewolf horror over the whole pack and secret society story arcs and this delivered beautifully. But there was just as much human evil and horror as there was supernatural. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a reason to turn around when you hear a sound when you’re outside alone in the middle of the night…
If you’ve read Needful Things you’ll understand the comparison as the story progresses. And it does a great job of progressing the story at the perfect pace. I picked this book out a long time ago and just now got to reading it and did so in 2 sittings because I couldn’t put it down. I prefer a good werewolf horror over the whole pack and secret society story arcs and this delivered beautifully. But there was just as much human evil and horror as there was supernatural. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a reason to turn around when you hear a sound when you’re outside alone in the middle of the night…
January 8, 2025
Different take on the werewolf genre.
Word of warning: not for those who are faint of heart or easily triggered.
Very interesting take on the werewolf genre and a good read. Sadly, quite a few mistakes keep it from getting 5 stars. Seemed too jumbled and jumped around a lot in some places, which made it hard to keep focus from time to time. But all in all, well worth reading. A couple of the characters seemed a bit much and could have been taken out without any change to the story. But definitely one that makes you think "what if..." For those who love horror, suspense, and werewolves, definitely worth reading at least once.
Word of warning: not for those who are faint of heart or easily triggered.
Very interesting take on the werewolf genre and a good read. Sadly, quite a few mistakes keep it from getting 5 stars. Seemed too jumbled and jumped around a lot in some places, which made it hard to keep focus from time to time. But all in all, well worth reading. A couple of the characters seemed a bit much and could have been taken out without any change to the story. But definitely one that makes you think "what if..." For those who love horror, suspense, and werewolves, definitely worth reading at least once.
February 14, 2022
Format: audiobook
Narrator: Jon Oak
I found the beginning to be a little slow as the writer sets the scene for the curse but that’s probably because I was eager to get to the horror and havoc that this original style werewolf would wreak.
The writer does a good job of portraying how isolated the town is and the hysteria that can lead to vigilante chaos. Overall this was a very enjoyable horror.
I love the narrator’s voice for this story, I found his delivery to be excellent and his voice well suited to the theme.
Narrator: Jon Oak
I found the beginning to be a little slow as the writer sets the scene for the curse but that’s probably because I was eager to get to the horror and havoc that this original style werewolf would wreak.
The writer does a good job of portraying how isolated the town is and the hysteria that can lead to vigilante chaos. Overall this was a very enjoyable horror.
I love the narrator’s voice for this story, I found his delivery to be excellent and his voice well suited to the theme.
April 7, 2020
If you love a great werewolf story, read this!
I loved it! Of course, I love creature/horror books so this was perfect for me. I loved the characters both good and bad because they seemed real to me. From beginning to end, this story made me want to keep reading. I hope this author has more books in the works.
I loved it! Of course, I love creature/horror books so this was perfect for me. I loved the characters both good and bad because they seemed real to me. From beginning to end, this story made me want to keep reading. I hope this author has more books in the works.
October 6, 2019
When the oldest resident in a small town dies a curse is unleashed
I’m a sucker for classic horror and this is one of the better ones
A well narrated werewolf tale that stands the test of time highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
I’m a sucker for classic horror and this is one of the better ones
A well narrated werewolf tale that stands the test of time highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
November 8, 2019
Very Stephen King-ish. I enjoyed it.
March 8, 2020
Badass classic werewolf action. Terrific.
January 6, 2020
It was a fun book and reminiscent of horror films of the 80s.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews