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Whisper
When Brion's dog, Whisper, is hit by a car, ancient magic from a mysterious stranger seems to cure the pet's wounds--but it also turns the animal into a predator with an insatiable thirst for human blood
- GenresHorror
287 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 6, 2023
Wow, what a start into the fresh year. Brion's dog Whisper is deliberately hit by a red truck and dies of his severe wounds. The boy doesn't want to believe that his beloved pet is dead. Can Eleazar, an old Indian living in the woods bring him back to life? Well, somehow Whisper comes back but he is different now and far from the mild mannered animal he was. What about Yaksha, "the chaos beast has entered the beast". Set in a small town in Vermont this is the perfect tale between Cujo and Pet Semetary. You'll learn a lot about Indian myth and race through the hell of a horror story with a great showdown. What a hidden gem from the golden age of horror. "Even if life is forever, sometimes dead is better". Extremely fine horror novel from an author completely forgotten. Highly recommended!
May 18, 2023
I expected something of a Cujo/Pet Sematary mashup here; some kind of typical pulp knockoff that Pinnacle would publish. And yes, while it is something like that, and van Over even makes this a bit of a homage to those classic King books with numerous easter eggs, Whisper manages to be something quite unique.
The first chapter is a brutal account of animal abuse that sets the tone for the rest of the book. An asshole buys a puppy and shortly thereafter, when the dog kept barking at night, he stuffs some lye in his mouth. Amazingly enough, the dog survived the night and the next day the mailman noticed the poor dog and got it to a vet. A few weeks later, the puppy, healed but scarred, gets adopted by a young boy. The name Whisper comes from the fact that the lye damaged the dog's throat so he can no longer bark, but kinda whispers a growl.
Van Over really moves this story along, and at under 300 pages, makes for a quick, brutal read. Flash forward 8 years or so and the boy, now a teenage, is inseparable from Whisper, who is a lovable, if huge, mutt. Walking home one day along the side of a road, the son's of the asshole who abused the dog go out of their way to hit him with their pickup, and they hit him hard. The boy, Brion, manages to carry the dog home, but he dies. Brion recalls, however, the stories of an old indian living nearby who has healed a lot of animals, and so he takes poor Whisper's body to him, and you can guess some mean foo ensues.
Most of what I wrote above is found on the back blurb for the book, and I will not go into more details to avoid spoilers. While Cujo was scary, it was more suspense than anything else; the same can be said for Pet Semitary. Whisper, however, is definitely more visceral and brutal. Whisper is back from the dead and he is one mean mofo, leaving a trail of destruction. So, yea, a bit of a homage to King, but a much nastier, bloody affair to be sure. 4 mean doggies!
The first chapter is a brutal account of animal abuse that sets the tone for the rest of the book. An asshole buys a puppy and shortly thereafter, when the dog kept barking at night, he stuffs some lye in his mouth. Amazingly enough, the dog survived the night and the next day the mailman noticed the poor dog and got it to a vet. A few weeks later, the puppy, healed but scarred, gets adopted by a young boy. The name Whisper comes from the fact that the lye damaged the dog's throat so he can no longer bark, but kinda whispers a growl.
Van Over really moves this story along, and at under 300 pages, makes for a quick, brutal read. Flash forward 8 years or so and the boy, now a teenage, is inseparable from Whisper, who is a lovable, if huge, mutt. Walking home one day along the side of a road, the son's of the asshole who abused the dog go out of their way to hit him with their pickup, and they hit him hard. The boy, Brion, manages to carry the dog home, but he dies. Brion recalls, however, the stories of an old indian living nearby who has healed a lot of animals, and so he takes poor Whisper's body to him, and you can guess some mean foo ensues.
Most of what I wrote above is found on the back blurb for the book, and I will not go into more details to avoid spoilers. While Cujo was scary, it was more suspense than anything else; the same can be said for Pet Semitary. Whisper, however, is definitely more visceral and brutal. Whisper is back from the dead and he is one mean mofo, leaving a trail of destruction. So, yea, a bit of a homage to King, but a much nastier, bloody affair to be sure. 4 mean doggies!
April 28, 2018
I came into this book figuring that it was going to be a kind of Stephen King rip-off. Boy was I shocked. It was more like the author got going and just threw in equal parts Cujo and Pet Sematary. Well more heavy on the Sematary side. To begin with there is a character named Church. As you know, the cat that died and came back in Pet Sematary was named Church. The animal in this one is a Newfoundland mixed with a Great Pyrenees. At least it's not a St. Bernard. Close though. The owner, which is a teenage boy takes him to a live Native American to bring him back after he dies instead of the old Indian burial ground from you know. Same results though. Whisper, the dog, goes on a killing spree. There are many scenes that remind you of the above mentioned books. The real kicker is the final line in here. Look away if you don't want to know. It reads, "sometimes dead is better." The same exact line as Judd said in Pet Sematary. I can't belive no one told Mr. King. And if they did, why didn't he sue?
Regardless. this was a fun book. It did have a few shreds of originality to it. Like no children were brought back to life. There was a cat grave, but it stayed dead. I was just amazed by this thing. The one part I could do without was the dog sex scene. Calm down, it was with a white wolf or something when the old Indian brings him back. Still, not what I want to be reading. Minus that, and you have a lesson in how to steal a story and make it interesting.
Regardless. this was a fun book. It did have a few shreds of originality to it. Like no children were brought back to life. There was a cat grave, but it stayed dead. I was just amazed by this thing. The one part I could do without was the dog sex scene. Calm down, it was with a white wolf or something when the old Indian brings him back. Still, not what I want to be reading. Minus that, and you have a lesson in how to steal a story and make it interesting.
July 26, 2010
I bought this book from a used book store many years ago. It is about a boy, Brion McKibben, who owns a dog, Whisper, who was abused as a puppy by his previous owner. Whisper becomes a victim of a deliberate hit and run. There is an old Indian living in the backwoods whom the majority of the town's people described as crazy and few swore he had an unholy power to heal. They all agreed to leave him alone. Brion desperately wanting his pet back went to reclusive Algonquin. He comes back, except it wasn't Whisper anymore.
This was my favorite book before I had learned about other great novels. But that doesn't mean this isn't a good read if you give it a chance. I am by no means an expert about books at all. I just know how hard it is for me to really get into stories. Reading this it had me go through many emotions of surprise, sadness, anger, and being relieved. This is a short one with only 287 pages. It was definitely a page turner for me.
This was my favorite book before I had learned about other great novels. But that doesn't mean this isn't a good read if you give it a chance. I am by no means an expert about books at all. I just know how hard it is for me to really get into stories. Reading this it had me go through many emotions of surprise, sadness, anger, and being relieved. This is a short one with only 287 pages. It was definitely a page turner for me.
April 27, 2024
I picked this up at a paperback show for $2 because I needed just one more book to get a volume discount on a purchase. I thought it would be a Cujo knock-off, but I was pleased to see it was published in 1991, ten years after the Stephen King classic. My hopes went up. It could be a different take on the crazed dog chewing up the locals book. It wasn't much of that, though it did take a big dip into the pool from Pet Semetary.
A puppy is horribly abused by its owner (probably the most horrendous chapter to read in the book) and is barely saved by a local vet. The dog is purchased by a young boy that instantly has an attachment to the dog with the (now) terrifying face. Fast forward a few years later and the large dog is BFF with the boy. However, on the way home from school accompanied by the dog, it purposely run over by the previous owner's deviant sons. The boy knows the legends of miracles created by a local Native American that lives in the woods, so he takes Whisper (the dog can't bark properly after the first chapter's abuse) to the shaman who makes no promises. This isn't much of a spoiler as this is only a summary of the first two chapters.
Yep, he brings the dog back, but it's possessed by evil chaos spirits that want to kill every living thing the inhabited Whisper comes upon. From this point on everyone is fair game, and it's pretty gory. The gore didn't move the story forward and came across as only for shock value (and padding of this tale). If a new character appears, you know there going to be ripped apart by Whisper.
The ending is predictable and a letdown. If any reader has any knowledge of other horror stories featuring shamans or wizards, they'll know how this story will end.
My biggest nit was the final sentence, which is the tagline to Pet Semetary. Was this a homage? To that novel or Cujo? Or both? I couldn't tell. All I know is I would tell others to pass on this book and stick to the King's two offerings.
A puppy is horribly abused by its owner (probably the most horrendous chapter to read in the book) and is barely saved by a local vet. The dog is purchased by a young boy that instantly has an attachment to the dog with the (now) terrifying face. Fast forward a few years later and the large dog is BFF with the boy. However, on the way home from school accompanied by the dog, it purposely run over by the previous owner's deviant sons. The boy knows the legends of miracles created by a local Native American that lives in the woods, so he takes Whisper (the dog can't bark properly after the first chapter's abuse) to the shaman who makes no promises. This isn't much of a spoiler as this is only a summary of the first two chapters.
Yep, he brings the dog back, but it's possessed by evil chaos spirits that want to kill every living thing the inhabited Whisper comes upon. From this point on everyone is fair game, and it's pretty gory. The gore didn't move the story forward and came across as only for shock value (and padding of this tale). If a new character appears, you know there going to be ripped apart by Whisper.
The ending is predictable and a letdown. If any reader has any knowledge of other horror stories featuring shamans or wizards, they'll know how this story will end.
My biggest nit was the final sentence, which is the tagline to Pet Semetary. Was this a homage? To that novel or Cujo? Or both? I couldn't tell. All I know is I would tell others to pass on this book and stick to the King's two offerings.
January 23, 2025
This one is a blast from the past. I scour the shelves at used book stores looking for ones like this. It was published in 1991 and has that old book smell. Yippee!
And the story. Yes! It was everything I’d hoped it would be. It started tragically. Brion, a young boy, saw his dog, Whisper, deliberately run over. But Whisper didn’t stay dead. He came back. But different. And deadly.
The cover caught my eye. The synopsis hooked me. The beginning reeled me in. I was wrapped up in it. Then I remembered I was standing in a bookstore. I took my treasure to the counter and made my purchase. I wanted to start reading the moment I got home. I waited. If it was as good as I hoped, I wanted to have the time to read it straight through. Turns out the wait was the right move. I did read it straight through and it was a most satisfying read from beginning to end.
And the story. Yes! It was everything I’d hoped it would be. It started tragically. Brion, a young boy, saw his dog, Whisper, deliberately run over. But Whisper didn’t stay dead. He came back. But different. And deadly.
The cover caught my eye. The synopsis hooked me. The beginning reeled me in. I was wrapped up in it. Then I remembered I was standing in a bookstore. I took my treasure to the counter and made my purchase. I wanted to start reading the moment I got home. I waited. If it was as good as I hoped, I wanted to have the time to read it straight through. Turns out the wait was the right move. I did read it straight through and it was a most satisfying read from beginning to end.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews