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Fiends
THE LUNATIC, THE ARTIST, HIS VISION AND HER POWER
The world thought he was just one more crazy old man - and much of the time Arne Horsfall hoped they were right. All his adult life, he'd been stuck in a Tennessee mental hospital, unable to speak about the events he had witnessed as a child in 1906, events which had led to the overnight disappearance of the entire population of his village, Dante's Mill. Only furiously drawn sketches of an ominous hairless woman with blazing eyes offered any hint of what he had seen.
But now, Arne's drawings are gaining him some local fame, and he is released into the community, in the hope that he can live out his remaining years in peace.
A vain hope...
It is the trigger which will once again resurrect the lurking evil that has plagued his life. An evil that threatens a destruction so terrifying it makes his childhood horrors seem harmless...
The world thought he was just one more crazy old man - and much of the time Arne Horsfall hoped they were right. All his adult life, he'd been stuck in a Tennessee mental hospital, unable to speak about the events he had witnessed as a child in 1906, events which had led to the overnight disappearance of the entire population of his village, Dante's Mill. Only furiously drawn sketches of an ominous hairless woman with blazing eyes offered any hint of what he had seen.
But now, Arne's drawings are gaining him some local fame, and he is released into the community, in the hope that he can live out his remaining years in peace.
A vain hope...
It is the trigger which will once again resurrect the lurking evil that has plagued his life. An evil that threatens a destruction so terrifying it makes his childhood horrors seem harmless...
430 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
27 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
About the author
John Farris
85 books165 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
December 13, 2023
Pronto reseña.
Pues qué buen ratito he pasado, no esperaba nada y fíjate por donde que la he disfrutado.
Eso sí, la buena traducción del principio se va diluyendo😅😅. Una historia de terror con elementos fantásticos, momentos muy sangrientos, a veces socarrona y con un halo de sexo.
Pues qué buen ratito he pasado, no esperaba nada y fíjate por donde que la he disfrutado.
Eso sí, la buena traducción del principio se va diluyendo😅😅. Una historia de terror con elementos fantásticos, momentos muy sangrientos, a veces socarrona y con un halo de sexo.
November 1, 2022
Southern horror novel from the author of All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By. Farris at his best is one of the most underrated and underappreciated horror authors in the genre. Sadly Fiends isn't one of his best.
A fairy tale horror with an interesting mythology and creative violence that too often takes a back seat to slow characterisation. This wouldn't be bad if the characters were interesting...but. Yeah. They're not.
A lot of the novel has the characters walking in circles and talking in circles rehashing the same conversations and thoughts they've already had, waiting for the monsters to turn their flesh into high fashion.
Eh. There's some good elements here but it's a slog. 4.5/10
Part of my big, yucky, Halloween review round up:
www.patreon.com/posts/74021554
A fairy tale horror with an interesting mythology and creative violence that too often takes a back seat to slow characterisation. This wouldn't be bad if the characters were interesting...but. Yeah. They're not.
A lot of the novel has the characters walking in circles and talking in circles rehashing the same conversations and thoughts they've already had, waiting for the monsters to turn their flesh into high fashion.
Eh. There's some good elements here but it's a slog. 4.5/10
Part of my big, yucky, Halloween review round up:
www.patreon.com/posts/74021554
August 20, 2022
Pues nada mal por aquí; muy entretenido, muy limpito y muy bien todo.
January 15, 2008
Perhaps I was expecting a different kind of book...something a little more apocalyptic.
The characters are well written, however some are a little one dimensional. To be fair, the one dimensional characters are supporting characters. However, I felt that the Enid Walker character could have been fleshed out a little better.
The creatures central to the story, The Huldufolk, are intriguing and definitely the only truly original aspect of the book.
The non-linear story telling was handled well but it seemed to be abandoned quickly in the second half of the book.
Basically, the book starts out promising. I thought it would be similar to "Salem's Lot" or "They Thirst" (two better books than this one). However, it quickly turns into a "Slasher flick" kind of story only you have the Huldufolk instead of Jason or Freddy...as well as a much lower body count.
If you want a "TRUE" synopsis, it's this: A bunch of teenagers go exploring caves in a state park and get attacked by Huldufolk, who are kind of like vampires, only they steal skin instead of blood. The predictable stuff happens and the book ends. It's not bad for a quick read but don't expect to be blown away.
The characters are well written, however some are a little one dimensional. To be fair, the one dimensional characters are supporting characters. However, I felt that the Enid Walker character could have been fleshed out a little better.
The creatures central to the story, The Huldufolk, are intriguing and definitely the only truly original aspect of the book.
The non-linear story telling was handled well but it seemed to be abandoned quickly in the second half of the book.
Basically, the book starts out promising. I thought it would be similar to "Salem's Lot" or "They Thirst" (two better books than this one). However, it quickly turns into a "Slasher flick" kind of story only you have the Huldufolk instead of Jason or Freddy...as well as a much lower body count.
If you want a "TRUE" synopsis, it's this: A bunch of teenagers go exploring caves in a state park and get attacked by Huldufolk, who are kind of like vampires, only they steal skin instead of blood. The predictable stuff happens and the book ends. It's not bad for a quick read but don't expect to be blown away.
November 8, 2021
The "huldufolk" of the book are a truly scary creation and they are actual folk creatures from Iceland. The best parts of the book are set in the past, after the "folk" are accidentally set loose and take over a remote farming village. There are some great scares and a true atmosphere of evil and foreboding--the sort of thing Mr. Farris does so well in his books. Scenes set in the modern day (well, the '70s) aren't quite as effective, but all in all, this is one great book and is certainly well worth the effort it might take to track down a used copy. One of Mr. Farris' best books, along with All Heads Turn as the Hunt Goes By and Wildwood.
February 8, 2018
An excellent horror novel. Farris' writing is very strong. This is the first book I've read by him and I'm excited to read more of his work. This was pretty much a stellar big fat horror novel from the late 80s. Farris created something quite original here. Highly recommended for horror fans.
January 8, 2022
This book is not very good. In fact it’s pretty terrible.
I know there are Farris fans out there and that’s fine, but if all of his novels are like this, I’m left scratching my head as to why there are those who continue to read his stuff and talk about how great he is.
Fiends could but good, don’t get me wrong. There are a couple of cool concepts and Farris is actually halfway decent at writing characters and their backstories (even if all the players in this novel have zero distinguishing attributes to make them likable). And Ferris’s take on vampires is at least mostly original.
The issue is that, aside from taking almost 200 pages for anything even remotely interesting to happen, when it does happen, it’s weirdly written and relies too much on violence and gore to tell the story. This is horror so of course there will be blood and guts, however using that to move your story forward, instead of action packed prose, just muddles down the shock factor and becomes way too predictable.
I wanted to like Fiends, but I just can’t get myself to find anything to make it out of the one-Star category…which doesn’t bode well for me since I own like 5 Farris novels.
I know there are Farris fans out there and that’s fine, but if all of his novels are like this, I’m left scratching my head as to why there are those who continue to read his stuff and talk about how great he is.
Fiends could but good, don’t get me wrong. There are a couple of cool concepts and Farris is actually halfway decent at writing characters and their backstories (even if all the players in this novel have zero distinguishing attributes to make them likable). And Ferris’s take on vampires is at least mostly original.
The issue is that, aside from taking almost 200 pages for anything even remotely interesting to happen, when it does happen, it’s weirdly written and relies too much on violence and gore to tell the story. This is horror so of course there will be blood and guts, however using that to move your story forward, instead of action packed prose, just muddles down the shock factor and becomes way too predictable.
I wanted to like Fiends, but I just can’t get myself to find anything to make it out of the one-Star category…which doesn’t bode well for me since I own like 5 Farris novels.
September 29, 2024
Fiends is John Farris’s take on vampirism, and it’s definitely a unique one. Instead of rewriting Salem’s Lot with your typical bloodsuckers, Farris gives us a Southern Gothic spin that borrows from the Icelandic legend of huldefolks that ties fairies and elves hiding in caves with Adam and Eve, using the biblical line of - Eve hid her dirty, unwashed children from God, and lied about their existence. God then declared: “What man hides from God, God will hide from man.”
Farris takes this legend to create undead vampire-like creatures and plops them in the underground caves of rural Tennessee. Bouncing back and forth from 1906 to 1970, Farris slowly unfurls a tale of mystery and evil in his slow-burn style that attempts to keep you guessing where the story is headed. But even with a sanitarium, a cave entrance behind a waterfall, vines with magical properties, and a pair of sassy sisters full of piss and vinegar, Fiends isn’t hard to figure out. There is a section about 2/3 - 3/4 of the way through where things bog down and become repetitive, but the last quarter kicks it back up a notch. If you’re in the mood for a unique, slow-burn of Southern Gothic, you could do a lot worse than what Farris is serving up here.
4 Poison Thorn Knuckles out of 5
Farris takes this legend to create undead vampire-like creatures and plops them in the underground caves of rural Tennessee. Bouncing back and forth from 1906 to 1970, Farris slowly unfurls a tale of mystery and evil in his slow-burn style that attempts to keep you guessing where the story is headed. But even with a sanitarium, a cave entrance behind a waterfall, vines with magical properties, and a pair of sassy sisters full of piss and vinegar, Fiends isn’t hard to figure out. There is a section about 2/3 - 3/4 of the way through where things bog down and become repetitive, but the last quarter kicks it back up a notch. If you’re in the mood for a unique, slow-burn of Southern Gothic, you could do a lot worse than what Farris is serving up here.
4 Poison Thorn Knuckles out of 5
Want to read
October 2, 2017This hardcover is copy 380 of 500 and is signed by John Farris and artist Phil Parks.
September 23, 2010
Margery and Enid live alone in their parents’ home. Years before a fatal car accident claimed the lives of both their mother and their father. Margery is certain that her sister Enid, a talented artist is destined for better things in life. She is displeased that she remained in town and worked with the mentally ill at a place for the criminally insane.
Things get worse for Margery when Enid brings home Arne Horsfall for an overnight stay as part of his rehabilitation. Margery can’t help feeling there is something wrong with Arne. Then in the night Mr Horsfall vanishes and evil blossoms within Margery and Enid’s lives.
John Farris was born in 1936 and is an American writer. He boasts a large list of published novels and short stories. His short story We All Scream was adapted into film as part of the Master’s of Horror collection in 2007. His novel Fiends was published in 1990.
I have such mixed feelings about Fiends. The content is crisp and clean and yet things feel to straight forwards. The reader can always tell what will come next. What I liked was the atmosphere for the first several chapters that introduce us to Arne’s past.
Margery’s character feels a little shallow in places, however remains true throughout the course of the novel. I struggled with the ‘fiends’ of the novel. That felt at places almost too human and not at all frightening. In fact in several places I sympathised with them. For some reason it just didn’t feel right. Also I found it hard to believe in several sections that Margery didn’t die after being put through extreme scenes that would see most normal human beings dead. Gore is kept to a minimum but, does not subtract from the content, some thinks work just as well without excessive gore.
All in all I think three, is a fair rating. An entertaining novel and yet lacking the true thrills I was craving.
Things get worse for Margery when Enid brings home Arne Horsfall for an overnight stay as part of his rehabilitation. Margery can’t help feeling there is something wrong with Arne. Then in the night Mr Horsfall vanishes and evil blossoms within Margery and Enid’s lives.
John Farris was born in 1936 and is an American writer. He boasts a large list of published novels and short stories. His short story We All Scream was adapted into film as part of the Master’s of Horror collection in 2007. His novel Fiends was published in 1990.
I have such mixed feelings about Fiends. The content is crisp and clean and yet things feel to straight forwards. The reader can always tell what will come next. What I liked was the atmosphere for the first several chapters that introduce us to Arne’s past.
Margery’s character feels a little shallow in places, however remains true throughout the course of the novel. I struggled with the ‘fiends’ of the novel. That felt at places almost too human and not at all frightening. In fact in several places I sympathised with them. For some reason it just didn’t feel right. Also I found it hard to believe in several sections that Margery didn’t die after being put through extreme scenes that would see most normal human beings dead. Gore is kept to a minimum but, does not subtract from the content, some thinks work just as well without excessive gore.
All in all I think three, is a fair rating. An entertaining novel and yet lacking the true thrills I was craving.
December 20, 2019
El autor sitúa a esta novela a mediados de 1970, nos relata la historia de dos hermanas que conviven solas ya que perdieron a sus padres en un accidente, ellas son Enid y Marjory Waller oriundas de Tennessee, Estados Unidos. Enid es la mayor, se dedica a ser terapeuta en el hospital de Estado de Cumberland y Marjory es una adolescente apasionada por el béisbol, su más íntima es Rita Sue. Ambas hermanas no se imaginan que serán participes en la liberación de uno de los hijos de Eva exiliados del paraíso también conocidos como huldufolks que surgen a partir de una leyenda folklórica proveniente de Islandia pero donde es el Punto de partida de esta historia? Nos remontamos a 1906, Arne Horsefall es un chiquillo de 9-10 años el cual encuadra una caja y su interior es un completo misterio la cual la hace más atractiva, la madre de Arne, Birka, también es seducida por esta curiosidad y deciden abrirla sin saber lo que desataron, en ese momento la vida de ambos y de los habitantes de Dante's Mill ya no serán las mismas. En la actualidad (1970) Enid es terapeuta de Arne y esta lo invita a pasar un fin de semana en su casa pero en mitad de la noche Arne desaparecerá sin dejar ningún rastro cambiando la vida de las dos hermanas.
------------si llegaste hasta acá gracias por leerme, a continuación la crítica-------------
A pesar de ser un libro que ya tiene años, se publicó en 1990, me llenó de intriga, misterio, terror y a veces algunas risas. El autor sabe producir el ambiente exacto para provocar esas emociones y lo logra. El desarrollo de los personajes me agradó, todo de ellos. Mí favorita es Rita Sue. Fue una lectura muy placentera, quería terminarla ya. Es un libro que relata desde las diferentes perspectivas de los personajes y no produce confusión sino que complementa con las demás narraciones. Muy feliz por un libro más leído.
Hasta pronto
@tengoganasdelibro.
------------si llegaste hasta acá gracias por leerme, a continuación la crítica-------------
A pesar de ser un libro que ya tiene años, se publicó en 1990, me llenó de intriga, misterio, terror y a veces algunas risas. El autor sabe producir el ambiente exacto para provocar esas emociones y lo logra. El desarrollo de los personajes me agradó, todo de ellos. Mí favorita es Rita Sue. Fue una lectura muy placentera, quería terminarla ya. Es un libro que relata desde las diferentes perspectivas de los personajes y no produce confusión sino que complementa con las demás narraciones. Muy feliz por un libro más leído.
Hasta pronto
@tengoganasdelibro.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2013
When a teenage girl and her sister accept a quiet, mentally disturbed man into their home for a weekend visit as part of his rehabilitation, they become involved in the resurrection of Icelandic demons that had been brought from overseas years before.
This story is mostly set in the 70s but has several extended flashbacks to the early 1900s. These flashbacks are really the highlight of the book; John Farris's writing is quite elegant, even poetic. The more contemporary sections are written more crudely, but the story is involving. Farris doesn't rush into the horror. He takes his time developing characters, and it pays off as we follow them on the individual journeys they take on the night of horror that concludes this fine novel.
This story is mostly set in the 70s but has several extended flashbacks to the early 1900s. These flashbacks are really the highlight of the book; John Farris's writing is quite elegant, even poetic. The more contemporary sections are written more crudely, but the story is involving. Farris doesn't rush into the horror. He takes his time developing characters, and it pays off as we follow them on the individual journeys they take on the night of horror that concludes this fine novel.
July 7, 2013
When a teenage girl and her sister accept a quiet, mentally disturbed man into their home for a weekend visit as part of his rehabilitation, they become involved in the resurrection of Icelandic demons that had been brought from overseas years before.
This story is mostly set in the 70s but has several extended flashbacks to the early 1900s. These flashbacks are really the highlight of the book; John Farris’s writing is quite elegant, even poetic. The more contemporary sections are written more crudely, but the story is involving. Farris doesn’t rush into the horror. He takes his time developing characters, and it pays off as we follow them on the individual journeys they take on the night of horror that concludes this fine novel.
This story is mostly set in the 70s but has several extended flashbacks to the early 1900s. These flashbacks are really the highlight of the book; John Farris’s writing is quite elegant, even poetic. The more contemporary sections are written more crudely, but the story is involving. Farris doesn’t rush into the horror. He takes his time developing characters, and it pays off as we follow them on the individual journeys they take on the night of horror that concludes this fine novel.
December 24, 2019
4.6 stars!
I'm a huge Farris fangirl. Fiends is my 2nd favorite Farris novel. The man has been writing quality horror since the late 1950's. Compulsory, essential addition to any horror collection.
I'm a huge Farris fangirl. Fiends is my 2nd favorite Farris novel. The man has been writing quality horror since the late 1950's. Compulsory, essential addition to any horror collection.
May 12, 2010
Imaginative story of a breed of creation that have wings that is made from human skin.A story of triumph over evil not as scary as it seems an ok read.
January 4, 2018
Big potencial drowning in a infuriating slow pace. While the sister history have ups and downs, follow a clean vision, while the Arne part tends to confuse with a zigzag narrative. I expected nothing at the beggining, then the Iceland mithology arrived and I get curious, but continuous explanations made the true horror. For example, half of a chapter can describe a place where the history will not come back. Unless you are american or have good notion of the orography, it will not be fun.
This book could be more, but belongs to the oblivion.
This book could be more, but belongs to the oblivion.
December 13, 2021
This was recommended to me by a mutual horror book lover as one of her favorites. I've never read Farris before and found the book to be a good scare. He introduced a new type of monster for me.
I was more than a bit put off by the racist language and was wondering if it was necessary or if Farris was trying more for a 1970's small town Tennessee way of speaking.
I was more than a bit put off by the racist language and was wondering if it was necessary or if Farris was trying more for a 1970's small town Tennessee way of speaking.
June 12, 2018
A solid read
Mr. Farris did a nice job with this. It would pair nicely with Salem's Lot. The only reason I didn't give it four stars is that the end was a bit choppy.
Mr. Farris did a nice job with this. It would pair nicely with Salem's Lot. The only reason I didn't give it four stars is that the end was a bit choppy.
December 21, 2020
Read in 1990. Eerie, fast paced and original.
September 7, 2023
Absolutely hated the end.
August 22, 2020
Esta incluido en el género de terror, pero he de admitir, que a mi no me ha dado miedo ninguno. Tambien puede ser el echo de que al tener ya unos añitos el libro el terror de entonces y el de ahora sea diferente. Ahora ya estamos mas curtidos y no nos asustamos de la misma manera. Aparte de eso me ha gustado. Tiene una narración ligera y en ningún momento se me ha hecho pesado. Da los detalles necesarios para ponerte en situación, no se excede como puede ocurrir en otras novelas. Este es un no pero si. No, con respecto a que miedo en si, nada de nada. Ni tensión ni nada. El si, es para su narración y su manera de dar detalles sin excederse.
December 3, 2021
Encontré este libro de casualidad en la biblioteca pública. Es un libro muy poco conocido, incluso en Google es difícil de encontrar algo sobre él, pero a mí me enamoró.
Si te gusta el género, Demonios te va a gustar. Descripciones muy detalladas pero que no se hace pesado de leer. Letra pequeña y parece que no avanzas, pero te comes un 4% del libro en menos de lo que canta un gallo.
Enamorada de las hermanas, Duane a veces te incita a pegarle en la cabeza y Puff no me cayó bien.
5/5 ⭐
Si te gusta el género, Demonios te va a gustar. Descripciones muy detalladas pero que no se hace pesado de leer. Letra pequeña y parece que no avanzas, pero te comes un 4% del libro en menos de lo que canta un gallo.
Enamorada de las hermanas, Duane a veces te incita a pegarle en la cabeza y Puff no me cayó bien.
5/5 ⭐
July 30, 2016
I picked this one up in a take-one-leave-one bin at a roadside rest stop. Pretty much the perfect place for it. It's pulpy, trashy horror, and if you accept it as just that, it's entertaining. I loved this type of novel when I was a teenager, so it was fun for me to read something like this. Not exactly full of literary merit, but just kind of fun.
February 7, 2008
llovee suspense, mystery....cant get enough of it.
Read
April 14, 2008Horror
April 16, 2013
Like all other horror, the elements of a rainy night, camping in the forest, and another version of the vampire are all present here. I do like how every paragraph is written and the suspense.
January 13, 2014
It gave me glorious nightmares.
January 27, 2015
Review coming soon.
March 22, 2014
Review coming soon.
June 5, 2023
caves
moths
cocoons
spider monster child
rainstorm
waterfall/grist mill
telepathy
moths
cocoons
spider monster child
rainstorm
waterfall/grist mill
telepathy
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews