Winter: A Crow Creek Novel

by Thomas Drago

Evil doesn't only seek to destroy good. Evil consumes and leaves nothing untouched. Calculating and vigilant, Amanda Simmons has picked up the pieces of Carolina Entech after the demise of the Red Queen, solidifying her own power-play and negotiating a deal to rebuild the B-52 Stratofortress that dropped two nuclear bombs over rural North Carolina during the 1960s. Her classified plans include harnessing power from the sun to spark the impossible restoration. Few folks privy to Amanda's efforts conspire. The rest, a cohort of Takers and Drainers, capitulate. When a solar pulse abruptly kills power and reanimates the dead, Sheriff Brad Gleason and his unlikely band of heroes once again find themselves pitted against a powerful enemy and driven to the brink of disaster. Only self-sacrifice and unearthly fortitude will give Amanda's unsuspecting victims a fighting chance against an enemy unafraid to tempt fate and play God. The people of Winter are about to learn that the world's a theatre for the wicked and only the most resilient can escape the grip of those arrogant enough to cheat death.

Genres: Horror

420 pages, Paperback

Published October 16, 2016

About the author

Thomas Drago is the author of the Crow Creek series and teaches drama and English in North Carolina. He attended Northern Arizona University. He has published poems, song lyrics, and short stories, appearing most recently in The Explorer, a local literary magazine. He's a member of the American Theatre Group and the American Film Institute.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

🎁 Crow Creek Series (3 book series) is FREE on Amazon today (2/17/2020)! 🎁

[Ian Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whether this book is for you depends on what you want. First, the author writes well in the sense that the sentences come together well and any given scene makes a good impression. The settings are well described and the characters, with one reservation, appear well drawn. That reservation is that some characters can morph into dragons, but the dragon aspect is not covered at all well. There are several streams to the story involving small groups (as few as two sometimes) of different characters have to go through "terrible times", and this is handled well. One of my criticisms is that there is no explanation as to WHY some of these things happened, although for many this is probably unimportant. Apparently this is part of a series, and it is possible that a number of explanations can be found in other books, however I am taking this as a stand-alone book.
For me there were other problems. First, the overall plot is weak. Basically, for some unknown reason, a number of horrors turn up. Then we get lots of accounts of our protagonists fighting these horrors, or running, or occasionally being victims. There is plenty of vomit, sludge, ooze, blood, rotten flesh, whatever, and if this is what you want, this is for you. However, I felt the mistake was made by the author that more is more horrible. A large number of zombies attack, and a character with an automatic rifle shoots them. So? For me, the attacks were too clinical, and do not really generate tension. As an example, do we need a dozen dragons that don't really do that much? One of the great dragon stories is when Sifrit slays his one dragon. Or similarly, when Beowulf fights the great worm. Numbers do not make things worse; it is the detail of the problem. Another issue I had was that a chapter might start with a problem, which quickly goes away, there may be a serious description of something that is really for atmosphere but not part of the plot, then it might end with something like, he looked down and screamed. The next two or three chapters involve other characters, then we find out why he screamed. This to me is a cheap way to try and generate tension, and it did nothing of the sort for me. To summarise, how you will like this depends on what you want. If horror descriptions with good characters and good atmosphere and setting descriptions are sufficient, this is a gem; if you want a plot that flows with cause, not so much.

[Denise Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter: A Crow Creek Novel written by Thomas Drago was an amazingly well written horror novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s writing style and the story line was very different. This is not the first book in the series, and after reading this one, I suggest reading the series from the beginning, but this book is easily read without reading the previous books. This novel is a dark one, someone who enjoys reading horror type novels (such as Steven King), or watching horror shows, would really enjoy this book. I got chills and creeped out a few times throughout this book. The characters are well developed and I found myself really rooting for the characters. The story takes place in Winter, a town divided by a railroad that separates the rich (white people) and the poor (colored people). There are many horrors which the protagonists face throughout the book, such as zombies, but I really enjoyed the variety of the evil in this book, as it gave more depth to the plot line. This book was so well written that I did not want to put it down, I highly recommend this book and the author, Thomas Drago.

[Valerie]

This is a fast page turning book. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters and storyline are believable and relatable. I felt like I was really there fighting to survive. Very well written and I am now looking for the other Crow Creek novels to be able to read them. So glad I got to read this book and discover another great author.

[Marta Tandori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter: A Crow Creek Novel by talented writer, Thomas Drago, is a highly imaginative, apocalyptic horror story that will have lovers of the genre clamoring for more. It’s June, 2017 and Amanda Simmons has negotiated a deal to rebuild a B-52 Stratofortress that dropped two nuclear bombs over rural North Carolina during the sixties. At its most basic, Winter is a gruesome tale of horror and gore, of good versus evil. However, there’s more to this story than your basic good versus evil. There’s some solid history that forms the backstory of this book; history that involves a young Jack Kennedy’s trip to Greenville, North Carolina while still a senator (and his bid for presidency a ways off in the future) during a place in time when segregation in the south was still a way of life and where evil lurked around every corner, even behind the seemingly innocent façade of a pretty young girl. Drago’s use of imagery is top notch and his descriptions vivid. He masterfully sets the stage for the events that unfold in such a way that a reader is compelled to keep reading, notwithstanding the fact that he or she is convinced that horrors are about to happen. This is the mark of a writer with a cache of talents.

[Pegboard · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading this book; your skin will crawl, shivers run down your back, and you may even look over your shoulder as you pass a cemetery. Even though you know this is a fictional read, something just makes you think, “What if…?”
Thomas Drago continues his Crow Creek series with key characters from the town Winter fighting off those who were previously dead before, now roaming the streets looking for flesh. It baffles even the long time residents about what illness could have brought these people back, and how to defend themselves.
If you prefer the dark side you will feel safe with this book as few can see the evil that lurks just under the skin. The Sleepers could be anyone, just waiting to assist the chosen one when he reappears. Just remember, flies are attracted to unsavory things and people. Hope you enjoy this book as much as I have.