The Seekers

by Doris Shannon

Evil resides in an island in the Pacific Ocean and anyone who sets foot there is cursed/damned. The novel opens with a chronological history of evil striking the island three different times in the past. These histories, each 3 to 5 pages in length, are creative and interesting, and very well could have been expanded into novels of their own. Chapter 1, a young Christmas caroler is nearly killed when Gervais St. John Pennyfeather jumps from his apartment and splatters at her feet. Chapter 2, meet the Lovatt sisters, Mavis and Claria. They are in a rented boat headed to Covencroft to star in a "blue" movie for Leslie Pennyfeather. Chapter 3, Percy Pennyfeather acting as agent for Pandora, a black singer and stripper, has lined up an engagement for her in Los Vegas. Pandora has agreed to travel to Cravencroft to met Percy's family. Chapter 4, Heather Anne Ankaret is backpacking/traveling with Brian Pennyfeather & are picked up by Uncle Percy and Pandora who are on their way to Cravencroft. Chapter 5, engaged couple John C. Akers and Cynthia Pennyfeather are traveling to Cravencroft to met Cynthia's estranged family with whom she has practically no interaction since her father sent her away to school at the age of 13. For what purpose are the Pennyfeathers seeking out and bring these various strangers to Covencroft? Is it for a family gathering or is it for something more sinister? Out of this group, who will survive to tell the story of what happens at this remote reunion, or will the story never be told at all?

Genres: Horror, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1975

About the author

Doris Giroux Shannon was born in Elmira, New York, daughter of Edwin Giroux and Elizabeth Graham. Married Frank Shannon in 1947. They had two children.

She also wrote under the pseudonym 'E.X. Giroux'. Under that pseudonym she created 'Robert Forsythe', a retired barrister in London.

Reviews

[Hunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out with very low expectations; the first few women were introduced as very shallow characters, and a black woman was referred to as a “Negress”.
It never got to the point of fantastic, but it did improve. While the main character was a man, the next-most main character was the aforementioned black woman, and she had decent characterization. Throughout the whole book women were described by their physical (typically sexualized) traits, whereas the men were not.
Overall the plot was decent, if a little predictable.
My favorite line was from certain characters referring to the whole ordeal as a play, and the very meta line: “Act two, scene one.”