Wistwood

by Jonathan Kieran

One tormented guy looking for a fresh start. One charming little town hungry for his pain. Wistwood. If you can get there ... it already owns you.

Crisp prose gives largely abstract occurrences a visual component ... An often mysterious but thoroughly horrifying and macabre tale. — KIRKUS REVIEWS

Seeking redemption, troubled writer Brask Adams heads into the wild majesty of Big Sur, California, hoping the lost town of Wistwood will offer him a fresh start at life.

But Wistwood has a way of attracting ... or maybe even hunting... people in need of second chances.

A terrifying way.

Many others are drawn to Wistwood’s promise, heeding signals and voices only they can perceive:

Beautiful Schuyler wants to abandon her thankless state job and open a quaint antiques shop.

Faded rock star Lleyton wants the perfect place to fix his crumbling marriage once and for all.

Father Jarecki is determined to leave the priesthood behind and build a new kind of church.

But dreams aren't so easily realized in Wistwood, for beneath the town’s idyllic facade, an ancient and vicious supernatural war is being waged.

A battle for the souls of the lost.

And only The Landlord reserves the right to feed.

Caught between a tortured past and his desperate vision for the future, Brask, too, comes face to face with a horrifying truth: Hell on earth can be exactly what you make of it.

In Wistwood, bestselling author Jonathan Kieran crafts an atmospheric and terrifying tale of human culpability. By turns elegiac and raw, Kieran weaves an insinuating psychological tapestry threaded with lust, magic, murder, and a host of unforgettable characters.

Wistwood is a dark fable certain to haunt readers long after the last core-shattering page has been read.

Genres: Fiction, Horror

356 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 21, 2020

About the author

Jonathan Kieran is an author and graphic illustrator with a passion for world mythological systems and ancient history. Living near beautiful Big Sur, CA, his other interests include metaphysics, international travel, distance-running, classical music, Orthodox chant, gastronomy, oceanography, cryptozoology, and mountain hiking.

His newest novel, WISTWOOD, is a terrifying supernatural/metaphysical “cosmic thriller” released April 21, 2020 by Brightbourne Books and Media.

The 'Rowan Blaize' books represent the first offerings in Jonathan's Enchanted Heritage Chronicles series, published in mid-January 2013. He has since published the pop-culture bestseller 'Confessions from the Comments Section’ and is also the creator of the comic strip Zanzibar Circus, which debuted in 2016 and can be viewed on his official website at www.jonathankieran.com.

For more information about Jonathan’s epic cosmic horror novel WISTWOOD (April 21, 2020) stay tuned to Goodreads in the coming weeks.

Reviews

[Anduine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought that a horror book can have beauty in it. I stand corrected.
Wistwood is a poetic nightmare that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride. It is a book that every reader must and will experience in his/her own way, there is no way around it. It is an allegory of life itself, intense and disturbing, yet at the same time full of beauty.
A one in a million piece of craftmansship that will touch you one way or another.

[Sarah Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wistwood was an great read. I found it slower than I'm used to at the start, as the book introduces the various characters. This didn't put me off! The book and the characters are really well written. I really disliked the Shep Daltry character and I'm sure I'll not be alone in that. I did feel sorry for Neetha though. I really wasn't expecting the twist towards the end and it made me a little sad that I was now a little disappointed in Brask!
I can't wait to find out what happens in the next book!

[Tony Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Candidate Daltry had overseen hunting forever.
He can pursue other personal matters but that entails opening other doors/windows.
Food sources are quite plentiful.
But to obtain them I (narrator) must calculate & pay attention to detail.
Candidate Daltry constructed a new workroom.

Blue Jr. (7, son/brother) is growing up fast & Kadelynn (daughter/sister) is going to be baptized this month.
Lilah (waitress) took their order.
As they waited for their meal the Bible-believing Christian woman’s preaching came out.
Hospital ICU. The 2 detectives gave their heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Patrice Bradshaw (mother) who was crying about Shawn (9, son) who had just died.
He had been run over on his new bike.

The dwelling was not what you would suspect.
Blood appeared on the Priest’s hand.
He fell on his knees on the marble flagstone rock that led to the en¬try gate.
Enter at your own will.
The midnight portal opened to receive him
Doves greeted him.
Something was lurking behind the trees.
The Priest’s screams seemed to be unheard.
Schuyler Brody (26, teacher) answered her cell phone (unknown caller).
It was Horace Slater.
Horace wanted to know if Schuyler was still interested in leasing the antique shop in Wistwood.
4:00 PM Wednesday. Nebraska “Brask” Paul Adams drove his van up Crystal Creek Rd.
There was Wistwood.
Officer Shep Daltry (white) was moving up the ranks in law enforcement.
Crime was running rampant.
Good/bad cop it was his decision.
Wistwood village. Brask finally met Horace (76+).

Who would have known that a place like this still existed in CA?
Yellow colored California poppies grew everywhere.
Brask turned off the van’s engine.
Shep received an email from the Sheriff.
Brask gendered at his new piece of real estate.
Horace pointed everything out to him.

The new Destroyer is among us. The Gamesman had been acquired.
The Empress of TanTanTuoth acknowledged Larkspur & told him what would happen.
The cabin is Brask’s domain.
Not many knew the Brask had taken care of Jess during her dying days.
What happened to Horace?
Manor House. Lleyton Grayle rolled his wheelchair into Neetha’s (landlady) bedroom and listened to her breathing. Yep she was still alive.

What became of Neetha & Carlee?
What happened to Wistwood?
Now there is a great beer Stella Artois.

I do not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing free books from publishers & authors. Therefore, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one.

An awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A thought-provoking very professionally written dark paranormal thriller book. It was extremely easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great description list of unique characters, settings, facts etc. to keep track of. This could also make another great dark paranormal thriller movie, an animated cartoon, or better yet a mini TV series. Not sure I really understood the full story content so I will only rate it at 3/5 stars.

Thank you for the free author; Brightbourne Media, USA; Goodreads; MakingConnections; Making Connections discussion group talk; PDF book.
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Paul Olkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Kieran weaves a story of a group of people given second chances. A chance to start over after your life turned sour in some manner, way or form. A chance at a more simpler life ; a slower life,or a life like an Americana fictional story. It all seemed so appealing, so easy for the specific folks lucky enough to get an interview to see a listed property in Wistwood, a very small hamlet hidden in the woods. It all seemed too good to be true for Brask Adams and a few others,but is it really?
Kieran is a fine wordsmith and from the very first paragraph, I knew I was in for a different ride with this book. It is part standard novel, part Twightlight Zone, and part Stephen King. For the most part, Kieran offers the reader a more adult story line and vocabulary than I have been experiencing in fiction in the past few decades. I found it refreshing from an intellectual standpoint. A lot of books these days have been simplified or dumb-downed to gain the highest possible readership. But Kieran elevates the speech pattern for us here.
The one thing I found disappointing in the story is the bashing of Christian religion. It rears its head throughout the story line. I found it took away from the enjoyment of the book for me personally. It was not necessary other than the chapter with Brask and his holy roller sister and their argument.
Kieran leaves the story open ended for a possible book 2 . If one is in the works I would very much like to read it. Just thinking of the possibilities of where he could take the story is reason enough to want to read it. It amazes me how authors come up with such stories. It must be a gift to be able to find a narrative and then place a million different parts together to keep it watertight and make sense. I tip my hat to all who do it well. It cannot be easy.
If you are a fan of Stephen King , intelligent sci-fi, or suspense novels with a bit of expectant horror thrown in , you will really like this book. 4 stars out of 5 for Wistwood. A good book for adults.

[Cynthia Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brask Adams, a homeless writer finally caught his big break and secured a publishing contract.
After receiving his advance, he answered an ad for a small cottage outside of Big Sur, California.
The town was called Wistwood, and not showing up on any map, Brask felt it might provide the type of seclusion he needs.

Two days living in the town, Brask decides the place is not for him but discovers he cannot leave.
Wistwood called to him and he answered. Signing the lease was more than a contract for a rental cabin and Brask along with the other residents can accept their new community or pay the consequences.

This is one of those books with alternating POV's. While I enjoyed the story of Brask, Lleyton and Shuyler, the others were downright confusing. I am not too sure who Lady and Larkspur are or what role they play in the story. Obviously Lady rules another realm, but she has strife with the ruler of Wistwood, who we never really met. I also do not understand the role of Shep Daltry. Why did he need to run down a little boy, or murder a security guard? Why did Horace need to be replaced and who the heck is this mysterious 'landlord?'

Overall, this was an exciting story but I do feel like it could have been more simplified. It does sound like there will be a part two and I am very interested to see how this story plays out.

[barbara chaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sorry I cannot highly recommend this book. You may think some of my review includes spoilers so if you are worried please read no farther. The parts of the book involving the town and how people get there would have been 5 stars. There were just too many things that took away from it though. For one there are "others" not ghost like I would have thought of when someone mentioned paranormal. They talk in English but the words sound strange and it is not easy to put together all they are trying to say. This takes place in a orchard with a dark beach. There are two occupants. One is a woman and I'm really not sure what the other one is. These characters take up about 1/4th of the book. Their language is like some old world language and makes you just want to scream "what are you talking about?" So much wasted time to say that the woman did something wrong and was cast out of who knows where and she created this orchard with her powers. The person that did this to her is coming after her and try to destroy her new place to live. They never even mention a building. They rarely even move much. Just trees, dirt and the fruits of the orchard. You can save yourself 1/4 of the book just knowing that. The writer's favorite saying is in the book a lot. I think it is Time, Times and half a time or something like that. He uses it a lot. They talk almost in riddles. The whole book is overdone with bigger words so it doesn't even seem like real people talking. It get annoying. These people are not supposed to break rules but one woman is innocent and they still torture her for not obeying. In the end don't hold your breath for a ending that makes enough sense to be happy. It almost sounds like prep work for a followup book because you have no idea what will eventually happen to the person or persons that do live. You only know their situation. I would never read a second book if there is one. It is worth reading if you concentrate on the town and what happens there. It will hold your interest.

[Elle Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

I received and ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review to follow.

[Shani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brash hasn’t had the easiest time recently and he’s struggled in more ways than one. When he scores the opportunity of a lifetime, he makes the decision to set down roots. Answering an ad seems so cliché in this day and age. However, he takes a chance and takes up residence in a cottage in Wistwood. But once he’s there, there’s no leaving. He’s been claimed and now has to own up or things get messy.

The townspeople aren’t whom they appear to be, at least not all of them. There’s something crazy going on, and it's beyond even his imagination what it is. Is it literally unreal? Is it just his imagination? This is a super supernatural thriller that will have you asking questions (not always getting answers, which is the downside) and questioning things right along with the characters. Overall I feel like this was so entertaining! I would have liked for there to be a few extra answers, but perhaps that’s coming in a second book? I’m curious to see what may happen next!

[Jay Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent example of lyrical writing. The words flow in an effusion of beautiful details that the reader must assemble into images and undestanding. What lies behinmd is an analysis of all the problems of being human. However, not all the characters are human. Perhaps my only problem with this story is that the book is disjointed, jumping from characters and settings. The reader develops a foreboding that the various narratives will eventually join, but the result may not be good. When the end comes, you wonder what just happened, maybe you need to reread it. The book combine beauty, horror, romance and human relations on manyu levels. I received a copy from Hidden Gems, and wanted to provide a thoughtful review.

[Ken Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW, Just WOW! The entire book read well and the ending just left me wanting more.

[Jessie (Zombie_likes_cake) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Wistwood" ended up being a book that just wasn't for me which is a shame because the idea of a small town that is also literal hell really intrigued me. I love to support Indie writers but that doesn't always mean I will end up with a new favorite book, and while you can't always win there was just too much in here that didn't work for me.

Starting with the writing style. Not my cup of tea. I thought it was trying very hard, with heavy vocabulary that never fell into a good flow for me. Especially in dialogue I often thought it was awkward and forced. The main character, Brask, is an aspiring writer and I was willing to give him some allowances but everybody else talked in similar fashion. For example, there is a scene where an otherwise as simple described waitress is complaining about struggling with her shift and says that her "nerves are strung tighter than a goddamn Stradivarius". What waitress would talk about a Stradivarius (I worked as waitress, that's not how people talk). And it got really strange when this kind of vocabulary mixed with cruder language, as it did in the example. Later there is a scene where the MC and someone else are joking around about the eloquent way they express themselves to each other so maybe the over the top writing was a joke that I didn't fully get... With the main character there is an emphasis on examining the struggles of a young writer and the toils of the publishing industry, so maybe the extra push in the writing was supposed to tie into that but I personally didn't care for reading it. The writing is often incredibly detailed and descriptive in a forced way, I read some passages out loud to my husband to see if it is just me who thinks the writing is too much, he agreed, but at the end of the day it is a matter of personal taste. Others might like it better. Not my cup of tea.

The pacing was very off for me, too. The book is ~350 pages long yet it takes the lead more than 100 pages to make it to Wistwood. Reaching page number 240 the story still felt like it was stuck in its opening chapters and setting up plot, real plot only happened during the last 80 pages, and the ultimate ending was incredibly rushed, included an actual deus ex machina and left questions unanswered at the doorsteps to a potential sequel. I actually enjoyed those 80 pages of action and revelations, this part should have been so much bigger and expanded on because there are some really great ideas in here (like the "twist" on Wistwood's location, loved that!), but the lackluster ending really killed that momentum again for me. Also, too little, too late? I was additionally really put off by an early scene between our main character and his sister who was to me a very unbelievable and unnecessary character. She is a Born-Again Christian who leaves no moment to show her disapproval of her brother's life choices yet she was written like a caricature. I am an atheist myself and religious people do sometimes scare me but that was so blown out of proportion. But even if you can buy her as a person, the scene is 20 pages long and all we really need from that is the basic facts of Brask and his anti-religious stand because I thought that would come into play when confronted with hell (it doesn't really though). Less would have been more, I would say that about several of the early scenes. Not my cup of tea.

Let's talk about the "villains" in this. Repeatedly we are given chapters told from god-like beings in an otherworldly orchard. What was that? Later we learn they are connected to the Owner of Wistwood but for the most part of the book these chapters were so confusing to me. I think Fantasy readers will actually have a better time with this element of the novel. I often thought that while the novel has its gory and disturbing moments it felt more like an Urban (or rather Small Town) Fantasy in that aspect. These beings become relevant in the ending but not in a way I liked, they are only superficially explained and take the agency and focus away from the concept of people dealing with literal hell on earth. Not my cup of tea.

Now Wistwood. I really liked Wistwood, the idea of the town, its citizens, what it does and represents: all of that was great but there was too little of it in the novel. I wanted more! I also would have appreciated if there would have been some clues about Brask's past that gets revealed at the very end. Maybe I missed them, that is possible, but there were no hints about what we learn here and why he should be in hell, none that I could see but maybe the fancy writing lulled me away from those. To me it came out of nowhere and because the ending is so rushed it doesn't really do much for the character's arc. He is pretty much as surprised as the reader is by the end and gets no time to grow or change. That was the meat of the story and we almost gloss over it. Not my cup of tea.

I accepted this copy for free from the author for a review. I had never done that before and it puts a lot of pressure on reading. Normally I would have just dnf'd a book like this, I could tell early on that it is not my, you guessed it, cup of tea but I had a responsibility to give this a good and fair shot, alas it didn't pay off, neither for me nor for Kieran because I have to give him a negative review. I do think though if someone likes the writing style they will have a much better time with this than me. At certain moments, the novel reminded a bit of the way Lovecraftian Horror often builds up (which I don't like). While the supernatural elements differ I think fans of that kind of slow building Horror will likely have a fairly enjoyable experience with "Wistwood", I sadly did not.