October Skies

by Alex Scarrow

2008: Deep in the mountain forests of Wyoming, Julian Cooke stumbles across the rotting remains of a wooden wagon. He's discovered what's left of the Preston Group, a convoy of settlers that vanished in the winter of 1856. It's clear that something horrific happened here all those years ago, but Cooke can only find a few tantalising clues. 1856: As early snows descend, the eclectic group of settlers that form the Preston wagon train are forced to dig in. Miles from any kind of civilisation, they see the group of Native Americans also trapped nearby as their greatest threat. But they soon realise what true danger is. When a woman is found murdered, one of the Indian party struggles wounded back to camp, whispering of unspeakable evil as he dies. United by fear, the settlers and the Indians must protect themselves against whatever is lurking in the woods. But as suspicion and panic grow, perhaps their own terror will be just as dangerous. Or maybe, whatever's out there is worse than anything they can imagine. Back in the present day, as Cooke unravels the mystery, he must question if the horror he is uncovering was in fact only the start of something much worse...

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Historical, Suspense

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

I live a nomadic existence with my wife Frances, and son Jacob. For now we're living in Norwich. I spent the first 10 years out of college in the music business chasing record deals and the next 12 years in the computer games business as a graphic artist and eventually a games designer. For those of you who like their computer games, here's some of the titles I've worked on:
Waterworld, Evolva, The Thing, Spartan, Gates of Troy, Legion Arena
Since signing up as an author with Orion, I seem to spend most of my time hunched over my laptop in various cafes and coffee bars sipping lattes, tapping keys and watching the ebb and flow of shoppers outside on the street. As I write this, I'm awaiting the launch of my next book - the sequel to , LAST LIGHT, and getting ready to find a publisher for the first book in a separate series, ELLIE QUIN. Ahead of me, lies research work for my next thriller, and also some screenplays I'm looking forward to writing. Although I'm glad to be where I am now, I do occasionally kick myself for not having succumbed to the writing bug much earlier. But then we all just muddle along through life, don't we? There's rarely a plan.
-Source: http://www.scarrow.co.uk/page9.html

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book pickins' can be slim when you are in a foreign country. I give this book two stars for being written in English. I deducted three stars for it being stupid.

[Beth (bibliobeth)]

I really enjoyed this book, great storyline switching between two time periods, some grisly moments, twists and turns and a fab ending. Highly recommended.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book from Alex Scarrow where you think you know what is going on - after all the back of the book pretty much spells it out to you - however not everything is as it seems.

that said there are some books that are easy to talk about without giving away spoilers while others are pretty much near on impossible - this being the latter. I would say that Scarrows opinions come through pretty clearly here (in fact he talks more about them in the notes at the end of the book).

So an interesting and challenging book - however after reading the Candle Man you get to expect a few major twists along the way.

[SmarkDent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great effort from the criminally under-rated Alex Scarrow. This is markedly different from the excellent Last Light/Afterlight but equally uncompromising and well crafted. The novel combined two parallel stories with the historical lost wagon train tale being by far the most engaging and enjoyable. It's not perfect, and at times it's a little 'clunky' plot-wise, however I'll definitely be looking up his remaining novels.

[Francesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vote: 3,75
Class: L-B1 (FP)

(stand alone adventure-horror novel)

I've recently read La spedizione Donner di Douglas Preston and I was surprised when I discovered while reading this book that it's inspired by the same historical event!
I liked how the two threads of the story, the one devoliping in the present and the one happened in 1856 are told and mixed togheter untill the final climax.
The is devveoped slowly but with a thrilling suspence and a bit of horror mixed in it.
Good story, some unexpected expected twists and a satisfying ending.
An enjoyable reading.

[Michelle Khusu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember reading this book as a kid and I quite enjoyed it. However, reading it as an adult was a completely different story.
First of all it just dragged on and on even when the story was obvious. I still don't really understand how the angel/the voice came to Sam and how he survived given that they saw his body?
I did like the last part where Sam changed his name to Ben and that made sense as to why Shepherd was who he was.
Story was 90% too predictable and that is why I am giving it what I call a generous 2/5

[elaine o'rourke · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is one of my very favourites, it was the first Alex Scarrow I read and it is so well written, your are hooked from the very start. I picked it up in an airport while waiting for a delayed flight and it was brilliant. Unfortunately loaned it to someone and never got it back :-D

[Zeinab · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book but it was really confusing to understand what was going on. It was also very boring in the first half of the book but became better as the suspense began to build up slowly. Overall, a good book to read if you have the interest and the time.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an engaging read from start to finish. The very end was a bit corny, just like the end of a horror movie, the author left the door open to a sequel.

[Jamie Mcmillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written but gory.

[Lorelei · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhh. Started out really strong and then just sort of veered off into "wuh?" territory. I felt the ending was a bit of a cheat.

[Long Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery spanning 150 years and founded loosely on history of the “Donner party” incident and the Mormon faith. Good twist in the tale at the end. Good read, but not great read.

[Paschalis]

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[Calvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this just before lunch on a beautiful summers day, come two in the morning and I'm still reading it.

[Joe Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant start, weak ending. Somewhat predictable twist in an otherwise very entertaining and bleak book.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A merger of the Donner Party and the Shining.

[Iona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. Jumping between past and present it kept me enthralled and guessing the outcome. Plenty of action and suspense and not a hint of how it ends until you get to the end.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is set in the present, 2008, and in the Winter of 1856. In the present time Julian Cooke and his assistant Rose are in small town Blue Valley, California working on a low-budget documentary about local folklore. While camping in the woods Julian finds the discovery of a lifetime. The remains of what appears to be makeshift shelters scattered around the clearing. Further digging uncovers a journal that may hold the secrets of what happened to the people. Tired of hearing the same old stories of Bigfoot, Julian decides that the journal could be his big break. Back in 1856 a wagon train, headed west, is trying to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains before winter hits. Due to set backs, they're now forced to wait out the harsh winter in the woods. But something out there is killing them off one-by-one. Superstitions abound and fingers are pointed and the seeds of mistrust have been sowed. Could one of their own really be capable of such grotesque murders?

I really enjoyed this book. It had me guessing who the killer could be and why they would be killing these people. Some of the chapters were a little short but they mostly ended with little cliffhangers and that just made me want to read more. I didn't really have any huge dislikes.

The characters were very well written and I actually felt sad when a few of them were killed. There was definitely a wide-range of characters represented here. There were different religions, cultures, and races. I really liked Ben Lambert, he was nice and cared about the people. Keats was a foul-mouthed old man but surprisingly, I liked him. The supporting characters actually played a big role, without them, things wouldn't have turned out like they did.

Love the cover; it's simple yet haunting and fits the story perfectly.

[Bookhode · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a God damn crap of a book. Alex Scarrow (seriously, I should have known better not to read this as soon I saw that cheesy name) did his best to imitate Stephen King and Dan Simmons, but somehow he only managed to pick up some of the worst traits of the two writers. The result is this novel which should be about freezing and isolation, but it radiates no cold, makes no sense, stirs no response, and offers absolutely nothing new to the genre.

I love winter, and I can go with the story of lost settlers in the Sierra Nevadas, and I love supernatural, and I COULD go with the story of angel of death who shows up there and starts to slice everyone up. But it needed to be a horror! Unfortunately Scarrow non-scared the reader with this user friendly, oh it looks like they were just insane, the angel was just a mask made of bones, let me put in some child molesting and religious fanaticism, +22 other cliches story.

And it sucks, and at some point I wished that Barker's Pinhead somehow appeared in the middle of that bore fest, and massacred everyone. Unfortunately it did not happen, instead we got a cheap "twist" at the end. Yay. Bad read.

[Mikal O'Boyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll admit that October Skies had potential. The story line itself was intriguing with the idea that a modern day politician had a dark connection to a crazed religious extremist. I found the story behind Julian and Rose to be dull, though. It started off slow then jumped into action abruptly with Shepard. Characters were quickly turning crazy without any notice because of a bag of bones. I was left with a handful of questions as to why things were happening and why they were happening to certain characters. I also found a lot of the scenes to be quite unrealistic. If you were being hunted down by a trained killer and a insane man with some power, you would hardly be making small talk with each other while hiding out in the freezing cold. The battle scene was a bit over the top for me, too. Children would hardly turn into vicious killing machines. Due to the fact that I was disappointed whenever I was brought back to Jules and Rose and that I found the climax to be flat, I have to give October Skies two out of five.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written in both the past and the present, following the plight of two groups of emigrants in 1856 as they head west across the American Plains in an effort to find better lives for themselves and their families and the discovery of their camp by a couple of media types in the present day. What follows are two intertwined stories as the emigrants struggle for survival against the wilderness and each other and as their story and its repercussions are felt in present day America. Both stories are as intriguing and engrossing as each other and Scarrow handles the time jumps well through the use of separate chapters and associated icon at the start of each (a rather useful visual cue for where in time the reader is). The characters did occasionally come across a little flat, more so for the modern day characters for some reason but the pace of the story more than makes up for this.

[Thomas Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second novel by Alex Scarrow that I've read, and it's a thoroughly rivetting and fascinating read. Just like 'A Thousand Suns', it's set over two timelines, and centres around a group of settlers whose wagon train vanished in the winter of 1856. Fast forward to 2008, where two English documentary-makers discover a settler's diary in the remains of the convoy deep in the mountain forests of Wyoming. Throw into this mix, Indians, Mormon history, Ben Lambert's diary entries, a Presidential candidate with a serious skeleton-in-his-closet, and a serial killer in disguise (resembling the "monster" in 'The Village' film). Incidentally, the reveal of the murderer reminded me of the resolution to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". Highly recommended, can't wait to read 'Last Light' and it's sequel 'After Light'.

[Robin Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

October Skies is another exceptional thriller from Alex Scarrow, he is book by book establishing himself as one of the best thriller writers around.
Check out his other titles Last Light & A Thousand Suns
His use of the time slip style is second to none, each chapter building the story and tension until the amazing conclusion. The mark of a good thriller writer is to keep you guessing, and October Skies does just that all the way to the end. The characters are as usual Alex's strong point, he develops each person brilliantly, no thriller works unless you care what happens to the character and Alex makes you do just that.
I also think the book delivers a scary image of just what could happen in the US, thanks to the power of religion in US politics.

I can't wait to see what Alex produces next.
(Parm)

[Richard van Balen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has two story lines that initially run parallel and later merge into one. One story is the world of today, the other story finds itself in the time of the settlers. A group of colonists that travel from the east of the new world to the west to build up a life. Of course the group is run by a religious nut to spice things up. This is the part of the story I found most enjoying.
The storyline during the modern day consists of a journalist trying to unravel the story of these settlers and bumping into the descendant of this religious nutcrack. This part of the story is rather flat and boring which sadly ends in soms crazy paranormal stand off.
Concluding I getuimeld enjoyed the part where the group of colonists travel the US, the other part was rather flat. A good read for people enjoying a pseudo historical novel with a touch of Stephen King.

[Annet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have come to appreciate Alex Scarrow, loved the apocalyptic Last Light series. Although this story seemed to me a bit far out of the way, I finally decided to try this one as wel.. Smooth, entertaining, easy reading story, that keeps you intrigued and you want to keep the pages turning. Smooth writer, talented. It's an entertaining horror type story, that keeps you guessing about the who and what and whodunnit and the mysterious factor, with a bit of history too. I really liked the time setting going back and forth in time with two sets of characters. 3.5 stars for me, I liked the Last Light ones better, but this is also a good one. And I will definitely read more of this author, whom I recommend.

[ialarmedalien · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book based on the story of the Donner party, a group of pioneers who got stuck in the Sierra Nevada mountains over winter; nearly half the original party died, and some resorted to cannibalism to survive. "October Skies" switches between the pioneer group and present day documentary makers discovering and researching their story, and throws in a thriller component to jazz up the modern day stuff. I found the story of the tensions in the pioneer camp and their growing desperation at their bleak fate to be interesting enough not to need the extra (slightly hokey) thriller component.

[Pamela Huxtable · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some books have great plots, poorly executed. Some books have poor plots, adequately executed. I am afraid this is the latter. This felt like a made-for-tv movie script made for a low budget cable network. I failed to connect with any of the main characters - I felt that the book shifted viewpoint too frequently for me to identify with anyone.

I'm glad I finished it while traveling, and didn't have to lug it back home with me. My edition was BIG.

[Ben Gailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex Scarrow's explicit tale of a journey through the harsh winter of America uncovers a graphic story or murder. Most of the people travelling are pilgrims, in their way to find new purpose and opportunity in the West, inspired by the leader of the group, Preston. All that remains from the pilgrimage is discovered by Julian Cooke in 2008, and what dramas were uncovered soon causes trouble to Julian herself. I recommend this book to ages 14+.

[Kirsteen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and was a little sad when I finished it. Not all authors can do the past and present stories well, but this one is seamless. I loved the 'past' story. As the book progresses the author does an amazing job of creating a terrifying atmosphere in the camp. He manages to tie the timeline from the past story into the developments if the present story in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end.