THE RESURRECTION BOX: A Tale of Mormon Horror

by Declan Hyde

After the polygamous wife of a local miner loses her only child in a freak accident, she quickly spirals into despair. She is saved by a vision, which she believes is meant to send her on a quest into the mountains near her Mormon settlement to find a magic coffin which has the power to bring her son back to life…Accompanying her is Bill Pratchett, a rough around the edges trapper who volunteers to serve as her unofficial guide and bodyguard, eager to use this alleged coffin for his own personal benefit.Only they are not the only ones looking for the coffin…there are other men who want it for themselves, dangerous men.Unbeknownst to them, Bill and Zina are on a collision course with calamity. Because there are fouler and more evil things than men lurking in those ancient hills…

There are monsters there as well…

103 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 21, 2022

Reviews

[Christopher Angulo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the author's post on the Association of Mormon Letters website and decided to give this book a work. I enjoyed this read a lot more than I thought I would. The book had the same vibe as a Mormon film called Familiar Spirits (To be honest, this short book would make a great little 15-25 minute flick). I was not super fond of all the Mormon names in the book, kinda felt a little forced. But, I did connect with the two main characters and their journey. The twists were fun (slightly predictable), the ending would've been more fun with a little open closure, instead of complete closure (perhaps there will be a sequel that can fill in the details in between, which could be kinda fun). Well worth your time and money (I think I paid 8 bucks on Amazon).

[Cat Bowser · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling tale of grief, recovery and choice

This book was highly recommended by a vast majority of my writer’s circle and it’s easy to see why now that I’ve finished it.

I admit, at first, while I liked the story, there didn’t seem to be too much compelling about it, aside from the well written dialogue and the fun setting. But then here comes the second act plowing it’s way through and it was an emotional whirlwind from there on out.

The concept of grief is an intriguing one because everyone experiences it differently. This story doesn’t shy away from the things grief does to a person’s psyche. It makes it a convincing but sad exploration of one woman’s desire to change the unchanging.

The beginning might start out a bit low luster but keep reading and you’re in for a chilling treat.

[Liz Busby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I am not a horror enthusiast, but I don't mind a little sprinkled into my speculative fiction for flavor. This book sits at a very comfortable level for me. In fact, the horror doesn't really hit until the 2/3 mark. The opening and development of the book set up two realistic characters: Zina, a polygamous wife who loses her young child in the first pages of the book, and Bill, a trapper disaffected from the church because of his discomfort with polygamy. Though the motivation of one character is more believable than the other, they both feel like real people.

The goal they pursue, and the enemy who is on a collision course with them, are both littered with genuine LDS detail which nonetheless should be accessible to non-members as well. The horror, when it shows up, was unexpected, coming half a beat after I expected it, which meant I'd let my guard down and was genuinely surprised.

I won't spoil the ending, but after all the characters' travails, I felt slightly betrayed by an unresolved twist that comes in the last few paragraphs of the story and undermines the work the character has done to come to terms with what has happened. It might have been intended as genuinely faith building, but I felt the reader deserved to hang around a bit longer to understand how this new event would fit into the construct of faith and reason built in the preceding chapter. The book might have been stronger without it.

Overall, a short horror adventure worth your time if you like your mysteries theological.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this little book as a gift from a friend, and even though I’m not one for horror books (or ones that talk about real life religions), this one was a pleasant surprise. It’s a simple story with straightforward characters, and still, I feel like you can definitely empathize with their struggles, even if you may not completely agree with their beliefs.

Here, we follow three main characters; Zina, a grieving mother who just lost her young son. Bill Pratchett, a rough looking volunteer who wants to help Zina for his own benefit. And Clyde, a man looking for revenge.

They’re all an odd mixture of personalities that work in this short story to show some of the history of Later Day Saints (Mormons), however, it doesn’t look to push any ideology onto the reader, more so, it felt like understanding. Even if you don’t practice this (or any religion), I feel like any reader is up for a good time with a quick and easy read for a nice Autumn night.


Quote: “Okay, Mama Bear. Let’s go find your cub.”