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The Unseen
A backwoods legend in the wilds of Vermont materializes into something quite real as hideous creatures emerge from the darkened trees of a New England hamlet to terrorize its citizens
274 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 29, 2021
I thought my first Citro experience was fantastic: the rather laughably titled Dark Twilight (later reissued as Lake Monsters, which is only marginally better). Citro's ability to convey a free-floating feeling of offness while dishing out loads of atmosphere really made my night(mare). But this one was full of the shaking of my head. It's about a reporter-turned-bar owner who finds that there are strange beings lurking in the shadowy woods behind the small Vermont town he now calls home - specifically within an unmapped area that gives the book its reissue title (previously titled The Unseen). At first, I was pretty intrigued. Citro can paint a picture. But then the rather pathetic characterization of a female lead began to bug. Citro = not so good at writing women. And then my interest was piqued again in the surprisingly rich and sympathetic portrait of a grouchy geezer living in the backwoods. Citro = pretty good at writing not-so-mean old men. But then came the disappointing realization that this was basically a Scooby Doo tale. I wanted the eerie supernatural but instead got a kid's cartoon where all the weird mysteries were efficiently explained away. Dang it Citro, I was enjoying the mood lighting, why'd you have to go and turn on the supermarket lights?!?
September 30, 2016
The coffin lid would creak open, and soon a bat would flap across the moon. Remember? Remember how some misshapen thing would howl in the graveyard? Or how…?
Never mind. You get the picture.
All the acknowledged classics of the horror genre evolved from authentic folk beliefs, from tales and myths centuries old ... but seldom New World myths. Oddly, it's figures from European lore, the vampires and werewolves and ghouls, that seem familiar to contemporary Americans – familiar from all those books and movies and television shows – while indigenous folklore remains almost unknown. This is a situation Joseph Citro means to correct.
Years before THE UNSEEN appeared (pun intended), Citro introduced the world to creatures called The Gentry, an ancient scourge long ago transported to New England. These clever and powerful beings were diminutive and vicious and so secretive that just catching a glimpse of one could prove fatal. Of course, malevolent wee folk turn up in stories worldwide, but the author brought a probing rationality to the tale, very much in the American style. Citro’s SHADOW CHILD (quickly followed by GUARDIAN ANGELS), told a deceptively simple tale that grew progressively more brutal and disturbing, and THE UNSEEN cemented the author’s position as New England’s preeminent horror/folklorist. Nothing so obvious as a trilogy, these books displayed a persuasively woven continuity. The characters in each successive novel had ties to characters in the earlier works – ties of place and purpose and family, and like Yankees of old, Citro’s people displayed tremendous decency along with a plethora of more fallible qualities.
A true respect for the forest further distinguishes Citro’s writing. These woods are dangerous yet hypnotically beautiful. Spirits in the woods go by a lot of names. The Northwest has Bigfoot. Maryland has its bog creature. Jersey has its Devil. Remember The Wendigo? Profoundly evocative, the classic Algernon Blackwood tale is among one of the most truly haunting stories ever penned, and that atmosphere echoes all through THE UNSEEN. It’s in the wind that pushes through the trees at night, in the rustle of decaying leaves.
Much of the book takes place in a “gore” – wonderful word – a cartographer’s term for a tract of land that’s literally off the map. In such a place, a rigid mind might come into contact with something … that just can’t be. (Such encounters seldom end well.) Early on, there’s a terrifying night ride down a country road described as being like driving through a tunnel. “In places the trees grew so close to the highway that their branches intertwined overhead.” THE UNSEEN is a direct route to surreal terrain: the world of Joseph Citro.
Never mind. You get the picture.
All the acknowledged classics of the horror genre evolved from authentic folk beliefs, from tales and myths centuries old ... but seldom New World myths. Oddly, it's figures from European lore, the vampires and werewolves and ghouls, that seem familiar to contemporary Americans – familiar from all those books and movies and television shows – while indigenous folklore remains almost unknown. This is a situation Joseph Citro means to correct.
Years before THE UNSEEN appeared (pun intended), Citro introduced the world to creatures called The Gentry, an ancient scourge long ago transported to New England. These clever and powerful beings were diminutive and vicious and so secretive that just catching a glimpse of one could prove fatal. Of course, malevolent wee folk turn up in stories worldwide, but the author brought a probing rationality to the tale, very much in the American style. Citro’s SHADOW CHILD (quickly followed by GUARDIAN ANGELS), told a deceptively simple tale that grew progressively more brutal and disturbing, and THE UNSEEN cemented the author’s position as New England’s preeminent horror/folklorist. Nothing so obvious as a trilogy, these books displayed a persuasively woven continuity. The characters in each successive novel had ties to characters in the earlier works – ties of place and purpose and family, and like Yankees of old, Citro’s people displayed tremendous decency along with a plethora of more fallible qualities.
A true respect for the forest further distinguishes Citro’s writing. These woods are dangerous yet hypnotically beautiful. Spirits in the woods go by a lot of names. The Northwest has Bigfoot. Maryland has its bog creature. Jersey has its Devil. Remember The Wendigo? Profoundly evocative, the classic Algernon Blackwood tale is among one of the most truly haunting stories ever penned, and that atmosphere echoes all through THE UNSEEN. It’s in the wind that pushes through the trees at night, in the rustle of decaying leaves.
Much of the book takes place in a “gore” – wonderful word – a cartographer’s term for a tract of land that’s literally off the map. In such a place, a rigid mind might come into contact with something … that just can’t be. (Such encounters seldom end well.) Early on, there’s a terrifying night ride down a country road described as being like driving through a tunnel. “In places the trees grew so close to the highway that their branches intertwined overhead.” THE UNSEEN is a direct route to surreal terrain: the world of Joseph Citro.
September 18, 2021
This late 80s paperback from hell ended up subverting my expectations, but not entirely in a positive way.
What starts off as a promising folk horror with smatterings of Algernon Blackwood becomes a kind of juvenile mystery akin to the script of a made-for-TV thriller. However, the end result is not bad at all, and in some ways is a sophisticated exploration of racism and the folly of appearances.
Horror fans, do not go into this book expecting a genre gem. It is one of the tamest novels I've read from this era, and ends up wrapping things up too neatly like an episode of Scooby-Doo. In fact, it is so tame that this led to kind of a funny incident:
My 7-year-old son has a tendency to read over my shoulder, and on this occasion, I decided to let him follow along as long as he wanted. By this point, I was about three quarters into the novel and had hardly run across anything that would have been too objectionable to young eyes. In fact, the main focus of the story had shifted from the adults to two young boys, so he was enjoying reading about the adventures of these kids. Then out of the blue, we run across a random passage where a sheriff is ogling a woman's breasts, rambling on about how her chest was heaving and how he could practically taste her nipples in his mouth, and so on. When I picked up on where this was headed, I frantically flipped forward a few pages.
My son got pissed off and kept trying to turn the pages back. When I resisted, he complained, "But Dad, I wanna read that part!"
I said, "No, son, that part's silly."
He responded by saying, "If this book is so silly that you have to skip parts, then why the hell are we reading this?"
Hmmm. Out of the mouth of babes. Anyway, the episode did leave me scratching my head as to who the intended audience was supposed to be, as the book seemed to largely consist of very simple kiddie fodder that could have easily landed this book as family-friendly fare. I can certainly see why the marketing of this book in the late 80s and 90s may have agitated horror fans who did not get the supernatural creature feature hinted at by the cover. Back then, "The Gore" was known as "The Unseen," featuring a monstrous skull-face with enormous vampire fangs dangling from the upper jaw. I won't spoil anything other than to say that this cover was false advertising. The more modern covers are more faithful to the contents of the novel, even if the covers do descend in artistic quality over the years.
I won't say much more than this, because this is truly a book that primarily works if you go into it as blind as possible. Citro purposefully wanted to experiment with genre here and ended up writing a novel that has something potentially appealing for all readers. A cozy little read, but I found it a tad too tidy.
What starts off as a promising folk horror with smatterings of Algernon Blackwood becomes a kind of juvenile mystery akin to the script of a made-for-TV thriller. However, the end result is not bad at all, and in some ways is a sophisticated exploration of racism and the folly of appearances.
Horror fans, do not go into this book expecting a genre gem. It is one of the tamest novels I've read from this era, and ends up wrapping things up too neatly like an episode of Scooby-Doo. In fact, it is so tame that this led to kind of a funny incident:
My 7-year-old son has a tendency to read over my shoulder, and on this occasion, I decided to let him follow along as long as he wanted. By this point, I was about three quarters into the novel and had hardly run across anything that would have been too objectionable to young eyes. In fact, the main focus of the story had shifted from the adults to two young boys, so he was enjoying reading about the adventures of these kids. Then out of the blue, we run across a random passage where a sheriff is ogling a woman's breasts, rambling on about how her chest was heaving and how he could practically taste her nipples in his mouth, and so on. When I picked up on where this was headed, I frantically flipped forward a few pages.
My son got pissed off and kept trying to turn the pages back. When I resisted, he complained, "But Dad, I wanna read that part!"
I said, "No, son, that part's silly."
He responded by saying, "If this book is so silly that you have to skip parts, then why the hell are we reading this?"
Hmmm. Out of the mouth of babes. Anyway, the episode did leave me scratching my head as to who the intended audience was supposed to be, as the book seemed to largely consist of very simple kiddie fodder that could have easily landed this book as family-friendly fare. I can certainly see why the marketing of this book in the late 80s and 90s may have agitated horror fans who did not get the supernatural creature feature hinted at by the cover. Back then, "The Gore" was known as "The Unseen," featuring a monstrous skull-face with enormous vampire fangs dangling from the upper jaw. I won't spoil anything other than to say that this cover was false advertising. The more modern covers are more faithful to the contents of the novel, even if the covers do descend in artistic quality over the years.
I won't say much more than this, because this is truly a book that primarily works if you go into it as blind as possible. Citro purposefully wanted to experiment with genre here and ended up writing a novel that has something potentially appealing for all readers. A cozy little read, but I found it a tad too tidy.
September 29, 2022
One day, Claude, a man who works for the power company comes into Roger Newton's bar - nothing unusual - but he is there much earlier than normal, and Roger can see he is extremely shaken up. When Roger asks Claude what's wrong, he proceeds to tell Roger that he was out in the woods for work earlier, when he saw... something. A small, black-furred creature he thought was a bear cub - until it stood on two feet and grew taller than a man. Claude took off running and came straight to the bar, and from that day forward, he was never the same again.
Meanwhile, 79 year old Harvey Spooner is making his way down to the local university to inquire about some stones he found on his property that he thinks may be quite valuable, unable to understand what exactly he just set in motion.
Days later, Claude's son, Jarvis, tells his best friend, Stacey that his dad shot himself. He knows his father wasn't right ever since he saw that thing in the woods, and now it's eating at him not knowing what could cause a grown man to be so utterly terrified of something that he takes his own life. So Jarvis convinces Stacey to come into the woods with him and look around. Stacey doesn't think this is very smart, but knows his best friend needs his support, so he asks their much older and wiser friend, Cooley Hawks to escort them. Cooley is a retired logger and knows these woods better than anyone, and the two young boys feel much safer knowing he's there to look out for them.
"Could there be things so strange, so frightening, that death was preferable to knowing about them?"
On their way out of the woods that day, Jarvis is disappointed they didn't see anything out of the ordinary, when the trio are accosted by a pack of coyotes. Cooley orders the boys to climb a tree while he fights them off. He manages to fend some off, but ultimately it doesn't look good. Suddenly, there is an ear-splitting roar, and the animals cease their attack. From the edge of the trees, Stacey watches as a "tall black figure" emerges. It raises its arms and roars again, then runs to Cooley. The hairy creature kills the attacking dogs then picks Cooley up as if he were nothing and carries him away. The pair leave the tree and race home, running straight into Roger, Stacey's mother's boyfriend.
The boys are frantic and begin blurting out their story, desperately telling Roger that a "monster" came out of the woods and took Cooley. Roger doesn't know what to think, but ultimately knows the boys are not liars - and they are not the only ones to have an experience with a creature fitting such a description. Over the next few days, many people sight the "monsters," and there is speculation from Bigfoot to Windigo.
Roger knows one thing is for sure: there is something out in those woods - and not just one, but a group of them. He, like Harvey, gets the idea these creatures are not pleased by the stones being displaced - and Roger himself was one of the four people who went out to Harvey's property to examine them. Two out of the four have already been attacked. It's only he and Harvey left. Can Roger figure out what's lurking in the woods, and what they want?
----------------------------
I really liked this one; I love the premise of something lurking in the woods. I liked that they kept the identity of the creatures a mystery up until the end. The whole explanation itself was unique and I really didn't see that coming. I'm really excited to read more by this author.
Meanwhile, 79 year old Harvey Spooner is making his way down to the local university to inquire about some stones he found on his property that he thinks may be quite valuable, unable to understand what exactly he just set in motion.
Days later, Claude's son, Jarvis, tells his best friend, Stacey that his dad shot himself. He knows his father wasn't right ever since he saw that thing in the woods, and now it's eating at him not knowing what could cause a grown man to be so utterly terrified of something that he takes his own life. So Jarvis convinces Stacey to come into the woods with him and look around. Stacey doesn't think this is very smart, but knows his best friend needs his support, so he asks their much older and wiser friend, Cooley Hawks to escort them. Cooley is a retired logger and knows these woods better than anyone, and the two young boys feel much safer knowing he's there to look out for them.
"Could there be things so strange, so frightening, that death was preferable to knowing about them?"
On their way out of the woods that day, Jarvis is disappointed they didn't see anything out of the ordinary, when the trio are accosted by a pack of coyotes. Cooley orders the boys to climb a tree while he fights them off. He manages to fend some off, but ultimately it doesn't look good. Suddenly, there is an ear-splitting roar, and the animals cease their attack. From the edge of the trees, Stacey watches as a "tall black figure" emerges. It raises its arms and roars again, then runs to Cooley. The hairy creature kills the attacking dogs then picks Cooley up as if he were nothing and carries him away. The pair leave the tree and race home, running straight into Roger, Stacey's mother's boyfriend.
The boys are frantic and begin blurting out their story, desperately telling Roger that a "monster" came out of the woods and took Cooley. Roger doesn't know what to think, but ultimately knows the boys are not liars - and they are not the only ones to have an experience with a creature fitting such a description. Over the next few days, many people sight the "monsters," and there is speculation from Bigfoot to Windigo.
Roger knows one thing is for sure: there is something out in those woods - and not just one, but a group of them. He, like Harvey, gets the idea these creatures are not pleased by the stones being displaced - and Roger himself was one of the four people who went out to Harvey's property to examine them. Two out of the four have already been attacked. It's only he and Harvey left. Can Roger figure out what's lurking in the woods, and what they want?
----------------------------
I really liked this one; I love the premise of something lurking in the woods. I liked that they kept the identity of the creatures a mystery up until the end. The whole explanation itself was unique and I really didn't see that coming. I'm really excited to read more by this author.
August 3, 2010
Note: The Unseen was later re-released under the title The Gore
The last book I read by Joseph A. Citro was Shadow Child and I’m currently reading Weird New England. This was his third novel published, but it wasn’t anywhere near as frightening as Shadow Child was, in my opinion. I do however have to say the resolution was very imaginative even though I felt a little cheated by some of the red herrings early on.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: this book takes place in a small town in Vermont. In the woods there are strange sightings of unexplained origin and occasional disappearances. Yes, the premise is similar to Shadow Child. The main protagonists are Roger, a reporter turned bar owner and his girlfriend’s son, Stacey. Roger is fairly new to town and still trying to stifle his reporter’s instincts. Stacey is a curious boy with a fascination for the bizarre and unexplained.
The relationships are not explored much. There's a short bit of an old man reminiscing about his late wife that is sweet, but most of the relationships are a little wooden. I didn’t get a sense of tenderness between Roger and his girlfriend. The relationship between Roger and Stacey isn’t explored much either, though I would hope that what they go through will cement them as friends, if not father and son.
When a local man comes into Roger's bar and talks about seeing a shape-shifting beast in the Gore (Note: a gore is, I gathered, a bit of land that wasn’t used when property lines were drawn up. Generally it’s a section that wouldn’t be much use to anyone for building or planting.) The man commits suicide a few days later, which affects Stacey, who is a friend of Jarvis, the man’s son. Roger’s curiosity is intellectual; he wants to know what could have frightened a rational down-to-earth man so badly. Stacey and Jarvis believe is could be something more mythological; they want to go after it and get answers.
Like I said, the answer is enough to satisfy both of them even though it changes the lives of everyone involved. Most mental, some physically.
For as for whether or not I’d recommend it, that’s tougher. If you’re looking to read Citro’s entire oeuvre then yes, definitely. But I’m glad this isn’t the first one I read or else I probably wouldn’t start another of his.
The last book I read by Joseph A. Citro was Shadow Child and I’m currently reading Weird New England. This was his third novel published, but it wasn’t anywhere near as frightening as Shadow Child was, in my opinion. I do however have to say the resolution was very imaginative even though I felt a little cheated by some of the red herrings early on.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: this book takes place in a small town in Vermont. In the woods there are strange sightings of unexplained origin and occasional disappearances. Yes, the premise is similar to Shadow Child. The main protagonists are Roger, a reporter turned bar owner and his girlfriend’s son, Stacey. Roger is fairly new to town and still trying to stifle his reporter’s instincts. Stacey is a curious boy with a fascination for the bizarre and unexplained.
The relationships are not explored much. There's a short bit of an old man reminiscing about his late wife that is sweet, but most of the relationships are a little wooden. I didn’t get a sense of tenderness between Roger and his girlfriend. The relationship between Roger and Stacey isn’t explored much either, though I would hope that what they go through will cement them as friends, if not father and son.
When a local man comes into Roger's bar and talks about seeing a shape-shifting beast in the Gore (Note: a gore is, I gathered, a bit of land that wasn’t used when property lines were drawn up. Generally it’s a section that wouldn’t be much use to anyone for building or planting.) The man commits suicide a few days later, which affects Stacey, who is a friend of Jarvis, the man’s son. Roger’s curiosity is intellectual; he wants to know what could have frightened a rational down-to-earth man so badly. Stacey and Jarvis believe is could be something more mythological; they want to go after it and get answers.
Like I said, the answer is enough to satisfy both of them even though it changes the lives of everyone involved. Most mental, some physically.
For as for whether or not I’d recommend it, that’s tougher. If you’re looking to read Citro’s entire oeuvre then yes, definitely. But I’m glad this isn’t the first one I read or else I probably wouldn’t start another of his.
April 26, 2011
In typical Joe Citro fashion, I was scared to the point of sleeping with my bedside lamp on each evening after reading another chapter of "The Gore". It's not so much that it's a hell-raising, gorey, slasher tale. Moreso, that it leaves much to the imagination, and being a native Vermonter, I was all too familiar with the back woods creep factor from my childhood. I always enjoy how Joe works Vermont folklore into his stories and "The Gore" is no exception. Good quick read!
April 13, 2023
2.5 I’d feel bad rating this one lower because I was genuinely into this book for most of it. It’s not great but as far as rural Vermont Stephen King-lite, it’s not bad, engaging, kind of spooky and macho. Until the end where I was completely baffled. I guess I can see what the author was getting at, but it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. One of those things where the twist just shoots itself n the foot.
September 24, 2018
I loved this frightening suspenseful book! And just to be clear, the title does not refer to blood and guts, so don't worry. This is an amazing story takes place in extreme rural Vermont. Sometimes people think they glimpse a Bigfoot or gorilla like creature but it is always just hearsay. Or is it?
The characters are so realistic you'll feel you know them, the settings are amazing--small rural town, lots of gossip at the local pub... And the two preteen boys , best friends, decide to look in to these Bigfoot rumors. The plot thickens.
This is not written like a myth or mistaken identity--this book will make you fully believe this is happening right now, in a rural place similar to 'the gore'. And it might be! Read it!
The characters are so realistic you'll feel you know them, the settings are amazing--small rural town, lots of gossip at the local pub... And the two preteen boys , best friends, decide to look in to these Bigfoot rumors. The plot thickens.
This is not written like a myth or mistaken identity--this book will make you fully believe this is happening right now, in a rural place similar to 'the gore'. And it might be! Read it!
December 1, 2019
Great book!! Loved the twist!
April 3, 2020
A mysterious tale involving the old trope something in the forest, but takes it into a surprising, new, interesting direction.
January 24, 2020
“I seen something in the woods today.”
Man, I couldn’t get Brian Keene out of my head the whole time I was listening to this one. It did have a bit of Keene style to it, but honestly, I think it’s Chet Williamson’s narration that does that to me. Every time I hear his voice no matter what he’s narrating, I think of Keene. They’re like peas and carrots.
That being said, I think Citro stands on his own here, even if I was thinking Keene the whole time. The story is good (not great) and the writing was smooth despite getting bogged down with a bit of cheese at the end. I even liked how the title was a wee deceiving and the gore ain’t at all what I thought it was.
I liked it. I’m giving it 3 stars and reserving the right to bump it up a bit after further contemplation.
Man, I couldn’t get Brian Keene out of my head the whole time I was listening to this one. It did have a bit of Keene style to it, but honestly, I think it’s Chet Williamson’s narration that does that to me. Every time I hear his voice no matter what he’s narrating, I think of Keene. They’re like peas and carrots.
That being said, I think Citro stands on his own here, even if I was thinking Keene the whole time. The story is good (not great) and the writing was smooth despite getting bogged down with a bit of cheese at the end. I even liked how the title was a wee deceiving and the gore ain’t at all what I thought it was.
I liked it. I’m giving it 3 stars and reserving the right to bump it up a bit after further contemplation.
April 13, 2013
A decent Vermont based horror novel. I thought the "big twist" towards the end was kind of lame and sort of a let down. Besides that, however, this is a mostly well written novel, although there are some plot holes towards the end that I still can't figure out.
June 25, 2022
This was a light but mysterious, creepy, enjoyable read!
June 18, 2021
I just moved to Vermont right months ago, and my fiance who is a Vermont native introduced me to this book and declared it as the only book that ever scared her father. So I had to read it. I read it over the course of three days and I loved it. It went in directions I wasn't expecting, and I really enjoyed it. I have two other Citro books now and I am definitely looking forward to reading them soon.
January 4, 2019
Quick read that kept me interested until the end. Did not like the ending or “twist” at the end however.
September 18, 2019
Truth is I read this in high school and loved it. Picked it back up and found it unreadable. Couldn’t finish it.
January 29, 2024
Oh, it's like RACIST -racist.
Some well paced horror scenes though!
Some well paced horror scenes though!
June 18, 2022
A horror story taking place in the vast, uninhabited forrests of upper Vermont. The wilderness is filled with the ruins of old towns, old logger camps, older native american archeological sites, things which flitter in the shadows, just outside of your perception.
The story is totally logical. Unfortunately, that logic does undermine the horror a little.
But it has a surprisingly poignant ending.
The story is totally logical. Unfortunately, that logic does undermine the horror a little.
But it has a surprisingly poignant ending.
March 22, 2024
Somewhere in northern Vermont, nestled up against the border with Canada, lies the gore, a vast swath of unincorporated and otherwise unexplored wilderness. It’s a place of mystery and weird occurrences that locals know to avoid if they can help it. Of course when outsiders venture into this land and upset the status quo, nearby citizens go missing or end up dead. What’s really going on in the gore? Is it something unexplained or are these instances with a logical explanation?
I ended up really enjoying The Unseen as it was decently written, had a pretty engaging plot with a fairly unique twist that, while a bit preachy, still came together in a way that made sense both from a realistic standpoint as well as a generally satisfying conclusion.
Having read Citro’s previous Zebra novel Shadow Child that’s not much of surprise since he once again takes the wilds of Vermont and crafts a well written horror novel that somehow straddles the line of both the folk and cozy aspects of the genre without ever dipping 100% into either.
Never outright scary or extreme (the mildly misleading cover art is about as spooky as this one gets), but still having all the right characteristics to be correctly labeled as “horror”, The Unseen encapsulates a rare example of an author not afraid to dance back and forth between ideas and still manage to make things work, while, at the same time, keeping the story mildly tame in terms of bloodshed and excessive violence. Sure, this may piss off a lot of readers who want their stuff dark, or gory, or just straight up scary, but as someone who’s too old to get enjoyment out of that kind of thing, The Unseen is a fun little book that deserves to be read.
I ended up really enjoying The Unseen as it was decently written, had a pretty engaging plot with a fairly unique twist that, while a bit preachy, still came together in a way that made sense both from a realistic standpoint as well as a generally satisfying conclusion.
Having read Citro’s previous Zebra novel Shadow Child that’s not much of surprise since he once again takes the wilds of Vermont and crafts a well written horror novel that somehow straddles the line of both the folk and cozy aspects of the genre without ever dipping 100% into either.
Never outright scary or extreme (the mildly misleading cover art is about as spooky as this one gets), but still having all the right characteristics to be correctly labeled as “horror”, The Unseen encapsulates a rare example of an author not afraid to dance back and forth between ideas and still manage to make things work, while, at the same time, keeping the story mildly tame in terms of bloodshed and excessive violence. Sure, this may piss off a lot of readers who want their stuff dark, or gory, or just straight up scary, but as someone who’s too old to get enjoyment out of that kind of thing, The Unseen is a fun little book that deserves to be read.
July 15, 2015
Many places have layers upon layers of history and myth. Joseph Citro weaves that history and myth with a portion of human interactions in a fairly classically plotted story of the unknown, human malevolence, and mystery in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The mystery is the thing in the novel. The characters are stereotypes; the setting is Vermont but might be any rural and remote northern area. But still, a reasonable read for the airport or the beach or, if such things don’t shake you too much, a camping trip.
November 28, 2013
The book pulls you in and takes you on a journey to the Gore. A place in between maps, no man's land, where surveyors made mistakes. This unclaimed land has residents that prefer to stay out of sight and out of mind. Living there for hundreds of years with little to no contact with the outside world. Can you keep the secret?
October 14, 2007
What I Learned: I might have read this before. But I remember reading at least one of Citro's books about a year ago and not being impressed by the style. Reading these, I got much more involved in them. I guess people change...
May 31, 2011
I had to stay up late to finish this! It totally creeped me out. My imagination was on the run! I am SO glad I did not read this before spending a week in a cabin in Vermont!
November 18, 2012
A nice read with some interesting twists.
August 27, 2012
The best Joseph A Citro read in my view! Great Vermont Lore Read!
May 25, 2015
A quick read which keeps you guessing.
August 12, 2009
Well written, dark, surprisingly good
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews