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Shadow Play
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 3, 2024
Spence only penned two novels I know of, this, her first novel, and Rebekka Moon. Talk about slow burn! Spence sets Shadow Play in a small, North Florida town, an hour or so from Gainesville. Powellton, population maybe 1000, exists primarily as a farming town. Our lead, one Steve McKenzie, works as a researcher in Gainesville, but loves his sleepy little town. Spence takes some time setting this up, introducing a wide range of small town characters, his wife and kids-- you get the picture.
The entire story takes place during one, late August summer. Spence did a great job capturing the Florida summer heat-- you can just about feel the humidity! The novel starts with Steve heading home for a long weekend and a bit of vacation. After a day or so, things start getting a little weird; nothing really weird, but Spence plays a long game here. First, several of the town's kids seem to have caught a mild flu or something and the local Doctor has been busy. A formerly passive milk cow goes a little crazy and has to be put down. Then, a few people find a couple of local kids screwing, but the boy is 14 and the girl just 8! WTF? The boy splits town, but the girl is puzzled-- what did she do wrong? Why is everyone so concerned? Many of the kids start 'acting up', giving lip to their parents, their other siblings. Is it just the summer heat? Or that school will be starting soon?
I want to avoid spoilers, but something is changing the kids, and even a few of the parents. The final third is where things come to a head, and while I liked the denouement, be warned that this is not the most scintillating novel. Spence slowly (oh so slowly) builds up the creep factor, but she did a much better job with this in Rebekka Moon. Kids running amuck, evil kids, possessed kids-- what was in the air int he 70s and 80s? 2.5 shadowy stars, rounding up for GR!
The entire story takes place during one, late August summer. Spence did a great job capturing the Florida summer heat-- you can just about feel the humidity! The novel starts with Steve heading home for a long weekend and a bit of vacation. After a day or so, things start getting a little weird; nothing really weird, but Spence plays a long game here. First, several of the town's kids seem to have caught a mild flu or something and the local Doctor has been busy. A formerly passive milk cow goes a little crazy and has to be put down. Then, a few people find a couple of local kids screwing, but the boy is 14 and the girl just 8! WTF? The boy splits town, but the girl is puzzled-- what did she do wrong? Why is everyone so concerned? Many of the kids start 'acting up', giving lip to their parents, their other siblings. Is it just the summer heat? Or that school will be starting soon?
I want to avoid spoilers, but something is changing the kids, and even a few of the parents. The final third is where things come to a head, and while I liked the denouement, be warned that this is not the most scintillating novel. Spence slowly (oh so slowly) builds up the creep factor, but she did a much better job with this in Rebekka Moon. Kids running amuck, evil kids, possessed kids-- what was in the air int he 70s and 80s? 2.5 shadowy stars, rounding up for GR!
September 1, 2025
Hidden gem. Wasn't expecting much and it totally blew me away. Very under the radar quiet horror-probably not for your average horror fan, but for people into deep cuts and paberbacks from hell, a solid and fun read.
July 20, 2022
Average horror hokum about killer kids exposed to environmental toxins. Ticks enough of the 80s horror boxes to be worth a read but not much more than that.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews