“If you look at the list of the best-selling horror
novels of the last 20 years, you’ll notice that the vast majority
of them are thicker than average. From the epics of Stephen King, Peter
Straub, Robert R. McCammon, Clive Barker and Dan Simmons, to the bloated
excesses of Anne Rice at her worst, most readers seem to prefer big,
thick books they can lose themselves in over the course of days, weeks
or even months. Though there are many quality books that are relatively
lean and mean; nothing seems to satisfy as well as a big doorstop of
a book detailing dozens of characters and how their lives (and deaths)
interweave. James A. Moore has written just such a sprawling epic with
Serenity Falls.
“This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s
read his previous novels Under the Overtree and Fireworks. Both of those
novels vivisect the microcosm of small, isolated towns in great detail.
Serenity Falls does the same, but with even more detail and complexity
than Moore’s previous worthy efforts.
“Serenity Falls is a small town in upstate New York.
Behind its cozy façade lie many unpleasant secrets. There is
an extraordinarily high murder rate, worse then New York City’s
on a per capita comparison. Its citizens are ordinary folks who share
the normal passions and failings of humanity. The town has been having
hard times economically since the closing of the quarry. There’s
little work to go around and times are tough. Things appear to be looking
up when a new company comes to town intent on reopening the granite
quarry, bringing new jobs to a community desperate for them. Alas, it
will take more than a good paycheck to save its denizens from the 300-year-old
curse attendant upon them. Nor will it save them from the demonic entity
that has traveled there from the ruins of its last victim, Silver Springs,
Arizona. The sins of the fathers are laid upon the shoulders of the
sons…and every soul will scream.
“Moore creates and develops a whole population’s
worth of memorable characters, dealing with a myriad of personal and
societal ills through their experiences. Chief among those characters
is the appealingly enigmatic Hunter, Jonathan Crowley, previously introduced
in Under the Overtree. He’s also created an entire history for
the town: working in the past incidents that haunt the town in just
the right places to maintain suspense and menace, yet not derail the
forward momentum of his narrative drive. Indeed, the novel’s structural
integrity is among its finest points. The shear complexity of his numerous
plots and subplots, set in the present and the past, could have overwhelmed
his story had he not pieced it together so perfectly. Imagine a book
with the scope of Stephen King’s It not hampered by clumsy construction
(something King himself readily admits to) and you might get some idea
of the magnitude of Moore’s accomplishment with this book.
“As of this writing (June 3, 2003), this is easily
the best horror novel to appear this year. It’s more ambitious
and thorough than the last three horror novels you’ve read put
together. If there’s any justice in the world, James A. Moore will
be the genre’s next superstar. He’s the only horror author
out there who’s already writing at the level of the modern greats,
with the same mainstream sensibilities that made bestsellers of them
all. There really hasn’t been a new horror superstar to take that
leap into big time mainstream success since Dan Simmons. So remember,
you heard it here first: the name James A. Moore will soon be spoken
in the same reverent tones we now speak of King, Straub and Koontz.
Count on it.”
Garrett Peck
“Although this might sound like a steep price tag for a paperback
novel, you’re going to get your money’s worth with this one,
in terms of both quality and quantity. It runs well over eight hundred
pages, and for the most part it’s very tightly plotted and integrated.
A comparison to early Stephen King is inevitable, because it’s
the kind of novel King might have written. A mysterious force arrives
in a small town and occupies the body of one of its residents. Once
established, it sets out to bring about the systematic destruction of
the entire community through violence, mistrust, hatred, and fear. The
relentless efforts of the antagonist are opposed by a young boy who
slowly wakens to the danger while those around him remain oblivious.
You’ll become immersed very quickly, and once caught up in the
story, you’ll find it difficult to put the book away until you’ve
finished it.”
Don D’Ammassa, Chronicle
Magazine issue 234
(CNN)—Here is a news scoop from the publishing world: Stephen King
is going to retire. Not too much of a timely story from the “Book
Lizard,” but let me guide you to a horrific alternative.
Serenity Falls, by James A Moore, brings to mind early
Stephen King.
Think of it as “Dawson’s Creek” as written
by King. In its tree-killer length of 800 pages, Moore’s novel
gives the reader a tour of the New York state town of Serenity Falls,
which is home to a couple of churches, the local historical cemetery
and a good school. In short, it’s your typical picturesque northeastern
small town.
Sure the economy has hit it hard, but with the local
granite quarry about to go back into production things are looking up.
Who am I kidding though? This is horror novel—or I should say,
A HORROR NOVEL.
Let us meet some of the locals in “The Falls.”
First, we have your typical small town preteen school friends Stan Long
and Dave Pageant, who experience a close encounter, but we are not talking
E.T. here. Fellow students Charlene Lyons and Jessie Grant will play
a role in the town’s destiny.
Moore brings his kid cast to life with wonderful characterizations
extending into their immediate families. But this isn’t just a
great horror novel from the kid’s perspective.
There are plenty of three-dimensional adult characters
like Mike Blake, an alcoholic depressed over the violent murder of his
wife. And then there’s the local good guy lawman, Constable Jack
Michaels, and his newly hired Hulk (without the green skin), Deputy
Victor Barnes.
Sounds like a pleasant enough bunch. But as in reality,
small towns have secrets. In the case of Serenity Falls, these secrets
have teeth—a multitude of long, pointy sharp teeth with a taste
for human souls.
The path to this town’s invasion of demon body snatchers was started
long ago by some non-demon lustful townspeople. Add this to the arrival
of “the Hunter of things that go bump in the night,” Jonathan
Crowley, and you have a potent witch’s brew nightcap.
In Serenity Falls, James A. Moore has written a novel
where all hell breaks loose—literally. His descriptions of small
town quirks and foibles hit the mark on all cylinders. DO NOT be intimidated
by the phone book size of this one. The book is a quick read with very
little filler.
Serenity Falls is published by Meisha Merlin as a trade paperback original.
James Argendeli
CNN Headline News
Monday, May 26, 2003 Posted: 11:23 AM EDT (1523 GMT)
“Three hundred years ago, avarice led to a woman
being burned at the stake as a witch. Before dying she cursed the town
of Serenity Falls. Over the years, greed has led to adverse happenings
to the residents. However, Serenity Falls seems in the midst of a financial
renaissance with the reopening of the quarry.
“As usual with the three-century old Curse, sinister
things accompany the good happenings but once again prove much worse
than the positive tidings. The Curse seems reaching the end game as
the locals behave weirdly, but if that is not enough to frighten anyone
who sees beyond the typical rapacity, two dangerous outsiders have entered
the mix. An evil demon-like creature and Jonathan Crowley have arrived
with agendas of their own that include killing their visiting rival,
but the Curse has other needs for these dueling strangers with the locals
caught in the middle of a triangle of terror.
“On the surface Serenity Falls sounds like Stephen
King’s Salem’s Lot, but there is much Moore to the novel than
just the rewriting of a classic. The story line is loaded with an intensifying
terror that is difficult to classify as the audience wonders between
the Curse and the newcomers as to who is the focus of this peril. Surprisingly
for such a large ensemble the residents ensure the audience believes
the small hamlet exists and bring life to the threat. Jonathan is an
interesting protagonist who seems heroic yet anti-heroic as the audience
speculates whether he is a savior or the Grim Reaper. His malevolent
antagonist adds suspense to a tremendous horror story worthy of the
masters.”
Harriet Klausner, Baryon Magazine
91
“SERENITY FALLS is quite possibly the best horror
novel since SALEMS’ LOT. How’s that for a strong recommendation?
I have solid proof to offer – 800+ pages that will grab and horrify
you while maintaining a death grip on your interest throughout. This
is the ultimate page-turner.
After having read James A. Moore’s FIREWORKS, I
eagerly awaited this book. About the only Serenity to be found in Serenity
Falls is in the title. It’s taken from the name of a town –
a town which is the basis of a 300-year-old curse that is now coming
to a terrible conclusion. It all started with a woman that was burned
as a witch—an excuse used to disguise greed and lust. Serenity
Falls, for all its existence, is a town of murder and deceit. There’s
a lot going on down there. But the slow vengeance extracted over the
years has led to the buildup of the ultimate vengeful act.
Everything is in place—bad doings are happening.
The end is nigh. So what does Moore do? He throws some wild cards into
the mix. One of these is some sort of demon creature from some sort
of hell or another dimension who comes to town. Also coming to town
is Jonathan Crowley—a truly compelling character—hero, villain
or both. The demon wants to kill Crowley and vice versa. But their interests
collide with those of the curse and the curse’s master and all
of that spells deep agony for the inhabitants of Serenity Falls.
Those inhabitants are fully fleshed, well-developed characters.
Immerse them in a great plot and superb action where the menace and
mystery increase with each paragraph and you have a truly important
novel.
James A. Moore’s SERENITY FALLS shows some of the
strength of a young Stephen King, some of the flavor of the current
Bentley Little and a dash of the wit and perverseness of Dean Koontz.
But in the end, SERENITY FALLS is a major accomplishment in the horror
field and it is thanks to Moore. Read it and you will echo my praise."
Jim Brock, Baryon Magazine #89,
Dec 2002
