DEMON SHADOWS by Michael B. Sirota (BOOK REVIEW)

Publisher: Bantam Books
Length: 233 Pages
Publishing Date: August 1990

The Thorburn Colony is a quiet and relaxing retreat where weary artists can escape the insanity of real life and outside world influences. A beautiful location in the Pacific North-West within the Sierra Nevada mountains, near a lake, dense forest and quaint little cabins. A perfect place to allow oneself to get freed from their worries and unblock their creative flow, the ideal location for the perfect dream to take place. Paul Fleming, who has been suffering with writers' block and dealing with a horrible divorce process for the last several months, makes a decision to spend some time here, and just maybe he will be able to get his new book finished. The brochure made it seem like the right choice for him to make and, upon arrival, his thoughts seemed to confirm it was indeed just where he needed to be.

From the first few pages, Michael Sirota's descriptive narrative of this beautiful setting and cozy location had my imagination stirring. I knew right away I was going to be able to dive right in for a nice and hopefully creepy tale. It doesn't take long for the spook factor to set in, either.

The main character, 36 year old Paul Fleming is a man with inner turmoil. His recent divorce and other life stresses have halted his ability to sit down and work his craft, that being his excellent ability to concoct a good story. His writers' block has been an issue that he hopes to straighten out with a nice, relaxing time spent at Thorburn Colony, an arrangement his agent and friend, Gary Marks, set up in hopes of fixing this nightmare. This had to be a solution that would work: 4 weeks in a beautiful retreat in the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains definitely seemed like the answer. He knew he would miss his kids, Jason and Bree, but off he had to go.

As you open the first page and get into a strange, yet interesting prologue that delves into John Thorburn's diary, you will feel the uneasiness settling in. John and his fellow pilgrims are headed west to start a better life, filled with huge dreams and a sense of adventure. They cut their way westward by horse-drawn wagons, onward towards their goal. Life on the trail is harsh, and traveling dangerous terrain eventually brings the company to an agonizing halt, with starvation evident and battling freezing temperatures. Death visits often, all hope seems lost, but then a stranger arrives. A lone native Indian. Although it seems like salvation he brings, another dark stranger who lurks in the shadows has another offer for these poor souls. But it comes with a price.

Paul Fleming rides a roller coaster of mystery and intrigue throughout his stay. Although his words begin to flow again, it is the haunting feeling coming over him that begins to consume his thoughts. The folks he is surrounded with are all mostly friendly, but some of them have a real propensity for being off. From the strange, old lady Thorburn, who tells her stories at dinner every night, to his fellow artists with their varying personalities and quirks, I was drawn in, wanting to know more about these characters. The setting is very imaginative and detailed, bringing the reader into this cozy and isolated location. The atmosphere created by Michael Sirota is dark and foreboding. A sense of danger always lurking in the shadows, yet it never fully materializes when you expect. His subtle stirring of the imagination is what I loved about this read. Although I have not read any of his other works, I now plan to get copies of them. I do not feel this book is beyond criticism, as there is some I have, but overall, I highly enjoyed this read.

So, what are some of my criticisms? Firstly, I do feel the story is a bit unoriginal. We have all read stories with creepy, secluded towns, where the people seem to be hiding some dark secrets. Whether it be a town of cultists, vampires, spooky children or some ancient race of beings, it is a fairly common theme. This is not something that makes the story bad in my opinion, but just something that makes it sort of typical. One other con for me is how the story seems a little rushed after Paul and Gail become close. It seems to move towards the climax at a much quicker pace than I foresaw. What starts off with subtlety and easing in begins moving way too fast towards the end. It just feels rushed in my opinion. I do not think it is too much of a negative, but definitely a feeling I had.

If you want a creepy story to read while sitting by a cozy fire and sipping on a hot cup of coffee, I think this is a great selection, for sure. I would not suggest going into it with the highest expectations, but very much an enjoyable read that will bring on the goosebumps and play with your imagination. I would indeed recommend hitting your local library or Amazon and scoring a copy of this eerie tale.

Review by Coffin Creep

RATING: 4/5

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