Those Across the River

By: Christopher Buehlman

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Failed academic Frank Nichols and his wife, Eudora, have arrived in the sleepy Georgia town of Whitbrow, where Frank hopes to write a history of his family's old estate - the Savoyard Plantation - and the horrors that occurred there. At first, the quaint, rural ways of their new neighbors seem to be everything they wanted. But there is an unspoken dread that the townsfolk have lived with for generations. A presence that demands sacrifice. It comes from the shadowy woods across the river, where the ruins of Savoyard still stand. Where a longstanding debt of blood has never been forgotten. A debt that has been waiting patiently for Frank Nichols' homecoming...

©2011 Christopher Buehlman (P)2011 Penguin

Critic reviews

“One of the best first novels I’ve ever read.” (Charlaine Harris, number one New York Times best-selling author)

“An unsettling brew of growing menace spiked with flashes of genuine terror - do not miss this chilling debut. Christopher Buehlman is a writer to watch. I look forward to hearing from him again. And soon.” (F. Paul Wilson, New York Times best-selling author of Sibs)

“Lures you into a different era, seduces you with eloquent prose and sensual period details, then clamps down on your jugular.... An outstanding debut.” (Hank Schwaeble, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Diabolical)

Recording glitches, but a great gruesome tale

Let's start with the plusses - this is a rip-snorting, fast-paced, carefully-crafted thriller in both horror and historical fiction categories. The story is literary, first rate and laid out just right. The narrator was very good, although he seemed to forget that his 3 protagonists were YANKEES in the south, and generally gave them heavy southern inflections as well, No big deal.
***
Now to the not-so-good bits. 39 minutes into the recording it seemed to skip, and while the book is labeled as 9hr6min in length, the download read out at 8hr25min. I contacted Audible and they said they found no problem, and sent me a fresh file, but the problem was the same.

I wound up purchasing the book on Kindle so I could make comparisons! The 39 min. skip turned out to be only a single word, and I resumed listening. But almost every chapter ends with one of these squeaky cuts, where a single word is cut off, and when the book resumes and you're in another chapter, it's very disconcerting. I THINK I heard the entire book, but I hope that Penguin Audio is more careful with its finished products in the future.

My world just got rocked by the "Insulter"

Would you listen to Those Across the River again? Why?

I am currently listening to this book for a second time. The story sneaks up on you in a way that absolutely forces you to keep listening. The setting is perfect for the horror that slowly unfolds and with the combination of the talented voice actor and the incredibly believable writing of the author it is a story that will stick with you for a long time.

Any additional comments?

Only problem I had was that there seemed to be something wrong with the recording. Throughout the audio sentences seemed to be clipped off at the end and words to complete sentences seem to have been lost.

Not Good

I did not enjoy this book. Predictable story and characters that are bad made for a rather unenjoyable listen. I selected this book because I read one other Buehlman novel which I really enjoyed. I almost turned the book off once I was so disgusted and frustrated with the characters but decided to slog through to the end.
If you like characters making dumb decisions, odd amounts of sexual activity, and gutless people then this book might be for you.
Violence against animals included in the story.

Fun campfire story

A good listen for the week heading up to Halloween! Not particularly complex but a fun horror story with a few touches the dark humor thrown in. There are a couple of twists you may or may not anticipate but I think I'd enjoy either way.

One of the best horror books I've ever read

loved it, being the south the author has the lingo down. fantastic storytelling. the author has a wonderful ability to describe things with few words, keeping the momentum of the story going without getting bogged down by the details.

So So Good

It took me a little bit of time to get used to the narration, but once I became accustomed to it, I really enjoyed it. The story is great, I couldn't wait to keep listening. This book should be a movie.

Excellent read!

This is the best book I’ve read this year! The reader did a fantastic job of telling this story. Bravo!

Not-So-Classic, Classic Horror Story

This book had a few great twists and turns that kept me entertained through to the very end. Wonderfully narrated, eerie, and unexpected. I can't give enough praise to Mark Bramhall for his ability to perfectly capture every character with their own specific accent. Well done, all around.
I did notice quite frequent skips in the recording itself - I just thought I'd mention that to anyone out there wondering if there's something wrong with their media player...

Truly terrifying

Came to Christopher Beuhlman by way of Between Two Fires, then The Lesser Dead. Each of these books are different in subject and style from one another, but all excellent. The author's writing keeps me interested in checking out the next offering regardless of the proposed summary.

Those across the river is well paced, griping, disgusting, terrifying, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at the same time.

Horror at its Best!

Oh my goodness this book was good. I devoured it in a single day. Buehlman has a wonderful knack at storytelling and Mark Bramhall’s narration was the cherry on top of this exquisite horror story. I don’t want to address the story itself simply because it would be too easy to give important facts away. To me, this book was part World War Two novel, part nostalgic Americana novel, and part romance novel, all wrapped in a splendidly visual and entertaining horror novel. I will be looking for more of his works immediately and “Those Across the River” will, no doubt, be added to my literary necessities collection. Oh one little spoiler, make sure you listen to the very very last of the book. The last four or five minutes of the story made a huge difference in whether or not I liked the whole thing.