The Red Church

I finished this one a couple of weeks ago, and to be honest I haven't been enthusiastic enough to write about it. I was looking forward to reading it, at least in part because of the similarity of its Appalachian setting to that of my book Ball Mountain. Unfortunately, it was very disappointing. Red Church wasn't bad, just extremely mediocre. The writing was decent, but most of the characters were pretty rough (I shuddered every time I started a chapter that had to do with Ma Bett). And the catch phrase "the thing with wings and claws and livers for eyes" did absolutely nothing for me. What exactly does having livers for eyes look like? I have a hard time taking a monster with food products on its face seriously. The plot was okay, but it certainly didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. I've heard that Mr. Nicholson has improved since the Chuch, but this book will not make me run out to see.