The out-of-season English seaside town of Belmouth seemed like the perfect venue for a Storytelling Festival.
Until the killings started.
At first, Festival Organiser and Storyteller Dan Edwards isn’t that concerned by the news reports. But then it becomes obvious that the Festival is connected in some way.
More importantly, the stories he is telling appear to be coming to life…
‘Once: A Belmouth Tale’ combines traditional folk tales with modern horror to create a journey into one man’s nightmare, one that will have him doubting everything and change his life irrevocably.
Not all stories end with Happily Ever After.
Title: Once: A Belmouth Tale| Author: David J. Thacker| Publisher: Self | Pub. Date: 1 Aug 2019| Pages:: 219 | ISBN: 978-1079424850| Genre: Horror| Language: English| Starred Review: Yes | Source: Author/ Publisher
Once: A Belmouth Tale: Review
Settle down at a cosy English Pub in the seaside town of Belmouth. Oh! And there’s a festival for storytellers arranged, you LOVE stories! So, why not have a listen, it sounds harmless enough.
This book has been the first book that I have picked up in a very long time (because I haven’t been reading too much and because I haven’t had much luck when it comes to choosing great books lately,) that has honestly been a pleasure to read. I had initially read the blurb and thought I had Thacker pegged and I didn’t. Even once I had started reading, I thought I could guess what was coming, but Thacker pulled the wool over my eyes; especially when it came to how the novel ended, because it felt honest and real, and I give applause for that. I’m still thinking about it now.
The tales of folklore throughout keep the pace of the novel moving evenly and with plenty of suspense, they are told in a mesmerising fashion through Dan (our protagonist) enough to almost hypnotise listeners, and me, the reader. Most of those folklore tales I haven’t myself heard about before which now has me interested in learning even more about them and how different they may have been portrayed by Thacker in Once.
The illustrations were also nice and creepy and I would have loved even more of those! It was cool to see how @Dansmonsters drew the pictures compared to how I was seeing things in my head. (I LOVE @Dansmonsters drawings, they are super spooky and you should definitely check them out if you haven’t seen any before!)
This book gets 4 stars from me, and if you need some easy to read horror that feels new, I recommend this one!
You can find this book at many retailers via clicking on the appropriate link on GoodReads. Buying direct from retailers is a good way to support indie authors); however, in the spirit of supporting literacy programs, we would like to point out that you may be able to purchase this book through BetterWorldBooks.
Sian joined the Coolthulu crew in March 2019 and reviews horror and science fiction books for the site.
She’s trying hard to play it cool but she’s more excited than Lilyn’s new puppy to be part of the crew. PS we got T-shirts!