Review: Hand "Entirely Too Little [Creepingness]"

Book review: The Hand of the Necromancer

Small New England town is invaded by the bugnuts descendant of a Colonial warlock, who chopped off his hand and sealed it in a hand-shaped block of wood. As you do. Also: Johnny Dixon signally fails at getting a girlfriend.

Oh autumn! Autumn to me requires a brief dip into the awesomely creepy New England of John Bellairs, with Lewis Barnavelt and Rose Rita, Anthony Monday and Professor Childermass et al. It's sort of mandatory. However, since Bellairs' death in 1991, his series has been continued by Brad Strickland...yeah. It's like Archy McNally and Lawrence Sanders. That type of thing.

This is the first Strickland book I've read, and it's probably going to be the last. Strickland likes to get preachy and, come on dude, you're writing a book about a demonic severed hand. Lay off the platitudes and let me enjoy the creepingness. Of which, I will add, there was entirely too little. The hand makes a big entrance right at the beginning, is sought after for 125 pages, and then opens a vortex to the netherworld and takes Bugnuts the Disney Villain with it into the afterlife.

Yes I know. I just spoiled the book for you. Because it's not that good of a book, that's why.

 
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