Plenty of authors are trying their hand at YA writing these days, to varying success. With growing superstars such as Suzanne Collins, Stephanie Meyer, and that Rowling person, it can be a gold mine – if the stars align and the story hits home.
What about when the shoe is on the other foot? Rowling’s adult debut hit stores this fall and now, the godfather of it all, the original scaremaster is back, with a twist. The man who changed lives with his Goosebumps series, his Fear series, returns with his second “adult” novel, RED RAIN.
This book might be for his original audience who now have kids of their own – and it will still frighten them.
Lea Sutter, a travel writer who lives for the edge, decides to visit Cape Le Chat Noir, a small island off the coast of South Carolina, similar to the Outer Banks. A hurricane decimated the town in 1935 and is slated to slam it again (a fact made even more eerie by the recent storm which left a trail of devastation in its wake along the northeast).
The storm hits during a death ritual conducted by the locals and sets the scene for RED RAIN. When it leaves, bodies are strewn everywhere, tears and death raining down upon Lea as she walks the land – along with a true, red precipitation. Out of the rain walks a pair of boys, twins, who appear unharmed but without parents.
Lea brings them home, insisting on having two additions to the family without a second thought. Her child psychologist husband, Mark, and two children, Ira and Elena, rail against the move.
Of course, strange events ensue and life back home on Long Island, NY takes a turn for the worse. The twins are nothing like they seem: attractive, polite, gullible orphans.
Stine’s writing seems to be a continuation of his YA efforts, yet maturing with his readers for a fluid, easy read replete with humor, suspense, a strong sense of setting, and yes, sex.
If the reader finds the storyline somewhat familiar, with the odd children and disaster they bring, it’s not déjà vu or a copout. Stine gives credit where it is due and mentions Village of the Damned, Children of the Damned, and Island of the Damned on the acknowledgments page.
Smart but campy and entertaining from start to finish, RED RAIN is recommended for all of Stine’s old fans and will hopefully find plenty of new ones along the way.
- THE BEST OF ROD SERLING’S TWILIGHT ZONE - April 11, 2015
- BLIND RAGE - April 11, 2015
- Black Static #44-45 - April 11, 2015
- The Halloween Children - February 12, 2015
- Darkness Ad Infinitum - November 24, 2014
- Fear City - October 5, 2014
- The Boneyard - July 24, 2014
- Double Feature: A Novel - July 24, 2014
- Never Alone - July 24, 2014
- Blind Vengence - July 24, 2014
