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Andrew Michael Hurley has a real gift for the gothic style, horror tinged, atmospheric storytelling that immerses the reader here in a chillingly dark and disturbing world. He draws on his trademark themes of history, superstitions and folklore in a ominous narrative that goes back and forth in time. The Willoughbys have relocated to the rural Yorkshire Dales to an inherited home, Starve Acre, a name that certainly doesn't inspire comforting heartwarming pictures. For Richard and Juliette as par...
If you like gothic stories, with a bit of supernatural, this is the book for you. Andrew Michael Harris is the author for you. Unfortunately, I don't like these types of books - and movies - even if I keep trying at least once a year. The more I try, the less I archive but this won't stop me. So here I am, one more time, trying to explain why you shouldn't hate this story.Saying it’s quite disturbing won't actually explain how I feel about it, but it comes closer. Is it disturbing in a positive
''He says my name sometimes. He tells me to come to the tree.'' A young family moves to the moors, to a house where dreams and nightmares co-exist. The forest nearby hides secrets and strange apparitions. But the young parents are hopeful, away from the noise and threats of the big city. Soon, everything changes. A young boy becomes almost unrecognizable, his intentions inexplicable and violent. A tree appears at will and a presence, called Jack Grey, seems to have entered the boy's mind and
OminousStarve Acre is a folk horror tale, full of menace and fuelled by guilt. Richard and Juliette Willoughby, and their young son Ewan moved to Richard’s family home in the Yorkshire Dales following the death of his parents. The house known as Starve Acre has unhappy memories for Richard as he recalls his father’s mental breakdown. The unfriendliness of the house and the surrounding fields haven’t changed and the main field that folklore tells of homing the legendary Stythwaite Oak sees nothin...
Starve Acre was a perfect read for this time of year.The story is woven around a folk tale of a tree that was used for hangings hundreds of years ago and which possibly made the soil barren around Starve Acre, a house that has belonged to the Willoughbys for generations. The house now belongs to a couple, Juliette and Richard, who grieve after the death of their five-year-old son. The theme sounds simple, however, everything that surrounds the house and the fields around it is not. In the course...
Gorgeous cover art of a giant tree with a hangman's noose makes Starve Acre a beautiful, little book to behold. It is just as chilling and absorbing and lovingly written on the inside. I felt I could see the house, the dead wood, and where the digging was taking place. The cold seemed to seep into your bones. This author has a real gift for imagery.The story is a dreary one, a couple has lost their young son. Ewan died at five years old, worse even than this, his memory is benighted by the boy's...
In a manner of speaking, I'd already read Starve Acre. A novella of the same title, published under the pseudonym Jonathan Buckley, was issued as part of the Eden Book Society series earlier this year. I loved it (you can read my review here). But this new version promised an expanded take on the themes of the novella, plus a different ending, so I was still excited to (re?)read it.Richard and Juliette Willoughby are in mourning for their young son, Ewan. In the aftermath of his death, their wor...
I read this book in two sittings. Combining a troubled family with a property possessing a nefarious history, this book is impossible to put down until the final unsettling pages. A fast and ominously intense read.
Having really enjoyed The Loney and Devils Day I was really pleased to receive this ARC and I was not disappointed. From the opening sentences with the beautiful winter descriptions of Croftendale in the Yorkshire Dales right through to the mind blowing ending I was hooked. This is the story of Richard, Juliette and Ewan Willoughby and their home Starve Acre. It is a story of grief, guilt and sorrow following the death of young Ewan, it encompasses local legends, superstitions, magic and beliefs...
Wonderfully atmospheric folk horror tale that instantly hooked me from the first page.We know from the outset that something tragic has happened to Richard and Juliette's five year old son Ewan.The narrative cleverly converges two timelines as the reader follows the family who's recently moved into a house on the Moors, whilst the manner in which both parents come to terms with the sudden death of their son.The tension really builds especially as we learn that Ewans behaviour had started to beco...
This is a book to devour. The writing is exquisite, the characters are indepth, the bleak end of Winter scenery on the quiet moor heartbreakingly beautiful. Richard and Juliette have recently lost their young child and are each grieving in their own way. Richard hides on the moor, Juliette in her deceased son's bedroom. They grow further apart each day.An occult healing session turns their world upside down.Starve Acre is a story with few characters, traveling at a slow but very pleasant pace, g...
And so, the secret is out. Starve Acre, originally issued by Dead Ink Books as part of their Eden Book Society series, was not written by the elusive (by which read “fictional”) 1970s author Jonathan Buckley, but is, in fact, Andrew Michael Hurley's third novel. Starve Acre has now been published by John Murray under Hurley’s name and with new cover art. Having enjoyed "Buckley"’s horror novella, I was eager to read this version, curious to discover whether it would be an expanded take on the or...
Wishlist | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Ko-fi Reading Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley was a unique reading experience for me. Starting right after Halloween, it was the perfect eerie continuation of the spooky reading mood. Thank you to the teams at Tandem Collective and John Murray Press, for sending me a gifted copy of this book. Synopsis: The worst thing possible has happened. Richard and Juliette Willoughby’s son, Ewan, has died suddenly at the age of five. Starve Acre, the...
Having enjoyed Andrew Michael Hurley’s previous novels, “The Loney,” and “Devil’s Day,” I was excited to read his latest work. “Starve Acre,” is a novella length story, set in a similar, bleak countryside setting, as his previous books. Dr Richard Willoughby, a university professor, inherits his family home – the starkly named, ‘Starve Acre,’ and moves there – a little against his better judgement – with wife Juliette. Their son, Ewan, is much wanted by Juliette, who adores the boy. However, Ric...
This has to be the most weirdest book i have ever read. I didn’t really know what was going on other than the couple had a son who died. Nothing is really explained. How and why did Ewan die, what the hell is the hare? Left more questions with no answers
Cover by Daren Hopes
full post here:https://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/201...I don't read a lot of contemporary horror novels, but there are a few authors whose books I will preorder once I know they're on the horizon for publication. Andrew Michael Hurley is one of these people -- I absolutely loved his The Loney (in my opinion the best book he's written), quite enjoyed his Devil's Day, and now he's back with another fine novel, Starve Acre. This time around Hurley is much more straightforward in terms of horror tha...
I have read both this author’s previous books and been impressed by his skills at conjuring atmosphere. He gives us more of the same here with a setting on the Yorkshire moors in an isolated farmhouse and its adjacent field, the focus of local superstition and a grisly history. The tension is heightened by the family’s own recent history and the tragic loss of their 5-year-old son. The circumstances of his death are unclear for most of the book. The events leading up to it, though, and the child...