 A very moving and horrific read., 1999-05-18
Being just a few generations away from the kind of rustic, religiously odd, mountain people that populate _Sineater_, I was overwhelmed by the honesty of this horrific novel. The characters in _Sineater_ are fiction, but so many like them exist throughout the isolated mountain areas of Virginia and Kentucky, anyone from the region will recognize them. The fanaticism that fuels the horror of this novel is very much alive in these parts. _Sineater_ shows what a delicate balance exists between tradition and change, and how dangerous it can be when that balance is lost.
 A very well written, but slow novel, 1998-08-24
I should begin by saying that SinEater is very well wriiten novel. Written primarily in present tense -- a narrative mode that sometimes can be very annoying -- Massie's style is smooth and atmospheric. I wish more first novels were written with same confidence of style.My major gripe with the book is that its slow. Real slow. While some of this can be excused, as Massie is building up both character and atmosphere, not much happens for a great deal of the book. Some people die, there is the od tortue and we get a good look into Joel's life and the way he tries to move from the repressed lifestyle of being the SinEater's son. Still, though there are some great scenes and moments of real horror -- especially when a school teacher is caught in a closet filled with squirming rats -- the book only ambles, rather then gallops. Still, this is a good novel, better then most of the Horror lying around. it deserves to be read becasue it is beautifully written, and makes some fascinating comments about weird, clut like religious practises and a young boys need to break the shackles of tradition and fear. For those reasons I recommend the book.
GRIM...GRIPPING...ATMOSPHERIC..., 2002-12-30
This is an exceptionally well written horror novel and one of the best of its genre. This Bram Stoker Award winning novel is set in the backwoods of Virginia, and the author's talent as a writer gives the reader a real feeling for the place about which she is writing. It is a grim, gripping, and highly atmospheric horror novel about a backwoods town in which some of the residents practice an old time religious custom...one that requires the service of one known as the "Sineater". By custom, the Sineater is one who redeems the souls of the dead by eating food laid out on the bodies of the dead before they are buried. In eating the food, the Sineater is symbolically redeeming their souls, as the food represents their sins. The living are forbidden to look upon the countenance of the Sineater. That taboo, however, has been violated, as the Sineater now has a wife and family, even though they, too, must avert their gaze. The family is also to be shunned by the people of the town. Yet, the youngest member of the family, Joel, attends school in town. Though his company is generally avoided by nearly all, he manages to touch some hearts, and some folks actually interact with the child much to their ultimate dismay, as someone appears to be very angry with this break in tradition. The goodness and sensitivity innate in Joel, as well as his touching appreciation of friendly overtures by others, and the discovery of his own humanity, is a wonderful counterpoint to the evil let loose upon this backwoods town and the ignorance which fuels customs that are destructive and inhumane. This is a horror novel well worth reading.
Just what the doctor ordered, 1998-09-24
After sitting wading through dozens of cheap horror and thriller novels that read exactly alike (you know, the ancient evil or unstoppable maddness) it was real nice to read Sineater. Sineater is a coming of age novel reminiscent of Robert McCammon's Boy's Life where a young boy must come to terms with the world around him while that world seems to be falling to pieces. The hero of Sineater is a young boy from Virginia who, because his father is the Sineater, is alienated from the community that he goes to school in. No one will talk to him, no one will be his friend, and even adults are afraid of his touch. Interwoven through this tale are strange disappearances, odd religious practices, and alot of small town strangeness. Sineater works because it is more than a horror novel, more than a mystery, and more than a small town/coming of age story. While the story does take it's time being told, I found the characters so real that the slow pace made the book more enjoyable. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good literature. And I would like to commend Leisure books for their continued support of the horror genre.
GRIM...GRIPPING...ATMOSPHERIC, 2002-11-06
This is an exceptionally well written horror novel and one of the best of its genre. This Bram Stoker Award winning novel is set in the backwoods of Virginia, and the author's talent as a writer gives the reader a real feeling for the place about which she is writing. It is a grim, gripping, and highly atmospheric horror novel about a backwoods town in which some of the residents practice an old time religious custom...one that requires the service of one known as the "Sineater". By custom, the Sineater is one who redeems the souls of the dead by eating food laid out on the bodies of the dead before they are buried. In eating the food, the Sineater is symbolically redeeming their souls, as the food represents their sins. The living are forbidden to look upon the countenance of the Sineater. That taboo, however, has been violated, as the Sineater now has a wife and family, even though they, too, must avert their gaze. The family is also to be shunned by the people of the town. Yet, the youngest member of the family, Joel, attends school in town. Though his company is generally avoided by nearly all, he manages to touch some hearts, and some folks actually interact with the child much to their ultimate dismay, as someone appears to be very angry with this break in tradition. The goodness and sensitivity innate in Joel, as well as his touching appreciation of friendly overtures by others, and the discovery of his own humanity, is a wonderful counterpoint to the evil let loose upon this backwoods town and the ignorance which fuels customs that are destructive and inhumane. This is a horror novel well worth reading.
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