Something In the Air Tonight
05/22/2006
Kenyon, Nate. Bloodstone. Waterville, Maine: Five Star, 2006. 360 p.
The people of White Falls are dreaming of the dead clawing out of the depths of their graves and finding their way back into the world of the living. Eeriness fills the air, moving the wind that sweeps across the seemingly quaint New England town. The ideal vacation destination White Falls would not be, but it is the perfect setting for Nate Kenyon’s Bloodstone, a chilling tale of classic horror in which the portals of the underworld open up in an otherwise unremarkable small town.
Billy Smith is thousands of miles from the sleepy town, yet he has had these nightmares more than any other unfortunate soul. After being paroled in California following a drunk driving conviction, he finally responds to his inexorable dreams and the unyielding voices in his head. The enigmatic whispers in his mind and in his dreams say, “You must come, William. You must come home,” along with the even more foreboding and disjointed talk of “dead men walking.”
Billy is also drawn to a young woman whom he has never met—a recurring character in his dreams—so he sets out to find her. He locates this woman called “Angel” on the beaches of Florida, strung out and trapped in a world of drugs and prostitution. Ironically, he becomes both her kidnapper and her salvation. Despite being an ex-convict, Billy is a sympathetic character and, ultimately, the story’s protagonist. The two kindred spirits don’t know where they are going until they arrive, but their destination is, of course, White Falls. Billy and Angel both recognize this ominous place from their dreams, though neither of them had visited the town before.
As Billy Smith and his traveling partner make their way to New England, eighteen-year-old Jeboriah Taylor is dealing with his own visions and voices. His, however, have become worse since he retrieved the belongings of his dead father from the penitentiary. His father, Ronnie Taylor, had been the bane of White Falls, and young Jeb was a pariah from early childhood. Jeb is not just a criminal’s son; he was a witness to the crime that put his father behind bars until the day he died. As a young boy, Jeb watched dear old dad beat his mother to death with a broomstick in their small cottage. This young man believes that the world is mocking him, making him a laughingstock, until he is seething with rage and indignation. In short, he is ripe for otherworldly victimization. His vulnerability is only magnified when he finds an ancient amulet among his father’s possessions, accompanied by a note saying “i got a lot of plans for you boy and ain’t they good, and you can have all you want too. just wait a little longer and I’ll show you…welcome to the party. your pop ronnie.” Obviously, you don’t have to be an avid horror novel reader to know that this is going to be trouble.
The influences of a few literary greats are evident in Nate Kenyon’s work. Not unlike the “one ring” in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, the mysterious amulet seems to embody a greater power—one of pure evil. It is a deceptively heavy, almost living entity that takes an unnatural hold of all who possess it. Stephen King’s influence is also apparent in Bloodstone. When, for example, the awkward young Jeb begins changing under the influence of the amulet, one can’t help but see the resemblance between this unlucky character and Arnie Cunningham from Christine. Jeb takes on his dead father’s characteristics just as poor Arnie loses himself to LeBay. Finally, fans of V. C. Andrews’ Flowers in the Attic will find the unsettling twists that they crave.
Nate Kenyon may have been influenced by the greats, but his talent as an individual is unmistakable. If he continues on his current path, his writings will indeed be a welcome addition to the genre.