Maplecroft Paperback – September 2, 2014

Great

I wasn't completely sure what to expect, other than I read a tagline somewhere on twitter that this story was Lizzie Borden meets Lovecraftian horror and I knew I had to read it. I've read Priest's Clockwork series, which feels like a modern dime novel, and the Chesire Red books, an Urban Fantasy with a snarky vampire thief. Both series are fast-paced, action-packed reads.MAPLECROFT is a different animal. I thought that we would mostly be viewing the story from Lizzie's perspective, but the book is told through the journal entries and letters of several characters. The letter approach isn't always my favorite. Sometimes I find it interrupts the story, or slows everything down to a snail's pace (like, say, Frankenstein). Not the case here. The book kept my attention, but was less non-stop action and more creeping, rising tension.We have characters isolated from society because of a scandalous murder as well as a town geographically separated from the larger metropolises. They are also facing a Problem that is completely outside their known history and experience. To think on it is to risk sanity, but they have to figure it out if they have any hope of stopping it.Something is transforming the residents of Fall River. Lizzie killed the first two, after her parents were afflicted. Since then she has studied as best as she could with the equipment at her disposal, looking to myths to try to explain the impossible. Her parents weren't the only victims, though, and soon Lizzie and her small group of allies must fight for their lives, minds, and souls.Emma, Lizzie's sister, is frail but surprisingly resourceful. She and Lizzie have a complex relationship. They have been sequestered together, sharing terrible secrets. They crave help from others but have a very realistic fear to opening themselves to the outside world. Doctor Seabury is the town doctor whose testimony helped keep Lizzie from a murder conviction. He saw Lizzie's stepmother shortly before her death, and knew she was different, that she had changed into something horrifying, even though he couldn't bring himself to mention the truth. Nance, Lizzie's lover, is an actress and a force of nature herself with an inextinguishable curiosity. Lizzie and Nance had so many forces pulling them apart, societal and supernatural.So much I would love to discuss here but can't because spoilers.I definitely felt the rising dread as a monster stalked towards our little group. The transformation and murders, while horrifying, were the kind that leaves quite a bit to the reader's imagination. And my imagination tends to go into overdrive in these situations. The whole setting felt claustrophobic as everything came pressing down. Tense, at times heartbreaking, I really fell in love with the mythology here, the historical twist. While we do get a conclusion, there is room for more.If you are looking for something creepy, engrossing, and refreshingly different, go pick up MAPLECROFT. I will be pre-ordering book 2 as soon as it is available

The people in town think that Lizzie killed her father and step mother but she was never convicted so it’s like she got away with murder. However they don’t really know what happened and she’s never admitted that she was the one who took their lives after all when she did it wasn’t really her parents anymore. With her older sister she moved away from prying eyes to the sea so that they could work on her research and continue to hunt those who have come from the sea. Lizzie and Emma are both living alone in isolation except that the Dr. Seabury has been their sole friend and confident. He knows more than anyone else does what’s really going on at Maplecroft.When Lizzies lover sneaks down into the cellar and uncovers the magic stones that Lizzie has taken from the sharp toothed creatures she’s had get rid of in the cooker. The stones call to people and Nance is no exception falling into a coma that force them to reach out to Dr. Seabury. When Dr. Seabury is unable to help they fear that Nance will go the same way that their parents did. As if that’s not enough a killer is intent on getting his hands on Emma after having corresponded with her. Will Lizzie be able to save her love and sister? Will she find out what’s really happening to the locals?I didn’t really have one favorite character in Maplecroft we are given multiple points of view of Lizzie, Emma, Nance, and Dr. Seabury are the main ones. I liked them all getting to see into their stories what they are really thinking I found it revealed more of the story. I like the way the character interacted together they worked well even when they aren’t on the best of terms.I’ve been interested in Lizzie Boren Borden since I saw the lifetime show last year and when I heard about the new take on the old story of Maplecroft I knew I had to read it. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long because I really enjoyed the story. The characters are well developed I found myself connecting with each one on different levels. I think the author did a great job taking the classic story and putting her own unique spin on it. So many twists and turns throughout the story it kept me on the edge of my seat till the very end. The authors writing style can be a little daunting at time but I think it’s because there is so much going on you feel a little overwhelmed but overall it’s well done. This is my first book by the author but I’m looking forward to the next one since I couldn't put this one down and finished it in just a over a day of reading.

I enjoyed the characterisation and the start of the story is exciting, but about halfway through I realised nothing was going to be resolved by the end, presumably to leave the door open for sequels.The descriptions eventually became repetitive filler to chew through to get at the actual plot. The story felt mysterious at first but characters continually engage in thoughts and actions that don't develop the plot, entire scenes are repeated across mutiple chapters without adding anything, and by the end I was skimming paragraphs to get to the actual plot points.Probably the most puzzling aspect of this story is why the main characters constantly turn down help! On and on they monologue about how the dangers they face could end the world, but they destroy or cover up the ample physical proof of the evil and sefishly hoard what little knowedge they have. If the world did end it would be their fault for obstinately refusing to warn anyone! It makes it hard to sympathise with them by the end.I think this book would have benefited from snappier description and less inconsequential scenes. I appreciate some mystery has to be maintained, but I would've been more satisfied if we'd gotten more on the motivation behind the main villian's crimes, which are never explained, or the sea glass, thes noise, the water, or any of it really. I won't be sitting through hundreds of pages of filler-laden sequ just to be fed a few tidbits of mystery, so I guess I'll never know!Despite my issues, it's fun if long-winded adventure for the main part, with a very enjoyable first half.

Arrived promptly, love it, many thanks

Starts well, begins to drag, then fizzles out.

Fall River, 1894: Lizzie und Emma Borden sind nach Lizzies Mordprozess und ihrem Freispruch praktisch so etwas wie Aussätzige in ihrer kleinen Stadt, was den beiden Frauen allerdings nicht ungelegen kommt, sind sie doch einem entsetzlichen Grauen auf der Spur. Die Bordens haben sich damals eine unheimliche Krankheit zugezogen und Lizzie war gezwungen sie in Notwehr zu töten. Nun forschen die Schwestern in ihrem abgelegenen Haus Maplecroft nach den Ursachen dieser Krankheit und es scheint, als würde der Schrecken aus dem Ozean kommen. Als sich neuerliche Anzeichen der Epidemie in Fall River bemerkbar machen, muss sich Lizzie mit ihrer Axt der Bedrohung stellen.MAPLECROFT hat mir gut gefallen. Cherie Priest verbindet historische Tatsachen mit einer stimmungsvollen Horrorgeschichte, die auch von Lovecraft stammen könnte.Die Handlung von MAPLECROFT spielt sich innerhalb weniger Wochen ab und der Roman ist in Form von Tagebucheinträgen und Briefen aufgebaut. Atemlose Action steht hier weniger im Vordergrund, die Nachforschungen der Bordens und ihrer Verbündeten stehen klar im Zentrum. Auch der Schrecken schleicht sich eher auf leisen Sohlen an und die Figurenkonstellationen und ihre Beziehungen zueinander sind ebenfalls wichtig für die Handlung. Die Spannung kommt aber auf keinen Fall zu kurz und auch die Horrorelemente sind sehr stimmig und schön integriert und sorgen für das eine oder andere wohlige Schaudern. Mehr möchte ich hierzu aber nicht verraten, um niemandem das Buch zu verderben.Leider war nicht ganz so begeistert von den Figuren in MAPLECROFT. Sie alle sind dreidimensional gezeichnet, leider waren sie mir ziemlich unsympathisch. Besonders Emma, Lizzies ältere Schwester, konnte ich gar nicht ausstehen und für meinen Geschmack sind Lizzie und vor allem ihre Motivation, sich der Bedrohung zu stellen, etwas zu rätselhaft geblieben. Die sympathischste Figur ist Doktor Seabury, der den Schwestern zur Seite steht und immer tiefer und tiefer in das Mysterium der Krankheit hineingezogen wird.Alles in allem ist MAPLECROFT ein schöner und stimmungsvoller Horrorroman, der mich trotz der nicht sehr sympathischen Figuren überzeugen konnte. Obwohl der Roman ein abgeschlossenes Ende hat, bleiben einige Fragen offen und ich denke, dass es eine Fortsetzungen geben wird. Empfehlenswert!

There's a palpable sense of dread, almost like that of drowning, that builds up over the course of this book. Cherie Priest deftly weaves a narrative not only about Lovecraftian horror, but about the tenuous grasp on relationships. Lizzie, Emma and their little Scooby Gang lose more than their sanity as they plot progresses to its climax. At the end, I was left feeling satisfied but also quite heartbroken for the trail of destruction left in the wake of this ultimate evil.