Always make sure you look closely before buying "the latest book by Timothy Roderick". He has two very distinct publishing personas; one is a non-fiction writer focusing on neopagan guidance and reflection (e.g. Wicca: a Year And a Day, or Dark Moon Mysteries) while the other is interested in paranormal thrillers such as last year's Nine Zero One Three. His most recent offering, Cornbones is most definitely in the latter vein, and shows quite some growth from his last outing.
One refreshing aspect of his thrillers is that his deep understanding of pagan culture and practices means that when he brings these subjects up they are not likely to raise your hackles in the same way that most pop culture references do. It is difficult to explain in more detail without unraveling the central point of the novel, but we can work around the subject easily enough. Except for a brief framing device the story is set in the America of the 1930s, first in Los Angeles before settling in the fictional Harveston, Pennsylvania. Henry Rustin isn't just having a run of bad luck, he's mired in terrors both existential and mundane. His ex-wife isn't just a bad memory 15 years on, she's haunting his nightmares. When his last chance dies in his hands he heads east, the nightmare comes with him (or is waiting on him, depending on your point of view). He's going to the small rural town of Harveston for a surprise shot at salvation, only to discover that the whole town is a honey trap that all of the residents are stuck in. They don’t wave visitors off, alas, and his feet are well-stuck before he starts to realize the trouble that he’s in. Like the “best” traps, the real pain is reserved for those who try to escape, and his grisly attempt to extricate himself makes up the climax of the story.
Like his other works in the genre, Cornbones isn't swimming in violence and gore. Roderick is far more interested in the slow burn and the gradual rise of fear that gives way, eventually, to terror. This is where his clever use of supernatural understanding pays off, taking what is usually read about as the bygone mythology of days past and breathing a feeling of vitality into them before siccing them on a (relatively) modern framework. Just because people have got electricity, it turns out, doesn't mean that they should stop being afraid of the dark. I shouldn't undersell the visceral horror that Roderick occasionally employs - you should be comfortable with authors who paint vivid pictures of what evil can do to a person before picking Cornbones up. That said, if you enjoy a suspenseful thriller that can get a little... wet, Timothy Roderick has got a new book just for you.
~review by Wanderer
Author: Timothy Roderick
Timothy Roderick, 2024
pp. 278, $2.99 (digital only)
