My Five Word TL:DR Review : Scary Concept, Little Over Stretched

Oracle is a really interesting idea for a horror story, in fact I can’t recall reading anything quite like it.  It got off to a great start with a slowly building sense of unease that really does turn into all-out-horror.  For me, I didn’t quite enjoy the last third of the book as much as the earlier chapters, which was something of a surprise given there’s plenty of action and utter chaos at points.  I preferred the creepier elements I think to the outright horror, although I would just clarify this isn’t bloodfest slasher horror.

I would mention that this is the second  instalment in the Robert Grim series but I can confidently say that this can be read as a standalone.

This story really hits the ground running.  We meet Luca and his neighbour/friend/crush, Emma, they’re on their way to school, it’s a foggy morning and visibility is really bad.  Then, out of the blue they come across the strangest thing? obstacle? – basically, a 17th century fishing vessel, in excellent condition, has manifested from out of nowhere – literally it’s landed in a field of tulips.  Lucas is very wary but Emma is determined to explore and climbs aboard.  She enters the hatch, an ominous bell tolls, and she disappears.  Within fairly short order a number of people have disappeared into the ship’s hold.  Each time, the ominous bell tone rings out and that person isn’t seen again.  Luca’s dad, responding to his desperate call also ventures on board, and in spite of taking extra precautions he also goes missing.  From this point onwards the whole episode falls under the remit of a secret agency who seem to wield enough power to make the ship and all the missing people seem explainable and mundane.

I won’t go into the plot.  There is a lot of cloak and dagger type subterfuge going on, at the same time, the families with missing relatives are trying to rally and desperately hoping for good news – which is in short supply.

I won’t elaborate further on the plot at this point.

What I really like about this.

Well, having read the author a couple of times already I expected there to be some chilling moments and there certainly is.  He has such a great way of creating a situation, infusing it with atmosphere, inserting something so insidiously creepy that you’ll have the goosebumps and then creating pandemonium amongst the characters.  And, I liked the characters, mostly.  Luca is a sensible boy, he makes some good decisions and he was easy to read about – no eye rolling at all.  Grim is a character enlisted by the secret agency people because he seems to be the only person who has dealt with an unexplained incident before (aka supernatural).  I wasn’t totally enamoured with some of the ‘baddie’ types though  They felt a little James Bond OTT villain to me.

I love all the old lore, and some of this really does go back in time and delves into the unknown, powerful deities that have been around longer than you can imagine.  There are visions and oracles and fascinating undersea discoveries.  This is also mixed in with the strange history of the fishing ship that appeared out of nowhere and started these strange events.  The Oracle, as it was/is known, has a dark and disturbing history and it’s sudden appearance foretells certain disaster.

I enjoyed the different settings, I particularly thought the abandoned and structurally unsafe oil rig was brilliant for the grand finale – what more could you possibly want in terms of downright spookiness – oh, a storm you say – you’re covered.  Of course there’s a storm with winds so strong that the characters are in danger of being swept overboard into the thrashing waters.

Now, in terms of criticisms.  I don’t have anything that spoiled the read for me, but the final chapters felt a little drawn out.  Strangely, this isn’t a feeling that I often experience, I’m more likely to conclude a book and feel like it was a bit rushed than the reverse, but in this case, and perhaps it’s because the author really was putting his characters through the wringer, I wanted to get to the crux of the matter and it seemed to drag a little.

Overall though, this was an intriguing story that I enjoyed by an author whose work is always compelling.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 3.5 of 5 stars