| Title | : | White Pines |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1793845611 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781793845610 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 442 |
| Publication | : | Published March 18, 2020 |
Welcome to White Pines.
Don't get too comfortable.
This is the new cosmic-folk-Celtic-cult-horror novel from Gemma Amor, the Bram Stoker Award nominated author of Dear Laura, Cruel Works of Nature and Till the Score is Paid.
White Pines Reviews
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Megs inherits a remote cabin in nowhere Scotland and moves there after her husband finishes their relationship. Nearby is an island with unusual white trees. The inhabitants of the small village are strange. Megs feels like living more and more in a dreamworld. Why is she magnetically drawn to the island? What are the villagers so afraid of? What is her role in the mysterious dealings of the people in the area? Who is Nimrod? Is someone living on the island? The book is very slow, poetic, descriptive and sometimes extremely eerie. At some parts I thought the author should have been shortened the descriptive passages and stayed more focused on a straightforward story. So it became a bit overlong. It is the story of a woman separated by her husband and a tale full of magic and a world of ancient horrors. This sometimes doesn't go together perfectly. Otherwise a remarkable and intense book. Had to think about Ramsey Campbell when reading this novel. If you like slow burning creepers set in the woods definitely worth reading.
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Review originally published at Cemetery Dance:
https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/...
I like that the synopsis of White Pines is short and ambiguous. I’d like to leave it that way. I’m going to do my best to share my reading experience without disclosing important plot details in order to protect “reader discovery.”
What you know:
A woman, returning to her roots. A town, built on sacred land. A secret, cloaked in tradition and lore.
Welcome to White Pines. Don’t get too comfortable.
The new cosmic-folk-Celtic-cult-fantasy-horror novel from Gemma Amor, the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Dear Laura and Cruel Works of Nature, is available NOW.
What I’ll tell you:
The protagonist, Megan, is so relatable. I enjoyed going on a journey of self-discovery and change with her at the beginning of the story; walking in her shoes and processing everything thrown her way.
I love that Gemma Amor writes flawed, realistic women that don’t come across as having it all figured out. Megan doesn’t always react the way I would in a situation, but that’s the beauty of investing in her story—to see where her choices will take her.
What makes this book full-on horror is the brilliant way Amor sucks the reader into the story without telegraphing where she is taking you. As Megan begins to unravel the mysterious situations that befall her, the pace quickens, hurtling towards the escalating drama without being able to stop. The suspense is exhilarating and addicting.
Perhaps most noteworthy is Gemma’s ability to seamlessly stitch together mythology with epic proportions while simultaneously laying down solid groundwork for the reader to stand on so that suspending disbelief comes effortlessly/naturally. It’s clear that world building and character development are Gemma’s wheelhouse, and her greatest assets that assist her in dynamic storytelling.
To say that she holds her readers captive in the palm of her hand doesn’t do the magic of White Pines justice, but it’s as close as I can get to describing the relationship I have with her gift of words.
A consistent feature of Gemma’s books is their ability to translate powerful emotion. I went through a plethora of feelings as this book wound down to its conclusion. A strong testament to Gemma’s work as a writer—her readers can confidently show up for her unique brand of horror and expect to be crushed under the weight of serious emotional investment. It hurts so good. -
This is where White Pines used to stand. Of the 1,351 people who used to live here, only bare, blackened earth remains. Instead of the self-made town, there is now a scar now upon the land, made all the more horrifying by its proportions, for the charred soil is laid out in the shape of a perfectly proportioned equilateral triangle.
A remote house in rural Scotland with strange triangular symbols carved on it and an hidden red door in the cellar leading to a mysterious island that houses a town built where nothing should have been.
Rigid, I did not dare move a single muscle for fear of another attack. The dog didn't back away. It just stood there, as if waiting for further command. And the command came. The man clapped his hands together one last time, smiling as he did so. The dog cocked an ear, listened, wheeled about, lifted a leg, and pissed on my shoes.
A mysterious coastal village and its inhospitable, to say last, local mainlanders.
A tall, upside-down, u-shaped frame, made of wood, stopping short of ten feet high. There was no platform beneath, but well-trodden, worn soil all around it. There were markings on the wood of the frame, letters carved in a language I didn’t understand. Gaelic, I supposed. I paused, trying to figure out if the wooden structure was old, or new.
Creepy family secrets and legacies.
The woman levelled me with a steady gaze. ‘Oh, no need for anything like that,’ she said, and I suddenly felt like a child about to be dismissed. ‘I’ll have a word with Murdo for you, if you like,’ she continued. ‘It’s about time something was done about that dog, but there’s no need to make it official. We like to sort our own business out around here. Keep it local, you know.’
Abominations from beyond that should not exist.
'Can I ask you something?’ I decided to bite the bullet, as the opportunity was too good to pass up. Fiona waited, tight-lipped, so I continued, pointing at the woman’s tattoo. ‘What does that symbol mean? I keep seeing it everywhere around my house.’ Fiona didn’t answer. She held my gaze with her own, and her eyes were different colours, I realised, behind the lenses of her spectacles. One brown, one blue.
A sleeping god beneath a tree that it would have been better not to awaken.
I had a vivid memory, then, so vivid it took my breath away, of that clasp being jammed into place with deadly precision by a pair of gnarled, old hands, one of which was missing a little finger. It was my Granny. Staring out to sea, at the Island, just like everyone else. Waiting for something.The ChosenThe Wicker Man meets The Mist and H. P. Lovecraft in a thrilling, and sometimes very disturbing, folk horror/cosmic horror mash-up novel with strong early Stephen King vibes, since its prologue set in the aftermath of the creepy events happening in this harrowing book, told from the pov of a flawed female main lead with a dark past and a far darker future waiting for her.
The god beneath the tree opened its mouth, and I saw my mistake for what it was: the rock was not a rock at all, nor was it a carving. Rather, it was something that had been sleeping, sleeping for many, many years beneath this cherry tree, safe, cradled, undisturbed. And I had just woken it up.
A more weird than horror read, but still a very intense one, with plenty of gore, body horror, and a few creepy scenes that are going to stay for a long time with me inside my nightmares.
But worse than that, much, much worse, was the crystal I’d held in my hand. Because it was impossible to think for even one moment that I’d brought it back with me, from a dream. Which meant one of two things. Either I was hallucinating, or the nightmare wasn’t a nightmare at all.
Highly recommended. -
This review was initially written as part of my 'Rick's Read-Along' series for
www.horroroasis.com and has not been edited from its initial format for Goodreads.
Welcome to Rick’s Read-Along. A new series presented by Horror Oasis where I visit an author’s entire back catalogue and encourage you, the reader, to read along with me. I will publish my thoughts on each book every two weeks, while also announcing the next book I’ll be reading. Every author selected will be someone whose back catalogue is readily available and is somebody we feel our readers will enjoy discovering along with us. I hope that you’ll all join me in sharing your thoughts.
The first author in the series will be Gemma Amor. Gemma is a Bram Stoker Award-nominated writer whose books include Dear Laura, Cruel Works of Nature, White Pines, Girl on Fire and These Wounds We Make, all of which Gemma has self-published, as well as producing her own unique and beautiful cover art. Not content with conquering the world of indie horror, Gemma is also a successful podcast writer, contributing to the No Sleep and Shadows at the Door Podcast as well as co-creating the female-centric comedy-horror audio drama, Calling Darkness. Visit her website at gemmaamorauthor.com
Gemma Amor is an author I have heard many wonderful things about, dating back to her 2019 Bram Stoker Award nomination for the book I have selected to begin my journey with: Dear Laura. This series of articles marks my first time reading her work and I’m looking forward to sharing this experience with you all and, hopefully, hearing what you all thought of the books. As these articles are intended to encourage people to read these books along with me there will obviously be spoilers ahead, although I will strive to keep them minor and avoid spoiling major reveals or twists along the way for those who haven’t read it yet.
After starting out my Gemma Amor journey with Dear Laura, a bleak but brief novella (119 pages), then following up with a collection of short stories (Cruel Works of Nature) I was intrigued to try out a much longer work of hers, and White Pines certainly fits that bill, my ebook copy clocking in at a whopping 444 pages. This epic folk horror novel, with hints of the cosmic, is far similar in tone to the downbeat Dear Laura than some of the more fun offerings from Cruel Works of Nature, but while it may share a somewhat similar tone, and some themes (a female protagonist trapped in a situation she has no power over, her predicament becoming an obsession that drives her) it is a very different reading experience and feels like a far deeper dive, both into the character and the world they inhabit.
The book opens with a prologue that is explicitly set after the presumed events of the book and I’ll revisit that at a later point, as much like Stephen King's opening to ‘Salems Lot’, knowing what we do as a result of this prologue fundamentally changes how we as a reader react to certain events in the book. The prologue also introduces us to Megan, the book's protagonist, whose life changes irrevocably within the first chapter as her husband returns home to spring a divorce upon her. This early scene felt very grounded and realistic to me, devoid of blazing rows and stilted dialogue, and this grounding is a welcome change of pace to the big scale prologue and the weirdness that is to come later in the book. Megan goes through a lot in these early chapters emotionally, but ultimately deals with the shock by getting as far away as she can; to Taire-Faire, a remote house in rural Scotland once owned by her late Grandmother, bequeathed to Megan in her will.
Her arrival at the remote Highlands of Scotland and her early encounters with the locals give off very strong ‘The Wicker Man’ vibes. From the very minute of her arrival, as she finds mysterious stones with unusual carvings dotted both inside and outside the house and a very unwelcome and cryptic greeting from a mysterious man and the local post office owner, things don’t feel right and we immediately get the sense that Megan's unexpected arrival is going to be a catalyst for… something, and probably not anything good.
It doesn’t take long for White Pines to start hinting at some very big scale, very weird goings-on at Taire-Faire and it’s clear there is going to be more to this novel than a creepy village and creepier locals with an ‘is it or isn’t it’ question hanging over the supernatural elements. It was refreshing to be let in on the fact that yes, there are 100% supernatural goings-on here and the book very quickly becomes exciting and tense because you get a sense that anything could happen and that there are no limits. Even feeling this way, ‘White Pines’ goes in some pretty unexpected directions.
From the very moment that it’s mentioned, Gruinard Island feels central to the mystery. Megan herself seems inexplicably drawn to it, and Amor makes a point to note how the locals not only seem focused on it but there are even elements of the village itself that seems centred around its existence. I was expecting White Pines to lead up to a big finale when Megan finally finds her way over to Gruinard and we get some answers to the intriguing questions that are starting to build.
I’m going to get a little vague from here on out because I strongly feel that White Pines is best enjoyed when going in knowing as little as possible, and don’t want to spoil anything further for people reading this without first having read the book. Needless to say, my expectations regarding the island were wrong, and we actually get to visit there pretty early on, and we get the answers to these questions much earlier in the book than I expected and, once we do, what has so far been a very mysterious setup that is raising a lot of questions and delivering few answers, takes what I can only modestly describe as 'a bit of a left turn’.
Comparisons to ‘The Wicker Man’ can now be changed to similarities with ‘Twin Peaks’, with a lot of strange and impossible imagery, jarring occurrences that come completely out of the blue to offer explanations that go far beyond what we were expecting. What Megan finds at the island is such an unexpected revelation that it almost feels that, from this point on, we’re reading a completely different book with only Megan there to anchor it with what has gone before.
It works, and it works really well, and that is largely down to Megan. She is such a complex and interesting character that goes on such an incredible journey throughout White Pines, that the increasingly strange goings-on and the escalating scale and unpredictability of the story never take away from the fact that the whole book is about her, and her experiences and it is how she deals with and reacts to these bizarre happenings that matters to us, not so much the events themselves. The character we see on the final page is so fundamentally different to the one we first see in the midst of a divorce, with all the conflicting emotions that come with, and her journey is what the book is ultimately about, every action and event told via her eyes and everything, even the cosmic scale occurrences, only serve to get her from where she starts out, to where she needs to be at the books end.
Speaking of the books ending, a lot rides on it after so many mysterious questions and unexpected developments, a lot of which (in the grand cosmic tradition) are beyond the understanding of us mortals and defy explanation, not to mention that Megan's journey to this point demands a satisfactory resolution. The ending we get manages that rare trick of being both unexpected and, retrospectively, the only way things ever could have ended. It will make you think back on what precedes it and leave you with a lot to think about once you’ve put the book down.
White Pines was not the book I expected. The plot throws so many curveballs the reader's way, changing the book's trajectory. The isolated village and the unspoken threats of the early passages are light years away from the pagan gods, cosmic monsters and other words that come later, and although the book is a long one, at no point are we given the opportunity to become complacent, or get bored, because there is always something happening, and it is never what we expect. The prologue seems to offer answers but the further in we get, the more we realise that we just got a small glimpse at one tiny part of a much bigger puzzle. As a straight folk horror novel with some cosmic elements thrown in for good measure, the novel is very effective, but what elevates it is the grounding of these big ideas and crazy visuals in a character who is going on the same extraordinary journey that we are and I for one would have been happy to follow Megan through whatever story was going to be told.
Please join me back here in 2 weeks, when we will be reading Gemma’s second short story collection, These Wounds We Make. Hope to see you all then! -
The Island had taken a soft, privileged woman and chewed her up, remoulded her into something else, something raw, and desperate.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨4.5 STARS for a story that was GLORIOUSLY creepy
There is the eerily sentient Island from Lost. There are the bloody rituals and insular community of Midsommar, and the creatures and alternate dimension of the Upside Down from Stranger Things. A whole town vanishes without fanfare, just like the 2% in The Leftovers. There’s even mention of ley lines and ancient chalk figures that would’ve made Gansey goshdarn proud.
In other words,
White Pines is unlike ANYTHING you will ever read.
It also happens to be my 100th book of the year! Yaaay 🎉
◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
After Megan’s husband tells her that he doesn’t love her anymore, she packs up her things and drives north, to a small Scottish town on the coast, where her Granny has left her a cottage called Taigh-Faire—the watch house.
Here, the locals are cryptic and cruel. Megs feels an inexplicable pull to the Island in the bay, an ominous and almost sentient place. And when her lover, Matthew, arrives to check on her, she drags him down a tunnel that traverses beneath the ocean.
Emerging out the other side, they find themselves on the Island: Megs has awoken a sleeping god. And what unravels next—abominations of things, disappearances of things, a centuries-old legacy—is absolutely horrifying. -
This was wonderful. Gemma Amor just keeps getting better and better. RTC.
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Fleeing from the life she’s known after her husband asks for a divorce, Megan takes up residence in Taire-Faire, a house in rural Scotland she inherited from her grandmother. As soon as she arrives, the locals of the village treat her strangely, but it’s not the only weird occurrence she has to put up with. An island off the shore draws her attention, its pull leading Megan to unearth much about her past and future.
(WARNING: This review contains minor spoilers.)
I was happy to finally give this book attention after hearing so much about it. White Pines had both aspects that worked and didn’t work for me, initially grasping me with its intriguing setup, losing me for a couple-hundred pages, then piquing my interest all over again. Following Megan after a separation from her husband, she hopes to start anew in a town she’s unknowingly connected to, the locals more than a little peculiar – I was fully intrigued with the cultish vibes. It was seeped in mystery with a beautiful backdrop, Scotland the perfect setting for a story like this. Amor honed in on atmosphere, and I enjoyed her writing, especially when it came to the darker elements, the most memorable being the disturbing scenes of body horror, where I was glued to the page. There was also a pretty neat villain with ties to mythology, Meg’s journey of self-discovery not constrained by a singular genre, but embracing a wider scope that left a lot to digest. That said, I found the middle portion dragged as momentum seemed to go back and forth, but I’ll admit that it hauled me back on track later on.
Other than the pacing issue, my first impression of Megan wasn’t favorable. When it comes to protagonists, I generally assess them a number of ways, the major factor being if I can actually stand them or not. The thing with Megan is that she was a bit of a horrible person in the beginning, and I couldn’t quite warm to the romance that I felt was unnecessary. There was little chemistry, as well as a complete lack of communication between Megan and Matthew; it didn’t come across as anything more than two co-workers constantly irritating each other, their bickering taking away from more important matters. However, it was clear Megan grew as a person over the course of the book, stepping up when she needed to, and this was probably one of its biggest strengths. When a character undergoes such a transition, well, it deserves acknowledgement.
In conclusion: Bursting with myth and magic, White Pines took the reader on a journey to the village of Laide, where the protagonist sought refuge after an abrupt break up with her husband. Amor’s writing style conveyed a lot, whether it was the beauty of the surroundings, or the horror of destiny. I found it dragged in the middle, but it was worth reaching the end, the plot picking up when events escalated. While I didn’t initially like the main character, she went on one heck of a journey, complete with a stunning outcome that left me wanting more of Amor’s imagination.
Notable Quote:
The sound went on, and on. It was terrible. It was the sound of pain, and suffering. It was the sound of death.
© Red Lace 2021
Blog ~
Twitter -
White Pines was dark, disturbing and weird, really weird. Much closer to fantasy/mythology with gore than a horror read. I finished White Pines yesterday and am unsure if it is brilliant or horrible.
Megs (our mostly unlikeable main character) husband tells her he wants a divorce. Hearing this she throws a few belongings in the car, drives all night 600 miles to a house that was willed to her by her granny. She's never been there before. Or has she?
Then Matthew, man she had a one night stand with years prior, shows up at the house. They are now madly in love but she can't stand to be around him? She discovers a strange passageway, gets peed on by a dog(?), is being followed by an island (??), and overall acts like a crazy person making illogical choices because the island is "forcing" her to. All the while Matthew follows her like a lovesick puppy.
I can't really say anything else without ruining things if you would read. The main pull for me was trying to figure out what was going on. Even at over halfway I truly had no idea what was actually happening.
Major downsides: Megs didn't seem to like Matthew all that much when he was around but then she pines away forever , going on and on about how she misses him and their amazing (never existed) relationship. Huge stretch there. Relationship felt forced and out of place. Lots of minor inconsistencies throughout. -
When Megan is brutally dumped by her husband she decides to pack her van and drive up to Scotland, the home of her ancestors where she moves into her late Gran's seaside cottage. But dreams of an idyllic rural life are shattered when she meets the locals.
Her heartbreak and broken marriage will soon be the least of her problems...
I really loved this book and devoured it in two days, I probably could have read it in one day if it weren't for having to homeschool my kids during lockdown ;)
I don't want to say too much about the plot so as not to spoil it but it moves in unexpected ways which kept me as the reader guessing. I loved how there were so many different literary elements, it had crime, mystery, adventure, heartbreak, folklore and of course horror. There's a lot of horror, a lot of moments that made me squeal and flinch, lots of different horror to scare the hell out of everyone! I really felt like I was transported to this tiny village.
As someone born and raised in the country I truly understand the horror of living in a small secluded community and Gemma has captured this perfectly. The claustrophobic feeling of living in a goldfish bowl where everyone, and I mean everyone, knows everything about you. Although thankfully where I grew up, the land was free of cults and monsters, as far as I know!
The ending was really magnificent and blew my mind. I never saw that coming. I really felt like I went on a journey with Megan, the main character who really transforms the tale into something epic.
What makes the story for me was Megan, she felt like a real woman with flaws which made her so easy to relate to. I like that she is a woman of action and gets things done herself. I see all too often female protagonists portrayed to reflect what society perceive as the ideal woman, but Megan likes to walk her own path as every woman should. -
Deeply strange and wildly unpredictable. Page to page, from start to finish, I never knew what was coming next. This was like folk horror mixed with cosmic horror mixed with small town horror mixed with body horror. It had a really weird and interesting premise that was a bit hard to wrap my brain around at times, but I liked it a lot.
I’ve now read four Gemma Amor books, and none of them has been alike. Not only is she a super talented horror writer, she is also one who likes to go in very different directions with each release. This book is a perfect example. If you dig the super strange, you’ll dig the town of White Pines. Come for the beer, stay for the three-headed pig. -
Review in a little bit . . .
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White Pines by Gemma Amor
The narrator visits white pines every year as a memorial for the forgotten place. Everything is gone and there is nothing left to mourn. Every time she comes to visit something of a memory like a ghost from white pine appears and vanished back to the nothingness.
White pines has been gone for 10years
Jump to 10years before, megan is getting a divorce and runs to the house that her granny left her when she passed away. When she gets to the old house she doesn’t remember it but feels like she should. The feeling is weird and the people in the town are strange. They won’t answer any of her questions. Her memory is at a loss for this town. What is going on here? Why can’t she remember being here as a child?
This whole story is shrouded in mystery and Erie uncertainty. I was also trying to figure out how this prologue came to be. It leaves you guessing and wanting to devour the whole thing in one sitting! I thought I knew from the prologue how this would all play out but I was so wrong. Gemma did that for a reason. She has a way with story telling that really draws you in. Even when she gives bits and pieces to prepare you for what’s to come, you still will not be prepared. As I’m sitting here crying “I wasn’t ready”. She did an amazing job with this story! I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest put back in then ripped back out again. Gemma had me going through the stages of grief with this book. I guess writing this review is my final stage of acceptance. -
Having read Dear Laura and a fair chunk of each of Amor's short fiction collections, I had no reservations diving into this book. This author's style, combined with elements of folk and cosmic horror? Sign me up.
We begin the story with a glimpse of what is to come, but when it *really* begins, we find the protagonist in the midst of huge upheaval and the new-yet-familiar surrounding of the small-town highland community she was taken away from as a child.
We quickly learn that Megan is incredibly tough and resourceful, but also worn by the turbulence of her life. Her struggle feels entirely 3-dimensional, she is as 'real' a character as you'll find anywhere.
There are myths and hostile interactions which bring to mind the canon of great works of folk horror, impossible, dreamlike scenarios which would be at home in any dark fantasy masterpiece and forces at work beyond human comprehension, adding cosmic horrors to the mix.
It feels like a lot to roll into a single work, but it is done masterfully here, all the while the struggles of Megan and the other cast members pull at our heart strings with a series of emotional gut punches.
Superb. More, please. -
"Permanence had become a thing of the past."
White Pines is another solid horror release from Gemma Amor! This story was intriguing to me, and there were some really good creepy moments. At times, the pacing was a little off & it dragged a bit in the middle, but it still worked well overall. There's some good body horror, and I would love to see this book adapted as a movie one day!
CW - cheating, animal death / killing / cruelty -
Wow! 😃 Gemma amor keeps flooring me, book after book. A beautiful story that crosses many genres and defies description. Not even gonna get into any of the plot details, because this is the type of story you need to experience on your own. I have loved every single thing she’s written so far. Do yourself a favor and give this a read!
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**It's 444 pages and NOT 197 pages as mentioned here.**
A delightful and imaginative horror book with blend of genres mainly consisting of Cosmic horror, Celtic lores, cults, and some fantastical elements. Although the content of this book is NOT delightful....it's the stuff of nightmares. Trust me on that.
The writing was to the point and The subtle nuances within are worth appreciating.
Felt a bit dragged out and exhausting towards the end but that too was balanced in the epilogue. -
*Please read the review, as I am opting out of star rating. Thank you.
I must admit, this one had been on my kindle for quite some time, but at the start of the year I decided to opt in to #beatthebacklog and also #LadiesFirst2022 on Twitter and chose this as my first read.
I became fully immersed right from the start. I loved the folklore elements, the witchcraft and rituals, and adored the setting on the Scottish coast.
The novel was pacy and interesting from start to finish, though I have to say, it did not take me in the direction I was expecting. This is not a criticism, I am just making the point that in no way was this story predictable.
I felt a connection to the M.C. in some ways, too, particularly in the way she tended to overthink things. Always a good sign.
Overall, a Wickerman vibe (though completely original), creepy characters, action and intrigue, and a natural ease and flow that propelled the narrative ever onward.
Thoroughly enjoyable. -
From the Bram Stoker nominated author Gemma Amor, author of Dear Laura and Cruel Works of Nature comes her latest slice of horror White Pines.
This is a book that is hard to categorize given its genre bending appeal, it seems to cross and blend genres at will. White Pines is like a rock falling from a cliff face near the coast, this tiny rock hits other rocks on its way down and before you know it, you’ve got an unforgiving landslide which will sweep you off your feet and into the thrashing waves – where the undertow is even less forgiving as it sucks you under and into its icy depths. Whatever happens, prepare to be swept away, to suffer and to be consumed by this unforgiving of beasts.
White Pines is a novel which is screaming to be adapted into a short television series or a film due to the cinematic qualities that Amor evokes – this is some of her best work to date – and given that the book is the largest we’ve seen from her, it allows her more space to do what she does best, build tension, create memorable characters and weave a story which is as beguiling as it is terrifying.
Gemma Amor appears to be one of those writers that is submersed in the horror genre, that she has in the darkness been shaped by it, adapted to it – the weird, the dark and the disturbing. And what springs fourth from her mind can’t be put back into the Pandora’s Box that it escaped from with screams and cackles – and so she writes these wonders down for our enjoyment.
The pages and the story literally bleed with her love of horror and the macabre, of the weird and the fantastical. I could see influences such as Under the Dome (Stephen King) but one would hasten to say done better – instead of an epic story that features every character in the town; Amor is able to hold our attention and make the carnage that much more brutal as she isolates this story to a handful of characters all of which are fully realised. I could also feel vibes from The X-Files, Fringe and Twin Peaks in the subtle and expert way that Amor constructs this almost cosmic horror (these are all big compliments in my book). There is also the elements of Greek Mythology that trickle into the story (as a child that loved the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts I wasn’t disappointed in how Amor grounded this story and the small tenuous links such as a ball of twine to mark her way etc). Then it has this strange cult vibe, akin to Adam Nevill’s The Reddening (it’s a different type of cult but the Reddening and its cult element generally frightened me, and White Pines has this same type of small town cult terror that makes your skin crawl) and then to cap it all off you also have the whole uncanny vibe which one could easily mistake as a Daphne du Maurier story such is the scope of what Amor has achieved. It’s a smorgasbord of delights all wrapped up in a thrilling plot.
White Pines is full of fear, anxieties, isolation, horror, science fiction, mythology, folklore and strange cults which are all blended into a heady cocktail that Amor forces your to swallow!
A woman, returning to her roots. A town, built on sacred land. A secret, cloaked in tradition and lore.
Welcome to White Pines. Don’t get too comfortable.
It’s a book that I strongly recommend you to read, it’s fresh, it’s brutal and above all it’s one hell of a ride. I won’t go into much detail here about the books story line, it’s a story I feel one should discover for themselves (the above quote is the blurb for the book). But there was one scene in particular that just sucked me in, that distressed me to no-end, and that was what I’m going to refer to and name aptly as the ‘purgatory scene’. When you’ve read the book you will understand more, but what Amor was able to achieve with this handful of characters trapped in a confined space in the town of White Pines was remarkable – it was the thing of nightmares and I was sucked into the terror, the tension and the horrors that unfolded – it was masterful and deranged and I bloody loved it.
White Pines has the uncanny crawling through each and every page, and it will seep into your very core if you let it – another fabulous outing from Amor! -
I was a beta reader on an earlier version of this novel. Though I intend to read the final draft, I have not gotten the chance as of yet. The score above reflects my experience doing the beta read. I was around a 4.5, which I've rounded up for Goodreads. As soon as I get to reading the published edition of this novel, I will update this space with an actual review.
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A bizarre mystery full of tragedy, nightmares, love and hope.
I certainly won't forget white pines for a long time. The less said about its mysteries, the better. A tragic, brilliant read. -
2.5 I don’t get it. I really don’t. On paper, the story is ok. But I could not enjoy the execution at all. An unlikable, two-dimensional character moves to a rural Irish coast after an unexplained divorce. Gee, overreact much? She meets a couple other cardboard cut-outs and is joined by some weird stalker dude she cheated on her ex husband with. Fortunately his only character trait is that he obsessively loves this woman with the personality of a sea sponge and follows her around. There’s an intriguing mystery about her inherited house and a creepy island. Shades of Brigadoon and Lovecraft perk up of the story. The plot is actually halfway decent. But then more cardboard characters show up, and die or eaten by a human frog god or something. I have a headache now. Lots of people like this one but this has some of the flattest characterization I’ve ever seen. I didn’t care about anyone, there’s no real villain, or threat except for the protagonist herself who accidentally disappears a thousand people. Maybe it’s me.
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Great story
Really loved the plot. Imaginative, scary, horrible and horrifying. Great stuff.
Unfortunately I couldn’t take to the first person narrator, Megan. I don’t mind disliking a protagonist, but I just couldn’t see her as a person. She is a character who walks between the magical and the mundane, but neither side of her character worked for me. -
Reading both of Gemma's short story collections, and her last novella, DEAR LAURA, I had no doubt, WHITE PINES, was going to be something a bit special, but even saying that, I still didn't expect it to be on this level.
This is like pulling together all the best bits of Gemma's previous work and multiplying it by two. No exaggeration. Loads to admire.
From the setting, to the characters, to the tension and atmosphere, the pacing, the way the story unfolds, just everything. It's right on the money. This should be on every horror fans list at the moment, but if it isn't, go and remedy that. It's easily a contender for novel of the year. This is one to be savoured.
Gemma is absolutely flying at the moment.
Awesome stuff. -
After her husband decides their marriage is over, Megan flees her home with her now ex-husband Tim to live in the cottage her grandmother left her in Scotland. When she arrives, she's pulled in by the island near. First, small inklings in her mind make her want to visit; then, headaches and dizziness the further she moves from the island itself. She finally visits the island on a whim with her lover Matthew, and visits White Pines for the first time. Shortly after, White Pines, along with Matthew, disappear completely off the face of the island.
She feels like she's been here before. Not just the house, but the island. She knows she's seen the things these townsfolk do before. It comes crashing back, and she remembers. She remembers the town has a sinister past. And her family is in charge of it all.
The grief Megan feels over her marriage is really a driving force behind this novel. It may be a novel about a missing town, but in the background, you always feel Megan's emotions. Her emotions about her husband leaving her, and replacing her very quickly; her emotions about realizing her marriage wasn't worth it; her emotions realizing she's tied to this place more than she knows.
Besides getting a little confused on the dreams Megan had, I did really enjoy this book. Gemma has a way with words that really flows naturally. Her books aren't hard to read, and I flew through this 400 something page book in just a few days. They're very easy to picture in your head, and I loved what my mind came up with while reading this book.
I read this with Queens of Horror book club as part of August's #AugustForAmor! -
3.5/5
There's nothing like opening a new year with a mix of cosmic and folk horror. White Pines revolves around Megs, a troubled woman returning to a small coastal town. And, surprise, surprise, the town hides ugly secrets. So does Megs' childhood she barely remembers.
I enjoyed most of it. Horror and body-horror scenes shook me. Meg's narration sealed the deal. I was eager to discover White Pines' mystery, and the reveal was well worth it. Although quite gory, so bear it in mind.
The book suffers from two issues. First, the pacing in the middle could be better. The second is the disjointed structure of the story. Everything ties in the end, but sometimes not as smoothly as I would like it to.
In all, White Pines is an immersive story straddling the line between horror and weird fantasy. -
Yeah - I loved this folk/cult/cosmic mash up. More later.
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I did not finish this. I am about 60% through it and spent two days on it and I just can't bring myself to read anymore. About two whole days have passed during this book and the main character has been a nightmare to follow along with. Just cannot stand her personality wise. It is really disappointing because someone says that this book is the "new cosmic-folk-celtic-cult-fantasy-horror novel" and I am going to read it in a heartbeat. Book starts off with her husband leaving her and all I can think is that I would leave her too. The book is dragging on about details I could care less about and when I dislike the main character so much then I just can't stick with it. I give up, time to move on to something else.
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White Pines is an engrossing folk horror story with a unique Scot-Celtic flavor.
After her husband leaves her, Megs absconds to an oceanside Scottish cottage bequeathed to her by her enigmatic grandmother. Strange residents in the nearby village and a preternatural pull from the island off the coast draw Megs into a horrific and ancient mystery that she slowly realizes hinges upon her.
At times playful, bleak, and disturbing, White Pines satisfies throughout. I was reminded of The Wicker Man and Twin Peaks at various points throughout the story. An overall folksy and fantastical feel permeates the story but the terror at the center of the narrative is cosmic in scale. With foreboding, dread, and occasional body-horror scares, Amor keeps the reader's attention and drags them through highs and lows unlikely to be forgotten. 5 out of 5 Stars. -
I think if you like weird cosmic type horror, this is definitely going to be for you. I have yet to find a cosmic horror story that I absolutely fall head over heels in love with, so this just didn’t mesh with me. Amor’s writing is absolutely beautiful and captivating, which made the reading experience better for me as a whole. If you like horror stories that feel more fantasy than horror and more on the weird side, this will probably be for you!
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This story had me hooked from the first page. Wonderfully creepy plot and genuinely chilling. Excellent story and amazing writing
