Raymond Giles (1926–2006)

"Nobody else in the region had a female like Sheba — a handsome wench, who could read better than many a white man, who could cook and ... He had heard that Channing Sabre was visiting Sabre- hill, but he hadn't expected to see him".

Storm Over Sabrehill by Raymond Giles

Obviously not a popular book judging by the lack of reviews on here but I thought it was excellent.

I read it quite a while ago while on vacation and felt it is a very touching love story between two slaves. I’ve never read anything else that the author had written before and I really appreciated this work of historical fiction which is very underrated judging by the lack of reviews.

Adaba and Gillie are in love. Both are slaves. Sadly Gillie is sold..to a white master who also desires her. Adaba is devastated and vows to find her.

I found the Prose to be beautiful and the book likewise was a heart breaker. I do hate the cover because it makes it look like a bodice ripper and it really isn’t.

Besides the love story it really shows the brutality of that time period and the treatment of the slaves. I know there are thousands of books out there, better kn own that do the same (and I have read many) but if you like romance..tragic romances and Historical Fiction you might enjoy Storm over Sabrehill. I did!… (mehr)

The St. Claires had always protected the town that was their namesake, particularly from the evil which had always been a part of it. With the life of his daughter hanging in the hands of his god a desperate Luciferian promises to renew his pledge with the lives of five young people who had sworn allegiance and walked away years before. And with them, he also promises the life of the last St. Claire, the one with the power to bring upon him the most terrible of anathemas, the one with the power to change into a creature which may be able to destroy him and all his followers.

Although this is pegged as a "dark urban fantasy" on the spine, I think that this story would fit right in with Mr. King's books. It has been a while since I've read a horror novel and this one reminded me that the reason for this is because I'm such a wimp! For a horror story (if you like that kind of thing), I think this one was a pretty good one. We have your out-of-control young girl who has inherited the family curse and a town run by a cult of powerful devil worshipers. Add in bloody murders, illicit (and potentially incestual) affairs and scary demons and it certainly sounds like something that goes bump in the night to me! As for the story itself, I liked it a little better than I thought I would despite the fact that I did wind up skimming both the more gruesome bits and a few chapters about 2/3rds of the way through when I got sick of hearing about how our friendly resident Satanists were working on getting their sacrifices of choice back to the town.

Even if the story is a little dated now, I still think that this is a horror novel that would appeal to those who have read and enjoyed the classic Kings and would like to read a new to them story with old ideas for a bit of terrifying nostalgia.… (mehr)