Oasis

Good, but not great!

I admit that I like Brian Hodge and I admit that Oasis is why. With that being said, I can warn you not to go into this book expecting a fantastic read. You’ll get a good book, I assure you. But the fact that I love horror fiction is the number one reason why I’ve read lots of Stephen King books. The critics certainly seem to like Hodge enough, comparing him favorably to King. But this book, the only book I’ve read by Hodge so far, falls short. The story is a good one: A man who is about to head off to college joins his friends in a relaxing weekend at a secluded lake. Unfortunately, while they are there, they unknowingly awaken an ancient evil. Now the young man and his brother will find themselves engaged in a terrifying battle, a supernatural re-enactment of a deadly blood feud that occurred hundreds of years ago between two Viking warriors. Suspenseful, eerie, and imaginative, Oasis is a book that could have been a big horror classic, even for this reader, had it not been for a few minor flaws. For one thing, there’s the story’s narrator. For being one of the main characters, I found it hard to like him as much as I could have. The main reason for this, the only real reason, in fact, is that early in the book, he reveals that some of the things he did to a classmate in high school simply because he didn’t like him, were a bit cruel. It’s been awhile since I’ve read the book, so the reason the protagonist gives readers this information could be to let us know he feels bad about the things he did to this person. If I ever read the book again, I honestly hope that this proves to be the reason, because, in my mind, to do this to someone is bullying. The only other fault I find with the book is a lack of action. Maybe I’m a little jaded because I’ve read so many horror books by so many authors, but I found this book lacking just enough action to be anywhere near as scary as I had hoped for. It’s too bad too, because I read an old paperback edition I bought from a thrift store, a Tor Horror edition with a cool cover, though I’ve seen books with better covers. Horror fans who like shopping for used books should check out the Signet paperback edition of Stephen King’s Christine to see what I mean. So, anyway, back to the point of this review: I like Oasis and I recommend it, with one small warning. The fact that the book, while not lacking in action, but lacking in supernatural action that is meant to be involved with the story’s plot, the kind of action that could have made the book much better for me, and the author’s efforts to make the protagonist a likable guy falling slightly short, with the realization that the guy used to be a bully, keep the book from being the great horror novel it could’ve been. Obviously, many readers love the book, if you look at online reviews at Amazon. I will just warn to read the book and judge for yourself, but don’t expect a great read. I enjoyed the book, but not as much as I thought I would, so I am proof that not everyone who has read this book is all that impressed with it. Brian Hodge has apparently written many other books, and this one didn’t like much being the amazing horror tale I was hoping for, so maybe some of his others are better. I don’t like writing negative reviews for books, not even reviews that are only slightly negative, so in closing, I will just wish other readers of this book a happy reading experience because, while it’s not perfect, this IS a good book!