Those Across the River

By: Christopher Buehlman

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Failed academic Frank Nichols and his wife, Eudora, have arrived in the sleepy Georgia town of Whitbrow, where Frank hopes to write a history of his family's old estate - the Savoyard Plantation - and the horrors that occurred there. At first, the quaint, rural ways of their new neighbors seem to be everything they wanted. But there is an unspoken dread that the townsfolk have lived with for generations. A presence that demands sacrifice. It comes from the shadowy woods across the river, where the ruins of Savoyard still stand. Where a longstanding debt of blood has never been forgotten. A debt that has been waiting patiently for Frank Nichols' homecoming...

©2011 Christopher Buehlman (P)2011 Penguin

Critic reviews

“One of the best first novels I’ve ever read.” (Charlaine Harris, number one New York Times best-selling author)

“An unsettling brew of growing menace spiked with flashes of genuine terror - do not miss this chilling debut. Christopher Buehlman is a writer to watch. I look forward to hearing from him again. And soon.” (F. Paul Wilson, New York Times best-selling author of Sibs)

“Lures you into a different era, seduces you with eloquent prose and sensual period details, then clamps down on your jugular.... An outstanding debut.” (Hank Schwaeble, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Diabolical)

Audio issues aren’t bad.

It seems that only the end of the last word is clipped at the end of a chapter. Don’t let that minor issue deter you from enjoying this great story.

Good, but a bit overhyped

The first half dragged a bit, and I feel that the premise that had been built up wasn't utilized to it's extent in the second half. Story was decent, however, and the narrarator knocks it out of the park.

Low Quality Recording

The story is good but I was distracted by glitches in the recording. Sentences and possibly paragraphs were cut off, hard to tell what was missed. Also, the narrator - while good overall- gave one of the characters an inconsistent accent which was usually Midwestern but sometimes Southern.

It’s a banger

Both the story and narration are awesome. Southern gothic horror at its best. Buehlman at his best. Bramhall marks the time with great accents.

Good

Good listen..Horror & History. The latter being a little heavier. A few war stories, slight sex descriptions, decent gore, southern bumpkins & werewolves.

Great narration, less than stellar story

Listened to this after enjoying a previous book by the author. I was less happy w this one than the last, and if I was reading it I probably wouldn't have finished it (the HORROR!) but for the performance of the voice acting, I was hooked.

Pace was good, Intrigue was good, some of the characters didn't get fleshed out enough and so when someone died or was grievously injured-- with few exceptions-- it was just window dressing, half-hearted, deadpan "Oh. Oh no. That's terrible." I was less than enthused about the "reveal" of the nature of the antagonists and it was about then I went looking for another book to listen do during my commute... but again, the voice acting made me grin and bear it.

if you are a fan of these books, you may have a different opinion than I, give it a shot, but for me, I'll think twice before buying this author again... not saying I won't, but I'll hesitate.

Better than I expected.

Unique premise for old folklore. Narration was great & turned out better than I expected at the onset. A great read I couldn’t put down after about a quarter of the way through.

A Perfect Horror Story!

What did you love best about Those Across the River?

Buehlman's novel is subtle leading you up to an interesting finale. Imagine your worst fears made trivial by a terror that exceeds your imagination.
I absolutely loved this story!

Who was your favorite character and why?

The characters have great duality and the era is an interesting one- post WWI.

Any additional comments?

The only negative I can report is the technical editing of the audio. The last word of of the last sentence in each chapter is clipped. I think the recording studio should be notified. You do understand what is being said -it is just my opinion that this causes a sense of abruptness the story would do better without.

Horror the way it should be!

This is a great book! Not quite as good as his second book (Between 2 Fires) but seriously head and shoulders above most of the horror that is out there. The story moves along a little slow at first, but then then the menacing tone starts and the dread builds. However, when the mystery is revealed things unwind a bit and I started to see bad decisions that could have avoided the tragedies that unfolded. The story lingers a little longer than I wanted but the ending ties all subplots together and gives a nice sense of forboding and mystery for things to come. I also really like the way the author told this story in first person as if he is telling you how things happened in the past. He uses this to forshadow things to great effect. Finally, I liked how Buehlman spared the southern characters from some of the typical stereotypes used by other authors. This is a good story and short enough to listen to in a day or two.

Alright story, great narration!

I was hoping that this story would be a little more suspenseful. The tension eventually starts to build about a third of the way through the book, but towards the end, lets the reader down with a bizarre and implausible (even for fiction) plot twist.

Although I found the main premise to be somewhat flawed, the author makes up for it in part by building intriguing characters and beautifully delivered descriptions. The prose are rich with imagery and painted a great picture of a small, southern town. Mark Bramhall was an excellent choice for narration and really captures the main character. While I didn't fully love the story, I found it a pleasure to listen to due to the rich details and excellent story telling.