Horseman

A Tale of Sleepy Hollow

By: Christina Henry

Narrated by: Em Grosland

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

In this atmospheric, terrifying novel that draws strongly from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", the author of Alice and The Girl in Red works her trademark magic, spinning an engaging and frightening new story from a classic tale. 

Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt's grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that's just legend, the village gossips talking. 

More than 30 years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play "Sleepy Hollow boys", reenacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend stumble across the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?

©2021 Christina Henry (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Fans of gothic horror will be eager to follow Ben into the woods.” (Booklist)

"With visceral visions of nightmares, creepy prose and a pace as fast as the rush of horses’ hooves, Henry’s take on Irving’s classic story is a one-sitting read, a chilling romp into the forest that will remind readers that sometimes the scariest monster in the room is human nature." (BookPage)

Thoroughly enjoy this

Couldn't wait to get in my car every day and see where the story was going

What it lacks in substance it makes up for with suspense!

I wasn’t anticipating a YA novel, but The Horseman is definitely for a younger audience. I appreciated the main character’s struggle, but it took over every aspect of his personality in the book, and made him one-beat. There are some really intense scenes in here, and I love the twist at the end, but this book’s main character had me so entirely frustrated because there was no depth to him. This book seems unfinished, I hope it will be revisited with later editions!

Love C Henry, this wasn’t my fave

This was a fun retelling but this wasn’t my favorite book of hers. I loved her Alice retellings so much more, and the Hook story. This was good but a little more drawn out than I feel was necessary.

Fun Ride

So, I finished my #SpookyReads for October with Horseman by Christina Henry. I absolutely loved the reinvention of this tale. Without giving anything away, I will say the new take on this beloved ghost story was so creatively conceived and so perfectly brought to life through Henry's really exceptional writing talent, that I have to give this book high praise. She really creates the spookiest atmosphere and a very endearing young protagonist in Bente. I found myself dreading every time that kid went into the woods. The book also starts off with a (fairly shocking and gruesome) bang and pretty much maintains it's suspenseful momentum to almost the end. I also give high praise to the author for weaving the gender identity theme into the story with deft but bold hands. I applaud that Bente's identification as a boy/a grandson was not just nudged out into the open but was firmly placed on the table of this tale as a component worthy of such attention. You just do not see that happen in fiction that is not specifically written for that intent! My only tiny critique would be at the end I sort of felt like the author fell into the trap of "explaining" a bit (how the villain came to be and why, etc.) I see that so often in ghost stories and it's unnecessary and even a bit boring. It was not so prolonged or overt that I didn't enjoy the book but it was enough that there was noticeable pause in my compulsive reading right at the very end. I still highly recommend this book. It's creative. It's fun. And, it's so awesome to see a character exploring their gender as part of the story. Huge kudos to Henry on that.

Awesome as always

I love all these older stories being rewritten for adult who grew up hearing them.

A Horror Story Wrapped up in a Mystery

If you like a good scare, read this book. If you like a good mystery, read this book. If you like surprise twists, you know the drill. It's a great story. Give it a try.

Perfect for Halloween

A fun, atmospheric, tale with a plucky protagonist. Not a retelling of Sleepy Hollow but using that story as a jumping off point into a completely different story.

slow but good ending

I really enjoyed the 3rd act of this book. The first 2 were really slow. Some things that could have been left out all together and not have changed the story at all. This book does do a good job at making you care about the characters. The climax of this book had me sobbing. It really makes you feel the characters loss and grief. I give this book a 3.7 stars. Any fan of sleepy hollow should give this book a chance.

A unique retelling with a saccharine ending

I really wanted to like this story and I did for about 75% of the book. However, When our protagonist started to fight the big bad of the tale, the dialogue became long-winded and was super-cliched for me. There was literally a Darth Vader - esque “Nooooooooo!” uttered by a villain. I was disappointed because I loved Henry’s book Lost Boys.

On the plus side, this narrator does a lovely job of telling a trans person’s story with authenticity and sincerity. Read it for their telling of Ben’s story if nothing else.

Young adult

Good story. But it’s aimed a younger audience incapable of reading nuance. It made it a bit of a slog.