Neverland

By: Douglas Clegg

Narrated by: David Stifel

Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

For years, the Jackson family has vacationed at Rowena Wandigaux Lee's old Victorian house on Gull Island, a place of superstition and legend off the southern coast of the U.S.

One particular summer, young Beau follows his cousin Sumter into a hidden shack in the woods - and christens this new clubhouse "Neverland." The rundown shack in the woods is the key to an age-old mystery, a place forbidden to all. But Neverland becomes the place where children begin to worship a creature of shadows, which Sumter calls "Lucy."

When Neverland itself is threatened with destruction, the children's games take on a horrifying reality - and Gull Island becomes a place of unrelenting terror.

©1991, 2010 Douglas Clegg (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

WOW! Creeped out for weeks!!!--New favourite!!!

This book deserves as much praise as I can possibly give it! Clegg delivered everything I love in a good horror novel and remained entirely unique and creative, offering something refreshingly different for the genre. Clegg probably has one of the BEST dark imaginations I've ever had the pleasure of reading and I simply cannot get enough! (I bought his other book, "Hallowe'en Man" immediately after I finished this one!)

This story is a coming of age tale about Beau, a twelve-year-old boy visiting his grandmother's summer retreat off the coast of Georgia. During his stay he spends time with his disturbed, maniacal cousin Sumter who invites him to join in a dark union of worship involving a derelict shack in the woods, a crate, and what lay inside the crate...something that calls itself "Lucy." (If you aren't already wondering how a concept as aberrant as this plays out I'd be surprised!) Well, lucky for you its as deliciously satisfying as it is perturbed.

In terms of plot, this was most surely a RIVETING read and I couldn't put it down! The more I read the more engaged I became, needing to know what the #$%^@! is in that shack?! Is it real?! Is it going to hurt him?!...Oh God...its breathing on him in the dark...its not human...what IS it?!?!?! I'm telling you that the story and ideas behind this entire concept could only have been derived by the mind of a creative genius---its a gripping mystery that unfolds flawlessly into a full-fleged nightmare. The images and events that played out had me totally unnerved and trust me, I read so much horror that that excitement almost never happens anymore! Keep in mind however, that this no "popcorn horror" novel so if you're expecting a lot of action and enjoy a lot of violence/gore you probably won't find it here...this is a different kind of scary so its more like a psychological build-up of suspense & mystery of the unknown with explosive plot twists and a wicked finale.

Aside from the tantalizing plot, I fell in love with Clegg's characters and writing style and credit his ability to bring this story to life. The believable characters made me entirely reminiscent of my own childhood days and reminded me of how blissful, pure and innocent youth is supposed to be. It is because of the purity and innocence of childhood that the stark contrast of evil seeping into their lives becomes truly horrific. There are things that children should just never do...but there are no limits in Neverland.

In terms of content I will warn that events and images are sometimes of a disturbing and graphic nature so this book isn't for the faint of heart. Some of the subject matter also contains themes of animal cruelty and extreme gore/violence. Although I am an avid animal lover and I found those scenes very hard to read and disturbing, I simply skipped those brief sections in favour of the remaining storyline. This book is so good I got over it.

Narration was INCREDIBLE, and David Stifel delivers flawless inflections and variations among characters. He also made me laugh with his superb ability to emphasize the child-like humour in the simplest of things such as "The Weenie's all-natural, silver-backed bristle brush" (grandma's all-feared hairbrush used to discipline and scold the children).

Should you buy it??? UMM...HELL YES!!! If you're looking to experience a humorous yet, terrifying deep-South horror story then "Neverland" will surely be treasured among the best.

good book

the overall story was good. however, the narration became annoying when switching between characters (adults)

Horrible Narration

The story itself is pretty good. Very spooky, and had a lot of potential as an audiobook. However, it was overshadowed by the horrible narration. Rather than being quirky or mysterious, every single character sounded like a complete simpleton. I listened to samples of some of his other narrations, and he has a great voice. However, he should not "do" southern.

OH SH*T! I didn't expect this!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you are a horror hound like me: DEFINITELY.

What other book might you compare Neverland to and why?

N/A

Have you listened to any of David Stifel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Sorry haven't heard any others.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I don't see myself listening to anything in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

At first I was like "yadda, yadda, yadda". The story began slowly and the accent took me a bit to get used to. But suddenly without warning this story just got freaky as shit. I just didn't expect much then it just got mega dark and mega weird.

I was digging it!

good story overall

Long winded beginning. took me a long time to get into it. agree with other review about accent being too much at times but being from the south I do feel the draw can be exaggerated. Don't expect to be blown away. Just a good listen.

Good story awful performance.

Would you be willing to try another one of David Stifel’s performances?

No. His voices were awful. The women especially the grandmother sounded like old men with lung disease and the men reminded me of the "Bug" in the first Men in Black movie. It seemed as if he was talking with a mouth full of food.

Any additional comments?

I thought the overall concept of the story was good. The grownups were a little too mindless for my taste and the aunt insisting that "her boy" wouldn't do such a thing through the whole story was tedious. I found myself skipping some of the parts about normal family life, like them playing baseball, because I just didn't want to hear the narrator doing so many annoying voices at once. The story is creepy and builds nicely but I would have enjoyed it more as a book.

Clegg keeps getting better!

I have listened to many stories by Mr. Clegg. His early ones weren’t too great, and I was nervous about any of the other ones he writes. This one shows remarkable improvement from the first one I listened to, and I continue to enjoy his newer ones. I’m looking forward to his next one!

Poor narrator

I could never find out if I really like this book, because the narrator was so bad. The more I listened, the less interested in the book I became. His speed, and accent, made the book unbearable to listen to.

Southern Gothic

I enjoyed this production. I thought David Stifel's performance was brilliant. His accent work was first rate. The book goes from being lyrical nostalgia to creepy to downright horror. The tone changes throughout the book, and so you need to give it a chance if you want to have an enjoyable experience. The sequence where Beau almost drowns is harrowing, and beautifully read by David Stifel. I've read the Harrow House series by Douglas Clegg. I think he has great ideas. But hands down this is my favorite. It's like To Kill A Mockingbird meets Pet Sematary. I would like to see Goat Dance and other novels of Clegg's made into audio versions.

Creepy

This book started out slow, but picked up. The problem is that I got lost in the end. Narrator is great.