Off Season

De: Jack Ketchum

Narrado por: Richard Davidson

September. A beautiful New York editor retreats to a lonely cabin on a hill in the quiet Maine beach town of Dead River - off season - awaiting her sister and friends. Nearby, a savage human family with a taste for flesh lurks in the darkening woods, watching, waiting for the moon to rise and night to fall.

And before too many hours pass, five civilized, sophisticated people and one tired old country sheriff will learn just how primitive we all are beneath the surface...and that there are no limits at all to the will to survive.

©1981 Jack Ketchum (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"If you read Off Season on Thanksgiving, you probably won't sleep until Christmas." (Stephen King)

100 Must-Read Thrillers (International Thriller Writers)

The 1980s were a long time ago, eh?

Overall, it's an okay story. I didn't realize that 1981 was so long ago but after reading this book and noticing just how much it reads like a "classic", I understand that the 1980s is a whole world ago and what was shocking and revolting then in fiction has been outdone since in real life. I didn't find it particularly gory or disturbing (go read Meat if you want something disturbing) but I'm sure for an 80s audience it must have been.

The women are beyond useless and the "bad guys" are beyond believable, and if I lived in Maine I'd be offended at how "hillbilly-y" Ketchum portrays the locals, but it's fast and nicely paced and you might still find yourself wondering how it'll turn out in the end, even if you might not care about any of the characters enough to hope for their survival.

But, for a fast and gory - albeit somewhat dated - horror book, it's decent enough. I don't think I'll read more of Ketchum though as it's really more like Shock-Horror than Terror-Horror which is what I prefer when I read horror books. Oh, and there's no subtlety as to what's going on, or what will happen in the end.

The narration is okay. He's not the most animated narrator I've heard, but he doesn't hurt the story any.

Great Read

Didn't expect this! Exciting and different. Not familiar with the author but want to read more. Story is just enough to feel for the characters without being bored.

Disappointing

While Ketchum's story is entertaining in a "guilty pleasure" sort of way, it would require a far better narrator than Richard Davidson to make it acceptable as an audio book. The story and prose are crude and require a more skilled narration than is provided to make it work. I gave up on it about one third of the way through. Not recommended.

Creepy but Couldn't Stop Listening!!

Any additional comments?

Yes, this book was graphic and creepy and a bit unbelievable but so good and held my attention throughout. Jack Ketchum is an awesome author. I do think I'd be scared to be in his mind 😱
Only negative I have to say is the narrator...it was very distracting to me and took away from the intensity of the character when his accents used for the male detectives sounded like if Colonel Sanders and PopEye had a baby. He made the detective sound like he was a southern 80 year old man but yet each time was a bit different. Then he used another accent for another detective that was just as annoying. I am from the the South but I'm pretty sure these accents are not Maine accents!! But not a deal breaker for getting the book. In fact, I just finished the sequel Offspring. It was better than the first I thought and the narrator was a woman and she is so easy and believable to listen to.

Classic horror.

Really loved this one. Such a good change in pace from all the psychological thrillers I’ve been reading