The Beasts of Vissaria County

By: Douglas Ford

Narrated by: Jenn Lee

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

For Maggie McKenzie, repairing a shattered life becomes more complicated when a stranger takes up residence in the ruins of an old Florida estate with a macabre history. This stranger brings with him a sinister magic and an obsession with the disturbed grave of a witch.

Maggie’s troubled past becomes part of a larger, darker legacy of curses and bloody rituals, as well as a variety of beasts, both human and supernatural, that will prey upon her and those she loves.

The Beasts of Vissaria County is a mix-tape of gothic horror, a love letter to weird fiction and dubbed late-night horror films.

©2021 D&T Publishing LLC (P)2022 D&T Publishing LLC

I Loved Beasts!

Having read a few of this author's short stories, i was blindsided by how well this horror (surrounding a broken family) was filled with sheer, raw drama. the cast of characters are just simple enough to be relatable and just complex enough to keep even the slower parts of this title interesting and entertaining.
The precise threads of the supernatural that were woven throughout this story made every single scene alluring and thought provoking. The Beasts of Vissaria County has you wondering just what beasts exactly are we following in this story. Is it a ghost? A werewolf? A witch? A vampire? or the worst of all: a man? With so many questions, one can truly appreciate a tale with no loose ends, and Douglas Ford delivers!
A wonderful narration by Jenn Lee! A truly terrific performer who gave Maggie the voice that she was meant to have. And many chilling scenes that will be stuck in my mind due to her talented voicework mixed with Ford's masterful prose.
The horror in this book is masterfully crafted and peppered in throughout in terrifying scenes that take place in run down old ruins on a forgotten estate, night time in Munich, and in the dank springs of Vissaria itself. However, the true horror is camouflaged right within the four walls of Maggie McKenzie's own home, or even within her own memories.
I finished this story in two listening sessions over two days. I was absolutely enthralled the entire time. For this author's first novel, he knocked it out of the park and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

First couple hours

The story held promise for the first couple of hours. The narration was good. Then, the plot went completely dull. I gave up listening for the last 3 hours

Dreamlike and Disorienting, but Captivating

The Beasts of Vissaria County is not what you expect. It doesn't matter what your expectations might be as you approach this narrative; I can guarantee that you'll probably find yourself shocked and surprised. The nature of Douglas Ford's book is as ephemeral and challenging to nail down as the narrative itself, but you'll find yourself propelled along as if you were in a dream, with Ford as the feverish and abstract architect.
Maggie McKenzie escapes the nightmare of her marriage and, along with her son, seeks a transient sort of safety and solace with her disagreeable father in the backwoods of Florida. She's a damaged woman--bitter and unhappy--but stronger than she knows. Cursed with an unquenchable curiosity, she'll soon find herself at the heart of a mystery that becomes more convoluted the deeper she digs.
Any sense of normalcy gets disrupted when she encounters her elusive and peculiar neighbor, WD. The lines that separate reality from fiction, dreams from waking, and myth from fact become increasingly blurred as the story continues from there.
While I wasn't a big fan of Jack Williamson's Darker Than You Think, I can't help but feel that Ford has crafted a sort of spiritual successor to that 1940s novel. The Beasts of Vissaria County takes that same dreamlike, blurry quality and improves upon it in almost every way. In its strange and surreal storytelling, we capture hints and fleeting glimpses of beasts that may or may not be there--or may not be fully there.
The narration provided by Jenn Lee fully brought Maggie to life, embodying her indomitable spirit and the blend of skepticism and curiosity that drives her along the meandering paths she follows.

Mostly good

The plot had a lot of elements from various horror genres. Lots of political messages which didn't bother me. But the narrator mispronounced a couple words - expression (she said expession) and predilection (she said predelication). Kind of odd.

Enhances the written version

I already had read Beasts in written format and really enjoyed it: the story is heavily rooted in reality but bit by bit, pockets of the supernatural open up. The characters are well-developed and quite frankly, INTERESTING: they are people you'd like to know or (at least, for the more unsavory ones) can imagine being morbidly transfixed by in real life. Jenn Lee's narration beautifully mirrors the mood of the tale: a bit scratchy to indicate the established history of speculative occurrences and dark magic in the area (very contemporary Southern Gothic), yet warm and empathetic to reflect the main character of Maggie. This is a great audiobook to listen to while sitting outside on a hot summer evening.

Lovely atmospheric writing, excellent narration

I really enjoyed this audiobook. Excellent creepy story By Douglas Ford, amazing narration by Jenn Lee!

A little difficult to follow

Great narration. Found the story hard to follow. Admittedly, I was distracted at times, but still found it hard to tell how much of some things were real vs imagined vs symbolic for the characters. My advice: Listen very closely when you can pay full attention.

Great Book(!!) until…

This book was surprisingly very good, so much better than I was expecting. Horror filled, but quite humorous as well. Some of the characters (especially “Martian”, the Native American) were over the top very great! Was this really written by a man(??!), or is there a woman named Douglas out there?!!

Anyway, I was really loving the whole thing until the ending Epilogue where it kind of turns into a left wing political statement. 🫤 Except for this I would have given a 5 star rating, something I very rarely do.

Narration by Jenn Lee was absolutely great and makes the whole story really pop!!

Weird story not horribly done just odd

The best way to describe this book is confusing. It has a lot of classic elements going on that make for a good tale. They just all seem to meet up at odd points and you don't ever really feel connected to a single concern. Some characters are great and some, meh. Overall a decent listen if you catch it on sale. The reader was amazing and I would listen to her again anytime.

A well-crafted tale of atmospheric horror!

The Beasts of Vissaria County is well-crafted southern gothic tale of atmospheric horror set in a fictional Florida county where a dilapidated mansion harbors moldering relics of the occult and a secret history of witchcraft and unholy rituals. Told through the eyes of single mom Maggie McKenzie, this is an immensely satisfying story that has continued to haunt my dreams. Highly recommend!!