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Say Her Name by James Dawson
Oct. 26th, 2015 12:04 amThe Blurb On The Back:
The truth is more terrifying than the legend.
When Bobbie and her best friend Naya are dared by their schoolmates to summon the legendary ghost of Bloody Mary, neither really believes that anything will happen. So they complete the ritual, and chant Mary’s name five times in front of a candlelit mirror ...
Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary …
And something is called forth that night. Something dark, terrifying, and out of control. She will be there, just out of sight, in the corner of your eye. She will lurk in your nightmares. She will hide in the shadows of your bedroom. She will be waiting in every mirror that you see. She is everywhere. And she wants revenge.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
James Dawson’s standalone horror novel is a well-paced story that handles its twists and shocks well but can’t quite escape its derivative roots – particularly the resemblance to Ringu. Bobbie is relatively well drawn, emotionally and physically distanced from her self-involved actress mother, her friendship with Naya (who, as a character, is a little too self-consciously cool) is believable and I enjoyed how the girls support each other without being sentimental, but the romance with Caine was predictable and a little dull. Dawson smacks out some zinger lines, his dialogue snaps and he really captures the bitchiness that can go on between teenage schoolgirls while the action is well paced and he knows how to draw out tension and make the most of his shocks. He also does well to turn Bloody Mary herself into a sympathetic character by showing the monster’s all-too-human beginnings. The big problem, however, is that Bloody Mary’s story is so derivative and although that is partly the point (every school has its own ghost legend), I kept thinking of Ringu as I was reading this and the overlap was such that it really affected my enjoyment. This is a shame because Dawson is a talented writer and horror is an oddly under-represented genre on the YA shelves. However while this book didn’t quite work for me, I will definitely check out Dawson’s other work.
When Bobbie and her best friend Naya are dared by their schoolmates to summon the legendary ghost of Bloody Mary, neither really believes that anything will happen. So they complete the ritual, and chant Mary’s name five times in front of a candlelit mirror ...
And something is called forth that night. Something dark, terrifying, and out of control. She will be there, just out of sight, in the corner of your eye. She will lurk in your nightmares. She will hide in the shadows of your bedroom. She will be waiting in every mirror that you see. She is everywhere. And she wants revenge.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
James Dawson’s standalone horror novel is a well-paced story that handles its twists and shocks well but can’t quite escape its derivative roots – particularly the resemblance to Ringu. Bobbie is relatively well drawn, emotionally and physically distanced from her self-involved actress mother, her friendship with Naya (who, as a character, is a little too self-consciously cool) is believable and I enjoyed how the girls support each other without being sentimental, but the romance with Caine was predictable and a little dull. Dawson smacks out some zinger lines, his dialogue snaps and he really captures the bitchiness that can go on between teenage schoolgirls while the action is well paced and he knows how to draw out tension and make the most of his shocks. He also does well to turn Bloody Mary herself into a sympathetic character by showing the monster’s all-too-human beginnings. The big problem, however, is that Bloody Mary’s story is so derivative and although that is partly the point (every school has its own ghost legend), I kept thinking of Ringu as I was reading this and the overlap was such that it really affected my enjoyment. This is a shame because Dawson is a talented writer and horror is an oddly under-represented genre on the YA shelves. However while this book didn’t quite work for me, I will definitely check out Dawson’s other work.
