Library Journal - Audio
03/01/2022
On Halloween in 1963, Pete McCormick is about to join the other teenage boys in his small town on the Run, the annual attempt to capture the menacing and dangerous October Boy, who comes out of the cornfields to stalk the townsfolk every year. Killing the October Boy is the only way Pete can see to have a future for himself and his sister away from his hard-drinking father, even if he has to risk his own life—and steal a police officer's gun—to do it. But when his harrowing journey finally leads him to the October Boy, he'll have to confront the town's horrifying truth. Luckily for fans of scary stories, Partridge's (Lesser Demons) 2007 Bram Stoker Award—winning work of folk horror is finally available as an audiobook, with the incomparable Vikas Adam narrating. Adam's rich, gravelly voice is the ideal pairing for this story, which is frequently compared to Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," another look at the dark underbelly of a seemingly placid small town. VERDICT With a movie adaptation coming later this year, demand for Partridge's cult classic is going to skyrocket. Public libraries should make sure to have it in all formats.—Stephanie Klose
From the Publisher
A major talent.” —Stephen King
“Probably the most exciting and original voice in horror literature to have appeared in the last decade.” —Peter Straub
“This is contemporary American writing at its finest.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“If you're looking for a scary Halloween tale, with lots of blood and gore—and candy—you've come to the right place.” —Rocky Mountain News
“Already [Dark Harvest] has the aura of a classic. Required reading for Halloween.” —Booklist
“Using a quick, lean prose reminiscent of the finest Gold Medal-era fiction and, at the same time, as fresh as a Quentin Tarantino film, Partridge packs more into this slim volume than most authors do in a bloated 600-page epic.” —The Austin Chronicle
“Dark Harvest is pure, beautiful blood-and-guts shoot-em-up, even if some of the guts are pumpkin. It's also a Halloween campfire tale that lingers in your ears and crawls down your dreams.” —Glen Hirshberg, author of Nothing to Devour
“A powerhouse thrillride with all the resonance of Shirley Jackson's ‘The Lottery.' You get a pumpkin-headed scarecrow with a butcher knife (driving a Chrysler), a twisted town full of rampaging teenagers, and one seriously demented bad boy cop just itching to cap a few asses. What you get with Norm Partridge is simply the best.” —Tom Piccirilli, author of The Last Kind Words
“What's the best, most badass Halloween horror movie ever made? It's the one that screened inside my head while reading Norm Partridge's astounding Dark Harvest. In the process, Partridge has carved himself a classic slice of modern myth-making Americana. And my favorite holiday just got even weirder and cooler. LONG LIVE THE OCTOBER BOY!” —John Skipp, New York Times bestselling author of The Long Last Call
