So many points I could raise, but in short it’s just like a very cheesy 80’s action film, full of cliche and hammy writing. Parts were just so clunky. Would you fall in love with a murderous sea creature that only has your best intentions at heart? Honestly… I might. This story for all its gore and injustice was surprisingly… adorable. 😆 I absolutely love Muriel as a character. She is so righteous with a hard edge and very relatable. A well-rounded character who I wanted nothing but the best for. And I think Avalon gave that to her in the most romantically disturbing way. 🥹🖤 🌊

David Sodergren - Fantastic Fiction David Sodergren - Fantastic Fiction

What a wild ride! I discovered The Haar via the horror side of BookTok and I am so glad I gave this one a go. I don’t fear death… but they do.” Muriel McAuley has lived in the Scottish fishing village of Witchaven all her life. She was born there, and she intends to die there. But when an overseas property developer threatens to evict the residents from their homes and raze Witchaven to the ground in the name of progress, all seems lost… until the day a mysterious fog bank creeps inland. THE HAAR To some it brings redemption… to others, it brings only madness and death. What macabre secrets lie within… THE HAAR Romantic and deranged, THE HAAR is a gore-soaked folk horror fairy tale from David Sodergren, author of The Forgotten Island and Maggie’s Grave The Haar by David Sodergren – eBook Details

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Now, I haven’t forgotten about that ‘gore-soaked’ aspect either. Expect the brutality and bloodbath that David is known for. Think ‘Maggie’s Grave’ and you’ll have an idea, and while this one doesn’t have as much as most of his books, it works perfectly to highlight the horrors and events Muriel is living through. What I liked: The story follows 80+ year old, Muriel McAuley, life long resident of the Scottish fishing town Witchaven. This was where she was born and raised, met and married her husband and continued to live when, years ago, his fishing boat was found, but no signs of Billy were ever found. Now, a billionaire American is buying up all of the land and houses, building a massive golf course and resort, but some residents are holding their ground and refusing to sell. Muriel being one of them. It gets pretty gruesome, but there's a genuine heart running through it. That's all I kind of want to say without ruining anything. Like I've said many times before, I rarely read a synopsis. I most often go on an author's previous efforts or recommendations from fellow readers. With David Sodergren, it's a no-brainer. He never lets me down. Muriel McAuley has lived in the Scottish fishing village of Witchaven all her life. She was born there, married there, and intends to die there.

Book Review: The Haar by David Sodergren | Steve Stred – The

Muriel Margaret McAuley was eighty-four years old the first time she saw a man turned inside-out by a sea monster. You might think it would bother a woman of her age, but, as Muriel was fond of saying, she had seen a lot in her eighty-four short years. Watching these Video Nasties has forced me to develop my own mantra, which I repeat over and over under my breath for the first 10 minutes of every film. It goes, Then there's the cliche yelled from a police blow horn at an 80-something year old widow: You are surrounded! Come out with your hands up!!... The Haar starts as a story about a greedy American arsehole who is trying to destroy the small coastal fishing town of Witchhaven, Scotland, and slowly turns into a story about love, self-preservation, and the human condition.Hello, I’m gonna keep this short because since I last updated my blog (umm, in 2020), WordPress has changed how it works and I have neither the time not the inclination to figure out its new quirks and eccentricities. However, I have published three new books this year, so here they are! Muriel is left hopeless – until, after a particularly dense fog (called a “ haar“), she finds a mysterious blob on the beach. Little does Muriel know, saving this blob will not only spell her salvation, but a new hope for her future. Me neither. Something about demonic possession, my least favourite horror sub-genre. They even go for that most uncinematic and boring possession movie trope – the hypnotism scene.

The Haar by David Sodergren | Goodreads The Haar by David Sodergren | Goodreads

Muriel really is the best character he’s created yet and the relationship and tenderness we get to see and experience was second to none. I’ll be raving about this book until his next one comes out, but this shows why Sodergren is so good and hopefully now, he’ll stop being overlooked.His employees buy or force people to give up their property. Most of them do exactly this. But not Muriel McAuley. Her counteroffer is simple and elegant. “Double the offer and then shove it up your arse.” Initially it seems like a piss-take of Hollywood. The guests at the party are all vacuous airheads or coked-up sleazebags, and are lit from below by torchlight like they’re kids pretending to be a monster to scare their friends. They talk of ‘All the culture you can take – The Hollywood Bowl, the Universal Tour,’ and take potshots at Brian DePalma for wasting money on Blow Out. So yeah, it’s probably Hollywood that Lommel has it in for. The novel centers on the little Scottish town of Witchaven and an 80-something year old widow woman, Muriel...