Black River Orchard

Starred review from July 3, 2023
Bestseller Wendig (the Wanderers series) wows with this wildly unsettling horror tale set in Bucks County, Pa. When Calla Paxson was 12, her father, Dan, came home with a shriveled apple core that resembled a human finger, declaring that he would use the core to create an orchard that would make their family’s future and fortune. Five years later, the orchard has produced enough fruit for Dan to set up a stall at the town market, where his Ruby Slipper Apples (so named by Calla), are an unexpected hit, bringing in far more money than anticipated. Some consumers even come to consider themselves addicted to the unique fruit, which offers “a near-perfect balance of tartness and sweetness—that sour, tongue-scrubbing feel of a pineapple, but one that has first been run through a trench of warm honey.” Gradually, however, Wendig reveals that something darker lurks beneath the orchard, its weirdness affecting the family, as when one of the orchard’s trees impales two baby birds in their nest, and Dan, struck by a brief violent madness, snaps the mother dove’s neck. Wendig is brilliant at slowly raising the plot’s emotional temperature and making his characters, caught in a creeping nightmare, feel both real and empathetic. This masterful outing should continue to earn Wendig comparisons to Stephen King.

August 15, 2023
The myth of the poisoned apple belies the very real evil growing in a Pennsylvania orchard. If Wendig's latest is less paranoia-inducing than his techno-themed thrillers, it's just as squelchy, made more so by the primeval nature of the antagonist. In Harrow, Pennsylvania, Dan Paxson is trying to raise his daughter, Calla, with good intentions, but he's also a man with a chip on his shoulder. Little Dan, as he's known to the members of the Crossed Keys, a nasty little social club, is determined to rescue his dead father's legacy by resurrecting the family apple orchard and growing a singular, invasive species Calla dubs the Ruby Slipper. While Dan is already counting his future fortunes, we get to know Calla, 17-year-old burgeoning internet influencer, and her jock boyfriend, Marco, as well as plenty of other townsfolk. Among them are ultra-controlling lawyer Meg and her do-gooder wife, Emily, as well as Joanie and husband, Graham, whose S&M-themed Airbnb has rankled the locals. There are plenty of hints that something is amiss with Dan's apple, but as he begins selling it at local farmers markets, it begins to change the people who eat it, making them stronger, more formidable, and meaner. Into this mix stumbles easily the oddest and most likable outlier, John Compass, a modern-day combination of trained soldier, newly minted Quaker, and Johnny Appleseed, who's looking for a friend who went missing while searching for a long-rumored Dutch varietal. On the other end is Edward Naberius, a mysterious, white-cloaked "restorer of lost dignities," who is clearly more than he seems as well. Wendig writes doorstoppers, but it's safe to say there's something for everyone here, from the creepy Eyes Wide Shut vibe (complete with sacrificial rituals) to the Stephen King-laced dichotomy between the world's everyday cruelty and the truly grotesque carnage that follows. Both complex and compelling, a nightmare-inducing parable about our own wickedness.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2023
The township of Harrow has a secret. A round, red, delicious secret. Seven trees in its orchard grow apples unlike any others. When you eat them, you feel stronger, more alive, like you've never felt before. Soon, that feeling--that burst of vitality--is all you crave. You won't believe what you'll do to keep it, or what horrors lurk in the soil. The latest by the author of the Miriam Black urban fantasy series, the apocalyptic novel Wanderers (2019), and the horror-filled The Book of Accidents (2021) is a dark, frightening tale that will chill readers to the core. Wendig has numerous storytelling gifts, but his strongest has always been his approachable characters. No matter how far-fetched the situation (running from murderous ants in Invasive, 2016, or from the New Republic in the Star Wars novel Aftermath, 2015), his characters are recognizably human. Here, it's easy to imagine getting caught up in the lure of the apples whose red skin is so dark they're almost black. After taking one bite of this scary book, readers will want more.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 18, 2023

This is a gripping horror story that brings new meaning to "forbidden fruit." The novel follows a handful of very different characters--a teen influencer, an ambitious father, the reluctant housewife, and a haunted Quaker--who are thrust together by circumstance while they fight to survive. At the heart of it all is the ominous apple orchard in Harrow, PA. All it takes is one bite from these mysterious apples, and their lives are changed forever. They transform into their better selves, but at a terrible cost. This story is a ruthlessly disturbing parasitic nightmare that expertly delves into the dark mythology behind the apple, which has long been held as a symbol of temptation. The characters are easy to both love and hate, and it's terrifying to witness how a small town gradually crumbles into chaos and the worst in people simmers to the surface. Characterization and atmosphere are this novel's strengths, but it also integrates Indigenous folklore, historical apple hunters, secret societies, and ancient curses. VERDICT Insatiable, passionate, weird, and creepy, Wendig's latest (after Wayward) is perfect for those who appreciate the slow-burning horror tomes of Stephen King and Robert McCammon.--Andrea Dyba

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