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    Fear
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    Fear
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    Fear
    Ebook557 pages11 hours

    Fear

    By Ronald Kelly

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    It was a legend in Fear County... a hideous, flesh-eating creature - part snake, part earthbound demon - that feasted on the blood of innocent children in the cold black heart of the Tennessee backwoods.

    But ten-year-old Jeb Sweeny knows the horrible stories are true. His best friend Mandy just up and disappeared. He also knows that no one has ever had the courage to go after the monster and put an end to its raging, bestial hunger. Until now.

    But Evil is well guarded. And for young Jeb Sweeny, who is about to cross over into the forbidden land of Fear County and the lair of the unknown, passage through the gates of Hell comes with a terrible price. Everlasting...FEAR!

    INCLUDES SPECIAL BONUS STORY - THE SEEDLING

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrossroad Press
    Release dateNov 23, 2011
    ISBN9781466150348
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Fear

    4.5/5

    12 ratings3 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Sheer brilliance. Well crafted characters, excellently realises period setting and a county of Nightmares. I’m hooked on this author now
    • 5/5
      What a most unusual and wonderful tale this has proved to be. Having never read anything by Ronald Kelly before I was attracted to this book by the horrific and gruesome paperback cover depicting a snake like evil entity. Naturally I was expecting the story to take me on a macabre journey where most of the residents of Pikesville, located in the middle of Mangrum County, would be devoured by this ravenous monster! This book however is so much more than that; it is the story of 10 year old Jeb Sweeney as he begins to make the painful transition from the innocence of childhood to the challenges of adulthood. I loved the randomness of the story from the quiet opening with all the smells and sounds of downtown Pikesville, from the repartee and banter of Mr Drewer’s barbershop to the almost “wizard of oz” feel of the perilous journey into Fear County. The snake-critter “some sort of half –dog, half-snake with big yellow-green eyes, long fangs, and a shiny coat of black scales” is terrorizing the citizens of Pikesville draining their blood and holding them hostage in his lair, a cave on the south bank of the Cumberland river. Jeb knows the only way to defeat this demon is to travel to the house of the Granny Woman for a magical potion to destroy it. On that journey he will be accompanied by legendary bluesman Roscoe Ledbetter and his father Sam who is mentally handicapped having been wounded in the 2WW. The story moves at a frenetic pace and every chapter is littered with breathtaking adventure and wonderful characters. We meet the snake queen, Ezelical Gallow, the Kudzu, Buckshot and we travel to Paradise Hollow, Adder Swamp, Lynching Springs. Jed’s adventures take place in the evil and adjacent Fear County “it had been named Fear a hundred years or so ago because that was the emotion the dark and desolate country conjured the most” This novel is part thriller, part fantasy, part horror and it will make you laugh, cry, and contemplate in equal measure. It portrays through the eyes of Jeb the type of world we live in, both the good and bad, and how the decisions that we take effect those we love the most. It is a story of family, want, need, it is at times sad but ultimately it shows how the power of friendship, kin and understanding are the most vital characteristics of the human condition.
    • 4/5
      This was my first novel by Ronald Kelly and I liked it. The story was solid and enjoyable with good characters that were very easy to picture and imagine.The story focuses on Jeb Sweeny, a ten-year-old boy who is forced to take adult actions in order to solve the problems in his life. His father is shell-shocked and doesn't remember who he is. His grandma is dying of cancer. And Jeb's crush turn girlfriend has been kidnapped by a snake-dog creature that nearly embodies evil. Jeb starts on a journey to solve his problems by going into the heart of Fear County and facing any demons he finds along the way.As I mentioned, one of the things that I really like about the story was the great characters. I could very easily picture them in my mind. This was probably helped along because I listened to the audiobook and J. Rodney Turner did a great job of narrating the tale. His voice for each character helped make them clear in my mind. On the other hand, one of the things that got repetitive was the different creatures or weird being that the characters kept running into on their journey. As they were on their quest for the cures to solve Jeb's problems, they would run into one batch of weirdness after another. It was repetitive but at the same time it wasn't a big deal. If the journey had been easier or shorter, it would have seemed too easy. From a narrative perspective, it did turn into a "what problem are they going to run into next?" type of thing. Switching back to the positive, the story was set shortly after World War II. I've been so used to stories being set in the 80s lately that this was a welcome change. And a very believable one. Kelly made the feel of the 40s in Tennessee come across easily in the story. Or at least what I would believe it would be like living in Tennessee in the 1940s. Big picture, the story is good, enjoyable, and something I would recommend. It might be a tad predictable at times but that doesn't mean you should avoid it. Because you'll regret it if you do.