Dark Harvest ~Norman Partridge

–published 2006
–169 pages, Tor Books
–Bram Stoker Award, International Horror Guild Award
–4.5/5 stars

“It’s Halloween, 1963… and getting on towards dark. Things are the same as they’ve always been. There’s the main street, the old brick church in the town square, the movie theater—this year with a Vincent Price double-bill. And past all that is the road that leads out of town. It’s black as a licorice whip under an October sky, black as the night that’s coming and the long winter nights that will follow, black as the little town it leaves behind.”

Thus begins Dark Harvest, one of the rarest of Halloween treats–a contemporary novel with the underpinnings and atmosphere of a classic horror novel.

The setting is any small farming community in the 1960’s. It is All Hallows Eve. And you the reader are thrown directly into the cataclysm of events that will shape the destiny and future of an entire town and its inhabitants, for it is the night of an annual town ritual that promises freedom and spoils to the victor and violence and death to the loser. Blending the very best of supernatural horror elements with the gritty violence of a crime novel, Partridge crafts a true page-turner.

The first inclination that I had that this was a ‘must-read’ novel was upon reading Ken’s review late last week. Dear reader, allow me a quick digression here: if you have not discovered the wonder of the book, film, and music reviews over on Giant Robots Make Me Nervous then please visit Ken’s site without delay. His reviews inspire me to continue to hone my blogging craft and the temptation to stop this review right now and continue it by linking directly to his review is quite strong. However this was a really enjoyable R.I.P. III read so I will soldier on.

Norman Partridge was an unknown commodity to me. I must admit that I had seen this novel before and was attracted to it by the wonderful cover by former Friday Favorite artist Jon Foster and yet I had not gone so far as to purchase it until I was transported out to that dark cornfield on Halloween night by the opening lines of Partridges book that begin Ken’s review. Partridge’s style and the content of those introductory paragraphs sent the kind of shivers up my spine that inspired the idea for the R.I.P. Challenge in the first place.

Partridge may be a lesser known author in the horror genre, but when he does something he does it right. Dark Harvest, one of only a handful of novels written by this author, won the Bram Stoker Award in 2006, the 2007 International Horror Guild Award, was listed as one of Publishers Weekly‘s 100 Best Books of 2006, and was nominated for the 2007 World Fantasy Award. Having read this slight novel (169 pages) in one sitting I can readily attest to the fact that it is deserving of all of its accolades.

With Dark Harvest Norman Partridge has written a story reminiscent of the classic scary tales we were haunted by as children. There are shades of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I read one review that made comparisons to the darker work of story master Ray Bradbury. As I began reading, Partridge’s driving writing style reminded me of episodes of Night Gallery which float at the edges of my childhood remembrances and thus I was not surprised to see Partridge reference Rod Serling’s more famous gig, The Twilight Zone, in his narrative. Owing to the fact that this is a very brief novel Partridge wastes no time on a slow build up. The creepy atmosphere that pervades Dark Harvest is there from page one and the action and suspense builds quickly and does not let up until the final page. Honestly, what makes Dark Harvest stand out and what most likely garnered Partridge so many nominations and awards is that in this brief story he manages to incorporate plot twists and character developments that turn horror conventions on their heads while also being an homage to many of those same conventions.

While I wouldn’t recommend Dark Harvest for the kiddies I will say that it is, or at the very least should be, destined to be a Halloween classic. Ken mentions in his review that he would love to see a film adaptation of this novel and I could not agree more. This story would lend itself so easily to the film genre that you can almost see the movie winding by in your head as you read. If you are looking for a book that is a throw back to tales where things really do go bump in the night and one that you can curl up with on a dark night and get lost in then Dark Harvest is the book for you. I highly recommend this novel.

(To give you another idea of how I felt personally about my experience reading this book: I had such a strong desire to watch Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow after I finished that I did just that! It made for a late night (I also squeezed Monday Night Football and playoff baseball into my evening) but it was a deliciously creepy one as well. I may just be riding a R.I.P.ing high right now but on this rainy, dreary day I feel alert and excited and refreshed by the delightful Halloween atmosphere that even now is in the air.)
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Contest Update: The witching hour came and went last night and the deadline for the drawing for a postcard prize pack from Anne-Julie Aubry came and went with it. Names went into the spider (and if you do not get that reference, return to the comments section of The Graveyard Book review for pictures) and out came the winner:

Sarah!!!

Congrats Sarah! Email me your addy to cvincent68 (at) comcast (dot) net when you have the opportunity.

Thank you all so very much for your enthusiastic participation in the interview with Anne-Julie, and don’t forget that the special offer for you readers only lasts through this Friday, October 10th, so don’t miss out!
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And as I close for the day please allow me to say a very special “Happy Birthday” to my mother! For nearly 40 years (make you feel old mom?!?!) she has been there for me, providing a wonderful example of what both a parent and a spouse can and should be. I am so very proud of my mother and freely admit that all the good things in me are the results of seeds sown into my life by loving parents. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you very much and look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!