For Cole Nightshade, being sent to the asylum in the fall of 1962 was an improvement. While his vile foster family feigned wanting to be safe from himFor Cole Nightshade, being sent to the asylum in the fall of 1962 was an improvement. While his vile foster family feigned wanting to be safe from him, he was the one who escaped their abuse and lies. To say that being locked up as a ward of a deluded system and an orphan without a choice is an improvement does not account for the ghosts of violence that haunt Cole. Screaming halls, spirits in the throes of death and the worst of all, The Creeper, haunt Cole and his fellow wards. The walls of Saint Edwards Mental Asylum hold much more than wayward teens.
In present day, Chaz and Evie are tour guides through what has become of the asylum and lead us through what we thought we knew about Cole and the images he is tormented by to where the true evil of Saint Edwards lay.
While Nightshade’s Requiem starts off far more dark than anticipated, Hains reels the reader back into a more well-adjusted reality once Cole is in the hands of the doctors and nurses of the hospital. While the haunting is no mystery from the start, there is a breath of relief found in the aseptic and oddly familiar surroundings of the asylum. For all who have visited one, be it in fiction or life, there is something to be said of the safety telegraphed by white tile and firmly locked doors. Perhaps this is also where the dread gets a foothold. Cole and his new friends, Kenny, Timmy and Lambert, have been visited by a host of spirits and Cole seems to be the most sensitive of all. This is a masterful bit of writing where between what is shown through his eyes at Saint Edwards, what the present-day ghost tour chapters tell us. Alongside, there are passages where Cole remembers much of his grandmother who he inherited his sensitivity from and who was one of the only respectful adults to have raised him until her untimely and tragic death. Her words of wisdom add a layer of whimsy to an otherwise very dark tale.
While at first this book would appear written for an older audience - it begins with the apparent sexual exploitation of a young girl and Cole himself - as the story unravels there is much more here for a very wide audience. Being written plainly lends this prose to readers of adult and young-adult fiction alike. The most complex aspects are the emotional qualities contained in the darkest corners of this tale. From reader to reader, impact may vary, but it stands that the tales of the ghosts in Saint Edwards are haunting, through and through.
A very enjoyable beginning to a now anticipated series. Those seeking dark fiction featuring fellowship of boys in the forefront should tap into Hains’ work. While the work could perhaps be longer - there are a lot of corners in this old asylum to explore - this bodes well for future books.
Merged review:
For Cole Nightshade, being sent to the asylum in the fall of 1962 was an improvement. While his vile foster family feigned wanting to be safe from him, he was the one who escaped their abuse and lies. To say that being locked up as a ward of a deluded system and an orphan without a choice is an improvement does not account for the ghosts of violence that haunt Cole. Screaming halls, spirits in the throes of death and the worst of all, The Creeper, haunt Cole and his fellow wards. The walls of Saint Edwards Mental Asylum hold much more than wayward teens.
In present day, Chaz and Evie are tour guides through what has become of the asylum and lead us through what we thought we knew about Cole and the images he is tormented by to where the true evil of Saint Edwards lay.
While Nightshade’s Requiem starts off far more dark than anticipated, Hains reels the reader back into a more well-adjusted reality once Cole is in the hands of the doctors and nurses of the hospital. While the haunting is no mystery from the start, there is a breath of relief found in the aseptic and oddly familiar surroundings of the asylum. For all who have visited one, be it in fiction or life, there is something to be said of the safety telegraphed by white tile and firmly locked doors. Perhaps this is also where the dread gets a foothold. Cole and his new friends, Kenny, Timmy and Lambert, have been visited by a host of spirits and Cole seems to be the most sensitive of all. This is a masterful bit of writing where between what is shown through his eyes at Saint Edwards, what the present-day ghost tour chapters tell us. Alongside, there are passages where Cole remembers much of his grandmother who he inherited his sensitivity from and who was one of the only respectful adults to have raised him until her untimely and tragic death. Her words of wisdom add a layer of whimsy to an otherwise very dark tale.
While at first this book would appear written for an older audience - it begins with the apparent sexual exploitation of a young girl and Cole himself - as the story unravels there is much more here for a very wide audience. Being written plainly lends this prose to readers of adult and young-adult fiction alike. The most complex aspects are the emotional qualities contained in the darkest corners of this tale. From reader to reader, impact may vary, but it stands that the tales of the ghosts in Saint Edwards are haunting, through and through.
A very enjoyable beginning to a now anticipated series. Those seeking dark fiction featuring fellowship of boys in the forefront should tap into Hains’ work. While the work could perhaps be longer - there are a lot of corners in this old asylum to explore - this bodes well for future books....more
Like a dark and twisted Anne of Green Gables, this book was a welcome addition for me; and very well written for a debut novel. I was happily surpriseLike a dark and twisted Anne of Green Gables, this book was a welcome addition for me; and very well written for a debut novel. I was happily surprised at how much I related to the very odd and “unlikable” main character Ada Byrd. There was a great balance of late-Victorian references and modern sensibility, as well as a cozy atmosphere created by the diary style of the book. The ideas of intimate desire, reckless abuse and longing for friendship were so blurred at times, that there was a lovely sort of delirium created for the reader which mirrored the iceberg tip of the madness forming in Ada. ...more
This is a masterpiece and always will be. From weird, cosmic and gothic horror to action and slipstream this is a perfect book for fans of the genre aThis is a masterpiece and always will be. From weird, cosmic and gothic horror to action and slipstream this is a perfect book for fans of the genre and those new to it. Should be more widely read than it is. Adoration to Valancourt for reprinting this....more
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