The Heavens Rise
By Christopher
Rice
Publisher:
Gallery Books
Publishing Date:
Oct. 15, 2013
Amazon Synopsis:
New York Times bestselling
author Christopher Rice brilliantly conjures the shadowed terrors of the
Louisiana bayou—where three friends confront a deadly, ancient evil rising to
the surface—in this intense and atmospheric new supernatural thriller.
It’s been a decade since the Delongpre family vanished near Bayou Rabineaux, and still no one can explain the events of that dark and sweltering night. No one except Niquette Delongpre, the survivor who ran away from the mangled stretch of guardrail on Highway 22 where the impossible occurred…and kept on running. Who left behind her best friends, Ben and Anthem, to save them from her newfound capacity for destruction…and who alone knows the source of her very bizarre—and very deadly—abilities: an isolated strip of swampland called Elysium.
An accomplished surgeon, Niquette’s father dreamed of transforming the dense acreage surrounded by murky waters into a palatial compound befitting the name his beloved wife gave to it, Elysium: “the final resting place for the heroic and virtuous.” Then, ten years ago, construction workers dug into a long-hidden well, one that snaked down into the deep, black waters of the Louisiana swamp and stirred something that had been there for centuries—a microscopic parasite that perverts the mind and corrupts the body.
Niquette is living proof that things done can’t be undone. Nothing will put her family back together again. And nothing can save her. But as Niquette, Ben, and Anthem uncover the truth of a devastating parasite that has the potential to alter the future of humankind, Niquette grasps the most chilling truths of all: someone else has been infected too. And unlike her, this man is not content to live in the shadows. He is intent to use his newfound powers for one reason only: revenge.
It’s been a decade since the Delongpre family vanished near Bayou Rabineaux, and still no one can explain the events of that dark and sweltering night. No one except Niquette Delongpre, the survivor who ran away from the mangled stretch of guardrail on Highway 22 where the impossible occurred…and kept on running. Who left behind her best friends, Ben and Anthem, to save them from her newfound capacity for destruction…and who alone knows the source of her very bizarre—and very deadly—abilities: an isolated strip of swampland called Elysium.
An accomplished surgeon, Niquette’s father dreamed of transforming the dense acreage surrounded by murky waters into a palatial compound befitting the name his beloved wife gave to it, Elysium: “the final resting place for the heroic and virtuous.” Then, ten years ago, construction workers dug into a long-hidden well, one that snaked down into the deep, black waters of the Louisiana swamp and stirred something that had been there for centuries—a microscopic parasite that perverts the mind and corrupts the body.
Niquette is living proof that things done can’t be undone. Nothing will put her family back together again. And nothing can save her. But as Niquette, Ben, and Anthem uncover the truth of a devastating parasite that has the potential to alter the future of humankind, Niquette grasps the most chilling truths of all: someone else has been infected too. And unlike her, this man is not content to live in the shadows. He is intent to use his newfound powers for one reason only: revenge.
My Thoughts:
This was a very dark novel. While labeled a mystery/thriller,
it almost could have been labeled horror. The cause of all the mayhem in the
book is a parasite found in the well water at Elysium. The well feeds a
swimming pool on the property. Niquette and Marshall fall into the pool and are
infected. The power the parasites give them allow them to control others.
Sometimes with devastating effects. Shortly after this, the DeLongpre family
disappeared in an accident. Marshall Ferriot almost died in a strange incident
when he fell 31 stories. It would have been better if he had died, for he ended
up in an institution unable to move or communicate – in a “permanent vegetative
state”.
Eight years later, strange things start to happen. Outside
Marshall’s room, animals are dying. It seems their heads have exploded. Then a nurse
kills herself in his room in a most gruesome way. And Marshall disappears.
For the first few chapters the book jumps back and forth from
the present, to eight years ago when Niquette, Marshall, Anthem and Ben are
just out of high school. This background is necessary in order to understand
the events of the present day.
The ability that Marshall has to control other living beings
has a very evil feel to it, which is magnified by the evil things he forces
those he controls to do. Marshall uses these unsuspecting people to help him
recuperate after he wakes from his coma.
The events that follow are strange indeed, with the discovery
that any emotional attachment to the person being controlled causes them to
change into some kind of monstrous being. No creature has ever been turned back
to its original form.
The book has a somewhat happy ending with Niquette and her
lover Anthem being reunited and the enemy destroyed. But life in New Orleans
will never be the same as long as these parasites are active.
I found this book much too dark for my liking, but I think
that people that enjoy the horror genre will enjoy this book. I also did not
like crude language in the book either.
On the positive side, I did find the pace of the book was
good, and despite the things I didn’t like, there was enough in the story that
kept me wanting to read to the end. Because this was such a dark novel, I
thought it was good that the ending was not a Pollyanna ending with everything
working out perfectly
I gave this book 2 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley who provided me with a free review
copy in exchange for my fair and honest review. I was not required to write a
positive review. All thoughts are my own.
About Christopher Rice:
Christopher Rice
is the author of 4 New-York Times best-selling novels. He is the son of
novelist Anne Rice and poet and painter Stan Rice. He now lives in West
Hollywood where he can explore screenplay writing, but did live in New Orleans
for a time, and where his novel “The Heavens Rise” is set. Rice is openly gay
and his works include descriptions of the gay male in contemporary America.
Books by
Christopher Rice
·
A Density of Souls (2000)
·
Snow Garden (2001)
·
Light Before Day (2005)
·
Blind Fall (2008)
·
The Moonlit Earth (2010)
·
The Heavens Rise (2013)
Contact
Christopher Rice
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisricewriter
Website: http://www.christopherricebooks.com/
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