Scan barcode
tobin_elliott's review
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
This was my first foray into the mind of Dr. Stuart Knott. Full disclosure, I've run across him online through mutual writer friends, and we've had some chats, and he's a great guy.
Ah, but can he write?
Because, the sad truth is, I've become acquainted with some authors who, once I picked up their novel, I also very quietly put it right back down again, because I wasn't a fan.
I'm so glad to say, this novel is nowhere near that category. I actually enjoyed the hell out of this.
So, yeah yeah, Stranger Things/It vibes. Any novel with kids facing off an evil in a small town are going to get those inevitable comparisons (what did we compare things like that to before 1986?), but I honestly think both comparisons do this novel a disservice.
Because HERE THERE BE is its own monster. Knott has taken a disparate group of kids, then worked some magic so we get to know them all (and mourn some) while hinting at something terrible lurking just off in the dark, just out of sight.
What I liked about this was that nothing was rushed, time and care was taken to set the stage before the novel slapped you around with the reveal of the evil. But that's not the end of the surprises, and I'll say nothing more, other than I probably had as much fun reading it as Knott did writing it.
Just a solid, well-crafted, enjoyable horror novel that, while showing that some of its DNA may have come from a certain doorstop of a novel or a Netflix series, but overall, it veers off and claims its own space in the horror arena.
Well done.
So, this was my first foray into the mind of Dr. Stuart Knott. It definitely won't be my last.
Ah, but can he write?
Because, the sad truth is, I've become acquainted with some authors who, once I picked up their novel, I also very quietly put it right back down again, because I wasn't a fan.
I'm so glad to say, this novel is nowhere near that category. I actually enjoyed the hell out of this.
So, yeah yeah, Stranger Things/It vibes. Any novel with kids facing off an evil in a small town are going to get those inevitable comparisons (what did we compare things like that to before 1986?), but I honestly think both comparisons do this novel a disservice.
Because HERE THERE BE is its own monster. Knott has taken a disparate group of kids, then worked some magic so we get to know them all (and mourn some) while hinting at something terrible lurking just off in the dark, just out of sight.
What I liked about this was that nothing was rushed, time and care was taken to set the stage before the novel slapped you around with the reveal of the evil. But that's not the end of the surprises, and I'll say nothing more, other than I probably had as much fun reading it as Knott did writing it.
Just a solid, well-crafted, enjoyable horror novel that, while showing that some of its DNA may have come from a certain doorstop of a novel or a Netflix series, but overall, it veers off and claims its own space in the horror arena.
Well done.
So, this was my first foray into the mind of Dr. Stuart Knott. It definitely won't be my last.
harrieteverend's review
4.0
If you're a fan of 90's nostalgia and vibes of classics like IT, you will definitely enjoy this story! The author does an incredible job of getting the reader immersed in this unsettling, creepy atmosphere. I found myself unable to stop reading once I got into it, wanting to see where it would go next. While reading, it would send chills throughout...it left me looking around my environment to make sure everything was in its proper places.
Definitely was not expecting certain events to happen (no spoilers here!) and certain characters to do (or don't do) certain things! As previously stated, if you want a thoroughly good read that'll leave you feeling unnerved, definitely pick up "Here There Be" by Dr. Stuart Knott.
Definitely was not expecting certain events to happen (no spoilers here!) and certain characters to do (or don't do) certain things! As previously stated, if you want a thoroughly good read that'll leave you feeling unnerved, definitely pick up "Here There Be" by Dr. Stuart Knott.