Genre: Horror, Queer Cosmic Horror
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, Lesbian, Non-Binary
Reviewer: Maryann
Get It On Amazon | Publisher
About The Book
This Appalachian cosmic horror novel tells the story of a gay man who must return to his ancestral home in the mountains of Western North Carolina after his mother’s death to clean it out and sell it off. Navigating feelings of grief and anger, he finds her house is haunted and her nosy neighbors always watching him-and one of those neighbors happens to be his favorite adult performer. While he develops a new romance and oversees his mother’s funeral, tension builds as the characters’ circumstances go from ominously creepy to terrifying.
Michael G. Williams is a queer native of Appalachia, winner of the 2020 Manly Wade Wellman Award, and cohosts Arcane Carolinas, a podcast about folklore, myths, and modern weird in North Carolina, South Carolina, and the wider region. This LGBTQ Southern horror story is set in a place exactly like the author’s mountain hometown in the Southeastern United States with shades of Lovecraft. Packed with regional folklore, original bluegrass compositions, and occult horror, it weaves an unforgettable ghost story featuring seduction, cults, murder, sacrifice, and paranormal phenomena.
The Review
Reginald Voth left home in his early twenties and never went back. He lived his life the way he wanted, with no one telling him what to do and keeping company with who he liked – and maybe even a return visit. He never committed, or had a serious relationship with anyone. He liked his privacy, space, and boundaries and wanted them respected. He did have his troubles with drugs and went to therapy, but slowly his life got better. Now he lives in a decent trailer, and it suits him just fine – for the time being.
Deep in the Appalachian Mountains is the family estate, surrounded by Moriah Bald. It’s twelve years and thirty-seven miles away, and Reginald has never gone back. Now, with the death of his mother Dorothea, he is finally going home. The first thing Reginald does when he arrives is to make an appearance at the McLaren Family Funeral Chapel & Crematory, to be sure his mother is truly dead, and to arrive before his ridiculing brother, Bobby.
His returning wasn’t for his mother, or for Bobby. He was there just to clean out the house, and to see what could be sold, for he had no desire to live in it. The majority of the property has been sold, with some new but similar homes being built. The one thing that didn’t change was the deep, dense forrest that leads to Moriah Bald.
The Voth house itself brings back lots of memories for Reginald and most of them are not good. When Reginald attempts to enter it, he sees something inside and then hears a voice. He meets young Ham, with whom he has an interesting conversation. He also meets the welcoming committee – Kate Spangler and Lewis Gwan, who seem to be in their thirties. As they talk Reginald makes it clear he has no intention to be living in the house.
There’s a strange occurrence with dishes in the house, and there’s also something very intriguing about Lewis Gwan. It seems Reginald has seen Lewis before, in a very provocative way. As Reginald and Lewis start up a friendship, Reginald realizes that he still hasn’t seen his brother. Bobby hasn’t even made an attempt to show up at the house, even though he lives in one of the new homes nearby.
The eeriness of the house grows, and Reginald starts to look for someone in the exorcism business. He wants to protect Lewis, Ham and his mothers Beck and Megan, because he realizes it’s too late for others who have entered the house. Will he find a way to keep them safe, or will he have to sacrifice himself to the lurking danger?
Williams has crafted a creepy haunted house story with Children of Solitude., which takes a deep dive into local history. I loved how there are chapters especially dedicated to all the Voth relatives, who tell the tale of what they thought was right.
Reginald himself dealt with abuse at a young age, and life was not always good until he left home. He’s a loner, but his mind is set in how he want’s his life to be. The one thing he’s never found is love. I also liked Lewis Gwan, who has a very interesting profession. He and Reginald grow to have a special connection.
I highly recommend this book – it’s eerie, suspenseful and terrifying. Well done.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.