The Haar: A Horror Novel

Product Information

It is too bad that the one interesting aspect of the story, the monster found in the fog by the old woman, was overshadowed by the inane nonsense of the rest of the story.

The Haar by David Sodergren | Goodreads

Thou shalt not judge a film by it’s opening scene,Thou shalt not judge a film by it’s opening scene,Thou shalt not judge a film by it’s opening scene, etc’

who seems to be able to buy off the local Scottish police and news reporters with all his dirty American money... This book makes you feel FEELINGS!! And I can easily say, I loved every second of it. When I started this book I did not expect to have my heart pulled in such ways, but I truly could not put this down until I was done. I was cooking dinner while reading, doing laundry and reading, I moved my schedule around so I could FINISH THIS BOOK!! It gets pretty gruesome, but there's a genuine heart running through it. That's all I kind of want to say without ruining anything. Like I've said many times before, I rarely read a synopsis. I most often go on an author's previous efforts or recommendations from fellow readers. With David Sodergren, it's a no-brainer. He never lets me down. What I liked: The story follows 80+ year old, Muriel McAuley, life long resident of the Scottish fishing town Witchaven. This was where she was born and raised, met and married her husband and continued to live when, years ago, his fishing boat was found, but no signs of Billy were ever found. Now, a billionaire American is buying up all of the land and houses, building a massive golf course and resort, but some residents are holding their ground and refusing to sell. Muriel being one of them.

The Haar: A Horror Novel: Sodergren, David: 9798800159837

David can write characters of any age and in any situation and manages to bring us different types of horror with every single one of his novels. You'll remember my recent obsession with Indie Horror and even, perhaps, my own toe-dip into the genre myself. But whereas some obsessions drift away, forgotten. The Indie Horror bug is still biting. Revenge Of The Boogeyman might not be the worst Nasty, or even the most boring, but it’s without a shadow of a doubt the laziest. Barely running 75 minutes including the slowest moving end credits on record, approximately half of the running time is footage from the original Boogeyman. The idea is a good one – Lacey, played by a returning Suzanna Love, goes to Hollywood where she is courted by producers who want to make a movie out of her life. A supernatural slasher running amok in early 80s Tinseltown? Sounds good! The story concerns an old woman in a sleepy coastal town that is slowly fading away. Like most towns so connected to the sea, there are mythological beings and interesting happenings surrounding the waters. This book takes that to a whole level of something I’ve never experienced before. The characters are mostly solid, especially our heroes. The bad guys, mainly the villains, do become what you might think of as "typical", but they really didn't need that much fleshing out. The story is all from Muriel's pov with the villains playing a smaller role. The story is more about Muriel trying to stay where she belongs, to spend the rest of her life with what remains of her friends, to die where she was born. Most of all, to heal from the loss of her husband. The story is a reminder: don't take advantage of life or the ones you love the most because no one is exempt from the final destination.

The ending was perfect and the varying POV’s we get to see some of those last moments through was fantastic to really highlight the emotional aspect of this book.

The Haar by David Sodergren book reviews | Goodreads

Muriel Margaret McAuley was eighty-four years old the first time she saw a man turned inside-out by a sea monster. You might think it would bother a woman of her age, but, as Muriel was fond of saying, she had seen a lot in her eighty-four short years. I don’t want to give anything away because I really think that the ‘other’ character in the book is really engaging. So many questions rise up and they’re batted away to instead tell a really powerful story of grief, redemption and revenge. So many points I could raise, but in short it’s just like a very cheesy 80’s action film, full of cliche and hammy writing. Parts were just so clunky. Oh dear! There may be spoilers. 2 stars. I'm sorry, but I didn't find this story the least bit plausible or entertaining... I love battle-for-nature stories with revenge. The Haar was excellently paced, an easy read to breeze through, and stirred in me rainbow of emotion. I was angry then happy then disgusted then sad then infuriated then exuberant. Haha, really everything under the sun. ☀️Muriel is left hopeless – until, after a particularly dense fog (called a “ haar“), she finds a mysterious blob on the beach. Little does Muriel know, saving this blob will not only spell her salvation, but a new hope for her future. The end of the book has some words from Sodergren's own gran from a journal entry. He mentions parts of Muriel were inspired by her and it was such a treat to see her own words and thoughts on paper. A blood-drenched love letter to Lovecraft, handled with impressive authority and confidence."
James Fahy, author of The Changeling series
NIGHT SHOOT

The Haar: A Horror Novel: Sodergren, David: 9798800159837 The Haar: A Horror Novel: Sodergren, David: 9798800159837

What I didn’t like: The main bad guy and his son, aka The Grant’s, I think were a little underutilized in the sense that I felt they loomed but their dirty work seemed too detached. It’s hard to really say everything and remain spoiler free, so I think once you’ve given this one a go, you’ll understand.The Haar starts as a story about a greedy American arsehole who is trying to destroy the small coastal fishing town of Witchhaven, Scotland, and slowly turns into a story about love, self-preservation, and the human condition. The story is about Muriel McAuley, an old widow who wants to be left alone but a big corporation is buying up all the land of the Scottish coastal town she grew up in to build a golf course. The million-pound offers to buy her property are now turning into threats. Muriel then finds a sea creature with unique powers and it becomes a game changer. The novel centers on the little Scottish town of Witchaven and an 80-something year old widow woman, Muriel...