| Title | : | Lure |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1737982307 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781737982302 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 130 |
| Publication | : | First published July 4, 2022 |
| Awards | : | Shirley Jackson Award Novella (2022) |
When a new god drifts into the bay, the menfolk fear nothing as they reach for their spears; but capturing Her may be their last act of reckless bravado. Her very presence brings dissent and madness. Her voice threatens to tear the starving, angry community apart.
Setting a siege of relentless horror against the backdrop of brine and blood, Lure blurs the line between natural disaster and self-destruction.
Lure Reviews
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There's Something
in the Water!
LURE
by Tim McGregor
No spoilers. 4 stars. Mother was a gifted storyteller. She would gather her children close in the tallow light and...
Tell a bedtime story...
Out on the water, in rippling moonlight, swims a sea creature, its sailfin breaking on the glassy surface...
Is it related to the sea monster whose bones hang from the beams of the village's ancient church?...
Its legend goes back to the founding of the craggy costal fishing village, which was long ago set upon by a sea monster...
It snatched men from their fishing boats while they were out to sea and slithered ashore to eat women and children and any other animal whole...
Many years later...
Early one morning, after a great storm, a fisherman ran up and down the pier like a crazy fool screaming...
There's something in the water!...
A luremaid (mermaid) was spotted by the townsfolk bobbing in the ocean waves...
Great troubles for the isolated village began when their fishermen attempted to capture and kill the fabled being...
If you like tales of the sea and folklore told by fishermen, you might like this fish tale.
It is an old sea story of the fabled mermaid... but wait! This is very different from what you've been told about the mysterious creature. This story borders on horror with a very different approach to the telling.
This is an original and excellent tale of the elusive mermaid, which I highly recommend! -
Kaspar is a teenage boy living in a fishing village caught between the mountains and the sea, and completely isolated from the rest of the world. Life in the village is hard, and is even more difficult for Kaspar and his family, who rely solely on the "tithes" grudgingly spared by the fishermen from their meager daily catches to Kaspar's father, the reverend of the church. One night during a full moon, a great storm sweeps over the village, stirring up the sea and heralding the arrival of a "luremaid." When the superstitious villagers spy the creature in the waves the next morning, the fishermen make a hasty decision to go on the hunt. And, of course, we can all guess how that decision is going to pan out.
Lure is a story that is absolutely soaked in seawater. Every aspect of the life of the village is dependent on the sea, and everything is measured in nautical terms. Although the story is set in some vaguely referenced realm that gives it a hint of fantasy, it could easily have been set in any isolated village (I'm picturing northern Scotland here), in the not so distant past. There is an element of tension between the semi-Pagan villagers and the reverend of the church, which worships some non-specified monotheistic religion. But also has the bones of a sea monster hanging over the chancel.
This sea-soaked atmosphere is exactly what I'm looking for when I pick up any kind of oceanic horror and McGregor does an excellent job evoking this coastal village. The action sequences when the fishermen face off against the creature are vividly rendered and a lot of fun. There's another element to the story that I won't mention, but was unexpected and a happy surprise for a reader like me, who loves this trope. I read this little novella in a day, and would recommend it to any aquatic horror/creature fans looking for a quick read. -
Tim McGregor is the author of one of my favorite books, HEARTS STRANGE AND DREADFUL (2021) and when your introduction to an author's work is that powerful, it does set a certain level of expectations for the next book. Thankfully, McGregor does not rest on his laurels. WASPS IN THE ICE CREAM will become another crowd favorite as soon as it's released, his My Dark Library novella, TABOO IN FOUR COLORS will delight readers that long for romance and mystery, and right now, coming from Tenebrous Press in 10 days--LURE.
The storytelling here is supported by a framework of detailed, vibrant world-building strengthened by colorful characters. This is McGregor's wheelhouse and you will find this throughout his body of work.
Readers will find themselves settling into the day-to-day lifestyle of an isolated fishing village called, Torgrimsvaer in a universe not of our own. However, there's not a big learning curve for the reader in order to establish a sense of time or place, Mcgregor does an excellent job weaving a timeless tale.
No plot details from me--you can get enough sense of the story from the synopsis should you want to know that going in or you can dive right in blind, that's what I did. I saw the mermaid on the cover and took into consideration the quality of the press and the reliability of the author and that's all I needed--LURE delivers.
Tim McGregor is an insta-buy -
Pardon the pun, but Lure hooked me in from the very first sentence and didn’t release me from the net till the very last.
This is not the first Tim McGregor book I’ve read, nor will it be the last. He has a way with words, this guy. Though the flow is seamless, you find yourself stopping every now and then to delight in his turn of phrase. And another thing...he’s also very clever at knowing what to leave out. For example, there’s a scene in Lure where he describes each member of the family, then concludes the passage with the words: ‘Mother is dead.’ It is not necessary to tell us more, the simplicity of that statement speaks volumes and in contrast to the descriptions make a striking contrast. So clever!
Lovecraftian/cosmic vibes lurk within the pages of this novel, reminding me of a Call of Cthulhu game I once played and also of a favorite film of mine—The Shipping News.
As far as characterization goes, McGregor handles this beautifully, encouraging the reader to fall hook, line, and sinker for poor Pip. The romance elements between Agnet and Kaspar are also very well portrayed. And then there’s setting and atmosphere, which are so vibrant they take on a character of their own. Through his characters, McGregor evokes a powerful emotional response from his readers.
Further points were scored for me by the plot’s momentum, the folk-tale feel, and the impotent portrayal of established religion.
An underlying (though vital) theme here is the treatment of women in archaic communities and the way in which the mermaid empowers them. This aspect was handled very well and added to the overall tale for me.
I think my favorite thing of all though, is the way in which McGregor delivers horror, which though infrequent, when it comes is visceral. My favorite kind of horror.
To conclude: Lure is subtle, bewitching, and the perfect example of great story-telling.
My thanks to the author and press for providing an ARC of this wonderful tale. -
”Lure” is an incredibly well-written novella, with some terrifying moments. It’s also very well-paced. It’s only around 100 pages long, yet both the setting and the characters are so well-developed.
It is easy to become very invested in, most of you would probably become hooked enough to finish it within an evening (I have been busy otherwise I could have done!). I didn’t want to put this one down! I feel excited by this author and I’m itching to read more of their work. This is a fine example of how you write horror! I would go so far as to say, a masterclass in the genre. A new favourite. -
Folk horror speaks to our anxieties of the world around us. Folk horror is about what lurks in the woods. In the earth. In the seas. In the rivers. In Lure, mermaids lurk in the waters and they are far from friendly. They are a representative of the old ways, of what humankind cannot control.
You can read Zach's full review at Horror DNA by
clicking here. -
My first by McGregor (shame on me) and won’t be my last. Had a bunch of fun with this briny little tale - so much so that I read it in a single afternoon, which does not happen often these days. Check it out.
Just beware.
There’s blood in these waters. -
This is a visual and sensory treat, even though some of the smells it evokes are the sort that turn my stomach in real life (fish, dead fish etc). The isolated coastal village - poverty and famine stricken - is brought to life in vivid, but not overdone detail, the characters are living, breathing people; the luremaid is monstrous. The pages truly vanished as I was.pulled into this novella. Bringing in old superstitions, isolation and landscape and the intrusion of relative newcomers to a place fixed in its ways, Tim McGregor plays with the genre of folk horror to produce something that has the feel of a modern day feminist fable, one that could easily be regarded as classic in years to come.
(My policy of not starring reviews still stands, except for the exceptional) -
Ok, I’m going to get a huge ‘negative’ right out of the way to focus on everything positive. I – Steve – am not a fan of mermaids. At all. I get a lot of folks are intrigued by mermaids and how these sirens sign so sweetly causing men to be transfixed before being lured to their deaths. Just not for me.
BUT. And that’s a capitalized BUT (you make the big butt joke here! not me!) I also know that I – Steve – am a HUGE fan of horror masquerading as magical, fantastical fable. And having seen a few reviews of this one and re-reading the synopsis (and knowing it was on Tenebrous Press) I knew I had to give it a try. Tim’s a fantastic author/writer and I was looking for a change of scenery considering a huge schwack of my recent reads have been haunted house or set in the woods.
What I liked: Set on a coastal village where fishing is main source of food, we follow a young boy, the father of the town’s preacher, as he navigates life. The family is struggling. His mother has disappeared, his father turned angry and his brother has suffered a head injury of some sort, leaving him with challenges. His older sister is growing bitter and food has grown scarce. His true love has been chosen to marry another and he wonders just how he’ll regain her hand.
This is all thrown for a loop when, one day, a mermaid appears. At first it is seen as a positive sign, a turning for the village, but after they catch her, things turn sour very quickly. It’s here that McGregor takes us on a dark and wondrous journey. We see our main character struggle with doing what is right versus what the village wants, and we see how this decision impacts every single inhabitant. The story telling is told with a deft and seasoned hand. It reminded me of how much I loved the Henson The Storyteller series from years ago. I could almost imagine John Hurt narrating this within my mind.
The final third of this novella is ruthless and brutal. Things go from bad to worse as the mermaid unleashes her unholy terror on the village and her powers are revealed fully. Throughout we see a battle of wills, of our boy struggling still to comprehend what is happening and what role he plays.
I found the ending to be fitting, expected and horrendously sad. It’d be great to see a follow up some time in the future, to learn what has become of the village and what is discovered should others arrive. McGregor made sure to drive home the underlying story of family lost but returned and how each villager had a singular role for the over-reaching story.
What I didn’t like: It’s actually SUPER minor in the grand scheme of things, but our main character is bitten at one point and his hand begins to change. I personally wanted to know more about it. About the inner workings, the why of what was happening and what would occur if left to continue. It seems odd, but that aspect had me riveted and ultimately just didn’t feel resolved.
Why you should buy this: So, what did this non-mermaid fan think? This was friggin’ fantastic. Like seriously amazing from start to finish. This bridged the divide between fantasy and horror and was infused with a sense of Nordic folklore that made each moment feel cold and as though the sun would never shine again. McGregor owned every single word on each and every page and absolutely delivered an outstanding novella. One I should’ve read by now.
Phenomenal. -
First book I've read in a single day for a good while, and with due cause. The storybook setting, the lyrical prose and the hugely likeable (though flawed) protagonist all contribute to this.
Lure feels like the perfect type of fairy tale. The ones Disney hasn't got it hands on and sanitised. There is grime, blood, cruelty and violence aplenty in this novella and that's without even mentioning the luremaid herself.
There are hints here at a more complete cosmology of the location of Lure, and this is always something that fascinates me. Offering clues as to other folklore and mysteries which might be lurking beyond this microcosm of a tale. -
A gripping, immersive story from start to finish. I highly recommend this strange little tale!
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Outstanding book. It has a mermaid and a desolate fishing village, which is all you really need.
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Mermaid horror has, blessedly, I might add, been enjoying a minor resurgence of late between Mira Grant's Into the Drowning Deep (as well as its prequel novella Rolling in the Deep) and Maiden by T.C. Parker and Ward Nerdlo. Granted, it's a terribly small subgenre within the canon of sea creature horror, and not nearly as popular as the more traditional horror mainstays of zombies or vampires - throw a stone and you're likely to hit at least a dozen books featuring those widely prevalent creatures. But thankfully Tim McGregor has stepped up to the plate to add his thoughtful novella, Lure, to the list of aquatic terrors to keep you out of the water.
Torgrimsvaer is a small fishing village ringed by mountains - the only way in or out is by sea, and their primary sustenance comes from the salt water at their shores. Kaspar Lensman is the son of the village's preacher, and often sent to the docks to collect their tithe from the returning fisherman. While Uriah may be the village's spiritual leader, his family are essentially beggars reliant on the goodwill of the workers that scorn them. After a storm, a woman is spotted in the violent waters, but thoughts of rescue quickly turn to capture when the men realize what she truly is, sealing their fates forever.
Although the book's description indicates this story takes place on an alien world, its setting is really more of an incidental detail than anything else. Torgrimsvaer could have easily been cast as any pre-Industrial, pagan fishing village. Regardless, there is a neat bit of world-building, and while Torgrimsvaer and the gods its people worship may not exist on our world, McGregor keeps the fantasy elements supremely grounded and realistic. The focus is on the people, particularly Kaspar and his viewpoints, and how they react to sudden, increasing calamity.
Given Torgrimsvaer's geography, locked between mountains and ocean, Lure quickly grows into a work of siege horror. The fishermen's efforts to capture the mermaid quickly turns wonderfully gnarly and bloody, evoking shades of Jaws as the waters are churned red, and the situation escalates to apocalyptic for this small village. McGregor smartly illustrates the growing deterioration in both the village and in Kaspar, as well as his relationships with his family and lost lover.
Lure is a smart exploration of how quickly and easily prosperity can be lost to obsession, and a necessary reminder that mankind exists solely at the whim of nature, which can be not only fickle but quick to anger. -
A fresh and horrifying addition to sea creature horror. I loved it.
-
Man. Where to start?
I’ve been blown away by Tim’s creativity and prose from the first moment I started Hearts, strange and dreadful, and on through Wasps in the Ice Cream, which I was lucky enough to get a hold of, even though it disappeared with the collapse of Silver Shamrock Publishing (I believe it has been snapped up, so the world is a better place). Tenebrous Press very kindly sent me an ARC of Lure, and it killed me to keep it waiting, so I devoured it in a day.
So, how did it read?
As you would expect.
The world-building here is sublime. A coastal village, a hard life - almost medieval lifestyles, women treated as second-rate citizens, and men given the choice of who they want to marry, regardless of the feelings of the womenfolk. Poverty is rife, especially for Kasper (the protagonist) ‘s family, being the son of a preacher, he is scorned by all in the village, mostly fishermen by trade. Pip, his younger “Turnip” brother, a drip nose idiot, enforces the idea that there is no lower place to go, and Kaspar’s doomed love to Agnet, his true love, married to the local hero, sets the scene for violence and revenge.
This is exactly the type of setting I could read all day. The politics in the village are mesmerizing. The single-handed downplay of women and their emotions is breathtaking. The injustice is written off as cold harsh reality of life on the edge of starvation – outstanding.
And then the magic happens. A mermaid (or "Luremaid") stumbles into the bay, and all hell breaks loose. That addition of the magical to an already spellbinding atmosphere – well, Tim had me from the first page. The simplicity of the language, the detail of traditions, beliefs, and the presentation of Pip’s simplicity – it has all the ingredients of an unforgettable story.
We watch enthralled as all of the things that Kaspar has done come crashing down around his head, where his desperate secret is revealed to have been known by an enemy all along when, in the midst of the darkness, he decides on a course of action, and it is such a wonderful moment. A true “Oh - no” spoken out loud into a place of denial, when we finally accept that this was never going to be a happily ever after, and quite possibly there were never any heroes to this tale.
And the descent is brutal.
McGregor spares no punches, hides no death stroke. The guts of the story spill out for all to see and the ending is as bleak as you could imagine. The fact that we come so close to redemption, so close to achieving an impossible dream, makes the bittersweet tang of the vinegar reality all the more painful to swallow.
I loved every second of it. 5 out of 5 ⭐ ‘s, and there is no doubt in my mind that Tim is an Insta-buy Author.
Buy this book. Buy all his books. -
Lure is a small town aquatic horror tale that will drag you deep into the depths below and not let go.
—
Set in the small village of Tordrimsvaer, it’s borders only accessible by sea or treacherous mountain terrain, a 15 year old boy named Kasper has a difficult decision to make. Will it be the right one?
In the local church, a relic mermaid skeleton hangs on the wall. A folktale exists about this supposed beast saying it stole men from their skiffs then slithered ashore to devour woman and children, enjoying the taste more than its usual meal of fish. Now a mermaid has returned to the small fishing village to wreak a new terror on the town. Will any survive its wrath?
—
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭.”
The visual and sensory descriptions in Lure are vivid and atmospheric, the characters memorable. The main character, Kasper, is so relatable and likable, and hard not to feel sorry for at the same time 🤦♀️.
I love the idea behind this story and found it the perfect length. Tim definitely created an enjoyable tale (or tail 😁) here 🙌 -
Great setting, isolated fishing village with no way in but the sea. Characters that made you feel how they lived. Mermaid coming in to kill everyone. Hell yeah! This is my first book by this author and it won’t be the last. Creepy as hell.
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This was an interesting story on many levels. I almost feel as if the temple with the ancient bones of a sea monster is something I've heard, but that might be folklore. The power of this story isn't in that lore, or in monsters. It is in characters, family, and their interactions.
The protagonist is a young man with a lot of negatives in his life. His family is a mirror of that, nothing good is happening in any of their lives. A clergyman with no real support. A sister betrothed, badly. A brother who babble constantly. And Kaspar, who is tossed into the center stage of the action, while dealing with his abusive father, unhappy sister, damaged brother and lost love.
When a new "monster" appears, everyone in the village shows up with their worst side.
This is a well-told tale with good backstory, well-developed characters and an ending you won't see coming.
Highly Recommended. -
I'm burning through Tim McGregor books like a madman! He's gonna have to write more, LOL.
Seriously, this book (and Wasps in the Ice Cream, Taboo in Four Colors, etc.) is so good, it's better than anything Stephen King has written since he sobered up. I mean, look... I'm happy for Stephen and Tabitha, but oh how I miss the writer of Carrie.
But I digress....
I didn't think I would enjoy Mermaid Horror, but after the first few pages I couldn't put it down. It left me emotionally damaged, too. Wow what an ending. -
Lure starts out with the bones of a dead sea beast on the wall of a church. It's a powerful image that sets the tone of the book. McGregor does a good job of introducing this seaside village, along with a fair sized cast of characters (especially considering the length of this novella). It is easy to picture the town and the people through the words of the narrator. You get a good sense of the history of the place and the relationships of the townspeople. I enjoyed the central conflict of the tale as the mermaid terrorizes the town, and though parts of the narrative felt predictable, there were still unexpected pieces of it that were fun to see play out. All in all, a solid entry in the folk horror genre.
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Read an eARC from the publisher
Content warning: dismemberment, vomiting, physical child abuse (depicted), infection, spousal abuse (aftermath depicted), alcoholism, poverty, blood, gore
In a small fishing village named for a famed hero, Kaspar and his family run the local parish and rely on generosity to make ends meet. Things start getting weird and deadly when a mermaid arrives in town. People start going missing and madness ensues while deciding whether
Haunting and folkloric with elegant prose, this novella is a treat of deadly mermaids, townsfolk getting it wrong, and what feels like a rapture.
The reckoning of what makes a good man is so good in this one. There are gnarly fisherman, preachers in denial, lovestruck idiots, and kids who don’t know better. Our narrator, Kaspar, sounds like he’s trying his best, but, there is a selfishness at his core. I really enjoyed how McGregor explores consequences through that lens. The things he wants aren’t up to him to have, and the main plot driver is seeing how it all unfolds. It’s equal parts deadly and beautiful.
This story is disgusting and the attention to detail is top notch. If you don’t want to read about all phases of a fish’s death and the things people are willing to eat in desperation, this one is best left alone. Atmospherically, it works with the arrival of the mermaid. Thematically, there is decay both moral and physical, but one doesn’t necessarily influence the other.
I also found myself enthralled by the rules of mermaid lore employed. It’s fairly binary when it comes to gender, as the mermaid has different plans and outcomes for men and women. The cast is fairly contained, however, and the entire story and the greater lore is localized to this small fishing town.
If you’re someone who finds yourself rooting for the monster, you’re in for a fun time reminiscent of a Robert Eggers film. -
This book is a concentrated Lovecraftian horror delight.
We follow the son of a preacher brought into a small isolated “Nordic” fishing village set in some alternate historical fiction.
Mostly the book is a character driven family story about the garbage patriarchy in this insular community. Then a Mermaid arrives and things get wild.
I feel like I got more story and drama out of this book than I do from most bloated full-length novels. There is a large cast of characters in the village, but the story focuses in all the right places, so I felt like I really cared about everything that I needed to care about.
There are some gruesome bits that punctuated the story in all the right ways. It has a perfect build and continued to be surprising and satisfying right to the end.
The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that the cover doesn’t do it any favors. You’d never know what a gem this is based on the cheap desktop design.
Read this if you like want folky cosmic horror. Seriously read this. -
3.5 stars
Overall the plot was good, I love a story set in an isolated fishing community. The ending especially was bordering on lovecraftian.
Sadly the main character was a complete idiot, he was not fun to read from.
The writing was overly simplistic and I didn’t feel it created any atmosphere to what amounted to a very straight forward short horror story (without an intrinsic plot, or complex characters, I heavily rely on the writing/atmosphere for enjoyment)
I also could have done without the older man walking up to a teen girls father and being like “my wife died and I’m an important person in the community, so I’ll marry your daughter” -.-
But the simple story lent itself well to the lovecraftian imagery..
This would make a good short tv series :) -
If this isn’t on your Want to Read list then you should remedy that right now! Stunning little novel about a mermaid that appears in a bay and brings death, destruction and chaos with her. A lot of cosmic/Lovecraftian vibes in the story too and the imagery is spellbinding. Growing up in Oamaru, New Zealand, it felt at times very similar and like this story could play out there too. Character development is also extremely impressive for a book so slight too but is incredibly well created in the story. A really fantastic read.
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I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review of Lure.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novella. On the surface, it's a story about a family living in a seaside town where a mermaid appears and causes chaos. A deeper dive into the story touches on themes of oppression and revenge. It's a wonderful mix and makes for a very enjoyable story. I'll include a link to my spoiler free review.
https://robinknabel.squarespace.com/r... -
Lure is a gorgeous, dark fantasy fable about a mermaid that terrorises a fishing village. Tim McGregor's writing is masterful, evocative and easy to read, while his characters are flawed and believable. This is a wonderfully bloody and unique take on mermaid folklore, with the resonance of a classic. Highly recommended.
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Morbid? Yes. Sad? Oh my, yes. Keep your daughters close, but also...husbands, just stop killing your wives already. Tim's voice for writing macabre and strange tales works so well in his world building and the story of a vengeful mermaid is no different.
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For me, the appeal of Gothic stories lies in the ability of their monsters to reflect back to us the true darkness in mankind’s heart, and Tim McGregor’s ‘Lure’ is no exception. Told in beautiful and evocative prose that immerses you in the cold, isolated, sea-swept settlement of Torgrimsvær, the novella spins a dark tale of sea gods and luremaids that pulls into focus a more subtle story of female submission and disempowerment.
The story is told from the point of view of fifteen-year-old Kaspar and, by proxy, his family—outsiders in the village ‘at the end of the world’, who have come with their Reverend father to spread the word of the One True God, and who now find themselves motherless and forced to beg for tithe from the village’s cantankerous fishermen. The three Lensman children – Kaspar, his older sister Bryndis, and younger brother Pip – are all pining for love they cannot have: Kaspar for his first love, Agnet (who is now married to Gunther the Brave, the village tormenter); Bryn for her sweetheart, Calder (who she is forbidden from now she has been betrothed to Sligo the widower); and Pip for a mother who vanished years ago and is presumed dead.
And then, amongst all this thwarted longing, arrives a sea creature from legend that changes all their fates.
There is a lot to love about ‘Lure’ – the setting feels wild and precarious; a dark mood and sense of foreboding lingers in every chapter; the elements of fantastika are rendered in beautiful and intriguing detail; and the fine lines between purity and corruption, beauty and terror, love and death, are present throughout.
Reading the story from Kaspar’s point of view was an interesting experience: in many ways he both reflects and shuns the selfish, myopic, brutal ways of the other village men. His decisions – bad decisions for good reasons, good decisions for bad reasons, and plain bad decisions for bad reasons – often left me frustrated, which in turn left me conflicted about whether he was a hero or villain (putting me in sympathetic agreement with his older sister, Bryn).
While the old-world legends were intriguing, there were times when details of the underlying mythology seemed to hint at story questions or possible developments that never came to fruition. Similarly, while the encounters between Kaspar and the luremaid were charged and full of potential, I came away at the end a little disappointed that this never seemed to culminate into anything larger. And perhaps this disappointment is unfair, since the story (by veering more towards the relationship between the luremaid and the maidens of the village) realised its true theme of female agency and empowerment. It’s a tricky line to balance though, when you have such a strong first-person point-of-view character and some brilliant set-up scenes that create deeper possibilities.
That said, the opening to the final chapter, and the resolution it brings to some of the backstory we’ve been introduced to earlier, was sublime. While its contents could have found a home at any other place in the story, placing them at the final moment, surrounded by moments of high drama, was a master stroke; definitely a highlight, and one of the most poignant moments of the story.
All in all, ‘Lure’ is an ominous, sea-swept gothic tale of thwarted love, toxic masculinity, and female agency, and Tim McGregor a writer with serious talent. Thanks to him and Tenebrous Press for providing me with an ARC. -
I don’t know why, but a horror story set on a small, remote, isolated fishing village always seems to reel me in. Throw in a deadly creature picking the townsfolk off and the ratcheting levels of paranoia and dread amp me up to can’t-put-it-down levels. Midnight Mass, on Netflix, is a fine example of this.
LURE, by Tim McGregor, also sits solidly in that sweet spot for me.
Torgrimsvaer is that small, isolated fishing village in this story. The town’s reverend oversees a small parish whose church has an ancient sea creature’s skeleton hanging from its ceiling. Legend has it that the creature was killed by the local hero, Torgrim the Unbending, saving the townspeople from certain doom.
But a new creature has recently been seen loitering just offshore and after an altercation with one of the town’s fishermen ends with the creature being wounded, this novella kicks into high gear. The ensuing conflict is grim and deadly.
McGregor takes 116 pages to detail the events. He does a solid job of fleshing out the cast of characters in that page count and generating strong reactions to these characters. You love some of them; despise others. Part of the trick is operating in a seemingly familiar setting—the isolated fishing village—so we already have a reference point. But make no mistake, McGregor’s writing is the real star here as through minimal discourse he paints vivid pictures of personality and character which we as the reader immediately latch on to.
Through all of this is metaphor and social commentary enough to add layers to the story.
There’s a detailed simplicity to McGregor’s writing. He paints a clear picture with fewer words yet illustrates the setting beautifully. I felt like I was in Torgrimsvaer the entire time and wasn’t reading a novella as much as experiencing the story. I felt all the anger, anguish, and abuse personally and jumped in and out of the character points of view with ease.
There were a couple questions I had which I think McGregor purposely left unanswered. What actually happened to the reverend’s wife? Is there a deeper, personal connection between the skeleton in the church and the new creature plaguing Torgrimsvaer? Perhaps he means for us to draw our own conclusions in these instances. No matter, these questions only served to add to the story depth for me.
A bleak tale of small town nautical horror, LURE is a well written, fast paced novella angling to drown you in misery, suffering, and revenge.
4 out of 5 this-ain’t-your-grandma’s-mermaid stars -
Lure was my first book by Tim McGregor, and it will not be my last.
We're dropped into a remote fishing village, northern by the descriptions of the climate and topography. It is also isolated, with a treacherous mountain path offering the only land access. McGregor provides a few details to get us going, describing the hung skeleton of a fallen god in the village church in addition to a brief history of our protagonist's family prior to arriving in the village.
Kaspar, the teenage son of Uriah, what would pass for a priest or pastor in this strange land, is our POV. Kaspar's prospects are grim, his life tilting toward miserable as he is tasked with begging the fishermen for a share of their catch to put food on the table. He is given scraps at best, but his attention, and that of the village, is quickly diverted when a mermaid-like creature visits their waters.
Maybe the village would have had a different fate had their response to the mermaid's appearance not been at once predatory. My sense is it would not have been. Kaspar's decisions play a vital role in the horror that unfolds in the second half of the book. For such a grim novella, the ending was suitably dark, with a final, haunting visual.
This novella is perfect for a cold November day, paired with a bowl of clam chowder.
(I am moving away from star reviews in my own genre)
