Book Review: Edgewise by Graham Masterton (2007)

Edgewise is about a divorcee by the name of Lily who has her two children snatched from her home and she is then tied to a chair and set on fire.

After a miraculous escape (and perhaps she should have died), Lily gradually returns to living without her children and hopes the FBI can retrieve them for her. After weeks of no news or leads, she invests her trust in the Wendigo, an ancient spirit from the woods, to track them down at a price, but can she possibly afford it?

In my opinion, Edgewise has a rocky start and reads like like fan fiction. In other places, it reads as if it was written in different styles, although I can't quite put my finger on what it is. The first chapter was a huge disappointment, despite glittering reviews on this novel. It took the first two hundred pages to get into it, and then it seemed to get worse.

By far, this isn't Graham's best, although there are similarities in this novel and Descendant. The writing isn't up to his usual standard and I found the story and the writing disappointing.

When I received the book, I read the back page before starting the novel. I always do, but it wasn't until I was half-way through the novel when I realised just how much information was packed into the book's blurb. DO NOT read the back cover of this novel. It gives too much information away. It is too good a synopsis and ruins the first half of the novel.

The title Edgewise is very apt for this novel as the demon disappears when it is side-on, the lore being that its depth remains in another world. The demon character, called the Wendigo, is nothing new in mythology and is the name of Algernon Blackwood's story (which is referenced to in the novel). Stephen King's Pet Sematary also uses a reference to the Wendigo, although that's where my knowledge ceases. There's more in Wikipedia.

Lily, the main character in the story, was difficult for me to adopt. After her children disappeared, I don't think she did enough to try get them back. As a parent, I would have done much more. There are other instances throughout the book that rattled me, although I won't spoil the story here. The character evolved taking too many feelings for granted that were soon painted over with other scenes.

Further, Lily's biggest personality flaw was to not pay the price that was set by the Wendigo for the return of her children. It came across as suicidal and out of character; ridiculous that a person would do that and risk life and limb for nothing. When one considers how the novel depicts the Wendigo (which means 'flesh eater' or 'cannibal'), nobody in their right mind would turn their back on it.

A lot of the humour in the novel is poor or didn't fit, and this in part, may be due to my feelings about Lily. I never did make a connection with her (a troubling thought after reading Descendant, and not connecting with the main character's girlfriend).

Edgewise still contains Masterton's flare for the paranormal and short, sharp visceral scenes (which were a little too short and sharp for my taste, but may appeal to other horror readers), but I am disappointed in this novel. It is mechanical and clunky with patches of genius that I am used to in a Masterton novel, however, there wasn't enough for me to rave about.

Overall, Masterton's writing still places the reader in the theatre of the mind, but Edgewise was disappointing.

RATING: 2 OUT OF 5

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