Review: What's a girl to do when a bunch of crazy pagans are after her?
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 28, 2013
If you've seen the 1973 cult film "The Wicker Man," you'll have a pretty good idea what Damian Stevenson's SOLSTICE is all about.  Dana March is in Oklahoma to introduce her new boyfriend, Jack Harris, to her sister Zoe.  But when she wakes up in their motel room the first morning, Jack is nowhere to be found . . . and no one seems to believe he ever existed.  It turns out sister Zoe is living at a pagan commune called "The Rainbow Collective," run by a fanatic who believes in appeasing "the old gods" when things aren't going well (like when it hasn't rained for over 100 days and the commune's crops are failing).  Dana is "The Wicker Man's" Sergeant Howie - both are investigating a mysterious disappearance and both get sucked into something they don't expect.  By the time Dana figures out what's going on, all hell has broken loose and she has to do anything and everything to survive.The similarities to "The Wicker Man" are way too prevalent here, including some of the dialogue.  The novel's "Summer Solstice Fair" is very similar to "The Wicker Man's" May Day celebration, complete with the Master using an axe to make an offering of a barrel of wine (in "Wicker Man" it's beer) and the promise of more terrible sacrifices to come.  While Stevenson does take his story in a different direction about two-thirds of the way through, I definitely felt like I'd been there, done that for much of the novel.  Additionally, I'm not sure why Stevenson decided to set his "Rainbow Collective" in a place called "Thornhill," with a housekeeper called "Mrs. Fairfax" - I kept expecting some sort of connection to JANE EYRE, but nothing materialized.This is a very short novel - more a long short story, actually; it took me about two hours to read from start to finish.  It's written in a clipped, bare-bones style that avoids description and is almost totally focused on plot - for example, when Stevenson introduces Sheriff Mike Fisher and his deputy Pamela Reese, he writes, "They liked each other."  That says it all, I guess, but it does mean we don't get much more about these two (or about any of the other characters, including Dana).  This style works best if you're looking for a fast-paced story and don't want to bother with characterization or things making much logical sense.SOLSTICE's final act involves a lot of running and hiding, and plenty of bloody confrontations between Dana and her monstrous pagan pursuers.  While she does rise to the occasion - and I always like horror novels with strong female protagonists - it comes too late here to make me care much about her.  There's just not enough background on Dana to make her more than a prop in the novel's bloody finale.Finally, I'm not sure what to make of the formatting of this novel - the type size on my Kindle was HUGE (even after adjusting to the smallest type-size available, there were only ten lines of text on any one page).  Add to that the many odd breaks between paragraphs or lines of dialogue, and I found myself turning pages every few seconds.  I have an older model Kindle, so this may be an issue with compatibility, but it's never happened before (and I've read hundreds of books on this device).Bottom line, SOLSTICE isn't a bad story, but it's definitely derivative (if you know "Wicker Man," you'll know what you're getting).  It's a quick read and it's all plot - if that works for you, then SOLSTICE would be a good choice.  If you prefer a bit more substance with your blood-and-guts, maybe not.[Please note:  I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]