Review: A dark and chilly read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 13, 2011
In The Marsburg Diary, Chris White manages to seamlessly blend together a present day story with a past story reminiscent of the writing of Sir Conan Doyle or Charles Dickens. A delightful combination that makes for an incredibly enjoyable read.A bit of a spin-off from the novel Airel, penned by Aaron Patterson and Chris White, The Marsburg Diary delves deeper into this mysterious diary to answer a few questions brought forth within Airel, as well as arising several additional questions that enthusiastically will force the reader to continue to search for answers. If you have not yet indulged in the deliciousness of Airel, however, this novella will still hold enormous intrigue and viable reading power. Though, on a side note, I do highly recommend grabbing a copy of Airel - it is a fabulous read for Adults and Young Adults alike!The Marsburg Diary alternates between the diary entries of William Marsburg, during the time of 1897, and the present day of his son, Harvey, reading this diary and living his life. Harvey had never held much faith and understanding of his father, however after gaining possession of his deceased father's diary and a couple of other books that are enclosed with it in a locked chest, new light is quickly shed on this life he had known nothing about. This life is full of unforgiving evil that will stop at nothing until it gets what it wants. This evil transcends time and is relentless in its hunt.The book of Kreios - exactly what is it and why do so many horrendous and torturous murders surround it? This is just one of the questions that William must answer, as well as how to keep himself from going utterly mad in his journey. When strange and explainable things begin to occur to Harvey, he must figure out how and why before it is too late.I want to mention that Chris White displays an enormous talent is his storytelling ability. The thing that blew me away was his ability to truly throw the reader back into the time period of 1896 - 1902 through his writing. The context and language used reminded me amazingly of works by such brilliant authors as Sir Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens. The telling was vivid and all-encompassing and screamed of the "old world classic" mysteries and tales of explainable intrigue. Mr. White's ability to transfer from this time period to write in present day form was very well done, adding great depth and dimension to the story.The Marsburg Diary is sure to raise more than a few hairs as the evil within resounds through the reader's mind. This is a perfect tale for a dark and dreary night - perhaps with a few rumbles of thunder for background music. I greatly look forward to the next installment in this collection of diaries titled The Wagner Diary coming in 2012!Here is a taste to whet the appetite for The Marsburg Diary:"What mine eyes have beheld is not quantifiable.  I cannot say much else when I have encountered the impossible made real:  the horrors that dwell inside the mind have chilled me deeply because they have come out and paraded before me in the flesh.  Either I have seen evidence that man is indeed a god, as the scriptures say, or I have been in the company of those great unknowns - the Angels - both light and dark.  But mostly dark.It must be said here that I, William Marsburg, am of sound mind; I insist.  Whether the reader may decide to ascertain truth from my record is of no consequence to me - I ultimately care not.  I have seen too much to care about it.  Be it known, though, that I have lost everything dear to me in the pursuit of the thing...and I have recorded all of it for posterity.  My only remaining hope is that my record here is a deterrent.  God help the man who has ventured so far indeed as to read this."