Review: River Dawn has Mystery, Danger and Compelling Prose
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 13, 2012
Stephen Graff is a master in creating mood and the sensory details of setting. His prose in River Dawn is reminiscent of Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son, in its spare yet lyrical, uplifting yet dark style. The novel is divided into short, mysterious sections that are sometimes shuffled for effect. Graff gives the reader plenty of breathing space to figure out the plot and subtext, which I like. He doesn't over-tell or overwrite, but lays down the pieces on a need-to-know basis.His canvas is a disturbing near-future world where the water has risen and natural birds are almost extinct. Specifically, a scientist named Fisher has been hired to track Snow Geese in the lowlands of a swollen river system that has been all but forgotten by the remaining society. On this river labyrinth are gangs, thieves, and people being stalked for the kill through the pines and on the longboats that float up and down the dark inlets. Graff is adept at describing how one determines, in darkness, what men might want with you, simply by the faint cracklings of footsteps over branches, or swoop of shadows along a tree line. Catfish, grown monstrous, populate the black waters. A cult on the river, led by a man named Ford, wants more than mere followers. He is interested in Fisher's wife and her daughter, Alice's boyfriend, Daniel, a teen they help. Daniel seems to be able to read the future. Or is it only the contents of the silver suitcases that Ford wants from him? Ford wants Fisher dead too. An old river guide, Pal, helps lead the Fishers away from danger, but he's haunted by his own shady past, and hard to trust. In fact, who can one trust when everyone is hungry and easily bribed?I won't provide spoilers here, so I can't say much more, except that River Dawn is by far the best indie book I've read in a year. Steven Graff is a writer to watch.