Editorial Content for Carry Me to My Grave
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Christopher Golden’s novels and frequent collaborations have crossed the line into several different genres, where he has almost always excelled. But he never looks better than when he writes horror. The dynamic and exciting CARRY ME TO MY GRAVE is a perfect example of this.
I can only imagine how much fun Golden had while conjuring up this wicked tale of witchcraft, demons and nonstop chase scenes. The opening sentence depicts an image of a rotting but not completely dead body, wrapped in tree roots, under a farmer's cornfield. A hunger has caused this creature to awaken, and it will be far from the only one. The reason for this subterranean activity is the death of a woman, Maggie Wise, who was long believed to be an evil and powerful witch.
"Christopher Golden’s novels and frequent collaborations have crossed the line into several different genres, where he has almost always excelled. But he never looks better than when he writes horror. The dynamic and exciting CARRY ME TO MY GRAVE is a perfect example of this."
For decades, Maggie’s family was tormented by a neighborhood that chanted “Maggie Wise will take your eyes.” On her deathbed, Maggie makes her loyal son, Malcolm, promise that he will take her body from their Indiana home all the way to Shediak, Maine, where he must bury her in her birthplace in a very tight timeframe --- or else bad things are going to happen. Malcolm has some inkling of what she means, especially after he was confronted by a being with a raven’s head. Accompanying him is his sister-in-law, Violet, who also lives with them while his brother, Elias, is away.
Utilizing the assistance of Paxson Keates, the old man from the funeral home, Malcolm and Violet get Maggie’s body prepared for the long trip that begins on a train. If you have ever seen the terrific horror flick Train to Busan, then you will have some idea of what is about to transpire. The amount of underworld denizens that do not want Malcolm and Violet to succeed seem too numerous to count, and their horrific appearances are straight out of the pages of an H.P. Lovecraft story. After the train derails, the situation gets really tense as the clock is ticking.
Elias shows up unexpectedly, but he may not be what he seems. Akin to a plot line from a Sam Raimi Evil Dead film, the demonic creatures are capable of possessing anyone they come in contact with and use those vessels for their own ends. This makes it very difficult for Malcolm and Violet to know who to trust, and their already challenging mission just became that much tougher.
Malcolm receives welcome aid from his long-absent rebel sister, Jennie, who arrives by motorcycle. The trio escape from an overzealous deputy who briefly incarcerates them as they try to convince him of the higher and quite supernatural purpose that is driving their need to carry a corpse across state lines. The journey keeps getting increasingly difficult as long-buried forces become more powerful the closer they get to Shediak.
CARRY ME TO MY GRAVE is so much fun and will appeal to both horror and adrenaline-inspired thriller fans.
Teaser
Maggie Wise will take your eyes. When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law, Violet, to hold a vigil at her bedside. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm: When she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace. From the moment she takes her last breath, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise.
Promo
Maggie Wise will take your eyes. When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law, Violet, to hold a vigil at her bedside. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm: When she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace. From the moment she takes her last breath, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise.
About the Book
From New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden comes a high-concept horror novel about a man trying to protect his dead mother's body from the evil that is hunting them.
Maggie Wise will take your eyes.
When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law, Violet, to hold a vigil at her bedside.
But they’re not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child: When she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine.
From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way.
Audiobook available; read by Patricia Santomasso, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Robert Fass and Alex Picard
