What can I say but, wow! I don't think I've given a book five stars yet this year, this may be the first. This is my first Chuck wendig book, I had no idea that he was local to my area until he mentioned my hometown and several streets and locations I actually pass by. He even mentioned our local indie bookstore and Farmers market in his author's notes at the end.

This book is so good. What turns in from a harmless Apple that makes you better, faster, stronger, heal quicker, etc. And turns in to a raging cult that takes over a town. Who would have thought a book about an apple would be this interesting..it reminds me a lot of Stephen king with his writing and the supernatural elements.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off thank you to Netgalley and Random House for providing a ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Onward we go, so I requested this book due to the fact it was written by an author I am familiar with and who's works I have enjoyed in the past. This book was... good but not without flaw. The storyline was unique unfortunately I felt like the pacing and the length of the story was a little off. At almost 600 pages long. I felt like the same story could have been told with a few more pages skimmed off. This novel had a Stephen King-ish feel to it. Evil comes to a small town and all that mixed with some local folklore and all arriving through the vehicle of an cult creating apple. I know, I'm sounding a little spotty in my review here but honestly that's how the book felt as well. It jumped from topic to topic and pov to pov so quickly at times that it was hard to get a good flow going. I don't regret reading it but it's not making one of my top ten of the year either.

Let's get this part out of the way right off the bat; you (and I) will not be eating apples for a long while after reading Black River Orchard.

As always, Chuck Wendig created wonderfully full, complex characters to inhabit his tale. The sad sack wannabe 'big man in the county', Dan and his rebellious teen daughter Calla, her athletic boyfriend Marco, the feisty, free-spirited Joanie, the former military sharpshooter turned Quaker, John, and the perennial doormat Emily. These are our main protagonists, and they do their job very well. There are other, peripheral folks too, but they are only casually important to the story.

Evil inhabits an apple (or the tree it grows from if you put the tree first). The plot is original and horrifying and kept me turning pages long after I should have had a bite to eat (but NOT an apple). I took off one star because there were several parts where we were treated to long history lessons: how apples populated America, how islands in the river were used in the Revolutionary war, how the Native Indian tribes who were here first, evolved. And lots of passages of characters memories, which for the most part, added nothing to the story. This book could have been a much quicker read with a little judicious editing.

The action takes place over almost a years' time. The final chapter takes place a year later, wrapping up everyone's stories, how they are doing, where they are now sort of thing, and I liked that very much. What I didn't like was the Epilogue. It concerns a character we see briefly just a few times during the novel. I had already completely forgotten about this character until the epilogue. We didn't need them; it was another layer of icing on a cake that already had just the right amount of sweetness.

But will I continue to hunt down and read whatever Mr Wendig chooses to write? Oh yes, yes I will.

I truly had no idea where this book was going based on its description. Think about it… How can you write a book about apples and it be scary and actually good? Well, ask Chuck Wendig because he did it.
This story revolves around Calla who wants to be an influencer, but not on Insta and Tiktok (those are sooo last year), and is working hard academically to get in to Princeton. Her father, Dan, is carrying out his father’s dream to run an apple orchard and is off-the-rails excited about this brand new type of apple that he has been working for years to grow. It is finally ready for tasting and selling and for all to love. It’s the best tasting apple anyone has ever had —selling out at all of the farmer’s markets. People can’t get enough! But it’s changing everyone in the town…

There were a lot of characters in this book and it actually worked. Wendig took his time setting up the story and there was a lot of character development so it was fairly easy to keep everyone straight. I felt the pacing of the book worked really well with the exception of a portion in late first half of the book that seemed to drag a little. It recovers well, picking right back up to the perfect pace. I still thought this book was a little too long for what it was though.
Overall, I would definitely recommend it for a weird, eerie autumn read. PS I really loved the acknowledgments.

I enjoyed this new horror tale by Chuck Wendig. This is the story of a girl named Calla and her father Dan - oh and of course an evil apple. Chuck weaves in a few other interesting characters to tell the story of greed and power and in dark, twisty way. I really liked this one and couldn’t put it down!

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig was received directly from the publisher and I choose to review it. Chuck Wendig is an author who has been around for a while and has had his ups and downs with his books. This book, to me, seemed entirely too long, with characters at times just talking for the sale of talk, in my opinion. Further, I was not sure if he was going for "campy" horror or serious horror with a book about "evil apples," t not spoil anything. If you like Chuck Wendig, or long books with a diverse set of characters, give this book a read. Remember Halloween is FAST approaching.

3.5 Stars

This book was creepy, weird, and a delight to read. A lot of Stepford wife/cult vibes.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the ARC.

I was so excited to be approved for my first Chuck Wendig ARC. Wendig is a favorite author of mine and I always find myself so enveloped in these stories. I feel that it reminds me of classic King.

Wendig does such a fantastic job at developing characters that feel authentic and original. There are so many moments or humor and emotion that it feels genuine to move through his stories. This book was a bit more out there in terms of originality, but I really enjoyed myself all the same. The pacing was a little too slow for my preferred taste but overall I still felt compelled to keep going. Wendig has never broken my trust as a reader and will continue to be an instant buy/favorite going forward.

I really enjoyed Black River Orchard, it was spooky and intriguing. I don't think I'll be able to look at apples the same after this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for the ARC of Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig.

I’m thrilled that I was offered the chance to read this book from NetGalley. This is one of the scariest most addicting stories I’ve ever read. I felt actually queasy reading this and also appreciated the lore within the story. Apple picking season has a whole new meaning after this.

Reviewed for Shelf Awareness Readers edition, will appear in issue closest to publication date--typically week of or after the pub date.

It's hard to believe that an apple can be the star of a story and be both good and very bad. In this case the Ruby Red Slipper apple, so named by the daughter Calla, of the grower of the apple Dan, who is trying to recreate an orchard his family had many years in the past. He has obtained some branches of an apple tree and grafted them onto existing trees and apples grew, and they tasted exquisite. Calla refused to eat them, but Dan did and he started to sell them at a farmers market where they became very popular and so did Dan, all of the sudden he's being included in groups that he never dreamed of. The apple makes the eater feel wonderful, euphoric, cures all that ails you, including cancer, broken bones, depression and anything else. But it comes at a cost, one that does not become apparent until the apples run out when the season is over and people start to become very irritable, they want their apples! The story flashes back to tell where the apple started, and about a bad dude who encourages Dan to both grow and share the apples. It gets a little wild at times, but overall I did enjoy it and would recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Del Rey for the ARC.

Black River Orchard was a great horror about a town that gets obsessed with a new apple, and obviously things go sideways from there. Who knew a delicious apple could cause such terror?Chuck Wendig did an excellent job on every level here, this is a horror book I would absolutely recommend. The one concerning thing is that I may never look at apples the same way again.

Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest review

Another solid horror novel from Wendig. This one was very interesting and you get to to learn a lot about apples.. I wasn't sure going into it, how it was going to turn out, but I loved it.

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
Publisher Random House Publishing Group
Release Date September 26, 2023


Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5


I love a great horror story and this one…….this one was much different than anything, and I mean anything I have read before.. Wendig has a mind that allows him to write some of the best books out there but this time I was not prepared for what I was about to read. This is a very slow burn horror that builds and builds to the point that the reader is so engrossed. The descriptive verbiage is poetic and makes it feel as though you are there. The characters are so well developed and flawed that you feel as though you have known them forever….but I am not sure that you would want to really tell anyone that…There are times you will laugh and times you will feel the suspense building so strong that you cannot wait to see what happens. The way the author describes the different varieties of apples shows he either had prior knowledge or did research for this book. Either way I enjoyed that part as well. Overall this is one of the most terrifying and best dark fantasy books I have read.


Ah, the story of the Apple that if eaten will change everything. Sound a little familiar….well it is really nothing like Adam and Eve in the proverbial sense. This story is much darker. There is an orchard that grows beautiful apples. But do not be tempted. In a way this contains some of the seven deadly sins. These apples change the people in the town of Horrow. Gluttony……when you eat one, you cannot stop. However this book is not just about apples. This town knows what is coming. The trees are producing the apples now and as the blurb says….the town will start to reap what it has sewn.

On September 26, 2023…… run to your nearest bookseller….. or better yet use your computer and order it but do yourself a favor… if you are into the horror genre, this should be a book on your want to read list. I PROMISE you that you will enjoy every part of this masterpiece of a story.

DEFINITELY 5+++++. Stars


Thank you to NetGalley as well as Random House Publishing Group and Chuck Wendig for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

I am usually a. Big fan of chuck wendig but found the pacing for this novel too slow. Took too long and was still a bit confusing - appreciate the ARC opportunity though and still look forward to the next.

There is a huge problem that I now have after reading this book. I do love myself a nice juicy Pink Lady, but it will be a long time coming before I can keep the doctor away. And too bad I started this book at night, because scary things look less scary in the light of day. That being said, this is a fun, scary, creepy read that may keep you up many nights after you’ve finished. And if you like that sort of Stephen King, Dan Simmons kind of shock-fright then read on and enjoy..

This was creepy and disturbing yet still fascinating. Just like the other books I have read by this author. You can feel the horror creep up on you as more and more people eat the Ruby Slipper and though I did feel that it dragged a little in the middle (mostly cause I was telling the unaffected to hurry up and stop the crazy apple eaters and save the day before the orchard took over the world!) it was still a good read.

I will happily eat my grocery store cosmic crisps and pink ladies and stay far away from fresh orchard apples, at least for a little while after reading this book. I did find the authors notes after the story interesting in which he was describing his experience with the special apples you kind find not in grocery stores.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for the ARC of Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig.

Dan Paxson wants one thing: to fulfill his father’s dream of being a successful apple orchard owner. However, when Dan presents his new apple at the local farmer’s market, it becomes clear this is one good apple. Before he knows it, the apple is everywhere, being enjoyed by more people than he ever imagined. But it quickly becomes clear that this apple is not normal. Neither is what it does to people.

I was skeptical of the book at first. A book about evil apples? No thanks. But Chuck Wendig masterfully crafts this horror into something that’s not cheesy or overdone. It kept my entire for the entire time, despite being quite a hefty read. I needed to know what happened while I was simultaneously disgusted at many points. This checks all the right boxes as far as horror goes. A perfect read for fall!

5 ⭐️

You will never look at apples the same way again.

One taste of this book is all it took. Much like the forbidden fruit described within, one bite just wasn't enough. I devoured the short chapters. Wendig skillfully introduced the core characters early on, he's got a knack for developing significant investment in his characters.

I love that the book has multiple prologues (similar to The Book of Accidents), and multiple interludes. Those interludes enhance the backstory. The research Wendig put into this book (and apples!) is on display throughout.

I won't spoil any of the plot, but you'll be in awe of the way Wendig spins this tale of horror. The scariest scenes were so vivid, with roots and tendrils digging deep into my imagination. I cannot recommend this book enough. Horror at it's best; scary, emotional and hard to forget.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eArc. All opinions are my own.

Ya’ll…you know the new Chuck Wendig book is batshit bonkers bizarre when he actually has to include an author’s "caveat" afterwards letting readers know that even HE knows "this story is a culmination of all the fucking weirdness inside of me". Which as a reader, I appreciated (and chuckled a bit over), because after I finished BLACK RIVER ORCHARD in the middle of the night -exhausted and bewildered- it was nice for Uncle Chuck to be there, waiting patiently for me, prepared to explain that yes, he agrees: this book is really fucking weird.⁣
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Let me be a little more clear: BLACK RIVER ORCHARD is one of the most unhinged books I have ever read. Without giving much away, the book is about a small town transformed by dark magic when seven strange trees start bearing magical apples. As one could probably infer, people eat the apples, all kinds of crazy f*cking shit starts to happen. You have no idea.⁣
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No seriously. I’m telling you right now, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW FUCKED THE SHIT GETS IN THIS BOOK. ⁣
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That being said, I loved it. All the stars. #BlackRiverOrchard is my favorite Chuck Wendig book ever (and WANDERERS was a JBC TOP 10 title). This has the hallmarks of a classic Chuck Wendig novel: it’s horror infused with humor; part SALEM’S LOT, part IMAGINARY FRIEND, it’s dark and twisty, funny, emotional, and super violent. And did I mention weird? The book is truly bizarre. In all the best ways. And I promise you will NEVER look at **shudder** apples **shudder** the same way ever again.