Wow what a ride and we jump deep into the crazy trip of camping like their fathers to see what they all were hiding from the sons. All 5 dads are dead and now want their sons to take on the burden they have dealt with year after year. The way the book bounced between present and past was a great way to connect the sons to the fathers and fill us in on the whys and hows.

The characters were well developed and the use of the monsters ability to use the humans fear to weaken them was a nice touch. The setting of the Appalachian was perfect because the mountains has many places where a creature could live and go unnoticed because of the lack of people in the area.

I didn’t like how the author used fuck in almost all of the dialogue between the men. Not because of the word it’s self but because there should have been a variety of words. Otherwise, it was well written and maybe he personally decided to do this to show that they were unhinged.

Thank you to NetGalley & Wicked House Publishing for the ARC in return for an honest review.

While this story had loads of potential I was overall unimpressed with the overall trajectory and outcome. I did very much enjoy the use of a cassette tape as a means of information/carrier of a secret though.

This book at the start reminded me a little of Blaine Daigle's The Broken Places however I feel that Blaine did it better.

I don't think that I will read more by this author.

"They'd known each other since they were kids. It's the kind of history you can't forget, no matter how far apart you might grow."

Gray has seriously impressed me with this story, and his previous book “The Devil Within Us All”.

This Appalachian horror story starts off strong and continues to thrill the reader till the very end. You’ll get more than enough blood and action, with desperate characters trying to survive a terrifying night in the wilderness.

The author does a great job explaining his thought process for creating the plot and characters at the end of the story- I appreciated this as I’m always curious about how aspects of the story came about.

All the characters were unique, some you loved, some you weren’t supposed to like, and some who were redeemed through their actions. My favourite actually ended up being Bob- he really seemed like he had true grit despite his life circumstances.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Wicked House Publishing for a copy!

I received an ARC copy of our fathers burden by William f gray from netgalley !

I really enjoyed the premise of the book and how it started and ended .. but was not thrilled in the direction it went. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys a nice creature feature though.

Read in two sittings! It’s a real gripping tale that you don’t want to put down. The characters are rich and mostly empathetic (expect where they’re not really meant to be!), human—just real.

There was on issue that really didn’t have a satisfying answer, but it kind of doesn’t matter. Doesn’t really affect the book as a whole. Just leaves sort of a niggling “why though?” in the back of my head. You’ll have to read it to see if it bothers you, too!

I couldn’t stop reading this book. It was engaging and amazing. I loved the process.

We follow the story of men who go camping every year—but instead their sons have to live out their terrible legacy. Each son is left with a tape that explains the fathers’ secrets.

We have a lot of men to remember in this book. It got overwhelming at times, but the author made it work. Overall I didn’t get too confused. Gray has a gift for writing people, and I loved the character growth in this book. They each learned something by the end.

Some of my favorite chapters were of Sheriff Clark’s point of view. We got an insight into what happened, which heightened the thrill.

I don’t know about these fathers though. The author tried to explain it as best as he could, but my personality isn’t like these men. So their decisions didn’t make sense to me, but I’m all around a different person.

If you want a book that’s written well and makes you feel some of the terror and pain these characters felt, give it a try.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for my honest review.

It all began in the summer of 1987…
A group of 5 fathers travel to the Appalachian Mountains every year around Thanksgiving. The mountains called and they go. As time goes on, each of the five fathers have sons around the same age. Eventually the sons grow tired of going & as life goes on, each of the fathers pass away from suicide, except one who passes away due to Alzheimer’s.
After Harry’s dad passes away, his mom gives him a box full of tapes for all of the boys. Five cassette tapes for five boys. Harry's father begs him to go to the Appalachians - before Thanksgiving, as tradition goes. Harry and his cop friend, Dave convince the others to go. As they all arrive & listen to the tapes, they realize the fathers kept a horrible secret from them. A flesh-eating monster that they’ve been feeding raw meat all of these years.
The theme that runs through this book is primarily about depression and anger. Depression of the sons whose dads died from suicide and anger at their inability to accept & forgive them as well as themselves. I definitely see a concept of the “Wendigo” in this tale, mixed with other monster-like characteristics. I enjoyed this a lot & am thankful for NetGalley and the author for letting me read and review this ARC.

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
I sometimes feel like a broken record but it is really difficult to write a review about certain horror novels, because every single detail could entail a spoiler.
In this case, William F. Gray’s Our Father’s Burden, we (as readers) know for sure there is a secret involved, something that the fathers left their sons. Unwillingly, maybe, grudgingly, for sure. Thus, we follow Harry, Bob, Lou, Dave and Dennis from very different places and instances in their lives, to the Appalachian Mountains, because that is what their father’s, all now deceased, wanted. And there is where the secret lies, hidden by the trees, folklore and night.
And I really enjoyed the way it all unfolded, how each character had their point of view, their way of doing things, the way of reacting against what was happening. The story was fast-paced, full of action, there were some frights, and it felt like a movie. And their father’s burden… well, it was revealed pretty early, but that warning was nothing compared to the real thing. Even if it did not behave as the real thing, if that turned up to be real; it did not behave as other written pieces have explained that it does behave. And all the changes were pretty scary.

Thank you to Netgallery for giving me an early release copy of Our Fathers Burden by William F Gray. This book will be released on February sixteenth of 2024.

Our Fathers Burden premise sounds interesting and did deliver, I think this would make an excellent starter book for those who are just getting into horror novels or would like a little taste without anything too horrific or extremely gory involved. I liked that the story was fast paced, it didn’t feel like it dragged on or used a ton of filler content. The chapters even have parts that were separated by little cassette tapes that I thought were a nice touch.

The characters were unlikable but the way in which they were written was tolerable. When the horror parts began I do find the characters to be more likable. Something’s I didn’t like were the women characters were often sexualized in Our Fathers Burden, we didn’t get to learn much about the women characters. There were also quite a few characters with the main characters and their fathers, it was hard to keep track of who’s who’s father but I’m grateful that it was stated each time during certain scenes/flashbacks.

Our Father’s burden is a nice take on the monster in the woods genre. Mr. Gray did an excellent job weaving two generations of families together in a clear and believable way.

The thing that stood out most to me was how Gray subverted expectations. Sometimes the monsters in stories are brought along with the characters unwittingly and are not only found hidden in the woods.

The burdens of the sons and their complicated relationships with their fathers was well done and believable. The dynamics of the sons’ feelings towards their dads felt real and human, no risk of character sterility here. These are people in all their rational and irrational glory in an impossible situation.

I gave this story four stars, which is PROBABLY unfair to the author. Permit me to explain: a good horror story oftentimes leaves the reader unsettled and in some doubt as to how things finished. That is not what Mr. Gray went for. Instead, he put a nice neat bow on the tale that was almost off-putting in its cleanliness and predictability.

This is an above average story that is enjoyable and memorable, but doesn’t quite stick the landing. People who enjoy tales of extraordinary creatures taking on ordinary people will enjoy it. People who like more nebulous endings open to interpretation might want to give it a pass.

Happy Reading!

Great book for horror fiction! I had a hard time keeping up with whose father was whose but good storyline. Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read it!

5 stars

This book is a unique take on horror fiction.

There is a group of five fathers who travel to the Appalachians every year at Thanksgiving time. They are compelled to go; they must go. They each have a son, all about the same age. The sons tire of the yearly sojourn and quit going. As time passes, one father passes away from Alzheimer's, while the other four commit suicide over a short period of time.

The sons are left bereft and very angry. At his father’s funeral, Harry’s mother advises him that his father left him a box. Harry is torn. He is suffering greatly from his father’s suicide. He finally looks in the box to find five cassette tapes. One for each son, with their names attached.

Harry’s father begs him to go to the Appalachians - before Thanksgiving. Harry and his cop friend Dave convince the others to go. The men are all different. But they all carry the weight of guilt - rightly or wrongly.

They instead arrive at the campsite a couple of days later than Thanksgiving. They listen to Harry’s father’s tape first. He tells of his guilt and the horrible secret the fathers have been keeping. The tale of a flesh-eating creature that has an annual cycle. The men have been pacifying it with raw meat.

However, having arrived late, Harry, Dave and the others are too late. The monster has already been unleashed. The sons are terrified. The best is killing campers. They must do something.

What follows is an exciting and awful battle with the beast. It is obscenely strong and crazed with bloodlust. It is unfazed by the bullets from the mens’ high powered rifles. Will the group overpower the monster?

The theme that runs through this book is primarily about depression and anger. The sons’ inability to accept what is and forgive both themselves and their fathers is getting in the way of their healing and personal growth. They must face up to the past and the present to break free of their negative feelings. Do they?

I highly recommend this book for lovers of horror and creature features. Read it for the adventure and scares. Or, read it for the deeper meaning. I truly enjoyed this book and was glad to get it for my first read of 2024. The writing was descriptive and colorful. I liked the way the flashbacks showed the boys growing up. I liked the sons, for the most part. Some became more sympathetic as the pages passed.

I want to thank NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this very fine book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for an arc of this new horror novel!

So excited my first read of the year was a hit! I wanted to start out the year with a thrilling book and man this one kept me on the edge of my seat. It had the right amount of suspense, gore, and horror to keep you hooked. I loved that you got POVs of each of the men so you could sometimes experience two different views of the same situation. I also loved how each had different reactions to the reveal and the monster. It really made you wonder how everything would play out from there.

Definitely look out for this one next month if you love horror books and monsters!

Perfect! I went in thinking I was going to not enjoy this book at all and come out with characters I actually cared about and cool Wendigo action that is actually a stand in for problems that I deal with. Amazing book and always great to see someone make something I deal with into a physical thing that can be overcame.

Our Father’s burden was a horror story unlike I’ve ever read before, enjoyable from the first page until the last!

Thank You Publishers and Net Galley for this copy to read!
I thought this was a really fun read. I liked how it gave me the feels of how the kids from IT grew up and also for a little bit of Windego vibes. I finished this in a day because it was easy to follow and had lots of action to keep my interested. I think this was just enough coming of age and scary story that other readers will enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Piblishing for the opportunity to read rate and review this arc which will be available February 16,2024

Talk about children reaping what their fathers sowed. Holy crap people. This was a flipping ride! I was in turns on the edge of my seat and others shaking my head. Quite a fast paced plot with twists and discoveries. I dug it.

Tense creature feature, didn’t feel super wendigo like but in all it was a pretty good book anyway. 4.5z

Thank you, William F. Gray and NetGalley for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

Wow....wow! This was such a great read. I truly wasn't expecting the outcome. In fact, I was leaning more towards murder. I was far from the real secret/ burden. The characters are all completely different from one another, and yet they all have one thing in common: their fathers left them with this terrible burden to deal with alone and no time to prepare for it. My favorite characters would have to be Bob and Harry. Harry mostly as he has the most of this burden thrown into his lap, and he has to give it to the others. None of them asked for this, but they all ended up dealing with it the best they could. They became better in the end for it as well.

The atmosphere in this book is very tense and just had me at the edge of my seat. All I wanted was for them to pull through in the end. The description and just how everything was written had me feeling like I was there witnessing everything they are. I could feel the cold air and almost see the breath leaving my mouth in the cold winter air. Most books I just imagine them like a movie in my mind but this one It was so much more vivid!

I have to say, I've played video games, read legends and other things dealing with the creature depicted in this horrifying story, and spit on my man! The only thing I do question is, if they kill it, what happens to the evil spirit? I thought it traveled to another person. But that's not always the case, but that would have made for an amazing second book.

Thank you once again for letting me read your book.

Harry is stunned when he learns his father has committed suicide - and then he learns his father's circle of friends have all died (mostly by suicide) very recently. The adult sons of the 5 men get together for hunting trip, accompanied by a box of cassette tapes with a message that they are told not not listen to until they are all together.

It was clear from the start this would be a pulpy b=movie horror story. What I didn't expect was just how much I would enjoy it. As a reader, my favorite horror is creepy gothics. This isn't that. This is the kind of propulsive and action-packed horror, centered around themes of male loneliness, isolation, grief and depression like you see from authors Nick Cutter, Philip Fracassi and Mark Lukens. In that pretty talented field, I think William F. Gray might be my favorite.

Without spoilers, I will call this a taut page turner that I kept coming back to every few spare minutes I had.
If I had a suggestion I would say I would have liked slightly more time on the character development because I was genuinely invested in the stories of Harry, Lou, Dave, Dennis and Bob. I feel like this book occupies the same realm, in terms of exploring flawed men and their friendships, as The Ritual by Adam Neville, but would need 80 more pages to plumb the same depths.

Having said that this book is just right for what it is. It does well what too many horror stories fail at: keeping the beginning, middle and end all equally satisfying. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy to review.