(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.

4 stars

First off, I have enjoyed everything I’ve read by Gray, and this one is no exception. I went in blind, so it turned out to be a pleasant surprise of a novel. I enjoy split timelines, and this one was done masterfully. It is a fast paced and brutal book. I highly recommended.

Another winner from Wicked House! I haven’t read anything by Gray before but definitely plan to look into more of his works.

This is a fast paced and at times brutal book. I did struggle at times keeping up with the various names of dads and sons and their backstories, but not enough to remove me from the story.

I was waffling between 3.5 and 4 stars but really enjoyed the authors note regarding the monster and what it represents, so that solidified my 4 star rating.

Those interested in fast paced, creature feature books will definitely enjoy this one.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Le livre se lit facilement. L'écriture est fluide et l'histoire est bien écrite. Cependant, et malheureusement, l'histoire n'a rien d'original. Et c'est long à se mettre en place, puis on tourne la page plutôt rapidement. L'histoire aurait dû être plus longues de quelques dizaines de pages afin qu'on n'évite ce sentiment de vouloir en finir rapidement, comme si l'auteur n'avait plus trop d'idées.

Bref, c'est intéressant mais déjà vu. Je remercie netgalley pour ce service presse.

ENGLISH
The book reads easily. The writing is smooth and the story is well written. However, unfortunately, the story is not original. And it takes a long time to set up, and then we move on pretty quickly. The story should have been a few dozen pages longer so that we could not avoid this sense of wanting to end it quickly, as if the author had no more ideas.

Anyway, it's interesting, but I've seen it before. I thank Netgalley for this press release.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The placement of storylines going from present to past was artfully managed. Whether I was in an action scene wanting to know what happens next, or wanting to get more information on the questions that were brought up throughout the whole novel, I kept wanting to read more.

<spoiler>The concept of a "Windigo" obviously played a part in the origin of the idea for this book, but I appreciated the added details and lore that created a more unique experience. While a monster in the woods is far from an original idea, the journey left a unique impression and feel. With the concept of guilt, I really liked the perspective of certain characters when piecing it together and questions that came up: without spoiling too much, Lou and Dave.

I did have trouble keeping all of the characters straight between the fathers and the sons. With fairly generic names and popping around so much, I had to take a moment to remember which character was which before moving on with the story. Having even a little more specified background on certain characters would have helped a lot, especially with which son belonged to which father. Bob's introduction on the campsite as adults made him instantly stick out in my mind, and I had no problem remembering who he was. The skill of the author in general tells me that this could have been cleanly done more efficiently with the other characters. It feels more like the author was so intimately familiar with each character that it might have been overlooked that the characters might need a bit more background. While the past/present/future(interlude) storylines being mixed up was extremely well done, it did also create confusion with so many characters to keep track of. I can see this being played out perfectly in a movie setting with visual aids, but feel like it was the only real weakness to the book itself.

Syntax-ually speaking, there were a few typos, but not any more than a normal ebook. There were also a couple times were there was consistency issues with words used: first person narrative saying "them" when it should have said "us". Minor editing issues, but only noticed by me because I was watching for them :)</spoiler>

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with the book itself and look forward to reading more from Gray.

Like something from the mind of the great Stephen King.
~~~~~~~~~~

Harry. Dave. Bob. Lou. Dennis.

5 men who had complicated relationships with their fathers and with each other. Dave’s father died of natural causes, while the others all committed suicide in an effort to force their sons to confront a secret they’d been hiding for decades. A secret involving a monster in the woods where they camped and hunted for many years… The men must work through their complicated relationships, both with their dead fathers and with each other to survive. The question is… How will the men handle the secret and who will make it out alive?

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this book. It had a fairly solid storyline, and well developed, albeit complicated, characters. Some parts were a little disjointed and there’s some punctuation errors I noticed while reading but I was still able to follow it.

I received this book as an ARC and have written this review in an unbiased manner

This is a fantastic creature feature mixed with themes of dark family secrets, regret, and redemption.

Five men go camping together to uphold their fathers last wishes. The annual camping trip had been a traditional and, after their fathers all passed away, they are asked to go together. These men aren't really friends but do it to honor their fathers last wishes.

Harry has a box which contains a very cryptic message from his father along with cassette tapes that they must all listen to together. But it doesn't take long before their camp is attacked by something huge, something vicious, and something that's hungry. Now, stuck in a cabin which offers little protection, they must unravel the secrets their fathers held before it's too late.

This novel works as a terrifying creature feature. We get to see this "thing" early on and it appears to be invincible to ordinary weapons. As it continues to hunt them, we'll find out the secrets each of these men have and what exactly it's going to take to stop this beast. It's very tense and each of the characters are well thought out. They aren't all good or bad, they're a little of both, and the dynamics between them are constantly shifting.

Set in the deep woods on a mountain, this book is atmospheric and claustrophobic as the men can't escape what's lurking outside.

There is redemption in here as well. As the men each face things from their past, decisions will have to be made to try and right the wrongs they've done, but only if they can make it out alive.

I highly recommend this book if you like tight storytelling with fully rounded characters and a great creature story.

Wow! Loved this book. Picked it up and finished it within 24 hours because I just couldn't put it down. Mr Gray writes the characters in such a realistic and convincing way that you can't help but be drawn into their lives and invested in what happens to them. My heart ached for Harry and Dave and the horrors endured by their group. The terror, dread and fear they felt was described and written so well that it fully pulled me right into every single scene. Definitely looking forward to reading more books by this author.