It's been a while since I've read any Stephen King, so forgive me if my comparison to King's writing is not entirely apt. Arthur Slade's
Dust is considered juvenile literature and Stephen King has so far eschewed writing for the younger set, but the villain in
Dust could easily be another manifestation of King's Randall Flagg character, a supernatural villain who's jumped across numerous King novels. He can charm a crowd, even appear quite normal, but with sinister intentions and great power.
In
Dust his name is Abram and he's a kidnapping charlatan who has an entire town, minus a pre-adolescent boy named Robert, mesmerized. Dust itself plays a few different roles; it's set during a drought so the entire Saskatchewan town in covered in dust, but Abram also collects a mystical sort of soul dust from children as well. That sounds crazy as all hell, but like the finest of horror writers, Slade managed to convince me to suspend my belief and eagerly go for the ride. Mesmerizing.
1 comment:
Oh, I just loved this one -- pretty spooky for a juvenile book! Glad you enjoyed it too :) Great pick for your Saskatchewan read.
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