Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | Fic Hirshberg, G. 2014 | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
In his powerful novel, Motherless Child , Bram Stoker Award-nominee Glen Hirshberg, author of the International Horror Guild Award-winning American Morons , exposes the fallacy of the Twilight -style romantic vampire while capturing the heart of every reader.
It's the thrill of a lifetime when Sophie and Natalie, single mothers living in a trailer park in North Carolina, meet their idol, the mysterious musician known only as "the Whistler." Morning finds them covered with dried blood, their clothing shredded and their memories hazy. Things soon become horrifyingly clear: the Whistler is a vampire and Natalie and Sophie are his latest victims. The young women leave their babies with Natalie's mother and hit the road, determined not to give in to their unnatural desires.
Hunger and desire make a powerful couple. So do the Whistler and his Mother, who are searching for Sophie and Natalie with the help of Twitter and the musician's many fans. The violent, emotionally moving showdown between two who should be victims and two who should be monsters will leave readers gasping in fear and delight.
Originally published in a sold-out, limited edition, Motherless Child is an extraordinary Southern horror novel that Tor Books is proud to bring to a wider audience.
Author Notes
GLEN HIRSHBERG received his B.A. from Columbia University, where he won the Bennett Cerf Prize for Best Fiction, and his M.A. and M.F.A. from the University of Montana. His first novel, The Snowman's Children , was a Literary Guild Featured Selection. His collection, The Two Sams , won three International Horror Guild Awards and was named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly. Hirshberg has won the Shirley Jackson Award and been a finalist for the World Fantasy and the Bram Stoker Awards.
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Hirshberg (The Book of Bunk) weaves love, desire, revenge, loyalty, and sacrifice into a blockbuster narrative. Natalie and Sophie, sassy North Carolina moms with young children, encounter the Whistler, who turns them into vampires. Clinging to humanity, Natalie tells her widowed mother, Jess, to flee with both women's kids. The Whistler's infatuation with Natalie, his "Destiny," leads him to track down her child as bait to ensure that she will complete her transformation to immortality as his vampiric companion. Angered by the loss of the Whistler's affection, his companion, Mother, forges her own plots. Hirshberg's adept characterization engages the reader's sympathies for Natalie and Sophie as they fight the pangs of vampiric hunger and yearn for their absent children. His depiction of Jess in her dogged, self-sacrificial adherence to Natalie's request evokes Faulknerian depth. The clash of human and vampire worlds in the tumultuous final showdown presents a satisfying, startling, conclusion and infuses this work with both literary and genre merit. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Award-winning author Hirshberg takes readers on a grisly yet darkly comedic road trip in this outstanding southern horror tale about two single moms and their unfortunate encounter with a shadowy and irresistible singer known as the Whistler. Natalie and Sophie have been turned into vampires, and, as realization sets in, they leave their children with Natalie's mother and take off on a road trip to figure things out. The story begins on a surreal note with the women casually discussing music and life as they agonize over whether to satisfy their need to eat or to resist their urges and go home. All the while, the Whistler and his longtime companion, Mother, are looking for Sophie and Natalie, with Hirshberg deftly switching from comic banter into tension-laced, decidedly creepy horror mode. No fangs, no pretty shirtless vampires, and no romance here this one is a spine-tingler with smart dialogue, a thickly atmospheric setting, and plenty of visceral violence. Fine old-school horror, which will delight fans disgusted by the overabundance of vampire lite now dominating the genre.--Clark, Craig Copyright 2014 Booklist
Library Journal Review
When vampire musician the Whistler first sees Natalie through the window of a Waffle House in North Carolina, he knows he has to have her. She's his Destiny. So he turns Natalie and her best friend Sophie and leaves them to finish their transformation on their own. Then, he will claim Natalie, and they can begin their eternal lives together. There's just one problem-Mother, the woman who turned him and who has been his companion for endless years, isn't ready for their relationship to end. When Natalie realizes what she and Sophie are becoming, she leaves her infant son (and forces Sophie to do the same) in the care of her mother and orders her to take the babies and run-and never let Natalie find her. What follows is a battle of wills that culminates in a fight to the death among all the major players. Readers will be surprised to see who is left standing at the end. Verdict If there's one thing the world doesn't need, it's another vampire novel, and something it needs even less is another vampire love story. Thankfully, Shirley Jackson Award winner Hirshberg (The Snowman's Children) didn't write a vampire novel, but he did write a love story that is about strength, courage, love, and the overwhelming force and power of motherhood. Readers looking for a Twilight knockoff will be disappointed. The rest will be pleasantly surprised and quite possibly moved by this artfully written tale.-Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Hirshberg (The Book of Bunk) weaves love, desire, revenge, loyalty, and sacrifice into a blockbuster narrative. Natalie and Sophie, sassy North Carolina moms with young children, encounter the Whistler, who turns them into vampires. Clinging to humanity, Natalie tells her widowed mother, Jess, to flee with both women's kids. The Whistler's infatuation with Natalie, his "Destiny," leads him to track down her child as bait to ensure that she will complete her transformation to immortality as his vampiric companion. Angered by the loss of the Whistler's affection, his companion, Mother, forges her own plots. Hirshberg's adept characterization engages the reader's sympathies for Natalie and Sophie as they fight the pangs of vampiric hunger and yearn for their absent children. His depiction of Jess in her dogged, self-sacrificial adherence to Natalie's request evokes Faulknerian depth. The clash of human and vampire worlds in the tumultuous final showdown presents a satisfying, startling, conclusion and infuses this work with both literary and genre merit. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Award-winning author Hirshberg takes readers on a grisly yet darkly comedic road trip in this outstanding southern horror tale about two single moms and their unfortunate encounter with a shadowy and irresistible singer known as the Whistler. Natalie and Sophie have been turned into vampires, and, as realization sets in, they leave their children with Natalie's mother and take off on a road trip to figure things out. The story begins on a surreal note with the women casually discussing music and life as they agonize over whether to satisfy their need to eat or to resist their urges and go home. All the while, the Whistler and his longtime companion, Mother, are looking for Sophie and Natalie, with Hirshberg deftly switching from comic banter into tension-laced, decidedly creepy horror mode. No fangs, no pretty shirtless vampires, and no romance here this one is a spine-tingler with smart dialogue, a thickly atmospheric setting, and plenty of visceral violence. Fine old-school horror, which will delight fans disgusted by the overabundance of vampire lite now dominating the genre.--Clark, Craig Copyright 2014 Booklist
Library Journal Review
When vampire musician the Whistler first sees Natalie through the window of a Waffle House in North Carolina, he knows he has to have her. She's his Destiny. So he turns Natalie and her best friend Sophie and leaves them to finish their transformation on their own. Then, he will claim Natalie, and they can begin their eternal lives together. There's just one problem-Mother, the woman who turned him and who has been his companion for endless years, isn't ready for their relationship to end. When Natalie realizes what she and Sophie are becoming, she leaves her infant son (and forces Sophie to do the same) in the care of her mother and orders her to take the babies and run-and never let Natalie find her. What follows is a battle of wills that culminates in a fight to the death among all the major players. Readers will be surprised to see who is left standing at the end. Verdict If there's one thing the world doesn't need, it's another vampire novel, and something it needs even less is another vampire love story. Thankfully, Shirley Jackson Award winner Hirshberg (The Snowman's Children) didn't write a vampire novel, but he did write a love story that is about strength, courage, love, and the overwhelming force and power of motherhood. Readers looking for a Twilight knockoff will be disappointed. The rest will be pleasantly surprised and quite possibly moved by this artfully written tale.-Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.