I'm not sure where to even begin with this review. Have you ever enjoyed a book so much that you're afraid you won't be able to articulate the experience? That's exactly how I feel right now. I absolutely loved this book, and it's definitely on my list of favorite books I read in 2018.I've been meaning to read this one for way too long. I don't think I've encountered a single person in the horror community who has a bad thing to say about this novel. Most people have been eagerly encouraging me

“Some years ago, never mind how many, I started to fish. I’ve been fishing a long time, now, and as you might guess, I know a story or two. That’s what fishermen are, right? Storytellers. Some I’ve lived; some I’ve had from the mouths of others. Most of them are funny; they bring a smile to your face and sometimes a laugh, which are no small things…Some of my stories are what I’d call strange. I know only a few of these, but they make you scratch your head and maybe give you a little shiver, whi...

This novel is a potent mix of cosmic menace, human frailties and dark folklore.  Two stories take place along different timelines and intersect in a colossal ordeal.  The writing is masterful, and the reader is literally plunged into a black sea of dire possibilities.  While the situations encountered are those of nightmares, the characters are fully drawn and wholly relatable.  This is a captivating read from beginning to end. 

THE FISHERMAN is a unique blend of outdoor adventure, myth, terror, and history. Some people may consider the horror as Lovecraftian in style, but I'm not sure that's entirely the case. At any rate, Langan weaves an utterly spellbinding tale, and this was one of my favorite reads of 2016.

“It would be a lie to say the time passes quickly. It never does, when you want it to.”You know you’ve got a real special book on your hands when the first thing you do upon finishing is reshuffle your top 10 books of ALL-TIME. This hasn’t happened since East of Eden this time last year! So that is a true testament to how much I loved this book.I have a soft spot for books that explore themes of grief and loss. I also go bananas for horror - obviously. So when these elements are all mixed togeth...

John Langan’s The Fisherman is a slow-burn tale of cosmic horror told on two fronts. This is the story of two widowers, Abe and Dan, who find solace in their shared hobby of fishing and plan on sinking their lines into Dutchman’s Creek, a hard to find locale unless you know exactly where to look. Beyond being hard to find, there’s rumors about this creek…rumors and stories. Dutchman’s Creek has a lot of history, and Langan focuses on this for the bulk of his narrative.I have to admit, when Abe b...

For a hot minute, I thought I was stuck reading a book about fishing. That is no good for someone with the attention span of a squirrel. A book has to grab me fast to make me hang in there. So I struggled for a few chapters because it was all about fishing. I mean, it is The Fisherman. Is a giant fish going to jump out of the river and eat people? Zombie fishes? Then the story unfolded and off we went all the way to the end, holding my breath. It makes the question of what would you do if you co...

When Abe's wife dies of cancer, he finds solace in fishing. Soon, he's joined by Dan, another widower. Together, the two men head for Dutchman's Creek. But why are locals afraid to talk about the creek and who or what is The Fisherman?I've had this on my kindle for untold aeons but I finally found time to read it over the past few days. I wish I would have read it years ago because it is fantastic.The framing sequence, Abe's tale, is written in a long winded, folksy kind of style. Abe relates hi...

I've been meaning to read this book since I first heard it won a Bram Stoker award. Pro tip: If you're ever looking for good horror books to read, just go back and look at what was nominated and the winners of the Stokers or the Shirley Jackson awards.So The Fisherman!I had heard that people were calling this, "cosmic, Lovecraftian horror". But you won't hear these horror buzz words from me because I haven't read any Lovecraft (yet).But if those descriptions mean that this book has some seriousl...

3.5 StarsThis was a well written, intricately crafted narrative that wove themes of grief into a story that appeared to be about fishing, but was actually so much more.The characters in this novel were wonderfully drawn. I found myself immediately connected to both widowed men and completely invested in their well being. The majority of the story was told in a close first person perspective, which made for a very intimate reading experience.  It takes a skilled author to make me care about a fis...

John Langan's THE FISHERMAN is a phenomenal story within a story. Featuring cosmic horror, quiet horror, psychological horrors and a few scenes that were just horrific in general, I find myself lacking the words this book deserves. This tale was outstanding and I waited way too long to read it. You should read it and the sooner the better. My HIGHEST recommendation!You can get a copy here: https://amzn.to/2FM01US*I bought this book with my hard earned cash and the author was kind enough to sign

When I took delivery of The Fisherman, my first impression was that the book looked shoddily printed. The dark sinister painting on the front cover was not bright enough to have its full effect. The pages were large and the book felt bulky and cheap as I held it in my hand. But a few pages into the novel, I knew I was in the hands of an assured writer. I was glad that I had trusted the words of my Goodreads friends and ordered this horror novel. The first part of the book reads like an Alexander...

Maybe whoever, or whatever, is running the show isn’t so nice. Maybe he’s evil, or mad, or bored, disinterested. Maybe we’ve got everything completely wrong, everything, and if we could look through the mask, what we’d see would destroy us.When I first picked up The Fisherman I thought I was beginning a creature feature, or at least a standard horror. What I found was a Lovecraftian inspired cosmic experience. The story begins with Abe and Dan. Both have experienced a great loss and spend their

"I know Dutchman's Creek runs deep, much deeper than it could or should, and I don't like to think what it's full of."I have never been fishing, so I can’t say that fishing stories are something I care for very much. But If I learnt anything reading a collection of John Langan short stories last October (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), it’s that this man knows how to write, and that I trust him to take the seemingly banal and transform it into something I won’t be able to look away fr...

One of my favorites of 2016 so far. And I blurbed it! Cue blurb!John Langan’s The Fisherman is literary horror at its sharpest and most imaginative. It’s at turns a quiet and powerfully melancholy story about loss and grief; the impossibility of going on in same manner as you had before. It’s also a rollicking, kick-ass, white-knuckle charge into the winding, wild, raging river of redemption. Illusory, frightening, and deeply moving, The Fisherman is a modern horror epic. And it’s simply a must

I know a horror story worked well when it brings me nightmares...The Fisherman is exactly the type of overwhelming terror that I grew to like with the classics like Lovecraft. It starts with a character losing the people he loves most in life and while portraying the events in a realistic way, the story walks into a new territory by having these feelings of sadness and mourning be manipulated to feed something much bigger, much darker and much more unsettling...POV character Abe lost his beloved...

Every fisherman is a storyteller.And you won't BELIEVE what kind of fish got away.As horrors go, we all know it's a hit-or-miss kind of thing. Some writing is fantastic, some of them have great ideas and thrills, and some of them ride that sweet spot all the way through. This is one of the latter. Our hero may not get too many fish on his forays, but his tragic tale, along with his buddy's tragic tale, sincerely sweeten the tale as it descends, steeply, into some really deep waters.This book has...

This book was a pleasant surprise, and I am really grateful to the friend who recommended it to me, because it was clear from the first few pages how much I would enjoy it! In my opinion, this novel delivered what The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker had promised me, a world of lovecraftian monstrosities and conradian horror, sprinkled with a classic, gothic-style "beware of the cursed waters" feeling. The "story within a story within a story" trope, which many people seem to avoid like th

"A coal black downright awful fish story.".....Oh yeah Prepare to be totally creeped out! We're in present day upstate New York when we meet Abe and Dan, both widowers who have suffered personal pain and loss. Working for the same company, the two men ultimately get together to do a little fishing; and while on the way to a new spot, Dutchman's Creek, they stop at an empty roadside diner for breakfast and meet Howard, the owner. And oh boy....are they told one hell of a fish-horror-story ab...

Abe and Dan, coworkers, with nothing in common but their grief, find the bond of friendship and solace in the peaceful hobby of fishing the streams in upstate New York. Then Dan suggests Dutchman's Creek. Although Abe is unfamiliar with this waterway, he is more than willing to give it a go.When one of the locals hears of their interest, he feels the need to tell them the legend of Dutchman's Creek, and why it is avoided. Assuming it's no more than a colorful piece of folklore, a fish story as i...