Crimson, by Gord Rollo

(pb; 2009)


From the back cover:

"The small town of Dunnville is no stranger to fear.  Evil has stalked its dark streets once before, twenty years ago, leaving in its wake a legacy of blood and madness.  These days, no one in the town likes to talk about it much.  Some folks deny it ever happened. . .

"But four boyhood friends are about to discover the truth, though no one will believe them.  Their parents think they've been listening to too many scary stories.  But what the boys have released from an icy well is no legend.  It's very real indeed, and it will soon terrify Dunnville to its very core.  Unspeakable horror is running free. . . and the nightmares of the past are about to begin again."


Review:

Crimson is another solid offering from Rollo, whose chock-full-of-horrific moments initially hews, in improved and abbreviated fashion, closely to those of Stephen King's bloated It. 

Midway through, the novel's storyline cuts to a more original tale involving prison, monstrous possession and other supernatural, character-based elements, leading to a sequel-friendly finish that is a relatively nuanced and King Diamondesque (à la his 1989 album Conspiracy).

Note that my comparisons of this particular Rollo work to Stephen King or King Diamond's efforts are not lazy compartmentalizations of Rollo's writing, but, rather, a way to suggest his work to fans of King or Diamond.
 
Worth owning, Crimson.