Cover Image: The Moor

The Moor

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Member Reviews

Thank you to Netgalley and Unbound digital for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

In the Moor by Sam Haysom, we find ourselves following a group of boys on what should've been a simple and fun trek across the moor. Not far into their trip, tension begins to build among the group and then strange things begin to happen. It doesn't take long before people begin to disappear.

I liked this book. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. There are a lot of breaks in the flow of the story between chapters of newspaper clippings, different boys perspectives as well as alternating between past and present. For such a short book, I found this to really break up the flow of the story which was otherwise incredibly creepy and unsettling.

It's worth a read considering it's fun and quick, however I wouldn't recommend reading it whilst sitting next to the campfire. Strange things may begin to happen...

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Was unable to finish. Moved too slow and couldn't keep my attention. I rarely give up on a book, but this one fell into that limited category.

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This book is a quick ghost story, perfect for a flight or a long weekend away when you’re needing something to keep you interested and relaxed during your downtime. It’s got the right amount of real-world thrills and chills, with just a touch of other-worldliness, which is my perfect combination. I don’t like too much of the mystical solutions, but i enjoy a little with my ghost stories.

And this one’s a whopper of a creepy tale.

It bounces from the present - with an adult man trying to come to terms with what happened on a fateful camping trip when he and his friends were 13. The boys initially thought it was going to be a straightforward - if a little boring - weekend hike when they share a ghost story around the campfire. After that, strange things begin happening. Turns out, it’s not the first time. What’s really going on on the moors? Hopefully, they can find out before it’s too late.

I really enjoyed this slow-burn build up. You know right away that things on the trip went horribly wrong, and that they were only one incident in a pattern of mysterious deaths/disappearances. The set-up works really well, because you’re completely on edge wondering when that other shoe is going to drop and all hell is going to break loose.

I also really enjoyed the ending. It’s really the perfect way to wrap things up and bring things full circle. I can’t really say much more. However, i do wish more explanation had been given on some things, which I can elaborate on for anyone that wants to chat about the book (just message me or comment below!)

Overal, I greatly enjoyed this creepy tale. I think I finished it in two days. It’s great for anyone who wants to be just a little scared before they tuck in for the night or head out on vacation.

Enjoy.

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This book is wholly saturated with the clichés of the literary heritage it attempts to emulate. The dialogue between characters was cheesy and stunted, with a completely unnatural flow. Other horror writers such as Stephen King, Paul Tremblay, and Ania Ahlborn have perfectly conjured interrelationships and interactions amongst young friendship groups, and the ones in this novel fell completely flat and unbelievable. The concept of the witch on the moors and her back story was completely unoriginal, which made it dull and uninteresting. There was unfortunately no originality or writing skill within this novel.

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4.5 stars

I enjoyed this a lot. A proper classic spooky story of a group of teenagers going camping and starting to mysteriously disappear.
The difference here though is that it is set on the Devon moors in South West England. A place very close to my heart. The fact that that area of the UK is already well associated with the supernatural just makes things extra creepy and extra real.

The story switches between timelines allowing the reader to slowly put the pieces together to work out exactly that happened. Just as one timeline is getting super suspenseful we get thrown into another time making this little book impossible to put down. I do love a good tease.

I feel like the "reveal" was maybe done a tiiiiny bit early but with such a short book I can see why it was done. I just would have liked the mystery to have been a little bit longer. Honestly, I would love the whole thing to be longer. I didn't want it to end.

Overall, an excellent debut and I can't wait to read more from this author!

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I don't really read much mystery or horror, but the cover and the description were appealing. I did enjoy the plot and writing, and I know my library patrons will, too. I have ordered several copies already.

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The Moor is Sam Haysom's debut novel and though it seems to have pretty high ratings, I found it to fall short of my expectations. The book encompasses the story of a handful of thirteen-year-old boys on a hiking trip through the moors. During this trip, things go wrong and... well, that's where it tries to be two stories at once: a ghost story and a creature feature.

The ghost story side of this book is fantastic. It's written in a way that captures the reader's imagination and honestly, I could picture the details quite well. What I didn't like was the creature feature side of the book. The monster that makes up this horror tale should be terrifying, but instead I found it to be one dimensional--in fact, every single time the creature shows up, it's described the same way which really put me off.

I felt no emotions or connections to the boys in the book, and this greatly diminished the emotional/fright factor of the novel for me. I really wanted to taste the fear that these teenaged boys were going through.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Thankyou to NetGalley. Unbound and Sam Haysom for the opportunity to read a copy of The Moor in return for a review.
Do you enjoy creepy stories? Then I think you will enjoy this book. It was spine-tingling creepy. I am very hard to please, especially where horror novels are concerned, but I enjoyed reading The Moor. It sent chills down my spine and I had to read this book in one sitting.
Would definitely recommend The Moor and look forward to reading more from this author.

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A surprising book in that this wasn't what I was expecting at all. This is not a ghost story, but something else entirely, with the folklore mentioned in the blurb coming into play once in the first third of the book. As mentioned in other reviews, this is slightly disappointing as, around the half way point the story takes a completely different direction to the one expected.

The way in which the story used different perspectives and timelines was effective, as it demanded your attention and concentration throughout. However, this is definitely a book of three parts; the first third was an effective build up with atmosphere, well thought out characters and brilliant story telling. The last third was also brilliant as we head towards the climax. Although not as atmospheric as the first third this certainly provides a worthy ending that is satisfactory if a bit rushed. However, the middle third (shortly after the big reveal and the following scenes) were, in my opinion, boring and missed the plot pacing that had been so effective at the beginning of the book. It should also be noted that this section is particularly heavy on the abuse of animals which had appeared earlier in the book so just to make people aware of that.

I was glad I pushed on to the end of the book, as it was worth it. However, I do think that it needs to be made clear that this is not a ghost story, this is something else entirely and is perhaps suited to those who prefer more gore in their horror stories. Otherwise a fairly good read.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review

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Good spooky read that will keep you guessing. Haystrom doesn't reveal exactly who is narrating the story for some time, which adds to the mystery and tension. Good vacation read, but not perhaps if you are camping ...

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American werewolf in London? Maybe, you will have to read it! I did and i loved the paranormal and the survival aspects! Good mystery, I got a Jane Harper sort of feel. Very entertaining story! Thank you!

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Thank you to Netgalley and Unbound for a free e-arc of this book for a fair and honest review.

When I read the synopsis and started this book I thought it would fall towards the horror category but unfortunately this book fell a little flat for me in this area. I felt it was more of a suspense thriller than anything else with a couple of spine tingling moments; primarily in the first quarter of the book.

The story itself is told from multiple POVs and newspaper clippings. The thing with this book was it was a little hard to follow who's narrative you were reading as there is no heading at the top of the page stating and you had to figure it out for yourself from which characters were and weren't mentioned. I found the character of Gary to be a horrible bully and couldn't relate to him at all; I know there's always one person like that at school but they aren't popular or really well liked.

I was also a bit underwhelmed by the perpetrator and it was never really explained what it was or where it came from; it was just stated and that was that.

The sections of the book that are involved on the moor are atmospheric and creepy and shows what a great writer Sam Haysom is but I think he took a curve I didn't see coming or wasn't expecting and this disappointed me.

Other may enjoy this book more than I did and I would recommend reading it if you like suspense and thrills more than horror itself.

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Sorry, but no. The beginning was pretty nicely done with those newspapers and then switching to 13 years later, however after that it just get way to confusing and also boring. Our MC finds the need to flashback. Oh hey, Tim, well we met this and that way, oh back to camp, oh yes and my grandma, oh camp, and back to Mr. Parker, and back to camp.
Gary was just wayyyyyyy to urgh, mean, and a bully. I frankly don't get why these guys are hanging out with him.

But the story about the girl/woman and what happened to her was pretty exciting, though dear lord people are dumb. :|

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So this one has one of those hoping around the timeline things, plus it is told in the POV of the teenagers. We know at the beginning one of the survivors as it starts with him in 2015, then it goes back to 2002 and the start of the camping trip to Rutmoor. 

I feel like I can't say much without giving away a key point so this is a brief review.

Small group of boys, four of them are friends, though at times I am not sure why. The other boy is the son of the coach that is taking them camping, they are new to the area and so Tim doesn't have any friends and the four boys are not really his friends but kind of include him.

While at their first night camping around the campfire they start talking about the spooky things that happened in the Moor. Then the man tells them what he has heard around town about the witch and what happened to her. It's a good scary ghost story for a camping trip till things start going wrong. When they wake up one of the boys is gone. Now he was mad at the others so it was logical to think that maybe he took off ahead of them but when another goes missing it's a little harder to convince the other boys nothing is wrong. 

It has a bit of a nod to Stephen King and was very atmospheric tone and I thought it was pretty face paced as I finished it pretty fast. I thought I had it figured out and I kind of did but I still got a bit of a shock at the reveal. I do think I wish it would have a bit more about the supernatural aspects of this story. I wanted to know a bit more about the what and why of it. I also seen the end coming but felt it was very abrupt. It was like this is what happened, the end. So I was left kind of wondering a bit more about the supernatural part. 

That being said I really did enjoy the story and would try something else from this author in the future.

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Sam Haysom’s debut novel works on many different levels and is very quite impressive. Starting off steering the audience in one direction and then realistically changing it to something else really pays off in this spine tingling journey.

The novel is written in the third person and jumps back and forth between two time settings which works very well in the overall construct of the story. The newspaper clippings/stories are a nice touch and works very well as a plot device that adds instead of distracting.

The characters are very well drawn and lift the story that could have easily become a two dimensional representation which the author successfully stays away from. It is also worth noting that the dialogue between the younger selves and the older selves works exceedingly well with an ear for the vocal patterns of the younger characters very effective.

The story gives clues throughout with the overall supernatural setting that makes the reader an active participant whilst reading. With unexpected plot twists and turns, keeping me on my toes, I relished every plot point and overall essence of this novel.

This is a top rated novel that caught me by surprise and if this is the beginning of the author’s career, I can’t wait to see what they have in store with their next instalment. Exciting, scary but kept in a realistic setting with supernatural twist, this novel is a real hidden gem that will not disappoint. If you are looking for something a little off kilter with good characters, spine tingling sensation and a fantastic plot, you can not go wrong with The Moor.

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"The Moor" is an entertaining and easy-to-read scary novel. Four 13-year-old boys and one adult, the father of one of the boys, go on a weekend hike in the moor. On the first night, the father tells a scary story that causes nightmares among the boys. But even in reality, things are going somehow wrong. The first night, one of the boys disappears. First, the others assume that he just hiked forward. But then another of the boys disappears.

The story is told on multiple time levels and multiple POV. Horror stories are always tricky. The resolution is often a problem. Here, the author does not make the mistake of expanding his story too much or of searching for plausible explanations. He tells a straightforward horror story without much adornment and explanations. The atmosphere is dark all the time. The horror is real and present. "The Moor" is a precise and gripping horror story which makes you flying through the pages.

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This started out really well for me. I did not see where this was going. I was expecting a creepy horror story but I got a disgusting creature feature. This was just not for me. I think if the author went in a different direction I would have loved it. Where the book went seemed almost juvenile.

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I normally don’t read this genre, but The Moor was a great one to pick up. The setting was a big draw for me initially. Overall Good read!

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(WARNING: This review contains minor spoilers.)

I never thought as I started reading this one, that I’d get so much enjoyment out of it. It took me by surprise; one of those moments that make this hobby so worth it. It all began with clippings from newspapers, written in a way that suggested they were merely pieces of a puzzle. Indeed, that set my mind ablaze with theories that wouldn’t subside throughout the entire book. I loved how it gave me a new perspective over the characters, how they interacted with each other, and in general how they were presented. Haysom was clever enough to give enough of a tease that pulled me in, made me want to know more, and I very much appreciated it. As I believe it, this is a debut novel, yet I wouldn’t have guessed. Many of the pitfalls new authors fall into – such as a lack of sufficient editing and typical horror tropes that are almost painfully overused at this point – were largely absent, giving an almost fresh take.

The atmosphere of Rutmoor, of how utterly miserable and arduous the travel became, it created vivid imagery in my head, and induced a very strong aversion to hiking. I can now say it’s not something I want to do ever, in my lifetime. Honestly, the dynamic of the hiking group was a highlight; it had that pinch of realism to it. Each individual offered something unique with their personality, and like any real life circle, they all differed and even clashed together. Sometimes it was ugly, other times sweet, but most of all, their friendships were authentic. My favourite had to be Tom; undoubtedly the most sensible of the lot, followed by Matt and James. Even despite the young age of each, I was still able to relate. Yes, there was some immaturity – pretty much what you’d expect from teens, but it wasn’t to the extreme.

The format of the plot struck me as quite different, in that rather than waiting until the end to reveal the big twist, it was just after fifty percent that it came into play. I can’t say it was unexpected – in fact, I had my suspicions much earlier, but I adored it regardless. You see, I much prefer when the direction of the story changes so drastically from my initial assumptions. If it’s done well, like it so wonderfully was in this case, then I feel like I’m kept on my toes, like I don’t have time to even look away. The question of survival played a significant part, as due to the parallel running chapters of present day (2015 to be precise), those that endured the horrors of the moor were made known, thus it was not the matter of who’s going to survive, but how do they survive.

The only thing that I found quite awkward, was the continual switch of past / present tense in the style of writing, however I understand it was used as a tool – to obviously convey the period of time, and perhaps even to alleviate confusion. Nevertheless, it was a bit of a challenge to get used to it.

In conclusion: I considered it a great story, and to be completely truthful, it soared above my expectations. With a slow beginning of character and atmosphere building, the story exploded into a creepfest that kept my attention. My applause goes to Haysom, and his impressive debut novel.

Notable Scene:

The rabbit’s body was a mangled pulp of flesh, bone and hair. Its eyeless, earless face stared up at him from the grass. Patches of drying blood lay on the grass around it.
From somewhere behind Gary, a tree branch snapped.

© Red Lace 2018

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The Moor is a fast and creepy read set mostly on a weather beaten Moor where mysterious disappearances abound, a bit like a British Bermuda triangle. We follow a group of boys on a camping trip that goes horribly awry, then years later one of the surviving members returns to finally lay his ghosts to rest.

The writing is tense and atmospheric, Sam Haysom does a brilliant job of bringing the moor to vivid haunting life. The tale is dark and scary, the characters matching the setting leaving the reader with an off kilter feeling of menace.

This is a grim mythological piece of storytelling that will pull you into it’s dark heart. The kind that plays on your mind in the early hours. Sleep with the lights on!

Recommended.

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