Between the time I downloaded this book on Netgalley and the time I finally sat down to read it, it managed to gather some seriously terrible reviews. From dnf to finished and hated. And this is the sort of thing that would normally make me put the book away and forget about it, but in this bizarre instance it actually spurred my interest on.
Plus, to be fair, it had to do with cults. And I love all things to do with cults. And so, forewarned and forearmed, I ventured into this story and, lo and behold, survived with good things to tell. There’s nothing wrong with this book. Granted, I didn’t read the disparaging reviews in great detail, because of the strategical plot integrity preservation, but then again I might, after this, just to see what they didn’t like so much about it, because for my money this was a perfectly good read. It was intriguing, compelling and well written. It didn’t drag, it didn’t dally and it didn’t disappoint either. The Follower is a story of a young English woman without much real life experience due to a cushy existence provide by her family money, who comes to Northern California to track down her vanished twin. Wherein she, Vivian, is a reasonable person, her brother, Jesse, has always been up in the clouds, always searching for something, some secret profound meaning in life. In other words, exactly the sort of person to end up in a cult. The cult in question is Telos and its followers have more or less taken over the entire small town Vivian comes to, although no one will give her a clear answer of where Jesse is. And so she sets of to investigate, only to find out the truth straight from the stranger than fiction bucket. It’s interesting, original and pretty out there in a good way. It’s a trippy journey that has quite understandably gathered David Lynchian comparisons, it’s pretty much a gimmie when it comes to weird small towns. But the thing is, this book needs no comparisons and can comfortably stand on its own two feet 257 pages. I really enjoyed the weirdness of it and thought the author did a great job of maintaining both the suspense and the overall atmosphere of WTF is going on here without resorting to trickery and cheap ploys. You pretty much follow Vivian’s trail, this is her story, you get to experience it alongside her, you’re along for the ride. And it’s a really fun ride. Fans of the more linear bizarro, dark trippy speculative or, of course, cult related fiction should find much to delight in within these pages. I did. Go on, go to the top of the mountain, if you dare. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
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