The Haar: A Horror Novel

Product Information

Since the publication of his first novel, The Forgotten Island, he has written and published a further eight novels, including the gore-soaked folk-horror Maggie's Grave and the romantic and disturbing The Haar. They're entertaining, I laughed out loud a couple of times, the conversations or the way the characters are thinking can be truly funny. There is gore, there are some surprising creatures. In both of these books.

The Haar by David Sodergren book reviews | Goodreads

David can write characters of any age and in any situation and manages to bring us different types of horror with every single one of his novels. The billionaire villain in this story truly has the audacity. In truth, the sheer number of things he’s able to get away with here are appalling to a satirical extent, (at least I’d like to tell myself that). Basically, he’s gotten everybody to move out of Witchaven except for stubborn Muriel and her bff. They’ve tried placating with money, they’ve moved to psychological warfare, and soon, when it becomes clear that’s not enough, things escalate to an even more violent degree. But when an overseas property developer, headed by a powerful billionaire, threatens to evict the remaining residents from their homes and raze Witchaven to the ground in the name of progress… all seems lost. Until the day a mysterious fog bank creeps inland… I don’t fear death… but they do.” Muriel McAuley has lived in the Scottish fishing village of Witchaven all her life. She was born there, and she intends to die there. But when an overseas property developer threatens to evict the residents from their homes and raze Witchaven to the ground in the name of progress, all seems lost… until the day a mysterious fog bank creeps inland. THE HAAR To some it brings redemption… to others, it brings only madness and death. What macabre secrets lie within… THE HAAR Romantic and deranged, THE HAAR is a gore-soaked folk horror fairy tale from David Sodergren, author of The Forgotten Island and Maggie’s Grave The Haar by David Sodergren – eBook DetailsTo some it brings redemption… to others, it brings only madness and death. What macabre secrets lie within… The Haar starts as a story about a greedy American arsehole who is trying to destroy the small coastal fishing town of Witchhaven, Scotland, and slowly turns into a story about love, self-preservation, and the human condition. What a wild ride! I discovered The Haar via the horror side of BookTok and I am so glad I gave this one a go. The story had a good premise. After all, who isn't a wee bit afraid of a fog bank and what may lurk therein... There is gore in this, and for someone like me who loves the gore, it’s the best kind of gore. Sodergren does a fantastic job of describing true horror, some absolutely gruesome things happen in this story…and I could not get enough! Besides the gore, there is so much love shown in this story. For someone like me, the gore and the love make it the perfect masterpiece of literature.

Book Review: The Haar by David Sodergren | Steve Stred – The

Anyone who knows me could easily point out that when I find something I thoroughly enjoy be it books, movies, podcasts, songs, food, you name it, I become hyperfixated on it. This usually results in me eating poke bowls for three months straight and then not being able to look at fish and rice for a whole five months after, just to name a very topical example. A similar, but also kind of not similar, thing happened when I discovered horror author David Sodergren. In a collaboration article titled Spooky Book Recommendations for Halloween, I stated that David Sodergren is a horror fanatic’s author, and that will never not be true. When I found The Forgotten Island it opened my eyes to what horror fiction novels could be, and because of David, I went from owning four books to a collection that is now at least 200 horror novels strong. When I read The Forgotten Island I became hyperfixated with horror novels, and, unlike poke bowls, I did not tire of them for one second. So many points I could raise, but in short it’s just like a very cheesy 80’s action film, full of cliche and hammy writing. Parts were just so clunky. The elderly lady is a bad asș woman. She meets 'someone' (not entirely human) who can help her fight this horrible company that keeps harassing her. I don't want to give away any spoilers. Just read the book without knowing too much about it in advance.Do I think David’s work is grossly overlooked? Absolutely. Look at his body of work thus far; ‘The Forgotten Island,’ ‘Night Shoot,’ ‘Dead Girl Blues,’ Maggie’s Grave,’ The Perfect Victim,’ and ‘Satan’s Burnouts Must Die!’ I would call all of these Indie Horror Masterpieces. Sodergren fully embraces the DIY Self-Publishing model and the level/caliber of books he’s given us are second to none. And I’m not going to include our co-written novel ‘The Navajo Nightmare’ as I think that would be too biased, but I will say, his opening salvo that makes up the story is simply one of the best Splatter-Western stories released in that genre over the last few years. Because it’s another one of those films that begins with a dynamite sequence of horror and then flails around like a fish out of water for the rest of its runtime. But let’s enjoy the good while it lasts. It gets pretty gruesome, but there's a genuine heart running through it. That's all I kind of want to say without ruining anything. Like I've said many times before, I rarely read a synopsis. I most often go on an author's previous efforts or recommendations from fellow readers. With David Sodergren, it's a no-brainer. He never lets me down. But, if you look at that synopsis closely, you’ll see Sodergren says this is a gore-soaked folk horror fairy tale, and that’s just what we get. We get a looming fog, the haar, that sweeps in one day and brings something from the ocean. Muriel saves it, connects with it and gets to experience some of life’s moments again. Things and memories she thought long since buried, returning and reinvigorating her. What I liked: The story follows 80+ year old, Muriel McAuley, life long resident of the Scottish fishing town Witchaven. This was where she was born and raised, met and married her husband and continued to live when, years ago, his fishing boat was found, but no signs of Billy were ever found. Now, a billionaire American is buying up all of the land and houses, building a massive golf course and resort, but some residents are holding their ground and refusing to sell. Muriel being one of them.

David Sodergren – Paperbacks and Pugs | The official website David Sodergren – Paperbacks and Pugs | The official website

Actually, The Forgotten Island is the first book of his I discovered from a friend here on WordPress. Definitely have to give both works a try when I can beat down the clutter on this cursed TBR! Some company wants to buy the little village. They pay everyone to leave. The elderly lady doesn't want to leave, no matter how much money they offer her. Lots of neighbors have already left. The Haar is a self-published, indie horror novel that is sort of like if The Thing met The Shape of Water, and had a healthy serving of Scottish folklore thrown in. Watching these Video Nasties has forced me to develop my own mantra, which I repeat over and over under my breath for the first 10 minutes of every film. It goes,who seems to be able to buy off the local Scottish police and news reporters with all his dirty American money... A blood-drenched love letter to Lovecraft, handled with impressive authority and confidence."James Fahy, author of The Changeling series In The Haar, the main character is an elderly lady. She lives right next to the ocean. She has lived there many years. Her husband (passed away some years ago) built their house himself. The end of the book has some words from Sodergren's own gran from a journal entry. He mentions parts of Muriel were inspired by her and it was such a treat to see her own words and thoughts on paper.

The Haar: A Horror Novel: Sodergren, David: 9798800159837

Muriel McAuley is one of the most delightful elderly heroines I’ve met in literature, yet at the same time she has a terrifying amount of gumption and unwillingness to give in. Muriel has lived in the remote Scottish village of Witchaven her entire life – she literally knows nothing else and has no desire to go to a new place, especially at 80+ years old.

Muriel Margaret McAuley was eighty-four years old the first time she saw a man turned inside-out by a sea monster. You might think it would bother a woman of her age, but, as Muriel was fond of saying, she had seen a lot in her eighty-four short years. Muriel is a resilient and resourceful octogenarian deeply connected to the land. Her husband, Billy, has disappeared at sea and she misses him every day. Despite her age, she refuses to submit to the greedy and rich. Her unwavering determination is respectable and proves you can’t get everything by throwing money at it (although the cynic in me whispers that this is another fairy-tale element of the story).