Thirst

Reviews / Votes

This creepy, compelling YA folk horror boasts a transporting sense of ritual and place * Guardian * Thirst draws on folk horror, with its focus on the evil that men do in service of tradition and superstition, and combines it with quintessential coming-of-age quandaries... Creepy and thought-provoking * Irish Times, Best young adult fiction for Halloween * Gripping, gruesome, dark and dripping -- A.F. Harrold A gripping tale infused with dark secrets and superstitions -- Phil Hickes, author of The Haunting of Aveline Jones What a story! Properly creepy Wicker Man vibes with seemingly effortless world building and characters you'll take to your heart. Loved it -- Jennifer Killick, author of Crater Lake Wow! This gloriously dark tale about an insatiable blood-thirsty river and the town held within its grip had me at the first chapter! -- A.M. Howell This gruesomely imagined folk horror is the most brilliantly dark and dangerously fun book I've read all year. Darren's wonderful writing and inventive world-building drag you in and pull you under. It's so compelling you just have to go with the flow, and hope. There's no escaping the chilling horror. -- Keith Gray, author of Creepers Simpson winds up the tension expertly, as one horrific revelation follows another * Books For Keeps * Thirst is wonderfully atmospheric and will appeal to anyone who enjoys the supernatural/ horror and 'chase' stories. Perfect autumnal reading! * Readingzone * A truly cracking read, Thirst is wondrous strange. Dark and disturbing, it evokes half-remembered ancient stories hidden beneath the earth with dashes of Alan Garner, Nigel Kneale, and John Wyndham. One of those rare novels that is utterly transportive, that feels somehow familiar yet fresh and distinctive. A modern classic in the making. I loved it. -- Liz Hyder, author of The Twelve He is so bloodthirsty and brilliant! Bravo @darrensimpson44! What the river asks for will be given! I managed to keep this copy safe from the Wear in Durham, but I don't think the Yeedle would be as sparing - I could feel its pull the whole way through. A most excellent slice of folk horror, and a dark morality tale too. For early teens and up who have an appetite for horror -- Nicola Penfold, author of Where the World Turns Wild A completely unique and totally captivating YA folk horror tale... perfect for teens to devour on autumn evenings, snuggled under a blanket * Scope For Imagination * A darkly terrifying and thought-provoking tale that will stay with you long after you've put the book back on the shelf -- Christopher Edge, author of 'Escape Room' A sinister folk horror tale of elemental magic and hypocrisy. Strong characters, shocking scenes, a horrible villain, great action, and a savage critique on how we justify sacrificing others for our own good -- Alastair Chisholm, author of 'Orion Lost' I highly recommend you read this book. it is dark, chilling and gruesome. It is storytelling at its very best * Beths Bookcase * --Praise for Darren Simpson * -- * Simpson is a compelling writer, his prose clear and muscular. He is acutely aware of generational behaviours, and of the cycle of deprivation that locks people into delinquency. He also has a marvellous sense of the uncanny -- Philip Womack * Literary Review * The very best fiction involves creating believable alternative worlds. Darren Simpson does just that in Scavengers, his extraordinary first outing for young readers * Guardian * Simpson combines fast-paced visual storytelling with a complex, thought-provoking message about coming to terms with the past -- Imogen Russell Williams * Guardian * The narrative is absorbing, tense and poignant, with real life challenges and concerns cleverly echoed in the magical world of Furthermoor * Books for Keeps *