Blackwater Val
William Gorman
Crystal Lake Publishing
April, 2016
Reviewed by Josh Black

After publishing some short stories and a non-fiction collection of legends and ghost stories, William Gorman brings us Blackwater Val, his own take on the time-honored “character returns to small town to vanquish an ancient evil” trope.

Grief-stricken after the hit-and-run death of his wife, Richard Franklin, with his psychic daughter in tow, returns to his hometown to fulfill his wife’s final request. Just outside the town he sees what appears to be a mass of human bones in a sinkhole (is this kind of thing ever a good sign?) and from there is drawn into a not-quite-typical clash between good and evil involving Nazi occultism, witchcraft, clairvoyance, and the Black Hawk War.

It’s a lot to take in, but unfortunately the execution doesn’t match the breadth of Gorman’s vision. It’s a lengthy novel but much of it leads nowhere, with questionable blocks of exposition and extended tangents (mainly in the dialogue) frequently stopping the plot in its tracks. At other times repetition and a surplus of description mar an intriguing idea or side story. Add to this the wide range of stock characters and there’s not much to be invested in, let alone afraid of.

Flaws aside, Gorman has the bones of a good book here, and he shines at giving the reader a sense of place and of history (he’s a local historian himself, and the sections detailing the Black Hawk War are particularly well done). With some polish and judicious trimming, Blackwater Val could be a solid entry into an established horror tradition. As it stands, you’d be better off getting your fix elsewhere.