Brian Moreland’s supernatural thriller, “Dead of Winter,” takes place in 1878, in the Ontario wilderness. A remote fort there falls victim to a plague that turns its victims into cannibalistic predators. Early sections of the novel move between the fort and a parallel story in Montreal, where an exorcist, Father Xavier, visits an asylum where a notorious serial killer, the Cannery Cannibal is imprisoned. Xavier believes he has driven a demon from the killer but later learns this was an illusion. At the wilderness fort, Inspector Tom Hatcher begins to realize the plague is really the work of an ancient shape-shifting demon. The two stories then converge as Xavier travels to the fort to offer assistance. Their adversaries are the same.
Moreland’s novel covers ground that has been traveled before—an exorcist with a demon from his past, legends of werewolves, shape-shifters and windigos, serial killers that never seem to go away, but he casts a highly original yarn with his own variants of these elements, avoiding clichés.
Moreland assembles a large cast of characters that are not cardboard cutouts—they are real people with flaws, haunted pasts, and inner demons that interact seamlessly with the plot. Character and story work together in a fast-paced and often unpredictable fashion. I read a lot of thrillers and I was genuinely surprised more than once by the unexpected death of a character or wonderful plot twist.
I was also impressed by the fully realized Native American characters. Moreland has done his research into the tribe at hand and his Native characters are every bit as fleshed out as those of European descent.
Anyone who enjoys spooky tales set in a savage wilderness in the dead of winter, supernatural thrillers based on Native American mythologies, or tales of demons versus holy men, will not be disappointed. Moreland’s multi-faceted novel hits on all cylinders and provides a wonderful read.
– George Wilhite
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
