The climax is rather disappointing, considering what you've been waiting for. I liked Hickory, the phys-ed teacher, only because he seemed the most real of the characters, and he wasn't overused. Also, there's mention of a body behind Northern Lights, and we never find out who it is, unless it's the carefully concealed identity of the town mayor? The character of Candace Bergen (that's right, she shares the same name as Murphy Brown, and it was intentional) is so overdramatic that she comes across rather cartoonish, and by the end we don't know what happened to her. She is romantically involved with the rather self-serving David, and their romantic plight falls under the weight of not only the snow but Ms. The other focal character is Shandy, a fifteen year old teenager, cursed/gifted with the ability to read minds and predict the future. And that's basically all we know about her background. The main characters are Marilyn, a woman recently divorced, who returns to Bastion Falls to start life over again. Suffice to say, the constant snowfall is unnerving and provides quite a "chilling" (no pun intended) atmosphere for this brooding tale. Unfortunately, so much time is spent on the development of the characters and their "dark secrets" than to explain exactly what kind of horror the citizens of this little town are facing.
One has to admire the effort of freshman novelist Susie Moloney (Who went on to write the much better "A Dry Spell") for trying to create a terrifying situation, and involve many characters. But by putting "Storm of the Century" and "Bastion Falls" side by side, we will notice what separate a good horror fiction from an average one. Perhaps that's not what we would normally expect from a "horror" fiction. King's story is more than just horror: it is moral, it is philosophical, and it is human. People simply die, and that's the end of it. What happens in Bastion Falls? We never quite understand where the "black things" come from, why they come, what they want, and in the end, where they go. This sets up the final moral conflicts and tensions among the characters. In "Storm", King has one more twist which is that the town has to deal one of their children to the demon. The story never quite connects with something deep inside us.
#BASTION FALLS HOW TO#
How should the readers feel about such a development? Should we feel sorry for the victims? Should we feel just? The problem is we don't know how to feel about it. In Bastion Falls, people die, well, basically for remembering some long lost friends, foes or loved ones. Regardless whether we agree the way justice is handed out, at least in that moment the book connects with our emotion.
Thus the readers have a feeling that justice is being served. In King's story people die for sins they have committed. But, soon the readers will notice why King is still the king, and Moloney will have a long way to go. The stage is set for what could be an intense and intriguing story of good and evil.
In both stories a small town is cut off from the outside world by a severe storm. I can't help but compare this one with King's "Storm of the Century".
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