Sinner’s Pass Review
Author: S.S. Fitzgerald
Rating: 7.5 GOOD
What’s it about? A small town, barely a speck on the map, but those who are condemned there rarely return. When a single father sends his only son to stay the summer with his parents in his childhood hometown, he is immediately worried by a cryptic letter from his son. He must now go to the godforsaken town to seek out his son. There, he will be forced to face not only his family’s history and demonic creatures lurking in the dark, but his own internal demons. Without honesty, there can be no redemption. Without redemption, there is no leaving the evil within Sinner’s Pass.
Sinner’s Pass by S.S. Fitzgerald is a good horror book that had me feeling uncomfortable, unnerved, and a little dirty the entire way through. I was squirming in my chair and frequently put the book down to catch my breath. As I read late into the night, I kept looking over my shoulder and smirking at the many different emotions this book was able to deliver to me. Fitzgerald took a simple premise of a father looking for his son and injected elements of some iconic books, movies, and games into a really good horror story.
“Like all monsters, his path started with being the victim.”
The beginnings of this depraved tale are simple. A father looking for his son. However, the journey is anything but simple. The author injected Lovecraftian elements that really peaked my interest early on. He’s able to give you that visceral gut feeling that something just isn’t right the moment you step foot in Sinner’s Pass. This subtlety is my favorite kind of horror and really set a great tone for the rest of the book. As the story unfolded, there were so many unimaginable and sickening things happening with a chilling matter of fact tone that sent shivers up my spine. When the plot begins to thicken, I wish the author had stuck with that more subtle tone that I mentioned. Instead, the antagonists are brought to light and the action begins to ramp up. While the action is very well done and tense, I personally wish there was a little more restraint in that regard. To me, the bump in the night is almost always scarier than what actually caused it. My imagination itself is horrifying, I wish the author would have pulled the strings a little more before showing his hand. That being said, the author did a great job of creating monsters that were not just scary but also served as narratives beats that pushed unique plot details. I highly commend the author for crafting monsters that serve a purpose other than just to frighten. Sinner’s Pass itself is like any other small town you’ve been to. However, the devil’s in the details and the closer you look, a rising sense of dread stirs in the back of your mind. The venue that was created for it’s depraved inhabitants couldn’t have been better. The town of Sinner’s Pass was a highlight for me.
There are many character perspectives but it never felt disjointed. These very different sinners…ahem…characters, provide an interwoven narrative depicting both past and present that I thought worked extremely well. I fully realize how difficult it must have been to put all of this together in a cohesive manner. I’m thrilled to say it’s extremely well written. In the beginnings of the book, I did get a few characters confused mainly due to some individuals not getting quite the development time of others. But the characters backstories brought so much depth to the horror. The more I read, the more intrigued I became. The slow reveal of these backstories was done perfectly. It added a morbid depth to the proceedings that really set it apart from some other run-of-the-mill horror books. However, I feel like the book falls just short in fully incorporating the characters tragic backstories into the horror elements. You can tell the author has so many ideas and wanted to fit them all in but unfortunately some of them fall a little flat. Too many great ideas lead to none of them reaching their fullest potential. I also thought there were some pacing issues in the second half. I apologize, I’m being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers. That being said, in Sinner’s Pass, the difference between monster and human can be indistinguishable. This works so well and it’s a testament to the authors skill in creating characters whose motivations you understand but are equally terrified of.
S.S. Fitzgerald wear’s his influences on his sleeve. Movies like Alien and video games like Silent Hill and The Evil Within can all be felt here, whether the author intended or not. Fortunately, Sinner’s Pass uses the best parts of these franchises. Fan’s of these movies and games will give an approving nod. The book pushed the boundaries on my comfort level and I love it for that. I absolutely recommend Sinner’s Pass by S.S. Fitzgerald and will eagerly await whatever he comes up with next. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s this strange hooting outside…I’ll be right back…