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Oliver is a visionary young man. He and his three pals are preparing for their final summer together before entering the dreaded high school. There is not much else going on in their quaint little Oregon Coast town, for it is 1987, and nobody has even heard of the internet. They have heard of the Langdons, however, and everyone knows about that family’s abandoned mansion on the cliff that overlooks the sea, but it is mostly ignored, now that nearly all of the windows have been broken out. Seaham is just an average place where nothing terribly interesting ever happens.
Until now, of course: Oliver’s visions become more frequent and more intense. He occasionally loses consciousness and needs hospital care. One of his friends starts seeing strangers in town and hears them speaking oddly as well. In the course of his typical teenage summer wanderings, he notices a few other weird details that puzzle him. Unsurprisingly, all the adults (save one) roll their eyes at these anomalies and go about their business.
The adventure moves into high gear once it is clear that only these teenagers are aware of the sinister things that are slowly taking over their hometown. It is very good reading to watch them make a plan, fail, regroup, and try something else. These kids have guts, but they do not have all the answers, which makes for a very fun story overall.
Snippets of classical poetry pop up all over the place, none of which I was familiar with. In fact, I fully admit that I do not understand the title of this book at all, even after reading the whole thing. Eighteenth- and 19th-century literature was never really my thing, and for me personally, this book did not stimulate me to want to know more, which I presume was a purpose for utilizing it in the first place.
The pacing and character evolution were both performed extremely well, and there were just enough bits requiring some extra thought. It is satisfying to experience this type of tale where not everything is explained in detail. Even so, a few loose threads were left at the end that merited further commentary, but perhaps that was intentional. There is clearly room for some continued exploits in the future.
Rated: Moderate. Twenty-six instances of various deity-based swearing, and another dozen mild uses of low-level profanity. This is pretty standard from what I remember of the late 1980s. There is also some death and dismemberment, but nothing gory or described in detail.
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