Perhaps the newest book I have read in a while (released October of 2022), It Rides A Pale Horse was neither recommended nor not recommended by several friends of mine. So, craving a good non-King horror story, I picked up a copy and checked it out for myself.

Right away, the writer's tone is very approachable and engaging. Wofford Falls feels like an authentic small town and conversations with side characters, no matter how minor, feel genuine and unforced. A fair warning - dialogue is not a strong point of this book. Speech itself may feel awkward and jumbled, but luckily the interactions between characters never does.

The horror elements lean very heavily towards bodily horror, and at its best can almost be comparable to the likes of Clive Barker. Descriptions are gross and haunting and can be genuinely uncomfortable at times (check your trigger warnings!). However, while a strength, the horror elements are detrimental to the main story, as the narrative often times becomes distracted or rushed in favor of focusing on moments of terror.

Throughout the book, there are multiple "museum interludes" that are..... unnecessary. Tonally, these aggressively clash with the rest of the book, catastrophically slow the pace, and typically resulted in a natural stopping point for me. While I can appreciate what the author was attempting to convey here, these parts could almost be left out in their entirety and detract little from the story.

Unfortunately, the last 90 pages prevent this book from being great. After doing a fantastic job of establishing pace, the story is rushed at breakneck speed and then just......ends. Perhaps the disgust at an unfinished ending is a part of the horror encapsulated within these two covers.

After finishing this book, I agree; I neither recommend nor not recommend it. I enjoyed reading it, but its flaws are glaring.