Isaac Byler is a lifelong member of the Templeton, Pennsylvania Amish. After a violent clash with another man in the district he is given a single evening to pack his belongings and leave. But a great evil is brewing and excommunication quickly becomes the least of Isaac’s worries.
The Bloody Ballad of Isaac Byler is a short story by J.V. Roberts, the author that brought you the chart topping post-apocalyptic novel, The Rabid.
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Isaac Byler is a lifelong member of the Templeton, Pennsylvania Amish. After a violent clash with another man in the district he is given a single evening to pack his belongings and leave. But a great evil is brewing and excommunication quickly becomes the least of Isaac’s worries. The Bloody Ballad of Isaac Byler is […]
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Reviewer: Angel for Bookangel.
Isaac Byler is a broken man and has been since the death of his wife to cancer. Living in an Amish community with his daughter Kyla, he is visited at night by his friend Eli who has bad news. Isaac has to leave the community the following day after he assaulted another person in front of the community. Despairing of what he will do next, Isaac hears his daughter scream from upstairs in the family home. Racing up with an axe, he finds a monster attacking her, which he quickly dispatches. Knowing now that he cannot stay, he packs up with his daughter and leaves in their horse-drawn buggy only to be attacked by two further monsters on the road. Making their escape and travelling to a nearby town, Isaac finds Sheriff Benny in the local diner. Hearing the story, Benny decides that he and Isaac will need to return to the scene to find out what really happened and what those monsters were.
This is a short, compelling, horror story that doesn't let up from start to finish. Opening with the despairing situation that Isaac finds himself in, it then follows the quick and deadly descent into the attack on his family. The writing makes it easy to relate to Isaac's situation, the strain he is under and the unfortunate situation he has found himself in. This is starkly contrasted with the life of Sheriff Benny, who still has a loving wife, a job he enjoys doing and how he feels about the world. Whether it is fair of not is another matter, but then who said life was ever fair. The twist when it does come may be a little obvious, but it is well played out and fits neatly into the narrative of the situation. Is this kind of novel something that has been seen before, yes, but the writer puts their own excellent spin on it and plays out the tale to it's conclusion.
The book is well-laid out and the chapters neatly divide the two protagonists of the story. I didn't see any spelling or grammar errors while I was reading, but if there are any, the story was adept enough at keeping my interest for me not to notice. There are a few formatting errors through the book, but nothing egregious.
Overall, this is a short, but very well written horror story that can make you think about the demons around us and fans of the genre fans should certainly consider getting this book.
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