BOOK REVIEW: Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell

You might want to sleep with the lights on after reading this one.

This book was recommended to me when I went searching for a book that would scare me. I’m always complaining that I just can’t get the scare from a book like I can from a really good scary movie. And, as it is October and spooky season, I decided that I would give this little gem an opportunity to do its best at scaring me.

I literally went into it without even knowing the premise of the book. After about 5 chapters, I did go and read the little blurb, but by then I already had a basic idea of the story. So, before we even get started, I’ll just get right to the point. Did it scare me?

Merriam-Webster defines scare as “to frighten especially suddenly.” Based on this, no, the book did not scare me. The Oxford dictionary defines it as “cause great fear or nervousness in.” Based on this second definition, I’m more likely to say yes, it scared me. I personally like to use the phrase “Creeped Out”. That’s a little more fitting for how the scariness of the story is portrayed.

There is something creepy about paranormal type entities invading your sleep when you are completely vulnerable and unable to do anything to defend yourself. It’s the reason I think Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the scariest movies ever.

In this story, we have the newly engaged Faye and Felix (yes, the main character and author share a name). To celebrate, Faye’s parents set them up for a little vacay in the wintery blizzardy season to a little cabin on a mountain that has been in the family since Faye was a child. Well, the setting is perfect for a horror story.

“Talking in her sleep, Faye invited dark attention to herself. I suppose that if you speak long enough into the void, someone is bound to start listening.”

I really disliked her parents. As the story progresses, you just can’t help but dislike them more and more and more. As a parent myself, I question SO MANY of their decisions. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but my gracious!

Ok, so basically Faye has a tendency to sleepwalk and talk in her sleep. While staying in the cabin, crazy Sh*#@$ starts happening. They hear noises of crying children, of people from their own lives who have died. Like really? No thank you. Then they begin to see shadowy figures. The kicker, what really freaked me out, was Faye telling Felix in her sleep, eyes closed but facing him to “Tell the man in the hall…he needs to leave.” WHAT THE WHAT!?!?! 

I’d be out of there before she’d even have a chance to wake up! Then throw in the creepy, weird dreamcatchers and this is a whole lot of we’re leaving and never coming back to this possessed cabin. The issue is the things that go bump in the night follow them home. This was an aspect of the story I really enjoyed. This entity which mimics the voices of those you know, is so enthralled with Faye, that it can’t let her go until it gets the answers it wants with the hope that he can then fully “have her.”

The impact of Faye’s nightly visits are felt in both her and Felix, and this “Imposter”, as it is referred to, begins to seek out Felix as a way to find answers it can’t get from Faye. Again, creepy. I wouldn’t say overly “scary” but definitely a little unsettling. Felix loves Faye, and that theme is clear throughout. He risks his own life several times in order to figure out how to save hers. The selfless sacrifice he is willing to make and the lengths he goes to for her adds to the intensity of everything.

“He beckoned her in every voice she knew, calling out her name in all his stolen tongues.”

Tiwe and Nathan are my favorite characters. They belong to the native tribe that inhabits the mountain area and hold tales and legends about the “Imposter” or “Hollow One.” They don’t have all the answers and become very close and loyal friends to Felix as they work together to try to find the answers and save Faye. During all this, the night visits become intense and they are not just in her head. They are tangible entities. Knocking on the doors and saying “hello?” in stolen voices. Felix frequently sees the shadowy figure and, cue stupid people in horror movies, at times chases it in the middle of the night.

The ending is for the most part is ok and provides the closure and most of the answers that you want, but I feel that it was lacking in some areas. The ending with the Imposter was a little too easy for my liking. But, I do like how the secrets revealed allowed the family to heal together. But, here’s a great lesson to take away from this one:

Ignorance and simply ignoring problems DO NOT fix them, change them, or make them disappear. All it does is make everything worse when those problems and situations are brought to light. 

Deal with things. Pain is much easier to sweep under the carpet instead of dealing with it, but it doesn’t go away. That really is a huge piece of this book. Our brains are incredible organs and function in ways to protect the rest of the body, but it really can only do so much for so long.

Where does this land on my bookshelf?

I debated this one, but because it successfully creeped me out and I really did want to see what was going to happen and how far everything was going to go, I’ll put it on my top shelf. There were a few points in the book where it got a little slow, but it wasn’t a huge deal because you knew more was coming. I spent most of the second half of the book trying to work out how exactly everything was going to be resolved. If you are looking for a good creepy book, definitely add this one to your list. It has been one of the best that I have read in a while. My final thoughts and observations revolve around Carrot the Parrot. This my friends is why I will NEVER have a parrot. If I did, and it said things like Carrot, I would probably have a heart attack. If you read the book, then you know EXACTLY what I mean.

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