Book Review - The Retreat

The Retreat
Jordan M. Bobe
281 Pages
Publish America

I was lucky enough to get a copy of The Retreat from its author Jordan M. Bobe. I say lucky because, it is quite a read. I have to admit when I read the synopsis and found out the book was about werewolves I was a little skeptical. How many good werewolf books have there been? I'm sure there are some, I just haven't read them. It just seems to me there werewolf stories are better fit for film or television, where we can see the transformations. There is a reason the transformation in "An American Werewolf in London" is one of the most memorable scenes in film history.

In the case of The Retreat, I am proud to say that I'm wrong.

Let's get the basics out of the way. The Retreat is about a group of people in a remote lodge located deep in the Rocky Mountains who find themselves being hunted by a vicious beast. We have a cookie doctor, a creepy medicine man, some guests who don't want to be there, and some interestingly enigmatic resort employees.

Our main character is Nate, a zoologist hired by the retreat owner to research the history of the mountain. We learn early on that Nate is not what he seems and has a past shrouded in darkness.

The region is rife with old Indian legends of Skinwalkers, or people who could transform into various animals. These legends play an important part to the story and Bobe handles them well. Never burying us in the history of the Ute people, he deftly navigates the ancient prophecies and legends and uses them to bring us an exciting and surprising story.

The Retreat is a twist filled horror tale with genuine scares and some excellent wolf transformations. I can totally see this as a movie (Brad Pitt as Nate anyone?).

There is the occasional clunky dialogue, but for the most part his characters ring true. His action is crisp and his plot solid. I have to say it is a great fast read. The majority of his chapters are just a few pages long and if you are able to put it down, you'll have plenty of ready made pause points.

There is plenty of gut churning kills in this for those of you into that. The death scenes are plenty and if a werewolf were real, this is probably exactly how it'd kill someone.

Bobe does a great job of building the tension in the book you never really know who the wolf is until the end. The remote location and the impending major snow storm ratchet up the stress factor.

Overall, the book is a lightning fast read with some great genuine thrills and chills. It's quite possibly one of the best werewolf books of the last few years and Hollywood should snatch it up ASAP.

The Retreat is available now.

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