Blackwater: The Complete Saga

tags: fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, Southern Gothic, supernatural

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From GoodReads

Michael McDowell was proclaimed “the finest writer of paperback originals in America” by Stephen King, and “one of the best writers of horror in this country” by Peter Straub.

Now, McDowell’s masterpiece—the serial novel, Blackwater—returns to thrill and terrify a new generation of readers, with all six volumes available for the first time as a single e-book.

Featuring an insightful new introduction by John Langan, Blackwater traces more than fifty years in the lives of the powerful Caskey family of Perdido, Alabama, under the influence of the mysterious and beautiful—but not quite human—Elinor Dammert.

The Flood heralds the arrival of a visitor who will change the Caskey family—and the town—forever…

When the town builds The Levee, it proves a vain attempt to control a horrific power that can never be contained…

The House hides terrible secrets that whisper in closed rooms and scrabble at locked doors…

The War reveals family secrets more deadly and devastating than anything Perdido has ever dreamed in its deepest nightmares…

The Fortune brings happiness and power—but even greater terror… And finally, the mysterious saga of the Caskey family ends the only way it can—in terrible judgment and fury delivered under the cover of a relentless, earth-shattering Rain.

The book was originally published as a series of six volumes in 1983 and issued recently as one book. Wow! I didn't notice it has more than 800 pages. I couldn't put the book down, kept on reading from the first word to the last. It is a family saga a la Dallas, set in early 1900 but is more Southern Gothic than ordinary soap opera. It is equally sweet and creepy and I like the author's wit and sense of humor. 

A river monster crawls out of the river, takes the form of a human, and marries the eldest son of the wealthiest family, disregarding the matriarch opposing the union. They have 2 daughters, one a full human and one half river monster.

The book is hard to categorize and some readers put it under the horror genre. It is a little bit specially when some characters unexpectedly are torn limb by limb like a ragdoll while still alive, one character's head torn and impaled with lumber from a moving truck. Yikes! There are also a few vengeful ghosts living in a closet, mother-in-law from hell who has unreasonable behavior towards everyone including her children and grandchildren. Very Southern gothic. And the children, oh my, the children.