I was initially drawn to Ringrock by Stephen A Barnard due to him referencing ‘rituals and religion’ in one the prerelease blurbs. Well, I’m a sucker for rituals and religion, especially when they’re a bit off-kilter, so I was interested to see where it went. The Ringrock journey did not turn out to be what I expected.
Reading the Prologue, I was a bit surprised at the direction it took, given I anticipated something very different. However, it transpired to be essential foreshadowing and necessary to the plot, and also represented the first time of many where things weren’t as I expected.
As I read further, I loved the revelation of the many layers of strangeness which interweave this tale. At times, it has a very folksy-type vibe, reminiscent of something carrying Mennonite or Amish influences, but with a hidden undercurrent of weirdness (and I mean fatally weird, not just oddly different). However, there are also many hints, some subtle, some not so, which indicate all is not well (nor as appears on the surface) in the parish of Ringrock!
There are unexpected twists and turns aplenty, and the beauty of these is Stephen Barnard doesn’t lie or deceive the reader. All the misdirection, and there is a good dose of it, is on the part of the reader! The narrative gives us the facts, and we contort them so as not to see the reality. When the revelations arrive, you only have yourself to blame for not seeing them in advance.
As Ringrock progresses, it gets darker, and more delicious too! There is evil and malevolence, hope and love, and a never-ending tinge of threat and manipulation. Then, just as you’re thinking you know which direction it’s headed in, it becomes twisted and depraved without ever sliding into a camp circus of chaos.
Well, not yet…
When it does kick off, it’s as if Barnard has found a hand grenade charged with utter fucking carnage, pulled the pin, and tossed it into his cauldron of deception, and it all goes fantastically ballistic!
Ringrock is a wild ride, an entertaining tale with many twists and turns, and significantly, it’s addictive. I’d finish a chapter, try to go to sleep, and after ten minutes would find myself picking up my Kindle and thinking, ‘Just one more.’
Buy it; you won’t regret the read!