Vines, The (Book)
Debi Moore
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Written by Christopher Rice
Published by 47North
It isn’t often that I have the time to do book reviews these days, but when Christopher Rice’s The Vines showed up in my mailbox just days before I was leaving on a cross-country trip, it seemed serendipitous, and I excitedly packed the thin volume in my suitcase, planning to check it out on the return leg of my journey. I cracked it open just moments into my four-hour flight home, and now, less than three hours later, here I am writing this review, feeling happy to have spent time with such interesting characters and situations, yet slightly sad that our time together had come to such a swift conclusion.
The book’s synopsis, which mentions “dark forces” residing in the ground beneath a former Southern plantation located just outside New Orleans, didn’t quite prepare me for the wild ride I was about to take. The Vines begins the night of a birthday party for Caitlin Chaisson, wealthy owner of the aforementioned estate, known as Spring House, during which she spies her husband, Troy, cheating on her with a pretty blonde. All her life Caitlin has felt unattractive and inadequate so needless to say, this discovery leaves her in quite a state; and she retreats to the gazebo located on the grounds, where she cuts her arms and wrists, ready to end it all. But those forces – the “vines” of the title – have other plans and absorb her blood. They spring to life, consuming Troy, traumatizing his paramour, and leaving Caitlin questioning reality. They also heal her wounds and leave her feeling empowered so maybe they’re not all bad?
Meanwhile, Nova, the Spring House groundskeeper’s daughter, sees just enough of what transpired to begin her own investigation, teaming up with Caitlin’s childhood friend, Blake, to try to put the pieces together. Currently Blake and Caitlin are estranged because he tried to warn her about Troy’s two-timing ways, and she wouldn’t hear of it. When he tries to overcome their differences and learn more about the vines and their magic, she shuts him out, leaving him no alternative but to work with Nova and, later, her father, Willie Thomas, to save himself and Spring House.
A lot of bat-shit crazy stuff happens that would probably sound ridiculous if I were to attempt to summarize it so suffice to say that although The Vines is lean (just 214 pages), it’s also quite mean, and horror fans should eat it up! Oh, and did I mention that there’s also some very nasty business involving massive swarms of bugs that do the vines’ bidding? That ought to get your attention if you’re the squeamish type.
As you’d expect for a story set on and around a plantation, slavery and racism play a big part in the history and subsequent actions of the vines, and there’s also a subplot regarding a hate crime that took place several years prior involving Blake and his young gay lover during their high school years. To Rice’s credit, neither of these hot button issues feels heavy-handed or preachy in any way as things organically unfold and the vindictive vines begin wreaking havoc on those unlucky enough to find themselves in their path.
Most of the action revolves around Nova and Blake, and things move quickly with the entire tale taking place over just a few days. Rice’s style is brisk and spare with no fluff or filler; every word belongs and advances the story. The violence the vines and their insect minions leave in their path is brutal and vivid, and the characters are richly drawn, proving that just a few well chosen words can convey volumes. As for that hasty ending I mentioned above, while it does leave a few questions open for a possible sequel, it is so completely satisfying that if one never comes, I won’t be mad at anyone.
The Vines is the first of Christopher Rice’s books that I’ve read, but it certainly won’t be the last. He may have only just begun to dip his toes into the supernatural waters his mother, Anne Rice, has mined so richly over the years, but here’s hoping he continues on that path with his entire foot, leg, etc.
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Book
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