The Memory of Trees

September 2, 2013
A massive reforestation project invites malignant supernatural visitations in this enjoyable but unsatisfying tale. Arboreal specialist Tom Curtis, desperate for money, agrees to help dying businessman Saul Abercrombie replant his Welsh estate with the types of trees that thrived there in the Dark Ages. Despite unsettling encounters with a vindictive thorn bush, a laughing cairn, and his doppelganger in a church window, Curtis finds rewards in the friendship of Aber-crombie’s daughter, and in his hefty pay. Through selective disclosure of information and quick scene changes, Cottam (The Colony) slowly uncovers hidden connections. As Abercrombie’s true motivation emerges and workers disappear, pagan professor Andrew Carrington arrives from London, hoping to prevent the return of an ancient demonic presence. Cottam infuses his story with a convincing sense of eeriness and a well-handled shift from normality to dread, but his aggressively telegraphed (“What could possibly go wrong?”) and increasingly far-fetched supernatural manifestations degrade the otherworldly to the ludicrous. Readers unshaken by the implausible will enjoy Cottam’s imaginative exploration of the power of discredited myths.

October 1, 2013
When a scientist starts reforesting a sacred landscape, spirits take notice and seek justice. After a surprising affair with a student leads to the dissolution of his partnership and a custody battle that's almost certain to wind up in court, Tom Curtis is desperate for any job that will help him earn enough to get access to his daughter, Charlotte. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of money in jobs for an arboreal expert. Enter eccentric billionaire Saul Abercrombie, who beckons Tom to his Welsh estate by an appeal through his houseman, Samuel Freemantle. An ill-reformed hippie down to his rote pleas for peace and love, Saul is willing to pay big bucks to have the area around his house reforested. The deal seems a great fit for Tom, whom Saul immediately dubs Tree Man, although Saul's timeline for the completion of the project is as crazy as his complex estate. It's only after recruiting fellow scientists to work on the land that Tom suspects a more nefarious scheme, for the forest seems to be propagating of its own accord at an alarming rate. The one person who isn't surprised by the exponential growth is Saul, whose goal is apparently to recruit forest-friendly supernaturals to empower him in his battle with cancer. Just like many other eccentric billionaires, Saul hasn't considered who might get hurt in the process, and when he does, it may already be too late. Cottam (The House of Lost Souls, 2009, etc.) reads like Graham Masterton, with more of an interest in his characters and their relationships but with the same eye toward the supernatural and the same fondness for bringing down the final curtain abruptly.

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October 15, 2013

Forestry expert Tom Curtis accepts a commission by billionaire Saul Abercrombie to plant a forest across his vast holdings on the Welsh coast. Not willing to wait for saplings to grow, Saul wants adult trees planted in numbers and to a timetable that test Tom's knowledge and skill. The billionaire hopes, by restoring the old forest, to recall the folk spirits that once dwelled on the land. What emerges, however, is darker and more sinister than anyone could imagine. Tom becomes the key to determining the fate of the land as he must choose a side in an ancient battle. Supernatural suspense author Cottam's latest tale makes good use of the connections between the land and the creatures allied to it as well as Welsh folklore in this moody novel. VERDICT The author of Dark Echoes and The House of Lost Souls has a knack for knowing what creates an atmosphere of eerie, otherworldly suspense.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2013
Saul Abercrombie, a troubled billionaire (his wife killed herself, he's recovering from cocaine addiction, and, oh yes, he's dying of cancer), owns some land on the coast of Wales. Wanting to replant an ancient forest that used to grow on the land, he hires Tom Curtis, an arboreal specialist, to oversee the massive project. Abercrombie is hoping that bringing the forest back to life will also bring back to life certain ancient spirits, enabling him to achieve some sort of peace before he dies, but he hasn't counted on the emergence of an altogether darker, more malevolent force. Now poor Tom is caught in the middle of a war between good and evil, light and dark. This is the sort of story that horror master Graham Masterton might have tackled; Cottam isn't quite the storyteller that Masterton is, but he delivers the requisite atmosphere and chills. A solid horror tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)