I read somewhere that Testament was a really great thriller and found a nice copy of the 1975 Fawcett paperback edition at my go-to shop, The Book Nook.
The reviews from the cover, like this one, are correct:
"WARNING: Do not read this book alone -- or at night -- or with the doors unlocked." - Worcester Sunday Telegram.
It's a grim and relentless experience, a modern Western that builds to a brutal conclusion and a wrap-up that's heart-wrenching but appropriate.
Testament is the story of journalist Reuben Bourne, and we meet him as the first line foretells on "...the last morning the four of them would ever be together: the man and his wife, his daughter and his son."
The family cat's killed by poison, and Reuben quickly learns he's the target of a fanatic named Kess, a businessman heading a chemical and electronics company called Chemelec. (Speaking of milk, if you've never encountered Morrell's chilling short story "Dripping" seek it out in one of his collections or in Best American Noir of the Century.)
Kess is also the head of a militia-style organization, The Guardians of the Republic, a group with ties to many other similar shadowy groups whose numbers, when combined, he says rival that of the U.S. Marine Corps.
The group grew out of a hunting trip in which Kess and friends were accidentally fired on by another hunter. Surrounding the man, they taunted him and fired near misses for a day before relenting.
That's a chilling template for what's in store for Reuben and family.
In articles about militia groups following an interview granted by Kess, Reuben failed to deliver the expected puff piece, so Kess wants revenge.
After another family tragedy, Reuben realizes the authorities can't really help and plots an escape route across brutal Midwestern terrain and forest land. It's all before the internet we know now and long before things like Google Earth, so Reuben's reliant on maps and topographical charts.
That sets up one of the novel's coolest set pieces as he and his family discovered an undocumented ghost town with intact buildings and a surviving resident who offers a bit of aid and comfort.
Kess' men are never far behind, however, and Reuben's soon faced with more violence and a moral dilemma that builds to that conclusion I mentioned before.
It's a perfect thriller, a mature and sober excursion that's still an exciting read and still relevant.
Impulse buy here.
No comments:
Post a Comment