The Printed Page

Now this is my kind of horror story. Drummer Boy reminded me a lot of one of my newer favorite horror authors – Bentley Little. All just a tad over the top yet you keep turning pages because you’re just so darn hooked. You have your supernatural elements, in this case civil war era soldiers, with just a touch of the spiritual, good & evil. And to break up the tension Mr. Nicholson adds in some twisted humor, teenage and adult style. It worked really well together and if this continues as his preferred horror story style then sign me up for his next publication. This is 3rd Scott Nicholson novel I’ve read and I’d like to thank Scott for taking a chance on my opinion. Initially he sent me The Skull Ring and The Red Church. I was 1 for 2 with those – liking The Skull Ring and not finishing The Red Church. He offered me the opportunity to read Drummer Boy and I jumped because of the civil war element – one of my favorite times in US history. I’m glad I took another chance because I really enjoyed Drummer Boy.

On a Blue Ridge Mountain peak, three boys hear the rattling of a snare drum deep inside a cave known as “The Jangling Hole,” and the wind carries a whispered name. An old man at the foot of the mountain believes something inside the Hole has been disturbed by a developer’s bulldozers. A local reporter is determined to solve the supernatural mysteries that have been shared for generations. Sheriff Frank Littlefield, haunted by past failures, must stand against a public enemy that has no fear of bullets, bars, or justice. On the eve of a Civil War re-enactment, the town of Titusville prepares for a staged battle, but the weekend warriors aren’t aware they will soon be fighting an elusive army. A troop of Civil War deserters, trapped in the Hole by a long-ago avalanche, is rising from a dark slumber, and the war is far from over. And one misfit kid is all that stands between a town and the cold mouth of hell…