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Black River Orchard
Black River Orchard: A Novel | Chuck Wendig
22 posts | 14 read | 10 to read
A small town is transformed by dark magic when seven strange trees begin bearing magical apples in this masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents. Its autumn in the town of Harrow, but something else is changing in the town besides the season. Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard, seven most unusual trees. And from those trees grows a new sort of apple: Strange, beautiful, with skin so red its nearly black. Take a bite of one of these apples and you will desire only to devour another. And another. You will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But then your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growingand become darker. This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples and whats the harm, if it is making them all happier, more confident, more powerful? And even if buried in the orchard is something else besides the seeds of this extraordinary tree: a bloody history whose roots reach back to the very origins of the town. But now the leaves are falling. The days grow darker. Its harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.
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review
Christine
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Finally finished a book after completing ZERO (😭) in October, mostly due to work and also consuming so much news. Still very busy at work, but I‘ll have more time for books since I‘ll be avoiding the news for the next few weeks/months/years…😭😭😭
Anyway, this was great! My first Chuck Wendig, had to try due to the apple theme. So many hours on audio, but I was engaged throughout. Got super invested in the characters! I‘ll read more from him.

Deblovestoread I‘m thinking a 4 year rip van winkle nap might do the trick. 😬 1mo
Christine @Deblovestoread LOL, yes. 🙃 1mo
38 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Avanders
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Thank you soo much for sending such a perfect (tho unnecessary 😉) #AllHallowsReadSwap pkg @AmyG !! I‘m sooo excited for these books, there was so much candy (& such variety!!), the coffee smells soo yummy & I love the socks, the amaze-bates motel notepad, & stickers! 😍😍 Oh & did I forget to mention the best. bookmark. ever? That clown bookmark is so perfect for me!! Thank you so much for your always generosity & sweetness & thoughtfulness!!♥️♥️

MaleficentBookDragon I am 😻😻😻 those socks and stickers! @AmyG 👻🧙🐈‍⬛ 2mo
AmyG My great pleasure!!! Let me know how that Wendig book is…I follow him on Threads but have never read any of his books. Happy Halloween!🎃 2mo
Avanders @AmyG ooh yes! I think I‘ve read a single book by him, yet he‘s become a must read anyway 🫢 I‘m so excited for this one - will definitely let you know! ♥️ 2mo
57 likes3 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
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Shout out to the Okanagan for providing an actual orchard as a background. Wrong season for actual apples, you get the grocery store variety and my countertop for ✨the vibes✨.
Let's start with the thing others might disagree on: I don't think it was too long! I don't think it had pacing issues. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? There were multiple characters, multiple POVs, you got their stories, (plus nifty/gothic interludes) how they intersected, you got a steady flow of events, the plot moved along and things escalated, as they do in a horror novel!
While there is a generous helping of body horror and creepiness, much of the horror took the form of examples of the worst case scenarios of real life:
6mo
Robotswithpersonality 3/? loved ones get abusive and people stay because they still love them, think they deserve the abuse or can fix the abuser, veteran lives with the trauma of combat, loved ones neglect each other for their own ambitions, unscrupulous business partners take advantage, racism abounds, people mistreated into intolerance take violent action in support of their learned prejudices, people being horrible on social media. 6mo
Robotswithpersonality 4/? That's all difficult to read, but wishing the bad moment was over is not the same as the book structurally having a pacing issue.
Much like Book of Accidents, what made this work was Wendig creating characters you become invested in. It makes for a better horror book when you truly want these people to survive dire circumstances, when you are invested in them making good decisions and getting out of bad. (I.e. not a slasher.)
6mo
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Robotswithpersonality 5/? I'm still ruminating on whether the reveal in the epilogue is something I needed or if I would have been more entertained if I was left wondering on the nature of a certain character.
I'm still ruminating on the delicate balance presented between choices around peace and violence in the face of evil deeds/evil in people. You want peace to always be the option, you don't want to wonder if violence was chosen because it felt good (vengeance).
6mo
Robotswithpersonality 6/? I think having such a central character have such an ambiguous journey, and seeing how they are initially presented - their own voice and how others see them and how that changes, reveals itself, leaves the reader with some interesting questions about self-image, how much external circumstances or influence really took hold, the choices we have in reacting and selecting an attitude, a life, 6mo
Robotswithpersonality 7/? how much bad action is a result of our own unvarnished inclinations.
I loved the Acknowledgements.
Wendig writes from a number of POVs which do not reflect his own identities; I didn't see anything that tweaked me as offensive or stereotypical, and while an Indigenous group is mentioned as historically linked to the story, I appreciated the respectful tone, no Pet Semetary 'source of badness' B.S. in evidence.
(edited) 6mo
Robotswithpersonality 8/8 I'll defer to own voices reviewers if they had issues with any of the representation featured.
⚠️ suicide, animal death, homophobia, self-harm, domestic abuse
(edited) 6mo
4 likes7 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
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You can't go wrong with a black and red horror cover. Hints of gold and gray, apparently acceptable. White text for contrast seems popular from this sample size. 😏

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Robotswithpersonality
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Have I mentioned I love Wendig's similes?

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Robotswithpersonality
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Apple tree grafting described in the style of Borg assimilation. It's giving solid spooky vibes.

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Robotswithpersonality
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I have questions, Chuck.

BarbaraJean 😂The thing is, I can absolutely imagine what that face would look like! 7mo
Robotswithpersonality @BarbaraJean I mean, extrapolating the facial expression has me in giggles, but I have to know, did the author test it? Did he get someone else to test it while he watched?! 🫣 7mo
BarbaraJean So. Many. Questions. 😂 7mo
6 likes3 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
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Gotta love a fun fact mixed in with an unsettling description. 🥀🍎

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itsjustme40something
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If anyone has read this let me know whqt you thought....I'm having such a hard time getting into and need to know if it's disappointing or the payoff is there.

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BookBoggart
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💜Rainy library days.☔

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SomedayAlmost
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Enjoying this audiobook. Single dad struggling to keep his family orchard afloat is the story-line that most engages me.

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ImperfectCJ
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This book has Stephen King vibes (the voice is similar...a little glib, a little self-consciously clever) and some creepy characters and scenes. It also has a few inconsistencies (and "exeunt" used in the singular when it's plural by construction), some annoying plot armor, and some unsettlingly codependent relationships, but I enjoyed it anyway. It helped me procrastinate all of the work I ought to be doing this week.

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 9mo
47 likes1 stack add1 comment
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ImperfectCJ
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I'm not able to devote quite as much time to the tagged as I'd like, but it's getting nice and creepy. No connection to this photo, really, except that I'm kind of obsessed with the lighting, which looks a little like it was painted by a Dutch master, which is maybe a little uncanny.

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ImperfectCJ
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Afternoon treat! 🍨 📚

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Reagan
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What am I reading? Sorry to all the people who have this on hold. I only have a hundred pages left so you have to wait.

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candc320
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I was a little surprised at how much I ended up enjoying this one! It‘s vicious and violent and so engrossing. I will say it was a little hard to keep track of all the characters but I just went with it and tried to keep track. The story reminded me of Stephen King or Justin Cronin which is great because I enjoy both of them. I can‘t wait to read more by the author! 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

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DavidDiamond
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Who would have thought a 640 page book about evil apples would be this entertaining? Well, it was!
At first I thought this seemed a tad corny, but then Wendig quickly pulls you into the lives of various characters in this small rural town. It‘s gruesome and gory at times, but never dull.
Coincidentally, while reading I got a shipment of Harry & David apples.
I never eat apples.
Yet I was compelled to do so.
They were delicious.
I need MORE!!!!

Aimeesue How‘d you like them apples??? Sorry, I‘m from Massachusetts. It‘s a thing there. Seemed appropriate. 😂 (edited) 13mo
BarbaraBB The apple looks delicious, the book sounds weird but intriguing 🍎 13mo
DavidDiamond @Aimeesue Loved them! In fact, went to local Farmer's Market this AM and bought some! 13mo
DavidDiamond @BarbaraBB It was so good...and I'm not an apple fan. Well, I am now!
And the book is weird, but a good weird. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
13mo
38 likes4 comments
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Addison_Reads
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#NetGalley #Scarathlon #SpookyGhostClub @Clwojick

Who knew a horror book centered around an apple could be so good! I loved this one.

Dan wants to fulfill his father's dream of having an orchard. The apple growing in his orchard, though, is a variety that's been unseen for years and has sinister side effects when eaten.

This book really surprised me with the depth of the characters, the social commentary, and the creepy vibes throughout.

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JacqMac
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Magical apples. What harm could there be? I enjoyed a nice juicy apple while I finished it. Because I‘m weird like that. If you like Stephen King you will like Chuck Wendig. Their imaginations work in very similar ways. This might be his best novel so far.

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BookMaven9
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🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃a perfect fall read for the spooky season. Who knew apples could be so sinister. Move over Stephen King s new boys in town.

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BookwormAHN
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This was a fantastic tale about a small town and its evil apple orchard. The ruby slipper apples are literally possessing the citizens. Chuck Wendig is quickly becoming an autobuy author for me. His storytelling is fantastic 🍎
#BlackCatCrew #Scarathlon
#Rushathon @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES #31by31 @Catsandbooks #LittenListen @aperfectmjk #Falling4Books @Read4life #Spookoween @TheSpineView #ScarathlonAToZ #W @Texreader

Catsandbooks 🙌🏼❤️🦇 1y
Read4life 🍁👻🎃 1y
TheSpineView Awesome! 1y
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DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 1y
Branwen Quick question for you, friend! I'm wanting to read this but just wanted to check and see if there are any incidents of graphic animal death/torture on page? Particularly with dogs or cats? 💕📚 14mo
BookwormAHN @Branwen There are some rather nasty animal killings from the leaders of the town/small cult and an exhousecat that likes killing his dinner. I don't remember any specific dog or cat murders though. 14mo
Branwen @BookwormAHN Awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know! 🥰 14mo
50 likes7 comments
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EadieB
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#OutstandingOctober #SeriesLove2023 #BookSpinBingo

A small town is transformed by dark magic when a strange tree begins bearing magical apples in this new masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents. Black River Orchard is written by Chuck Wendig. It is told with short chapters but is way too long a story for me.

EadieB It is told with short chapters but is way too long a story for me. The first part of the book was interesting but the 2nd part was a little slow and the third part finally picked up for me. I noticed that the author was from Bucks County PA and that's where I live so I stuck to reading the story as I was interested in the different names he used for places in Bucks County. 1y
EadieB Such as; Plumridge for (Pennridge), Quaker Bridge for (Quakertown), Ramble Rocks for (Ringing Rocks), Harrowsblack for (Harrows), Heacock Salvage Yard for (Haycock Salvage Yard) etc. I especially liked the shout-out to Owowcow Creamery, an excellent ice cream store in Ottsville, PA. There were several POV's from the owner of the orchard, Dan Paxson, Dan's daughter Calla, Joanie, Emily and John. 1y
EadieB It is a horror/fantasy book and I would have loved it more if it was my genre. But it was a fun read for me with all the Bucks County places being mentioned! 1y
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TheSpineView Well done! 1y
Andrew65 Excellent review. 1y
EadieB @Andrew65 Thanks! @TheSpineView (edited) 1y
TheAromaofBooks I just read a book set in Ohio and had a similar experience of enjoying name-matching haha 1y
EadieB @TheAromaofBooks oh that‘s funny! 1y
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