The Altar: A Novel of Horror (Audiobook) by James Arthur Anderson

The Altar presents an interesting premise. The story begins with the disturbance of a long ago banished demon. When a family moves into the neighborhood, their backyard connecting to the forest, the dwelling place of the demon, they become sucked into the awakening process of the demon. Together, with the help of members of the community, they must put it back from where it came, or die trying. Anderson has put together a nice roller-coaster ride of demonic thrills.

I listened to the audio version of this story. If I had read it, my review may have turned out a little differently. I find that words on a page feel different for me than listening to a book.

I gave The Altar a '3 Star rating' due to some writing issues. Some of the dialogue was too long, too wordy, and interrupted the flow of the story. The author did a much better job when he was within the characters’ internal dialogue sections. Also, the back story of the legend of the demon was repeated over and over again, throughout the story. It was as if the author thought we needed a refresher course to keep up. I found it somewhat irritating since it pulled me out of the story.

Overall, this was a good story. I enjoyed most of the time spent listening to it. I’d recommend it to a friend, with a little caution on the writing.