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    The Totem
    The Totem
    The Totem
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Totem

    Written by David Morrell

    Narrated by Danny Campbell

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    When police chief Nathan Slaughter settles in the tiny mountain community of Potter’s Field, Wyoming, his most fervent prayer is that he has left behind him forever the nightmare he barely survived on a blizzardy night in Detroit. But nothing prepares him for the greater sanity-threatening nightmare he is about to confront. Beginning with the discovery of mutilated cattle on outlying ranches, Slaughter is drawn deeper and deeper into a vortex of terror as animals become savage and children go insane, trapping the entire town in a frenzy of violence. As Slaughter races against time to expose the horrifying secret behind the increasingly savage attacks, he also struggles to overcome his deepest fears.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJun 11, 2013
    ISBN9781469287720
    The Totem
    Author

    David Morrell

    David Morrell is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-eight books, including his award-winning Creepers. Co-founder of the International Thrillers Writers Organization, he is considered by many to be the father of the modern action novel. To learn more, go to www.davidmorrell.net.

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    Reviews for The Totem

    3.5/5

    78 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      There is a really mean nasty little horror story to be found with in this novel and it has some of the makings to be a classic. Unfortunately it takes too long to get to the bloody heart of the story and sadly just when it starts to get really good there’s a mash-cut to the epilogue. That said I would still recommend this book, especially to those who really enjoy the “inbred cannibal in the woods genre”. ???‍♂️
    • 3/5
      This was really long, and I still have a list of questions that need answering.
    • 5/5
      Just finished a reread of this one, and it's still a great horror novel - one of the all time greats for me. It has pace, verve, genuine thrills and scares and maintains a humanity in the characters all the way through to the climax. It's a wonderful thing and I love it.
    • 1/5
      The small Wyoming town of Potters Field is in the middle of cattle and horse country. When animals begin to get mutilated wild dogs, wolves, coyotes or even a cougar are the usual suspects, except the livestock is not being eaten, just eviscerated. Enter (appropriately named) Nathan Slaughter, transplanted Detroit cop looking for a quieter life, unsuccessful horse breeder and current sheriff. That quiet life is about to blown out of the water. Slaughter is eventually joined by a washed up, alcoholic reporter hoping for a big story to get his life and career back on track, a medical examiner with daddy issues and the local Mayor who refuses to give up his power no matter what the cost. As they muddle through the clues as to what might be happening up on the ridge strange events begin to happen in town as well.

      I picked up this (audio) book for several reasons; I am a David Morrell fan, the book was listed in one of the volumes of Best 100 Horror Books, I was looking for a good scary story to read and by Mr. Morrell’s own admission he was not satisfied with the first publication of the book in 1979 so went back to the original manuscript and republished the book “the way it was supposed to be published” without the extensive editing and the publisher’s mandate that it include a “love interest”. I have not read the original publication but, honestly, cannot imagine that it could have been any worse than this edition. Believe me, it was difficult to write that sentence because I am such a fan of Mr. Morrell. When the story started I was anticipating a good horror story with, possibly, some elements of Native American folklore woven in – there was a tease of that, but it was never really expanded. Maybe it should have been? Then is took a sharp right turn into becoming a medical thriller. The story stayed on that course for the rest of the book, but it was a curvy road at best, drawing in elements that made me think there were going to be supernatural transformations (nope), or ghosts (nope), or at the very least maybe a mythical beast hanging out in the wilds of Wyoming (nope). Well, then there was this cult that set up a commune in the 1970’s that all disappeared … no that theme was never really tied up with any kind of satisfaction.

      Wow, this was one confused book. The only story line that caused me a slight shiver and goose bumps was the little boy sneaking out of bed at night in search of a raccoon he saw. His fear of how his parents would react when they discovered he snuck out created a more tangible sense of foreboding than did any of the other so called horrors in the book. I loved being privy to his thought processes as he was scheming and worrying about how to keep himself out of trouble. Unfortunately, that whole episode went off the rails too quickly and then totally got lost in the muddled confusion of the rest of the book. I plodded along hoping eventually it would all come together in a huge AHA! moment at the end. Sadly, it didn’t. When the muttering blob came crawling down Main Street I threw my hands in the air (figuratively since I usually listen to audio books in the car) and just kept listening to see how on earth this was all going to end. In case you are curious – not well.

      If you are looking for good vintage David Morrell pick up Creepers (scary), First Blood (action) or even The Spy Who Came For Christmas (humorous espionage) … don’t start (or maybe even bother) with The Totem.
    • 4/5
      I was very impressed with The Totem, David Morrell's take on the werewolf myth. Down at the heel reporter Gordon Dunlap is sent to the small Wyoming town of Potter's Field where, in 1970, a wealthy eccentric decided to open a commune up in the hills above the town. The hippies and the townsfolk were like oil and water. There was a shooting and the hippies slowly drifted away. Dunlap is sent to do a retrospective.He gets more than he's bargained for. In an attempt to protect the town's good name, the mayor teams him with Police Chief Slaughter. While investigating the remains of the commune, the reporter is drawn into the middle of a sinister investigation of a string of animal mutilations that become murders. It seems the extremely cold winter has brought something down from the hills. Something that spreads and becomes more brutal as the moon becomes full...The characters were the real strength of this novel. Morrell presents us with a group of men (all the lead characters are male) who are severely flawed and in need of redemption of one sort or another. Dunlap, Slaughter (and I appreciate that David Morrell took the time to deal with what could be such a goofy name) and the medical examiner are believable characters with depth. Morrell makes you care about the characters, and not just on whether they will survive the events of the story. His description isn't as sharp as it was in his later book, Creepers. However, I have to give him major points for setting his werewolf tale in Wyoming. Setting his spooky tale there gave it a unique spin. As I read through the descriptions of the little town of Potter's Field and the ranches surrounding it, I just kept picturing the beautiful scenery from Brokeback Mountain. Blending that countryside with the eerie tale being told paid off much better than expected and gave it a unique flavor.It wasn't the slick, fast paced thriller I was expecting (from my previous Morrell thriller, Creepers). It wasn't a slow book, but it was brooding and character driven and I liked that quite a bit.
    • 5/5
      I'm very hard to scare, but the passage where the first "thing" (don't want to give it away) wanders into town sent chills running down my spine and I had to turn on some lights in my house.