Review: The Burial Tide

Book information

Title: The Burial Tide

Author: Neil Sharpson

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mythology

I started reading The Burial Tide expecting a standard horror story mixed with some suspenseful aspects, but this book surprised me. The mythological aspect of this book is not only unique from other horror books who usually don't include mythology but it's also creative as it displays Irish mythology and not Greek or Norse, which is more common to see in a book. But that's not everything that made this book stand out from other horror books and I will discuss this below.

The protagonist of this story wakes up in a coffin, she was buried alive and has no memory of what happened before this. With her new amnesia she unravels the dark truth of Inishbannock, the island she is living in. Not only does Mara start to feel suspicious and unsafe around her neighbours as she comes closer to the truth, Declan Burke, a new villager is sharing her concerns. As she starts to remember more of what happened, the more will the village do to stop her of finding out the whole truth.

After just reading the first chapter I was already obsessed with the writing style. Nothing gets said immediately to the reader, it gets described, before revealing what it actually is. The vocabulary is also rich and the sometimes short sentences carried so much meaning. What many don't get is that one doesn't always have to make long, aesthetically pleasing sentences — a short quick sentence can be enough too and for a horror read it is perfect. An often used tool by the author is Anapher, emphasing something and making the reader remember it, thereof making it important. I don't see that writing tool used often enough and it's one of my favourites, in fact, I also use it when trying to write something more meaningful.

Language-wise I didn't enjoy how there were often Irish words in the book without any translation. In some other books I read, they always added in some way a translation if it's either directly a translation stated below it in either brackets or some other symbol or by making a character show a response to it which reveals either somewhat or completely the meaning behind it. Unfortunately, this book didn't do it often and I sometimes was unable to understand the meaning of certain chapters where Mara only talked Irish with some people and I couldn't understand it since I don't speak Irish. They were probably not that important if no context was delivered, but it's still frustrating to have a chapter full of these Irish sentences, she even responds to them and I can't help myself but feel as if they might actually be important since it's not just a brief encounter.

I might haven't liked all the characters in this book, but that doesn't mean that they weren't well-written. Mara was a smart protagonist who wasn't willing to surrender or show inferiority towards the people who try everything to make her amnesia stay so that she doesn't remember anything of what happened. She went through a strong character development throughout the book. She learnt from past mistakes, showed forgiveness and kindness but also ruthless behaviour for the undesired. While she found out who she was, what her desires and dreams were, one could see that her true personality started to shine. From a shy and unsure woman to a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. As soon as she knew her real wish, she done everything to achieve it, making her character bloom.

The protagonist had the strongest development but other characters like Declan Burke also went through changes. At first when he got introduced he seemed like a bloke who was passionate about his artistic works, but was unable to form friendships. He too mistrust the other villagers, making him quite lonely in his new home. With Mara by his side he started to be more happy. When Natalie came along he also formed an even stronger bond. Even though the friendship aspect probably fits more to Mara since she was even more lonely, I felt due to Declan's family history that he was never able to have consistent long-lasting relationships with anyone, but now he seems to have found his people.

Apropos family history, the family that consisted of Gráinne, Padraig and Oisín were also pretty complex. Gráinne was the only one who didn't have at least a little bit of character development. She was stubborn to her ideas and thoughts, which made her unable to develop in any way. She was concerned for her sons from the start to the finish. Her motives and actions also never changed. But without her the ending would have been different which still made her an important character.

Oisín somewhat had a character development. While first driven by a village ritual, he done it without any afterthought, but after some type his own emotions and feelings crept in, making him unable to perform the ritual correctly. He starts to act against the village wishes, which also makes him unhappy at first but he is willing to risk everything for his own morals than the moral vision of the village and his families.

Padraig was having the most drastic development from the three. His motives at the start were completely different from the ones he had at the end. His opinions on Mara also changed immensely.

Cian Morley was probably the most important for the plot. I sometimes had the feeling while reading that he wasn't explored deeply enough though. What bothered me the most was that he never really had a motive for what he did, he didn't have a family pressure like Oisín and he also never had anything to gain since he wasn't born in that village. To be honest, he was a bit of a stupid character.

Conn Rowen and Malachy Rowen were mainly used for the plot only, but also to have some sub-genre of the horror shown in this book. They weren't shown often, but when they were either the plot advanced or something creepy happened. 

Natalie. She was funny. In the trio, she was the funny one. But seriously now, without her Declan couldn't have developed properly. She was very much necessary for the other character's development. 

Daithí Griffin was there to make the reader start the suspicion on the other characters. But even more so: He showed the true nature of some villagers.

Doctor Helen Quinn was an odd one at the end, but for the start she was very much necessary to set the atmosphere and mood. Since she examined Mara's body before she got put into a grave she was responsible for the misdiagnosis and the consequences resulting from it. In addition, she is the only doctor on the island which made the Marburg virus (related to Ebola) feel even more serious to the reader as it would be a huge problem if the only doctor there would die from it. So in conclusion: She made every scene where she was in extremely tense and shaky. 

There were characters like Stiofán, Agnes, Eileen and Tom who were only used for the plot and didn't undergo any development or had any other reason to be there than to advance the plot. But that's fine as not every character can be of great importance, that wouldn't work. 

Lastly, even though some characters went through great development there were pretty much many left just for the plot and nothing else or for reasons that weren't impacting the book enough to call them necessary. But that wasn't really that much of an issue for me, my real issue was how there was romance at the end which I wasn't able to care about. I mean, nice for them, but I would have enjoyed the ending even without them making out.

Compared to other horror books this one had something unique — Irish mythology. It wasn't just any mythology or one that is often used, it is something new, at least for me. I haven't really read anything Irish yet, so I was surprised to see how much I actually enjoyed the Irish mythology that was used as plot device throughout the book. The creatures all had names, making it able to search them up in case one is curious to find out even more about it after reading. But no worries: The book is doing a good job in explaining the mythological aspects, I understood everything well and was delighted to see how it took its shape for the plot.

Staying on the topic, I also want to express my feelings on the horror. Since this book is marketed as 'horror' I want to elaborate on how much it was truly horror and how it was done. I would actually say that this book focuses the most on psychological horror. Since the protagonist is suffering from Amnesia, its on her to find out what the village she is living in is hiding from her. I found myself often wondering how she even came to that village, why she was there and what exactly happened that caused her to end up in a coffin, buried alive. Luckily for me and probably many other readers, Mara asks herself the same questions, leading her to do everything to get back her memories. The more she finds out the higher the tension gets. For her misfortune, no one wants her to get her memory back, so she needs to be careful who she trusts. Another reason why I think it's psychological horror is that she isn't just trying to find out about her identity and past, but also finds in the end a way to gain freedom. Furthermore she is not just conflicted with her own complex feelings and emotions but also of the other characters, especially how they treat her. The reader experiences the psychological horror themselves by feeling mistrust and suspicion while getting to know the other villagers living on the island. Only at the very end does one know who was actually trustworthy and who just acted as one. This all made me feel connected to the protagonist even more as she felt the same the whole time, she knew who she trusted more but only when the real problem arised did she know who was there to help her to gain freedom and who wasn't. I also want to praise how it wasn't a revenge story, but one that still had friendship in it despite the strong mistrust and uncertainty. 

The main themes of this book which are Irish Mythology and psychological horror had a deep meaning in the ending. Before I started reading this book I thought it would be just a horror read without anything too meaningful, just meant to scare and find out some secrets, but I was wrong. Mara undergoes many changes not just what she feels inside but also outside. It's a beautiful book about how a woman finds freedom after haven't been free her entire life. Thankfully, I was never around such toxic people that I experienced anything as awful as her, but I understood her rage nevertheless. The mix of Irish Mythology and psychological horror is going quite well together for this book. Both were impactful and meaningful.

The plot was engaging from start to finish. It started immediately with Mara being buried alive and panicking that she would die due to a lack of oxygen. The middle part was packed full of mystery, suspense and horror. The ending was full of violence, friendship and freedom. I was hooked from the start and the ending was satisfying. The author also did a great work in making every chapter necessary for advancing the plot. There was never a moment I felt bored. Never a moment were it felt rushed or too slow. Never a moment were I fished that it finally ended. I wanted to find out about the secrets that were hidden in the village. Most importantly (since I often complain about this in other thriller books): The plot twist was not predictable. There were multiple. When I started to think that I know what is going on, I didn't. A great advantage on my side was probably that not just the description of the book didn't give too much away, but also that I never read anything about Irish Mythology before. Unless it was explained to me what exactly it was, I didn't know what was in front of me.

For anyone wondering now if this book would be a great read for them or not, here is my recommendation: Anyone who likes mythological stories with a mix of horror will probably enjoy this a lot. This book never shows horror less than the mythological aspects. Both are great and deeply focused on. If one is also searching for psychological horror, this book would make an awesome read too. There are grotesque scenes as well as body horror and paranoia. But it's also having thriller elements, the protagonist is unraveling secrets on the island she lives in. The horror, thriller and mythological themes really go well together and made the read so enjoyable for me. So, if you like any of these themes, I would recommend to you to read it too. 

Rating: 4/5

Reasoning: Due to the language aspects (no translation for the Irish words/sentences) and mild character issues (romance that wasn't necessary) I faced while reading I reduced 1 star from the rating.

Where to buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble