On November 27th, 2022, the 8,000th article was added to the SuccuWiki!
Incubus (Novel)
| Incubus | |
|---|---|
 Incubus Hardcover Book Cover, written by Ann Arensberg | |
| Author(s) | Ann Arensberg |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Publication date | February 2, 1999 |
| Media type |
Hardcover Paperback |
| Length | 322 Pages |
| ISBN | 978-0394556963 |
For other uses of the word Incubus, see Incubus (disambiguation).
Incubus is a novel written by Ann Arensberg. In this work one of the characters is an Incubus.
Overview
- Title: Incubus
- Author: Ann Arensberg
- Published By: Alfred A. Knopf
- Length: 322 Pages
- Format: Hardcover & Paperback
- ISBN-10: 0394556968 (Hardcover)
- ISBN-13: 978-0394556963 (Hardcover)
- ISBN-10: 0345438167 (Paperback)
- ISBN-13: 978-0345438164 (Paperback)
- Publishing Date: February 2, 1999
Plot Summary
A tale of shape-changers and exorcism written with intelligence, restraint and style, Arensberg's compelling third novel (Sister Wolf; Group Sex) is another impressive example of this talented writer's work. In the summer of 1974, the town of Dry Falls, Maine, is subjected to a heat wave and drought that is so carefully circumscribed it doesn't even appear on the state's local weather maps. Even more disturbing evidence ensues of nature imbalanced, including a lack of sexual drive among the town's male inhabitants and cows that give birth to deformed calves, among other unusual events. Dr. Henry W. Lieber, Dry Falls's Episcopal priest and a man whose faith is fast fading, obsessively records each new incident, seeking signs of the supernatural.
Cora Whitman, Dr. Lieber's wife and author of a weekly food column, is the skeptical narrator of this unsettling chronicle; this is a savvy move by Arensberg, as Cora's skepticism always precedes the reader's suspicions. Yet Cora comes to believe in the existence of a demon who disturbs women's sleep and, in fact, rapes the women of Dry Falls. But what this entity is, why it's attracted to this town and these women who know their herbs but practice no witchcraft. These are the bones the readers of this beautifully written and carefully crafted novel can gnaw. Despite the rapture of the tale, Arensberg's greatest gifts here are not the plot or the research supporting her tale of the occult, but her precise insight into character and the portrayal of the workings of a small community, the life of a pastor and his wife and a marriage in many seasons.
Book Review
The following review is from the Amazon.com listing in the External Links below:
- 5 out of 5 stars
- A horror novel that makes you think
- Reviewed On: May 25, 2000
- Reviewed By RB
I had to add my two-cent worth and agree with those readers who reviewed this book and found it to be a wonderfully written novel of a woman's, and a towns, descent into hell. Arensberg has taken the myth of the incubus, (an evil spirit that lies on women in their sleep, pinning them down to have sexual intercourse with them), and has asked the question "What if?". What makes this story truly frightening is the way she blends the myth of the incubus into a 21st century setting, a small town in Maine in 1974. Told in retrospective by Cora Whitman, the wife of the local Episcopal minister, she begins to notice the subtle changes that are happening to the people of Dry Falls. But then things take a nasty turn, and Cora finds herself a victim of the evil that has settled over Dry Falls. Arensberg writes with a slow, matter of fact pace yet she is able to evoke a sense of doom and despair. She is a wonderful writer, the scenes she creates pull you in with characters that are real and fully developed. Arensberg has written a horror novel of a higher caliber, and she is one hell of a storyteller.