Book Review: Little Heaven by Nick Cutter
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Gallery Books (January 10, 2017)
Length: 496 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am at my rating. I wanted to like Little Heaven so much, not only because it sounded so intriguing but also because I am a fan of Cutter’s The Troop. However, his newest novel simply did not appeal to me in the same way, despite it feeling like the next step for the author and the story being well put-together.
The book opens with an introduction to a trio of rough mercenaries who have reunited to stand against an evil from their past. Back in 1965, Micah Shughrue, Ebenezer Elkins, and Minerva Atwater were forced to set aside their differences (i.e. stop killing each other) in order to help a woman named Ellen Bellhaven rescue her nephew from a religious cult in New Mexico. Everything that happened during that fateful year is told in a series of flashbacks chronicling their harrowing mission into the wilderness to infiltrate Little Heaven, the cult’s compound run by a fiendishly insane megalomaniac named Amos Flesher. And yet, compared to the true terrors our three protagonists find lurking in the darkness surrounding them, even the human kind of monsters will seem like small fry.
Fast forward to fifteen years later, Micah wakes up one day to find his daughter missing, abducted in the night. When his greatest fears are confirmed, the former mercenary has no choice but to call on his one-time allies, beseeching Ebenezer and Minerva to join up with him once more for round two against the horror that has come back to haunt them.
Since I like leading with the positives, I’m going to first talk about the things I enjoyed about this book. To its credit, Little Heaven really takes the creeps and scares to a whole new level, which is extreme even for Cutter. His writing style has clearly evolved since The Troop, no longer relying solely on the “gross-out” factor to strike terror into readers’ hearts. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of blood, guts and gore in this novel, because there is (not to mention, those with a fear of snakes or creepy crawlies will have especially rough time with this one). Still, in order for a horror novel to be effective, graphic descriptions are only half the picture. The other half of it requires a bit more finesse, a way to bring the atmosphere of dread and suspense to the surface. Cutter did a great job on that front, creating an intense and all-encompassing sense of “wrongness” that never quite leaves you. The scenes in Little Heaven are especially well-written, where it feels like the squalor, degeneracy and madness are constantly closing in on you from all sides.
Now, if only I felt the same love for the character development. In theory, the protagonists should have worked better for me. Micah, Ebenezer, and Minerva are the tough-as-nails sort, killers and bounty hunters with checkered pasts. I have no problems reading about morally ambiguous characters—in fact, I enjoy them, and it’s great when their authors manage to make them sympathetic and likeable. But regretfully, I found it really hard to care about anyone in this book, which also likely dampened my enthusiasm for the story. All the characters were too thinly sketched for my tastes; they were flat, unchanging, and I just didn’t think enough attention was paid to them overall.
The term “old school horror” also seems to get tossed around a lot when discussing this book, which I’d say is pretty spot on. Good news, perhaps, for readers who enjoy the older stylings of Stephen King. Bad news on the other hand for yours truly, who has always found King’s earlier work to be excessively wordy and bloated (which is why I could never get through his books like It). As such, I was really not all that surprised when I came to experience the same ennui with Little Heaven.
Which all comes down to why I’m sure this is simply a case of “wrong book, wrong time” or “Sorry, Little Heaven, it’s not you, it’s me.” As much as I’ve enjoyed Nick Cutter in the past, sadly this one didn’t quite live up to my expectations, though of course that doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. Personal taste being what it is, and with mine being more capricious than most, I hope this won’t dissuade anyone from trying the book out for themselves if the description sounds like something you might enjoy. Indeed, take everything I say here with a grain of salt since the vast majority of other reviews I’ve seen so far have been positively glowing. If the premise interests you, I highly recommend giving it a try.
The BiblioSanctum 
I have no idea what old school horror is, since I do not read a lot
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I think it’s an overall vibe more than an actual thing. Prime example I can think of is some of Stephen King’s older “classic” works.
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I have a feeling I will like this more than you, being a big fan of all things SK. Sorry it didn’t work for you, I know you don’t give two star ratings very often!
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No I don’t give 2 stars often, and I was so crushed about giving it to this one because I really wanted to like it! My first experience with his book The Troop was awesome, but sadly Little Heaven and I just weren’t meant to be…
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If there is usually nothing wrong with a plot-driven story (as opposed to one that is character-driven), I have to agree with you on your need to establish some link with the characters, and care for them: when this element is missing, the enjoyment of a book suffers. I’m sorry this one proved such a disappointment for you!
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I think that was my main problem with this one. Characters are so important to me, and I couldn’t feel a connection to any of them.
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What a shame. I like that ‘it’s not me it’s you’! It’s an odd feeling when you seem to be out of sync with other reviews isn’t it – I had a similar feeling with Gilded Cage. Everyone seems to love it but I had issues with the world building that don’t seem to have bothered others. So I guess it was the wrong book at the wrong time for me.
Lynn 😀
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Yeah, granted it not too common with me, but it does happen! And it always gives me that “WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME!” feeling when I see the disconnect between my own feelings and the consensus, but hey that’s what happens when we all have different tastes 🙂
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Well good. I wasn’t going to read it anyway. And if I read a book called The Troupe it is going to be by Robert Bennett Jackson by god.
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I still haven’t read that RJB book, doh!
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Too bad it didn’t work. 😦
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Yeah it’s a shame, but I’ll still give his next book a try!
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I love King’s older works and this still didn’t work for me. I had trouble giving it a 3/5 and really only did because Goodreads doesn’t allow 1/2 ratings. I think you pegged it right about the connection to the characters. I didn’t have any read feelings for Micah and thus was not really interested in his quest to locate his daughter. However, I did really like Eb. I would totally read a book all about Eb. So many bloggers I visit regularly and trust had trouble with this one so at least I don’t feel like an oddball for not liking it. However, like you, I would never tell someone not to read it because it seems plenty of people have liked it.
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Eb was pretty cool, though I have to say all the characters were pretty weak. Mercenaries and bounty hunters should have been up my alley too, but for some reason I just couldn’t bring myself to care about their plights. 😦
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Oh, no!! I did always like Stephen King though, so maybe it would work better for me. Still, a little hesitant to try a book you rated so low (because you just dont do that very often)
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I hope it works for you!
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I’m sorry to hear you didn’t like it either. 😦 I’ve enjoyed his other books – this one just didn’t work for me.
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Glad I’m not the only one! I enjoyed the one other book I read by him too (The Troop) but too bad not Little Heaven.
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Oooh, too bad you didn’t love it! Cults always intrigue me. My parents escaped from a NYC cult (“The Church of Bible Understanding”), after they fell in love and ran away with some friends *sigh* It’s a great story. But I’ve never even been able to finish a horror movie, sadly. Too squeamish. Anyway, as always, thanks for the review! 🙂
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Oh my that must be some story! If you are intrigued by SFF books about cults, I recommend False Hearts by Laura Lam – there are actually elements from your comment about your parents that remind me of that book. And it’s not horror, so hopefully you’ll be able to do okay with it 🙂
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It sounds amazing! Thanks so much for the recommendation!!
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Cindy, what were your parents’ names and what year did they escape from the Church of Bible Understanding?
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Sorry, I meant Christy. (I was in the Church of Bible Understanding until 1993, when I escaped.)
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Glad to hear you got out of it! They lived there for a few years during the 70s, so quite a while before you were there, James.
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