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So Cold the River: Booktrack Edition
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So Cold the River: Booktrack Edition
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So Cold the River: Booktrack Edition
Audiobook13 hours

So Cold the River: Booktrack Edition

Written by Michael Koryta

Narrated by Robert Petkoff

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

It started with a documentary. The beautiful Alyssa Bradford approaches Eric Shaw to unearth the life story of her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, a 95-year-old billionaire whose childhood is wrapped in mystery. Eric grabs the job, even though the only clues to Bradford's past are his hometown and an antique water bottle he's kept his entire life.

In Bradford's hometown, Eric discovers an extraordinary past--a glorious domed hotel where movie stars, presidents, athletes, and mobsters once intermingled. Long derelict, the hotel has just been restored to its former grandeur.

But something else has been restored too--a long-forgotten evil that will stop at nothing to settle a decades-old score. And with every move, Eric inches closer to the center of the building storm.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 9, 2010
ISBN9781607883036
Unavailable
So Cold the River: Booktrack Edition
Author

Michael Koryta

Michael Koryta is a New York Times bestselling author of 12 novels which have been translated into over 20 languages. His books have won or been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Edgar Award, Shamus Award, Barry Award and the Golden Dagger.

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Reviews for So Cold the River

Rating: 3.569199151785714 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

224 ratings38 reviews

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This book is supposed to be Koryta stretching his writing muscles from the crime fiction genre to supernatural/horror. It didn't really work for me. For one thing, the story was way too long. I got bored reading it and flipped to the end just to find out what happened. The basis of the plot is a scary bottle of water -- 'nuff said. I always look forward to Koryta's books, but I'm going to steer clear of any future books involving the supernatural.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I am a small town Midwestern, which a region almost always overlooked in the suspense genre. Koryta captures the atmosphere of the area and spins an interesting tale of revenge and murder. I liked the supernatural element, which I thought was treated with as much credibility as lent to such a plotline. Not over top creepy or gory, but with some intrigue. Having the backdrop being southern Indiana is a bonus. It is almost validating to have the area portrayed emphasizing its own rich history.I would like to meet this author some day. He writes in a simple, straightforward manner, but still creates enjoyable, three dimensional characters out of ordinary molds.So Cold The River is an easy read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this book. I liked the way the author did the flashbacks as well as the supernatural element. Very original.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A supernatural thriller set in an obscure corner of Indiana, where mineral springs briefly (during Prohibition) supported a thriving casino and resort community. The plot is no great shakes--a troubled man with a latent psychic gift sees visions of an evil force that has awakened after years of dormancy; yeah, been there, read that--but the writing is gripping and the setting--which features sulfuric mineral springs, resort hotels that rival the finest in Europe, an amazing and mostly forgotten slice of history, and a strange river flowing mostly underground--is interestingly surreal. All the locations are real--I've visited the architecturally astonishing West Baden Springs Hotel, where much of the action takes place. It's cool to be able to visualize a setting so clearly.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Michael Koryta is one of those authors that I have been meaning to try for some time, and I must have seen SO COLD THE RIVER talked about on one of the cyber networks I belong to. I have had it on my library request list for some months, and really knew little about it.If someone had told me that it has a fairly significant paranormal element I probably wouldn't have tackled it. I would have regarded that as outside my credibility lines. However I'm glad I did read it and I will probably try another, perhaps the award winning TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE.The idea of the past meeting the present through the central character Eric Shaw, through the offices of a bottle of very old spring water, does strain the bounds of credibility a bit, but it makes for a rollicking good yarn with an incredible tornado thrown in at the end for good measure.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Fantastic setting of West Baden resort (French Lick, IN) elevates this supernatural thriller above average.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In this very creepy ghost story, Eric Shaw, a failed movie director who's settled for making videos for funerals and birthdays, is offered a job looking into the life of an elderly billionaire. Sent to the small town where the man grew up, Eric is also given a mysterious glass bottle of water, one the elderly man kept hidden from the family for most of his life. Curiousity drives Eric to try the water - once famed for curing all ills - and this tasting and his trip to Indiana sets in motion the release of the malevolent spirit of a man who terroized the small town in the 1920s and who shared the elderly billionaire's name.Koryta's writing is great - the book is a thick one at 500 pages, but he quickly brings you into the story. While not exactly horror (I didn't have to sleep with the lights on, which is usually a good indicator of a terrifying story), but it is very unsettling and suspenseful. Clearly drawn characters, quickly moving plot, and a truly evil bad guy made this a great read.Recommended!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    There are many things to like about this book - Koryta's writing and ability to draw out a story the main one but for a genre crossover it didn't quite work for me. I kept recalling Stephen King's "The Dark Half" for another book where the bad guy was someone who wasn't quite there but still managed to exist and while it is a long time since I read that one my recollection is that it managed to generate the required chills much more effectively. So I guess while this is competent and as I said has many good features it doesn't quite bridge the gap to great which some of Koryta's other novels have but it is good to see an author willing to expand his horizons particularly one as good as Koryta.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Michael Koryta's writing style flows like prose throughout his books. So Cold the River is no exception. The writing is perfect, the story about the history of a small town and an evil, long dead inhabitant of that town is spellbinding, and Koryta's ability to weave in ties to the supernatural is effortless.Loved the book! Loved the writing!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    So unscary the story. Never brought the promised chills down my spine, despite the mysterious self-chilling bottle of water.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the first book I've read by Michael Koryta, although he has written six so far in his career and has been the recipient of many awards and prizes in his field. Koryta is a former reporter and private investigator and this becomes evident in the creation of his main character in So Cold the River, Eric.Eric Shaw is a film maker, who has fallen out of the Hollywood movie scene and finds himself making funeral videos. He's always had a special gift of insight which is evident in his work. Eric is hired by a woman belonging to a rich family to produce a documentary of the life of her Father-in-Law; who is sadly on his death bed. Eric meets Campbell Bradford once before travelling to West Baden to document his upbringing which until now has been a secret to the family.West Baden is located in a valley with mysterious mineral springs which form the lost river, flowing both above ground and underground. I think the creepiest parts of the book are Koryta's descriptions of the whirlpool, where the lost river both comes to the surface and disappears beneath the rock again, creating a rising and falling circular whirlpool of great proportions. Creepy!Eric drinks from a mysterious 100 year old bottle of Pluto water from the springs and begins to experience visions and a subtle paranormal theme begins to emerge. (Don't worry, there aren't any vampires). As Eric begins to investigate the history of the Bradford family, he has no idea what else he's stirring up.My favourite quote from this book was as follows:"Must be nice to have a bank ledger where your ethics should be, Gavin. You'll probably go on to big things. Most people like that do."On the jacket, Koryta's work is compared to that of one of my favourite authors, Stephen King. I scoffed at this initially, but it did influence me to read the book; definitely effective advertising. Now having finished So Cold the River, I am surprised to find I don't mind the comparison at all, and I think Koryta is definitely an author to watch. The mystery and suspense had me reading long into the night, and the novel's subtle supernatural touch reminded me of Stephen King's The Green Mile.I'd definitely recommend this novel to readers who enjoy a thriller, suspense and mystery and I'm looking forward to reading more of Koryta's work when I can get the time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the kind of horror I like -- a bit on the subtle side, with a lot of atmosphere. It has a strong supernatural element, but not a lot of gore. Actually, this book sits on the margin between horror, thriller, and mystery. And I love that the setting is a real place, a place with a lot of history; and that it uses that history in a very interesting way in a story which takes place (and least the this-worldly part) in the modern day. I found it to be quite a page turner. And there's an element of weather, too, which is a plus for me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    WOW!! This book is amazing. Having just returned from the area it was even more fantastic. This is a supernatural story with so many other aspects thrown in: greed, love, abandonment. The characters are so well written, you feel as though they are popping off the page and into your living room with you. It is eerie and historical at the same time. This is an area that has so much history to it, and this story is told including some of that and adding other elements to keep the storyline going. The back story of the West Baden and French Lick Hotels is intriguing. It is not often mentioned of the other hotels for the "colored" folk. When at the French Lick Hotel there is a photo of Joe Louis on the wall, and this story puts a bit of a different twist on that. I can't wait to read Cypress House by Koryta. Even if you have never been to this enchanted, mysterious area, this book will hold your attention.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I don't enjoy action movies. I yearn for the old time 10 minute climaxes at the end of the movie. I get bored by today's half hour ending catastrophes, with the usual mix of explosions, car crashes, automatic weapons, collapsing buildings, pyrotechnics, buckling highways, downtown freight trains - and just want the damn thing to be over. So I was amazed when I found myself thoroughly enjoying the protracted finish of "So Cold". It seemed to begin with about 1/4 of the book left and there was a lot that you could see coming. But most of it was credible ! And very well described - I felt I could very well see (SPOILERS) southern Indiana in the middle of a horrific natural disaster. But this book is a horror story. Not too yucky - no snakes in the bed covers, nor worms crawling out of an eyeball - but it is a heavy dose of fantasy, and the story dragged a bit here and there getting to the end. There is a water bottle with unnatural properties and its contents cause incredible reactions. OK, but I'm still not sure why the woman hired the video guy in the first place. No more horror, I shoulda known better.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    On par with King. Good Read.Pluto water that is central to the story is real. During archaeologicial excavations in Deadwood South Dakota, we came across many bottles of Pluto Water (both broken and whole). The manufactureres claimed that the contents cured everything from the common cold to cancer. The bottle description is exactly as is described in the book. and no we did not partake of its liquid!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Really liked it in the beginning. Characters were believeable and story was intriguing, but I didn't buy the ending and felt let down.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I live about 3 hours from West Baden/French Lick and loved this book. While there is a supernatural element in the story, I wouldn't classify it as horror. So Cold The River was hard to put down!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Eric Shaw is a failed filmmaker who, rather than making the films in LA as he'd hoped and dreamed, is now making a living making family videos for the families of those who have passed. When he is approached by Alyssa Bradford, a wealthy young woman and promised a substantial amount of money to travel to French Lick, IN to research her father-in-law's history, Shaw cannot refuse. She describes her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, as an extraordinary man who was extremely financially successful in his youth, despite the Depression. Alyssa presents Shaw with a small bottle of water, the only evidence she has of her father-in-law's past. The bottle is full of Pluto Water, spring water from the famous mineral springs that flow around the West Baden Springs Resort. Eighty years ago, the water contained in that bottle was considered a cure-all for all life's ailments. That water alone brought people from all over to the West Baden Hotel and surrounding area. The moment he arrives Shaw realizes something is amiss. When he mentions the name Campbell Bradford, the residents of French Lick insist the man is long dead. How is this possible, when Shaw himself met the man just days before his departure? He's also described as a horrible man, who ran away from the town, leaving a wife and child behind. "People were terrified of the man...thought he was evil." When Shaw meets Kellen, a young college student researching the African-American history in the area, he learns of the murder of Shadrach Hunter, a black casino owner who was murdered shortly before Campbell's disappearance. Campbell was believed to be the killer. Kellen agrees to help Shaw in his hunt for the "true" Campbell Bradford. Shaw, largely out of curiosity, takes a drink of the eighty year old spring water presented to him by Alyssa Bradford. He is instantly sickened by it's foul taste. After drinking the water, he begins to have visions, ominous and haunting snapshots of Campbell Bradford. He also begins to succumb to horrible headaches, the only way to alleviate them is to drink more of the ancient spring water, which now tastes sweet. Anne, an elderly woman who has lived her entire life in that area, is key to Shaw's "investigation." Anne has quite the collection of Pluto Water and is able to provide Shaw with a bit of history that no one else can. Another vital part of the story: Anne's an expert on weather and storms; she keeps a daily record of barometric activity in the area. She begins to notice a significant change in the weather since Shaw's arrival; perhaps "the" storm she's been predicting will finally make an appearance. Anne has always been aware of something "different" in the area: "I've always connected it more to the weather myself...there's something different in this valley...You can feel it in the wind now and again, and on the edge of a summer storm, or maybe just before ice comes down in the wintertime. There's something different. And charge is the best word for it. There's a charge, all right." Shaw & Kellen soon realize that evil has returned to West Baden, evil buried decades ago. Rather than leave, Shaw feels he must get to the cause of this evil and find out more about the illusive Campbell Bradford. Let me just start out with this: Koryta's writting is stunning! The pacing of this thrilling chiller is perfect, it starts out slow, slowly building with momentum, until it explodes at the end. I can't help but compare this to the storm that builds and builds and then unleashes it's wrath throughout the book. This storm is like a character itself...it slowly builds and progresses along with the storyline. The way Koryta describes it makes it appear humanlike: "The mass above it was black and purple but the funnel cloud was stark white. It eased to the ground almost peacefully, as if settling down for a rest, and then its color began to change, the wite turning gray as it blew through the fields and gathered dirt, sucking soil and debris into its vortex." The other characters, particularly Shaw himself, are very well laid out and organized. As the book progresses, we learn more about Shaw, his life, his history. Anne's character is an important one; she ties the present to the past. All in all, I highly recommend this unique, chilling thriller!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I picked this book up mainly because of the setting, which is the recently-renovated West Baden Hotel in southern Indiana. I was also interested because the author is from Indiana, and I know that a fellow-librarian/friend of mine knows him personally and likes his work. In this story, Chicagoan Eric Shaw is hired to go to West Baden and make a movie about the life story of one Campbell Bradford. The daughter-in-law of Bradford gives Shaw a bottle of mineral water with the Pluto Water label on, saying that this is the only possession her father-in-law has from his life there. Eric cannot resist the lure of the water, and strange things begin to happen after he drinks it. He is given the gift of seeing the past and learns that the present Campbell Bradford is not the same man as the one who left West Baden years ago. The story really goes over the top from there and moves along at a fast clip. There's lots of severe weather (think tornadoes) and supernatural stuff mixed in. Suspension of belief is necessary in numerous places, but it's a fun read for a hot summer after noon. I definitely recommend it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I had never read any books by Michael Koryta before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Boy, was I in for a wonderful surprise! I haven't had so much fun reading a book in a long time. The story flowed so well, even though some of it shifted from present to past in visions and hallucinations in the minds of two of the main characters. I was simultaneously thrilled and disturbed as I became pulled along by the mysterious plot. This book reminds me of Stephen King, or Dean Koontz novels. It has an element of the supernatural that sends chills up the spine. There were many times when I was reading that I just had to stop and shiver because of what I was reading. This was how I felt as a child when I read Alfred Hitchcock stories. Like I had to lock the door before I could continue. So exciting! I will be putting Michael's other books on my TBR list.I recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense and a good mystery. And, be sure to read it with all the lights on!***Warning: some rough language and a mild sexual scene. Sensitive readers be aware.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is probably going to be eclipsed by The Passage, and that's too bad. I enjoyed The Passage, but this book is definitely creepier (vengeful ghost trumps hordes of vampires, I think). (So read both, won't you?)I think it's best to go into this one knowing as little as possible, but here's a little info to get you started. Eric Shaw is in a tiny town in Indiana to make a documentary about Campbell Bradshaw. Almost immediately after arriving, he starts seeing visions and the longer he stays, they become increasingly creepy and vivid. And they center around Campbell Bradshaw.This book's pretty thick (503 pages in the ARC I got) but it isn't at all hard to read. It's the work of a weekend, if you have one free. The sense of dread arrives early and starts slowly getting worse until you can't put the book down. So if you want something that's genuinely creepy and that is also incredibly good? Snag this book. (You can thank me later.)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So Cold The River by Michael Koryta Published by Little Brown and CompanyISBN 978-0-316-05363-1At the request of The Hachette Book Group, a PB copy was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion Synopsis: (from the back of book) It starts with a beautiful woman and a challenge. Alyssa Bradford approaches filmmaker Eric Shaw to make a documentary about her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford, a ninety-five-year-old billionaire whose past is cloaked in mystery, the only clues being the name of his hometown and an antique water bottle he's kept his entire life. Only a few hours after his arrival in Campbell Bradford's rural hometown, Eric experiences a frighteningly vivid vision. As the days pass, the frequency and intensity of his hallucinations increase. He's drawn deeper into the town's dark past which is centered on a glorious hotel where presidents and mobsters once mingled, drawn to the area by the curative powers of its mineral springs. Eric discovers that something besides the hotel has been restored-a long-forgotten evil that will stop at nothing to regain a lost glory. Brilliantly imagined and terrifying real, So Cold the River is a tale of irresistible suspense. My Thoughts and Opinion: Some of the words that I would describe this book would be gripping, suspenseful, unreal and mostly strange. It is hard to review this read without giving a lot away but will try. The mystery and suspense held my attention to the very end. Parts of the plot were questionable and unbelievable but still held my interest. The characters real, but their situations doubtful. The words written of this rural town are beautiful and it's history interesting. The ending explosive with questions being both answered and not answered leaving the reader dangling. My rating is based on the nature of suspense that held me captive the entire book even knowing that some of the story line could never be true. Words to describe. Gripping yet Strange. My Rating: 4 star
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love this book! It is a unique story told by an excellent writer and was unputdownable for me! I have never read a book by Michael Koryta but I will definitely be reading his books in the future. If you like action-packed stories than don't miss this one!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Michael Koryta has written several books. I'm told that SO COLD THE RIVER is not a good one to start with because it is so different from the others. But I did begin with this one.SO COLD THE RIVER reminds me of a Stephen King novel. That is not to say that if you like King, you'll like Koryta. You might, but I found a problem that I don't have with King's novels.This book starts out promising. Eric, a failed filmmaker hoping for a comeback, is hired to make a movie about an old, dying man. So Eric begins in the cities where the man grew up, West Baden and French Lick, Indiana. The cities and the great hotel in West Baden are not fiction, but the supernatural properties of the water there, obviously, are.Koryta has a good story going. Problem, though: he is just too wordy. Many paragraphs in this book should have been whittled down to a sentence, or they should even have been eliminated because Koryta was only repeating himself.But Koryta's writing is good; I'd like to try his other books. SO COLD THE RIVER only needs better editing to eliminate the unnecessary wordiness.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I've loved all the Michael Koryta books that I've read previously so I requested this book from the library without knowing anything more than he wrote it. I was shocked to discover it was more of a supernatural thriller/horror than the mystery/thrillers of his that I've read thus far. But this book hooked me just as all his others have and I found myself unable to tear myself away. I was captivated by the setting as much as the story and characters. I find it always a good sign when I finish reading a book when I start doing research into something that was covered in a non-fiction book. In this case: French Lick, West Baden Springs and the hotel. Would love to go see it in person and drink some Pluto Water. Well maybe not drink the water.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Man vs. Nature.Eric Shaw, failed filmmaker with a broken marriage, is hired to do a film documentary on a rich man's life in a tiny town. A fascinating, mesmerizing story of a man gone wrong. Beauty of architecture and countryside balanced against the horror of man's evil and the power of nature. Tension sustained, explosive
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a book of some 500 pages,which fully holds the interest until the very last one of them. It is also one of those rare stories which is truly unique. A failed film-maker is reduced to producing videos for family events. He is capable of seeing snatches of 'visions' associated with photographs ect. He is asked to travel to the American town of West Baden and to make a documentary associated with Campbell Bradford,one of the past inhabitants. He is given an old bottle which is full of water,which has been in the possesion of the Bradford family for many years. Eric Shaw (the film-maker) drinks some of the water and from then on,begins to get stronger and stronger visions. Forces stronger than he can ever imagine,take control of him and he becomes the catalyst for the terrible events to come.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Eric Shaw is hired to go to a small town and make a short film about her father in law's life there. He is also given a bottle of water that continues to get colder and colder that came from a spring in this small town. Eric feels compelled to taste the water and weirdness ensues. I found the first two thirds of the book really compelling, but for some reason just lost interest in the last third. If it had ended as strong as it started, I would have given it more stars. Also, I felt like alot of the back stories for minor characters were hinted at as being important, but never completed.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Like a Martha Ray if she tried to channel Steven King.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Eric Shaw, a failed documentary maker is now trying to make a living filming weddings and funerals when he receives a strange request from a woman. Alyssa Bradford wants him to make a film about the life of her dying father in law, 95-year-old Chicago millionaire Campbell Bradford.
    She offers Eric a very generous amount of money to travel to West Baden in Indiana to trace Campbell’s early years for the film. Alyssa also gives him a small bottle of water which the dying Campbell had kept his entire life.
    The water, called Pluto Water, is from the mineral springs at West Baden and in its day, was rumoured to have miraculous healing powers.
    Eric accepts the job and heads to West Baden and its neighbouring town the delightfully named French Lick with $5,000 in advance payment in his pocket and the bottle of Pluto Water which is strangely icy cold in the heat of Indiana.
    Shaw gets curious and tastes the water and he begins to see strange things, horrifying things. It seems the town of West Baden has dark untold secrets and harbours an evil that lusts to regain its lost glory.
    West Baden is famed for its West Baden Springs Hotel which on its construction in 1902 was called 'The Eight Wonder of the World' with its 200 foot high dome atrium. When Eric he sees the West Baden’s spectacular rotunda, Eric thinks of Stephen King and “The Shining” and starts smiling. “It had everything a filmmaker desired — beauty, grandeur, size, history and, at least for Eric tonight, a King-size dose of creepy,” Brilliant!
    Similarities to Stephen King are mentioned in many so reviews and I can see why... a town with secrets, lots of spooky menace, solid storytelling which flows along nicely and well drawn characters.
    However I did think that there were perhaps too many diverse characters that seemed superfluous to the story and it was as if once the author had introduced them he didn’t really know what to do with them all!
    I loved the character of Anne McKinney, a tenacious 86 years old, repository of the town’s history and amateur meteorologist.
    She begins to notice a change in the weather since Eric’s arrival; maybe the storm, ‘The Big One’ she's been predicting and waiting for all her life will finally make an appearance.

    "I've always connected it more to the weather myself...there's something different in this valley...You can feel it in the wind now and again, and on the edge of a summer storm, or maybe just before ice comes down in the wintertime. There's something different. And charge is the best word for it. There's a charge, all right."

    A good, solid piece of American Gothic that slowly pulls you in and once it has you, the story builds like an impending storm, full of threat and menace.