Mr. Shivers

Written by Robert Jackson Bennett

Narrated by T. Ryder Smith

Robert Jackson Bennett makes a stunning debut with this deliciously dark tale sure to hold readers in its menacing thrall. The grinding poverty brought on by the Great Depression is nowhere more apparent than in the untold thousands looking for work along America's railroad system. But one man haunting the rail camps has been moved by an entirely different brand of desperation: revenge. And Marcus Connelly won't stop until he avenges his daughter's brutal murder at the hands of a monster known as Mr. Shivers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 16, 2010
• ISBN: 9781449815493

Robert Jackson Bennett

Robert Jackson Bennett is the author of Foundryside and the Divine Cities trilogy, which was a 2018 Hugo Awards finalist in the Best Series category. The first book in the series, City of Stairs, was also a finalist for the World Fantasy and Locus Awards, and the second, City of Blades, was a finalist for the World Fantasy, Locus, and British Fantasy Awards. His previous novels, which include American Elsewhere and Mr. Shivers, have received the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Philip K. Dick Citation of Excellence. He lives in Austin with his family.

Reviews for Mr. Shivers

[gmmakela · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was hard to put down...read it in two nights! A creepy tale set in the Great Depression...it ended as I imagined about halfway through the book, but did not dissapoint

[mhatchett_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No, not a comfortable book, but a good one, full of heart.

[mjscott_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

During the Great Depression, a small group of wanderers vow to track down and destroy Mr. Shivers who has destroyed someone in each of their lives.

[janetboyer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"'You take out part of you', Roosevelt murmured. 'Take it out and blow on it and toss it to the winds like dust, and you say, 'Find all the missing parts of me. Go out among the world and find the missing parts of me.' But instead of getting back what you lost you just lose more. Wishing is bad. Wish long enough and there won't be any of you left.'" -- From Mr. Shivers Knowing genre froms certain expectations. Admittedly, I assumed this book was a rather straightforward story about a scarred man whose appearance and reputation generated fear and legends. Three-fourths through the book, however, I began to wonder. I happened to glance at the spine and saw Mr. Shivers labeled "horror". "Uh oh", I thought. Cure either deus ex machina or the devil incarnate or something in between--but supernatural, nevertheless. Nothing wrong with this, of course, especialy if you know the genre going into the story (which I didn't). Firs time author Robert Jackson Bennett reminds me of a tighter, more refined early Stephen King (circa mid-80s) or perhaps even old-school Koontz (when Dean used a middle initial). In fact, come to think of it, Mr. Shivers reminds me a bit of It for some reason. Jackson masterfully re-creates the dusty, despairing atmosphere of drought-stricken, Depression-era midwest. His deft descriptions leaves you tasting the gritty red clay, hearing the clickety-clack of trains on rail, feeling the gnawing hunger and seeing the ashy billows rishing from the iron horses. As with most horror, though, Robert Jackson Bennett also makes you hear screams, the cleaving of bone and the spurting of hot blood. Recognizing Mr. Shivers for what it is--a horror novel set in the 1920s--I believe that Robert Jackson Bennett accomplishes his goal of weaving a compelling human tale against the archetypal tapestry of good/evil and life/death. A solid debut, I think Mr. Shivers heralds a promising career for debut author Robert Jackson Bennnett. -- Janet Boyer, author of Back in Time Tarot

[pharrm_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Connelly is the main character who strikes out during the dust bowl era to seek out the man responsible for the death of his young daughter. Along the way he runs into various others who seek out the same scarred man they call Mr. Shivers. Mr. Shivers is an ethereal figure who has supernatural powers. His intent is deadly and the troop of men led by Connelly follow his across the plains and run into many difficult situations. The ending is expected and yet different.

[mazda502001 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

To me, this seemed a very weird book. It's a chilling, uncomfortable read with, I thought, a peculiar ending.Back Cover Blurb:It is the time of the Great Depression, and thousands have left their homes seeking a better life.But Marcus Connelly is not one of them. He searches for one thing only: revenge. For somewhere out there - riding the rails, stalking the camps - is the mysterious, scarred vagrant who murdered his daughter.No, Marcus Connelly seeks not a life but a death. The question is: how much is he willing to sacrifice to get it?

[pidgeon92_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was my kind of story. Gory and gritty, an excellent tale of hobos and the Great Depression, and the man they call Mr. Shivers. Is he Death, or is he something more?

[polarbear123_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very interesting setting for this novel. The chills are genuine early on in the book although it becomes a different sort of story in the second half with less fear and more realisation woven into the story. Some strong characters and memorable scenes make this definitely worth a look.

[bcquinnsmom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Considering that this is the author's debut novel, it is actually quite good -- so much so that I read it in one sitting. Marcus Connelly is on the road during America's Great Depression, hanging with hobos and migrant families in search of the next job up the road. Marcus isn't after a job, though -- he's after the man who killed his daughter back in Memphis, a person that many call Mr. Shivers or the scarred man. He comes across others who had dealings with and who are also seeking Mr. Shivers, and links up with some of them, traveling westward through the devastation of the dust bowl on his quest. The author does an amazing job of using his prose to paint an atmosphere that is bleak, dark and desperate. He is able to portray these qualities not only in terms of the landscape and the times, but also within the haunted psyches of the main characters. Mr. Shivers may disappoint people who are looking for the next great horror novel, because it's more cerebral rather than hackle raising. It may also disappoint people who want to read it for its historical slant. Although it is set in the midst of the Great Depression and does manage to capture the tragic consequences and the horror of the time, it's more of a dark fantasy with supernatural components. It's also a book that demands reader participation. Overall, it's a good book by an author whose writing often reminded me of that of Cormac McCarthy. If you like dark fantasy it will keep you reading until the end. I can definitely recommend it.

[jan0fleming · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What starts out as a straightforward story set in the dustbowl of the Great Depression turns into something far more surreal and menacing.Connolly is hunting the scarred man that killed his daughter across the heat and dust of the American dustbowl. The hobos he meets along the way have tales to tell of Mr Shivers, a mythical figure who leaves death in his wake.Connolly meets up with other who have suffered at the hands of Mr Shivers and he realises the man he is hunting and Mr Shivers are one and the same. The agree to travel together to hunt down and kill this man who may not be human after all.The descriptions of the dustbowl with the searing heat, crimson skies are well done and the constant presence of the railroad are evocative and very well done.The characters are well drawn and you do fear for what will become of them and the Nietzsche quote 'Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one' is never far from your mind. The gradual dawning on the reader that the story is moving into fantasy and mythology may prove a step too far many for some readers but as the author says: “I wanted to use mythology of the Great Depression and Southern folklore, things we all could identify without thinking… dirt roads and bogwater ditches, ramshackle homes sitting abandoned in empty fields, and desperate drifters trekking across harsh countries. The echo of blues and gospel music haunting the hobo camps… and always the promise of greener pastures out there, hiding somewhere behind a stretch of the horizon.” Robert Jackson Bennett's debut novel is a dreamy exquisitely written fable that gets to the very heart of vengeance of the darkest kind and has been described as if Stephen King had written 'The Road'..... as the Precher says "sometimes the road goes through places that are... not normal. The road is more than just dirt."

[irunsjh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think this book started off with a bang. The premise was very interesting, but I found that it lost steam about a third of the way through the book. I think the author placed too many hints early on, on what was going to be the final outcome. I liked the setting of the dust-bowl during the 30's, but the characters were a bit pretentious, mainly the main character. Overall an interesting read, just not a best bet in my opinion.