However, that was a nice bridge to telling of family expectations and the pressure put onto the respective next generation. The characters that were fleshed out better were known through dialogue, which, at times, was where McDowell really excelled. It's one of those books that doesn't just make you want to turn the page, it makes you utterly desperate to find out what happens next, as if your life depends upon it. To not be forced to think about certain ideas but allowing the reader to question never dumbing it down.

D'Ammassa praised Toplin as "perhaps the best novel ever written from the point of view of a schizophrenic. The only character I really warmed to was Frances Caskey, and even then, I only started finding her interesting when she began becoming more aware of her nature and realizing who she really is. McDowell wrote the screenplays for Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas if that gives you any idea of his brilliance. McDowell was at the height of his powers when he wrote "Blackwater," a six-part novel about the mysterious Elinor Dammert and her influence over the citizens of Perdido, Alabama, and her ghastly ability to use water to gain her hideous ends.Elinor is the protagonist of the saga, but other characters move in and out of the story, sometimes taking center stage for a while and then fading, only for a previously minor character to suddenly reappear, marry into the family, and become significant. Throughout generations even, McDowell is at the top of his game writing about this family with its rich men and domineering women. I would have loved it if this aspect of the story had been explored more deeply, but that thread of the tapestry was snipped off much too soon for my taste. This first-ever one-volume edition, with a new introduction by Shirley Jackson Award-winning author Nathan Ballingrud, marks Blackwater's first appearance in print in three decades and will allow a new generation of readers to discover this modern horror classic.

Alabama native Matt Godfrey brings the story alive and does all voices so well you know exactly who is speaking. It has all the Southern gothic pieces I've enjoyed from his other books, but in this long family epic, I got to really stretch out and luxuriate in it.McDowell collaborated with his close friend Dennis Schuetz in writing four mysteries starring Daniel Valentine and Clarisse Lovelace: Vermillion (1980), Cobalt (1982), Slate (1984), and Canary (1986). I've never listened to an audio book where it was easier for me to identify who was who, just by how the narrator voiced them.

This wonderful novel, first published in serial format, has received new interest thanks to Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction. In Teaching for Transfer: A Guide for Designing Learning With Real-World Application, author Michael McDowell provides a guide that educators can use to improve their teaching, engage their students, and develop their students' transfer abilities. In the early 1980s, McDowell and Dennis Schuetz released two psychological thrillers, Blood Rubies (1982) and Wicked Stepmother (1983) under the pseudonym Axel Young.Their clashes are interesting and often unexpected, you certainly don't find yourself knowing what's going to happen next, McDowell always seems to surprise and then have it feel like that twist was inevitable.

From the decline of Southern aristocracy, the nature of wealth (and power), and the impact of the Civil War and reconstruction on Southern society. Considering the specific atmosphere of the drama, it's no surprise that Michael McDowell was a gay man. This saddened me because this book and "The Elementals" are brilliant works and the book community lost so much. I cannot tell you how this series has kept me going after the past few months yet made me cry so much.Although containing explicit horror elements and gruesome descriptions, McDowell manages to deal with interesting and heavy themes! A hotel has been evacuated but when the son of a wealthy matron and a black servant drive by the halfway submerged hotel in their little boat, they discover a young woman in one of the rooms.