Little keeps getting better and better with all his novels. THE BURNING is no exception. Its characters are full and engaging. The story is well thought out. And the book had many scary moments that creeped me out.

Instead of following one or two main characters, there are four people who slowly become more and more involved in the events. There is the college freshman who unearths one aspect of trouble. There is the separated woman and her son who find another source in her home town. There is the park ranger who unwittingly contributes to the growth of the evil. And there is the young man on a journey across America who finds more than he expected. Together they see the pieces of evil and hauntings come together to strike out.

One of the things that I really liked was how Little took the idea of a haunted train and wove it across the railroads and the building of the railroads and then the persecution and bigotry that came out of it. Both Chinese and Indian cultures were impacted significantly by the railroads; that impact is at the core of the novel. The only negative that I had with the novel was remembering the names of the four main characters. I easily remembered who was who with regards to the events around their lives but remember whether Jolene or Angela was the freshman was difficult for some reason. That is nowhere near enough reason to skip the book though. Greatly recommended ( )

Certainly not a life-changing book by any means, but Bentley Little has a knack for the genre, and most horror fans would be perfectly happy with this for summer beach reading. The pace is solid, the characters are likeable enough, and some of the individual horror scenes are extremely tense and well-done. I'm a little surprised it hasn't been optioned for a movie. ( )

Wow, for Bentley Little, this is a total dud. I realize that most of his books have a political statement of some sort, but this one was just so weak. He usually takes these places that should be safe, or at least bland, and warps them into a nightmarish hell... This is just a mold that makes people racist that came from some guy who Chinese people while building the railroads (because his wife had a Chinese lover)...Ugh, double ugh, don't pick this one up...

PS...I am all for human rights, racism is an awful, awful idea...this book just wasn't up to the usual Bentley Little standards. ( )

Eeeeek! What could possibly be more horrifying than evil ghost trains!?

Okay, lots of things, but that is the 'monster' (sort of) at the center of Bentley Little's semi-historical horror thriller...umm, thing, The Burning. It has too many characters with too many individual plots to summarize, but essentially there is a great big scary train, one that is evil in addition to being ghost-like, and it's totally going to GET YOU!

The book started out great actually, as these types of books tend to. I rushed through the first 200 pages with reckless abandon, soaked up all the tension and mystery with mindless delight, and was fully prepared to rain praise on it. However, once the source of all the drama and mystery was revealed everything began to crumble. It's all just a bit ridiculous really, and although having finished it I see where the author was going I found it all rather silly while I was reading it.

The author also tries to quell racial discrimination of the past (and present) of Asian railroad workers (and their modern descendents) by, most absurdly, making them into the evil scary monster of a horror novel I shan't say how or why, but alas I suspect any foolish idiotic person who discriminates in such a way is unlikely to have their foolish idiotic ideals challenged in any way, and is probably more likely to feel re-affirmed. Yeah, making them dark evil ghosts of angry storming vengeance can do that.

Oh, and there's a nice little homophobic line toward the end too. Yeah seriously...

As much as I want to acknowledge the author's writing ability, which I did appreciate for more than half the novel, it just fell apart at the end for me and it's hard to justify a better rating than what I have given it. I wouldn't write the author from my future reading list entirely, but this one is not to my liking. ( )

In the distance a trains whistle roars though the night sky. Its song bearing the great agony of a people cruelly wronged and a past seeking revenge. Join the diverse gathering of characters as they each encounter an evil which will leave them forever changed and perhaps even destroyed. A park ranger who faces an evil so beautiful it drives him to the edge. A mother and son on their way to a new beginning with hopes of a bright future ahead of them till they see what is lurking outside their window. A freshman college student discovers the true meaning of separation from friends by facing the darkness that lurks below her apartment. And the young man who longs to journey across America and blaze a trail to a new start discovers that the darkness will find him no matter where he goes.

This book had me sitting on the edge of my seat all day long as I read it. I found it nearly impossible to put down. In fact I was an hour late to work because of it. It does contain graphic violence and sex scenes that may offend some. I nearly did not make it past the first sex scene myself but it was the only book I had with me at the laundry mat. I found the fact that the characters were not the only ones to see the monsters very refreshing. I get tired of everyone thinking the main characters are crazy. For some reason it made the story more plausible. I had the time of my life retelling the story to my friends who would listen . Bentley Little reigns up with Stephen King and Deane Koontz in my books. A must read for horror buffs. ( )