Night Thunder

by Ruby Jean Jensen

Book Overview

When the crew bulldozed a sycamore tree right before dark, they saw several bodies lying under the tree roots. The boss left to fetch the police. Carl was the only witness as the bodies transformed to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786012382
• ISBN13: 9780786012381
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Ruby jean jensen is one awsome story teller

and this book is no exception.I couln't put the book down.I am a huge horror fan and had quite a fun time reading this story.I enjoyed the characters alot.Ruby knows how to write a good scary book

Slow to Start, Great to the Finish

Ruby Jean Jensen is one of those authors I stumbled over on a recent summertime excursion in search of fresh faces in the horror genre. I know more than a bit about who writes what in the field, but I still manage to surprise myself on a regular basis whenever I look for something new. From all accounts, Jensen is not a novice author; she has been writing novels for years even though most of her books are sadly out of print. That's a shame, too, because "Night Thunder" excels in its fascinating tale about an ancient evil reawakened in the present day. "Night Thunder" begins with a series of strange occurrences during the closing days of the American Civil War. A farmer, his wife, and his young son awaken one night to the sound of drums rolling in the distance. Since the war is still on, drums are not at all unusual to hear on the road near the farmhouse. What is rather odd are the collection of beautiful people clothed in black robes and hoods standing in front of the house. These people ask the farmer for permission to stay in the woods on his property for a time, and the farmer amiably agrees. Then the bizarre activity starts: these strangers, who profess to be extremely religious people, build a small church near the woods. It isn't too long before local women begin attending the church, usually with their children in tow. Something odd is going on, as the women who attend services start exhibiting suspicious signs of what we would call cult activity, but it goes beyond that into the realm of death when the mother at the farm dies mysteriously after attending most of the services. The men in the community decide enough is enough, and they kill the hooded strangers who built the evil church. The men bury the bodies in a mass grave over which is placed a tree that promises to bind the corpses to death. As long as this tree remains, the world is safe from the horror lurking beneath its roots.Flash forward to the modern day, to a construction site where a shopping mall will soon go up. In order to lay the pavement for the parking lot, construction workers will tear down that old tree. It isn't really anybody's fault; they have no clue about the tree's purpose, and the woman in charge of the development project, a local real estate agent named Beverly Boyd, forgot about the stories she heard as a small child regarding the tree's raison d'etre. You see, Beverly is the direct descendent of Jacob, the son of the farmer who let the beautiful strangers stay on his property. It isn't long after the tree comes crashing to the ground that the corpses rise from the grave and proceed to reinstall a church in the region. Three of the construction workers involved in this unholy resurrection soon find their lives turned upside down by the event. Tom Roush drove the bulldozer into the tree, and his bosses, Carl and Brent Salisaw, will soon have a front row seat to the newly returned evil.Most of the book dwells on Brent's family, especially his two daughters an

The Dead are never quiet...

This is the first Ruby Jean Jensen novel I have read in a long time (the last being the great Wait and See!). That being said I can definitely say I will be reading more Jensen books soon. Night Thunder has a strong story about a cult that visited a small town during the Civil War that was killed and burried by the local townsfolk. Years go by and when the grave of the cult is disturbed the terror begins again. Jensen has crafted a fairly original tale of terror here that does have some deeply disturbing moments. It's very descriptive in the action and not extremely dialog heavy. There are some outstanding characterizations, particularly that of the two daughters Kara and Holly. However, there does seem to be a real slow down in the beginning before anything really starts to happen. This is not to say the first 100 or so pages are necessary but it really kills the flow of the novel. Not perfect Jensen but good Jensen, Night Thunder is a well crafted tale of terror. It's a pity we haven't seen more from Ruby in a few years now.

Creepy to the Max!

Jensen continues to astonish me with her quietly eerie horror novels! This one is no exception as she tells of a town that unwillingly awakens a sleeping evil that seduce and destroys whole families with the promise of eternal life.Does this sounds like Vampirism? If you say yes your answer would be dead wrong, it's worse!This evil is the guise of physically beautiful people prey upon families to kill their children so they can resurrected to become members of their unholy church and join their "nuclear" family.Jensen knows how to chill the blood in the truly sinister novel.

Starting In Civil War Time... Ending When Everyone's Dead

This book is a CLASSIC!! During the Civil War, a group of strange religious enthusiasts ask a farmer if they could use his farm for worshipping. The next day, they are all dead and buried by a tree that is never to be dug up. In the 20th Century, the farm now belongs to the a contractor who is making it into a mall. The tree must be removed to build the mall. Stories about this fanatical religious group had been floating around for years, but have been discarded as pure fantasy. After the tree is removed, the dead religious folk are reincarnated, they are beautiful, they look perfect, 80 year olds look like they are 20-something. The religious group find people to become members of there church, to become a member, you must sacrifice your life (literally!) and then be raised from the dead into their perfect world. When this rips a family apart, it rips a whole world apart. These people are animals!