I thought this was perfectly spooky! I love Sleepy Hollow, and where we don't get to see much in depth in the original tale, we see it the more in this one! Christina Henry has a way of writing that's easy to get into, and the story kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Can recommend this!

"Horseman" by Christina Henry is a gripping and dark tale that blends fantasy, horror and historical fiction elements. The story follows Gideon, a former slave and Union soldier, as he embarks on a dangerous mission to hunt down a notorious and bloodthirsty outlaw known as the Horseman. Henry's writing is visceral and atmospheric, evoking a sense of dread and tension throughout the narrative. The characters are complex and flawed, with Gideon's determination and resilience shining through in the face of overwhelming odds. Overall, "Horseman" is an enthralling read that delivers a satisfying blend of action, horror, and historical fiction.

This was creepy and atmospheric and the perfect read for Halloween, it was engaging and intriguing and I really enjoyed it

I probably shouldn’t have read this book at nighttime, this short little tale scared the living hell out of me haha. But nevertheless, I enjoyed it (I think - in a way). Can’t wait to pick up more books from this author!

I have to come clean from the outset; I haven’t read Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and my bad memory prevents me from remembering the film starring the handsome Mr Depp, however having devoured Horseman, I’m now excited to go back and revisit them. Horseman revisits Sleepy Hollow to continue the story of Brom Bones and Ichabod Crane and how their rivalry has affected generations of villagers.
I’m a late discoverer of the author, but what I have read I’ve loved be it retellings of classics or brand new stories. The horror element is cleverly written and always justified, never gratuitously gory. She is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

3.5 stars
Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows the legend of the headless horseman but no one really believes that it's true. That is until children start to die and their hand and hands are nowhere to be found. Is the tale of the headless horseman really true or is something else stalking the inhabitants of sleepy hollow; something deadly.

I really enjoyed this novel despite having no real prior knowledge of the sleepy hollow story. an atmospheric and creepy novel the setting and characters had me hooked until the very end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

‘Horseman- A Tale of Sleepy Hollow’ takes place twenty years after the infamous Headless Horseman chased Ichabod Crane around Sleepy Hollow after he was sent there to investigate several deaths in the village. People still don’t believe the Horseman to be real and it’s been a while since he had surfaced. To the village, he is a myth.

Ben, a fourteen year old boy with a fascination for the Headless Horseman one day stumbles across a decapitated body in the forest, has the Headless Horseman returned?

There are strange goings on with ghouls, phantoms and more in the forest. But this time, it’s not the Headless Horseman. An unknown creature is going after the children and this time the horseman is the protector. The Headless Horseman is watching out for Ben, saving him from the creature in the woods. This isn’t the usual headless horseman that we all know who goes around killing people as the legend is told.

As the story goes on Ben finds out more about his family and their history than he could ever expect.

This one is a little different from her usual retellings and feels a little different too. But she’s done a really good job of capturing the vibe of the original story of Sleepy Hollow. It feels more of an extension of the original story rather than a retelling. But this also has the stamp of Christina Henry all over it.

There is a few twists and turns that I didn’t expect when reading this novel. The author did a brilliant job of keeping me surprised all the way to the end.

A perfect book for this time of year if you’re after something spooky. A dark and atmospheric read that will have you on the edge of your seat.

I am a massive fan of Christina Henry and she certainly did not disappoint with this one. A perfect horror with a creepy atmosphere and beautiful imagery, I couldn’t really ask for more. A retelling I would certainly recommend for fantasy horror fans.

Christina Henry never disappoints and this was a fabulous read during our spooky months and transition to our cosy time of year. I loved every part of this book and will be recommending it for months

I love how this was focused on the darker side of story and I think Henry’s writing is becoming darker , this horror story which uses elements of the Sleepy Hollow story isn’t a retelling so much as more influenced, I loved the creepy atmosphere , that I never felt entirely sure what was going to happen next. If you like horror but don’t want nightmares this is definitely for you (like it is me) , it’s still atmospheric and creepy, but not gory or horrific. This is a fantastic read from page one to end and you won’t be able to put it down

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Full review on my blog 2nd December 2021.

Content Warnings: gore, blood, violence, animal death, character death, sexual harassment, attempted assault, period typical racism, transphobia and homophobia, misgendering and deadnaming.

I actually don’t know the legend of Sleepy Hollow very well. I watched a few episodes of a Sleepy Hollow tv show years ago, but have never delved much deeper into it, so most of what I know comes from pop culture references to the Headless Horseman. From what I can tell, though, this book is much more a Sleepy Hollow continuation as opposed to a strict retelling. I actually kind of preferred that as it allowed Henry to delve into lots of fresh new aspects and create a character that we hadn’t seen before.

Ben, as our main character, was a really interesting perspective. I liked him a lot, both as a child and, after a time skip later in the book, as an adult. He was brash and reckless, selfish in moments and constantly quick to anger. But I loved this, because it felt incredibly true to character for a teenager growing up with split expectations – to become his father from his grandfather, or to be a girly-girl from his grandmother – and the pressure of being a trans character in the 1800s (if that time period is wrong, my bad, I failed GCSE history). I was initially a little wary when I realised Henry had given us a trans protagonist, as in my experience this can be handled badly in historical fiction, but I think she did well in the way he was written and treated by other characters and I liked having a queer protagonist in a Christina Henry horror novel! More trans horror is needed tbh.

HORSEMAN is a very atmospheric read. It’s gripping from the early pages and its relatively short page count works really well in combination with the slow and sinister pacing. This is a glancing-over-your-shoulder kind of read and the small-town setting really added to that. I love horror stories set in little towns, especially when you add a gloomy and threatening forest to that, because there’s a real sense of uncanny fear from knowing that the protagonist knows everyone in town and that one of them is a monster or a villain anyway. Adding to that the legend of the Headless Horseman threaded throughout the novel and I was constantly going back and forth between whether the threat was human or supernatural as I read.

I have seen a fair amount of mixed opinions on the ending of this book, but I really loved it. The final section of this book, after Ben is all grown up, is really emotive and powerful and I didn’t see the last few twists coming. I found myself genuinely emotional by the end of HORSEMAN and that’s rare for a horror novel.

I was completely sold by the premise of this one. I adore the legend of Sleepy Hollow, so I was excited to see it being honoured with a retelling. Sadly, I think my expectations were just a little too high, and the book just couldn't live up to what I wanted from it.

Don't get me wrong. That's not to say this is a bad book, in any way at all. It just didn't deliver what I thought I was getting. I went in with the wrong expectations and that's on me.

Read this one for the glorious writing, the fascinating character development and the continuation of a beloved story. Don't make my mistake and read this for a brutal bloody retelling of the original. This is not that book. Nor did it try to be.

This was my second outing with Christina Henry, and I found this one similarly underwhelming. Sadly I'm beginning to think she isn't an author for me - although I am told Lost Boy is her best, so I'm still willing to give her one more shot.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 average stars

Christina Henry is becoming a must read author in our Library, with our students adoring her dark retellings of fairy tales they all know. In this new book, Henry continues her journey deeper into the heart of this dark content and is really setting herself up as one of the modern Queens of the Gothic genre.

Christina Henry is famous for her retellings of dark, enduring children's classics like Peter Pan. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving isn't that well-known in the UK- I've seen the Tim Burton film and I'm vaguely aware of a Disney version!- but Henry's book is far enough removed from the source material that it doesn't matter. The main character is the only living descendant of Irving's anti-hero Brom Van Brunt and his sweetheart Katrina. 40 years have passed since Brom chased his rival out of town with help from the 'Headless Horseman', but his repeated efforts to dispel the myth have only the deepened the villagers' superstition. When the headless corpse of a child is discovered in a forbidden part of the woods, the town is fractured, with suspicion falling on the successful Van Brunt family and their unconventional grandchild. Henry's story draws heavily on European mythology to create a suspenseful 'pilgrim horror' story where the sins of the past return to haunt the settlers who tried to outrun them. The townsfolk's commitment to their land reminded me of Naomi Novik's Uprooted and the book felt a little like a spiritual prequel to Victor Lavelle's The Changeling, which features pilgrim-era monsters in the modern day. I will look out for more books by Christina Henry, particularly around Halloween.

Firstly, I just want to say a huge thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

CW: graphic depictions of death, mentions of abuse, alcoholism

If you have been following my reviews for a while, then you will know that this isn’t the first time I have read one of Henry’s books. It will also not be a surprise at all that I absolutely loved this novel and devoured it in one sitting. Somehow, each time I read one of Henry’s books they just get better and better which I didn’t know was even still possible.

Whilst her novels have always focused on the darker side of the traditional fairy tales that we all know (eg. Peter Pan) I am loving how her writing is becoming progressively darker and more gothic. From the opening pages I knew that I wouldn’t be able to put down Horseman, I was gripped immediately as we’re thrown into the woods with a mischievous Ben and Sander as they play ‘Sleepy Hollow Boys’. I really loved Ben’s character, and the exploration of his identity as he refuses to become the proper young woman that his Oma (Katrina) wishes he’d be and instead wants to model himself on his Opa (Brom) - the man who has such a presence wherever he is and is respected by the village.

Of course, this way of thinking does get Ben into trouble and he ends up seeing things and becoming more aware of the goings on in Sleepy Hollow than Katrina would like. He quickly begins to find himself even more intertwined with the suspicious incidents and bodies appearing in the woods than even he would like. I found Ben such a level headed character, yes he would want to push himself to be the best and the bravest but he would reach out and talk to Brom instead of trying to deal with it all by himself which we so often see in teenage protagonists. Each character we’re introduced to just captivated me, either for good reasons or for bad, Henry expertly builds relationships between characters as well as breaks them which result in some heart wrenching moments (keep some tissues handy!). One relationship I would have loved to have seen more of was the bond between Ben and Sander, however, the relationships between Ben and his grandparents were much more vital to the plot so it makes sense as to why other relationships weren’t as developed as this one.

Whilst I have heard of The Tale of Sleepy Hollow, I only know that the ‘Headless Horseman’ features heavily. However, even if you just have that one piece of information about the original text going into this novel that is more than enough to enjoy it and see the different ways that Henry is challenging the tale. I’m sure there are plenty of satisfying little easter eggs scattered throughout the pages for those who are much more familiar with the tale, but it isn’t a requirement by any means to enjoy this book. Whilst the novel is fast paced, instilling a sense of urgency to discover the truth behind what’s going on in the reader, it is still easy to keep up with and understand all the characters and their motives. I liked how Henry would often revisit little details and offhand comments made earlier on in the novel, as it just shows the amount of attention to detail has gone into this novel. It’s also incredibly satisfying to the reader when you can see where certain aspects of the story are linked.

I should wrap this up before I start accidentally spoiling the novel, because there are just so many parts of the novel that I could talk about for hours. I felt on edge and excited every time I turned the page, there were many moments where I was unsettled and uncomfortable and yet, there was something familiar behind the words and the pages that made it difficult to look away from. Overall, I highly recommend you pick up Henry’s latest gothic masterpiece (and then go back and read her other novels too!) whether it be for the spooky season or just in general - you won’t regret it!

https://lynns-books.com/2021/10/07/horseman-a-tale-of-sleepy-hollow-by-christina-henry/
2.5 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review: I think I misled myself

To be fair to the author, I will immediately hold up my hands and say that my own secret wishes and desires led me a little down the garden (or forest) path with this particular book. I’ve already read a couple of books by this author and really enjoyed them and so, basically, when I saw this book (with that cover) my tiny little brain went into overdrive and frankly pulled a number on me. What I was really wishing for was a blood soaked retelling of the Headless Horseman’s story – and let’s be clear here – this is certainly the right author to give us that book. I wanted to return to Sleepy Hollow and for Henry to give us a blood curdling shock or two. In actual fact this doesn’t promise to be a retelling at all but a continuation of the original story – so there you go, my bad. I also confess that given the month of October, Halloween approaching, and all things creepy generally pervading the air like a virus, yes, I wanted a good dose of the chills – again, my expectations kind of got the better of me in that respect – so, my bad, AGAIN.

So, the above confessed, the air cleared, I can say that I loved the storytelling voice here, I really like Christina Henry’s style. But, and of course there was going to be a but, this one just didn’t really work for me and I can’t help feeling all naffed off (much more than the actual story warrants) because I feel like a retelling of Sleepy Hollow could have been so good, particularly in the hands of this author, and so now I feel kind of cheated.

As I said, this is a continuation from the grandchild of Brom Bones, Ben Van Brunt. Ben and her friend frequently play in the woods surrounding the village until one day a body is found, the hands and head are missing and this gruesome discovery is then followed by the finding of another, similarly mutilated body.

Ben has always had a love of the woods, she imagines herself to be watched and almost protected by the idea of the Horseman. This is oddly out of sync with the rest of the village who fear the forest and are still deeply suspicious. There’s very much a ‘small village’ type of mentality shrouding Sleepy Hollow, it hasn’t moved forward with the times and is still cloaked in mystery. Outsiders don’t seem to stick around and there is an overall feeling of sadness that seems to permeate the place.

Like I mentioned above. I did love the writing here. I got a good feel for the place and the people. There’s a constant yo-yo ing of affection between Ben and her grandparents as each of them seem to vy for attention. Ben adores her grandfather, partly because (I think) he feels so big and strong, people defer to him naturally and he also makes Ben feel accepted just as she is. Basically, Ben wants to be a boy, and this is a theme that plays a large role in the story here but, personally, I’m not sure it was really well explored and I’m struggling to define why that is. I guess, at the end of the day, it feels like there’s more telling than showing and in some ways it feels like the emotional side of the story overshadowed all the other aspects. It just feels out of balance somehow or as though the author maybe lost focus with too many different ideas trying to fill a relatively small space.

In terms of the overall plot and the eventual reveal. I’m sorry to say that my overall feelings were ones of confusion and disappointment. There is more than one monster in these woods – imagine that, it could have been so good – but, the final reveal felt a little lacklustre. I don’t want to give away any spoilers here which is why I’m struggling to make my feelings clear but I guess overall I think both ‘monsters’ fell a little flat.

I think I’m going to end this review here. My ideas are a bit of a mess and I’ve had a real dilemma writing this review, rewriting it a couple of times already, so I’m going to call it a day and quit now.

Basically, I think my own ideas got in the way of this story’s success. I wanted something that was never actually promised and so ultimately I was disappointed. If you fancy a continuation of the legend of Sleepy Hollow this might be just what you’re looking for. Unfortunately it didn’t work it’s magic on me although I love this author and will very much look forward to her next book.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

Christina Henry is one of my favourite authors without a doubt. I have enjoyed her recent journeys into entirely original work but a part of me has sorely missed her ability to adapt traditional tales with that fantastic horror spin and tone. Horseman satisfied all of those cravings and more.

Horseman is the story of Ben, a trans teenager from the town of Sleepy Hollow. The headless horseman legends have always plagued his town but things become a bit too real when the corpse of a child is found with his hands and head missing. Ben decides to investigate but is held back by his grandma and grandfather, the former of which thinks it is unladylike to traipse around the woods and the latter of which seems to have secrets of his own.

This is a largely original horror story which only uses elements of the Sleepy Hollow mythos, often to great effect. Ben was a fantastic main character and I felt the trans identity stuff fit well with the themes of the novel (take this with a pinch of salt as I am not trans). Parts of this book felt a little slow or like not a huge ton was happening, but the creepy atmosphere was always there and I was never entirely sure what was going on in a good way. The characters as always are incredibly strong and they really helped add to the compelling nature of the book.

Overall, this is a solid effort from Henry and one I definitely recommend checking out, especially around the spooky autumn season. It's an interesting story with plenty of creepy elements and a strong main character, with added trans rep as a bonus. It's not my favourite book by Henry but it's a fantastic horror book and well worth the read.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Trigger warnings clarity: Lots of gore/graphic descriptions of dead bodies. Transphobia comes from characters aimed at the main character, not from the nature of the book itself. There is attempted rape

3.5 Stars

I was so looking forward to this one. Combining Christina Henry, who I adore for her dark and out of the box retellings, and the Classic tale of Sleepy Hollow! I was fully anticipating this to be AMAZING. Unfortunately, I think I over hyped this a little too much in my mind. It was OK. There were some interesting elements but overall I felt let down by the plot, they mystery just wasn’t as spooky or dark as I have come to expect from Henry and overall it just left me underwhelmed.

On the positive side I really liked the main character Ben, grandchild of Brom and Katherine from the original tale, they were a great character to follow. They were tenacious and adventurous and just a really exciting person to read about at they uncovered the mystery of their town. I adored the relationship between Ben and Brom, but also the contention and understanding between Ben and Katherine. They really felt like family filled with love. I thought the insight into Brom and Katherine’s marriage was also really touching and loving. They also had interesting story of their acceptance of being female at birth but identifying as male and pushing for that acceptance, particularly in the time period this is set . I cannot attest to how this plot line would sit with those who are in the trans/non-binary community and I would urge you to seek out own voices reviewers for how well this part of the story is told. I did find it an interesting twist but I also felt it was a little performative at times as it didn’t really have too much baring on the over arching horseman plot.

The horseman plot was the real let down. There was a lot building in the tension and how events were effecting the town were interesting but we only got the barest of glimpses and the overall reveal was predictable and I dare say boring. I just felt so much more could have been done. The pacing also seemed off. There were long moments of exposition, while more emotional and impactful moments were skipped over. Then a time skip at the end just seemed to reset the emotional resonance and it lost what impact it was building towards for me. Overall I was entertained but I wouldn’t be reaching for it as my go to Christina Henry read or even a spooky read for the season. Henry has much better stories out there than this one.

Never before have I been more excited to be accepted for an arc on NetGalley. I first discovered Christina Henry when I picked up her book ‘Lost Boys’ off the shelf at work one day. While none of her other stories have gripped me as strongly as that first one, I have yet to be disappointed by any of her work and always have to struggle to avoid reading it in one sitting.

While many of Christina’s books are retellings of classic tales, but with a unique twist, ‘The Horseman’ was more of a continuation set years later after the original story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

If you are after a spooky story in time for Halloween, but aren’t after something too scary or gory then this one is definitely for you. Combining the perfect amount of thriller and supernatural this book had me devouring each page until it was sadly completed. That being said, I feel like Christina managed to tell her story without dragging it along unnecessarily to add more pages.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

trigger warning
<spoiler> grief, gore, rape attempt, assault, kidnapping, transphobia, mention of rape, mention of domestic abuse </spoiler>

Years ago, a man disappeared, supposedly driven away by the headless Horseman. Now, corpses are being found - children, without their head and hands.

For the main chunk of this book, we have a child narrator, and what drove me off in the beginning was what I percieved as the trope of the tomboy girl who hates girly things and especially wearing stupid corsets because noooobody can breathe in those!
The depiction of this character got better and came away from that overused trope to a trans person finding his way in a world that is not used to people defying gender norms. I still think the beginning could be handled better, though.

The setting is a small village in the middle of nowhere, so hidden in the woods, that not even the fashion changes. Of course, everybody knows each other and has their eyes on you, in case you might lose your rightful path.

The creepy bits were nice creepy. As in, they got creepy and atmospheric for the reader, especially if said reader happened to be sitting in a dark room, alone.
We have both supernatural horror and people doing horrid things because they're people.

This felt short - my arc had 204 pages - but I think the length was sufficient for the plot and more would have added drag to the pacing. Also, after reading the original tales by Washington Irving ages ago, I thought that this book ties in neatly with those and succeeds in recreating the atmosphere.

I am glad to say that I can recommend this and will look into more works by the author.
The arc was provided by the publisher.