BOOK REVEIW | IN THE VALLEY OF THE HEADLESS MEN | L.P. HERNANDEZ

 

BOOK REVIEW

IN THE VALLEY 

OF THE 

 

HEADLESS MEN

 

BY L.P. HERNANDEZ

COVER BY GEOFF PARELL / NUMB PHASE DESIGN

About the Book

 

Nahanni National Park is one of last truly wild places on earth. Accessible only by plane, and only when the weather cooperates, it's the perfect place for estranged brothers Joseph and Oscar to have an adventure following the death of their mother. Gillian, Joseph's first love, invites herself along in the spirit of friendship.The park is much more than beautiful. It's mysterious, with legends of giants and hidden, prehistoric animals. And among its few visitors, an outsized number of violent deaths inspire its second, more seductive name.While dreaming of the future, the group finds themselves confronted by the past. Far from home and far from help.

 

  REVIEW

In the Valley of the Headless Men, L.P. Hernandez tells the story of Joesph, Oscar and Gillian as they travel through the haunted wilds of Nahinni National Park

Mourning the loss of their mother, the semi estranged half brothers, Joseph and Oscar decide to tale a trip into this untouched land after Oscar discovers some letters from Joseph's absent father who documents his time in the valley. Connected by grief and a shitty upbringing where both their fathers were absent and are still having an effect on both their lives, the two men decide to take an impromptu trip into this secluded wilderness to both rediscover the legacy Joseph's father has left and also to reconnect on some level due to both men having a difficult past.

Joe on the one hand has a failed relationship with his wife, and also has a complicated relationship with his ex – partner Gillian, whilst Oscar experienced problematic and substance use problems. An unexpected twist in the story occurs when Gillian accompanies the two men to the Valley.

Connected by their shared grief, each member of the party hopes to work through the scars of their lives that have left an indelible imprint on their souls.

Set in the real life haunted Valley of Headless Men in Northern Canada, where tales of hauntings, inexplicable deaths where a number of headless bodies have been found throughout its history, prehistoric creatures from the ice age run rife, we follow the party as their perception and realities are bent, twisted and upended as they travel to the heart of the Valley.

Throughout the story, Hernandez explores the grief and relationships of the characters and the book is in equal parts melancholic as it is mind bending. This is a well written tale that has a number of themes running through it, such as the effects that parentage has on children and how they carry that throughout their lives. There is a strong theme of how trauma has a long lasting effect and has repercussions in the present.

In the Valley of the Headless Men is a well crafted debut that quietly builds the tension as the story progresses to its otherworldly conclusion.