DARK CLOUD ON NAKED CREEK

A nurse discovers she possesses ancient mountain magic in O’Quinn’s West Virginia-set fantasy novel.

Afton Sullivan works as a prison nurse, but her strange powers make it difficult to do her job. When she lays hands on her patients, she feels a shock and is able to see into their thoughts—the memories of their crimes and their future intentions. Sometimes, when her revulsion is too great, her power seems to kill the patient. When an older nurse recognizes Afton’s abilities as a form of ancient magic (and then warns her not to trust the new assistant director of nursing—a woman who recently appeared in one of Afton’s dreams—before dying mysteriously), Afton questions the source of her powers. Using a number left by the dead woman, Afton contacts Miss Betty, a folk healer who introduces Afton to the concept of the Cunnin’ Folk. Though from the outside they appear to be mere “Appalachian Grannies,” the Cunnin’ Folk “tend to know things that most don’t. These people protect the mountains roundabout and those who belong here. They go to great lengths to keep the secrets of the mountain people.” Miss Betty is one, and apparently Afton is, too. What’s more, Afton is a special case, so special that she was hidden away so that she would not be murdered, like her parents, by enemies of the Cunnin’ Folk. Whether she likes it or not, Afton is now involved in a struggle between light and dark magic, and there’s no guarantee that she will make it out of the hollers alive. O’Quinn’s breathless prose succeeds in evoking the romance and magic of the Appalachians, mountains “that seemed scarcely touched by the outside world, and somehow remained unchanged for many generations. The battles in the modern world hadn’t tainted or influenced this place.” The premise is a familiar one for fantasy readers, and the plot unfolds at a pace that some may find too leisurely, but many will enjoy the locale-specific spell O’Quinn weaves in this fantastic tale.

A distinctly Appalachian-themed iteration of a classic fantasy premise.