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Dark Harvest

By: Norman Partridge
Narrated by: Vikas Adam
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Publisher's summary

"This is contemporary American writing at its finest." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Winner of the Stoker Award and named one of the 100 Best Novels of 2006 by Publishers Weekly, Dark Harvest is a powerhouse thrill-ride with all the resonance of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery".

Halloween, 1963. They call him the October Boy, or Ol' Hacksaw Face, or Sawtooth Jack. Whatever the name, everybody in this small Midwestern town knows who he is. How he rises from the cornfields every Halloween, a butcher knife in his hand, and makes his way toward town, where gangs of teenage boys eagerly await their chance to confront the legendary nightmare. Both the hunter and the hunted, the October Boy is the prize in an annual rite of life and death.

Pete McCormick knows that killing the October Boy is his one chance to escape a dead-end future in this one-horse town. He's willing to risk everything, including his life, to be a winner for once. But before the night is over, Pete will look into the saw-toothed face of horror - and discover the terrifying true secret of the October Boy....

©2007 Norman Partridge (P)2020 Macmillan Audio
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Critic reviews

2007 World Fantasy Award-Finalist

2007 Short-listed Bram Stoker Awards-Winner

“Probably the most exciting and original voice in horror literature to have appeared in the last decade.” (Peter Straub)

“A major new talent.” (Stephen King)

“This is contemporary American writing at its finest.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Featured Article: Listen Before You Watch—The Biggest Page-to-Screen Adaptations in Fall/Winter 2022


It’s not just crunchy leaves and cozy vibes that autumn brings. This fall and winter, television and movie fans also have a lot to look forward to, with major page-to-screen adaptations slated from streaming and theatrical releases. So, as your next listen, consider tuning in to the original works that have inspired what are sure to be our new book-to-movie and book-to-television obsessions.

What listeners say about Dark Harvest

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good Bones

Read it before watching the movie. It is a solid story. I'm interested to see how it is adapted. I hope they make it better not worse, and fill the gaping hole.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent, like a good Stephen King book.

Great original story with intriguing characters. It never drags like a lot of King's stories do and keeps you hanging on.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story.

This was a good story overall, I liked how it was written and performed, just wish it was longer. More backstory to the town and its people and what made the entire ritual start, and definitely more about what happen to them after.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Halloween Story!

Absolutely enjoyed this book from the story to the performance! If you want a quick listen for Halloween I couldn’t recommend this enough

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Meh boys horror story

It’s like all the things boys like in stories about growing up. It was boring I started & stopping it multiple times cause it was just annoying not the narrator fault per se but the author over florid language was too much for me.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

good story, overdone narration

the narrators constant strangely forced deep tone tried to give a sense of ominous portent and suspense, but it just distracted me from the story constantly and made it hard to actually feel any sort of suspense or tension.

story was well written, but unfortunately it was overshadowed by the "I'm trying to be dark and sinister" droning narration

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

If you need a little bit of spooky this is it!

If you're hesitanting to get this one, just do it, you won't be disappointed!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting idea

I loved how it took everything you thought it would be and turned it in its head. The narrator did a great job.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Really Enjoyable

The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was because I wanted to know the CAUSE of the Dark Harvest. Definitely recommend. Tor is such an outstanding publisher.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

it's OK

The narration gets a bit much and the story goes on for a bit too long.

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1 person found this helpful