In the acknowledgements of the novel, author Chuck Wendig writes about how boring, bland and uninteresting apples are. That was until a trip to a local farmers market unlocked his taste for the many lesser-known varieties. If you’ve followed Chuck on any of his social media platforms the last few years, you’re aware of his thirst for “lost apples” – the ones that you won’t find on grocery store shelves. In fact, there are an estimated 7,500 different assortments all over the world and there are even those, like famed apple-hunter Tom Brown, who have dedicated their lives to bringing them into the light.

Black River Orchard follows one of those aforementioned apple-hunters; a man named John Compass as he ventures across America looking for apples that have been lost to time. A colleague and friend of his, Walt, disappeared a number of years ago in search of the “perfect” apple – a fruit so delicious and stunning that no one is quite sure if it is reality or myth.

But someone did find that apple. Dan Paxton, a humble orchard owner, somehow got his hands on what his daughter dubs the “Ruby Slipper” apple – a fruit so deeply red, it is nearly black. But this apple holds within it a dark power – the power to heal injuries, increase health and vitality, and turn back the clock making one feel young again. In exchange however, the apple takes away your empathy and kindness, it makes you tougher and meaner and supplies an insatiable desire for more, more, more.

As a community is consumed by a ravenous need for Paxton’s miracle fruit, those who refuse to indulge in the bountiful crop feel a sense of dread. Their loved ones are changing, and not for the better.

While I still read dozens and dozens of books a year, it’s been a while since I’ve felt that compulsive need to race through a book. With Black River Orchard, if I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. While Chuck Wendig’s book carries a hefty five-hundred plus page count, it felt like a tight five-hundred and forty pages (if that’s possible). Wendig follows a number of characters allowing the reader to get to know each one in great detail as the story’s perspective shifts regularly. This can sometimes be annoying when you’re just getting into the head of any one of the book’s protagonists or antagonists, but if done correctly, can allow the story to stay fresh and the pace to move at a blistering speed. Thankfully the latter is the outcome here.

I know I’ve said this before, but Wendig’s style is just the absolute best. It feels very conversational and certainly lends an air of authenticity to his work. This is generally how Wendig writes in both his blog and social media posts, so you know it comes naturally and isn’t forced. It’s hard to explain. I love when he intersperses random self-destructive thoughts that bubble to the surface when he gets into the head of a character – this is very much how my brain operates at times and it feels refreshing to see that represented on a page.

The body horror is excellent as well. There are more than a few grotesque scenes here and those who look for this in their spooky season reads will be greatly rewarded. Never before have I both been simultaneously craving an apple and also never wanting to look at one again. Turns out you can make anything seem disgusting if you try hard enough. Without throwing out too much in the way of spoilers, one of the novel’s peripheral characters gave me echoes of Stephen King’s Trashcan Man from The Stand and boy, does he get gross as the book moves along.

Black River Orchard is a twisted, gnarly read that will absolutely find a spot in my top five fiction reads in 2023. If you’re looking for a new book as we creep closer to Halloween, I can’t think of a better recommendation than Wendig’s newest tome.

Black River Orchard hits shelves on September 26th, 2023.