Rasheedah Prioleau ‘The Everlasting’ Review
Written by: S.T. King
The Everlasting, written by Rasheedah Prioleau is a dark tale of a curse: a thick presence looming over the island of Sa’Fyre. The story revolves around Aiyana, the soon to be Queen of the island’s inhabitants, and her struggle with learning the truth about her past.
The story starts with a festival, a celebration of the island’s flourish, designed to bring happiness and joy to the island’s tribes; almost quickly though with fun and games, between Aiyana and her siblings, things go wrong — and pleasure, turns to terror.
From the beginning Aiyana is forced to confront a threatening reality: that the transition to Queen is changing her and her siblings; with that is the gripping truth that the evil haunting the island wants something from her – and it will kill anyone who stands in its way.
The Everlasting is horror in every sense of the word – complete with the expected entrée of sex, drugs, and gore (along with a side dish of romance). The evil plunging the island of Sa’Fyre into darkness has simple ambitions: that of destruction — and vengeance.
To the reader who desires a trip to a supernatural place: a modern place of lush beaches and sparkling waters – prepare to strap in, but don’t set your sights too high; this story offers an appetizer, hardly enough to satisfy seasoned and demanding cravings. The lack of meat on this tale’s bones is best attributed to the writing style which comes off most times as forced, dull, and stereotypical.
The story tells an interesting tale, yet leaves much to be desired. The main characters are presented as unique, yet they speak in the same voice. The prose tries to be entrenching, to bring you in to look around, but in the end it’s something you’ve seen before already.
Prioleau crafts a tale that tries a bit hard to be dark — to be ominous, different, and distinctive. While it has its share of interesting narrative, and moments of dire and riveting tension — what we end up with is a story with a fairly predictable progression of events – so much it often feels contrived and empty.
Rating: 2.5/5
About the Author: S.T. King is an aspiring author with a ravenous appetite for both the dark and the fantastique. Currently he’s a mental health counselor, helping people purge the skeletons from their closets – though admittedly, he thinks it’s more fun putting them back in.
Horror Novel Reviews 
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