So, the other day the mail arrives and
like so often happens there are a couple packages for me. I rip open
the first one and low and behold it's the new novel by Brian Keene.
Holy shit. Time to drop everything I'm doing and hunker down for the
latest from my favorite writer.
This one is titled DARK HOLLOW and it
is nothing short of brilliant.
I hesitated to post a review on this
one already as it is not coming out till February of next year but
I'm just so damn excited I can't keep it to myself.
Folks this one is so great and so cool,
well if you don't read it your a damn fool.
Weaving characters in the way that only
he can Keene tells the tale of an ancient evil, awakened by accident
and now loose to wreak havoc on a small Pennsylvania town. The main
character, a struggling new author, sets out one day on his normal
daily activities, write a little, walk the dog, etc. A chance
meeting with a jogging neighbor leads him into the nearby woods where
he witnesses something so bizarre and disturbing that he convinces
himself that it must have surely been a dream or misunderstanding but
quickly things begin to escalate out of control and the true nature
of the horror is revealed and it is like nothing you have ever read
before.
As I often find myself struggling with
when I write these reviews I don't want to give away the story or any
of the surprises but I also want to convey my excitement about this
project and so with that in mind I want to tell you about one part of
the novel that really shook me. Don't read the next paragraph if you
don't want to know a little of the story.
In the early part of the book Keene
writes of the main character and his wife suffering a miscarriage.
It is a horrible, terrifying and well, fantastic. I didn't want to
read it but I couldn't stop. The recounting of this horrible life
altering event is written so perfectly that it moves you in a way
that not many things do or in a way that very few authors can manage.
Keene is special and with each new work
that he releases I become more and more convinced that he is the
future of American horror.
He writes in the style of King but with
his own voice. He shares that ability to paint colorful characters
whose lives you quickly find yourself wrapped up in and before you
know it the sun is coming up and you're still reading.
Brain Keene rules and if you have ever
read a genre novel you owe it to yourself to head oout and pick up
some of his work and DARK HOLLOW is a great place to start.
If you don't want to wait till DARK
HOLLOW comes out there are plenty of other great works by Keene out
there that can occupy you till February. I highly recommend GHOUL or
THE RISING but you can't go wrong with any work that this man has
committed to the page.
You can check out all that he is up to
by heading over to his official website by clicking here.
I'll make sure to remind you closer to the time DARK HOLLOW comes out.