Because it is hard to let Halloween go and also because Horror can be read all year long, I present the next Christopher Golden novel, coming in January but set during Halloween in 1984, and I gave it a STAR. In fact, I think choosing to have it come out in January, is a marketing plus. It would have gotten lost during Halloween, but in winter, it will stand out. Thankfully, it deserves this spotlight.
As usual, I have posted my draft review with bonus appeal info, readalikes, and my 3 words.
By Christopher Golden
Jan. 2023. 336p. St. Martin’s, $27.99 (9781250280299); e-book, $14.99 (9781250280305).
First published November 1, 2022 (Booklist)
Bestselling Horror author Golden is back with an original and realistically frightening entry into the popular Halloween night subgenre, but readers will rejoice as they encounter it any time of year. October 31, 1984, on a suburban cul-de-sac, Rick Barbosa is setting up his famous Haunted Wood attraction in the back yard with his 17 year-old daughter, Chloe, for the last time. The entire neighborhood, like most of the country, is at a crossroads as societal change and family drama are coming to a head up and down the street. But this year there are also some creepy, unaccompanied children mixing in with the trick or treaters, children who are from another time and only have until Midnight to escape “The Cunning Man.” Uneasy from the opening moments, this tale builds its tension relentlessly with multiple points of view from a range of neighbors of all ages, revealing unsettling domestic dramas, until it bursts wide open, with multiple twists, each revealing something more violent and terrifying than anyone could have imagined, and leaving no one unscathed. Suggest confidently to fans of a wide range of fresh, violent, and immersive folk horror such as Lute by Thorne, The Autumnal by Kraus, and Hex by Olde Heuvelt.
YA: With its Slenderman meets Stranger Things vibe, Halloween night setting, and a strong cast of teen protagonists carrying the narration, this will be a year-round crowd pleaser for teen readers, replacing titles like Something Wicked This Way Comes as the new Halloween set standard bearer.
Further Appeal: This is an excellent horror novel, from start to finish. This should surprise no one as Christopher Golden is one of the top practitioners in Horror today. Not only are the supernatural elements reliably scary, original, and compelling, but the domestic drama, the every day unease, is spot on. As he always does, Golden crafts a setting where people from all identities and walks of life live and gather. It is realistically diverse as a close suburb of a major city is [speaking as someone who lives in one].
It is a story that continues to haunt the reader after finishing it. The monsters and demons, both supernatural and personal, still haunt us because they still surround us, but it is that setting-- 1984-- a time just before everything will change for our country. The way kids were allowed to be free range and how politics were about to change forever. The Regannomics that would alter everything. And how our interconnectivity via the computer age, which would dawn with the Apple home computing revolution that begins in 1984 with that famous Super Bowl commercial, would change the way we interact with each other. Golden set this story at this important moment for a reason. It's not just for the "retro vibes." This is a conscious statement, one that add to the lingering terror and unease, and this is also why this novel demanded a star.
Golden creates a wholly new, utterly terrifying lore, yet one that manages to retain a nostalgic Horror feel. This where this book will leave a lasting impression, now and for years to come.
It is a Halloween story that can and should be read all year long, and with that great cover, if placed face out, it will jump off the shelf and into the hands of readers any time of year.
Three Words That Describe This Book: multiple points of view, folk horror, immediate unease intensifying to terror
Readalikes: Of course Halloweenset books will appeal here, and I mention a few above, but you can also see a crowd-sourced list of Halloween tagged books here on Goodreads. However, there is also a strong cursed community where the residents are working through their personal demons and battling an actual supernatural monster feel as well, which is why I had Booklist add Daphne by Joh Malerman to the list of readalikes online here.
There are also strong Christopher Pike vibes here as well as R.L. Stine's Fear Street.
No comments:
Post a Comment