Dark Hollow - Dark Publications

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Customer Reviews: Read 26 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Wow, Keene is steamy! June 21, 2008
29 out of 32 found this review helpful

If you like horror and suspense and reading how books are written then this will be a double treat. The main hero, Adam Senft is a decently successful writer who decided to give up his other job to write that great story that would be his ticked to solidified fame. With his wife Tara he settles into a quiet lifestyle in a home in Pennsylvania. His wife carrying the burden of commuting to work gave him time to sit back, enjoy the quiet, walk the dog and write those hot selling books. Little does he know but that peace is shattered with the arrival of spring. From the very first page the story hits off and then drops the reader back on Earth to catch up. Adam finds his neighbor, an attractive female involved in some strange activity in the LeHorn woods. Embarrassed and freaked out he starts a chain of events that brings upon him strange lust, bad luck and a horrific creature that is after every wife in town. When people start to disappear and those left act strangely little time is left before Adam's wife and his entire life is thrown into a well of chaos. Along with his friends he must get to the bottom of a mysterious nemesis that shakes his reality and to defend his territory from a menacing male - something.

Brian Keene surprised me this time, I didn't particularly like "The Conqueror Worms" and after reading it I was afraid that his style was set in stone; that another story would have random additives and would be scattered, but not so with "Dark Hollow". Was it literary genius? No, but it was darn addictive and enjoyable, it did what a good, gripping fiction book should - it enchanted the reader and gave satisfaction for reading it. I felt my teeth sink into the story until I absorbed its contents. It took me in and hardly ever stopped being great. The reason for 4 stars versus 5 ( since I am gushing about it ) is really simple; as I get older I get little tougher when I judge a book, and really only give 5 stars when it stirs my guts with a stick and makes me obsessed with what I just read - hard task, so 4 stars is not too shabby, trust me. Some of my favorite parts were reading about Adam's preparations and how he did his writing, it felt real and was such a treat.

Before I finish I must just say how proud I am of Keene for making this book steamy; he was very liberal with all sorts of naughty scenarios and wrote his book fulfilling his fantasies about just putting out that salty novel out there into the world. I saw no holding back and hopefully he can always write like this, but obviously only when necessary to the plot, gratuitous use of sex is plain fake, when the story doesn't scream for it; don't include it to avoid embarrassment- unless you're Richard Laymon. He was the king of lascivious books - at least to me and it's hard to knock him of that throne in my head. Like Laymon, Keene tapped into that channel and produced a decent read; I really enjoyed it tremendously and will try to read his other works. I know I criticized him heavily in my last review so I am trying to redeem myself, but it feels right only because this book deserved it. Fun, raunchy and actually interesting, good change from the usual gore and bloody horror, I read it on the bus, after dinner and then in bed; it was good stuff.

- Kasia S.

5 out of 5 stars

There's something in the woods.... February 3, 2008
15 out of 18 found this review helpful

I think it's a safe bet that in the horror section of any bookstore, there are more books under "K" than any other author. It's almost certain given since Stephen King and Dean Koontz are a couple of the biggest selling authors, each with an extensive list of titles that remain in print. According to the back of Dark Hollow, the Horror Review calls Brian Keene the next Stephen King. That may be a bit of hyperbole; more likely, he will be the author next to Stephen King in the bookstore.

Actually, Dark Hollow is a pretty good book and there is a certain King-like quality to it. After all, the main character is a writer (very common to King protagonists) and he likes to throw in rock `n roll references here and there (another King trait). The hero in Dark Hollow is Adam Senft, a writer who is just beginning to be successful enough to be a full-time novelist. He and his wife Tara live in a small Pennsylvania town that abuts a large, old forest. One morning while walking his dog, Adam goes into the forest and stumbles upon a female neighbor indulging in rather kinky acts with what turns out to be a satyr.

Of course, Adam doesn't realize this at first, but soon enough, he realizes that there is a supernatural being living in the forest, one that can play its pipes and hypnotically seduce any woman. As women begin to disappear, and even Tara hears the call of the satyr, Adam recruits his nearby friends to take action. This will involve looking into a decades-old murder case as well as more excursions into the forest, where it will turn out the satyr is not the only strange creature.

Keene may not stylistically be the most original author, but he works well in the horror genre. Dark Hollow is an effective thriller which keeps the pages turning and leads to a satisfying concluding twist. He may not be Stephen King, but Keene is still worth reading.

5 out of 5 stars

Keene's Masterpiece January 25, 2008
9 out of 12 found this review helpful

I read "Dark Hollow" when it was published under the earlier title "The Rutting Season." Of Keene's novels that I've read (and I've read most of them), this one is not only his personal best, it's one of the best "traditional horror" novels I have read this decade, period. "Dark Hollow" contains everything yo want in this kind of novel - excellent characters, an ominous atmosphere, and supernatural events that escalate in a way that make them completely plausible. Keene has built up a legion of fans, but that fanbase could explode anytime. This guy is the real deal.

5 out of 5 stars

Very original horror February 1, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

A lot of times we read a lot of hype on book covers telling us that the author is the future of horror or "the next Stephen King" etc. In the case of Brian Keene, it really is the truth. He is an amazing novelist. Although this is not my personal favorite of his novels, it is a very enjoyable, disturbing, ORIGINAL read. I've read hundred of horror novels but this is truly one of the more unique ones. A great book.

5 out of 5 stars

An intense tale of horror February 2, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

As others have already noted here, any fan of contemporary horror fiction needs to put this one on their reading list for '08. Keene's ability to create nuanced, utterly believable characters and place than in surreal, deeply frightening situations has never been so powerfully employed. The atmosphere in these pages is so thick you can almost feel yourself getting sucked in as the story moves along. Highly recommended, and I'd urge anyone who enjoys Keene's work to also check out Crimson Orgy by Austin Williams, another superb new horror thriller that kept me up late at night.

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