Dark Hollow

Dark Hollow works with a horror palette composed of fresh locations and ideas. Rural Pennsylvania between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh is sometimes compared to Alabama. I don't think the comparison is useful in more than the broadest strokes, but you can't go wrong with the woods when you need a brooding atmosphere. The locals, led by Adam Senft, discover the local women are going missing. Local forays into the aforementioned woods near their community reveal the presence of a mythical creature that they must confront.

There is an interesting connection in Dark Hollow to Keene's Rising and City of the Dead. Eventually we discover the malevolent spirits inhabiting the trees are a handful of entities that are the same as the second wave of show more invasion in the Rising stories, led by the spirit Ab, brother of zombie-king Ob, deliverer of occasional hammy one-liners. The two stories cannot be a consistent narrative, but suggest that there might be some sort of underlying framework to Keene's world-building. I haven't read enough other titles to determine more linkages, but I wouldn't be surprised if they existed.

I'm still unsure of Keene's personal position on faith, but Dark Hollow continues to add to the dialog that presumably started in The Rising. The latter and its sequel are unambiguous in the existence of a higher power, the only method through which the evil forces at work are ultimately refuted. Dark Hollow, on the other hand, gives us Powwow, a home-brewed kluge of religion and witchcraft. Toward the end, the characters practice their own Powwow on the fly, choosing talismans and duck-taping spells together to overcome a nature spirit that exists outside of a good and evil construct. The magic and belief in this story feels almost post-modern in comparison to The Rising.

All that said, Keene has more than proven his horror chops over the past several years. The characterization in this book was better than earlier books, although I occasionally had difficulty sorting out the different men in Adam's group. The bones of the plot are strong, and I can even overlook the tardiness with which the characters recognize that Shelly has gone missing. Dark Hollow is exceptionally explicit about sex in places, so people sensitive to that sort of thing may wish to reconsider. show less

I found The Conquerer Worms disappointing so it took me a while to pick up Dark Hollow by Brian Keene. And once again I’m disappointed, but this time it’s because I put it off reading this book for so long.

Dark Hollow is the tale of a small town in Pennsylvania, once a farming community, now home to Adam, a midlist mystery writer, his wife and their dog. But their town is also home to something else, an other-worldly creature, summoned long ago and finally awakened again with the first day of spring.

Dark Hollow is a very compelling tale. Sure there’s a monster in woods, and some creepy carnivorous demon trees, but the real horror is in the effect the events of the story have on the characters, particularly Adam and his wife. Keene show more is able to drive a man’s loyalty into very dangerous places, pitting his own nature against his ideals. The conflict made Dark Hollow hard to put down and held up through the very last line.

It’s easily my favorite Keene work so far. While it counts as horror, there’s less gore and violence and far more dread and conflict, which is exactly why Keene seems ready to cross the line into a position rare for a horror author–mainstream acceptance. show less

A man suffering from writer's block discovers that the forest near his home is populated by an ancient being that can take control of the women near him, including his wife, who--along with him--has been having trouble conceiving a child. The culmination of the writer's attempts to stop this beast lead to a classic Keene downer ending, and one that makes sense in context.

One of my favorite Keene novels with a lot to say on how people don't know each other anymore. I learned to love the downer ending thanks to this novel.

The book's biggest achievements are Keene's clever disarming of predictable tropes, pacing, and some really keen scenes set well. He also closes better than a lot of other authors in the genre. It manages to be a page-turner despite itself... I don't quite know how it worked. Self aware. Good trick. Very little happens in the first 100 pages - aside from an event with a one(ish) page description in the first or second chapter, and character development (did the author mention that the character is an author, with an author life, author thoughts, and author quasi-celebrity status?). I live in the region that the book takes place, which made it more fun and boosted my rating from 3 to 3.5(rounded up to 4).

The satyr kinky parts are pretty show more well done - although there is an indisputable thread of stereotyping and caricaturizing of male insecurities and playing off of the fear of "the other" being more sexually appealing, what with his bigger penis and swarthy earthy primacy and all. Rather than reading as insulting, it works here, though - it's rather the point of the thing. Keene presents loving relationships that counter the way he dances on the edge of presenting women as props and victims. One last thing, there's a limit to how much satyr pre-cum I think the average reader wants exposure to.
I'm going to read the sequel(s?). Better than I thought it would be! show less

This book reminded me of that cartoon "King of the Hill" - four guys standing around in their yards and drinking beer. Only instead of talking about barbecue and propane they were talking about their missing neighbors and the odd legends about the dark and scary woods behind their houses.

Like Edward Lee's book "Flesh Gothic", there was way too much penis worship in this book. This is only the third Keene book I've read, but I still haven't seen a strong female character in any of them. In this novel the women remain completely clueless about what is happening in their town, and it's left up to the men to go off and rescue their little gals from the clutches of the evil satyr with the large penis. Even though the ladies kind of seemed to show more be having a good time. And ultimately, there was retribution and punishment of the women for having strayed a little too far afield, and having too much fun doing it.

In this book dogs can be trusted, but women can't. I like Keene's books and I liked this one but just be prepared to be doused in testosterone when you read it. show less

Very good and gripping, hard to put down. Genuinely disturbing - a theme that could have been cheesy but wasn't. Depressing losses but I liked the bond between the friends, the ambience of the woods and legend. Keene writes great horror with a talented hand. Full review to come.

Aspiring author Adam Senft is trying to keep things together as he builds his writing career and tries to keep his marriage together, which has hit a serious strain as a result of his wife’s miscarriages and the emotional toll it has taken on her. Things take a dramatic turn for the worst in his Central Pennsylvania neighborhood when he comes across a neighbor of his performing oral sex on statue of a satyr that has come to life after these strange pipes play. He realizes he has not lost his mind when women in his neighborhood begin to go missing. The satyr is a threat to Adam and his male neighbors as they ban together to protect their wives and the other women from falling prey to the mystical power of the satyr. This leads to an show more old murder that occurred nearby and a confrontation against a powerful supernatural force.

I have read some other quality novels by Keene, but this has to be the best novel of his that I’ve read. For one thing, he does a remarkable job with character development. Adam Senft is a lifelike character that I can fully relate to. The side characters are similarly well-developed. The use of a satyr as a villain in this novel is pretty unique and cool. For a character that doesn’t have much dialogue, it’s also a well-developed character. The story unfolds at a logical and brisk pace. The horror elements are spot on. The only thing that I thought was kind of a downer was the ending, which although fitting wasn’t terribly uplifting. This is a top notch horror novel that you will want to read.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street show less