Wildwood Road is the latest novel from prolific but still relatively little known author Christopher Golden. Golden has had his greatest commercial success with a series of novels based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but along the way he has been writing some very interesting but not terribly well marketed horror novels as well.
Golden's writing is in the tradition of Bentley Little, but he manages to pull of the combination of supernatural elements from ancient mythology and the realities of the modern world more smoothly than Little does, relying more on character development and less on visceral shock value. Golden's work is perhaps less obviously scary and more creepy and troubling than that of most contemporary horror writers.
Wildwood Road is the story of an ad artist named Michael Dansky who is driving home from a Halloween party with his wife and has a bizarre experience which he at first thinks is a dream but which turns out to be much more. In a semi-drunken state, he picks up a young girl named Scooter on the side of the road and then drives her home where she leaves him with the enigmatic demand 'come find me'. He then inexplicably awakens in his car pulled off on the side of the road and his wife has slept through the whole incident.
At first this sounds like the classic 'phantom hitchiker' urban legend scenario, but it turns out to be nothing of the kind. As the plot unravels so does Michael's entire life and world view as the supernatural intrudes more and more on his existence and his work and home life are torn apart. I'm not going to share any more details than that, but the depiction of a spiraling sequence of increasingly out of control and destructive events is really very well done and the final denouement is creative and unexpected, yet still makes perfect sense.
Article comments
1 - DrPat
It's a bit wierd how enjoyable Golden's books are. I was amazed reading The Boys Are Back in Town at how easily I was able to slip into his alternate-world view of life.
Sounds like Wildwood Road is another one for my bookshelf - thanks, Dave!
2 - Dave Nalle
Golden is indeed very engaging. Even his hack-work is above average and fun to read. I also think he's getting better. The Ferryman was kind of weak, but as he's gone on with this sort of book he's been getting better and better, especially at characterization and at making sure that the elements of myth he uses as the source of the supernatural horror in the stories make sense.
Dave
3 - Dave Nalle
This book review has apparently NOT been selected for Advance.net.
(Hangs head in sadness and woe)
Dave
4 - Eric Berlin
Dave - I was behind this week and had to fly through dozens of books posts. I'll take a close look at your stuff at next go round and we'll see what's what.
Sound good?
5 - Dave Nalle
Ah, but when will I have time for another book review with all my mourning over the last three that were missed...
Dave
6 - Temple Stark
The answer is obvious.
7 - Dave Nalle
Isn't that a quote from the Magic 8-Ball?
Dave