Darker Than You Think (Fantasy Masterworks)

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Darker Than You Think (Fantasy Masterworks)

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 319 ratings · 46 reviews

Who is the child of the night? That's what small-town reported Will Barbee must find out. Inexorably drawn into investigating a rash of grisly deaths, he soon finds himself embroiled in something far beyond mortal understanding.
Doggedly pursuing his investigations, he meets the mysterious and seductive April Bell and starts having disturbing, tantalizing dreams in which h...more

Paperback, 266 pages

Published August 2003 by Gollancz/Orion (first published 1940)

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Dec 02, 2012 Michael Fierce rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of werewolves and witches

Shelves: werewolves, witches, dark-fantasy, pulp-magazine-like, voodoo, illustrated

I held out on purchasing this book for years until I could find the one with the cover I wanted most: A naked red-haired witch riding a huge golden sabre-toothed tiger against a backdrop of brilliantly hued blues and greens. And this is considered a werewolf novel.

Though, it would be better defined as a book of lycanthropy and witchcraft.

I first became aware of this book after reading the precursor novella, Wolves of Darkness, in a fantasy anthology titled, Echoes Of Valor III, edited by Karl ...more

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Feb 25, 2011 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: easton-press, darker-than-you-think, were-is-the-wolf, fantasy, 1930-1953

5.0 to 5.5 stars. I just finished re-reading this FANTASY CLASSIC after originally reading it over 10 years ago. As good as I thought it was back then, I must have read it too quickly and not absorbed all of the nuances because this time around I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! Originally published in 1948, this novel is one of the definitive stories about werewolves. I certainly think it is the most interesting explanation for Homo lycanthropus that I have ever come across.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PLOT

Will...more 5.0 to 5.5 stars. I just finished re-reading this FANTASY CLASSIC after originally reading it over 10 years ago. As good as I thought it was back then, I must have read it too quickly and not absorbed all of the nuances because this time around I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! Originally published in 1948, this novel is one of the definitive stories about werewolves. I certainly think it is the most interesting explanation for Homo lycanthropus that I have ever come across.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PLOT

Will Barbee is a correspondent for a local paper. As the story opens, Will is at the airport covering the return from Mongolia of an scientific expedition that has been exploring ancient ruins. The expedition has informed the press that they have made a discovery that will "change everything" and effect all of mankind and they plan to make their discovery known immediately as they fear they may be in danger from what they describe as "the ancient enemy."

The expedition was led by Will's old professor and the other members of the expedition are all close friends of Wills. In fact, Will had originally studied with the professor at the university and had believed he would accompany the group on the expedition. However, the professor, after doing a standard medical examination on Will refused to allow Will to join the group and effectively dismissed him from the team without any explantion. This led to Will having very bitter feelings for the professor who is once admired.

At the airport, Will meets April Bell, a reporter from another paper there to cover the same story. Will is immediately drawn to April and yet he feels that there is something "very dark" about her. April also appears hostile towards the members of the expedition.

Prior to making their discovery public, the professor dies of seemingly natural causes. However, Will (for a variety of reasons I won't give away) suspects April Bell. Afterwards, Will becomes determined to discover the truth about both (i) the expeditions discovery and (ii) what happened to the professor.

That is the basic premise of the story and sets the stage for the rest of the novel but all of that takes place in the first chapter of the book. As for the rest of the story, it is hard to discuss without giving away spoilers, so I will try and be very general. Despite Will's suspicions of April, he becomes increasingly attracted/obssessed with her. He also begins to have vivid dreams of changing into an animal and stalking members of the expedition with April. As more and more members of the expedition begin to die in mysterious circumstances, Will's grip on reality begins to slip and he becomes increasingly unsure of what is real and what is not to the point where he believes he is going insane.

This is what the story is really about. Will's personal journey from the beginning of the novel to the amazing ending. However, along the way there are so many fascinating ideas and plot points that I never wanted to put the book down including (1) an amazing "scientific" explanation for the basis of supernatural abilities that involves the manipulation of probabilities and (2) the "history" of an ancient war from hundreds of thousands of years ago that explains the basis for all of mankinds nightmare creatures (vampires, werewolves, demons, ogres, dragons, etc.).

Bottom-line, I thought this was an incredible read from start to finish and clearly is among the top two books that Jack Williamson ever wrote (The Humanoids: A Novel being the only other possible choice). In the introduciton to this novel, Jack Williamson siad that this story was his most "personal" story and I thought that came through in the writing. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!! (less)

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Feb 14, 2013 Tim Pendry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alternative-histories, consciousness, dark-fantasy, cultural-studies, five-star, horror, literature-general, north-american, twentieth-century

Originally written at the very end of the 1930s and published in 1948, this is a remarkable dream-like (or rather nightmarish) paranoid fantasy about were-people taking over the world - it is also very sexy in that subdued way of the mid-twentieth century.

I can imagine this being filmed in 'noir', a greyscale of airports, small town life, redheads in apartments, cocktail bars and insane asylums, with the 'dream' or 'madness' or 'enhanced existence' sequences (it is not clear what they are and I...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Donnell Bell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Darker Than You Think is the story of WILL BARBEE, a heavy drinking newspaper reporter assigned to cover the story of an archaeological teams' mysterious dig in the Gobi Desert. When Dr. Mondrick Lamarck and his team of scientists deplane, Will and a rival reporter APRIL BELL are there among other members of the press to meet the archaeologists at the airport. The team carries with them a mysterious trunk, but instead of being excited about what's in it, they're afraid -- intensely so. When Dr....more

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Aug 18, 2011 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jack Williamson's "Darker Than You Think" is a one-shot horror-novel excursion for this science fiction Grand Master, but has nonetheless been described as not only the author's finest work, but also one of the best treatments of the werewolf in modern literature. It has been chosen for inclusion in David Pringle's overview volume "Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels" ("a relatively disciplined and thoughtful work," Pringle writes, in comparing it to the author's earlier space operas) as wel...more Jack Williamson's "Darker Than You Think" is a one-shot horror-novel excursion for this science fiction Grand Master, but has nonetheless been described as not only the author's finest work, but also one of the best treatments of the werewolf in modern literature. It has been chosen for inclusion in David Pringle's overview volume "Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels" ("a relatively disciplined and thoughtful work," Pringle writes, in comparing it to the author's earlier space operas) as well as in Jones & Newman's "Horror: Another 100 Best Books" ("the most unique and original take written on...lycanthropy," illustrator Randy Broecker tells us). The novel originally appeared in a "short," 48,000-word form in the December 1940 issue of "Unknown" magazine (the fantasy sister of "Astounding Science-Fiction"), and was later expanded by the author for a 1948 book edition. Though dealing with werewolves, the novel presents us with a very different sort of monster than readers of earlier horror tales and viewers of Universal horror pictures were perhaps accustomed to. Williamson's werewolves are actually shape shifters, capable of becoming wolves or any other creature that strikes their fancy. Roaming at night, free of their corporeal bodies and invisible to human eyes, they have existed since the first Ice Age and for thousands of years dominated prehistoric Homo sapiens. Hidden and desperate by the mid-20th century, they await their so-called Black Messiah, the Child of Night, who will lead them to their long-awaited reconquest of man.

But "Darker Than You Think" (a strangely unsatisfying title for me, somehow; "Child of Night" might have been preferable) is mainly the story of Will Barbee, an alcoholic newspaperman living in the fictitious city of Clarendon (somewhere in the southeast U.S., I infer). Barbee meets a ravishing fellow reporter, April Bell, whilst covering a story at the Clarendon airport. Professor Mondrick and his three young colleagues, all old friends of Barbee, have just returned from the Gobi Desert with news of a monumental discovery. But as Mondrick and the others begin to die one by one over the course of the next few days, in exact conformity with some rather bizarre dreams of Barbee's--in which he assumes the forms of a wolf, a saber-toothed tiger and a giant constrictor, alongside April Bell--the befuddled reporter must riddle out what is real and what, if anything, is fantasy. It is not a simple thing for me to write about this novel's story line without giving away any of the book's many surprises, and indeed, perhaps I have already said too much. Suffice it to say that poor Barbee is thrown into an increasingly noirish and nightmare-filled world, and that Williamson keeps the suspense quotient ratcheted very high. Though not a science fiction novel per se, the author does manage to come up with a scientific explanation for the shape shifters' powers that invokes such disparate subjects as the Rhine experiments at Duke University and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Williamson's background history of "Homo lycanthropus" is equally fascinating, incorporating ancient mythology, 15th century mass murderer Gilles de Rais and even Joan of Arc. As compared to Williamson's sci-fi output of the '30s, "Darker Than You Think" is certainly more elegantly written, and the author shows a much greater control over his descriptions and dialogue. The novel gets increasingly, uh, hairy as it progresses, with each chapter revealing some stunning surprise or shocking plot development. It is an extremely accomplished melding of fantasy, horror, sci-fi and pulp noir, and really almost a perfect novel. (The author does make a few flubs in the book, such as when he has a hungover Barbee thinking of the rum he had consumed the night before, when in actuality he had been drinking rum daiquiris TWO nights before.) I cannot say for certain whether or not this is Williamson's finest novel (I have only read a half dozen or so from this author's huge ouevre, which spans almost an 80-year period!), but it sure is a mighty gripping read that will undoubtedly appeal to any fan of those four genres just mentioned. The werewolves on display here make Lawrence Talbot seem like a weenie, and that's surely no easy task! More than highly recommended!(less)

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Feb 07, 2012 Charles Dee Mitchell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: golden-age-sf

Newspapermen and one gorgeous, redheaded, green-eyed newspaperwoman wait on the chilly tarmac of the Clarendon airport for the chartered plan returning the Lamarck Mondrick expedition from their two year stint in Nala-Shan. (Nala-shan actually exists. It's a mountain range in Northern China between Ninxgia and inner Mongolia's Alxa League. This could be the only trace of verifiable fact Williamson brings to his novel.) Along with the press are family members of the four returning explorers, incl...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Riju Ganguly rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Despite being identified as “one of the best werewolf novels”, I found this book to be a crashing disappointment. Why? The reasons are as under: -

1. The protagonist is the worst one that I have EVER encountered in a book, in terms of believability. My arguments are:
a. In a style bitterly reminiscent of Hamlet and his procrastinations but without any of the literary paraphernalia that had made those lines so special, he spends the whole length of the novel without doing anything in his persona.
b....more Despite being identified as “one of the best werewolf novels”, I found this book to be a crashing disappointment. Why? The reasons are as under: -

1. The protagonist is the worst one that I have EVER encountered in a book, in terms of believability. My arguments are:
a. In a style bitterly reminiscent of Hamlet and his procrastinations but without any of the literary paraphernalia that had made those lines so special, he spends the whole length of the novel without doing anything in his persona.
b. He shivers at the thought of the femme fatale and yet does absolutely nothing to expose her, and rather tries to protect her from people whom he had once looked upon as mentor or friends.
c. In his sleep, he becomes a werewolf and murders everybody who had meant something for him, and after waking up he makes himself drunk and offers consolations to the near ones of those whom he had murdered.
d. He is described as a small-town reporter who is supposed to be sharp as well as educated, but all he does is keep on babbling when he should kept his trap shut, and offering his tongue to the cat when he should have helped others by speaking the truth.
e. At the end of the novel he finds himself dead, but rather than taking any offence at that and taking the axe (tooth & claw, if one is literal minded) to those who had led to this, he revels at being the ‘Child of Night’ and ‘The Dark Messiah’.
That’s more than one impossible thing before breakfast. Where is the DRINK ME bottle?
2. The novella where the idea behind this novel had been explored for the 1st time (“Wolves of Darkness”) might have been ideally suited for the slim plot, but in trying to make it a novel, the author has only added to the flab, and had taken away the pace.
3. The scientific expedition, whose return from Mongolia (names of other exotic locales are thrown about to titillate the ignoramus gorging on the pulps, in a typical manner) acts as the starting point of the book, is led by a scientist who is an anthropologist, archaeologist, zoologist, geneticist, psychologist, …. you got the drift. In those post-war days such characters might have been credible, but today it’s impossible.
4. Every other character acts as if they are lifted straight from the worst possible stereo-typing experiments: women are perpetually distressed, men are sulky & silent (strangely, since they should have reported the whole stuff to the authorities and by not doing so risked becoming dubbed as frauds & charlatans), doctors are sinister, editors are hand (paw?)-in-gloves with conspirators, ….. again, you get the drift.

I can go on & on, but for a book that I strongly recommend TO STAY AWAY FROM, I think I have written more than enough. The only redeeming thing in this bloated piece is the pseudo-scientific theory behind shape-shifting and witchcraft, but that alone can’t justify reading this book. NOT RECOMMENDED.(less)

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Jan 10, 2008 Vivienne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: lovers of urban fantasy

Shelves: urban-fantasy, horror

I was surprised when I checked this out from the library that it was written in 1948. It is a dark tale and must be one of the earliest examples of urban fantasy.

It is a tale of lycanthropy rather than werewolves alone. It is pulp fiction that has quite stereotypical characters such as April Bell the femme fatale. It is great fun and a quick read with some interesting twists.

While it is of its time period it has aged well.

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Dec 12, 2010 Stephanie Griffin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this story! DARKER THAN YOU THINK, by Jack Williamson, is a classic old-school shapeshifter novel originally published in the 1940s.
Will Barbee is an alcoholic newspaper writer, who goes to greet his ex-colleagues at the airport after they have been digging for artifacts in Mongolia for two years. Something isn’t right and the lead researcher dies on the tarmac before he can make a big announcement.
Barbee wants to find out why the researcher was murdered and before long more people are...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Andrew Sydlik rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-and-fantasy, hwa-21-horror-must-reads, werewolves

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Given the somewhat "classic horror" status of this book (for example, it is on the list of "21 Must Read Horror Books" in the Horror Writer Association's horror writers' guide), I have to admit I was disappointed, especially since this is also about shapeshifters, one of my favorite subjects. I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 2 because it is quite different than most books of this type that I've read. In my opinion, it is really more of a sci-fi/fantasy novel than horror, and more adventure-orien...more Given the somewhat "classic horror" status of this book (for example, it is on the list of "21 Must Read Horror Books" in the Horror Writer Association's horror writers' guide), I have to admit I was disappointed, especially since this is also about shapeshifters, one of my favorite subjects. I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 2 because it is quite different than most books of this type that I've read. In my opinion, it is really more of a sci-fi/fantasy novel than horror, and more adventure-oriented than atmosphere-oriented. As such, it is more appreciated as a pure genre work than literary work.

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD**
I will try not to give away too much. I said it is about shapeshifters above because, although it is usually mentioned as one of the best werewolf books, the characters can assume other shapes, they just happen to take wolf shape sometimes. I kind of like this, and found it intriguing that they could even assume the shape of prehistoric animals.

The explanation behind the shapeshifting ability is couched in scientific rather than supernatural terms, which gives an interesting twist, although ultimately it smacks somewhat of racist/eugenic notions that I find troubling (and don't see mentioned much in discussions of the book). This could be written off as more the attitude of the human characters, but both they and the shapeshifters think in black-and-white terms. It's good vs. evil, with the shapeshifters harboring a hatred for humans and vice versa. The narrative tries to set up a conflicted protagonist who tries to sympathize with both sides, but ultimately it doesn't work for me, as he seems to have little control over his own actions; either side is reducible to biological impulses. It could have made for some intense inner drama, but the lack of real self-reflection and choice makes it too simplistic.

Much of the dialogue is dated, sometimes more funny than compelling, always a risk with this kind of novel but a particular problem here. It stuns me how many have said that the book doesn't seem dated--its vaguely racist and sexist attitudes, as well as some of the cliche dialogue and descriptions, hammer its datedness home for me (it was published in 1948). It has a kind of noir-ish feel, though the protagonist is a reporter not a detective. Some of the scientific stuff does seem advanced for its time, I give it that. There is also a blind woman character with a guide dog--not something I find even in fiction today, let alone 1948. She is and isn't a stereotype--she "sees more" despite being blind, something quite common for blind characters, but her bravery and determination make her more rounded.

To return to the protagonist, I felt he was quite weak and easily manipulated, despite...well, you'll have to read it to know what I mean, but you'll probably be able to guess what I mean after not too long into the novel. But I didn't find myself rooting for him much. I admit I was a bit surprised by the ending, especially by the weird postmodern turn it seemed to take when the characters started talking about how readers and critics wouldn't understand or believe the story if it were ever published.

One plus is that the edition I read included black-and-white drawings of certain scenes, some of which were somewhat cartoonish, but they nonetheless made a quirky addition to the text that gave it something like a graphic novel feel (and maybe it would have been more effective as a graphic novel). All in all, I don't think it deserves the hype it gets, but you could do worse if it sounds like your kind of thing. (And if shapeshifters are your thing, you can do much worse.)

(less)

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Mar 18, 2009 Simon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-masterworks, horror, fantasy

A gripping story from start to finish that provides a different take on the idea of lycanthropy drawing together strands from quantum mechanics, freudian psycology and evolutionary theory.

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Jan 08, 2010 Mark R. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to admit I had somewhat of a difficult time with this book. Shapeshifting monsters from the beginning of time re-emerging into society thousands of years later, werewolves (sort of), a mysterious red-haired film-noir style villainness, and plenty of action--and somehow I just could not get into it. Most of the time when I read something and I like or dislike it, I don't find it difficult to explain my reasons, but with this one I'm a little confused myself.

I'll tell you one thing right...more

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Oct 09, 2011 MB Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars

I finished reading Darker Than You Think one night last week on the bus home from work. Gollancz reprinted it in 2003 as number 38 in their “Fantasy Masterworks” series. I don’t know if it’s a masterwork or not, but it’s definitely one of the best books I’ve read recently.

I haven’t read much werewolf fiction, but I’m fairly certain this isn’t representative of that sub-genre of horror/dark fantasy. It also doesn’t really fit into the urban fantasy genre. While it’s true that in the world of the...more I finished reading Darker Than You Think one night last week on the bus home from work. Gollancz reprinted it in 2003 as number 38 in their “Fantasy Masterworks” series. I don’t know if it’s a masterwork or not, but it’s definitely one of the best books I’ve read recently.

I haven’t read much werewolf fiction, but I’m fairly certain this isn’t representative of that sub-genre of horror/dark fantasy. It also doesn’t really fit into the urban fantasy genre. While it’s true that in the world of the novel most people don’t believe in werewolves (a typical facet of urban fantasy); this novel doesn’t exactly portray werewolves as supernatural.

Like the vampires in Poppy Z. Brite’s Lost Souls the werewolves in Darker than You Think are portrayed as a separate species of intelligent life living amidst us regular humans.

At least that’s one viewpoint presented in the novel. Another is that the supposed lycanthropy is one man’s descent into paranoia & depression.

The main character, Will Barbee, isn’t sure which he believes; and Williamson does a masterful job of keeping the reader unsure as well. Given the amount of sf/horror/dark fantasy in my reading list, I was predisposed to believe a supernatural explanation and more than willing to accept an alternate species, but I was never quite sure where the novel was going.

Overall I thought Darker Than You Think was excellent; well worth reading, even 60+ years after its original book publication (70+ years after the publication of the magazine version in Unknown Fantasy Fiction, December 1940).

For some reason, I’ve not read much (if any) Williamson before this. I find that somewhat surprising since his work has been around forever (his first story was published in 1928 and his last novel in 2005), he wrote in genres I tend to read extensively (Science Fiction and Fantasy) and he was well respected in both genres (in 1976 he was second author named a Grand Master of Science Fiction by the SFWA; and in 1994 he received a World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement).

I hope Darker Than You Think isn’t atypical of his work as I plan to read more.
(less)

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Nov 29, 2009 Keith Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Excellent atmospheric dark fantasy novel, with enough SF elements to keep it from drifting into horror range. The scene where the main character first transforms is unforgettable. The title pretty much sums up my reaction to the ending.

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May 06, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dtb-own, fantasy, shapeshifters, horror, grand_masters

I picked this up years ago at a used bookstore, probably due to its exuberant back-cover blurb: "perhaps the finest novel about werewolves ever published!" this year's "read 12 grandmasters in 2012" challenge has finally brought it bubbling up to the top of the TBR pile, and while I don't know if it's the best, it certainly is a refreshingly unique take on lycanthropy.

will barbee is an alcoholic newspaper writer, reporting on the return of an expedition from the far east. they arrive with a mys...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Mark Warden rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Darker Than You Think is the story of Will Barbee, a heavy drinking newspaper reporter assigned to cover the story of an archaeological teams' mysterious dig in the Gobi Desert. When Dr. Mondrick Lamarck and his team of scientists deplane, Will and a rival reporter April Bell are there among other members of the press to meet the archaeologists at the airport. The team carries with them a mysterious trunk, but instead of being excited about what's in it, they're afraid -- intensely so. When Dr....more

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Apr 28, 2010 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, fantasy

Again I'm not as thrilled with a book as some of my friends. I need to remind myself that a lot of the cliches in this book weren't as cliched when it was written.

There is a scene early in the book that is written in the standard heavy dark portentous manner that left me in stitches. We've all seen it and read it sooooo often. The professor has already sent word that he needs to be protected and guarded until he makes his huge announcement. So he steps out of the plane and begins, not a quick an...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really wanted to like this more, but once again an interesting concept was ruined by clumsy plotting and awkward dialogue. It doesn't help that the protagonist, an intrepid journalist, is inexplicably dumb as a stump when it comes to making the connections that are thrust upon him and the reader. The reader loses all interest knowing most if not all of the twists long before they happen. If the author allowed the fellow to have any consistency, the protagonist's inner struggle could have been...more

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Sep 22, 2009 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, werewolves-and-shapeshifters

This book is to the werewolf story what "I Am Legend" is to the vampire story. That is high praise and I enjoyed this book immensely.

The intermingled themes of folklore, anthropology, Indiana-Jonesesque archeology, quantum physics, pulp-noir detective, witchcraft, psychological and supernatural murder are handled expertly. As has been said by another reviewer, it is more a story of shapeshifters than a classic werewolf tale.

Settle down with this book and a hot drink, but first check the doors an...more

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Dec 25, 2012 Aileen Harkwood rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not a modern dark fantasy story since it was written in 1940, and in a way, that's half the fun of this novel. Penned before computers, cell phones, and the Internet, back when reporters used typewriters, Williamson's Darker Than You Think has a film noir feel as the hero hunts down the guilty party to a supernatural murder. Absolutely love the twist at the end.

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Aug 22, 2012 Eric rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

by the end i was just picking out a sentence at random in paragraphs to propel my way through this book.

it is really clunky, even for genre work at this point in time.

it does something fairly well in that it posits a really interesting explanation for various psychic phenomena, then goes and undermines this by making everything men do the result of bad breeding and interbreeding between man and uh wolf-man. However though this is really unsatisfying, Jack Williamson really commits to explaining...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Christiana Demetriou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the first fiction books i read. Found it in a cafe selling used books in Toronto called bookworm fell in love with the cover and later on with the story. Great dark atmosphere, well written and seductive.

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Jul 28, 2011 Madteapartier rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Not bad. Average-ish werewolf novel. The main character appears a bit thick at times, though, as it should be quite obvious to the reader who the 'bad guy' is & what's likely to happen.

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Feb 17, 2009 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: werewolf-reads

On my Horror Books to Read if you Want to Write Horror list:

It sounded interesting, but I was a little disappointed because it was advertised as a purely werewolf book. In reality, it's about all sorts of shape-shifting and what they refer to as "witch-people".

It's pulp and mystery and a fun read.

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Oct 16, 2010 J rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Could not get into it, maybe it was the writing style. Reminded me of those 1940's horror movies which I enjoyed when I was a kid but I don't find them scary anymore.

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Apr 12, 2013 Al rated it 4 of 5 stars

The unsettling dreams begin for small-town reporter Will Barbee not long after he first meets the mysterious and beautiful April Bell. They are vivid, powerful and deeply disturbing nightmares in which he commits atrocious acts. And, one by one, his friends are meeting violent deaths. It is clear to Barbee that he is embroiled in something far beyond human understanding, something unspeakably evil. And it intimately involves the seductive, dangerously intoxicating April, and the question, 'Who

...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bit dated on some things, but still had to keep reading to find out who the "Child of the Night" was.

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Nov 13, 2012 Joggingt rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Interesting premise. Not well written but it made you want to know the resolution

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Jan 17, 2010 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Didn't finish it, got a bit bored and gave up two thirds of the way through...

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Jul 16, 2009 David Shepherd rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great story. Very atmospheric. I read this and the visions produced were like watching a black and white horror movie.

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