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After Dark (Silver John #2)

4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 · rating details · 85 ratings · 7 reviews

s/t: A Novel of Silver John
Manley Wade Wellman (5/21/1903–4/5/1986) was an American writer. While his sf & fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as Astounding Stories, Startling Stories, Unknown & Strange Stories, he's best remembered as one of the most popular contributors to the legendary Weird Tales, & for his fantasy & horror stories set in the Appalac...more

Hardcover, book club, 184 pages

Published December 1st 1980 by Doubleday & Co. (Garden City, NY) (first published 1980)

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Forgotten Frights: Overlooked and Underappreciated Horror

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Jan 18, 2013 Randolph Carter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, horror

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a Silver John novel. Silver John, or John the Balladeer, is a recurring character in Wellman's fiction who serves as a sort of wandering hillbilly/mountain man paranormal investigator. With no fixed abode he wanders the Appalachian mountains looking for opportunities to showcase his singer/songwriter capabilities on his silver strung guitar but ends up having to deal with all sorts of paranormal, and just plain normal, problems for friends he meets in the hills. Fortunately he is carryin...more This is a Silver John novel. Silver John, or John the Balladeer, is a recurring character in Wellman's fiction who serves as a sort of wandering hillbilly/mountain man paranormal investigator. With no fixed abode he wanders the Appalachian mountains looking for opportunities to showcase his singer/songwriter capabilities on his silver strung guitar but ends up having to deal with all sorts of paranormal, and just plain normal, problems for friends he meets in the hills. Fortunately he is carrying around with him a lot of folklore and legend about various supernatural menaces and counter-spells to ward off the evil doers.

This oversimplifies Wellman's Silver John oeuvre and you will have to simply read it to get the true feel for Wellman's tale. Uniquely Wellman treats and writes about rural people with dignity and respect. He avoids any of the racist (yes racist) stereotypes that hick, redneck, and hayseed imply. He also is a deeply knowledgeable mountain folklorist.

Now to the "haints" in the particular novel. The Shonokins, a remnant of a pre-human but humanoid (maybe) species on earth, are trying to increase their power and influence in the world. They need a certain recalcitrant family's land to complete a power structure they are building and there is a particular jewel that Mr. Ben possesses that they want as well (reason not ever made clear). This is the setup for Silver John to come along and lead in the foiling of the Shonokin's plans.

The Shonokins are truly weird. A remnant of a pre-human race, we are never sure if they are really humanoid, they may be shape shifters capable of assuming a human facade, or may be truly human in form. You are never quite sure. They always remain pretty covered up, wearing long coats and gloves even in hot weather, They have cat eyes and a longer ring finger than humans. Although they are weaker during daylight, they are not powerless to go out and do a deed during the day. They possess some level of supernatural power that isn't defined.

Sounds like a pretty good setup, right? There are a few problems with the novel that keep it from being in the best of Wellman's fiction. First, not much happens. Most of the time people are standing around talking or Silver John is narrating his thoughts. Most of the menaces encountered John easily defeats. Two, the Shonokins just aren't that scary and powerful, weird yes, but pretty impotent in the end. After all, most of the Shonokins were wiped out long ago by the Native Americans using stone age weapons. They are also pretty weak during the day, but here's the real kicker, they run like a rabbit when they see one of their own dead; can't stand, abhor is more apt, the sight or thought of it (this is never really explained). So if you can pick off one Shonokin you pretty much clear the battlefield. Silver John and the rest know this early in the story and none of them are afraid to exercise their second amendment rights throughout, although to his credit, Silver John only kills as a last resort.

There are some grating plot blunders as well. During the climax, the Shonokins, out in the open, call up a storm to root out Silver John and the rest of the people he is defending in Mr. Ben's log house. Torrential rain, wind, hail, lightning. How stupid is this? The unprotected Shonokins call up a storm to force the clan OUT of the cabin, meanwhile suffering the effects unprotected outdoors themselves? Ludicrous. Then they start to move the house about on the foundation. But Silver John and the others know the Shonokins don't want to kill everyone inside. What threat?

Frustrated by all the counter-spells in just a few hours (the Shonokins must have the patience of a meth addict), Brooke Altic, the leader of the Shonokins, bursts into the cabin, unarmed, and gets you know what? Blasted. Of course the rest of the Shonokins scatter like fleas from a dead rat and game over.

I kept thinking this must get creepier or more thrilling at some point but it never did. A group of school children armed with large sticks and rocks could vanquish a Shonokin horde without taking heavy losses.(less)

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Aug 26, 2010 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, horror

Very interesting "quick read" supernatural horror/fantasy story. The protaganist is Silver John or John the Balladeer a homespun type hero, a veteran of WWII, a folk guitarist (with a silver strung acoustic guitar), and singer who travels the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina fighting supernatural evil.
Don't want to give this away but I never heard of Shonokins before. According to Wellman they lived before "us humans" in this land and are biding their time and waiting for the chance to t...more

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Nov 06, 2010 Julia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternate, history, rural, fantasy

This is one of Wellman's John the Balladeer/Silver John books. They're stand alone books set in rural America. Think the Ozarks, Appalachians, etc. John is a wanderer who travels with his guitar strung with silver strings, a store of stories and a general knowledge of American folklore. He lends a hand to help out with problems of mundane or supernatural origins.[return][return]This particular books deals with John trying ot over come a race of evil supernatural beings and their worshippers. It'...more

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Dec 21, 2012 Ian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, mythology, magic, historical-fiction

I didn't enjoy this book as much as The Old Gods Waken, but it was still wonderful. It took a bit longer to get through, but once it hit its stride, I couldn't put it down. Manly Wade Wellman knows how to write Appalachian Weird Fiction.

I was also struck by how much he loves to subvert the reader's expectations. Part of this story involves a man defeating a witch -- "MISOGYNY!", you cry. But wait! That witch was serving an ALL-MALE race of supernatural beings who seek to subjugate women. And tho...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Debra marked it as to-read

Shelves: sai-king-recommends

Stephen King recommended author. In 1981's Danse Macabre, King dedicated his book as follows: "It's easy enough - perhaps too easy - to memorialize the dead. This book is for the six great writers of the macabre who are still alive." The six listed were Robert Bloch, Jorge Luis Borges, Ray Bradbury, Frank Belnap Long, Donald Wandrei, Manly Wade Wellman.

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May 17, 2012 Erik Graff rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Wellman fans

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: sf

I picked this up from the Science Fiction Book Club, fulfilling their conditions by buying several books over a year, thereby qualifying by their special introductory offer. This was one of the cheaper books available. It's speculative fantasy, not science fiction, set in rural America. Atmospheric, readable, unmemorable.

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Aug 06, 2011 Kevin Lucia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent. Gotta love Silver John. Ending a little quick, with a little less action than I'd thought - (spoiler) whipped up some mystical mojo to save them in the end, but still awesome - very character-driven.

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May 04, 2013 Jamie Schloss rated it 2 of 5 stars

Apr 27, 2013 Michael added it · review of another edition

Apr 25, 2013 Valentina Samantha marked it as to-read

Apr 16, 2013 Mike Costello rated it 5 of 5 stars

Apr 07, 2013 Bill Kerwin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, detective-mystery, weird-detectives, weird-fiction, weird-pulps

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Mar 28, 2013 Ray rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Feb 13, 2013 Alex Bledsoe rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Jan 26, 2013 Jim Miller marked it as fiction-horror-buy

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After Dark (Silver John #2)

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