This was an amazing book! Very fast paced and not overly creepy, but it kept my attention. I became so engrossed with the book that everything around me faded into the background. There is a sequel called "Ghost Walk" and I am looking forward to reading it. If you l0ve horror, then you will love this book! ( )

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 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! ( )

This was a weird one. But I liked it! ( )

I enjoyed Dark Hollow but not quite as much as Ghoul. At the risk of sounding profoundly disturbed, I found the plot of Ghoul more believable than Dark Hollow. I did not connect to the characters in Dark Hollow as well as I did Ghoul. It was still a good read that I would recommend for all horror fans. ( )

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 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 ( )