Author Christopher Golden is slowly building up a reputation as one of the best modern horror authors.
His follow-up to the superb Road Of Bones, is a chilling tale, just in time for the rolling out of the Halloween season.
All Hallows, set in Massachusetts in 1984, centers around a small band of children, preparing for a night of trick or treating, the Sweeneys, preparing for their final Haunted Woods attraction.
It has to be said that things take a few pages to warm up, but what will keep readers intrigued is the breadcrumbs Golden is available to lay throughout before the full story of All Hallows comes to life. The author also knows how to create atmosphere, and that small-town Halloween spirit many of us are drawn to.
Golden plays on the motif that the veil between the land of the living and the supernatural is thinnest on this night, with what goes bump in the night, possibly ready to snatch you to another world.
When things do turn, All Hallows doesn’t mess about, as word of the mysterious and sinister Cunning Man starts to spread amongst children in the town like a virus. Often this character remains on the periphery, being seen in the shadows, creeping into the neighborhood like a vengeance entity.
All Hallows is a rich text that feels destined to become a Halloween classic, with its essence of the season sprinkled into what feels like a wholly original story.
All Hallows by Christopher Golden is available now from Titan Books.
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