John Connolly - Dark Hollow

[andydecker]

John Connolly - Dark Hollow (Hodder & Stoughton, 2000, posted edition Coronet Books, 2000, 489 pages)



Mark Harrison

This is the second Charlie Parker novel, and while I am a bit hazy on the details, I remember that Connolly's description of winter in Maine and its deep woods was very atmospheric. The only other writer I remember reading in the last decade who could also make the nature setting of a story so convincing is Laird Barron. Woods have become a popular topic in horror movies, but in contemporary fiction seldom they evoke something like dread.

A couple of days ago I accidently came across the collection Nocturnes on the shelf and read the Parker story "The Reflecting Eye" for the first time. While it couldn't loose the impression to be the first part of a novel instead of something standalone and the ending felt a bit rushed, it was creepy and very atmospheric. 

[Dr Strange]

The opening paragraphs from the prologue of this one grabbed me from the get-go -

I dream dark dreams. I dream of a figure moving through the forest, of children flying from his path, of young women crying at his coming. I dream of snow and ice, of bare branches and moon-cast shadows. I dream of dancers floating in the air, stepping lightly even in death, and my own pain is but a faint echo of their suffering as I run. My blood is black on the snow, and the edges of the world are silvered with moonlight. I run into the darkness, and he is waiting. I dream in black and white, and I dream of him. I dream of Caleb, who does not exist, and I am afraid.