Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
Strangewood
Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Christopher Golden
Class/Genre: Fantasy
Signet, Oct 1999, $6.99, 320 pp.
Thomas Randall has created a special place, STRANGEWOOD, for his tales that even the Disney people have animated. Thomas loved creating his scary stories until recently. He feels he has lost control over his fantasy world. A recent divorce causes Thomas to worry about Nathan, his six-year old son, who recently started suffering nightmares about the creatures that reside in STRANGEWOOD. Nathan feels the creatures are coming to devour him. Worse, Nathan and Thomas begin to see the denizens of STRANGEWOOD appear on earth.
Randall thinks someone is stalking him and his son. He and his ex-spouse feel that the divorce has hurt Nathan much more than they expected. They agree to have him receive professional counseling. After spending a weekend with his father, Nathan returns home only to collapse into unconsciousness. The doctors find no apparent reason for the lad’s coma. No one realizes that though his body resides in a hospital bed on earth, Nathan’s mind is battling to survive the cretins of STRANGEWOOD. Only Thomas can rescue his son, but he must find a way to stop the inhabitants of a world his imagination created.
STRANGEWOOD is pure horror centering on an innocent Nathan in Wonderland. The story line never stops frightening the reader as it contrasts the innocence of a child with an evil drawn from the imagination of a nice person. The detailed descriptions will lead readers to wonder if Christopher Golden is actually a pseudonym for a collaboration between Dean Koontz and Peter Staub (he is not). Mr. Golden’s novel should require a label: Do not read just before going to bed unless you want to journey to STRANGEWOOD while you sleep.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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