Laird Barron is a rare talent, something readers hear way too often, but once in awhile, the words ring true, long after the last word in the book is read and the cover closed.
The author has been a force on the short story scene for a little over a decade now and after two collections which garnered high accolades, he steps into the novel world.
And it reads like he has been doing it for eons. Reminiscent of both Lovecraft and Straub, THE CRONING culls from the best of both writers with deft characterization and plotting which twists and turns into dark corners and spiraling storylines. This could have easily turned into a cosmic mess, yet by keeping with the point of view of his protagonist, he manages to navigate this mesmerizing landscape with apparent ease.
The main character, geologist and professor, is a character Lovecraft would approve of as Donald Miller meanders through the tale with very little of a heroic bone in his DNA. That being noted, he is very well drawn and as he grows from the 1950’s to the 1980’s to present day, the reader grows and falls deeper into Barron’s world.
Donald and his wife, Michelle, move through settings, both exotic and domestic. They learn of the enigmatic Children of Old Leech, a secret society which is never far from their lives, whether it be in Mexico, Siberia, or suburbia. Michelle’s family, aristocratic, holds a few secrets which reveal themselves slowly as the story builds to a slow burn. The further Don delves into the society and his wife’s family, the more his own sanity is called into question, deteriorating as the answers crawl forth.
Barron spent his youth in the wilds of Alaska, often estranged from normalcy, and evolved into an Iditerod racer and fisherman in the Bering Sea. This has obvious influences in his writing, a bleakness, a darkness he either is imprisoned by or has embraced. Either way, the results are clear: Laird Barron has emerged from that world casting a long, dark shadow with his prose.
THE CRONING should creep into the running for the Stoker Award this year and with its strong literary tendencies, it distances itself from the pack.
Highly recommended for any fan of literary horror, an author who comfortably fits in the footsteps of Poe and Lovecraft. Barron is definitely someone to follow.
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- The Halloween Children - February 12, 2015
- Darkness Ad Infinitum - November 24, 2014
- Fear City - October 5, 2014
- The Boneyard - July 24, 2014
- Double Feature: A Novel - July 24, 2014
- Never Alone - July 24, 2014
- Blind Vengence - July 24, 2014
