Book Review: A Gathering of Crows by Brian Keene

Brian Keene is on top of the horror genre right now, no bones about it.  Even Joe Lansdale, in our interview, referenced Keene as one of the current best in the genre right now.  Got to tell you, I'm excited to hang with the man at the annual Horrorfind convention in September. 

I met Brian Keene at the first Horrorfind in 2001, before "The Rising" and "City of the Dead".  It was cool listening to the man, and hearing him read you just knew he would be a force to be reckoned with.  And he was that.  The Rising and City of the Dead put the zombie genre in high-octane (probably the reason we're bombarded with zombie lit from all corners today).  When he released "The Conqueror Worms", though, I pretty much took Keene from my fluff category to my favorite authors category.  The Conqueror Worms probably remains my favorite of his.

But something changed.  I'm not sure what.  After The Conqueror Worms, I was sort of a hit-or-miss Keene reader.  I never liked "Ghoul", but loved "Dead Sea" (zombies on a boat, hell yes).  "Dark Hollow" and "Ghost Walk" were fair, but still lacked that insanity that I loved so much.  I'm one of the few who loved "Castaways", but felt like "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "Urban Gothic" were just kind of blah.  I've re-read them several times, and my opinion wasn't as bad as it was initially, but still, they're not classic Keene.  (Granted, I'm just referencing Keene's Leisure Fiction paperbacks.  To really grab the good, solid, Keene get your hands on some of the limited run stuff.  That still maintains the goods.)

I was hopeful that "A Gathering of Crows" would show me some glimmer of the Keene of old.  I'm pleased to say it does.  It's not a shining ray, but the sparkle is still there.

The premise is not unusual: Brinkley Springs, West Virginia is a little podunk town being ravaged by something.  The something is unique: A murder of crows, who shift into murderous beings who brutally murder and steal the souls of the dead.  Toss in Levi Stolzfus (the Amish powwow magus), some very brutal action, and Keene's ear for dialogue, and you've got the makings of a solid horror story.

What's good: All that I mentioned above is great.  The story is engaging enough, as there is the question of what or who these murderous beings are running throughout the book.  It wasn't until near the end that those pieces fell into place.  Keene's mythos is running strong here, too: the Elder gods, The Thirteen, and loads more mythology.  Also, there are some interesting ideas that play into the long lost colony of Roanoake, which I found the most interesting.  I wished he'd explore that more.

The other good thing is that the reader has no idea who will die or live, as is the case with most books.  Keene breaks these rules from the get-go, and the results are shocking.

What's not-so-good: I love the frenetic action that Keene has here, but it almost happens too fast.  Most of you would say that that isn't a bad thing.  It's not.  The intensity definitely grabs you from page 5 and keeps its grip throughout.  The problem with this is that we've not been introduced to too many characters at that point.  Therefore, as we get the introductions, the reader must revisit the same scene several times.  Another problem this presents is the introductions of characters that die within three pages.  It's not as bad as I'm making it out to be, but it does stall the pacing a little and forces the reader to endure that same sequence of events like a macabre "Groundhog Day".

Final Verdict?  Pick it up!  Despite the flaws, it's a far better read than "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and right up there with "Urban Gothic".  Plus, you can't beat the price point of these Leisure Fiction books.  And if you've got other books featuring Levi, this is the best showcase of him thus far.

For those that have never read Keene, here's my ranking of Keene's Leisure fiction books (which are probably the most accessible):
1.   The Conqueror Worms
2.   The Rising
3.   City Of The Dead
4.   Dark Hollow
5.   Dead Sea
6.   Castaways (Leisure Fiction)
7.   A Gathering of Crows
8.   Urban Gothic
9.   Ghost Walk (Leisure Fiction)
10. Ghoul
11. Darkness on the Edge of Town

UPDATE: GIANT MONSTER WEEK
A few weeks ago we embraced the giant monsters that we all love and adore.  Godzilla, no surprise, was discussed at great length with authors Jeff Burk, James Morrow, Stephen Mark Rainey, and Garrett Cook.  Well, now, courtesy of attendees at San Diego Comic Con, we learn that there is indeed a new American Godzilla movie set to release in 2012 (hopefully this is not one of the tell-tale signs of the Mayan calendar).  Supposedly this will not bear any resemblence to the treacherous Emmerich/Devlin creation with Matthew Broderick and Hank Azaria.  Here's the image of the new Americanized Godzilla.  Thoughts?