The Darkest Part of the Woods

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Summary: Ode to Lovecraft that never really takes flight
Review: If you ever needed proof that Harriet Klausner (or whatever cartel of braindead illiterates is operating under that name) never actually reads the books she "reviews", then this is it. "Horror at its best"? Give me a break. The key requirement of horror is that it's FRIGHTENING. This is dull. It's a long, meandering, ode to Lovecraft that simply never gets off the ground. I admire what Campbell was trying to do here, but it just doesn't work. There was a reason Lovecraft wrote short stories - his intense style is digestable only in small doses. It can't sustain a novel, especially one with too many plot strands which are never satisfactorily intertwined.

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Summary: slow, odd , beautiful and really, really creepy
Review: Like Heather Price, the main character in this novel, I started out in denial of the power of The Darkest Part of the Woods. The pacing was slow, the literary conceits seemed obvious, the characters acted tranquilized. But eventually, I became obsessed with the woods and I continued to think about (be haunted by?) this novel long after I finished reading it. The reviewer who complained about Campbell's over-use of forest imagery missed the point. The woods are a camouflage; it's the darkness that holds the power. This is a difficult book, and I understand why the reviews are so polarized. But I thought it great and seriously disturbing.

Rating:
Summary: smells like dead leaves
Review: This book felt, smelled, and oozed autumn. The best "something wrong with the woods" story ever. At one point Mr. Campbell tips his hat to the Blair Witch Project with a mention of Burkitsville, which is fitting. Like The BWP this book gives you hints and clues, and enough "what the hell was that's" to hint at something nameless and ominous, but always lets the reader complete the picture. Another reason it works as with all his other books, you give a damn about the people that fill the pages. I genuinely felt bad for our artist/mother when her work fails to inspire, or the brother who fears he has been spending a little too much "quality" time with his aunt. Mr. Campbell has a writing style that has always seemed authentic and somehow slightly antiquated in a good way (or maybe just very British) .. It never feels like your reading Stephen King...you can tell his influences are much older.. Lovecraft, Blackwood, and Machen. Darkest Part of the Woods has a hint of decadence as well..Huysmans come to mind. Highly recommended for those who enjoy their horrors lush and literate.

Rating:
Summary: smells like dead leaves
Review: This book felt, smelled, and oozed autumn. The best "something wrong with the woods" story ever. At one point Mr. Campbell tips his hat to the Blair Witch Project with a mention of Burkitsville, which is fitting. Like The BWP this book gives you hints and clues, and enough "what the hell was that's" to hint at something nameless and ominous, but always lets the reader complete the picture. Another reason it works as with all his other books, you give a damn about the people that fill the pages. I genuinely felt bad for our artist/mother when her work fails to inspire, or the brother who fears he has been spending a little too much "quality" time with his aunt. Mr. Campbell has a writing style that has always seemed authentic and somehow slightly antiquated in a good way (or maybe just very British) .. It never feels like your reading Stephen King...you can tell his influences are much older.. Lovecraft, Blackwood, and Machen. Darkest Part of the Woods has a hint of decadence as well..Huysmans come to mind. Highly recommended for those who enjoy their horrors lush and literate.

Rating:
Summary: ColverPA
Review: This book was awful. Hard to read, nothing happens. Characters are dull and the story moves soooooo slow. You keep thinking that something must happen on the next page, but it never does.Story is unbelievable and stupid. Adjectives, adjectives, adjectives, adjectives. Woods, woods, woods. It's like plowing through quicksand. "Alice in Wonderland" had more suspense and horror.