Rating: 
Summary: Lost Me When It Kicked Into "Fantasy" Mode
Review: Although not a fan of either the Fantasy or Horror genre, I was intrigued both by the title and the cover of this book. In Truth, it seemed like a small commitment. It was a quick read as Golden posseses a knack for economy with his description, and an ability to make us sympathize with his characters, but alas, as the fantasy (really the core of the story) element kicks into full swing, it lost me. I went from a tale of a young man rising to a very real challenge (Stephen King's "The Body") to an alternate reality story that was just too unbelievable for its own good (with the entrance of "Toska", the furry seal creature I'm suddenly in a Tolkien story). I tried to stay with Kevin (the central character) and his friends, but just couldn't bring myself to accept that five soften teenagers could use medeival weaponry with any amount of precision. In a phrase, the Fantasy element is heaped upon the reader right around page 200 and never goes back. And the interest which was generated and fed in the readers mind from page one(primarily the blossoming relationship between Kevin and Nikki) is almost disregarded in the closing pages of the book. In closing, although it was changed drastically from James Jeremias' original screenplay, "The Lost Boys" will forever remain in my mind the "real story" of Peter Pan. As I read Golden's tale, I couldn't help but think of that particular film (one which gradually takes you from reality into the fantasy realm).
Rating: 
Summary: Peter Pan meets The Lost Boys by way of Stand By Me
Review: An interesting blend of horror and fantasy, this book made me long for my childhood, those innocent days of first loves, first beers, first joints and first PB centrefolds. Christopher Golden is quite adept at capturing the mood of summer for young men growing into adolescence. His skill in capturing this mood is almost on a par with the great book Boy's Life by Robert Mccammon(I said almost! Mccammon's THE KING after all...).In the first half of the book, we are introduced to Kevin Murphy, his brother Jessie, and their friends. They're typical carefree teengagers enjoying their summer. Kevin has a major crush on the girl next door Nikkie but he just can't bring himself to tell her. He loves the time they spend as friends and is hoping for something more. It all comes crashing down when she falls for this dark & mysterious older dude by the name of Pete Starling. Starling and his 3 buddies are troublemakers who are able to do inexplicable things(this is the part that reminds me of The Lost Boys). Starling and his thugs eventually kidnap Nikkie and bring her to "Neverland", an alternate world where few humans have ever ventured. Thus begins the second half of the book where Kevin, his brother and two friends embark on a mission to Neverland to save Nikkie. From now on, the book becomes a full-blown fantasy adventure complete with trolls, goblins, sea creatures and the like. Straight on til' morning definitely entertains. Should you choose to read this, your eyes will be glued to the pages and you'll be turning them so quickly as to risk several papercuts(be careful!). Of course, there are some minor flaws. For one, this book seems to suffer of an identity crisis. Is it coming-of age, horror or fantasy? What is the intended audience? There came times where I felt I was reading a scholastic young-adult novel (like the author's Buffy books) and others where I felt I was reading something intended for an older audience. I also wish the author had decided to shift the story to Neverland earlier. We don't actually get there until past the midway point of the novel. But once we're there, whoa what a ride! If you're looking for good summer escapism, you'll definitely find what you're looking for through the pages of this fine novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Straight on 'til...STUPID!
Review: Before I vent on this wandering book, let me preface this by saying that I have read several books by author Christopher Golden and enjoyed them all. I purchased Straight on 'til Morning because Golden's name was on it and I assumed I would have a 320 page entertaining read on my hands.
WRONG.
WRONG.
Straight on 'til Morning meanders all over the place with a first act that takes almost two-thirds of the book. Several times I had to remind myself that this book indeed came from the 'Horror' section of my book store. The first two thirds reads like it wants to be Stand By Me (complete with more swearing than one could experience at a Chris Rock concert). So for 200 pages we're left with one basic dilemma. The protagonist is in love with a girl who is two years older than him and fears that his love will not be returned.
Then we get to the final act of this novel which turns into Peter Pan (literally) on acid. As this act took place I kept flipping back to the cover and asking myself, "Is this the same book I've been reading or did I pick up the wrong one by mistake?"
Golden struggles with so many problems that all show signs of a book that needed a stronger editor. Characters are not fully established. Plot points take forever to develop (man was that first act L-O-N-G). Things happen that are never explained (where the hell did that car come from in the final battle?). And worst of all the one unpardonable of any novel...taking the antagonist of 300 pages and then suddenly making him sympathetic and helpful of the protagonist. Boy does that remove all sense of conflict and make one wonder...Couldn't this whole thing have just been avoided?
That's how I felt after realizing I spent $6.99 and 10 hours of my life on this book. Couldn't this whole thing have just been avoided?
Rating:
Summary: A Subtle Sense of Loss
Review: Being thirteen - almost fourteen - has its own special anguish. You know more than you should, you want more than you can have, and nothing quite makes sense. Such was the life of Kevin Murphy, caught in the long summer before maturity. Falling out of love one day and back in love the next. This time with his best friend Nicole French. Nikki is older, but not particularly wiser. Compulsively drawn to high-risk boyfriends, she can care for Kevin, rely on him, but never love him in the way he wants. What hurts Kevin the most is that Nikki has fallen for a boy that Kevin knows is extreme bad news. Peter Starling first ran into Kevin and his friends on a day in the woods. What started out as and idyllic party suddenly became a near nightmare, and Kevin will never forget Pete's menacing look. Suddenly Nikki is gone along with Peter - Kevin's last sight of her was as she flew across the sky with Peter and his cronies. Kevin's determination to save her will lead him and his close friends over a boundary that humans are not to pass, and suddenly the teenager's life is filled with horror. Author Christopher Golden makes it clear in his author's note that this tale is a fantasy remembrance of a part of his childhood. We are left to decide which pieces are imagination and which were real, but the basic theme of love gained and then lost is universal to all possible worlds. Underneath the sometimes frightening and tragic written story is a sense of a deeper tragedy - that of decisions never made and opportunities lost. In the course of a short novel space summer ends and the cold of mid-winter suddenly begins. Golden's writing is a combination of fact pacing and almost elegiac musings on the changing hare of a boy. I do not know of anything else he has written that has so much running just beneath the surface. Speaking non-technically, it is a moving, thought-provoking story, one that will remain in memory for a time. Technically, "Straight on 'til Morning" begins slowly. So much time is spent building the characters and setting the scene that it seems there is hardly the time to bring the story home. This is one case where I feel the book is just too short for what it attempts to do. But this is far better than being too long. This is still one of Golden's best effort, and is clearly a book he needed to write.
Rating:
Summary: A Subtle Sense of Loss
Review: Being thirteen - almost fourteen - has its own special anguish. You know more than you should, you want more than you can have, and nothing quite makes sense. Such was the life of Kevin Murphy, caught in the long summer before maturity. Falling out of love one day and back in love the next. This time with his best friend Nicole French. Nikki is older, but not particularly wiser. Compulsively drawn to high-risk boyfriends, she can care for Kevin, rely on him, but never love him in the way he wants. What hurts Kevin the most is that Nikki has fallen for a boy that Kevin knows is extreme bad news. Peter Starling first ran into Kevin and his friends on a day in the woods. What started out as and idyllic party suddenly became a near nightmare, and Kevin will never forget Pete's menacing look. Suddenly Nikki is gone along with Peter - Kevin's last sight of her was as she flew across the sky with Peter and his cronies. Kevin's determination to save her will lead him and his close friends over a boundary that humans are not to pass, and suddenly the teenager's life is filled with horror. Author Christopher Golden makes it clear in his author's note that this tale is a fantasy remembrance of a part of his childhood. We are left to decide which pieces are imagination and which were real, but the basic theme of love gained and then lost is universal to all possible worlds. Underneath the sometimes frightening and tragic written story is a sense of a deeper tragedy - that of decisions never made and opportunities lost. In the course of a short novel space summer ends and the cold of mid-winter suddenly begins. Golden's writing is a combination of fact pacing and almost elegiac musings on the changing hare of a boy. I do not know of anything else he has written that has so much running just beneath the surface. Speaking non-technically, it is a moving, thought-provoking story, one that will remain in memory for a time. Technically, "Straight on 'til Morning" begins slowly. So much time is spent building the characters and setting the scene that it seems there is hardly the time to bring the story home. This is one case where I feel the book is just too short for what it attempts to do. But this is far better than being too long. This is still one of Golden's best effort, and is clearly a book he needed to write.
Rating: 
Summary: Straight on 'til Morning: A review.
Review: Chris Golden spellbounds you once again. His characters are really life-like, and nails what teenagers and teen love are like. It's a great book about friendship and sacrifices. I have to say, the battle scenes in which Golden writes are amazing. Never has anyone describe the brutatlity of them in a way he employs in this novel. The writing alone is fantastic throughout the whole book. I highly recommend reading this novel if you're a horror-buff, and his previous novel, "Strangewood". And I am definitely looking forward to reading his upcoming novel, "The Ferryman".
Rating: 
Summary: It Fell Apart in the Final Quarter
Review: Christopher Golden's "Straight On Til' Morning" is the rope in an evenly matched tug-o-war game. It's being pulled in two completely different directions, but neither team is gaining any ground. The story starts off somewhat promisingly with the classic tale of teenage love. Main character Kevin Murphy is turning fourteen and he's in love with his best female friend, Nikki. But would he ever tell her? No way! When Nikki starts going out with someone that Kevin knows is no good for her, Kevin laments not telling her his true feelings and is forced to stand on the sidelines while she and Pete go out. (And who hasn't that ever happened to?!) The story completely falls apart when it turns into an extremely bad Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Kevin and his crew must do battle with goblins, shadow creatures and even thinly disguised Orcs (called Trows in this book), in order to save Nikki from the "not-so-evil-after-all" clutches of Pete and his entourage. The final battle sequences are just silly. Lots of axe wielding, arrow shooting and bell ringing. D&D fans will no doubt find this portion entertaining. I did not. My one other major problem in this story involves Kevin and the gang's access to alcohol and other controlled substances. These kids drank more beer at 13 and 14 than I did in my entire senior year in high school! I sincerely doubt that liquor laws were that easily manipulated in Massachusetts during the early 1980's. You'll get two stories for the price of one with this particular novel. Unfortunately neither of those two stories is written to any sort of conclusion. I gave it two stars for the character development, but that's about it. I really wanted to care for Kevin and the gang, but the journey to Neverland dashed any of those hopes.
Rating:
Summary: It Fell Apart in the Final Quarter
Review: Christopher Golden's "Straight On Til' Morning" is the rope in an evenly matched tug-o-war game. It's being pulled in two completely different directions, but neither team is gaining any ground. The story starts off somewhat promisingly with the classic tale of teenage love. Main character Kevin Murphy is turning fourteen and he's in love with his best female friend, Nikki. But would he ever tell her? No way! When Nikki starts going out with someone that Kevin knows is no good for her, Kevin laments not telling her his true feelings and is forced to stand on the sidelines while she and Pete go out. (And who hasn't that ever happened to?!) The story completely falls apart when it turns into an extremely bad Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Kevin and his crew must do battle with goblins, shadow creatures and even thinly disguised Orcs (called Trows in this book), in order to save Nikki from the "not-so-evil-after-all" clutches of Pete and his entourage. The final battle sequences are just silly. Lots of axe wielding, arrow shooting and bell ringing. D&D fans will no doubt find this portion entertaining. I did not. My one other major problem in this story involves Kevin and the gang's access to alcohol and other controlled substances. These kids drank more beer at 13 and 14 than I did in my entire senior year in high school! I sincerely doubt that liquor laws were that easily manipulated in Massachusetts during the early 1980's. You'll get two stories for the price of one with this particular novel. Unfortunately neither of those two stories is written to any sort of conclusion. I gave it two stars for the character development, but that's about it. I really wanted to care for Kevin and the gang, but the journey to Neverland dashed any of those hopes.
Rating:
Summary: One long dark journey
Review: Christopher Golden's STRAIGHT ON TIL MORNING is a great blend of fantasy, horror, suspense while also being a coming-of-age tale. Here, you have a group of kids with big dreams and high hopes who, during one very strange summer, will be faced with the oddest and most terrifying things. Kevin has been in love with the very same girl forever. But just as he's about to confess his love to her, she meets a guy named Peter. Pete is five years older than she is and, from the get-go, Kevin doesn't like the guy. Strange things happen everytime Pete and his friends are around. Things none of them can explain. Things so strange and fantastic that they cannot be real. But real they are. And soon enough, Pete and his friends kidnap Nikky. It is up to Kevin, his brother Jesse and two of their friends to go save her in a world very far from this one. The novel starts as a very straight forward coming-of-age tale. But halfway through the book, the story becomes horror/fantasy, when Kevin and his group have to enter a Neverland-like world in order to save Nikky. Golden takes the Peter Pan story and toys with it to fit his needs. And the result is quite impressive. This is one of the most imaginative novel I've read in years. Unfortunately, the book does get a little out of hand in its last fifty pages, where the climax becomes a little too cahotic to really makes sense. But that aside, STRAIGHT ON TIL MORNING is a wonderful mix of fantasy and horror and should please fans of both genres. Golden is one of the most original voice in horror fiction, and this book should not be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic read, let's have a sequel!
Review: I loved this book and read most of it in one sitting. I loved the "Stand By Me" characterizations and the blending of Celtic mythology was fantastic! If there is one thing negative I have to say, it was that Mr. Golden should have left the ending open for a sequel. I wasn't quite as happy with the way things turned out when the children grew up and what happened to them, but that's how real life is anyway, isn't it? I still say that there should definitely be a sequel. There is so much more material in the Neverland world of the Tuatha Da Dannen.
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