Most of us view the world through a frame of self-importance. I know I do. So when I look at the horror genre in the past five years, I see four important figures: Tom Piccirilli, Joe Hill, Sarah Langan, and Brian Keene. To me, they represent all that is great when it comes to writing horror fiction in terms of talent and vision. They also bring a great deal of respect to an often-maligned genre. Tom Piccirilli is the poet-writer, a man who’s a master of prose and surreal frights. Joe Hill and Sarah Langan have a mainstream appeal due to the poignancy and humanity of their plots. Brian Keene, well, he’s the man who sits on top of the genre and vocally surveys all that he sees, all the while writing two or three outstanding mass market paperbacks a year.

I’ve read most of the Brian Keene bibliography up to and including Dark Hollow. Granted, to read every parcel of fiction (and non-fiction!) from Brian Keene would be a momentous task, though I’m sure there are plenty of rabid FUKU members (Keene’s fan club) who have. It’s been a joy to watch him grow from the raw and visceral writer of The Rising to become a writer of some renown. Some call him the Richard Laymon of our generation. Certainly, arguments can be made in support of that claim.

Dark Hollow was released in the winter of 2008 by Leisure Books and runs 305 pages. The plot centers around mystery writer Adam Senft. Senft is a meta-fictional character. It doesn’t take much to imagine Brian Keene as Senft, personality wise. Senft is in a rocky marriage (due to two miscarriages), and Senft finds succor in his relationship with his dog, Big Steve. The plot is brought to life when Senft takes Big Steve on a walk through the woods nearby his house. They stumble across a most bizarre scene: a beautiful woman performing fellatio on a satyr. In a line that made me chuckle (“Come celebrate the season”) the satyr offers to let Senft join the fun. Senft and his dog rush away in fright.

It’s not soon after that nightmarish scene that the women in town start disappearing. When Senft’s wife vanishes, he forms a posse of friends to track down the satyr and his wife.

There’s a lot to like about Dark Hollow. Keene interweaves magick and Greek mythology in an interesting way. He also ties the satyr, Hylinus, to his evil meta-verse, appeasing those long-time readers. If you’re a dog lover, you’ll enjoy the brotherly bond between Big Steve and Senft.

On the flip side, there’s a lot a picky reader can complain about here. I felt some of the dialog between Senft and his band of merry friends to be slight and silly considering the situation. Also, the climatic showdown between Hylinus and Senft was confusing and hard to picture, if not a bit manic. There are plenty of cliches being tossed about, from a disbelieving detective to the disgruntled writer.

But the final line is that this is a good ol’ fashioned horror novel. Certainly not Keene’s best work, but this one is good enough for me to recommend for Apex readers.

Jason Sizemore is the editor-in-chief of Apex Publications.