Publisher:  Leisure

    It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Brian Keene's writing, everything he writes I'm always able to relate to at least one character in the story. I also tend to read Keene's books faster than any other writer's work.  Such is still the case with his latest book GHOST WALK which will be released into mass market publication in August.

   For those of you who don't already know; GHOST WALK is a kind of a sequel to DARK HOLLOW (THE RUTTING SEASON), the only difference being that there are new characters that the story focuses around, but the lead character from DARK HALLOW, Adam Senft is back, but is no longer in the lead role.  This time we follow the stories of three different people who will all ultimately come together to face the new evil that is brewing in the now wasteland of Lehorn's Hallow.  Rather than getting to deep into what the story is about and giving away key points in the story, I'm going to try and keep my synopsis of the book as spoiler free as possible.

  GHOST WALK is about a man named Ken who recently lost his wife to cancer. In honor of her life, Ken starts a ghost walk/haunted path attraction during the Halloween season in her honor with all the proceeds going to charity. Little does Ken know that his ghost walk is on the outskirts of Lehorn's Hallow and that the evil that Adam Senft battled, is in waiting for the right time to strike. When a freelance writer named Maria gets assigned to cover the ghost walk she also uncovers the legends that surround the area, and decides to write book about the legends and all that has happen.  However she gets in a bit over her head when she meets a man named Levi. Levi is a user of Pow Wow and has many talents using the gifts that he claims the Lord gave him.  Levi is convinced that evil has returned to Lehorns Hallow and together with Maria they go on a mission to stop the evil from gaining it's full strength. But in order to do so they must first find Adam Senft. But back at the ghost walk evil is taking shape, sucking in people and draining them of their life.

   As always Keene never fails to impress me,  which is no longer a surprise.  Keene has easily grown to be my favorite writer, and until he proves that he can not longer write anything good anymore, He most likely will hold that title for a long time.  While I don't think GHOST WALK is his best effort to date, I still enjoyed it a lot as it brings closure to the story of Adam Senft and all that surrounds the legend of Lehorn's Hallow.  Keene once again gives us a great array of very well written characters that everyone can relate too, all with extraordinary back stories and interesting lives. 

   The book is short, coming in at only two-hundred seventy five pages. I honestly see GHOST WALK as a book that Keene wrote for the fans who wanted more of the mystery behind Lehorn's Hallow and the Adam Senft character.  It's a good read that really caught my interest right from the first page, and kept me glued the whole way though. It's another book by Keene that is very hard to put down, and that's probably my only complaint about the book is that I blasted though it so quick and wished the story was longer. But, Keene knows what he's doing and this after all is his story to compose.

   On a more personal note; I will have to say that I did have a great experience reading this book as it is the first book I got to read in Keene's home state of Pennsylvania,  which is where the book also takes place. While I was not in York County, I was in the middle of nowhere in a small house on top of a mountain looking down into the deep dark woods at night where the sounds of many creatures of the night are all you hear. Being miles from the nearest town, with a cell phone that didn't work and no television or computer really gave me the opportunity to really settle into the book. Ironically,  I also read DARK HALLOW while my wife was in labor, so Keene's creations in a sense have made themselves known in some of the best of times...

   Overall, GHOST WALK is another one of Keene's books to add to the pile of greatness. While it's not his best work, it's still very good and its a good conclusion to the Adam Senft story and Lehorn's Hollow. We also get a sneak peak at the first three chapters of Keene's next book from Leisure, CASTAWAYS which is based on his short story from the book FEAR OF GRAVITY. From what I've read, it looks like CASTAWAYS is going to be one hell of a ride.

 - Horror Bob

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