If Brian Keene were a drug, he would be crack cocaine. Seriously, that’s how addictive his stories are. I’ve read just about all of his books, and like a fine wine, the man only gets better as time moves on. Keene has many of his stories published by Leisure books. A Gathering of Crows is the latest novel from the talented Keene, and this time, he brings back a familiar face from Ghost Walk, Levi Stoltzfus.
A Gathering of Crows takes place in a small West Virginia town that has been hit hard by the economic meltdown. Most of the homes are vacant and the jobs have all but disappeared. Five crows appear on a mountain top, and then transform into human forms that at night invade the town. The five figures are going house-to-house killing everyone and inhaling their souls. No one can escape from the town as its borders are sealed off by an unseen force. However, as God would have it, one of his great warriors is passing though town one night: Levi Stoltzfus, the former Amish mystic with the knowledge of PowWow and other ancient religions that he uses to fight the forces of evil. Levi uses his skills to learn who and what these monsters are, and why they are preying on the small town. With a few townsfolk by his side, he tries his best to defeat the posse of monsters that have descended on the small town.
As always, Keene takes us into a world that is character-driven. However, Keene introduces us to everyone in the town, and no matter what their fate, he develops them to the point where you begin to feel for the character and then, BAM! They are thrown into a whirlwind of shit of which most don’t survive. Those who do survive become part of a nightmare from which they can’t awaken. As the reader, you begin to feel for these characters, and Keene throws you right into the situation with them.
Brian Keene’s novels seem to have become part of my life. I have read almost all of his stories, and I have yet to come across one that I didn’t like. I have always looked at Keene in the light that if I had to ever compare myself to a writer, it would be Keene. Sometimes I can predict what he’s going to write, but most of the time he takes me on a wild, unpredictable ride. A Gathering of Crows is just another one of those stories to add to the greatness that is Keene.
At the end of the book, Keene promises his readers in a small statement that Levi Stoltzfus will return in at least two more novels. We also get a preview of Brian Keene’s Next novel, Entombed, where he decides to go back to familiar territory, and bring zombies back into our lives.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
