It’s kind of obvious that I’ve always been a huge fan of Brian Keene, and although we have never meet in person we both have become friends though the power of the internet. Over the years I’ve been communicating with Brian I have learned to respect not just the writer that is Brian Keene, but the man as well.
Take The Long Way Home is a different kind of story, one that takes Keene out of the element of fantasy horror and take a shot at the biblical event that many Christians and non-Christians alike have come to know as the story of the rapture. Now I’ve never read the whole entire bible page for page, but I am familiar and have read plenty of the not so boring stories of the bible and the passages in revelation about the end times. I have to say that Keene did a great job taking these events from the bible and wrote them into this story.
The book is about four men whom car pool and are on their way home from work. A loud sound is heard that is similar to horn, and people begin to disappear out of thin air. Because of this event; many major accidents and problems begin to occur around the world. Major traffic accidents, planes crash, nuclear power plants have meltdowns, and so on… In the case of our characters, after the rapture is over and done with only two of them survive the car accident. After meeting up with a construction worker, they decide to walk home from Maryland to Pennsylvania to see if their family is safe or still here on earth. The three men have to battle the dangers of the night, and in fact take the long way home.
What Keene has done with this book that actually only runs about one hundred pages long, is he has taken this biblical event that most religious people believe will happen someday and took events that are part of the issues of today and added them into this book. All our characters in this book are non-Christians, and Keene develops them around their central beliefs before the rapture, and in a sense guides our lead character to what his purpose is. One thing I’ve always admired about Brian Keene’s writing is his ability to develop great characters, just like all his previous books; Take The Long Way Home is no different, Keene does it again. He creates characters that the everyday person can relate too. And as someone who is always bases their film and book reviews around the characterization, I have no choice but to praise the efforts of the writers. Keene also makes this story simple, there is a nice little unexpected plot twist in the middle but it does not dispatch us from the story, but only makes it stronger and more interesting. Where Keene usually shocks us and leaves us feeling helpless in most of his horror novels, in this book he gives us hope. The overall moral story in this book is about love and most important of all about making the wrong things right. Keene gives us three characters whom are not really bad people, but not good either and puts them in a world where life’s true evils are exposed, and as a reader it showed me some of the true horrors that most people turn their head and ignore. But in the end, I was left with a feeling of doing something good. I finished this book in one sitting, and when I was done it touched me. I went into my bedroom around one am and held my wife closer to me than I probably ever have before. Not only did Keene hit me with his great writing ability, but he also hit me emotionally.
On another note, after you finish the story, there is a journal entry at the end of the book from Brian Keene himself where he explains how he got the title for the book, why the book was written and his own thoughts about religion. It’s a very touching entry and one that makes sense. it also answered my question that I wrote about in my Conquer Worn review as to where Keene stands on such an issue. And If your a fan of the band Supertramp, yes their song “Take the Long Way Home” is kind of where Brian got the title from; and yes I’ve had the song in my head all week, that I actually downloaded the song.
Overall, Take the Long Way Home is to Brian Keene as I Am Legend is to Richard Matheson. It’s not a long story but it’s writing at it finest. It’s a story about the fall of humanity and what waits ahead. The book is a rare find, so if you really want a copy to read E-bay is probably the best place to check for a copy, but it will cost you. I’m not sure if there are plans to release the book in paperback at all, but if you can get your hands on a copy it’s well worth the time and money. Once again my hats off to Brian Keene, the man is honestly on the fast track to be the worlds next Stephen King.
– 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
