[.ca] Walking (ISBN 0451201744)

WALKING...NOT TALKING...:
Once again, this Bram Stoker Award winning author brings it home with yet another, highly inventive horror yarn. Stephen King is a fan of this author, as he has declared this book "the horror event of the year." This is high praise indeed from this venerable master of the horror genre, and rightly so. This was the first book I ever read by this author and I have been hooked ever since, as this author's books are generally well-written, highly original, and genuinely creepy, as well as full of twists and turns in the plot. This one does not fail to deliver. This book is really two stories. One takes place in the remote western frontier of the nineteenth century. The other takes place in the present. Both are compelling stories that are inextricably interwoven and intertwined. It seems that during the nineteenth century, an unusual group of people was the focus of ongoing persecution. One man, William Johnson, a member of his group, decided he wasn't going to take it this persecution lying down and secured permission from the United States government to start a colony of his people in a remote place called Wolf Canyon in the then Arizona Territory. This book tells the story of their town and what happened to it and its inhabitants. In present day small town America, somewhere in the Southwest, something mighty strange is beginning to happen. Some people are dying but they are just not staying dead like they are supposed to. Instead, they begin to walk. They are an unstoppable force, as they do the unthinkable and walk purposefully with a seeming destination in mind. This is the mystery that confronted private investigator Miles Huerdeen, when his dead father decided to trip the light fantastic and begin to walk. Miles soon discovers that the walking dead have a connection to Wolf Canyon, but the reason why is what his journey will reveal. The author seamlessly weaves these two tales together, creating a highly inventive and entertaining story. As the connection between the past and the present is made clear and the two stories meld into one, the reader is kept spellbound. This author knows how to put together a tale of contemporary horror, making the reader believe the unbelievable. This author is right up there with the best contemporary writers of the horror genre. Those who enjoy this genre will not be disappointed by this book and will, undoubtedly, be looking to read this author's other works.

This book is a waste of time.:
I bought this book on an impulse at an airport, because the cover has quotes from Stephen King and Dean Koontz, saying how great it is. What a disappointment. The most glaring negative is the characters. They are all so phoney, predictable, and with all the depth of a pizza box. How can you get into a story when you don't give a damn about any of the characters? Skip this one, unless you are reeeeeaaally bored.

These boots are made for walking:
Horrible deaths await the characters in this book--undeserved deaths, for the most part--but I was able to read "The Walking" through the night without turning on extra lights or calling extra cats into the bedroom for company. Horror is the 'oh yuk, how can these hideous events be happening' reaction. Terror is knowing that in the darkness, if you reach for the light switch, something will realize exactly where you are. That said, this novel is hard to put down. It has likeable, interesting characters and an evil vampyr named Isabella, who has understandable motives for murder. Bentley Little's finest descriptions are reserved for her vengeful killings. The story jolts forward with death after gruesome death, but the reader finally catches on to the reason for the murders and the walking zombies, without too much prodding from Bentley Little. It's always a pleasure to deduce whodunit and why without a flat-out, often tedious explanation from the author. This novel's main protagonist, a nice-guy private detective named Miles Huerdeen is asked to investigate the mysterious stalking of an old man. Another one of his cases ends abruptly when his client is torn in half, lengthwise. Old men are dying horrible deaths all around him. Then his own father dies, walks out of the morgue and disappears. Several hellish visions and deaths later, Miles realizes that a monster is waiting for him in the depths of Wolf Canyon, where a village of witches had been deliberately drowned by a government hydroelectric dam. "The Walking" isn't the scariest or most gruesome horror novel I've ever read--go to Stephen King for those superlatives--but it is clever, non-stop reading.

Not the Little I'm Used To:
This one is the fourth Bentley Little book I've read, and ranks last as far as my prefrences are concerned. It starts off great, switching back and forth through time, causing the reader to grow anxious. Unfortunatly, the second half turns into a lame, not-well-thought out blunder. This is not like the other Litle books I've read (The Association, The Mailman, and The Collection). His other books hooked me by displaying hilarious social satire, political incorrectness, weirdness, and extreme gore. In this one; however, it seems as though he wanted to pull off a "serious" horror novel, and in the process he kind of lost his identity. I hope that he continues to progress, but by sticking to his original formula of satire and inconcevable weirdness. It is still worth a read, as long as you don't pick it up with high expectations.

A Walking Thrill-Ride!:
This was my first foray into the literary world of Bentley Little and I was uber-impressed. He kept me turning pages until I had paper-cuts! The mystery of the Walking Dead mixed with the horror of the past made this a compelling and gripping read!