Daemon of the Dark Wood by Randy Chandler

It's hard to believe that almost exactly a decade ago I was searching high and low for that perfect first novel for HellBound Books Publishing.  Looking for something original with a fresh voice, but also a real page-turner, I sifted through over a hundred 'first three chapter/synopsis' packages, many quite well-written, most of them starring ghosts, zombies, werewolves, and other auld beasties; the vast majority showcasing hordes of vampires in every conceivable shape, stripe and configuration. One day, I opened an e-mail, quickly buzzed through the cover note, started the chapters, and ... wait.  I think I may have something here. Quickly followed by:  How the hell is this NOT published already?  I immediately fired off an e-mail request for the complete manuscript.  Within a few days time, I knew I had that elusive first novel for HellBound:  Bad Juju by Randy Chandler.

Chandler's latest, long-awaited novel Daemon of the Dark Wood (available Feb. 29, 2012 from Comet Press) treads somewhat familiar, even hallowed ground for aficionados of horror fiction, recounting the tale of bucolic North Georgia small towns Dogwood and Widow's Ridge under a sudden and unexpected assault from the titular evil.  As women begin to succumb to a wild and relentless screech from the dark woods, disappearing into the clutches of a powerful demi-god/man-beast, Deputy Rob Rourke, psychiatrist Trey Knott and anthropology professor Alfred Thorn are reluctantly drawn into the madness, cobbling together clues along the way to the stunning and violent denouement.  Alternately, elderly widow Liza Leatherwood (who knows the truth behind the creature and the mysterious Helling) and solitary mountain wanderer Asa Edgar provide additional back story and fill in some of the missing pieces.

As I have noted before, Comet Press puts out an impressive, sensibly-priced product.  Although this reviewer is still not a fan of the trade-sized paperback, this is one sturdy, quality book, with a well-laid out, easy to read interior, featuring some nice, thoughtful details.  There were a small number of typos throughout, but the version I read was an early proof, so these will likely vanish from the final product.  The Daniele Serra cover art is subtle, evocative and perfect for the novel.  As anyone who has fought the small press wars knows, cover art often darkens a couple shades at the printers, so the title lettering might have benefited somewhat from a fine white outline or pale shading behind it...admittedly, a somewhat trivial detail. 

If the devil is truly in the details then Chandler is a Practiced Master of the Dark Literary Arts.  He liberally sprinkles his writing with a multitude of small, finely-cut prose-gems, effectively using them to color definitive shadings of character, enhance ambiance, evoke foreshadowing, even advance plot lines.  No doubt, this novel is a "creature-feature" page-turner in the finest tradition, but as with all of Chandler's writing, read a little deeper and you find an austere, knowing treatise on the human condition.  Chandler's examination of character is outstanding as well; the widow Leatherwood and hillside wanderer Edgar are both particularly well-drawn.  You not only get into their heads, but Chandler makes you wear their skins and feel their heartache, loneliness and sheer dread and terror.  Occasionally wandering to the lavender side of purple, Chandler's prose is typically thoughtfully wrought, at turns achingly beautiful when describing the picturesque North Georgia landscape then almost lyrically brutal in the numerous episodes of graphic violence and sex.  In a slow, suspenseful burn, Chandler cleverly juxtapositions elements from the Civil War, local superstition and lore (effectively being homogenized into obsolescence by the inevitable march of technology, communications and the cult of personality), and the terrifying gods of ancient mythology.  Add in a canny take on the psychology of those disparate elements merged and you are led to the gory finale.  Scrape off the frighteningly thin patina of 'civilization' from the human animal and you might just have the Helling, or something horrifyingly like it.  Then demigods and humans alike will dance naked and blood-smeared in the resulting primordial firelight.

Fans of Chandler's work will be extremely happy to learn that Bad Juju has been re-released in e-book format from Acid Grave Press and his novel Dime Detective is coming soon from Comet Press.  You can find more of his work at Randy Chandler's Amazon Page. 

Review by Walt Hicks