What do You think about The Darkest Part Of The Woods (2004)?
First off, I thought it was okay. My objection to the story was the author constantly reminding the reader about trees, woods, forests, bugs...not just when appropriate, but even down to smells in the library where the character Heather worked. I'm thinking...way too much description, way too much setting...let's move along and get to the story! But I stuck with it and when isolated from the overabundance of tree description, the story wasn't so bad. One other thing...if you're a Lovecraft reader and familiar with the Cthulhu mythos, then this book will be a LOT easier to understand. In fact, not that it's relevant, but in one of the newer Lovecraft imitators anthologies, there is a story by Campbell that takes place in these very woods.The Price family came to Goodmanswood because Lennox, the father, was doing a study on popular delusion, and heard about some strange lichen in the woods there that caused hallucinations. Lennox tested it, of course, and was promptly locked up because of his delusions. (Again, a common theme in Lovecraft's work...the people with "delusions" locked up in a mental home). Anyway, the story takes place years later; his daughter Heather now lives in the family home with her son Sam; artist mom Margot lives nearby. As the story opens, Sylvia, the sister who left, has returned and the family is subjected to all kinds of eerie happenings that seem to emanate from the woods, all related to an ancient evil inhabiting the woods.As I noted, if you can just isolate the story itself and not have to put up with the constant unnecessary description of pretty much every tree, leaf, smell and insect, you'll find a story that is creepy. It was a bit of a task combing through the book to keep focused on the story.
—Nancy Oakes
While Campbell did a damn fine job suffusing the text with both relatable, quotidian fears (shameful secrets, familial tensions, etc.) and an overwhelming sense of cosmic dread, I wasn't really attached to any of the characters. They were all a bit gray and sketchily detailed, despite what seemed to be a healthy helping of interiority for each main character. For me, Campbell's best work comes from the brief glimpses of dark and terrible things that he injects into his short fiction; in a novel this long, it's somewhat difficult to keep things veiled and still make your readers feel like the pay-off was worth it. Though I'd definitely read more of Campbell's novels (at least Grin of the Dark, The Face That Must Die, and The Doll Who Ate His Mother, all of which await me on my shelves), I think I'm a more ardent admirer of his short stories than his longer narratives. (view spoiler)[I initially picked up this book because of the horror community's recently revived interest in British folk horror; this novel has some small elements of that, but fits better under the Lovecraftian/cosmic horror umbrella, just in case anyone's expecting the Green Man or another rustic English beastie to play a big part. (hide spoiler)]
—Alejandro
Well. I'm not sure where to begin with this one. It's possibly some of the worst writing I've ever read. Here are some quotes from the book, with my thoughts:Pg. 59 "Who's in my room now?""Right now, nobody," Heather said, since that was how the question had sounded. "It's Sam's room." (There was never any indication that anyone was currently, at the moment, in the room. The clarification was unnecessary.)Pg. 83That was Worlds Unlimited, which Sam realized now had been the first destination he c
—Lynette
