Over the years, through Braunbeck's writing, I have become an honorary member of the Cedar Hill community. It started with Graveyard People: The Collected Cedar Hill Stories, Volume 1, Home Before Dark: The Collected Cedar Hill Stories, Volume 2, then moved to Mr. Hands, and Coffin County. Now the saga continues in Braunbeck's new work Far Dark Fields. At face value, it's a story about a seemingly ordinary man. An English teacher who has dreams of writing a book of short stories. It's a story about a husband and father, tortured by far too tactile nightmares. A man who until recently believed he was someone else, but in reality his past is tied to the most horrific murder spree in U.S. history. If you delve deeper into the Cedar Hill saga(I suggest reading the other four works before jumping head first into this one), you'll come to terms with the idea that "This is Cedar Hill, weird shit happens here. Get used to it."
I could easily rant and rave about all five of the Cedar Hill stories, but I won't! Instead, I will give you my opinion about Far Dark Fields, without relating it to any of the others. Braunbeck is a master at character development. It makes no difference if the character is the narrator or just a fry cook in a diner with one line of dialogue. The way he paints the picture of everyday life gone completely haywire, you tend to understand the pain these minimal characters are going through. From the first page, I felt an innate sense of brotherhood with the title character Geoff. He's a hard working English teacher, collecting his own short stories to send to a publisher, who is haunted by nightmares of a past he never knew he had. He is a man looking for answers to questions he doesn't understand, to fulfill a soul only half full. The book was great! Braunbeck has a knack for taking almost silly monsters and ideas and making them not only believable, but real. I have to admit, it does take a few pages to get into the actual story. But, the opening chapters are necessary to understand where you're going and where you've been. I was also a bit skeptical when I was about 30 pages from the end, feeling like I just got fully involved with the storyline, how can it end so soon?! Trust me...keep moving along. For fans of the Cedar Hill saga, or fans of good horror, you will not be disappointed with Far Dark Fields! Here's to hoping for yet another chance to revisit my second hometown, Cedar Hill, Ohio.
I could easily rant and rave about all five of the Cedar Hill stories, but I won't! Instead, I will give you my opinion about Far Dark Fields, without relating it to any of the others. Braunbeck is a master at character development. It makes no difference if the character is the narrator or just a fry cook in a diner with one line of dialogue. The way he paints the picture of everyday life gone completely haywire, you tend to understand the pain these minimal characters are going through. From the first page, I felt an innate sense of brotherhood with the title character Geoff. He's a hard working English teacher, collecting his own short stories to send to a publisher, who is haunted by nightmares of a past he never knew he had. He is a man looking for answers to questions he doesn't understand, to fulfill a soul only half full. The book was great! Braunbeck has a knack for taking almost silly monsters and ideas and making them not only believable, but real. I have to admit, it does take a few pages to get into the actual story. But, the opening chapters are necessary to understand where you're going and where you've been. I was also a bit skeptical when I was about 30 pages from the end, feeling like I just got fully involved with the storyline, how can it end so soon?! Trust me...keep moving along. For fans of the Cedar Hill saga, or fans of good horror, you will not be disappointed with Far Dark Fields! Here's to hoping for yet another chance to revisit my second hometown, Cedar Hill, Ohio.
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