12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Horror Harvest, July 8, 2000
This is my third Douglas Clegg book. I've also read his short story collection, The Nightmare Chronicles, and his novel, You Come When I Call You. I read all three books back-to-back this summer, and just wasn't able to put any of them down.
The Halloween Man is the story of Stony Crawford, a boy on the verge of manhood who, in the autumn of his fifteenth year, learns some troubling things about his birth, and must decide how to move forward in the light of this knowledge. There are many similarities between this novel and You Come When I Call You. They both feature main characters on the cusp of adulthood who must battle demonic forces in a small town (in both cases the town is ultimately wiped out Roanoke Colony-style by the evil force in question).
Clegg probably does a better job in You Come When I Call You of building a strong propelling narrative that leaves the reader with no other choice than to keep turning pages. The Halloween Man is still very reader-friendly, but it's a little bit smaller and quieter of a novel (a little bit, anyway). The focus here is more on atmosphere and history. Clegg brings out more of the local color of the small seacoast New England town than he did for the desert town of You Come When I Call You. There's something very Lovecraftian about the briny surroundings that doesn't bode well for the local inhabitants.
In both novels, Clegg is concerned with religion and in teasing out what he believes, and what his characters believe about the origins of Biblical stories. I found this very fascinating, especially in The Halloween Man, in which Clegg does a more complete job of teasing out those beliefs.
If you've read and enjoyed any of Clegg's other writing, you should certainly pick up The Halloween Man. If you haven't read anything by Clegg and are thinking about it, I would either start with his short story collection, The Nightmare Chronicles, or this novel. You Come When I Call You is more of a powerhouse, but The Halloween Man displays more range and more of Clegg's facets as a writer.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Other Clegg novels, January 14, 2000
By A Customer
I had never heard of Douglas Clegg until Halloween Man and Nightmare Chronicles. I started these books for fun but found them to be moving, serious, funny in parts, but over all pretty great books to read.
Now my big problem is tracking down his books Goat Dance, Never Land and Childrens Hour.
Halloween Man is one of those novels where you can't recommend it to people who like slasher stories, even though there's a little slashing. You can't recommend it to people who like serious fiction because they all seem to believe that horror stories can't be serious.
So who do I recommend this to? People who like Straub, Koontz, King, Little, and maybe Barker. This is a fascinating story, but not for people who don't demand a lot from their horror fiction. Yet it's also very entertaining.
I can't wait to read Clegg's upcoming magnum opus, You Come When I Call You. I have no idea what it's about, but if it's anything like Halloween Man, it will be amazing reading.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Coulnd't Put This One Down!, November 21, 1999
I've been reading horror novels since the age of seven. I'm now 30, and the only author that I've enjoyed more than Clegg is Stephen King. HALLOWEEN MAN is a definite must have for every horror fan's bookshelf.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
