Customer Reviews

Shadowland

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Shadowland, by Peter Straub, is a piece of really excellent high-end horror. The book begins in a private prep school for boys. In this school, Del and Tom, two freshmen boys fascinated by magic, find each other and form a strong friendship. Together, they learn card tricks, try to figure out why the whole school is having nightmares, dodge the crazy headmaster of the school, and do the sort of pal-around that only boys of a certain age can do. Their school year culminates with a big talent show in which Del and Tom plan to perform a magical exhibition. Circumstances in the story keep this from happening and the boys retire for the summer to the estate of Del's uncle, Shadowland.

Del's uncle is a half-crazy, alcoholic, retired magician. He sets about teaching the boys magic. His magic, though, consists of more than tricking the eye with a slight of hand. At Shadowland, nothing is as it seems. An hour can feel like all day. The sun can set at 11am. You can find yourself suddenly half-way across a continent, just to find that you haven't moved from your spot at all. There are others living at Shadowland that are unseen, and whose existence is denied. There are rules that are made in the hopes of being broken. As Del's uncle spends the summer recounting his life, in all it's horror, to the boys Tom realizes that the horror is only starting. As he sees things that can't be real, but are, and he sees the immediate horrors being committed at Shadowland, Tom realizes that he has to leave, and Del must come with him. Unfortunately, for Tom and Del, Uncle Collins has realized something about Tom that even Tom doesn't yet know - and he wants it for himself.

In Shadowland, Peter Straub has written a brilliant piece of fiction. There are plots, subplots, and subplots within those. Nothing in this book is without purpose to the story. Straub's writing, which has a definite British bent, despite the story being set in the United States, is very literary and rich. More complex than Stephen King, Straub is still very readable, especially to those who like a thicker story. No one who enjoys literary horror will be disappointed for having read this book.

I first read this in 1984 at a christian youthcamp 'retreat' with compulsory 'outdoor activities' in subzero weather. It was there that I got hooked on quote marks and phonics. It was there that I began to see that adults could be as clueless as children.

I return to this book at Christmas when the weather looks bleak. As a coming of age novel, it speaks more clearly to me than some classics I could name.

One caution
The first pages confuse. Mr. Straub likes to spin you around before telling you a story. It breaks you out of your world and preps you for his. I'm lucky to find such a great story teller.

Straub burst into fame with his previous book "Ghost Story" but this book has always been my favorite. It has stories within stories, details in one part that take on ominous meanings later in the story, and a weird meshing of magic and Grimm fairy tales. What is real and what is not is a constant question and never fully answered. It does lead to a very stunning though violent ending. It is also a coming of age book but so different from many others of that type. Truly unique which may be why it confused people at first because it fit no clear cut category. With its stunning deatil and visual images, I am amazed no one ever made this book into a movie.

Tom Flanagan and his more affluent friend, Del Nightingale, receive an invitation from Del's uncle, Coleman Collins, to spend the summer with him. Collins is perhaps the greatest stage magician in the world, and both of the boys love magic. Collins promises to teach them both some new tricks. In fact, he promises to pass all his secrets on to the worthier of the two, which couldn't please Del more, since he wants to be the greatest living magician. Of course, one should always be careful what one wishes for...

This is an extraordinary book, something that might come from Walt Disney, if Disney was capable of coming up with anything either adult or horrific. It is best described as a nightmarish fairy-tale, full of magic - but mostly from the dark side.

As is typical of Straub, the story is constructed in convoluted and highly complicated form, all of which builds nicely to the conclusion of the main story at hand. The action begins in an Arizona boys' prep school, moves to an isolated mansion in Vermont, and includes numerous stories of Collins' highly checkered past throughout war-torn Europe, each tale of which increasingly fuels a mounting sense of dread - for Coleman Collins is much more than he seems; much more, and much worse.

I'm amazed no one ever attempted to make a movie of Shadowland, for it is highly cinematic in style. It isn't as good as Straub's preceding masterpiece, Ghost Story, but is still a worthy successor and a great, involving read. The characters are well-realized, the action intriguing, and the atmosphere and actual magic of the piece are striking.

This is a classic book by Straub, one of his best! The structure is great breaking the book up into sensible categories and the voice of the book is outstanding.
The best parts of the book is the stories within the stories. I particularly love the times in the book when the "now" adults are reunited and the times spent at Carson. But the greatest parts are the fables told. Straub really flexes his creative muscle during these parts of the book.
Why 4 stars? Because the book almost fell apart near the end. I think the novel may have been written about 100 pages too long. But the whole time I read this book I was very curious to how it really ends.

Rates in my top five all-time favorite books. This one delivers it all. Caught somewhere between a fever dream and the cool, longing whisper of a childhood memory, this book does what so few can: creates a narrative that is truly unique. As a film director, I have watched and read--"absorbed"--so many stories, that it is impossible not to see lazy "cookie-cutter" storytelling in almost everything. How often have I picked up a book or watched a movie with an interesting premise only to find that it is just like every other book or movie. Not so with Shadowland, which kept me forever off balance--but not enough to lose me. I was lost and riveted at the same time.

With absolute precision, Straub brings to life the adolescent's journey into manhood; how even everyday life can be a wonderous, terrifying mystery. By reframing this subtext within the confines of Shadowland itself--the magician's mansion--Straub creates a level of uncertainty and terror that you will feel lingering with you long after you've closed the book.

I can't imagine that this book will suit everyone's taste; but for anyone who likes their fiction to remain elusive, revealing, suprising, this is a book that will haunt you for years to come.

What a work. I originally read it a decade ago as a kid, I recently picked it up again, and wow, it's even better this time around. Another reviewer noted that it's a shame this book doesn't get more attention among the works of Peter Straub - that reviewer is absolutely dead on. I'd still have to rank it, among Straub's books, a close second - how can you top "Ghost Story?" Well, "Shadowland" comes very, very close to doing just that.

I imagine this is the kind of book that, as a writer, after you finish it, you kind of lean back in your chair, smile, and say, "Ah, I really am that damn good." It has incredible settings. The prep school in Arizona pulls off as interesting dichotomy: it feels, for a large part, like a true-to-life coming of age story, rich in detail and characterization, that you would expect from the era it is set in. But it also has that dark, supernatural twist, and that aura of "something is terribly wrong" that makes it such a delicious read that brings to mind Graham Joyce in his element.

And Shadowland itself! Shadowland, that great estate! Shadowland equals and, dare I say, surpasses in places, masters like Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker in fashioning and sculpting a truly gripping and fantastic world. The sights, sounds, spectacles, and characters of Shadowland are fantastic.

I'm not going to outline the plot in any real depth, it's been done on here already. The book is one of the greatest of the "horror bildungsromans" in existence. It is told in a narrative form that flashes between the past and "present," which I did not find confusing at all. I think it seemed like a natural and rich way to get at the story.

The main characters are Del and the protagonist Tom. Both are marvelously fleshed out. Coleman Collins is a great character, a man who seems to be a gregarious if somewhat somewhat rough-around-the-edges and mysterious magician. Early in the book he comes off sort of as a hard-drinking, "black-sheep-uncle-of-the-family" with some sordid elements. He tells the boys (and the readers) great stories, takes them to wondrous places in their minds, and puts on grand shows and illusions in his elaborate and huge house of tricks. Later however, it appears he may be far more sinister and calculating than expected. The mysterious and lovely Rose is another fascinating character, whose introduction into the story adds a major wrinkle to the plot. Skeleton Ridpath is an effective villain whose later appearance is a surprise once it is understood, and horrifying.

I could go on and on, but the point should be clear by now - this is a great book, a work of art in my opinion. Do not be put off by other reviews that compare it to Harry Potter (Shadowland came first by more than a decade and is more complex, darker, and more intelligent) or reviews that complain about the book because it does not have a straight arrow, linear narrative style. This is a satisfying read that has a lot of treasures to offer up. I would recommend it to anyone.

With the publication of Shadowland in 1981, Peter Straub enhanced his already impressive reputation as a modern master of the horror/dark fantasy genre. Although more subtle than its predecessor, the modern classic Ghost Story, the book's exquisite pacing was more effective in pulling readers into Straub's surreal fantasy world, making them wonder if such a place might not exist after all.

The novel is the story of the friendship between two young men and their encounter with a sorceror supreme. The magician, one Coleman Collins, exposes the two boys to a variety of bizarre and perilous situations, all designed to test, but also prepare them, for the time when one of them will inherit Collins' mantle of king of the magicians. The story moves quickly, as Tom Flanagan and Del Nightengale make the acquaintance of the strange denizens of the magician's mansion, Shadowland. There, they meet the charming Brothers Grimm, as well as Collins' warped servants, who go by the unlikely names of Mr. Peet, Roof, Rock and Seed. They also must deal with the evil "Collector," a mirror that steals souls.

The boys struggle with the malevolent forces which surround them and confront the dark side of their own personalities to prove themselves worthy. But Collins proves to be jealous of his power, causing a challenging summer of wonderment to climax in unspeakable tragedy. Pupil faces teacher in a final, bloody confrontation, winner take all.

The phrases "I couldn't put it down" and "Read this one with the lights on" are overused in describing horror stories, but in this case they are a perfect fit, as Straub succeeds admirably in his professional goal "To take the classic elements of the horror novel as far as they could go." Enter Shadowland, and explore the boundaries of your own imagination.

I completely agree with a previous comment about this novel making a great film. I would love to see some of those fantastic scenes played out on the big screen.

It does jump around a bit, but I think that this is SUPPOSED to confuse us a little to add to the general feeling of "what is real, and what is not----where am I?". I finished the novel in 2 days and was left with the sense of delicious gloom that made me want more---and I confess that thoughts of "The Collector" disturbed my sleep just a little.

Peter Straub tells the story of two prep-school classmates, Tom Flanagan, and Del Nightingale who spend a summer apprenticed to a master magician.

The novels first part chronichles the formation of their friendship, and their involvement in both stage and occult magic. This segment is fairly conventional, and well told. It succeeds in effectively building an atmosphere of menace, and thoroughly introducing the characters and themes that will be futher developed in the second half of the book, which is much more complex.

In the second half the book, all the laws of nature are uprooted, and magic and menace become the rule rather than the exception. The setting is confined to an estate in vermont, Shadowland, which is the domain of the wizard Coleman Collins. Coleman's origins are spelled out in an elaborate series of hallucinations, staged events, and magical illusions, or some indefinite mixture of all three. Straub is very effective in creating this fantastical setting, and in initiating the characters, and the reader, into his world of magic.

Unfortunately, this is where the story, and the horror, break down. In a story featuring a protagonist who can fly, transform himself, levitate objects, start fires with his mind, etc, it is a bit hard to generate any kind of menace or horror. (it is especially galling that a character who can fly is kept captive by a tall fence-) Thus what should be the climactic conflict pitting master against apprentice comes across rather flat, despite a phantasmagoria of imagery. The images can be interesting, perhaps even scary, but their ephemeral nature undercuts the significance of the consequences of this action.

Don't get me wrong, Straub weaves a rich tapestry that is compelling in places, but ultimately, in the big picture, falls utterly flat as horror, despite its richness and lyricism.

If you want clever references, occult themes and an intricate plot and a satisfying finish, perhaps you should read Foucault's Pendulumn, by Eco Umberto.

If you want a horror story with occult themes, look elswhere.