FINAL BOY

This is a horror novel set in Massachussets in 1984. In a small, fairly affluent community families prepare for Halloween. Some of them are super into it, others have got their own problems going on. The first half of the book shows us some families who are either slowly or very rapidly falling apart – whether that be financial pressures meaning that they’ll have to sell up, a man’s long-term infidelities finally being too much to ignore or concealed bigotry bubbling up to the surface. There are a lot of characters and they are divided between the children – generally teenagers and their parents.

The second half of the book we begin seeing some waifs and strays, children tagging along with the Halloween trick or treaters whom nobody seems to know, children turning up lost and frightened in the woods or children who find themselves in exactly the wrong home with the wrong people. They are all frightened of someone called “The Cunning Man” and wanting help.

Personally, I felt that the human elements worked much better than the horror aspects (and that isn’t because the horror bits are not done well – they’re intriguing and scary and unpredictable) – it is rather that this is a masterpiece on what happens with people when events crack the mask that they’re wearing to hide who they are, and the awful moments in life as a child when you are suddenly exposed to adults who are drunk or violent or emotionally uncontained. In the course of the night, the adults show us who they really are – some of them are truly dreadful, some of them do dreadful things but find some redemption, some really step up to be good people when we’ve previously only seen them through the eyes of their children who consider them a let down. All of the characters feel real and troubled and vivid and alive and I could have spent another 200 pages watching them.

My taste in horror always leans more towards character and how people behave under pressure, and this is a real masterclass in doing that. Christopher Golden really isn’t afraid to put his characters through the wringer and not afraid to show ugliness and desperation. There’s a moment where one neighbourhood lothario stumbles drunk into a Halloween party and with a few badly chosen words just shatters the lives of about six people in a moment and it is just so raw and so real.

I’m looking forward to seeing more Christopher Golden, because this book totally nails atmosphere and mystery and most importantly character. Really really enjoyed it.