I really enjoyed Tim Waggoner's two books in his "Shadow Watch" series and so was eager to catch this dark fantasy/horror novel, <em>Eat the Night</em>, published by Darkfuse - one of the leading publishers of dark tales.

Joan Lantz has been having troubling dreams of a mass suicide in the jungles of Suriname - led by a rocker named Mark Maegarr - which occurred years before. Then she discovers a previously-unknown room in her basement. Are the two connected? Joan gets help from The Agency - an under-funded, short-on-man-power organization that might just be the only thing between humanity and the end of everything we know.

Throughout it all, the death-metal lyrics of Maegarr permeate the novella as a sort of creepy, haunting score to Joan's life and entropy facing the world at large.

Entropy.

That's a concept that on the surface seems like such a great one for a dark fantasy novel, but once you start to talk about it takes you out of the mood and that's what happened here for me. Despite such a short book and the inclusion of music/lyrics - something that I typically relish in my literature - I was drawn in to the story very early on, but quickly stopped caring as The Agency got involved.

I'm only familiar with Waggoner's two Shadow Watch books which were paced well, highly original in concept, and while not as dark as <em>Eat the Night</em>, still wonderfully creepy, and so I had high hopes for this work as well. Unfortunately I just never really got into this.

For me, I've discovered, I like character-driven stories. This book is concept-driven and the characters, Lantz, Maegarr, and the Agency are there to move the idea of entropy and the Agency's battle forward. It's a small difference, but just enough to keep from fully enjoying this book.

Looking for a good book? Tim Waggoner's <em>Eat the Night</em> is a short, quick, dark fantasy read that just barely satisfies.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

5 Stars!

Tim Waggoner never fails to terrify and entertain so I was excited when I heard that he had a new novel coming out from DarkFuse. Eat the Night promised a frightening story of horror and rock and roll that seemed too good to miss so I was happy to dive in.

Joan and Jon felt blessed to finally get a house of their own. They were able to afford it due to the generosity of a friend who sold it to them cheap. The blessing became tainted when Joan started dreaming about a mass suicide by a cult in Suriname years earlier spurred on by the music of a death metal band. It was easy to write the dream off as a flight of fancy brought on by stress until a couple strange occurrences seem to link it to the waking world. It was not until Joan discovered the hidden basement in the house that the blessing of a new home may actually be a curse.

Mark Maegarr, the rock star turned cult leader, has returned from the dead and is ready to unleash his evil on the world once more. Unfortunately for Joan, the gateway for his return lies in her house’s hidden basement. She now finds herself caught up in a battle of apocalyptic proportions as she must work with Kevin, an employee of the mysterious agency known as Maintenance, to stop Maegarr from staging his intended performance that would release The Big Dark and destroy the world.

Waggoner wastes little time getting into the story and the novel takes off from the first page. As expected, Waggoner has full control of the story at all times and the pages fly by without the reader feeling rushed. This frantic pace is quite the accomplishment because there is a lot going on in this story and it would be easy to leave the reader behind. There are multiple elements at play in the novel that wind together as the story unfolds. There is a haunted house vibe that kicks off the story and resurfaces from time to time throughout. The cult and its mysterious leader take the reader back into the past with a much different feel than what is happening in the present. Waggoner also brings in an almost science fiction element in Maintenance that could easily have stolen the horror from the story and caused the story to fall apart. It is a dangerous mix that requires a delicate balance and Waggoner is able to pull it off to perfection.

Eat the Night is a horror novel but it is one that has a different feel than many of its peers. Waggoner knows how to craft a good horror story and that skill is evident in the novel. The house of Joan’s dream comes across as creepy and secretive from the start so the discovery of the basement comes as no surprise to the reader. The use of death metal and the way in which Waggoner unfolds the story around Maegarr works well to infuse the story with a gravitas that elevates it beyond a simple haunted house or resurrected demon story. The presence of Kevin and Maintenance gives the story a unique feel as there is something going on behind the scenes that the reader is not fully in tune with but this aura of mystery changes the perception of the story. Maintenance is an intriguing part of the story and one that I hope Waggoner will explore in the future. Eat the Night is an entertaining and frightening read that highlights a master of horror at the top of his game.


I would like to thank DarkFuse and NetGalley for this review copy. Eat the Night is available now.

A interesting supernatural story with more than a few twists. It was interesting how the seemingly multiple separate storylines melded into one towards the end. From hidden basements to a rock'n'roll leader of a death cult to an agency man short on resources trying to stop the chaos of the "entropy" and the Durg from swallowing the earth, it was a fun read. At times the writing felt a bit stiff, but overall, a good horror read.

EAT THE NIGHT (Dark Fuse Publishing, 2016) is a fast and ferocious ride from the mad mind of Tim Waggoner. This short novel is not for the faint of heart. Waggoner never shies away from carnage or foul acts of depravity. That is part of the dark magic within these pages that makes this one so hard to put down.

Highly recommended for fans of full-throttle horror!

I give EAT THE NIGHT 4 stars.