The Night Birds by Christopher Golden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Dark, creepy and hella atmospheric, The Night Birds is a wildly-entertaining ride of nail-biting intensity. Christopher Golden does this type of Folk Horror so well, IMO.
Maybe you’re like me, and though you appreciate the majesty and beauty of birds, they also creep you the heck out? If so, you should read this. Picturing myself in the shoes of some of these characters gave me absolute chills.
This story is set in Galvaston, Texas, and mainly revolves around a group of characters researching the Christabel, a 19th century freighter that lies half-sunken in waters shadowed by eerie mangroves and other wildlife.
With a vicious storm bearing down, most of the small crew abandon the Christabel, choosing to stay on dry land while they wait it out. Charlie Book, their leader, however, chooses to stay on board as usual. The ship has weathered many storms. It’s not going anywhere.
When he arrives on the docks after dinner, preparing to head back out to the Christabel, he’s shocked by the sudden appearance of his ex-girlfriend, Ruby. She’s begging him for help and protection, and she’s not alone.
With her is a mysterious woman, Mae, as well as an infant. They’re bedraggled and clearly on the run, but from what?
Even though he has big reservations about the situation, Book can’t refuse Ruby. If she’s in danger, he wants to help. Thus, he shuttles them all out to the Christabel.
Meanwhile, with the coming storm, something else seems to be coming, lurking in the dark and stormy night. Using shadows as cover and hiding a ravenous evil.
As forces close in on the Christabel, Book’s team senses that something is amiss and they try desperately to get back to the ship to help their friend. Little do they know, the storm is the least of their problems now.
I became invested in this story so quickly. I love Christopher Golden in general, and feel really comfortable with his writing style. It has such a classic Horror feel for me, and I love how he takes care to set a scene and pulls the Reader into his character’s lives.
He creates characters you want to succeed; to be okay, to live. I was rooting for Book and Ruby, as well as the side characters, Luisa, Gerald and Alan, the entire way through.
This would honestly make a great movie; good versus evil battling it out amongst the mangroves. I was on the edge of my seat and horrified as it unfolded. It was non-stop punches the entire second-half.
Some of it did get a little difficult to track as the action and intensity built up, but that could just be because of the speed at which I was reading it. I was so desperate to find out how this was going to conclude, I was flying through.
This is a witchy story, which is alluded to in the synopsis, as well as mentioned in the genre tags, but I just want to be clear, this is dark stuff; ancient stuff. The imagery involved, it’s heavy and excellent to read if you love Horror.
Overall, I had a great time with this. It’s so fun and addictive. I couldn’t put it down. I loved the atmosphere and characters, as well as the horror imagery throughout.
Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait to see what Golden releases next!!!