NIGHT THINGS

by Michael Talbot ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 27, 1988

Like a cheesy carnival spook-show, Talbot's third horror novel (The Bog, 1986; The Delicate Dependency, 1982) features a colorful come-on--the most ingenious haunted house in years; but once you're inside, the monsters prove all rusty wire and papiermachÉ. The 160-room Adirondack mansion of Lake House looks to be the perfect hideaway for Lauren Montgomery, young son Garrett, and new husband, rock star Stephen Ransom. Explorations of the house by mom and son, however, reveal a weird design: hall-ways connect to lead away from the house's center--which is further protected by rooms angled to cause vertigo. A grand puzzle, but solving it vies with other concerns: Lauren frets about Stephen's coldness towards Garrett, while the boy sweats because he wants to befriend the entity formed of black smoke that visits him each night for some chat (""'Who and what I am need not concern you!,' it boomed""). Soon, Stephen fights with Lauren and drives off, stranding her and the boy; the next day, after an encounter with a cyclist, Lauren penetrates the house's core to find a door leading to infinite blackness. Thus the stage is set for mayhem: what follows, though, is strictly puff-and-blow as a razor-wielding neighbor shows up babbling about ""the Master""--that cyclist, who returns to transmute into a beast with ""glittering and emerald-green eyes."" Lake House, it seems, is doorway to a prison for the Master's brethren brood of mythic monsters; after some initial trouble (""He stroked his chin thoughtfully. 'Maybe something that's a little older, a Babylonian spell'""), the Master unleashes them--only to find himself facing Garrett's spectral pal, revealed as ""the Watcher,"" once-fallen angel, now celestial jailkeeper. Guess who wins their thunder-and-lightning battle? Haunted-house fans will enjoy the inventive architecture of Lake House; others who venture in will soon be searching for the nearest exit sign.

Pub Date: July 27, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1988

Categories: FICTION