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Little Boy Lost
WHY WOULD A DEMON WANT A CHILD? When his six-year-old son vanishes, Miles Gale is suspected of having committed an unthinkable crime. He alone knows that the truth is even more unthinkable: his son has been taken by a creature out of time, a creature out of nightmare. The boy's mother has returned to claim him ... and Miles will have to go through hell to get him back.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
1 person is currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
T.M. Wright
63 books64 followersTerrance Michael Wright (AKA T. M. Wright) is best known as a writer of horror fiction, speculative fiction, and poetry. He has written over 25 novels, novellas, and short stories over the last 40 years. His first novel, 1978's Strange Seed, was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, and his 2003 novel Cold House was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. His novels have been translated into many different languages around the world. His works have been reviewed by Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, and many genre magazines.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 14, 2016
I'm a huge fan of T. M. Wright's work, because there's nothing cookie-cutter about his novels. LITTLE BOY LOST pretty much strikes all the chords his readers have come to expect: the gently hypnotic lyricism of the prose, the complex imagery and subtle characterizations ... the ethereal chills. At the heart of all Wright's books lurks something tragic, haunting, inexorable. (While reading his work, I often find myself thinking of J. G. Ballard or Ray Bradbury.) It's the stuff of nightmares all right, but grownup nightmares, none of that "the zombies are attacking again" stuff. No, his excellent books are very much for the adult reader who sometimes delves into weird fiction. They are decidedly not for the hardcore fan who never reads outside the genre. These books don't work that way: no cheap thrills here. They are deeply felt and profoundly poetic, literary in the best sense.
July 24, 2020
This is one of Wright's most atypical novels, examining the stress and anguish of a lost child and the effort for recovery- both physical and emotional. It's much more like a Stephen King novel thematically, but with more of a sideways and dreamlike quality. Despite the calm and quiet framework, it's a tense and suspenseful page-turner.
July 31, 2011
4.5 Stars
"He saw tall pine trees jutting into the sky. Maples, oaks, tulip trees, heavy with summer foliage, grandly swaying in a stiff wind.
"My God!" he whispered.
He heard the rear door open--Aaron's door--open, close.
Then the trees were gone and he saw storefronts, people walking, a dog running loose....
CJ's eyes were wide. "Aaron's gone!" he said."
This is a small snippet from this stunning example of how a good horror novel can also be good literature. This is the first T.M. Wright novel that I have read, I will surely be purchasing many more. This short, taut, and emotionally impactful horror novel really worked well for me.
As with all good horror novels, you need to have characters that you care about and empathize with. Wright has given us a cast full of them. CJ, Miles, Aaron, and Lorraine all make up a very likable bunch. The prose of this book flirts with poetry at times, and really hooks you into the story. the structure of this novel takes a good story and makes it something special. The continual time shifts changing between chapters, brings the puzzle pieces together for us the reader. The underlying feeling of dread is built up to coincide with the tension that comes along as our story progresses towards it's conclusion. I loved how this book was pieced together, it accomplished so much by doing it this way and really made this one work.
This is not a typical horror novel that is filled with things that go boo. There are no scary two headed many armed monsters running about. No one has fangs or barks at the moon. Heck, very little action actually happens throughout this short journey. No blood, no gore, and for a while, no real bad guy either. But, this story works by building up the tension, by cranking up the suspense, and the mystery. It gives us some answers while progressing deeper down a hole of unknowing. This is old school horror at it's finest.
I loved how this book climaxed. I really liked the ending. I really look forward to reading more by T.M. Wright, and if you are a fan of good literary horror, think Lovecraft or one of my favorite authors today Caitlin Kiernan, than you should definitely go buy a copy. His Kindle editions are very cheap and a great bargain...
"He saw tall pine trees jutting into the sky. Maples, oaks, tulip trees, heavy with summer foliage, grandly swaying in a stiff wind.
"My God!" he whispered.
He heard the rear door open--Aaron's door--open, close.
Then the trees were gone and he saw storefronts, people walking, a dog running loose....
CJ's eyes were wide. "Aaron's gone!" he said."
This is a small snippet from this stunning example of how a good horror novel can also be good literature. This is the first T.M. Wright novel that I have read, I will surely be purchasing many more. This short, taut, and emotionally impactful horror novel really worked well for me.
As with all good horror novels, you need to have characters that you care about and empathize with. Wright has given us a cast full of them. CJ, Miles, Aaron, and Lorraine all make up a very likable bunch. The prose of this book flirts with poetry at times, and really hooks you into the story. the structure of this novel takes a good story and makes it something special. The continual time shifts changing between chapters, brings the puzzle pieces together for us the reader. The underlying feeling of dread is built up to coincide with the tension that comes along as our story progresses towards it's conclusion. I loved how this book was pieced together, it accomplished so much by doing it this way and really made this one work.
This is not a typical horror novel that is filled with things that go boo. There are no scary two headed many armed monsters running about. No one has fangs or barks at the moon. Heck, very little action actually happens throughout this short journey. No blood, no gore, and for a while, no real bad guy either. But, this story works by building up the tension, by cranking up the suspense, and the mystery. It gives us some answers while progressing deeper down a hole of unknowing. This is old school horror at it's finest.
I loved how this book climaxed. I really liked the ending. I really look forward to reading more by T.M. Wright, and if you are a fan of good literary horror, think Lovecraft or one of my favorite authors today Caitlin Kiernan, than you should definitely go buy a copy. His Kindle editions are very cheap and a great bargain...
July 19, 2011
I've no idea why this rating is showing as if I gave it four stars when it's so clearly a five star--and beyond-- work of art.
If you haven't read it, give yourself a huge treat and get it at once. It's brilliant.
I have about 30 pages to go, but have no doubt about rating it before I even reach the end.
Mesmerizing.
And such an extraordinary combination of the sensation of sliding between the covers of a book and feeling you've come home because it's familiar, knowable; and simultaneously being delightedly aware of the sheer excitement that comes with learning and discovery. Best analogy: when you meet someone, are instantly smitten and feel connected, grounded; and yet on the verge of something wonderful you've never experienced.
I guess you could say I've fallen in love with this book.
Highly recommended.
If you haven't read it, give yourself a huge treat and get it at once. It's brilliant.
I have about 30 pages to go, but have no doubt about rating it before I even reach the end.
Mesmerizing.
And such an extraordinary combination of the sensation of sliding between the covers of a book and feeling you've come home because it's familiar, knowable; and simultaneously being delightedly aware of the sheer excitement that comes with learning and discovery. Best analogy: when you meet someone, are instantly smitten and feel connected, grounded; and yet on the verge of something wonderful you've never experienced.
I guess you could say I've fallen in love with this book.
Highly recommended.
June 5, 2011
Awesome. And what blows me away is how some reviewers - even places like Publisher's Weekly - just DON'T get these books. This one juggles several different plot lines, yes, and doesn't necessarily connect all the dots for the reader...but geez, c'mon. Have we all gotten THAT lazy we can't some of the heavy lifting for ourselves...?
January 8, 2012
This was the first piece of work I've read by T.M. Wright. Great writer. Story is unsettling on several levels. Not recommended for idiots who need everything spelled out for them.
September 4, 2012
I highly recommend this book for anyone
FTC: I received a free copy of this book and was not reimbursed in any other way.
FTC: I received a free copy of this book and was not reimbursed in any other way.
July 11, 2011
WHY WOULD A DEMON WANT A CHILD?
When his six-year-old son vanishes, Miles Gale is suspected of having committed an unthinkable crime. He alone knows that the truth is even more unthinkable: his son has been taken by a creature out of time, a creature out of nightmare. The boy’s mother has returned to claim him ... and Miles will have to go through hell to get him back.
“Relentlessly original.” ~ THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
“Brilliant.” ~ 2AM MAGAZINE
“Sharply etched.” ~ KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Hallucinatory … eerie.” ~ PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Can keep us shivering .” ~ NEW YORK NEWSDAY
“One of the most original writers of the surreal and macabre … a rare and blazing talent.” ~ STEPHEN KING
When his six-year-old son vanishes, Miles Gale is suspected of having committed an unthinkable crime. He alone knows that the truth is even more unthinkable: his son has been taken by a creature out of time, a creature out of nightmare. The boy’s mother has returned to claim him ... and Miles will have to go through hell to get him back.
“Relentlessly original.” ~ THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
“Brilliant.” ~ 2AM MAGAZINE
“Sharply etched.” ~ KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Hallucinatory … eerie.” ~ PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Can keep us shivering .” ~ NEW YORK NEWSDAY
“One of the most original writers of the surreal and macabre … a rare and blazing talent.” ~ STEPHEN KING
January 3, 2012
Great book, no idea why it isn't more popular (3 total reviews on Amazon??). The ridiculous plot synopsis doesn't help. WHY WOULD A DEMON WANT A CHILD?!? I wouldn't have given it a second glance had it not been through such positive word-of-mouth. It has a great atmosphere. The structure of the narrative is interesting...it was very well-done, but I don't want to go into details - it's best to discover it for yourself. My only gripe is that the ed-ition I read was full of strange hy-phens. I read the Kindle version, so I don't know if it's a leftover from the print edition, or if it was thrown in there to help set the dream-like, offputting tone of the book.
May 31, 2010
Little Boy Lost, from the early 90s, is a weaker TM Wright reality-bender novel than the others of his I've read thus far, but still has enough moments of mesmerizing prose poetry and eerie surrealism to make it ultimately worthwhile. Recommended mostly for Wright fans, who already know that he simply does not deliver the conventional horror novels that his publishers used to try to sell them as.
July 31, 2011
I liked how suspenseful this book was. It kept you interested. The author purposelly did not tell us everything and blurred the lines between reality, dreams, and the past to leave it up to the reader to decipher what really happened. It was gripping from the beginning as C.J., who had a photographic memory, was trying to tell his psychiatrist where his brother Aaron had gone because he was missing. We never found out, or did we?
July 2, 2013
Not my favorite Wright book, but still a good read. Wright has just a natural style where you get lost in the language. Well worth the time spent reading it.
Want to read
August 28, 2011Stephen King recommended author: "T.M. Wright is a rare and blazing talent!"
September 16, 2021
This book is incredibly slow that it hovers on boring. I tried reading this book twice but couldn't finish it. The characters are boring and almost have little to no personality, couldn't relate to any of them nor could feel connected to any of them at all. This book angered me in a way because I couldn't finish it, even though I like slow books the thing that keeps you invested in the story is how you relate to the characters. The boy lost (Aaron), you know little to nothing about him and feel no empathy towards his disappearance or miss his presence in any way, because there wasn't one, to begin with.
I tried really hard to like this book but just couldn't for the life of me.
I tried really hard to like this book but just couldn't for the life of me.
February 28, 2017
Not exactly what I expected but definately mind catching. Twist and turn leaving you to follow into a world of humans and demons. Intriguing to see it all told by a young boy with a great mind only to have lost it all.
April 24, 2024
Empty and passionless. Another proffered TV script of supernatural and psychological horror (the dissolution of memory) that fails as the victims are not conscious of their despair.
April 23, 2012
Reading the description for this book, I was enticed. Reading the reviews, I was reassured. There were many, many 5-star reviews. Reading the book wasn’t quite the experience I was hoping it would be, however. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Oftentimes, we readers bring too many expectations to a story or a book and we’re wrong to do that. However, sometimes we just like what we like and don’t what we don’t.
In the beginning, the quick, disjointed narrative began to chafe my brain a little. It is comprised of very short passages switched between the points-of-view of Miles Gale and his son, CJ, as well as a social services psychologist and a 3rd-person omniscient. Just in the first few pages. Not only that but it switches between time periods (though it indicates when it does so, thank you) and I lost count of how many of CJ’s passages were titled “What Happened the Day Aaron Got Lost.” But I figured it was all part of setting up the premise and that the passages would lengthen and the switching would settle down. They did not. So then I thought, well it does serve the purpose of setting a frantic pace which mirrors some of what is going on in the book.
This was perhaps its most desirable effect.
The quick back-and-forth remained throughout the entire book. Towards the end, when things are coming to a climax and resolution, the narrative becomes very, very surreal. Which I like. However, there were definitely a few moments of “huh?” as I had to work to catch up with Wright’s imagination. The surreality in this book reminded me a little of Graham Joyce’s “The Silent Land,” which I absolutely adore. I think the way that Wright wrote the climax and resolution was brilliant and eloquent. In fact, I think for those who like an unconventional approach to the narrative, this would be right up your alley. T.M. Wright does it beautifully.
For me, though, "Little Boy Lost" is one of those cases where I recognize what the author was doing and why but the execution of the story just wasn’t my kind of thing. However, it won’t keep me from picking up other T.M. Wright books. I already have my eye on “Cold House.”
In the beginning, the quick, disjointed narrative began to chafe my brain a little. It is comprised of very short passages switched between the points-of-view of Miles Gale and his son, CJ, as well as a social services psychologist and a 3rd-person omniscient. Just in the first few pages. Not only that but it switches between time periods (though it indicates when it does so, thank you) and I lost count of how many of CJ’s passages were titled “What Happened the Day Aaron Got Lost.” But I figured it was all part of setting up the premise and that the passages would lengthen and the switching would settle down. They did not. So then I thought, well it does serve the purpose of setting a frantic pace which mirrors some of what is going on in the book.
This was perhaps its most desirable effect.
The quick back-and-forth remained throughout the entire book. Towards the end, when things are coming to a climax and resolution, the narrative becomes very, very surreal. Which I like. However, there were definitely a few moments of “huh?” as I had to work to catch up with Wright’s imagination. The surreality in this book reminded me a little of Graham Joyce’s “The Silent Land,” which I absolutely adore. I think the way that Wright wrote the climax and resolution was brilliant and eloquent. In fact, I think for those who like an unconventional approach to the narrative, this would be right up your alley. T.M. Wright does it beautifully.
For me, though, "Little Boy Lost" is one of those cases where I recognize what the author was doing and why but the execution of the story just wasn’t my kind of thing. However, it won’t keep me from picking up other T.M. Wright books. I already have my eye on “Cold House.”
February 17, 2009
Whooshy trees and yellow eyes and demons...this was a corner of my life I'm never getting back.
December 21, 2014
I kept getting angry about the editing, but the structure of the novel made sense in the end. Creeped me out!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews