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Do I Bother You at Night?: A Disturbing Rural American Horror Novel
They say nothing ever happens in Kansas.
Sylvester Petersen used to think so too. That is, until a mysterious new neighbor moves in next door, seemingly out of nowhere. His handful of friends – people who tried to help him cope with the sudden death of his wife – think that it might be an opportunity for him to get reacquainted with the world outside his farmhouse and to build a new relationship with his neighbor. But that idea is soon snuffed out as strange events begin to happen around him. None of them wrong. Just strange: driving in the middle of the night, the sulfur-like odor coming off of him, the fact he doesn’t talk to anyone.
And what about that dog?
Sylvester chooses the logical explanation and ignores the peculiar behavior. But when other oddities start to happen – the kind that affects Sylvester directly – he begins to worry. His reasoning dwindles and his growing fear points to his neighbor.
Where is that stray dog going?
After enough time, Sylvester starts to see and hear what the local people have been muttering about: Unexplainable blue light, corn crops moving on their own…and then there's the slaughtered cattle entirely too close to home.
And that stray dog that keeps getting fatter and fatter and fatter.
At the peak of summer, and with the walls closing in, Sylvester experiences something that will take him to the brink and haunt you forever.
Bathed in loss, terror and human spirit, Do I Bother You at Night? will be a story you won’t forget and one that will give you a few restless evenings of your own.
Love thy neighbor.
Sylvester Petersen used to think so too. That is, until a mysterious new neighbor moves in next door, seemingly out of nowhere. His handful of friends – people who tried to help him cope with the sudden death of his wife – think that it might be an opportunity for him to get reacquainted with the world outside his farmhouse and to build a new relationship with his neighbor. But that idea is soon snuffed out as strange events begin to happen around him. None of them wrong. Just strange: driving in the middle of the night, the sulfur-like odor coming off of him, the fact he doesn’t talk to anyone.
And what about that dog?
Sylvester chooses the logical explanation and ignores the peculiar behavior. But when other oddities start to happen – the kind that affects Sylvester directly – he begins to worry. His reasoning dwindles and his growing fear points to his neighbor.
Where is that stray dog going?
After enough time, Sylvester starts to see and hear what the local people have been muttering about: Unexplainable blue light, corn crops moving on their own…and then there's the slaughtered cattle entirely too close to home.
And that stray dog that keeps getting fatter and fatter and fatter.
At the peak of summer, and with the walls closing in, Sylvester experiences something that will take him to the brink and haunt you forever.
Bathed in loss, terror and human spirit, Do I Bother You at Night? will be a story you won’t forget and one that will give you a few restless evenings of your own.
Love thy neighbor.
456 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 3, 2013
408 people are currently reading
486 people want to read
About the author
Troy Aaron Ratliff
9 books124 followersTroy Aaron Ratliff was born and raised in Hamilton, Ohio and self educated in writing, art and voice impersonations. When he's not reading, writing, sketching, or cooking up his next monstrosity, you can generally find him defending the galaxy from the forces of evil, feeding hippopotamuses, dining with foreign dignitaries and Zen masters, waking up to his supermodel wife, altering the space-time inter-dimensional warp or, more than likely, stuck in traffic somewhere in Southern California on his magic carpet.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
October 4, 2013
I am a Horror Book Junkie. I admit it. I raise my hand high and proud in all of our support group meetings. I've read mainstream authors from King to Koontz. More underground nightmares in pages drawn up from the depths by Danielewski to Krall. DIBYAN by Troy Aaron Ratliff not only can be put on a list of one of my favorite frightening stories, it climbs near the peak of the mountain. Things happen in this story that made even a reader as jaded and hard to impress as me jump in my seat. I woke up sweating in bed a few nights in a row from the images it left floating through my deranged dreams. Do you like to be bothered at night? If so, then this should be the next book on your TBR pile. Do not hesitate. Do not pass GO. Get yourself a copy today and stay up all night whether you intended to or not. It really is that good.
April 22, 2015
Troy Aaron Ratliff’s Do I Bother You at Night is an achingly slow-moving novel that brings you into the lives of some very interesting, likable characters, introduces some unusual events, and then freezes everything like a fly in amber for several hundred pages before the end. Everything about it is slow, from the buildup to the conflict to the dissolution of its main character Sylvester Petersen, and by the time the conclusion finally rolls around, you’re left with a terribly ambivalent feeling about the entire novel.
DIBYaN shouldn’t have been written as a horror novel, despite the somewhat horrific parts at the end (at approximately 460 pages, you have to get through a lot to get to the exciting bits). Horror elements aside, it would have been an excellent, moving piece of literary fiction, describing the travails of a man whose wife has recently committed suicide in the small town in which they live. That’s how the first nine tenths of the novel read. Long passages about Sylvester’s feelings, motivations, and thoughts take up the majority of the text; in a way, it reads like an Anne Tyler novel without the constant dry humor and bizarrely quirky characters.
This is not to say that the characters are a problem with DIBYaN. On the contrary, they’re all very well-written and realistic. Ratliff obviously has great affection for them, and that affection is contagious. Nevertheless, not enough happens to any of them to justify the page length, especially when they simply drop from the narrative, one by one, until only Sylvester and his ineffectual, milquetoast antagonist are left.
Between the grammatical errors and the overwriting, DIBYaN would have done better with a good editor to tighten up the story and eliminate the filler. Ratliff has an eye for description, for both internal and external dialogue, but the lack of a copyeditor made itself known fairly early on.
Despite these weaknesses, DIBYaN is very well-written, with excellent descriptive power and imagination. Sylvester’s downfall is both plausible and tragic, given the circumstances, and his alienation from his few friends makes up for the lack of true conflict. In many ways, Sylvester is his own enemy; the terrible circumstances of his wife’s suicide and his reaction to it drive the novel as much as the bizarre occurrences at his farm.
There were times where I wanted to give up reading, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Just remember that it’s a long road to the end.
(This review was originally posted on Ginger Nuts of Horror: http://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/4/p...)
DIBYaN shouldn’t have been written as a horror novel, despite the somewhat horrific parts at the end (at approximately 460 pages, you have to get through a lot to get to the exciting bits). Horror elements aside, it would have been an excellent, moving piece of literary fiction, describing the travails of a man whose wife has recently committed suicide in the small town in which they live. That’s how the first nine tenths of the novel read. Long passages about Sylvester’s feelings, motivations, and thoughts take up the majority of the text; in a way, it reads like an Anne Tyler novel without the constant dry humor and bizarrely quirky characters.
This is not to say that the characters are a problem with DIBYaN. On the contrary, they’re all very well-written and realistic. Ratliff obviously has great affection for them, and that affection is contagious. Nevertheless, not enough happens to any of them to justify the page length, especially when they simply drop from the narrative, one by one, until only Sylvester and his ineffectual, milquetoast antagonist are left.
Between the grammatical errors and the overwriting, DIBYaN would have done better with a good editor to tighten up the story and eliminate the filler. Ratliff has an eye for description, for both internal and external dialogue, but the lack of a copyeditor made itself known fairly early on.
Despite these weaknesses, DIBYaN is very well-written, with excellent descriptive power and imagination. Sylvester’s downfall is both plausible and tragic, given the circumstances, and his alienation from his few friends makes up for the lack of true conflict. In many ways, Sylvester is his own enemy; the terrible circumstances of his wife’s suicide and his reaction to it drive the novel as much as the bizarre occurrences at his farm.
There were times where I wanted to give up reading, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Just remember that it’s a long road to the end.
(This review was originally posted on Ginger Nuts of Horror: http://www.gingernutsofhorror.com/4/p...)
August 28, 2019
Not bad but....
This story was incredibly slow to begin. I felt like I was over halfway into it before there was anything worth actually reading. About the last quarter of the book is where it actually gets interesting. I was a little let down by the explanation and the ending was predictable. It was okay but I definitely would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't dragged so much.
This story was incredibly slow to begin. I felt like I was over halfway into it before there was anything worth actually reading. About the last quarter of the book is where it actually gets interesting. I was a little let down by the explanation and the ending was predictable. It was okay but I definitely would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't dragged so much.
January 25, 2023
Read my whole review here.
I have to admit it was the title of this one that caught my attention; there was something vaguely ominous and mysterious about it. I will also admit that it took me a while to get through (not entirely because of the way it was written, as I did have the holidays and other work responsibilities going on that prevented me from giving much time to it, but that was partially the reason), and I’m going to make a statement right up front that if you’re not into “slow burn” horror, then this is probably not the book for you. It is one of the slowest slow burns I’ve ever read (and that’s not necessarily a criticism, but I’ll elaborate on that thought in a bit), and in fact reads more like a somber piece of literary fiction for almost the entire 460 pages until it goes full-on cosmic horror/sci-fi toward the end. Prior to that, it’s all buildup with a very limited set of characters that is eventually whittled down to our main protagonist. How you feel about that is up to you; I was actually intrigued enough by the languidly unfolding mystery and sympathetic enough with the main character that I stuck with it until the end, but other readers’ mileage may vary.
Author Troy Aaron Ratliff is an Ohio native who was evidently best known for his short stories prior to the release of Do I Bother You at Night? in 2013, which was his first full-length novel. In the notes at the end, the author states that he got the idea for the story when he was seventeen, growing up on his parents’ farm and seeing the eerie blue arc light from his neighbors’ barn as the teenagers across the way worked on their motorbikes. Ratliff’s prose is wordy, but quite evocative, and his descriptions of the settings and the characters really immersed me in the world of the book. Because of its rural, small-town vibe, it gave me more than a whiff of maybe Thomas Tryon, or a Midwestern version of Stephen King.
At the beginning of the story, there’s a brief prologue which seems to be the transcript of an interview between two military men discussing the absconding of a third person and a dangerous device that he may have in his possession. We then jump into the main narrative, which is set in 1986, but occasionally jumps back in time to the 1970s.
The story focuses on a farmer named Sylvester Petersen, who lives alone on acres of cornfields in a very rural part of Kansas. He’s in his late thirties and is something of a loner, especially since the horrific suicide of his beloved wife some time before. He gets up and does his routine every day, working on his farm, living very quietly, stoically grieving. He seems something of an introvert and a creature of habit, and this is established very thoroughly throughout the first segments of the book, which basically follows him throughout his days, delving into his thoughts and memories.
Pretty much the only social routine Sylvester enjoys is occasionally hosting his best friend Dustin, who comes over to drink beers and watch the Kansas City Royals on TV whenever they’re playing. Dustin is a bit older than Sylvester, and is really into horror movies and weird X-Files shit, but Sylvester is a pragmatic, no-nonsense dude right down to his toes. Despite their differences, though, the two men have a solid, if not all that deep, friendship.
The only other people Sylvester sees with any frequency are Willy, the kindly old man who owns the general store in town, and Ethan, who seems mostly okay until he does something really shitty that causes Sylvester to mostly cut ties with him. There’s also Reggie, a nice high school kid who helps out on the farm in the summers. All his friends are a little bit worried about Sylvester, as they believe he’s become a little reclusive since his wife died, and as the story goes on, they start to suspect that he might be slowly losing his marbles. But I’m getting ahead of myself a tad.
See, Sylvester lives pretty far out on the edge of a tiny-ass town, and his nearest neighbor is way across the cornfields. The guy who used to live “next door” was friends with Sylvester at one point, but the two men had a falling out over property lines and Sylvester just wrote him off, not even realizing that the guy moved away at some point.
Very gradually, though, it starts to become clear that someone else has moved into the farmhouse across the way from Sylvester’s. First he hears and sees a sleek, newer Cadillac periodically roaring down the rural road; he knows all the cars out in this neck of the woods, and this ain’t one of them.
Then, on the rare occasions that he ventures into town for supplies, the other residents are asking about the new, mysterious neighbor he has. Sylvester hasn’t seen him, but apparently a lot of other folks have, although all they can really tell him is that the man looks like he’s “from the city,” smells like sulfur, and sometimes buys strange electronic gadgets from Willy’s store. At some stage, the townsfolk learn that the guy’s name is Calvin, but so far, Sylvester has yet to see him, even though he’s the one who lives closest to the guy. Eventually Sylvester starts getting a little bit irritated that all the residents seem to ask him about Calvin every time he comes into town, and they’re all incredulous that he still hasn’t seen the man.
Sylvester doesn’t have time for all of this gossipy bullshit, wanting to just keep his head down and get on with his simple, if somewhat empty, life. but then even he has to admit that he’s starting to get curious as to what Calvin might be up to over there. Sylvester notices a blue glow emanating from the guy’s barn from time to time, and even more alarmingly, he sometimes sees…something…moving around in his cornfield. There are also the strange, perfectly round depressions in the earth that sometimes manifest at random spots among the rows, the infrequent but bone-chilling screeches that blare out of the corn every so often, and the thin, raggedy-looking golden retriever who wanders into the rows from time to time and seems to be getting fatter and fatter every time Sylvester sees him.
At one stage, Sylvester actually meets Calvin at Willy’s store in town, and while the man isn’t overtly bizarre or anything, he is a mite odd, and is definitely not from around there. After this encounter, Sylvester grows more and more preoccupied with the man, and vows to find out what exactly the dude is doing at that remote farmhouse over there. But is the guy really up to some nefarious shit, or is Sylvester just succumbing to paranoia and having a mental breakdown?
As I mentioned, Do I Bother You At Night? is an exceptionally leisurely-paced story, very much mirroring the laconic, unhurried existence of its protagonist. For the bulk of the novel, we’re simply going along with Sylvester as he putters around his house, works around his farm, hangs out with Dustin, or makes grudging journeys into town to stock up. As the intrigue surrounding Calvin deepens little by little, we’re immersed even more into Sylvester’s head, as his life grows increasingly isolated and obsessive, and all of his former contacts fall by the wayside. In many ways, it’s a very intimate, inner-directed tale, and it’s actually a good thing that Sylvester is such a likeable, sympathetic character, because I don’t think the structure of this novel would have worked otherwise.
Though there are occasional flashbacks to Sylvester’s happy former life with his now-deceased wife, most of the present-day narrative is seen through Sylvester’s limited point of view, watching the sequence of events unspool, mostly from afar until the very end. I was actually quite enchanted with Sylvester’s character and the enigma that was developing across the way, but I can also see how some readers might just find the whole thing really boring, because it does actually take quite a long time for anything big to happen. The buildup is very, very subtle, starting out with seemingly insignificant though odd little details, and then those details are very, very slowly repeated and/or expanded upon, and then the story just goes balls to the wall in the last fifty pages or so. I didn’t mind this too much, although I would have liked for the handful of other characters—particularly Dustin and Willy, both of whom I also really liked—to have factored more into the final act. As it was, all the other characters simply dissolved from the story as Sylvester closed himself away in his own house, watching his neighbor night and day. Although this framework did match the mental state of the protagonist, I think I would have liked maybe a short epilogue detailing the aftermath of the monumental incident at the end; in other words, I would have liked to see how the rest of the characters were affected by what happened at Calvin’s remote farmhouse.
Ratliff’s writing really does paint a picture in your mind; I could actually see those waving, lonely rows of corn under that big dome of star-studded sky, and could totally understand the creepiness of that placidity being disrupted by inexplicable doings just across the field. In that sense, the story really drew me in, in spite of its languorous pace. There were a smattering of grammatical errors, but barely enough to mention; on the whole, this was very well-written, although as I said, it reads more like very descriptive literary fiction, internal but still fairly straightforward and not obtuse. If literary fiction isn’t your bag and you just want something fast-paced and exciting, then this book isn’t it. On the other hand, if you like a more understated, insidious horror that lures you in with an appealing character and then slowly amps up the weirdness over the course of a few hundred pages until an explosion of what-the-fuckery at the end, then you might just dig this. It did take me a while to get through, but I’m actually glad I stuck it out, because I ended up really enjoying it.
I have to admit it was the title of this one that caught my attention; there was something vaguely ominous and mysterious about it. I will also admit that it took me a while to get through (not entirely because of the way it was written, as I did have the holidays and other work responsibilities going on that prevented me from giving much time to it, but that was partially the reason), and I’m going to make a statement right up front that if you’re not into “slow burn” horror, then this is probably not the book for you. It is one of the slowest slow burns I’ve ever read (and that’s not necessarily a criticism, but I’ll elaborate on that thought in a bit), and in fact reads more like a somber piece of literary fiction for almost the entire 460 pages until it goes full-on cosmic horror/sci-fi toward the end. Prior to that, it’s all buildup with a very limited set of characters that is eventually whittled down to our main protagonist. How you feel about that is up to you; I was actually intrigued enough by the languidly unfolding mystery and sympathetic enough with the main character that I stuck with it until the end, but other readers’ mileage may vary.
Author Troy Aaron Ratliff is an Ohio native who was evidently best known for his short stories prior to the release of Do I Bother You at Night? in 2013, which was his first full-length novel. In the notes at the end, the author states that he got the idea for the story when he was seventeen, growing up on his parents’ farm and seeing the eerie blue arc light from his neighbors’ barn as the teenagers across the way worked on their motorbikes. Ratliff’s prose is wordy, but quite evocative, and his descriptions of the settings and the characters really immersed me in the world of the book. Because of its rural, small-town vibe, it gave me more than a whiff of maybe Thomas Tryon, or a Midwestern version of Stephen King.
At the beginning of the story, there’s a brief prologue which seems to be the transcript of an interview between two military men discussing the absconding of a third person and a dangerous device that he may have in his possession. We then jump into the main narrative, which is set in 1986, but occasionally jumps back in time to the 1970s.
The story focuses on a farmer named Sylvester Petersen, who lives alone on acres of cornfields in a very rural part of Kansas. He’s in his late thirties and is something of a loner, especially since the horrific suicide of his beloved wife some time before. He gets up and does his routine every day, working on his farm, living very quietly, stoically grieving. He seems something of an introvert and a creature of habit, and this is established very thoroughly throughout the first segments of the book, which basically follows him throughout his days, delving into his thoughts and memories.
Pretty much the only social routine Sylvester enjoys is occasionally hosting his best friend Dustin, who comes over to drink beers and watch the Kansas City Royals on TV whenever they’re playing. Dustin is a bit older than Sylvester, and is really into horror movies and weird X-Files shit, but Sylvester is a pragmatic, no-nonsense dude right down to his toes. Despite their differences, though, the two men have a solid, if not all that deep, friendship.
The only other people Sylvester sees with any frequency are Willy, the kindly old man who owns the general store in town, and Ethan, who seems mostly okay until he does something really shitty that causes Sylvester to mostly cut ties with him. There’s also Reggie, a nice high school kid who helps out on the farm in the summers. All his friends are a little bit worried about Sylvester, as they believe he’s become a little reclusive since his wife died, and as the story goes on, they start to suspect that he might be slowly losing his marbles. But I’m getting ahead of myself a tad.
See, Sylvester lives pretty far out on the edge of a tiny-ass town, and his nearest neighbor is way across the cornfields. The guy who used to live “next door” was friends with Sylvester at one point, but the two men had a falling out over property lines and Sylvester just wrote him off, not even realizing that the guy moved away at some point.
Very gradually, though, it starts to become clear that someone else has moved into the farmhouse across the way from Sylvester’s. First he hears and sees a sleek, newer Cadillac periodically roaring down the rural road; he knows all the cars out in this neck of the woods, and this ain’t one of them.
Then, on the rare occasions that he ventures into town for supplies, the other residents are asking about the new, mysterious neighbor he has. Sylvester hasn’t seen him, but apparently a lot of other folks have, although all they can really tell him is that the man looks like he’s “from the city,” smells like sulfur, and sometimes buys strange electronic gadgets from Willy’s store. At some stage, the townsfolk learn that the guy’s name is Calvin, but so far, Sylvester has yet to see him, even though he’s the one who lives closest to the guy. Eventually Sylvester starts getting a little bit irritated that all the residents seem to ask him about Calvin every time he comes into town, and they’re all incredulous that he still hasn’t seen the man.
Sylvester doesn’t have time for all of this gossipy bullshit, wanting to just keep his head down and get on with his simple, if somewhat empty, life. but then even he has to admit that he’s starting to get curious as to what Calvin might be up to over there. Sylvester notices a blue glow emanating from the guy’s barn from time to time, and even more alarmingly, he sometimes sees…something…moving around in his cornfield. There are also the strange, perfectly round depressions in the earth that sometimes manifest at random spots among the rows, the infrequent but bone-chilling screeches that blare out of the corn every so often, and the thin, raggedy-looking golden retriever who wanders into the rows from time to time and seems to be getting fatter and fatter every time Sylvester sees him.
At one stage, Sylvester actually meets Calvin at Willy’s store in town, and while the man isn’t overtly bizarre or anything, he is a mite odd, and is definitely not from around there. After this encounter, Sylvester grows more and more preoccupied with the man, and vows to find out what exactly the dude is doing at that remote farmhouse over there. But is the guy really up to some nefarious shit, or is Sylvester just succumbing to paranoia and having a mental breakdown?
As I mentioned, Do I Bother You At Night? is an exceptionally leisurely-paced story, very much mirroring the laconic, unhurried existence of its protagonist. For the bulk of the novel, we’re simply going along with Sylvester as he putters around his house, works around his farm, hangs out with Dustin, or makes grudging journeys into town to stock up. As the intrigue surrounding Calvin deepens little by little, we’re immersed even more into Sylvester’s head, as his life grows increasingly isolated and obsessive, and all of his former contacts fall by the wayside. In many ways, it’s a very intimate, inner-directed tale, and it’s actually a good thing that Sylvester is such a likeable, sympathetic character, because I don’t think the structure of this novel would have worked otherwise.
Though there are occasional flashbacks to Sylvester’s happy former life with his now-deceased wife, most of the present-day narrative is seen through Sylvester’s limited point of view, watching the sequence of events unspool, mostly from afar until the very end. I was actually quite enchanted with Sylvester’s character and the enigma that was developing across the way, but I can also see how some readers might just find the whole thing really boring, because it does actually take quite a long time for anything big to happen. The buildup is very, very subtle, starting out with seemingly insignificant though odd little details, and then those details are very, very slowly repeated and/or expanded upon, and then the story just goes balls to the wall in the last fifty pages or so. I didn’t mind this too much, although I would have liked for the handful of other characters—particularly Dustin and Willy, both of whom I also really liked—to have factored more into the final act. As it was, all the other characters simply dissolved from the story as Sylvester closed himself away in his own house, watching his neighbor night and day. Although this framework did match the mental state of the protagonist, I think I would have liked maybe a short epilogue detailing the aftermath of the monumental incident at the end; in other words, I would have liked to see how the rest of the characters were affected by what happened at Calvin’s remote farmhouse.
Ratliff’s writing really does paint a picture in your mind; I could actually see those waving, lonely rows of corn under that big dome of star-studded sky, and could totally understand the creepiness of that placidity being disrupted by inexplicable doings just across the field. In that sense, the story really drew me in, in spite of its languorous pace. There were a smattering of grammatical errors, but barely enough to mention; on the whole, this was very well-written, although as I said, it reads more like very descriptive literary fiction, internal but still fairly straightforward and not obtuse. If literary fiction isn’t your bag and you just want something fast-paced and exciting, then this book isn’t it. On the other hand, if you like a more understated, insidious horror that lures you in with an appealing character and then slowly amps up the weirdness over the course of a few hundred pages until an explosion of what-the-fuckery at the end, then you might just dig this. It did take me a while to get through, but I’m actually glad I stuck it out, because I ended up really enjoying it.
April 16, 2023
I had a hard time rating this one. The story starts off interestingly enough, and I really dug the authors writing style. I also enjoyed the quick asides to the reader, and the analogy of the reader being amongst the stars, always watching.
The difficult thing for me was how slow this went. I can appreciate a good slow burn, but this was slow to the point that it felt more like a "slice of life" for most of the book rather than a story. I like how we are introduced to each of the characters and get to know them as though we're a part of the community ourselves. They are complex and well written, and we grow to appreciate their friendship and the nuances of their small town life.
However, much of the book starts following regular day to day interactions, such as watching baseball games together, going to the store, and Sylvester's private mourning process following the sudden death of his wife. On some of these days, something strange may happen; Sylvester may see a mysterious hole during one of his walks, hear a weird sound at night, or see strange goings on at his neighbor's house, but these small things happen several times before they start to lead anywhere. Unfortunately this led to me skimming through most of the book. I was certainly invested so I didn't want to DNF, but I wound up scanning through a lot of it before I started to see any movement toward a climax.
It felt like the author was portraying a real-time descent into madness which I can appreciate, but with that kind of pacing it was really hard to stay engaged.
That being said, the ending (though a bit slow in itself) was excellent. The imagery was absolutely horrific, creative, and otherworldly. It was 100% outright horror, and had me on the edge of my seat. By this point we have spent so much time with Sylvester that we feel for him in his mental deterioration, his terror, and eventual fate. We want a payoff and we get it. A good man who has been dealt a terrible hand is finally vindicated in his own mind, and is finally able to take a stand.
If the story was a bit tighter I could see this being a 4 or 5 star read. I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from checking it out, as long as you know what to expect.
The difficult thing for me was how slow this went. I can appreciate a good slow burn, but this was slow to the point that it felt more like a "slice of life" for most of the book rather than a story. I like how we are introduced to each of the characters and get to know them as though we're a part of the community ourselves. They are complex and well written, and we grow to appreciate their friendship and the nuances of their small town life.
However, much of the book starts following regular day to day interactions, such as watching baseball games together, going to the store, and Sylvester's private mourning process following the sudden death of his wife. On some of these days, something strange may happen; Sylvester may see a mysterious hole during one of his walks, hear a weird sound at night, or see strange goings on at his neighbor's house, but these small things happen several times before they start to lead anywhere. Unfortunately this led to me skimming through most of the book. I was certainly invested so I didn't want to DNF, but I wound up scanning through a lot of it before I started to see any movement toward a climax.
It felt like the author was portraying a real-time descent into madness which I can appreciate, but with that kind of pacing it was really hard to stay engaged.
That being said, the ending (though a bit slow in itself) was excellent. The imagery was absolutely horrific, creative, and otherworldly. It was 100% outright horror, and had me on the edge of my seat. By this point we have spent so much time with Sylvester that we feel for him in his mental deterioration, his terror, and eventual fate. We want a payoff and we get it. A good man who has been dealt a terrible hand is finally vindicated in his own mind, and is finally able to take a stand.
If the story was a bit tighter I could see this being a 4 or 5 star read. I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone from checking it out, as long as you know what to expect.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2021
A gratifyingly deep novel with multiple themes and a plethora of intense character delineation and amazing character arcs of both evolution and devolution, DO I BOTHER YOU AT NIGHT? also resonates with Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror sufficient to keep you up for many, many nights. Especially if you live in rural environs, you will find yourself listening for crickets and hoping the corn doesn't rustle.
Who knew rural Kansas could hold such Terrors?!
Who knew rural Kansas could hold such Terrors?!
October 7, 2022
What the heck did I just read??
April 5, 2023
A slow build
I liked this book, but didn't love it. I quite liked the slow pace build of the main characters mental journey but for me the ending did land well enough.
I liked this book, but didn't love it. I quite liked the slow pace build of the main characters mental journey but for me the ending did land well enough.
September 30, 2013
As someone who has read several short stories by this author, I was very eager to read Do I Bother You at Night? (DIBYAN?). This is Ratliff’s first jump into novel-length stories and he debuts wonderfully.
On the surface, DIBYAN? is the story of Sylvester trying to get his life back together after the death of his wife. There are creepy things afoot next door to Sylvester. What starts off as a small town story where Sylvester’s biggest concern is keeping up with the Common Country Courtesy eventually becomes cosmic in its consequences.
This author has a major gift for clarity. There’s a sharp twist in the story near the end and this is handled expertly.
The characters are believable and show the best and worst features of citizens in a country setting. Even side characters like Ethan, Dustin, and Reggie were well characterized. I love that Calvin, the mysterious neighbor, isn’t the usual, dorky mad scientist but a professional-looking, power-executive type of man.
Ratliff handles literary techniques befitting someone of his experience level well. Briefs are used early in the story to move the readers along and rather than TELLING us long, drawn out details about Sylvester’s previous life with his wife Maria, these are SHOWN in periodic flashbacks. A few moments are picked out and they give the reader everything they need to know about Sylvester’s past and how he’s come to be the shell of a man we find at the start of the story.
Suspense is built slowly. The first arc of the story is focused mainly on grounding this story in reality making this small Kentucky town a tangible place in our mind. The story picks up and the mystery becomes bigger from the second arc on.
That said, my biggest worry with DIBYAN? is the pacing. Now, I normally read genre fiction, such as urban fantasy, where a slow story is unforgivable and people won’t finish. This story isn’t rushed. Ratliff takes his time and truly provides the EXPERIENCE of being involved in a story. Also, you don’t want to rush through the story of a writer with this level of talent. Again, the descriptions, characters, and scenes out of Sylvester’s life are touching and something we can all relate to one some level. Let it be enjoyed.
I’m always impressed by Ratliff’s one liners. A few of my favorites from this piece
“Maybe it was the Samsonite luggage he hauled under his eyes that were the color of dirty, underused pennies”
“Looking like the lovechild of a Chicago Bears Linebacker and a Silverback Gorilla”
“That sound of mutant tarantulas the size of cement trucks mating in the summer night and that cried out to the moon in ecstasy.”
I have too many good things to say about DIBYAN?, so I’ll stop here and let you discover them yourself.
On the surface, DIBYAN? is the story of Sylvester trying to get his life back together after the death of his wife. There are creepy things afoot next door to Sylvester. What starts off as a small town story where Sylvester’s biggest concern is keeping up with the Common Country Courtesy eventually becomes cosmic in its consequences.
This author has a major gift for clarity. There’s a sharp twist in the story near the end and this is handled expertly.
The characters are believable and show the best and worst features of citizens in a country setting. Even side characters like Ethan, Dustin, and Reggie were well characterized. I love that Calvin, the mysterious neighbor, isn’t the usual, dorky mad scientist but a professional-looking, power-executive type of man.
Ratliff handles literary techniques befitting someone of his experience level well. Briefs are used early in the story to move the readers along and rather than TELLING us long, drawn out details about Sylvester’s previous life with his wife Maria, these are SHOWN in periodic flashbacks. A few moments are picked out and they give the reader everything they need to know about Sylvester’s past and how he’s come to be the shell of a man we find at the start of the story.
Suspense is built slowly. The first arc of the story is focused mainly on grounding this story in reality making this small Kentucky town a tangible place in our mind. The story picks up and the mystery becomes bigger from the second arc on.
That said, my biggest worry with DIBYAN? is the pacing. Now, I normally read genre fiction, such as urban fantasy, where a slow story is unforgivable and people won’t finish. This story isn’t rushed. Ratliff takes his time and truly provides the EXPERIENCE of being involved in a story. Also, you don’t want to rush through the story of a writer with this level of talent. Again, the descriptions, characters, and scenes out of Sylvester’s life are touching and something we can all relate to one some level. Let it be enjoyed.
I’m always impressed by Ratliff’s one liners. A few of my favorites from this piece
“Maybe it was the Samsonite luggage he hauled under his eyes that were the color of dirty, underused pennies”
“Looking like the lovechild of a Chicago Bears Linebacker and a Silverback Gorilla”
“That sound of mutant tarantulas the size of cement trucks mating in the summer night and that cried out to the moon in ecstasy.”
I have too many good things to say about DIBYAN?, so I’ll stop here and let you discover them yourself.
February 13, 2022
Terrible but not in a good way. I suffered to the end but found the whole story completely pointless. No more by this author for me..
March 9, 2021
I received a free copy of this novel. I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Actual rating: 3.75 stars
Warning ahead of time: there is a graphic (/graphic,/ and probably not in the way you're expecting) dog death in this novel.
This is a hard one to rate. I'm not really sure if I enjoyed it, per se, but it was definitely captivating. Most of this novel reads like a character study, as our hero is trying to recover from the horrific suicide of his beloved wife. He has an assortment of friends and random townies trying to both help and hinder him, but spends most of his time alone, tending to his farm. Unfortunately, something strange is happening to his farm, and it seems like the new neighbor next door might be to blame....
I think this novel's greatest strength is its characters. Sylvester was a simple hero, but a likable one. He was quite simply a great guy, and you really just wanted him to feel better and make it through the hard times he's found himself in. I was especially fond of his ability to vocalize his feelings to his friends vs always tucking them behind a masculine facade, especially when he expressed how much he appreciated the baseball game they attend. It was just a really sweet, meaningful scene.
The surrounding cast of characters all feel like real people, with their own quirks and flaws. Even the really minor ones were people I could imagine living in a real podunk town (or people I've met myself). The author really gets into Sylvester's head and explores his thoughts and feelings to an incredible degree. If you don't enjoy that sort of slow analysis, you will not enjoy this novel, but if you do, this will definitely deliver.
The weakness of the book, I think, comes from the plot/pacing. Very very (very) little in terms of spookiness happens throughout most of the book. There are little hints and shivers here and there, but the evil doesn't come out into the open for hundreds and hundreds of pages. Once it does, it's sufficiently horrifying/compelling, but I think the book definitely drags trying to get there. There are also these aside bits from Maria's POV that felt entirely unnecessary. I kept waiting for some big reveal that would tie it back into the main plot, but that never happened, it was just an exploration of her character that ultimately didn't matter that much (to us, at least). It felt like the author was just indulging his interest in the character vs serving the story.
I also wasn't fond of the ending. Not only is the ending sequence clumsy in its execution (it's very much a start/stop/start/stop kinda climax, which is weird), but I wasn't happy with the ultimate choice Sylvester makes or how the danger resolves itself. It felt to me like the whole story was about exploring his mindset/grief, and instead of that resolving in a powerful way, the story just took a typical way out. But your mileage may vary.
Overall, this was definitely a haunting story, but maybe not a great horror novel. The characters were deep and likeable. The horror, when it came, was sufficiently scary/WTF. But there's an awful lot of space in between, stretches of the same old feelings/sensations/thoughts over and over, like rolling cornfields....If that's your niche, you'll enjoy this, but if not, you'll be doing a lot of skimming.
Actual rating: 3.75 stars
Warning ahead of time: there is a graphic (/graphic,/ and probably not in the way you're expecting) dog death in this novel.
This is a hard one to rate. I'm not really sure if I enjoyed it, per se, but it was definitely captivating. Most of this novel reads like a character study, as our hero is trying to recover from the horrific suicide of his beloved wife. He has an assortment of friends and random townies trying to both help and hinder him, but spends most of his time alone, tending to his farm. Unfortunately, something strange is happening to his farm, and it seems like the new neighbor next door might be to blame....
I think this novel's greatest strength is its characters. Sylvester was a simple hero, but a likable one. He was quite simply a great guy, and you really just wanted him to feel better and make it through the hard times he's found himself in. I was especially fond of his ability to vocalize his feelings to his friends vs always tucking them behind a masculine facade, especially when he expressed how much he appreciated the baseball game they attend. It was just a really sweet, meaningful scene.
The surrounding cast of characters all feel like real people, with their own quirks and flaws. Even the really minor ones were people I could imagine living in a real podunk town (or people I've met myself). The author really gets into Sylvester's head and explores his thoughts and feelings to an incredible degree. If you don't enjoy that sort of slow analysis, you will not enjoy this novel, but if you do, this will definitely deliver.
The weakness of the book, I think, comes from the plot/pacing. Very very (very) little in terms of spookiness happens throughout most of the book. There are little hints and shivers here and there, but the evil doesn't come out into the open for hundreds and hundreds of pages. Once it does, it's sufficiently horrifying/compelling, but I think the book definitely drags trying to get there. There are also these aside bits from Maria's POV that felt entirely unnecessary. I kept waiting for some big reveal that would tie it back into the main plot, but that never happened, it was just an exploration of her character that ultimately didn't matter that much (to us, at least). It felt like the author was just indulging his interest in the character vs serving the story.
I also wasn't fond of the ending. Not only is the ending sequence clumsy in its execution (it's very much a start/stop/start/stop kinda climax, which is weird), but I wasn't happy with the ultimate choice Sylvester makes or how the danger resolves itself. It felt to me like the whole story was about exploring his mindset/grief, and instead of that resolving in a powerful way, the story just took a typical way out. But your mileage may vary.
Overall, this was definitely a haunting story, but maybe not a great horror novel. The characters were deep and likeable. The horror, when it came, was sufficiently scary/WTF. But there's an awful lot of space in between, stretches of the same old feelings/sensations/thoughts over and over, like rolling cornfields....If that's your niche, you'll enjoy this, but if not, you'll be doing a lot of skimming.
April 8, 2022
Oh, this one really sneaks up on you! Talk about getting lulled into a false sense of security, it's so easy and so comfortable and so familiar...you feel like you know these folks and their country lives, and it's like that wonderful feeling of getting out of those REALLY uncomfortable shoes, and slouching on your comfy old slippers.
Then...WHAM! It all unravels, and everything gets very dark, very sinister and (no spoilers) builds up to a superb crescendo of an ending.
I am already a huge fan, and as I have discovered this was the author's first book, I feel extra privileged to have been there where it all started, so to speak. And what a first novel it is, too, by the way. Polished like a gemstone, you'd never guess this was a first novel.
I am delighted to discover Troy has since written more books, because they are definitely going onto my 'To Read' list. If his fist novel is anything to go by, I am certainly going to be in for a treat when I discover the rest of his work. This is certainly one not to miss, and it I say it's style is reminiscent of early Stephen King, you'll probably understand how impressed I was with Do I Bother You at Night.
Then...WHAM! It all unravels, and everything gets very dark, very sinister and (no spoilers) builds up to a superb crescendo of an ending.
I am already a huge fan, and as I have discovered this was the author's first book, I feel extra privileged to have been there where it all started, so to speak. And what a first novel it is, too, by the way. Polished like a gemstone, you'd never guess this was a first novel.
I am delighted to discover Troy has since written more books, because they are definitely going onto my 'To Read' list. If his fist novel is anything to go by, I am certainly going to be in for a treat when I discover the rest of his work. This is certainly one not to miss, and it I say it's style is reminiscent of early Stephen King, you'll probably understand how impressed I was with Do I Bother You at Night.
March 6, 2023
Very talented writer, there's some great artful narrative throughout. You really get inside Sylvester's head in this and the paranoia is tangible. There were a couple characters that seemed like they'd get tied in to the bigger story somehow (Craig especially; also Ethan) but they seemed to lack climax, in my take. I reread the gas station scene and I can see how I misinterpreted the final exchange there, so that's kind of on me. There's a few typos I found, but nothing major or cause for confusion. My biggest turnoff was the sexism/presupposed masculinity with the main character's thoughts on himself and others, but I tried to put that off as a more earmark of the era than the author's inclination; it wasn't a major theme throughout, but the few times it appeared it wasn't necessary. Overall there's some great slow burn horror throughout and delightful metaphorical writing, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a book on those two points alone.
October 7, 2020
What A Wonderful (Horror) Story
The author’s scene settings are up there with that of Dean Koontz’s. The author’s fear building is up there with that of Stephen King. I think the story would have been okay without the narration (Birdseye view for the reader); as it was almost a distraction from the story being lived. I enjoyed the way Maria’s backstory was doled out. The author did a great job of putting me into Sylvester’s shoes, and I felt what he felt. The only thing lacking for me, was an epilogue. We got a prologue, why couldn’t we have an epilogue in the same fashion? Of course I would have opted for a different ending, with Sylvester plowing his field and everything in to a fine pulp. Then using what he encountered in Calvin’s basement to his advantage. While I enjoyed this novel, it’s not one that I would want to read again.
The author’s scene settings are up there with that of Dean Koontz’s. The author’s fear building is up there with that of Stephen King. I think the story would have been okay without the narration (Birdseye view for the reader); as it was almost a distraction from the story being lived. I enjoyed the way Maria’s backstory was doled out. The author did a great job of putting me into Sylvester’s shoes, and I felt what he felt. The only thing lacking for me, was an epilogue. We got a prologue, why couldn’t we have an epilogue in the same fashion? Of course I would have opted for a different ending, with Sylvester plowing his field and everything in to a fine pulp. Then using what he encountered in Calvin’s basement to his advantage. While I enjoyed this novel, it’s not one that I would want to read again.
February 23, 2022
The author is first off one heck of a good writer. He had a real feel for writing about the characters and small Midwest life in rural Kansas. You really end up caring for Sylvester and wondering why his best friend Dustin and all the others in the town end up abandoning him. Even Reggie and Willie. Why wouldn’t they try to help if they knew something was wrong. FBI or a call to state police ? Anything? It became a little depressing seeing Sylvester’s slow decline .and so I kind of glossed through some of the last third of the book It got to one thing, does Sylvester live or die. I would love for the writer to write something without man eating plants , giant flies and huge ants. Also no golden retriever being devoured so graphically. But one things for sure I will be following this author. He is one heck of a writer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2023
A detailed description of life, love, and small talk in a small town. What we call in Alabama good ole country living unless of course you live in the big city. I think so much of life is missed by young people today because many families have lost the connection to the roots of America. I was fortunate to have had the best of both worlds and thoroughly enjoyed reading author Troy Aaron Ratliff's presentation describing the rural setting for 'Do I Bother You at Night?' Granted, there are stereotypes in this book, but that doesn't mean they're wrong. If you don't enjoy reading books that lay a foundation for events to come, you've probably never read books like The Great Gatsby or even The Old Man in the Sea. I only mention these to prepare you again for a slow walk into a truly unique take on horror story and well worth the trip.
May 12, 2022
Awful
I hate leaving negative reviews on someone’s work but this book is truly awful. If the book was 300 pages - not sure on length, then 250 pages were useless, full of moaning and wailing about his life. The characters introduced in the book are unnecessary as they play no part in the ending. I skipped and skipped the pages wanting to know what was wrong with the neighbour and about 20 pages from the end I finally got my answer. The ending was good. If the whole book had been like the ending I would have been a happy reader.
So, as I said, I hate leaving negative reviews on someone’s work, their pride and joy but there was no way to leave a positive one.
I hate leaving negative reviews on someone’s work but this book is truly awful. If the book was 300 pages - not sure on length, then 250 pages were useless, full of moaning and wailing about his life. The characters introduced in the book are unnecessary as they play no part in the ending. I skipped and skipped the pages wanting to know what was wrong with the neighbour and about 20 pages from the end I finally got my answer. The ending was good. If the whole book had been like the ending I would have been a happy reader.
So, as I said, I hate leaving negative reviews on someone’s work, their pride and joy but there was no way to leave a positive one.
February 10, 2023
We follow Sylvester who lives in a small, rural town in Kansas, where he works as a farmer. He recently lost his wife tragically and is dealing with the aftermath. His close friends and even the townsfolk walk on eggshells around him and give him pitying looks. It’s to the point where he’d rather stay at home then have to interact with anyone. So, Sylvester does just that- he spends a lot of time at home and quickly becomes enamored with goings-on of his new, mysterious neighbor.
I found it hard to put this down because of the mystery and intrigued the author builds. I found myself falling into the story and getting lost. It’s definitely a slow burn, but if you’re willing to hang in there, the pay off is pretty nice.
I found it hard to put this down because of the mystery and intrigued the author builds. I found myself falling into the story and getting lost. It’s definitely a slow burn, but if you’re willing to hang in there, the pay off is pretty nice.
August 25, 2019
A slow, building suspense
Troy Aaron Ratliff does something completely unexpected in this book; he creates a suspenseful horror novel based on almost nothing at all. This is Dean Koontz at his finest having a drink with Lovecraft and King. There are a few errors, but nothing worth belaboring; the main things that bothered me are personal formatting preferences that don't take away from the story at all. I'm terribly glad I found this book and I'm very interested to read more by Ratliff.
Troy Aaron Ratliff does something completely unexpected in this book; he creates a suspenseful horror novel based on almost nothing at all. This is Dean Koontz at his finest having a drink with Lovecraft and King. There are a few errors, but nothing worth belaboring; the main things that bothered me are personal formatting preferences that don't take away from the story at all. I'm terribly glad I found this book and I'm very interested to read more by Ratliff.
February 14, 2022
Now this is my sort of book! A bit like waiting for a saucepan of water to come to the boil: water - not a lot happening until tiny bubbles appear. Add salt, some fizzing then a wait until the bubbles burst through. Perfect slow build, nice descriptive passages too.
I don’t give blow by blow reviews. I believe reviewers should just tell the readers whether the book is worth reading or not. If you are a fan of Stephen King, you will love it. And what a start for this author! Stephen King, there’s a new kid on the block, look to your laurels!
I don’t give blow by blow reviews. I believe reviewers should just tell the readers whether the book is worth reading or not. If you are a fan of Stephen King, you will love it. And what a start for this author! Stephen King, there’s a new kid on the block, look to your laurels!
April 22, 2020
I have no problem with a slow burn, but the payoff in this novel was a letdown, compounded by the lack of motivation for some of the ancillary characters and the main villain. I kept waiting for it to get better, but it just never did. I read that the author is mainly known for his short stories, and this was his first novel; unfortunately, I don't think it was a successful attempt.
February 25, 2022
This book truly kept me engaged. The pacing was great. Real Stephen King vibes, in my opinion, which I loved. My only complaint is the lack of resolution at the end - I would have loved to see the fallout among the community members as well as the world, even just a couple news articles or something. I actually finished a few days ago and still keep thinking about it. Sequel?!?!
December 31, 2022
I tried. I really did try. I got through 300+ pages, 70%, and when I saw that I still had TWO HOURS of book, I gave up. The plot is good, but it’s glacially slow. I mean SLOOOOOOOOOOOW. And it needs an editor as badly as any book I have ever come across. But the bones are there, and they are good! I hope someday it’s reworked and becomes more readable. 2.5 stars.
September 24, 2019
Gripping story that was good read to the end.
Great story with an amazing ending. Dealing with real life problems that trouble everyone for death,suicides, and the unreality of the world we live in. Thanks for sharing this amazing story.
Great story with an amazing ending. Dealing with real life problems that trouble everyone for death,suicides, and the unreality of the world we live in. Thanks for sharing this amazing story.
October 20, 2019
I loved it! It started slow but I ended up not being able to put the book down. I would have liked a little more at the end with the other characters & their reactions to what ended up happening. I will definitely read more by this author in the future.
February 21, 2022
Beyond incredible
Wow! This would sure would make a fantastic movie. There is something to be said about living out in the middle of nowhere. It can be incredibly peaceful and serene and then again it can be terrifyingly lonely and dangerous. When you read this, you will see.
Wow! This would sure would make a fantastic movie. There is something to be said about living out in the middle of nowhere. It can be incredibly peaceful and serene and then again it can be terrifyingly lonely and dangerous. When you read this, you will see.
March 9, 2022
Scary book
This horror story begins with the title. The suspense builds all during the book, and by the time it gets to the action part, it’s roaring at you. Don’t read this at night.
This horror story begins with the title. The suspense builds all during the book, and by the time it gets to the action part, it’s roaring at you. Don’t read this at night.
March 31, 2022
wordy
I finally finished reading this story, it is so wordy in its descriptions, that it takes away from the actual story line. Hard to follow, and some “movie stupidity” behavior on Sylvester’s part.
I finally finished reading this story, it is so wordy in its descriptions, that it takes away from the actual story line. Hard to follow, and some “movie stupidity” behavior on Sylvester’s part.
May 4, 2022
First time reading Troy Aaron Ratliff and came away rather impressed. Really enjoyed his writing style and characters and storyline were top notch. I would've given a 5 star rating but story really dragged out in the beginning. Recommend highly.
May 23, 2022
Heady
At first I thought this would be boring, this droning of one man's thoughts, but it grabs you and pulls you in. Into his mind, into his world. Not a good place to be, but you have no choice, you are a captive. Really enjoyed it.
At first I thought this would be boring, this droning of one man's thoughts, but it grabs you and pulls you in. Into his mind, into his world. Not a good place to be, but you have no choice, you are a captive. Really enjoyed it.
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