Golden Eyes

by John Gideon (Pseudonym), Lonn Hoklin

A change has come over the town of Oldenburg. They all believe it has only just begun. But in reality the unthinkable started long ago. And before it is finished, it will strike deep into the heart of every man, woman and child and force them to reassess their very humanity.

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Fiction

568 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Jack Tripper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no doubt that had John Gideon published this and his other horror work in the midst of the 80s horror boom as opposed to the early-mid 90s, he'd have become much more well known. His writing style fits neatly in between that of King and Straub -- not quite as chummy as the former, and not quite as graceful as the latter, but with a similar penchant for large casts of richly developed characters and imaginative terrors at a steadily intensifying clip.

His plots and structures are somewhat derivative of those aforementioned authors’ works (in this case Salem's Lot and Floating Dragon), but I feel he puts a unique enough spin on the "supernatural evil in small town" setup to warrant more consideration among fans of the genre. For years I had put off reading this one, thinking it was just another vampire novel among the thousands.

Had I known that the evils besetting the close-knit community of Oldenburg, Oregon included not only vampirism but witchcraft, mind control, lycanthropy, and necromancy among others, I'd have read this long ago. I liked that the novel stays focused on a handful of well-drawn central characters despite the large cast, allowing me to better connect with their plight, which involves trying to unravel the riddle of all the strange deaths and the pervading sense of wrongness with the town, the feeling of doomed fate, as well as figuring out a way to combat whoever or whatever is causing it all.

While not fast-paced by any means, the overall mystery, which spans multiple generations, kept me entirely engaged, as did the fact that Gideon follows the "have a good scare every 20 pages or so" rule pretty closely. Those scares would always come right when I'd start getting settled into the cozy small town atmosphere. Yes, it's formulaic, but it works well here, as it did in his 1991 debut (under the Gideon moniker) Greely's Cove, with plenty of genuinely chilling moments, some emotionally gut-wrenching ones, and an absolutely nasty big bad. Too bad he only wrote three novels, plus a couple thrillers under his real name, Lonn Hoklin. I'll certainly be getting to them all in the near future.

4.5 Stars

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Golden Eyes is definitely the best of Gideon's novels, although I also really liked Greely's Cove. While first published in 1994, this is set in the summer of 1988 and evoked a nostalgia for sure (remember Bush I versus Dukakis?) with the various cultural references. Like Gideon's other novels, this is set in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon specifically, primarily in the small town of Oldenburg, where our main protagonist, Mark Lawson, grew up. Mark is a history prof in Portland and decided to go to the old homestead for the summer break; in part so he could write a book on Oldenburg, but also to get away from his adulterous wife. In the last few months, however, a series of tragedies have befallen Oldenburg, such as the strange murder/suicide of the neighbors of Mark's parents (who were long time friends) and the bizarre self-emulsion suicide of the Catholic priest in town, who was also a friend of his parents. Mark himself has had a bit of a tough time as well, for as he was leaving campus in Portland after the last day of class he barely avoided a 'jumper' from a twelve story building. Whew!

Golden Eyes possesses a very tightly plotted story line and from the cover blurb, we know there are vampires involved. Make no mistake, however, in thinking this will be 'Salem's Lot lite. Whereas King gave us a rather 'traditional' vampire story in a small town setting, Gideon's vampires are a different kind of nasty. Before vampires became all cuddly and sexy in endless urban fantasy novels since the 90s, several horror authors reinvented them in all kinds of terrible ways, from Skip and Spector's The Light at the End to McCammon's They Thirst. I am not a huge fan of the vampire genre, but to hook me into a vampire novel, the vampires need to be really nasty pieces of work and boy does Gideon deliver on this front in a unique way.

What was exceptional about Golden Eyes however were the richly developed characters and setting, along with a twisty plot that keep throwing surprises right until the end. The creep factor also played a role here and Gideon developed some super gore sequences as well. Definitely up there with other classics in the vampire genre! 4.5 toothy stars! I wish Gideon had written more novels, as now I have read all three. 😢😢

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good old fashioned 80s horror, like the early Steven King books. I've been ploughing my way through my pile of book club books - which tend to be the ones that no one else wants, that I take because I do want to read them someday, like I want to read everything someday - and then I feel a pressure to finish them to get them off the list. It means that I have recently read some unexpected and quite varied, but much less well known authors.
This one is about a history professor who witnesses a horrific suicide and bizarre happenings, leading him to meet a series of odd characters. Taking his young son back to his hometown to stay with his parents for the summer, Mark discovers that the series of gruesome deaths and out of character behaviours of people in the town are connected to a mysterious family who are of course vampires. This is before the days when vampires were sexy and sparkly, these ones have tentacles, slugs and golden eyes on stalks. It's a fairly classic good vs evil tale, except for it gets increasingly complicated working out which is which. It gets fairly gruesome but I enjoyed it more than I expected to.

[Cassandra Glissadevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2 stars!

Terriying 1980s epic vampire horror. Gideon delivers an old fashion vampire tale with a few twists. Kamikaze suicides, oodles of slugs, creepy manision on a mountain, and Native American witchcraft combine for a cliffhanger mystery horror show.

Professor Mark Lansen reluctantly ends the semester and his marriage. Marks seeks refuge where he grew up, lodges with his mom, dad, and sister, with his son in tow. Mark's hometown Oldenburg looks the same. However, several citizens recently died mysteriously while other folks act weird and strange. Add a hobo stalker, an ex flame, and a Vietnam vet private investigator.

Upon reading "Golden Eyes" and Gideon's novel "Greely's Cove", I gotta shake my head, shed the dread, and bemoan the fact that John Gideon didn't write more horror.

A hidden gem for sure and a welcome edition to any horror/vampire collection.

[Jayanne Rahal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hidden gem for sure! Would say this is an absolute must-read for any horror junkie or vampire fan: the take on vampirism in this was so fresh but an absolute gorefest, I was thrilled and appalled throughout. The length of this book scared me initially but every page was golden (no pun intended) and I definitely see the nods to Stephen King other reviewers have commented on, with a similar writing style, a focus on character development, an unabashed approach to abject terror and a moral message about The Power of Good. Really glad to have stumbled across this book that I otherwise hadn’t heard of and would strongly urge others to do the same!

[Horror Guy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay read, but it's basically a weaker version of John Gideon's novel Greely's Cove.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unmemorable

[Janet Bird · Rating 3 out of 5]

That other cover creeped me the heck out!

[Arishay Hussaini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow read, with too many unexpected twists in the last few chapters. Not sure if the twists were needed.

[David Larsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all, this is a fine horror tale that never really gets great, but is at sometimes a little dragged out. An entertaining read nonetheless, that steps away from the typical vampire story.

[Asis Adit · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast moving vampire novel with suspense.A must read for vampire fans.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not one much for this type of book but really enjoyed this to the point where I couldn't put it down. Will now look for others by this author.

[r · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book!! The new age look at what and how a vampire should be are awesome. The multiple twists and turns throughout the book were great as well.