Totentanz

by Al Sarrantonio

The carnival appears overnight on the old Scott property: Ferris wheel, Mirror Maze, midway, Tunnel of Love. Cold, monstrous eyes glare down as the calliope's bright music beckons through the carnival's wrought-iron gates. Once inside, there is no escape from terror, from the dance of death.

A single warrior stands against Ash, the master showman: thirteen-year-old Reggie Carson. Reggie must face Ash on his own ground, the twisted carnival landscape, and fight not only for his own soul - but for us all.

Genres: Horror

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1985

About the author

Al Sarrantonio was an American horror and science fiction writer, editor and publisher who authored more than 50 books and 90 short stories. He also edited numerous anthologies.

Reviews

[Jack Tripper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I’m not overly familiar with the late Sarrantonio’s work, having only read this, Campbell Wood, and a few shorts, something about his style just doesn’t jibe well with me. I love the Bradbury-esque small towns, creepy carnivals, and Halloween imagery, but there’s a sort of juvenile, YA-ish feel to his work that doesn’t mix well with the adult themes, imo. I have nothing against YA fiction in itself, as Bradbury’s similarly-themed horror work for younger readers is excellent, but here and elsewhere Sarrantonio employs a very bare bones, workmanlike prose style that has none of the grace or poetry of Bradbury, or even characters the reader cares about. All with cheesy dialogue to boot.

This could be forgiven if the story was compelling — and a spooky, deadly carnival invading a small town is right up my alley — but it gets bogged down with too much unnecessary (or uninteresting) backstory on the horrible history of the town, filled with underdeveloped, personality-less characters that were hard for me to connect with or root for. By the time the good stuff hit, I’d mostly lost interest, as I wasn’t invested in anything that was happening. The whole thing is a bit of a hackneyed mess, but it’s still a step above bottom-tier garbage from the likes of Zebra or Leisure, so I can’t bring myself to give it one star.

I think Sarrantonio would have done well to gear his work toward the teen market, especially since authors like RL Stine and Christopher Pike were becoming popular in the mid-late 80s, when this was written. I haven’t totally given up on him, but I might stay away from his novels from here on out. Except maybe Skeletons, cuz that seems amazing. Premise-wise, at least. (Famous last words, I know…)

[Anne Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a very difficult time finishing this book. A good concept about a young boy battling an evil that moves into his small town. This small town has some bad history to it and some past residents return for revenge. The writer can write some harrowing scenes, but I just felt that this was padded out to a novel. It could have been a good short story. A lot of the chapters were backstories for characters with no payoff. I didn’t understand the ending at all. I read the ending three times so maybe I’m missing something.

[Jaeden Horror reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Near the end it got to the point where I was skimming the pages. I have no idea who/what the character Ash was supposed to be.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read, and mostly enjoyable...and even though I'm no one to judge a writer of Al Sarrantonio's caliber, the middle DID get bogged down a bit with maybe a bit too much character back-story. All in all, very fun read..

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This won't be for everyone, but I liked it. An evil carnival comes to town. It's a town with a secret history. Sarrantonio does some majestic things with these tropes, but it takes patience as he develops them.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Painful.