Eat the Night

by Tim Waggoner

"Stephen King meets Franz Kafka." —Dayton.com

For Joan Lantz, it starts with a dream of a death-cult’s mass suicide in the jungle of Suriname thirty years ago, followed by the discovery of a hidden basement in her new house, where heavy metal music echoes on humid tropical air.

For Kevin Benecke, long-suffering employee of a mysterious organization known simply as Maintenance, it starts with the violent death of his co-worker at the hands of a madman who tells him, The Big Dark is coming for you.

Long-dead cult leader and former rock star Mark Maegarr has returned from beyond the grave, and Joan and Kevin have front-row seats to his apocalyptic comeback. Maegarr’s waited decades to finish what he started, and this time no one will stop him from putting on a killer show designed to hasten the universe’s end.

Rock on.

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Fiction, Supernatural

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2016

About the author

Tim Waggoner's first novel came out in 2001, and since then, he's published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. He's written tie-in fiction based on Supernatural, The X-Files, Alien, Doctor Who, Conan the Barbarian, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Grimm, and Transformers, among others, and he's written novelizations for films such as Ti West’s X-Trilogy, Halloween Kills, Terrifier 2 and 3, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. He’s also the author of the award-winning guide to horror Writing in the Dark. He’s a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and he’s been a two-time finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and a one-time finalist for the Splatterpunk Award. He’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.

Reviews

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well... this shit was weird.

Joan and her husband finally get their own home. They bought it dirt cheap from a couple that had be-friended Joan. Once in the house Joan has a weird dream about a cult's mass suicide under the control of a heavy metal artist guru. She wakes up terrified. Then she discovers a hidden basement in the house. DOES ANYONE NOT KNOW TO RUN FROM CRAP LIKE THIS?



Then bring in Dennis, who works for a super secret agency called Maintenance. They observe and document some 'stuff.'


Everyone also keeps talking about some stuff called entropy, which I found kinda boring but what the heck..I was in for the ride. You had to have some explanation for the crazy.



Gonna walk away from the light of day
Roam among the darkest stars
Find a place where Nothing is right
When we get there, we're gonna-Eat the Night!.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even before discovering a secret basement in the house she shares with her husband, Joan Lantz was troubled by dreams of a mass-suicide in the jungles of Suriname years before. But what do those things have to do with Mark Maegarr, the long-dead leader of the death cult, and Kevin Benecke, agent of The Agency?

I got this from Netgally via DarkFuse.

Eat the Night was another crazy tale from Tim Waggoner, teller of crazy tales. It had some Lovecraftian overtones without directly using the mythos. A universe careening toward entropy with various beasties helping it along and an Agency bent on pulling the parking brake? Cool premise!

It seemed like a haunted house tale at first. I hate to admit it but I would explore the shit out of a previously unknown room of my house. Joan avoids thinking about her crazy dreams and crazier past as both come up to bite her in the ass. The Agency was a nice touch. I like that instead of a government agency with huge funds, The Agency is short on man-power and resources AND is the only thing standing between the human race and entropy.

Maegarr and his rock and roll death cult made chilling foils. Inspired by the Jonestown Massacre, the death cult was all too plausible.

Overall, Eat the Night was a fun gory read. If I had to bitch about some things, I'd say that the ending felt a little rushed and the tone of the ending didn't really match the rest of the book. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Flavor for the feast!

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

Eat the Night really worked for me!

At first, this story features 3 plot-lines which, (of course), eventually end up coming together. Joan and Jon discover a hidden door which leads to a basement, something they thought they didn't have in their new home. Kevin works for Maintenance, an extremely important job, the details of which become clear as the story moves on. Debbie's story is the third-a woman subjecting herself to the whims of cult leader/heavy metal star, Maegarr.

The world-building regarding Maintenance and the Gyre is definitely something I'm interested in reading more about. This relates to cosmic horror but without any Lovecraftian Old Ones or anything of that sort. For this reason my curiosity about this world is piqued. I want MORE!

These three lines came together in a more than satisfactory way. I loved the ending and I believe if the story were any longer, it would have been difficult to maintain the level of tension that hummed throughout. I do have one question though: will there be more stories set in this world? I am hoping the answer is YES.

Highly recommended, especially for fans of cosmic horror, (with or without Old Ones)!

You can get your copy here: Eat the Night

*Thank you to Net Galley and Darkfuse for providing an e-ARC of this story in exchange for my honest review. This is it!*

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eat the Night is a good cosmic horror novel from a few years ago (I've been running behind) that's set in the same world as his current Custodians of the Cosmos series, which began with The Atrocity Engine. I was a little surprised, because from the cover I was expecting a heavy metal/thrasher rock gore fest, but the actual music-influenced content is minimal. It's primarily a Maintenance story, with the same urban fantasy setting and a few overlapping characters from the Custodians books, though with a slightly sharper edged extremism. I enjoyed it as a haunted house story, though it stretches into metaphysical existentialism towards the end. (No, that isn't a real thing, but I thought it looked erudite and cool and stuff. Eat the night.)

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this one were truly fascinating - The Maintenance, Intervention, and Analysist sections really had my attention and were drawn very well in a round the corner sort of way. There were many subtle hints about the “organization” that I really thought worked perfectly in the story.

Entropy as an apocalyptic theology, however, didn’t really gel for me. I intellectually understand the concept of entropy, but I felt it got to be a bit tired in the storyline. For whatever reason, it bugged me every time it was brought up. The word just didn’t “fit” somehow, even though the overall concept of it did. (I don’t know if that makes any sense.)

In a nutshell, I really enjoyed this one and despite any minor peeves I had along the way, Tim does a good job of taking some heavy ideas and giving them enough of a head of steam to power this one thru to the end. I hope to see some more Maintenance stories in the future. 3.5 Stars

*As a member of the DarkFuse Readers Group, I received an advanced copy of this e-book thru NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[OutlawPoet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before you read Eat the Night by Tim Waggoner, you’ll want to do something.

First, make sure no one is there to bother you. Then, get some Death Metal playing. (Trust me, it will get you in the right mood.) Now, down a shot or two of your hardest and cheapest alcohol.

Then read.

Eat the Night is that hardcore metal horror novel you need right now. Completely bizarre characters. Death, destruction, and talking decapitated heads. Oily black beasties that just might suck out your soul. And it’s all against the backdrop of a genuinely chilling story about a cult leader who just isn’t ready to let past slights die. Heck, there’s even a little moon-eyed crush for the romantics among you. (Don’t worry about that one…this is a horror novel, after all.)

The book is fast, furious, and graphically violent.

When you finish the book – which will be quickly, simply because you won’t want to stop until the end – have another drink and let your heart settle.

5 Stars and not for the faint of heart.

*ARC provided by Net Galley

[Frank Errington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review copy

Sick. Demented. Delightful. Three words which can easily sum up my reading experience with this relatively new work from Tim Waggoner.

Eat the Night begins with Joan Lantz waking from a nightmare that was so real, it was more like a memory than a dream. A dream of a charismatic singer turned cult leader and the lyrics of a song with the refrain...

Eat the night, eat the night, eat the night, we're gonna—Eat the Night!

This is also the story of an ultra secret organization simply known as Maintenance with Surveyor's, Analysts, Intervention Teams, all serving a Calling to keep entropy at bay. And then there's the Durg. It wasn't merely a carrion eater. It was an everything eater, a thing whose sole purpose was to break down existence as swiftly and efficiently as it could. It was a servant of the Gyre, perhaps in a way even a part of it, an avatar of sorts. That meant the creature was diametrically opposed to everything Maintenance stood for, and it had to be stopped—even if killing it ultimately increased entropy too.

As is the case with many of Tim Waggoner's original works, Eat the Night is incredibly complicated and assuredly less than believable, but somehow the author manages to have it make complete sense in the end. Although, brutally merciless at times, there are a few chuckles along the way, and the result is escapism of the highest order.

There were several moments while reading Eat the Night where I got a Douglas Adams vibe. It could be because I've been watching Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency in BBC America, or it could just be me. Either way a Douglas Adams vibe is a good thing.

This is a quick read I can solidly recommend.

Eat the Night is published by DarkFuse and is available in paperback and e-book formats. If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited you can read it at no additional charge. Also, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can read it for FREE using the Kindle Owners Lending Library.

Tim Waggoner’s first novel came out in 2001, and he’s published over thirty novels and three collections of short stories since. He writes original fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. He’s been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and the Scribe Award, and his fiction has received numerous Honorable Mentions in volumes of Best Horror of the Year. In 2016, the Horror Writers Association honored him with the Mentor of the Year Award. In addition to writing, Tim is also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College.

[Mike]

Tim Waggoner has become a must read for me. I started reading his books back when he wrote Pandora Drive and Darkness Wakes. This will be the ninth book by Tim I have read. The story starts out moving from one set of characters to another. Once you get further into the story you see how things tie together. I was a little confused at first, but what's new. This wasn't the first or the last a book will do this to me. The book got a little slow a times but pick back up. The story is centered around Joan, the new house with the basement they found behind the wallpaper. That she didn't know about and found out the previous owners didn't know either. Then comes Kevin and now partner Barry. Checking out this house owned by 83 year old Daniel Harris which has these energy readings. Kevin finds the back door open and this bad smell. Once inside the smell gets ten times worse. He places some sensors and then turns the light on. Only to find a bunch of animal and human bones hanging from the ceiling. Thru his earpiece he hears a scream and runs back to the van. He opens the van door and finds Barry with no face and the old man on his chest sawing away at Barry. The old man tell him that the Big Dark is coming for you. Throw in a rock group called Maegarr and it's over three hundred cult following at the beginning. If this isn't enough to get you to read this book I don't know what is. I enjoyed reading this book, not my favorite by Tim but still a very good read. Even though DarkFuse isn't coming out with as many books as before. The quality of the books is the same, very good. I gave Eat The Night 4 stars.


I received an e-arc of this book from DarkFuse/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Michael Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Waggoner's upcoming DarkFuse release, EAT THE NIGHT, is a cool bit of cosmic horror. Mostly, it worked for me - I enjoyed the premise of entropy and the occult, as well as the history surrounding the central villain, retired rock-star Maegarr, and his occult clan seeking to bring about the end of the universe. Pretty lofty ambition, that!

There's plenty of nifty ideas in these pages, and I would definitely read more books about Maintenance, a shadowy organization seeking only to prolong our cosmic destruction by entropy rather than stop it outright. They're a neat bunch, with some pretty wicked gizmos and a heck of an agenda.

What disappointed me was the rushed ending and a fairly unsatisfying resolution. The climax was reached a little too easily for my liking and could have used some extra words to flesh things out. However, if Waggoner is planning on developing another title or two in this realm, I think I could forgive that.

Overall, this was a pretty strong read with nicely dark moments and well-executed concepts. I wouldn't have minded an extra chapter or two, though. Final judgement: 3 1/2 stars, rounded to 4 on the Goodreads metric.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

EAT THE NIGHT, by Tim Waggoner started out really strong and instantly got my imagination rolling. Joan and her husband have barely settled into their new house, when Joan has a realistic nightmare in which she is a member of a cult led by a rocker named Mark Maegarr. Unable to sleep later, she goes downstairs and "discovers" a hidden door, leading to a nondescript cellar that they never knew was there.

Admittedly, my belief was strained by the fact that this couple didn't immediately find this "odd" and start trying to figure out why this wasn't mentioned on the purchase agreement--especially as they bought the house from friends of Joan's. However, having become a fan of Waggoner's past works, I shoved that aside and continued on.

The excitement builds as we are shown an "organization" cloaked as Maintenance, that seeks out negative energy sources. This added section, focusing on one worker, Kevin, made the mystery into something more "unique" and inexplicable that I needed to figure out.

About 3/4 of the way in, however, the plot focuses on entropy as a means to the end for the cult, and a few other parts (I won't spoil here) that had me losing interest in. A great concept, but the ending just felt too "thrown together" for me, and I would have liked more easing into it, not to mention how Maegarr's obsession began.

Still, a unique premise, and I really enjoyed the first 3/4 or so.

*I received an ARC of this e-book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy of this novel from the publisher, Darkfuse, through NetGalley. Darkfuse is an excellent publisher of dark fiction—tending more recently toward crime and dark fantasy than horror.

I have read several of Waggoner’s novels/novellas through NetGalley and I always enjoy them, including The Last Mile and The Winter Box. Those two swing more toward fantasy than horror and Eat the Night is no exception—so judge how much you will like it accordingly. This one had a definite The Great and Secret Show (Clive Barker) vibe to me. I don’t mean it was derivative; it is just similar in theme. Lovecraft did it first, really, the whole nameless dark forces slowly encroaching our universe, inevitable, all consuming, and from which there is no escape. Stephen King explored it recently in a Revival, a book that I really loved but just don’t hear much about.

The one thing those other novels (TG&SS—which actually has a sequel that concludes the story, and King’s Revival) had that Eat the Night doesn’t is depth, and quite a few more scares. Eat the Night deals with a very deep and broad subject and really just skims the surface. The ideas were fantastic, especially “The Maintenance” organization which propels much of the plot—I would definitely be interested in reading more about them. In the end, however, Eat the Night had it its moments but it never quite reached the potential of its really good ideas.

Sign me up for any future installments, however. There are some great ideas here.

3 ½ stars rounded up to 4 because of good writing and because it was fun.

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: EAT THE NIGHT by Tim Waggoner

Wow! I loved this novella! By the second chapter, I was on a rollercoaster, surrounded and suffused by metaphysics, philosophy, astrophysics, entropy, life-after-death, thought-creation, and a universe that rocks with Lovecraftian resonance. The story line is deep, the characters fully rounded, the plot snapping and unforgettable. I could read this over and over again.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is strongly reminiscent of Waggoner's of the days of yore, the old leisure horror paperbacks. Same vibe, same style of mythology, albeit here it's a completely different construct. Meaning back in the day I would have loved it and presently I can only offer it a like. It actually had several elements I'm partial to, particularly a cult, and started off very strongly. I was very impressed despite the initial reservations from reading other readers' reviews. And then it became too convoluted for its own good and much, much too reliant on gore and guts. Somewhere around the deathly ejaculate and (is it a gang if it's only two rapists) rape it became just too outlandish to take seriously, despite the fact that normally cosmic horror is traditionall quite serious and solemn. It's an interesting premise, albeit not so much an original as a mash up of several well known ones, sort of Men In Black meets insert your favorite cosmic horror meets Jonestown, but in a wrapper different enough to pass for new and with writing strong enough to carry it through. Seems like it might be a starter in a series, it's certainly sequel ready. Flavor to the Feast or, more aptly, light seasoning for gross out buffet. Not great, but plenty entertaining and a quick read.
Received gratis from Darkfuse in exchange for a review.

[Mommacat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the latest novella from Tim Waggoner once I got deep enough into it to understand what was really going on. This really isn't a lightweight novella - it deals with entropy, life cycles and a group that is trying to control everything. It would have been much better had Waggoner developed this into a full blown novel and really expanded on his themes.

Good stuff though. Scifi fans will enjoy this. I received my copy from the publisher of DarkFuse.

[The Behrg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A megalomanic washed up rockstar leading a death cult into an early apocalypse is a pretty killer set up. Add to this story a shadowy organization called Maintenance, with an almost "Men In Black" type operation, and you've got yourself a pretty nifty tale.

Waggoner weaves some pretty hefty ideas into this little novella. Not all of them worked, but the underlying structure could hold up a tent that encompasses much more than just this story. The mythology of Entropy and this vast Darkness is quite enthralling, and it's this part of the story that definitely keeps you wanting to learn more.

The novel is split between two storylines that eventually intertwine, and while I loved Kevin's story as a Maintenance worker, I had a more difficult time connecting with Joan. I felt her and Jon's story were far less interesting and kept waiting for it to flip back over to the other narrative. Spoiler ahead:

Probably the thing that took me out of the story the most, however, was the reincarnation aspect of the story. It was treated so loosely that I felt manipulated as a reader, almost like a poorly written sci-fi novel where the science doesn't make sense but you're asked to believe it because it's the only card the author has to get his characters out of a predicament. It felt hastily thrown together, without a lot of thought put into it, like how these characters could control who they came back as or how Maegarr had any right or power to send people back. To me, at least, it undermined a lot of what I had found pretty spectacular up until that point.

Despite a few flaws, this was still a fascinating tale and I'm definitely interested in what Waggoner comes up with next, should he decide to return to this universe.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eat the Night is a fun horror/adventure story. The horror comes from Joan's story, as she is tormented by nightmares of a dead rock star and the death of his entire commune. She finds out that this event actually happened, and other events in her life cause her terror to build.

The adventure portion is Kevin's story. Kevin belongs to an organization of supernatural "cleaners", and the whole group is buzzing about a new situation brewing at Joan's house. The two stories collide in a chilling and grue-soaked finale.

I really enjoyed the two different kinds of stories mixed together in this novel, and they work well together. Kevin and Joan are both easy to identify with, thus making the reader care about what happens to them.

On the negative side, some aspects of Tim Waggoner's writing were grating after a while. For example, the phrase "as if" was used so much it became distracting. The other minor nitpick is the backstory of Maegarr, the villain. The type of heavy metal that is described didn't exist in the mid-70s, and even if it did there is no way it would have produced top ten hits. This is fiction obviously, so it shouldn't matter, but I'm a metal nerd and this took me out of the story a bit. I can accept giant bug monsters and zombies, but not a little historical inaccuracy about music? I can't defend it either, but that is how I felt. 4 stars, recommended for horror fans.

[Irene Well Worth A Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joan has suffered a traumatic past, which has left her always longing for a home of her own. Because of that, she is ecstatic when she has the opportunity to purchase a house with her husband Jon even if the circumstances of that opportunity seem suspiciously convenient.
Kevin is an employee of "Maintenance" a company which does not advertise, does not have customers and doesn't want any. These characters who seem to have nothing to do with each other do in fact share a common thread and they are going to meet, in a big way.
This was a creepy read, reminiscent of the classic 80s horror that I so love.

I received a complimentary copy for review

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid cosmic horror story by Waggoner. He's created the outline of an interesting world and I hope he does more with it.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 and 1/2 Star Review: Whew! What a roller-coaster ride of a read. Tim Waggoner’s EAT THE NIGHT...
http://sleaze-factor.blogspot.ca/2016...

[Mike Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multi-dimensional, weird, gorefest. Creepy in the way The Immaculate Void is. I love weird stories like this! My favorite TW so far!

5 Stars*****

[Abigail Grimm · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a good ol’, classic horror tale in the flavor of Evil Dead or Army of Darkness, Tim Waggoner’s Eat the Night is a must-read. It’s fast paced and filled with the sort of material horror fans like me grew up with. Death cult? Check. Mass suicide? Check. Possession? Check. Vivid, gore-filled scenes? Hideous monsters from another dimension? Reincarnation? Check, check, and check. I can’t even begin to describe how hungrily I devoured this book, and though it has its ridiculous moments, I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author!

Thirty years ago, retired rockstar Mark Maegarr and his devout followers, in true Jonestown fashion, committed suicide in tropic Suriname. It was Maegarr’s belief that this ritual would hasten the approach of Entropy, or the total dissolution of the world as we know it. Unfortunately for Maegarr, something went wrong and he spends the next several decades reaching from beyond the grave to finish what he started.

Joan Lantz and her husband, Jon, are first time home-owners. Burdened with a troubled past, Joan is glad to finally have a home of her own. After waking from a horrific nightmare detailing the grisly end that befell Mark Maegarr and his cult, she discovers a hidden basement in her home, which had not been on the house’s plans and was previously unknown to the home’s last owners, who were friends of hers.

Kevin Benecke works for Maintenance, a secretive company that is reminiscent of Men in Black. Aware that they cannot save the world from its fate, their goal is to slow the coming of the end down from the sidelines. He’s an unfortunate sort of fellow and things don’t happen to go the way they ought to in his line of work, but he has his own boyish charm.

Together, these three characters weave a story that is brimming with horrific scenes and action. The plot is fairly solid as well, and Waggoner doesn’t hold back when it comes to the laws of the world he has created to coexist alongside the one we know so well. Maegarr’s cult is expertly crafted, with a belief so plausible it could be defined as chilling.

Eat the Night is easily one of my favorite reads so far this year and is perfect for those looking for a good Halloween read. I would like to extend a special thanks to NetGalley, DarkFuse, and Tim Waggoner for providing me with an advanced copy for the purpose of an honest, unbiased review.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flavor to the Feast

Wow! It's been a long time since a story/book creeped me out as much as EAT THE NIGHT did. It preyed on all my barely remembered childhood fears, added some adult ones I've picked up along the way, and had me checking door locks and making sure the windows were closed (seriously). I usually don't read books with an occult theme and this book made me remember why.

Joan and Jon Lantz just moved into their first new home (new to them anyway). After the horrific events in her past, Joan craved having the stability she felt this new home would bring. Little did she know that her and Jon have just entered a whole new realm of terror.

This story scared the bejeebers out of me so be warned. It is not for the faint of heart, by any means. Blood, guts, and some serious kink went into the writing of this little gem.

I received this novella from Dark Fuse through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read two novels by Tim Waggoner and the thing that stuck with me on both is the sense that they are excellent introductions to fascinating alternative realities that would be fun to explore.

In Eat the Night, we are introduced to two separate persons. Joan Lantz is a woman who buys a house and finds an basement hidden behind the wallpaper. She is having dreams of a past ritual and hearing death metal songs that seem to be related to her presence in the house. Kevin Benecke is an employee of a mysterious organization simply called Maintenance. It seems to be the obstacle that blocks evil entities from invading our world from other dimensions. The stories of Joan and Kevin are told separately for a brief period then merge together as Maintenance follows a source of evil to Joan's house. Add on the malevolent spirit of a Jim Jones influenced rock singer and you have all the basics.

The novel is slightly over 100 pages and that is part of the problem. The other book I read (The Last Mile to which I awarded 5 stars) was brief too but it involved one story line that carefully fed us background until it all came together). Eat the Night feels a bit fragmented and I never got the idea that I knew what this world was really about. In telling the story in a shortened length, neither Kevin or Joan really came alive for me. Yet despite that it does manage to work and I got enough of the world and its alternate universe to bring it all together. It's an exciting story nonetheless. I just kept wanting more. When you think about it that is about as positive a criticism as they come.

[Aaron McQuiston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joan and Jon buy a new house. When Joan has a dream about a death cult, led by an old rock star, she cannot sleep, and finds a basement she did not know existed. This is the kind of beginning that I love, and I read all of "Eat the Night" in one sitting. Even though I had not read anything by Tim Waggoner since the Angry Robot/Nekropolis days, I had forgotten how smoothly his plots move along. He introduces us to an agency that deals with evil and darkness, an aging rock star that has figured out that he can lead his congregation (cleverly called "The Congregation") to a place of entropy, large bug-like creatures, and Joan, a woman scarred by a childhood tragedy that is caught up in the middle of all of this. Some novels, especially horror novels, tend to take their time and chase their own tail a bit, mostly to be a longer book, but Waggoner does none of this. He moves the plot a long at a breakneck speed, and even though the plot is weird and surreal, none of it is lost in a bunch of unnecessary description and character building. Instead he gives us a perfect puzzle with each piece fitting into the plot, something that many horror novels do not do. For this, "Eat the Night" is a strong story and a great, weird, fun novel.

I received a this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Own several Tim Waggoner works, have not read many. Aim to rectify this situation soon, as I just finished Eat the Night and thoroughly enjoyed it. A nice existential horror novel. The ending was ambiguous but I liked it fine.

[S.B. (Beauty in Ruins) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eat the Night was, without a doubt, one of the weirder stories I've read this year. Not weird in the WTF perverse kind of sense, but more in a surreal, unsettling, disjointed sort of way. Tim Waggoner tells what seem to be three stories here, which only become even weirder once their intersection becomes clear.

The opening chapter sets a dark tone, with a suicidal rock 'n roll cult taking a break from their wanton orgy to cheer on their leader, peel off their faces, and prepare to sacrifice one of their own - all while clack-clack-clacking things approach from the trees.

From there we skip to a tormented young woman, waking from a dream . . . or is it a memory? What should be the most normal part of the novel slowly suffocates under hints of dark thoughts, a dark past, and the odd mystery of the basement door hidden behind a thin layer of wallpaper.

Next, we switch to a mysterious Maintenance crew, who are part X-Files, part Ghostbusters, and part Men-in-Black, but considerably darker (and weirder). They're responsible for monitoring the monsters of the world, both human and otherwise, all in a vain attempt to prevent the approach of entropy.

I love that the suburban elements of the tale are the darkest, most violent, goriest aspects of the tale, with some truly chilling scenes and settings. The early revelation of Joan's dark past is appropriately shocking, even within such a dark tale, and the later exposure of that event's significance really brings the story full circle. Similarly, I thought it was brilliant that something as weird as the Maintenance crew came to be the only sane thing in the novel, with Kevin (and his unfortunate partners) the only thing standing between the reader and the darkness.

In the end, Eat the Night smartly played against my expectations at just about every turn, keeping me unsettled and intrigued throughout. If you're a fan of weird horror, it is well worth the read.


Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. This does not in any way affect the honesty or sincerity of my review.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking for a Good Book. Rated 3.0 of 5

I really enjoyed Tim Waggoner's two books in his "Shadow Watch" series and so was eager to catch this dark fantasy/horror novel, Eat the Night, published by Darkfuse - one of the leading publishers of dark tales.

Joan Lantz has been having troubling dreams of a mass suicide in the jungles of Suriname - led by a rocker named Mark Maegarr - which occurred years before. Then she discovers a previously-unknown room in her basement. Are the two connected? Joan gets help from The Agency - an under-funded, short-on-man-power organization that might just be the only thing between humanity and the end of everything we know.

Throughout it all, the death-metal lyrics of Maegarr permeate the novella as a sort of creepy, haunting score to Joan's life and entropy facing the world at large.

Entropy.

That's a concept that on the surface seems like such a great one for a dark fantasy novel, but once you start to talk about it takes you out of the mood and that's what happened here for me. Despite such a short book and the inclusion of music/lyrics - something that I typically relish in my literature - I was drawn in to the story very early on, but quickly stopped caring as The Agency got involved.

I'm only familiar with Waggoner's two Shadow Watch books which were paced well, highly original in concept, and while not as dark as Eat the Night, still wonderfully creepy, and so I had high hopes for this work as well. Unfortunately I just never really got into this.

For me, I've discovered, I like character-driven stories. This book is concept-driven and the characters, Lantz, Maegarr, and the Agency are there to move the idea of entropy and the Agency's battle forward. It's a small difference, but just enough to keep from fully enjoying this book.

Looking for a good book? Tim Waggoner's Eat the Night is a short, quick, dark fantasy read that just barely satisfies.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Lloyd]

had to DNF this one, couldn't get into it.

[Deedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

audible:This was a bit more gory that I like,but a good story.Narration by Gary Noon was good.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing horror fantasy novel involving a young couple who discover their new house contains a concealed basement with a portal to an otherworld dominated by a long dead rock star and his death cult. Creepy atmosphere and interesting characters. Loved it. I highly recommend this book.