Hunting Ground

Black Oak #4

by Charles L. Grant

Ethan Proctor, the brilliant, enigmatic head of Black Oak Security, reluctantly submits to his employees' orders to take some R&R in Atlantic City. But his vacation soon develops into something entirely different--a web of murder, lies, and...vampires?

Genres: Horror, Urban Fantasy, Occult Detective, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2000

About the author

Charles Lewis Grant was a novelist and short story writer specializing in what he called "dark fantasy" and "quiet horror." He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Geoffrey Marsh, Lionel Fenn, Simon Lake, Felicia Andrews, and Deborah Lewis.

Grant won a World Fantasy Award for his novella collection Nightmare Seasons, a Nebula Award in 1976 for his short story "A Crowd of Shadows", and another Nebula Award in 1978 for his novella "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye," the latter telling of an actor's dilemma in a post-literate future. Grant also edited the award winning Shadows anthology, running eleven volumes from 1978-1991. Contributors include Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, R.A. Lafferty, Avram Davidson, and Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem. Grant was a former Executive Secretary and Eastern Regional Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and president of the Horror Writers Association.

Reviews

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, I continue to feel saddened that Charles Grant wasn't able to see this series to its completion. Ethan Proctor is a series character done only as Grant could've, and I think what I like about this series so far is that, unlike much of Grant's quiet horror (though I love all of it), it has a popular appeal of a mythos with a through-line leading to an epic conclusion of sorts. Again - wish this series could've be completed, and I wish we had new Charles Grant work to look forward to, every year.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had a slow yet fun build with a great payoff.

[Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually reserve my one-star ratings for books that flat-out offend me. Hunting Ground isn't quite that bad, but it treads into that territory (one female character's drive for wanting to betray ... well, humanity ... was due to her wanting to look forever young), and the resolution was ridiculous. It wasn't how he wrapped up the plot that was the issue, but how Grant explained everything to the bystanders. Here, let me explain.

A bad murder goes down in the middle of a casino with dozens of bystanders. The staff and police get the witnesses to overlook it by explaining it was a kind of real-time theater. And they buy it! Plus, the final antagonist avoids detection by HIDING IN A CLOSET. WHILE THE POLICE ARE SEARCHING THE CASINO ROOM BY ROOM FOR A SUPERNATURAL KILLER. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME.

So, I guess this book did offend me -- it offended my good-book sensibilities. No one should be able to get away with a denouement that stupid.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back on safer ground, accent wise, if not for many of the characters, Proctor is packed off on a holiday to Atlantic City in, uh, February, but someone very odd has been killing people very horribly, and with a storm trapping them in the casino/hotel with the killer on the loose, things get bloody and nasty.

[Solim · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 for book 4! I really dont want this series to end! This one was longer, and the setting wasnt a creepy town but it still had the creepiness! Grant is one of the best horror authors who died too soon.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far the best in the series! Ethan Proctor is on what his colleagues term "overload" after his last three adventures and due to the fact that his mother may die at any moment. His friends suggest that he go away for a few days (along with them) and take some time at a hotel/casino in Atlantic city along the boardwalk.

He goes along, unwillingly, and runs smack into a series of unsolved murders done by someone the papers are killing "The Ripper," due to the fact that the killer is leaving the corpses without throats. Although Proctor is supposed to be on vacation, he becomes very interested in these crimes, and of course, with Proctor involved, you know there is going to be a supernatural element involved.

I love these books...but I would definitely recommend that you read them in order or you are going to miss the back stories going on. The author does try to recap at the beginning, but there's a lot that you miss & won't get if you haven't actually read the series.

Recommended for those who enjoy good solid supernatural fiction.


read: 05/22/2006

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads like a good mystery novel with a carry over 'evil plot' by unknown villians (supernatural of course.)