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In the Shadows of Men
In the desolate flats of West Texas, two brothers purchase an old motel with the intent of renovating it and making a fortune off the population surge brought about by the fracking boom. Though each man is lured there by the promise of wealth, they are also fleeing something: a history of trauma, of failure, of family abuse, and shame.
But the motel proves to have a history of its own. Once the business of a distant relative of theirs, Corbin Pugh, the brothers begin to discover signs that it might have been more than just a motel.
As they live and labor in its dusty halls, fighting the crawling feeling that they are not alone here, they begin to wonder: What kind of a man was Corbin Pugh? What happened in the rooms he owned, so many decades ago? And is the motel changing them, warping them to become more ruthlessly ambitious and brutal - or is this what men must become in order to survive on the edge of civilization?
But the motel proves to have a history of its own. Once the business of a distant relative of theirs, Corbin Pugh, the brothers begin to discover signs that it might have been more than just a motel.
As they live and labor in its dusty halls, fighting the crawling feeling that they are not alone here, they begin to wonder: What kind of a man was Corbin Pugh? What happened in the rooms he owned, so many decades ago? And is the motel changing them, warping them to become more ruthlessly ambitious and brutal - or is this what men must become in order to survive on the edge of civilization?
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First published August 31, 2020
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About the author
Robert Jackson Bennett
32 books22.2k followersRobert Jackson Bennett is a two-time award winner of the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel, an Edgar Award winner for Best Paperback Original, and is also the 2010 recipient of the Sydney J Bounds Award for Best Newcomer, and a Philip K Dick Award Citation of Excellence. City of Stairs was shortlisted for the Locus Award and the World Fantasy Award. City of Blades was a finalist for the 2015 World Fantasy, Locus, and British Fantasy Awards. His eighth novel, FOUNDRYSIDE, will be available in the US on 8/21 of 2018 and the UK on 8/23.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
December 8, 2021
3.5 stars
Another one of those "hotel settings better left alone with its secrets" reads that I am just a huge sucker for. Chilling, well-written, and filled with menace.
Concept: ★★★★
Pacing: ★★★
Handling of themes: ★★★
Two brothers inherit an abandoned hotel in West Texas. They both have nothing left to lose for different reasons, so they show up and decide to make their money off of this hotel.
The hotel, of course, has other plans.
Given the shortness of this novella, I really don't want to get into it more than that.
Trust me when I say that this one has some doozies, some horrors, and some reflections on intergenerational trauma.
As a woman, I'll say I was pleasantly surprised at the deft handling of the male gaze given the complexities of gender/power horror at play in the story.
Overall a new favorite for me within the niche of hotel horror. Nice.
Blog | Instagram
Another one of those "hotel settings better left alone with its secrets" reads that I am just a huge sucker for. Chilling, well-written, and filled with menace.
Concept: ★★★★
Pacing: ★★★
Handling of themes: ★★★
Two brothers inherit an abandoned hotel in West Texas. They both have nothing left to lose for different reasons, so they show up and decide to make their money off of this hotel.
The hotel, of course, has other plans.
Given the shortness of this novella, I really don't want to get into it more than that.
Trust me when I say that this one has some doozies, some horrors, and some reflections on intergenerational trauma.
As a woman, I'll say I was pleasantly surprised at the deft handling of the male gaze given the complexities of gender/power horror at play in the story.
Overall a new favorite for me within the niche of hotel horror. Nice.
Blog | Instagram
November 7, 2020
This book might be hard to find (at least in print) as it's a limited Subterranean Press edition, and they are not cheap. However, if you prefer e-books (I have some, but I like to hold the physical book in my hands) it is available at the usual digital suspects. I say that because I think it's flown under the radar a bit, and I want to give it a push.
On the surface, this is an American ghost story, taking place on the plains of west Texas. Bear Pugh and his unnamed brother come to Coahora, to renovate an old motel that once belonged to their great-uncle Corbin. Their goals are simple: Bear bought the property from a cousin for a pittance, and means to build it up, hold on to it long enough to make some money, and get out. He asks his brother, who is going through some domestic upheaval (his wife, tired of his emotional detachment, packed up their child and left) to come help him out. The two of them start tearing up and remodeling the hotel. They also start seeing a big man in a white tee shirt walking across the property at night, and hearing young women speaking with a Spanish accent from a basement where there is no basement, and hearing the wails of a crying baby drift across the grounds.....
Yes, there are ghosts here, and a horrible past that slowly comes to light, with a growing sense of creeping dread written in simple, straightforward prose. However, the monster is not the ghost of the Pugh brothers' great-uncle, nor the things he did. The monster is the theme of (white) male entitlement and toxic masculinity, and what it makes men do.
"The things you've done," I say. "The things you want. Listen to me. They're not things you really want. They're things he wants [Corbin's ghost]. Things he wants you to do, so he's using you."
"It wasn't supposed to be like this," he weeps. "A house. A wife. A job. A home."
"You can still have that," I say. "We both can."
"I can't," he says. "Not now. It's all changed so much. A man can't get what's owed to him. All that's left is for him to take it."
What's so frightening about this is that in real life the ghost, and the pull it has on the characters' minds, doesn't have to be there. Far too many men, falling under the illusion of what they think the world owes them, repeat these very words and live these twisted ideals, and they're not under any supernatural influence at all.
The best horror reflects back a razor-sharp mirror of our current life, held up for all to see. This book is all the more chilling because of its deceptively simple, dare I say blue-collar prose style. There are no fancy explanations or elevated academic lingo; there is just the two Pugh brothers, Bear and the unnamed narrator, slowly falling under the spell of their great-uncle's ghost and the horrid way he thinks the world should be. The narrator escapes this trap at the end, vowing to go back to Houston, to his wife and child, and learn how to give instead of take.
This is a scary, thoughtful book, and it's well worth seeking out.
On the surface, this is an American ghost story, taking place on the plains of west Texas. Bear Pugh and his unnamed brother come to Coahora, to renovate an old motel that once belonged to their great-uncle Corbin. Their goals are simple: Bear bought the property from a cousin for a pittance, and means to build it up, hold on to it long enough to make some money, and get out. He asks his brother, who is going through some domestic upheaval (his wife, tired of his emotional detachment, packed up their child and left) to come help him out. The two of them start tearing up and remodeling the hotel. They also start seeing a big man in a white tee shirt walking across the property at night, and hearing young women speaking with a Spanish accent from a basement where there is no basement, and hearing the wails of a crying baby drift across the grounds.....
Yes, there are ghosts here, and a horrible past that slowly comes to light, with a growing sense of creeping dread written in simple, straightforward prose. However, the monster is not the ghost of the Pugh brothers' great-uncle, nor the things he did. The monster is the theme of (white) male entitlement and toxic masculinity, and what it makes men do.
"The things you've done," I say. "The things you want. Listen to me. They're not things you really want. They're things he wants [Corbin's ghost]. Things he wants you to do, so he's using you."
"It wasn't supposed to be like this," he weeps. "A house. A wife. A job. A home."
"You can still have that," I say. "We both can."
"I can't," he says. "Not now. It's all changed so much. A man can't get what's owed to him. All that's left is for him to take it."
What's so frightening about this is that in real life the ghost, and the pull it has on the characters' minds, doesn't have to be there. Far too many men, falling under the illusion of what they think the world owes them, repeat these very words and live these twisted ideals, and they're not under any supernatural influence at all.
The best horror reflects back a razor-sharp mirror of our current life, held up for all to see. This book is all the more chilling because of its deceptively simple, dare I say blue-collar prose style. There are no fancy explanations or elevated academic lingo; there is just the two Pugh brothers, Bear and the unnamed narrator, slowly falling under the spell of their great-uncle's ghost and the horrid way he thinks the world should be. The narrator escapes this trap at the end, vowing to go back to Houston, to his wife and child, and learn how to give instead of take.
This is a scary, thoughtful book, and it's well worth seeking out.
August 31, 2020
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this horror fantasy novella eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here are me honest musings . . .
The cover drew me in and three things convinced me to read this book:
1. I love Robert Jackson Bennett as an author;
2. It is a Subterranean Press book and they do great work; and
3. Who doesn't like to read about haunted motels?
This novella tells the story of two brothers who decide to go into business by renovating an old motel in West Texas. Their past was dysfunctional to say the least and they are trying to get a little bit ahead for once by catering to the workers of the fracking industry. However the motel has an unsavory familial past which bleeds into the brothers' present.
This is an atmospheric read where the graphic elements of the story are not the focus and happen off the page and yet the horror is always present. The blending of psychological and paranormal elements is so well done and balanced. For such a short story, it packs an both an emotional and philosophical punch about generational abuse, the effects of trauma, society's reactions to violence, sibling relationships, and class privilege.
The story is unsettling, sad, disturbing, and yet ends on a hopeful note. I feel that this novella highlights the author's skills. It is a book where the subject matter wasn't quite what I was expecting and yet I ended up being fascinated by how it turned out. That ending was so bittersweet.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Subterranean Press!
Side note: This novella reminds me of how much I need to visit his backlog. Arrr!
The cover drew me in and three things convinced me to read this book:
1. I love Robert Jackson Bennett as an author;
2. It is a Subterranean Press book and they do great work; and
3. Who doesn't like to read about haunted motels?
This novella tells the story of two brothers who decide to go into business by renovating an old motel in West Texas. Their past was dysfunctional to say the least and they are trying to get a little bit ahead for once by catering to the workers of the fracking industry. However the motel has an unsavory familial past which bleeds into the brothers' present.
This is an atmospheric read where the graphic elements of the story are not the focus and happen off the page and yet the horror is always present. The blending of psychological and paranormal elements is so well done and balanced. For such a short story, it packs an both an emotional and philosophical punch about generational abuse, the effects of trauma, society's reactions to violence, sibling relationships, and class privilege.
The story is unsettling, sad, disturbing, and yet ends on a hopeful note. I feel that this novella highlights the author's skills. It is a book where the subject matter wasn't quite what I was expecting and yet I ended up being fascinated by how it turned out. That ending was so bittersweet.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Subterranean Press!
Side note: This novella reminds me of how much I need to visit his backlog. Arrr!
March 28, 2022
Stars: 3 out of 5.
This is a hard novella to review. It's short, coming shy of 100 pages, but is sure packs a wallop when it comes to content. I think my problem is precisely with the content - senseless violence against women and children is a trigger for me.
Other than that, I loved how the author can create the atmosphere of West Texas with just a few words and make you feel the desolation of the landscape and the bleakness of everyday lives of those who live there. Having traveled through that region, I can say that the description is spot on.
The main protagonist is also fleshed out pretty well, so it was easy to empathize and root for him at the end.
Unfortunately, that is not the case for his older brother Bear. I'd say that we see too little of what makes him tick as a person and how he really is before the events of the book to fully realize the changes that happen to him during the story. This is a shame, because if we had two likeable characters to root for, watching them react differently when exposed to the same circumstances and same nefarious influence would have been a lot more impactful, I think.
It does portray the horrid "boys will be boys" mentality very well, though. Where women are just objects useful only to satisfy the desires of men. Discarded when they cannot or will not accomplish that.
As it stands, I liked this story enough to finish it, but not enough to have a lasting memory of it. It was okay enough to spend a lazy afternoon with, but I have read books by this author had had been a lot more impactful.
PS: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a hard novella to review. It's short, coming shy of 100 pages, but is sure packs a wallop when it comes to content. I think my problem is precisely with the content - senseless violence against women and children is a trigger for me.
Other than that, I loved how the author can create the atmosphere of West Texas with just a few words and make you feel the desolation of the landscape and the bleakness of everyday lives of those who live there. Having traveled through that region, I can say that the description is spot on.
The main protagonist is also fleshed out pretty well, so it was easy to empathize and root for him at the end.
Unfortunately, that is not the case for his older brother Bear. I'd say that we see too little of what makes him tick as a person and how he really is before the events of the book to fully realize the changes that happen to him during the story. This is a shame, because if we had two likeable characters to root for, watching them react differently when exposed to the same circumstances and same nefarious influence would have been a lot more impactful, I think.
It does portray the horrid "boys will be boys" mentality very well, though. Where women are just objects useful only to satisfy the desires of men. Discarded when they cannot or will not accomplish that.
As it stands, I liked this story enough to finish it, but not enough to have a lasting memory of it. It was okay enough to spend a lazy afternoon with, but I have read books by this author had had been a lot more impactful.
PS: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 22, 2020
Two dysfunctional Pugh brothers lives collide over the possibility of finally achieving a modicum of success. "Bear" Pugh, the older struggles with addiction ... the younger Pugh is incomplete... he finds himself with a job, home and even a wife and young child ... none of which he can seem to love and care for. He jumps at a chance for success and possibly wealth when summoned by "Bear" with a scheme to renovate an abandoned motel in the small town of Coahora, in the desolate area of west Texas, which appears engulfed in the booming fracking industry. Both are fleeing a traumatic childhood of abuse and neglect.
This novella is nothing like Bennett's previous engrossing fantasies of the Fountryside series .. but, yet he succeeds in spinning a dark tale with intertwined supernatural elements with prose evocative and fluid.
Voices and images emerge as the brothers toil in the dust, grime and heat of west Texas, as the brothers labor to renovate this seedy monstrosity into a presentable place of commerce. The ethereal images are suggestive of past ill deeds ... loathsome and depraved. ... and most likely arising from the perversions of their distant ancestor, Corbin Pugh. We can only see the downward spiral of psychological torture and oncoming possession through the eyes of the younger Pugh ... but can guess at the toll this is taking on both brothers. Spectral raucous parties remain just out of physical awareness ... but are replete with loud music and perverse dialogue.
Bennett successfully explores the psychological ramifications of a childhood trashed with abuse and neglect and the ultimate absence of a blueprint necessary to succeed and prosper in the everyday world.
Thanks to NetGalley and Subterranean Press ( @SubPress ) for supplying an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. Publication Date: August 31, 2020. ( at. readers remains.com )
This novella is nothing like Bennett's previous engrossing fantasies of the Fountryside series .. but, yet he succeeds in spinning a dark tale with intertwined supernatural elements with prose evocative and fluid.
Voices and images emerge as the brothers toil in the dust, grime and heat of west Texas, as the brothers labor to renovate this seedy monstrosity into a presentable place of commerce. The ethereal images are suggestive of past ill deeds ... loathsome and depraved. ... and most likely arising from the perversions of their distant ancestor, Corbin Pugh. We can only see the downward spiral of psychological torture and oncoming possession through the eyes of the younger Pugh ... but can guess at the toll this is taking on both brothers. Spectral raucous parties remain just out of physical awareness ... but are replete with loud music and perverse dialogue.
Bennett successfully explores the psychological ramifications of a childhood trashed with abuse and neglect and the ultimate absence of a blueprint necessary to succeed and prosper in the everyday world.
Thanks to NetGalley and Subterranean Press ( @SubPress ) for supplying an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. Publication Date: August 31, 2020. ( at. readers remains.com )
May 22, 2020
I was given access to this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. #IntheShadowsofMen #NetGalley. I was interested in this book because I have enjoyed both the Foundryside novel by Robert Jackson Bennett and a short dystopian novel called Vigilance that, in an entertaining way, had important social commentary on the culture of gun violence. This novella was set in west Texas, in an area that is booming from oil fracking. It is about two brothers and the changes that occur as they renovate a motel as part of restarting their lives. Even though I know Bennett’s SciFi/Fantasy work, this feels very much of this world, though there are mystical elements in the vein of Stephen King. I was reminded of Stephen King quite a bit while reading this and trying to come up with the types of fans I would recommend read this novella. It is a short book and quick read that will give you a feeling of creepiness, since it is based in this world.
Without spoiling it, there are secrets that come unlocked that set in motion events that are very disturbing. The fact that I feel the disturbance so strongly speaks to the author’s skill, yet I do feel super sensitive readers may want to be careful here. Nothing is described in graphic detail at least. This book doesn’t have the same abundance of humor as Vigilance but I think it is meant to be more serious, and I think the author means it as another allegory of the split in current in America, explored through the brothers and their ultimate fates. I also could be reading too much into that, given how Vigilance had those themes and I might be making assumptions as to what the author is interested in here.
So, who would I recommend this to? Most obviously, fans of horror/nostalgia mixes who love Stephen King will absolutely dig this novella. Even though the fantastical element isn’t omnipresent here, people who like urban fantasy should also check this out. Given the setting and dark subject matter, I think people who normally would read Cormac McCarthy could give this a try, and hopefully discover a new author to add to their rotation. This was a hard book to rate as I really liked it, yet it was also my least favorite of the RJB books I have read. But it was still really good and I probably will like it even more as I think about it. Giving it 4.5 stars but will rate it as a 4 in the official rankings. Highly recommend.
Without spoiling it, there are secrets that come unlocked that set in motion events that are very disturbing. The fact that I feel the disturbance so strongly speaks to the author’s skill, yet I do feel super sensitive readers may want to be careful here. Nothing is described in graphic detail at least. This book doesn’t have the same abundance of humor as Vigilance but I think it is meant to be more serious, and I think the author means it as another allegory of the split in current in America, explored through the brothers and their ultimate fates. I also could be reading too much into that, given how Vigilance had those themes and I might be making assumptions as to what the author is interested in here.
So, who would I recommend this to? Most obviously, fans of horror/nostalgia mixes who love Stephen King will absolutely dig this novella. Even though the fantastical element isn’t omnipresent here, people who like urban fantasy should also check this out. Given the setting and dark subject matter, I think people who normally would read Cormac McCarthy could give this a try, and hopefully discover a new author to add to their rotation. This was a hard book to rate as I really liked it, yet it was also my least favorite of the RJB books I have read. But it was still really good and I probably will like it even more as I think about it. Giving it 4.5 stars but will rate it as a 4 in the official rankings. Highly recommend.
May 5, 2025
A predictable crime, but an unnerving atmosphere, with an amiably haunted lead & toes dipped into the yesteryear nostalgia of roadside America, makes for a gripping read in the experienced hands of Robert Jackson Bennett (even if you might struggle to find the book on any of his bibliographies).
The book’s dusty Texas roads leading to fracking sites & dilapidated motels in need of a fixing, lulled me at first into expecting something of a cozy fulfillment of a yearning I didn't know I had for this kind of a slow, somewhat nostalgic book, the narrator's voice as grave as the men he’s narrating for; that is, until the novella took a sharp turn into the kind of crime that never gets old, and yet never stops bothering.
It's gender again on the line, and rough quiet men exploiting women on the badly-lit side of the endless dark road on the menu tonight, and the book came just close enough to almost make me regret opening it in the first place, in the lookout for something less disturbing (oh, the plans of mice and men and the readers who don't check out synopses beforehand); but the tingling desire to unearth the little mysteries that remained even after one could have a pretty good guess at the big obvious one kept me wrapt, and threatened to postpone my bedtime into another sleep-deprived night (as if having a baby wasn't enough).
Because the thing is it's not just about the mystery of what happened here, but how what happened here moves through time and memory, and how past crimes aren't necessarily gone, especially when memory remains, despite all attempts to suppress it; and how the crime keeps repeating while there are still people intent on keeping it hidden away, lest their fingers be righteously burned.
So, a predictable crime that’s thrilling despite its predictability; a rough yet sensitive lead looking to escape his past trauma while trying to handle that of others (and who you'll probably slowly fall for); and a determined judgement of the kind of gendered crime that gets brushed under the carpet all too easily when wealthy and powerful men are involved, hell - any men are involved, the glaring eye affixed to the yesteryear of America repeating evermore.
And if any of us think it's just the place half the world loves to hate we need to worry about, boy are we wrong; and the hammer of unfairness keeps on falling, as woman by woman is brushed aside (what a coincidence, having also just finished Wynn-Williams’s Careless People).
Which may be a criticism of the novella as even though its main focus is on tackling crimes against women, it is still led primarily by men, starring as both the villains and the heroes in stories with women as little but victims. It didn't really take away from the grip the story had on me, but upon reflection I see the gendered limits reaching beyond the crime right into who gets to solve it, and whose emotions matter when it comes to reacting to it.
But the shadows of violent men reach over both women and other men, hurting both, hurting women especially, but young boys too, turning them in turn into suffering men, violent men, either broken by all that toxic masculinity promised and failed to deliver, or who were just broken, piece by piece. The lead character is of the last kind, a man of few words because the words were beaten out of him, but still holding on to a certain kindness deep within his heart; while his brother a man from whom even kindness seems to have been beaten out of. It's the men standing in shadows of other men, dirty broken men growing up to break other men; and the pain repeats, and the women suffer, and “boys will be boys”, to an unfortunate degree, with the inherent misogyny in it allowing for such foolishness and violence, damning one after another to a life of pain, or none at all; and the novella serving as a merciless takedown, but also a message of change - how a boy grown up into a broken man can still remain a human being by now making the right choices and understanding that true masculinity isn’t to hover over somebody weaker, and true bravery isn’t your fist in their face, but standing up to yourself, seeing your full face, warts and all, and then doing the right thing. Just too bad a woman’s pain is there only for men to flourish.
And yet, the story couldn’t help but veer close to my heart, that once belonged to a boy bullied by others, a man looking inwards and alone. In another life, I could have come dangerously close to what we now call incels; and as a man the novella speaks to me of what violence a man can do giving in to what is constantly whispering to us from the movie screens and adventure tales where the male hero always gets the girl and humiliates his opponents, letting us think we’ll be loved and strong within that which awaits us sooner or later; but reality is more complex, and for love you must work, and nothing promised is real until it becomes real, and everything can be lost, and to be a mature adult is to be vulnerable and social and not like the dumb, weak fantasies a man who never took the lesson carries.
Oh, and the book’s also a somewhat effective ghost story, so there goes whatever remained of my sleep.
The book’s dusty Texas roads leading to fracking sites & dilapidated motels in need of a fixing, lulled me at first into expecting something of a cozy fulfillment of a yearning I didn't know I had for this kind of a slow, somewhat nostalgic book, the narrator's voice as grave as the men he’s narrating for; that is, until the novella took a sharp turn into the kind of crime that never gets old, and yet never stops bothering.
It's gender again on the line, and rough quiet men exploiting women on the badly-lit side of the endless dark road on the menu tonight, and the book came just close enough to almost make me regret opening it in the first place, in the lookout for something less disturbing (oh, the plans of mice and men and the readers who don't check out synopses beforehand); but the tingling desire to unearth the little mysteries that remained even after one could have a pretty good guess at the big obvious one kept me wrapt, and threatened to postpone my bedtime into another sleep-deprived night (as if having a baby wasn't enough).
Because the thing is it's not just about the mystery of what happened here, but how what happened here moves through time and memory, and how past crimes aren't necessarily gone, especially when memory remains, despite all attempts to suppress it; and how the crime keeps repeating while there are still people intent on keeping it hidden away, lest their fingers be righteously burned.
So, a predictable crime that’s thrilling despite its predictability; a rough yet sensitive lead looking to escape his past trauma while trying to handle that of others (and who you'll probably slowly fall for); and a determined judgement of the kind of gendered crime that gets brushed under the carpet all too easily when wealthy and powerful men are involved, hell - any men are involved, the glaring eye affixed to the yesteryear of America repeating evermore.
And if any of us think it's just the place half the world loves to hate we need to worry about, boy are we wrong; and the hammer of unfairness keeps on falling, as woman by woman is brushed aside (what a coincidence, having also just finished Wynn-Williams’s Careless People).
Which may be a criticism of the novella as even though its main focus is on tackling crimes against women, it is still led primarily by men, starring as both the villains and the heroes in stories with women as little but victims. It didn't really take away from the grip the story had on me, but upon reflection I see the gendered limits reaching beyond the crime right into who gets to solve it, and whose emotions matter when it comes to reacting to it.
But the shadows of violent men reach over both women and other men, hurting both, hurting women especially, but young boys too, turning them in turn into suffering men, violent men, either broken by all that toxic masculinity promised and failed to deliver, or who were just broken, piece by piece. The lead character is of the last kind, a man of few words because the words were beaten out of him, but still holding on to a certain kindness deep within his heart; while his brother a man from whom even kindness seems to have been beaten out of. It's the men standing in shadows of other men, dirty broken men growing up to break other men; and the pain repeats, and the women suffer, and “boys will be boys”, to an unfortunate degree, with the inherent misogyny in it allowing for such foolishness and violence, damning one after another to a life of pain, or none at all; and the novella serving as a merciless takedown, but also a message of change - how a boy grown up into a broken man can still remain a human being by now making the right choices and understanding that true masculinity isn’t to hover over somebody weaker, and true bravery isn’t your fist in their face, but standing up to yourself, seeing your full face, warts and all, and then doing the right thing. Just too bad a woman’s pain is there only for men to flourish.
And yet, the story couldn’t help but veer close to my heart, that once belonged to a boy bullied by others, a man looking inwards and alone. In another life, I could have come dangerously close to what we now call incels; and as a man the novella speaks to me of what violence a man can do giving in to what is constantly whispering to us from the movie screens and adventure tales where the male hero always gets the girl and humiliates his opponents, letting us think we’ll be loved and strong within that which awaits us sooner or later; but reality is more complex, and for love you must work, and nothing promised is real until it becomes real, and everything can be lost, and to be a mature adult is to be vulnerable and social and not like the dumb, weak fantasies a man who never took the lesson carries.
Oh, and the book’s also a somewhat effective ghost story, so there goes whatever remained of my sleep.
May 20, 2022
I am not a reader of horror so I went into In the Shadows of Men a newbie, and this was certainly a horrific read. It follows two damaged brothers who attempt to fix up an old rundown motel, but what they find in its rooms tell of a more terrifying history and that the motel may not be as abandoned as it seems. From the opening pages of this supernatural horror novella, Robert Jackson Bennett somehow wrote atmosphere that was immediately oppressive and tense. The book was heart-pounding and suspenseful and carries a surprising level of depth for such a short novella. In the Shadows of Men certainly packs a punch, and the horror is delivered exquisitely and with care so the message is not lost.
August 19, 2021
Dark as shit but extremely well-written.
October 21, 2020
There is a lot I liked about this, the pacing and setting were really solid. It's well written and I'd definitely read more from the author. The creepy factor worked better in the first half than the second, but that is majority of horror. The one thing that brought it down for me is that I personally am not all that interested in stories about men like our protagonist. I get that he has to start out sucking to hopefully grow and change, but he sucked a lot at the beginning (when his wife leaves he seems to care absolutely zero about her or his baby and then never contacts them for weeks??? wtf) and I don't believe that even something like what he goes through here would lead to actual growing and changing. So this is really just me having a bone to pick with a certain type of terrible man and this book got caught in the crossfire.
November 23, 2020
"TO TRAVEL ACROSS WEST Texas at night is to pass through bursts of bright and seas of shadow, these sudden punctuations of towns clinging to the highways as they slash through the scrub. It is a place of tremendous opposites and inverses. An aging, unlit asphalt road will suddenly flow into a smooth, cement highway, fresh and new and lit up white. Then you will pass through countless tiny villages that are seemingly abandoned, all crumbling grain silos and mid-century town squares with the shopfronts boarded up, only to find the city at the next intersection is a booming hive, its gas stations fresh and new and crowded with muddy men in square-toed boots.
To travel through west Texas is to travel through a strikingly bipolar place, an empty land that has somehow gone mad overnight, (...)"
Robert Jackson Bennett is back in Texas, with an unforgettable tale of evil ghosts, abused persons and a measure of redemption, wonderfully written in a mesmerizingly evocative style. Everything about the production of this is brilliant: Subterranean is at its best (I got copy nº36 of the numbered signed edition) and the reading of the text by A. T. Chandler in the audiobook is unbelievable. In short: Wow.
To travel through west Texas is to travel through a strikingly bipolar place, an empty land that has somehow gone mad overnight, (...)"
Robert Jackson Bennett is back in Texas, with an unforgettable tale of evil ghosts, abused persons and a measure of redemption, wonderfully written in a mesmerizingly evocative style. Everything about the production of this is brilliant: Subterranean is at its best (I got copy nº36 of the numbered signed edition) and the reading of the text by A. T. Chandler in the audiobook is unbelievable. In short: Wow.
September 10, 2020
3.5 / 5 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com...
In the desolate wastes of West Texas, In the Shadows of Men finds two brothers down on their luck, looking to cash in on the oil boom. To do this they need to renovate the old Moon and Stars Motel, sold to them by a cousin who wanted nothing to do with the place. As the younger Pugh and his brother, Bear wade into the wreck, they find its dusty halls and empty rooms strangely comforting, at least at first. But after a while, little Pugh begins to notice a disquiet about the place. Apparitions haunt his dreams; a looming man in white, young Mexican women, and an almost palpable feeling of lust and desire. Soon these thoughts begin to infect more than just his dreams—and that’s when things get stranger still.
The brothers find a hatch in one of the rooms: a steel door padlocked from the outside. As neither can discern the combination lock, they try to forget about it and move on. But once unearthed, it proves to be a mystery that just won’t die. Especially when the local sheriff comes by, teasing them with information on the history of the place and its owner—their great-uncle—Corbin Pugh.
Their own father was a devil of a man, but supposedly his uncle was something else entirely. What kind of man was Corbin Pugh, and what was the secret he was hiding? And how badly do the brothers want to find the truth, when it means they can never unlearn it?
My first question is what kind of person would think that moving to Texas would solve all their problems?
Well as they’re both from Texas, I guess this point is moot. West Texas is far removed from Houston, which the younger Pugh has just left. The story takes place in a small, lonely town, a suitable setting for just such a ghost story. And while little Pugh isn’t a terrible narrator, he’s not not the best lead, either. In fact, as neither brother is a conversationalist, the story often skips ahead days or weeks at a time, even after unearthing some new piece of the puzzle. While he’s pegged as the less inquisitive of the two, Bear seems to be more interested in solving the puzzle than his brother, who typically finds something curious and then goes and doesn’t think about it until a week later. Who finds a golden puzzle piece only to wait until a week later to see where it might fit?
Though the stoicism of the narrator works against the story, I felt it also prolonged the mystery in a way, which helped the atmosphere surrounding it. There was a greater sense of anticipation, a bigger building of tension. Though while the build was more enjoyable, I would’ve liked it to’ve been longer, or more intricate. Also, the conclusion itself was slightly underwhelming. So, yes, it hurt in some ways, but helped in others. All in all, the story evened out. Definitely a good read—though it didn’t leave much of a lasting impression.
On an unrelated note: I really hate when we don’t learn the narrator’s name. We learn his brother’s name, his uncle’s, his wife’s and daughter’s—but not his own. Annoying. And harder to write a completely coherent review.
TL;DR
In the Shadows of Men was an entertaining enough read, considering a sped through it in less than a day. It’s the mystery, if nothing else, that drove me through it, as neither the story nor the premise are particularly original or interesting enough to carry all the weight. But a dark tale, full of supernatural elements, a mystery that needs solving, and a man whose life is in desperate need of an escape—all combine to make this an enjoyable (at least in some ways) horror-thriller. It’s a good read, just don’t expect it to leave much of a lasting impression.
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com...
In the desolate wastes of West Texas, In the Shadows of Men finds two brothers down on their luck, looking to cash in on the oil boom. To do this they need to renovate the old Moon and Stars Motel, sold to them by a cousin who wanted nothing to do with the place. As the younger Pugh and his brother, Bear wade into the wreck, they find its dusty halls and empty rooms strangely comforting, at least at first. But after a while, little Pugh begins to notice a disquiet about the place. Apparitions haunt his dreams; a looming man in white, young Mexican women, and an almost palpable feeling of lust and desire. Soon these thoughts begin to infect more than just his dreams—and that’s when things get stranger still.
The brothers find a hatch in one of the rooms: a steel door padlocked from the outside. As neither can discern the combination lock, they try to forget about it and move on. But once unearthed, it proves to be a mystery that just won’t die. Especially when the local sheriff comes by, teasing them with information on the history of the place and its owner—their great-uncle—Corbin Pugh.
Their own father was a devil of a man, but supposedly his uncle was something else entirely. What kind of man was Corbin Pugh, and what was the secret he was hiding? And how badly do the brothers want to find the truth, when it means they can never unlearn it?
My first question is what kind of person would think that moving to Texas would solve all their problems?
Well as they’re both from Texas, I guess this point is moot. West Texas is far removed from Houston, which the younger Pugh has just left. The story takes place in a small, lonely town, a suitable setting for just such a ghost story. And while little Pugh isn’t a terrible narrator, he’s not not the best lead, either. In fact, as neither brother is a conversationalist, the story often skips ahead days or weeks at a time, even after unearthing some new piece of the puzzle. While he’s pegged as the less inquisitive of the two, Bear seems to be more interested in solving the puzzle than his brother, who typically finds something curious and then goes and doesn’t think about it until a week later. Who finds a golden puzzle piece only to wait until a week later to see where it might fit?
Though the stoicism of the narrator works against the story, I felt it also prolonged the mystery in a way, which helped the atmosphere surrounding it. There was a greater sense of anticipation, a bigger building of tension. Though while the build was more enjoyable, I would’ve liked it to’ve been longer, or more intricate. Also, the conclusion itself was slightly underwhelming. So, yes, it hurt in some ways, but helped in others. All in all, the story evened out. Definitely a good read—though it didn’t leave much of a lasting impression.
On an unrelated note: I really hate when we don’t learn the narrator’s name. We learn his brother’s name, his uncle’s, his wife’s and daughter’s—but not his own. Annoying. And harder to write a completely coherent review.
TL;DR
In the Shadows of Men was an entertaining enough read, considering a sped through it in less than a day. It’s the mystery, if nothing else, that drove me through it, as neither the story nor the premise are particularly original or interesting enough to carry all the weight. But a dark tale, full of supernatural elements, a mystery that needs solving, and a man whose life is in desperate need of an escape—all combine to make this an enjoyable (at least in some ways) horror-thriller. It’s a good read, just don’t expect it to leave much of a lasting impression.
August 19, 2020
This book was a beautifully dark and horrific tale. It felt like returning to Bennett's earlier "Troupe" novel, which I loved. Dark, gritty, violent, but some earnest and true grappling with core elements of good and evil. There is a supernatural element of a place legitimately haunted by evil, and it was a slow and terrifying creep of a read.
What makes a man; how does he grow to fill his own life when his father and his father's father took it away through violence and anger? Is he doomed to repeat atrocities of his forebears, or can he hope to find a small bit of light through the cracks in his tumbled down life? These are the true issues of this story, though it is told through truly creepy, terrifying means. Descriptions of sexual violence are found in the book, but how Bennett ultimately treats this topic is with the weight it deserves.
This book was haunting, scary, and dark, and that Robert Jackson Bennett wrote so beautifully of such horrors is a testament to his true talent as an author. His descriptions evoke a desolate, gritty, dirt-filled place, full of men desperate to make it in this life. It feels like a place on the outer edges of society, wreaking of desperation, where little is monitored, and bars are filled with rough, grime-covered day laborers who always end up in a brawl.
If you have enjoyed his canon, from "Mr. Shivers" and "The Troupe" to "American Elsewhere" and his growing fantasy works, such as the "Divine Cities" and "Foundryside" series, you are sure to appreciate this dark, powerful work.
What makes a man; how does he grow to fill his own life when his father and his father's father took it away through violence and anger? Is he doomed to repeat atrocities of his forebears, or can he hope to find a small bit of light through the cracks in his tumbled down life? These are the true issues of this story, though it is told through truly creepy, terrifying means. Descriptions of sexual violence are found in the book, but how Bennett ultimately treats this topic is with the weight it deserves.
This book was haunting, scary, and dark, and that Robert Jackson Bennett wrote so beautifully of such horrors is a testament to his true talent as an author. His descriptions evoke a desolate, gritty, dirt-filled place, full of men desperate to make it in this life. It feels like a place on the outer edges of society, wreaking of desperation, where little is monitored, and bars are filled with rough, grime-covered day laborers who always end up in a brawl.
If you have enjoyed his canon, from "Mr. Shivers" and "The Troupe" to "American Elsewhere" and his growing fantasy works, such as the "Divine Cities" and "Foundryside" series, you are sure to appreciate this dark, powerful work.
March 21, 2024
Gripping story that uses supernatural elements while unwinding family trauma and the lasting shadow the men in our lives cast over us.
November 5, 2020
Lovely atmospheric horror from my man RJB.
Two brothers buy and renovate an old motel. Said motel has a disturbing past, much like the brothers themselves. Creepy shenanigans ensue.
This book solidified my desire to *never* drive around Texas at night. Can't wait to reread it.
Two brothers buy and renovate an old motel. Said motel has a disturbing past, much like the brothers themselves. Creepy shenanigans ensue.
This book solidified my desire to *never* drive around Texas at night. Can't wait to reread it.
August 31, 2020
I came into this novella with high expectations and did not leave disappointed. In the Shadows of Men is an excellent horror story that is both thematically compelling and deeply rooted in the horrors of reality.
At its most basic level, this is the story of two brothers who are attempting to fix up an old motel in the Texas oil flats. As the repairs continue, the brothers encounter increasingly strange phenomena around the motel. It may be a standard horror premise, but this novella holds more than meets the eye.
This is that rare breed of SFF/horror story that delivers both an interesting plot and gripping ideas. The prose is meaningful without being needlessly extravagant; not a word feels out of place.
The events at the center of the story are suspenseful, disturbing, and are concluded very satisfyingly. In a short 120 pages, this story examines the cyclical nature of abuse and the shifting expectations of masculinity (including some of its more destructive components).
Overall I'd recommend this to almost any horror fan!
At its most basic level, this is the story of two brothers who are attempting to fix up an old motel in the Texas oil flats. As the repairs continue, the brothers encounter increasingly strange phenomena around the motel. It may be a standard horror premise, but this novella holds more than meets the eye.
This is that rare breed of SFF/horror story that delivers both an interesting plot and gripping ideas. The prose is meaningful without being needlessly extravagant; not a word feels out of place.
The events at the center of the story are suspenseful, disturbing, and are concluded very satisfyingly. In a short 120 pages, this story examines the cyclical nature of abuse and the shifting expectations of masculinity (including some of its more destructive components).
Overall I'd recommend this to almost any horror fan!
June 9, 2021
An utterly dark novel without a single flash of hope or happiness, characters that feel flat and lifeless, and a cliched setting with a predictable plot and ending. You could subtitle this novella, " Chekov's Gun Store". A horror novel in more than one sense, it was OK but I wouldn't read it again.
June 16, 2024
i usually hate the phrase but here it's incredibly apt, bennett you feminist king. also, only someone from texas could truly capture the essence of it, the desolate aloneness of it, the awful secrets and history of it, the hope for something better, and the resolve to move forward and be better.
shoutout to the woodlands and dfw mentions.
bennett knows how to create an atmosphere, and this one is surely creepy af. the setting actually reminds me so much of In the Path of Falling Objects or just andrew smith's books in general. everything was so unsettling and you know something is wrong from the first page.
choosing the main character's voice as it is, was so genius, too. we don't even know his name. but maybe that doesn't matter. he's a vehicle to impose a sense of familiarity or understanding. maybe we can put ourselves in his shoes. someone who wanted more in life, and has suddenly found that domesticity didn't quite work out, generational rage and toxic masculinity is extremely prevalent, and the awful things that men can do that other men turn a blind eye towards happens everywhere and in every time.
now i'm always wary of male authors handling such topics as these. but bennett did it so carefully. he even manages to discuss "boys will be boys" as that excuse: the perpetrators weren't boys, they were men and they were grown adults with no excuse. he doesn't shy away from the pain of the women nor does he overdo it in its description. it's horror because it's all to familiar. it's horror because it's reflected so clearly in reality. it's horror because it happens all the time and no one finds out about it.
there's a dilemma, too, about generational trauma. is bear the way he is because he grew up in that environment? was it nature or nurture? is our main character spared because he's a better person or simply because he grew up outside of that? can men escape the actions and brutality of their fathers? is that an excuse for the atrocities they commit? there's a scene in the show brooklyn 99 where a drug addict kills a man. and the detective is like "addiction is genetic and i would be sympathetic if you hadn't killed a guy." could i understand how bear grew up and suffered what he did? i could. but i won't excuse his actions or remove the burden of responsibility from him. what he did was awful and there's no excuse for that.
i saw someone say there was no hope or happiness in this book. i think that's completely wrong, especially that last couple of passages. our main character feels himself what feels like a hole within, ripped out. and that violent men begets violent men if left unchecked. what a perfect way to put the setting in texas then, where the dichotomy of people is so apparent. who is going to make sure these young boys grow up without "boys will be boys" excuses? who is going to tell them that talking about their emotions isn't weak or unimportant? how has society failed generations of men and thus every single woman who become nothing more than objects or victims? our main character understands this and comes to realize what he has to do, even if it's in the most heart-breaking way. he knows he has no template or model for who he should be. he knows all the awful things men have done, are doing, and are continuing to do. but he knows he needs to change and he will ask. that's the first step: to ask for help and be willing to learn.
He has no one esle. There is no one else, for those who grew up in the shadows of such men.
shoutout to the woodlands and dfw mentions.
bennett knows how to create an atmosphere, and this one is surely creepy af. the setting actually reminds me so much of In the Path of Falling Objects or just andrew smith's books in general. everything was so unsettling and you know something is wrong from the first page.
choosing the main character's voice as it is, was so genius, too. we don't even know his name. but maybe that doesn't matter. he's a vehicle to impose a sense of familiarity or understanding. maybe we can put ourselves in his shoes. someone who wanted more in life, and has suddenly found that domesticity didn't quite work out, generational rage and toxic masculinity is extremely prevalent, and the awful things that men can do that other men turn a blind eye towards happens everywhere and in every time.
now i'm always wary of male authors handling such topics as these. but bennett did it so carefully. he even manages to discuss "boys will be boys" as that excuse: the perpetrators weren't boys, they were men and they were grown adults with no excuse. he doesn't shy away from the pain of the women nor does he overdo it in its description. it's horror because it's all to familiar. it's horror because it's reflected so clearly in reality. it's horror because it happens all the time and no one finds out about it.
there's a dilemma, too, about generational trauma. is bear the way he is because he grew up in that environment? was it nature or nurture? is our main character spared because he's a better person or simply because he grew up outside of that? can men escape the actions and brutality of their fathers? is that an excuse for the atrocities they commit? there's a scene in the show brooklyn 99 where a drug addict kills a man. and the detective is like "addiction is genetic and i would be sympathetic if you hadn't killed a guy." could i understand how bear grew up and suffered what he did? i could. but i won't excuse his actions or remove the burden of responsibility from him. what he did was awful and there's no excuse for that.
i saw someone say there was no hope or happiness in this book. i think that's completely wrong, especially that last couple of passages. our main character feels himself what feels like a hole within, ripped out. and that violent men begets violent men if left unchecked. what a perfect way to put the setting in texas then, where the dichotomy of people is so apparent. who is going to make sure these young boys grow up without "boys will be boys" excuses? who is going to tell them that talking about their emotions isn't weak or unimportant? how has society failed generations of men and thus every single woman who become nothing more than objects or victims? our main character understands this and comes to realize what he has to do, even if it's in the most heart-breaking way. he knows he has no template or model for who he should be. he knows all the awful things men have done, are doing, and are continuing to do. but he knows he needs to change and he will ask. that's the first step: to ask for help and be willing to learn.
He has no one esle. There is no one else, for those who grew up in the shadows of such men.
May 22, 2020
I was given access to this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. #IntheShadowsofMen #NetGalley. I was interested in this book because I have enjoyed both the Foundryside novel by Robert Jackson Bennett and a short dystopian novel called Vigilance that, in an entertaining way, had important social commentary on the culture of gun violence. This novella was set in west Texas, in an area that is booming from oil fracking. It is about two brothers and the changes that occur as they renovate a motel as part of restarting their lives. Even though I know Bennett’s SciFi/Fantasy work, this feels very much of this world, though there are mystical elements in the vein of Stephen King. I was reminded of Stephen King quite a bit while reading this and trying to come up with the types of fans I would recommend read this novella. It is a short book and quick read that will give you a feeling of creepiness, since it is based in this world.
Without spoiling it, there are secrets that come unlocked that set in motion events that are very disturbing. The fact that I feel the disturbance so strongly speaks to the author’s skill, yet I do feel super sensitive readers may want to be careful here. Nothing is described in graphic detail at least. This book doesn’t have the same abundance of humor as Vigilance but I think it is meant to be more serious, and I think the author means it as another allegory of the split in current in America, explored through the brothers and their ultimate fates. I also could be reading too much into that, given how Vigilance had those themes and I might be making assumptions as to what the author is interested in here.
So, who would I recommend this to? Most obviously, fans of horror/nostalgia mixes who love Stephen King will absolutely dig this novella. Even though the fantastical element isn’t omnipresent here, people who like urban fantasy should also check this out. Given the setting and dark subject matter, I think people who normally would read Cormac McCarthy could give this a try, and hopefully discover a new author to add to their rotation. This was a hard book to rate as I really liked it, yet it was also my least favorite of the RJB books I have read. But it was still really good and I probably will like it even more as I think about it. Giving it 4.5 stars but will rate it as a 4 in the official rankings. Highly recommend.
Without spoiling it, there are secrets that come unlocked that set in motion events that are very disturbing. The fact that I feel the disturbance so strongly speaks to the author’s skill, yet I do feel super sensitive readers may want to be careful here. Nothing is described in graphic detail at least. This book doesn’t have the same abundance of humor as Vigilance but I think it is meant to be more serious, and I think the author means it as another allegory of the split in current in America, explored through the brothers and their ultimate fates. I also could be reading too much into that, given how Vigilance had those themes and I might be making assumptions as to what the author is interested in here.
So, who would I recommend this to? Most obviously, fans of horror/nostalgia mixes who love Stephen King will absolutely dig this novella. Even though the fantastical element isn’t omnipresent here, people who like urban fantasy should also check this out. Given the setting and dark subject matter, I think people who normally would read Cormac McCarthy could give this a try, and hopefully discover a new author to add to their rotation. This was a hard book to rate as I really liked it, yet it was also my least favorite of the RJB books I have read. But it was still really good and I probably will like it even more as I think about it. Giving it 4.5 stars but will rate it as a 4 in the official rankings. Highly recommend.
July 23, 2020
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In the Shadows of Men by Robert Jackson Bennett is a novella taking place in a west Texas motel that is being renovated by two brothers, when strange things start to happen. Mr. Bennett is an award winning author, mostly known for his science-fiction and fantasy novels.
In a small, desolate town in west Texas, the Pugh brothers bought a motel with the intent of renovating it and making their fortune. Each brother has a history of tough luck, trauma, shame, abuse and of course a dysfunctional environment they grew up in.
Only that they haven’t yet realized how dysfunctional.
Slowly they start to discover that the motel, owned by a relative of theirs, has its own checkered and horrible history. But not only are they changing the motel, turns out the motel is changing them as well.
I have enjoyed Mr. Bennett’s Founders series and when I saw his name attached to another book I immediately picked it up. In the Shadows of Men by Robert Jackson Bennett did not disappoint, it is a tight novella telling a dark story with supernatural themes.
This is a very atmospheric story, everything from the old motel to the dusty Texas weather comes across in a clear and evocative manner. I’m not much for horror stories, but this one had me on edge, especially when the supernatural is suggested, not necessarily shown.
The Pough brothers think they are creating opportunity for themselves after their lives turned upside down by buy a motel that belonged to a distant relative. Each one is dealing with his own demons, while the motel, it seems, has plans of its own.
When I was about half way in the novella, I didn’t know if I was reading a supernatural story, or one about a man’s sanity spiraling down to oblivion. It turned out that this story is a bit of both, exploring the traumas of childhood and how it affects adults’ lives.
Even though I don’t enjoy horror or ghost stories, I enjoyed this novella very much, even though it is not something I would normally read. The author is good at what he does, writing, so I would imagine that the genre wouldn’t matter much.
In the Shadows of Men by Robert Jackson Bennett is a novella taking place in a west Texas motel that is being renovated by two brothers, when strange things start to happen. Mr. Bennett is an award winning author, mostly known for his science-fiction and fantasy novels.
In a small, desolate town in west Texas, the Pugh brothers bought a motel with the intent of renovating it and making their fortune. Each brother has a history of tough luck, trauma, shame, abuse and of course a dysfunctional environment they grew up in.
Only that they haven’t yet realized how dysfunctional.
Slowly they start to discover that the motel, owned by a relative of theirs, has its own checkered and horrible history. But not only are they changing the motel, turns out the motel is changing them as well.
I have enjoyed Mr. Bennett’s Founders series and when I saw his name attached to another book I immediately picked it up. In the Shadows of Men by Robert Jackson Bennett did not disappoint, it is a tight novella telling a dark story with supernatural themes.
This is a very atmospheric story, everything from the old motel to the dusty Texas weather comes across in a clear and evocative manner. I’m not much for horror stories, but this one had me on edge, especially when the supernatural is suggested, not necessarily shown.
The Pough brothers think they are creating opportunity for themselves after their lives turned upside down by buy a motel that belonged to a distant relative. Each one is dealing with his own demons, while the motel, it seems, has plans of its own.
When I was about half way in the novella, I didn’t know if I was reading a supernatural story, or one about a man’s sanity spiraling down to oblivion. It turned out that this story is a bit of both, exploring the traumas of childhood and how it affects adults’ lives.
Even though I don’t enjoy horror or ghost stories, I enjoyed this novella very much, even though it is not something I would normally read. The author is good at what he does, writing, so I would imagine that the genre wouldn’t matter much.
March 22, 2022
So, I liked the story. The themes are serious, disturbing, and important.
But one thing just really bothered me:
Told from the perspective of the main character.
So, the main character is an upper lower class/lower middle class blue collar worker; think someone who drives an F-150, has tools, with experience doing labor, installation, maybe even rigging, etc.
Someone like this from the South typically talks in a way that reflects that sort of life and experience. When the main character is engaging in dialogue, he basically comes off that way (though it could have been far more convincing than it was); but when the main character is narrating to himself and the reader, the language is way off the mark--it's stylistically inconsistent. Additionally, I kept stumbling over the narration because it annoyingly lacks contractions. No one talks this way, in their own head or to others. Even in the most academic of situations, in which one generally does not contract in formal writing, there is less of this than in the narration by the main character. The lack of contractions in the book made the reading so choppy.
I don't know if this is an editorial decision at Subterranean press or if this is typical of the author.
I'm still gonna' check out some of his other works; but if we're similarly contraction deficient, I'll just call it a day.
But one thing just really bothered me:
Told from the perspective of the main character.
So, the main character is an upper lower class/lower middle class blue collar worker; think someone who drives an F-150, has tools, with experience doing labor, installation, maybe even rigging, etc.
Someone like this from the South typically talks in a way that reflects that sort of life and experience. When the main character is engaging in dialogue, he basically comes off that way (though it could have been far more convincing than it was); but when the main character is narrating to himself and the reader, the language is way off the mark--it's stylistically inconsistent. Additionally, I kept stumbling over the narration because it annoyingly lacks contractions. No one talks this way, in their own head or to others. Even in the most academic of situations, in which one generally does not contract in formal writing, there is less of this than in the narration by the main character. The lack of contractions in the book made the reading so choppy.
I don't know if this is an editorial decision at Subterranean press or if this is typical of the author.
I'm still gonna' check out some of his other works; but if we're similarly contraction deficient, I'll just call it a day.
July 18, 2022
I received a digital ARC of this book from Netgalley.
It was a mistake for me to start reading this book at 10:30 at night. Really, I have no one but myself to blame. Robert Jackson Bennett is great at the art of creepy. Many of his books have a palpable sense of dread, a feeling that something terrible is going to happen, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.
Our unnamed narrator meets his older brother Bear at an abandoned hotel in west Texas. Bear has bought the place from a cousin and plans to fix it up enough to take advantage of the fracking boom. Bear sees the hotel as a last chance to get his hands on the American dream, a chance to finally get something back from the system that left him in a violent home even after his brother was removed and put in foster care. His brother is mostly floating aimlessly through life after his wife took their baby daughter and left. As the brothers work on renovating the hotel, they find a hidden trap door in one of the rooms. Since they don't know the combination of the hatch, Bear decides to leave it alone and not rent out that room. But if the brothers could ignore the secret door, they can't ignore the terrifying figure in white, or the ghostly cries of a woman calling for her baby in Spanish. Some bad things happened at the hotel. Some of them are still happening.
This is a very good horror novella. The atmosphere is dry and dark and lonely, weighted with a past that won't rest.
It was a mistake for me to start reading this book at 10:30 at night. Really, I have no one but myself to blame. Robert Jackson Bennett is great at the art of creepy. Many of his books have a palpable sense of dread, a feeling that something terrible is going to happen, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.
Our unnamed narrator meets his older brother Bear at an abandoned hotel in west Texas. Bear has bought the place from a cousin and plans to fix it up enough to take advantage of the fracking boom. Bear sees the hotel as a last chance to get his hands on the American dream, a chance to finally get something back from the system that left him in a violent home even after his brother was removed and put in foster care. His brother is mostly floating aimlessly through life after his wife took their baby daughter and left. As the brothers work on renovating the hotel, they find a hidden trap door in one of the rooms. Since they don't know the combination of the hatch, Bear decides to leave it alone and not rent out that room. But if the brothers could ignore the secret door, they can't ignore the terrifying figure in white, or the ghostly cries of a woman calling for her baby in Spanish. Some bad things happened at the hotel. Some of them are still happening.
This is a very good horror novella. The atmosphere is dry and dark and lonely, weighted with a past that won't rest.
May 19, 2020
In The Shadows of Men by Robert Jackson Bennett- This is a deep dark horror novella from the author of the Divine Cities and the Foundryside books. Two brothers, with a tortured past of abuse and shame, buy an old rundown motel once owned by their grand uncle, with the hopes of turning it in to a money-maker during the latest fracking boom in West Texas. But as they begin working to remodel the place, things start to get dark and cloudy. Voices in the night, ghostly white figures stalk the surroundings, and things their uncle left behind point to a stranger deadly purpose for the motel.
Let me say first I don't like horror and I especially don't enjoy ghost stories, but I was intrigued none the less because Robert Jackson Bennett is very good at what he does, and here, he does not disappoint. The narration, from one of the brothers, is full of the psychological trauma that he and his brother go through daily even without the dreary strange goings-on of the motel. Thanks to Subterranean Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
Let me say first I don't like horror and I especially don't enjoy ghost stories, but I was intrigued none the less because Robert Jackson Bennett is very good at what he does, and here, he does not disappoint. The narration, from one of the brothers, is full of the psychological trauma that he and his brother go through daily even without the dreary strange goings-on of the motel. Thanks to Subterranean Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
August 30, 2020
It's nice to see Robert Jackson Bennet writing horror again, and contemporary horror at that. While "In The Shadows Of Men" doesn't tap into the zeitgeist as unnervingly as his last novella (The future he describes in "Vigilance," published in 2019, has only become more frightening in the interim), it does deal forthrightly with some of the more disturbing, secretive thoughts and behavior of male psychology. Bennet doesn't pull any punches here, and the result is a ghost story where the threat of violence is arguably more terrifying than the violence itself.
But even the best ghost story can only be scary three-fourths of the way through. Ghosts are inherently less spooky once they get a motive. However, even after the supernatural threat deflates, Bennet still captures the eeriness of driving through long stretches of American night, passing isolated oases of light, and that uncanny nagging thought that you could get murdered out there and no one would ever know. That will linger with the reader even if the ghosts don't.
But even the best ghost story can only be scary three-fourths of the way through. Ghosts are inherently less spooky once they get a motive. However, even after the supernatural threat deflates, Bennet still captures the eeriness of driving through long stretches of American night, passing isolated oases of light, and that uncanny nagging thought that you could get murdered out there and no one would ever know. That will linger with the reader even if the ghosts don't.
December 30, 2021
Robert Jackson Bennett plants his whole foot in this novella - this is a small package that carries a lot, lot, lot of weight. There's a very cinematic quality to it? There's not much writing that spools out like this; it's very tangible, and economic, and clear in its vision and Bennett's ability to pick the very right word makes me JEALOUS. He is working in a very particular area of American Southern (or rather Texan) Gothic ghost story (with a tinge of horror) and I don't think there's much to be improved upon in his take and its exploration of manhood/manifest destiny. Fans of his Divine Cities series or of Foundryside may sort of bounce off this (it's without a scrap of light or humor) but it's very much in the vein of his earlier work like Mr. Shivers or American Elsewhere. A strong recommend but with a trigger warning for abuse, sexual violence, VAW, and drug addiction; it's not overly graphic but it's there.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 27, 2020
In the Shadows of Men by Robert Jackson Bennett is VERY different from his other novels. With it, however, he confirms his status among my coveted must-read list. I don’t even like short stories, but I thoroughly enjoyed this spooky one.
At 120 pages in length, Mr. Bennett was able to tell a full story along with clearly establishing the setting, developing the main character, and creating the ghostly element. His story has a tone and mood to it as well. Most authors struggle with creating this much in 320 pages, let alone half that!
In the Shadows of Men is a fabulous short story that is at its heart a play on the age-old question of nature versus nurture. Surprisingly complex for being so short, it also touches on the idea of the sins of one generation passing onto the next generation. If Mr. Bennett’s previous novels scared you away because of their strong science fiction/fantasy elements, In the Shadows of Men is your chance to check out this amazing author.
October 25, 2020
This was really good. Bennett is a true writer as well as a storyteller. This book tells the story of two brothers who inherit/buy a motel in West Texas with the goal of fixing it up and making money while there's money to be made during the current oil boom. The motel has a dark history, one that is still bleeding into the present. This book had some truly creepy moments and it usually takes quite a bit to creep me out, so bonus points for that. It's also a story of abuse and its long-lasting affects. And it's very well written.
October 14, 2022
I labored thinking about how to rate this book. Quite honestly it’s a 3.5, but between 3 and 4 I’d say it leans more towards a 3.
It’s prose is clean and lean, reflecting the narrator. The length of the story is what it needs to be. It doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, and it puts out the message it wants to. My main complaint is that, taken in many ways, it’s a very formulaic ‘family secrets/ghosts’ story. The execution is well done, but familiar. Which there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a very nice ghost story, and in many ways it leads where you start expecting it to go.
Where it does shine is in two places.
One is the accurate depiction of the utter loneliness, and almost desolation, of rural west Texas the author describes. Being a Texan myself, it reads as familiar to me. Comfortably so, even.
The other place is the way generational abuse is portrayed. It’s uncompromising, and for the most part respectful, albeit it a bit on the nose at times
It’s prose is clean and lean, reflecting the narrator. The length of the story is what it needs to be. It doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, and it puts out the message it wants to. My main complaint is that, taken in many ways, it’s a very formulaic ‘family secrets/ghosts’ story. The execution is well done, but familiar. Which there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a very nice ghost story, and in many ways it leads where you start expecting it to go.
Where it does shine is in two places.
One is the accurate depiction of the utter loneliness, and almost desolation, of rural west Texas the author describes. Being a Texan myself, it reads as familiar to me. Comfortably so, even.
The other place is the way generational abuse is portrayed. It’s uncompromising, and for the most part respectful, albeit it a bit on the nose at times
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2021
This was an amazing and horrible horror book. Horrible in the best way that a horror book can be. It's actions are so egregious that you HAVE to find out what happens and the way that Bennett spins this tale and buid the suspense is masterful. 2 brothers purchase an old motel that their father used to run but after some renovations and some discoveries, visions, and sounds, and even secret doors start to unveil themselves.
This was a great story that keeps you guessing around every corner and doesn't let up on the pain inflicting onto the main character.
I felt that this does have many of the same steps as a horror haunting story yet the remote atmosphere and the small outskirts of lawless Texas put this in a setting familiar yet terrifying. Bennett's characters are real and their story seems real and authentic.
This was a great story that keeps you guessing around every corner and doesn't let up on the pain inflicting onto the main character.
I felt that this does have many of the same steps as a horror haunting story yet the remote atmosphere and the small outskirts of lawless Texas put this in a setting familiar yet terrifying. Bennett's characters are real and their story seems real and authentic.
October 1, 2025
I picked up In the Shadow of Men from my local library’s fiction section partly because I’m drawn to horror fiction and true crime stories, and partly because it was the thinnest book on the shelf.
The author does a wonderful job of telling the stories and keeping the reader engaged. Since I like reading before bed, the tense and chilling atmosphere sometimes left me literally shivering under the covers!
Even more uncanny was the timing; while reading this book, I was also watching a Netflix documentary about Fred and Rose West. The similarities between the two gave me an extra layer of shivers.
I’m giving this book four stars. My only wish is that the stories had gone on a bit longer, as I was left with some confusion after finishing. I would have loved a bit more clarity and detail, but perhaps that ambiguity was intentional on the author’s part. ;)
The author does a wonderful job of telling the stories and keeping the reader engaged. Since I like reading before bed, the tense and chilling atmosphere sometimes left me literally shivering under the covers!
Even more uncanny was the timing; while reading this book, I was also watching a Netflix documentary about Fred and Rose West. The similarities between the two gave me an extra layer of shivers.
I’m giving this book four stars. My only wish is that the stories had gone on a bit longer, as I was left with some confusion after finishing. I would have loved a bit more clarity and detail, but perhaps that ambiguity was intentional on the author’s part. ;)
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