Night Glow

by Martin James (Pseudonym), James Kisner

Genres: Horror

330 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1989

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read with amazing cover art; I just wish the novel lived up to the cover. On the one hand, this seems to have it all for a trashy 80s horror novel. I mean, we have a major drug corporation that makes all kinds of stuff headed by a sleazy corporate executive (Morton) involved in some ethically dubious drug research, including something that is supposed to help people with vivid nightmares. We also have a curious cop who falls for our protagonist, a female psychologist who works at the firm doing dream research. All kinds of wicked foo with people 'dreaming' they are doing things and then finding out they did actually do them; not so bad, unless these actions involve, say, a chainsaw and your family. On the other hand, James' prose and pacing could really use some polish, the plot reveals itself early on, and the characters are walking tropes.

I did like Morton and could easily visualize him on the big screen-- this would have made a killer B-flick back in the day-- egotistical, petty and power-hungry. He knows the new drug '4155A' could make the company millions, but jeez, the side effects! This would have to be managed carefully 😎 The lead researcher on the drug is your basic mad doctor who got fired from a loony bin after experimenting on his patients (with fatal consequences). Marian, our protagonist, just wants to get by and is still ruing her decision to go into psychology rather than become a medical doctor. Her grant at the drug company she really needs, but Morton could pull it at any time; once she gets involved with the cop, who is investigating a series of bizarre murders around town however, things get complicated. All the killers/rapists/etc. report that they thought they were dreaming (the cop calls it 'dream alibis'), but how were they all getting infected by the drug?

If you like your horror trashy and pulpy, you could do a lot worse. That stated, you could do a lot better. 3 dreamy stars!!

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I expected. What I thought was going to turn into a dull "Nightmare On Elm Street" style dream demon rip-off book shifts gears and rolls toward disaster fiction. There is nightmare carnage, a lot in fact, but it spreads out of control to many others. A profit hungry drug company is to blame. Of course a woman working in the lab of the company studying sleep disorders runs across the trouble and her and a cop work to figure it all out.

A pretty fast pace helps this along. It does slow up from time to time, but then the night comes and the dreams kick in. The disaster angle was a nice change of pace. It pushes this out of ordinary type of book this could of been.

[Evans Light · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clunky and boring. Limped to around 120 pages in and skimmed through the rest. Great cover art, but nothing else to see here, folks.
(This book was written by James Kisner under the pseudonym Martin James)

[DJMikeG · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, fast paced thriller with some truly odd, inventive scenes. This was the first book I've read by James Kisner and I enjoyed it. Its not perfect, nor is it life changing, but its quite good for what it is, a late 80s pulp potboiler. Kisner likes to take little strange asides with the characters, which I enjoyed. Many characters are introduced just to be killed off quickly, but Kisner managed to make these scenes interesting. There is some dark humor at work, as well. A good read, for sure, and I'll definitely be checking out more of the late Mr. Kisner's work.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent take on an idea similar to The Crazies, but as an Indy native it felt like setting it here was an afterthought with notable landmarks tossed in haphazardly. The climax was a touch too quick at resolution and felt rushed, with the major clue that explained everything to the heroine laughable. Who would ever think product 4155 would be associated with product 4155A?!!

[Gregory Dark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Paper-thin plot. Enragingly-written female protagonist. No real connections to the title, synopsis and ridiculous cover art. It’s another medical thriller disguised as a pulpy horror. A good test is if at the end, they are battling an evil doctor/organization, then it’s a medical thriller. If it’s a monster or serial killer, it’s horror.