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Gardens of Night
GARDENS OF NIGHT is the extraordinary new novel by Greg F. Gifune.
Recovering from a violent trauma, Marcus Banyon comes to perceive a different reality. Has he suffered a psychotic break as his doctors suggest? Or have his eyes been opened to forces long hidden from the rest of humanity? As he and his wife retreat to an isolated cabin, Marc's visions lead them to an ancient mythology steeped in mystery and deception ... and to a trio of sinister beings who hold the fate of the world in their hands.
Recovering from a violent trauma, Marcus Banyon comes to perceive a different reality. Has he suffered a psychotic break as his doctors suggest? Or have his eyes been opened to forces long hidden from the rest of humanity? As he and his wife retreat to an isolated cabin, Marc's visions lead them to an ancient mythology steeped in mystery and deception ... and to a trio of sinister beings who hold the fate of the world in their hands.
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
8 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Greg F. Gifune
79 books352 followersCalled "One of the best writers of his generation" by both the Roswell Literary Review and author Brian Keene, Greg F. Gifune is the author of numerous short stories, several novels and two short story collections. His work has been published in a wide range of magazines and anthologies all over the world, and has recently garnered interest from Hollywood. His novels include The Bleeding Season, Deep Night, Saying Uncle, A View From The Lake, Night Work, Drago Descending, Blood In Electric Blue and Dominion.
Along with his short story collections, Down To Sleep and Heretics, his work has been nominated for numerous awards and is consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. For seven years he was Editor-in-Chief of Thievin' Kitty Publications, publishers of the acclaimed fiction magazines The Edge: Tales of Suspense (1998-2004) and Burning Sky: Adventures in Science Fiction Terror (1998-2003), and currently serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books.
The son of teachers, Greg F. Gifune was educated in Boston and has lived in various places, including New York City and Peru. A trained actor and broadcaster, he has appeared in various stage productions and has worked in radio and television as both an on-air talent and a producer. Earlier in life he held a wide range of jobs, encompassing everything from journalism to promotions.
The author of numerous novels, screenplays and two short story collections, his work has been consistently praised by critics and readers alike, and has been translated into several languages and published all over the world. Greg and his wife Carol live in Massachusetts with a bevy of cats.
Discover more about his writing at GregFGifune.com and UninvitedBooks.com.
Along with his short story collections, Down To Sleep and Heretics, his work has been nominated for numerous awards and is consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. For seven years he was Editor-in-Chief of Thievin' Kitty Publications, publishers of the acclaimed fiction magazines The Edge: Tales of Suspense (1998-2004) and Burning Sky: Adventures in Science Fiction Terror (1998-2003), and currently serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books.
The son of teachers, Greg F. Gifune was educated in Boston and has lived in various places, including New York City and Peru. A trained actor and broadcaster, he has appeared in various stage productions and has worked in radio and television as both an on-air talent and a producer. Earlier in life he held a wide range of jobs, encompassing everything from journalism to promotions.
The author of numerous novels, screenplays and two short story collections, his work has been consistently praised by critics and readers alike, and has been translated into several languages and published all over the world. Greg and his wife Carol live in Massachusetts with a bevy of cats.
Discover more about his writing at GregFGifune.com and UninvitedBooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 30, 2016
Greg Gifune has long been one of my favorites simply because his stuff is uniquely his own. Intelligently written horror, blending psychological with the supernatural.
In GARDENS OF NIGHT, Gifune presents his most personal story, about Marc Banyon, who, after suffering a horrible event with his young wife, Brooke, decides a getaway with an old friend is just the thing to settle his shattered psyche.
But he would be wrong. Marc begins to see and experience things that cannot be, and soon begins to question his perception of what's real. And what it ultimately may cost him.
Not my absolute favorite of his work, if I'm being honest, but I love how Gifune writes. Any of his work is definitely worthy of your time and money.
Highly recommended.
In GARDENS OF NIGHT, Gifune presents his most personal story, about Marc Banyon, who, after suffering a horrible event with his young wife, Brooke, decides a getaway with an old friend is just the thing to settle his shattered psyche.
But he would be wrong. Marc begins to see and experience things that cannot be, and soon begins to question his perception of what's real. And what it ultimately may cost him.
Not my absolute favorite of his work, if I'm being honest, but I love how Gifune writes. Any of his work is definitely worthy of your time and money.
Highly recommended.
December 17, 2018
I just finished this book and am quite impressed. Several things stand out for me. The sparse prose works very well. There is a continuing crescendo in the suspense up to the description of the Event.
I absolutely identified with Marc's response to the rape, his rage and need for immediate vengeance, a dish sometimes best served Hot. I have experienced the obsession to torture and totally destroy, un-make, someone who has badly wronged me. Fortunately I have never acted on these fantasies. Fortunately the powers cannot read our thoughts—yet.
One thing quite confused me, to the point I wondered if I was missing points or not understanding the book: I could not differentiate what was real and what was illusion or in Marc's damaged mind or if his illusions were in fact real too. I finally decided this was what the book was all about.
The use of Yggdrasil from the Icelandic Saga was mysterious. Why would Marc use this as the milieu of his delusions or is the Saga describing the true nature of reality, a metaphor of reality. Or, is the use of Paganism a technique to induce horror in those living in an essentially Christian culture?
I'm sort of reminded of Michael Shermer's book The Believing Brain in which he makes the point that our concepts of reality are dependent on our beliefs. And in speaking of scientists for which this is of course true too, "Skepticism is ... the only escape from the belief-dependent realism trap created by our believing brains."
I absolutely identified with Marc's response to the rape, his rage and need for immediate vengeance, a dish sometimes best served Hot. I have experienced the obsession to torture and totally destroy, un-make, someone who has badly wronged me. Fortunately I have never acted on these fantasies. Fortunately the powers cannot read our thoughts—yet.
One thing quite confused me, to the point I wondered if I was missing points or not understanding the book: I could not differentiate what was real and what was illusion or in Marc's damaged mind or if his illusions were in fact real too. I finally decided this was what the book was all about.
The use of Yggdrasil from the Icelandic Saga was mysterious. Why would Marc use this as the milieu of his delusions or is the Saga describing the true nature of reality, a metaphor of reality. Or, is the use of Paganism a technique to induce horror in those living in an essentially Christian culture?
I'm sort of reminded of Michael Shermer's book The Believing Brain in which he makes the point that our concepts of reality are dependent on our beliefs. And in speaking of scientists for which this is of course true too, "Skepticism is ... the only escape from the belief-dependent realism trap created by our believing brains."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2015
Quite a philosophical musing on horror and god,creation and destruction.It doesn't read as a religious horror novel,although the power of belief is certainly below the surface.
I suppose the final act of this novel is open to differing interpretations.I am satisfied with my interpretation.
I suppose the final act of this novel is open to differing interpretations.I am satisfied with my interpretation.
Read
October 15, 2012Brilliant.
December 24, 2010
Probably the only book that almost brought tears to my eyes that I can remember reading in the past 5 years.
This slowly brooding and terrifying tale of a man deeper descending into psychosis is at once scary, horrifying ( with a couple of disturbing scenes of hardcore horror thrown in - although don't expect this author to delve as far into the gross-outs as a Lee, Jacob or Curran) , surrealistic and sublimely beautiful.
All of the characters in this book become people of flesh and blood. The hallucination-filled mental breakdown which reminded me of the film Pop Skull ( watch the film if you haven't heard about it yet !!) slowly erupts into a hauntingly stunning finale in the last 60 pages seemly incorporating elements from Last House On The Left, Suspiria, The Devils and Martyrs. And while this may sound as if it is a brutal piece of literature -and believe me : it is - the violence of it all is overcome by the poetical beauty that lies at the core of this tale.
A criminally underrated author. Buy the book !
This slowly brooding and terrifying tale of a man deeper descending into psychosis is at once scary, horrifying ( with a couple of disturbing scenes of hardcore horror thrown in - although don't expect this author to delve as far into the gross-outs as a Lee, Jacob or Curran) , surrealistic and sublimely beautiful.
All of the characters in this book become people of flesh and blood. The hallucination-filled mental breakdown which reminded me of the film Pop Skull ( watch the film if you haven't heard about it yet !!) slowly erupts into a hauntingly stunning finale in the last 60 pages seemly incorporating elements from Last House On The Left, Suspiria, The Devils and Martyrs. And while this may sound as if it is a brutal piece of literature -and believe me : it is - the violence of it all is overcome by the poetical beauty that lies at the core of this tale.
A criminally underrated author. Buy the book !
July 24, 2013
Disappointing tale from Gifune. Starts out with much promise but ends up meandering off into a confusing, often incomprehensible direction. Gifune explores the same themes as he has in the past, primarily good and evil and lost souls trying to find their way, but it just seems overworked and tired here. Too much imagery chokes the life out of the story and keeps it from ever gaining enough momentum to carry it to a satisfying ending. It's certainly well-written and has style, but in the end it just didn't add up for me.
October 9, 2012
From my blog: http://serialdistractions.com
Still recovering traumatic incident of seemingly random violence, Marc Banyon, along with his wife and best friend, travel to a secluded cabin in the New England woods to relax and forget their troubles for a time. But while there, Marc experiences violent and perverse visions of three women who hold his destiny in their hands and call to him to complete the cycle that he began in his home on that fateful day. What is real and unreal, vision and reality, merge and become one as Marc explores what violence and sacrifice truly reveal about the human condition.
Gardens of Night is a masterclass on building slow suspense in a novel. Each scene, each chapter, builds on the previous until the explosive and heart-wrenching climax in which the nature of Marc’s trauma is revealed–as well as his reaction to it. Gifune masterfully layers the novel with visions, flashes of memory, and switchbacks of perception that keep the reader guessing as to what is real and what is illusion. In a lesser work, this would be frustrating but the author keeps a tight rein on his prose, delivering a highly evocative yet literately daring and accessible story.
Gardens of Night is a journey of deep psychological horror and timeless evil. Gifune masterfully wields his prose, bending reality and perception to his will, and takes the reader on a deeply disturbing ride into the catacombs of the mind.
Still recovering traumatic incident of seemingly random violence, Marc Banyon, along with his wife and best friend, travel to a secluded cabin in the New England woods to relax and forget their troubles for a time. But while there, Marc experiences violent and perverse visions of three women who hold his destiny in their hands and call to him to complete the cycle that he began in his home on that fateful day. What is real and unreal, vision and reality, merge and become one as Marc explores what violence and sacrifice truly reveal about the human condition.
Gardens of Night is a masterclass on building slow suspense in a novel. Each scene, each chapter, builds on the previous until the explosive and heart-wrenching climax in which the nature of Marc’s trauma is revealed–as well as his reaction to it. Gifune masterfully layers the novel with visions, flashes of memory, and switchbacks of perception that keep the reader guessing as to what is real and what is illusion. In a lesser work, this would be frustrating but the author keeps a tight rein on his prose, delivering a highly evocative yet literately daring and accessible story.
Gardens of Night is a journey of deep psychological horror and timeless evil. Gifune masterfully wields his prose, bending reality and perception to his will, and takes the reader on a deeply disturbing ride into the catacombs of the mind.
February 13, 2012
Wishful thinking by a mad Literature reader who discovers a world of powerful darkness within himself. Is it a head injury? Is it complete insanity, caused by unbearable losses? Or is it he has stepped into the veiled portal invisible to most of us until tragedy rips the veils aside? Strong atmospheric language laced with the poison of horror and despair, this is not the book for depressives. However, it will expose the mythmaking process of a human mind in distress and provide a window into the roots of religion and philosophy.
June 29, 2011
2 AND ½ STARS
I was a big fan of Greg F. Gifune's "Children Of Chaos", but this new book had me underwhelmed. I thought the characters were complex and engaging, but after the first 70 or so pages, things began to deteriorate. The thoughtful and poetic writing soon bordered on the pretentious. Author Gifune began to throw in abstract images, dreams, and random, repetitive voices to the extent that I was not the least bit scared and stopped caring about the characters he so finely crafted in the first act.
It is the author's job for his or her writing to be accessible and clear to the audience. But I felt as if Gifune was throwing so many ideas and concepts at the reader that it became muddled. There was a lot of abstract mythology and, in my opinion, bizarrely unnecessary elements with odd tangents, and I was left shaking my head in disappointment. The best way I can describe the book is to compare it to an art house movie without any real bite, which is not a bad thing, but unfortunately, this art house book left me feeling ambivalent and a slightly cheated.
I was a big fan of Greg F. Gifune's "Children Of Chaos", but this new book had me underwhelmed. I thought the characters were complex and engaging, but after the first 70 or so pages, things began to deteriorate. The thoughtful and poetic writing soon bordered on the pretentious. Author Gifune began to throw in abstract images, dreams, and random, repetitive voices to the extent that I was not the least bit scared and stopped caring about the characters he so finely crafted in the first act.
It is the author's job for his or her writing to be accessible and clear to the audience. But I felt as if Gifune was throwing so many ideas and concepts at the reader that it became muddled. There was a lot of abstract mythology and, in my opinion, bizarrely unnecessary elements with odd tangents, and I was left shaking my head in disappointment. The best way I can describe the book is to compare it to an art house movie without any real bite, which is not a bad thing, but unfortunately, this art house book left me feeling ambivalent and a slightly cheated.
April 5, 2011
Well written. Spare language used to maximum effect. Symbolism and mythos are richly explored. I reviewed this for Shroud Blog.
March 22, 2015
This is one that sticks with you as do most of Gifunes novels . Great atmosphere,very dark,psychological,and very human. Only Gifune can do this. A must read.
January 17, 2021
🎶 Feelings, nothing more than feelings... 🎵
No spoilers: I rated this story 2 1/2 stars. I usually enjoy this author's writing skills but this novel misses the mark for me...
The first 60% was full of sappy sentiment and esoteric nonsense. I'll admit that I almost stopped reading there but...
...at 60% there began this wonderful horror tale... Yggdrasil, it's dying... it needs you, Victim Soul, to be the hammer of fate...
Marc, the main character, is in a rainstorm and runs to an old shack and an old man lets him inside out of the rain...
The old man tells Marc that his wife and his friend are in the old farmhouse. Knock on the door...the Devil always answers...
Alas... after this interlude, it's back to...
🎶 Feelings, nothing more than feelings🎵
...for the remainder of the novel...
What a pity. I wish the entire story followed the path of that short interlude. Some excellent horror writers choose to venture off to a "deeper" writing style once they become popular instead of sticking with what they excel at. Try this author's CHILDREN OF CHAOS if you want a 5 star horror experience.
No spoilers: I rated this story 2 1/2 stars. I usually enjoy this author's writing skills but this novel misses the mark for me...
The first 60% was full of sappy sentiment and esoteric nonsense. I'll admit that I almost stopped reading there but...
...at 60% there began this wonderful horror tale... Yggdrasil, it's dying... it needs you, Victim Soul, to be the hammer of fate...
Marc, the main character, is in a rainstorm and runs to an old shack and an old man lets him inside out of the rain...
The old man tells Marc that his wife and his friend are in the old farmhouse. Knock on the door...the Devil always answers...
Alas... after this interlude, it's back to...
🎶 Feelings, nothing more than feelings🎵
...for the remainder of the novel...
What a pity. I wish the entire story followed the path of that short interlude. Some excellent horror writers choose to venture off to a "deeper" writing style once they become popular instead of sticking with what they excel at. Try this author's CHILDREN OF CHAOS if you want a 5 star horror experience.
March 24, 2015
We're VERY pleased with the critical response to this book.
“This is dark fiction as it is meant to be written.”
~ Literary Mayhem
“An eerie, disturbing tale of violence and redemption.”
~ Shroud Magazine
“Suspense builds and builds until you’ll practically be climbing the wall.”
~ Nights & Weekends
“Works on so many levels and Gifune succeeds brilliantly on all of them.”
~ Horror World
“Magnificent.”
~ Tomb of Dark Delights
“This is dark fiction as it is meant to be written.”
~ Literary Mayhem
“An eerie, disturbing tale of violence and redemption.”
~ Shroud Magazine
“Suspense builds and builds until you’ll practically be climbing the wall.”
~ Nights & Weekends
“Works on so many levels and Gifune succeeds brilliantly on all of them.”
~ Horror World
“Magnificent.”
~ Tomb of Dark Delights
January 30, 2016
This book was riveting. It really disturbed me (in a good way). After I finished it, I read the last few pages again, stared off into space for a few minutes, and immediately went online to find out how other readers processed this work. More people need to read it!! Just devastating.
February 21, 2020
I have no idea what should I write and do anything about this book. This was unique, something else and in a positive way out of another world. Having mixed feelings about this one...
Strange tead that was for me. I can arguably say that yeah I enjoyed it but not like other Greg F. Gifune work but it was an OK read for me. But it did make me frustrated, helpless and irritated in some of the chapters. I believe this has nothing to do with my personal belief and I know what I'm saying here. Well the plot of this book I find as bit of slow until I reach the twist plot. Marc and his wife Brooke trying hard to overcome a devastating event that almost destroyed their life alongside their longtime oldest friend Spaulding, no matter what I just didn't get that ok feeling about this man. Anyway so they get apart and make a visit to a forest country to recover the couples mental health. Everything was going fine accordingly but the events changes after that. Marc suffered more of his trauma and began seen unnatural, unreal thing of himself. There's something dark and beyond that only he can see or heard. While you reading this you will find it as psychological, philosophical and bit of myth related horror and thats what might confuse you more as that what did to me. But anyway otherwise I would it was an OK reading journey for me. I can understand the pain when in front of Marc's eyes welll,,,,,, never mind but Marc later dis what he surely needed to do...
Thank you Greg, never been so grateful to you and your writing...
April 21, 2024
Dnf at 97%
April 19, 2025
Not my fav
Usually I love this authors work, but this one was just blah. The trademark bleakness was there but the story didn't connect with me, nor the characters.
Usually I love this authors work, but this one was just blah. The trademark bleakness was there but the story didn't connect with me, nor the characters.
June 21, 2016
3.5 stars
Greg Gifune is a fine writer, and I've yet to read anything of his that hasn't left a lasting impression on me. Sadly, Gardens of Night didn't quite work for me. Marcus and Brooke Banyon are a couple attempting to overcome a devastating 'event.' What happened has left them both traumatized, though Marc more so. Following the incident, Marc suffered a complete mental collapse. His will be the longest road to recovery. Maybe due to his medications, or maybe due to the trauma having allowed some higher consciousness to manifest inside him, but Marc now sees and hears things not of this world.
Thanks to Spaulding, who is one of their oldest friends, the couple get the use of a forest set country lodge, and so the trio pack up their bags and head off for a short holiday, they believe the change of scenery may be good for Marc.
I liked where this was headed, and the opening 55% of the book was as superb as anything I've read by Gifune. Sadly, the wheels then fell off. I'm all for ambiguity, and readers being allowed the opportunity to work things out to their own conclusions, and this is something Greg Gifune is generally a master of. But, during the later stages of Gardens of Night, there was an abundance of over flowery prose that served to move the story on barely an iota. I felt as though I might as well have stopped reading at page 109, because barely anything worked for me beyond this point.
Greg Gifune is a fine writer, and I've yet to read anything of his that hasn't left a lasting impression on me. Sadly, Gardens of Night didn't quite work for me. Marcus and Brooke Banyon are a couple attempting to overcome a devastating 'event.' What happened has left them both traumatized, though Marc more so. Following the incident, Marc suffered a complete mental collapse. His will be the longest road to recovery. Maybe due to his medications, or maybe due to the trauma having allowed some higher consciousness to manifest inside him, but Marc now sees and hears things not of this world.
Thanks to Spaulding, who is one of their oldest friends, the couple get the use of a forest set country lodge, and so the trio pack up their bags and head off for a short holiday, they believe the change of scenery may be good for Marc.
I liked where this was headed, and the opening 55% of the book was as superb as anything I've read by Gifune. Sadly, the wheels then fell off. I'm all for ambiguity, and readers being allowed the opportunity to work things out to their own conclusions, and this is something Greg Gifune is generally a master of. But, during the later stages of Gardens of Night, there was an abundance of over flowery prose that served to move the story on barely an iota. I felt as though I might as well have stopped reading at page 109, because barely anything worked for me beyond this point.
October 30, 2011
Though this is generally well written, I had a hard time getting through it due to the very slow pacing and, for me, the predictability of "the event" that spurs the story. Once I reached the reveal of the "event," I had an even more difficult time with the book. Knowing more than a little something about the emotional and psychological fallout of rape, I found the treatment of it very one dimensional and, for me, far too simplistic. Like many other books, it uses the rape as a convenient plot device and character motivation without depth or exploration. And rape, for me, as a plot device without depth, never works and is always problematic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2016
This book started powerfully, and the story about a couple attempting to overcome the effects of a life changing trauma really drew me in, but the second half degenerated into a mess of prose that seemed to lose itself. Greg F. Gifune is a very good writer, unfortunately this was nowhere near his finest work.
January 1, 2012
A good work of horror with hypnotic prose and engaging characters. Still, I couldn't help but think I was reading a short story that was artificially lengthened into a novella. There's no reason this story couldn't be told in 20 pages.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews