A Book A Week

Exploring the shelves at my local library, I aimed to discover a chilling read suitable for the current season. Christopher Golden's name immediately captured my attention as an author I recognized but had yet to read. The eerie cover of Road of Bones seemed like a promising introduction to his writing. At just 228 pages, I deemed it a manageable choice to give his work a try. Upon completing the book, I had mixed feelings about the overall experience. Nevertheless, I can clearly see why Golden has earned his reputation as a popular horror author.

Golden places his novel within a haunting real-world setting. Stretching more than 1200 miles through Siberia, the Kolyma Highway, known as the Road of Bones, exposes travelers to frigid winter temperatures plummeting as low as sixty degrees below zero. In the era of Stalin, this route saw the construction of over eighty Soviet gulags, forming a workforce for the USSR. Tragically, the relentless toil claimed the lives of innumerable prisoners. Their bodies were laid to rest beneath the road's surface, concealed by the unyielding permafrost. This bleak backdrop becomes the stage for Golden's unfolding fiction.

We are introduced to Teig and Prentiss, a documentary producer and his cameraman. Their sights are locked onto the infamous Road of Bones, a location ripe for their reality show concoction—blending historical truth with manufactured intrigue for maximum impact. Accompanied by a local Yakut guide, they venture towards Oymyakon, Earth's coldest settlement. Upon arrival, an ominous sight awaits. The abandoned town is frozen in time, its inhabitants seemingly vanished without a trace. Inexplicable footprints lead into the forest. Within one desolate house resides a traumatized 9-year-old girl, a lone witness to unfathomable horrors. As they unravel the mysteries, Teig, Prentiss, and their companions are about to unearth a terror far beyond their expectations.

From its opening pages, Christopher Golden's Road of Bones gripped my attention, transporting me to the frigid setting with a tangible chill in the air. By merging history with supernatural horror, Golden infuses his chilling tale with unsettling realism. His mastery lies in immersing readers within his characters' psyche, inviting us to experience their fear firsthand rather than by mere observation.

While the initial scenes promised a Roanoke-esque mystery, the narrative momentum waned as the story progressed. The book's brevity maintained a brisk pace yet left scant room for character growth. Consequently, forming a strong connection to any individual character proved challenging. More disconcerting, the plot's evolution shifted from a historically-infused ghostly narrative to a frosty game of cat and mouse. As I concluded the book, I remained captivated by Golden's adept prose yet disheartened by the narrative's unfulfilled potential. While I cannot offer a wholehearted recommendation for this particular book, I'm still captivated by Christopher Golden's potential as a writer. Considering the positive reception his other works have garnered from fellow readers, I'm eagerly anticipating delving into one of his alternative titles.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2023, 66)