Better than I thought it would be! ( )Īspiring author Adam Senft is trying to keep things together as he builds his writing career and tries to keep his marriage together, which has hit a serious strain as a result of his wife’s miscarriages and the emotional toll it has taken on her. One last thing, there's a limit to how much satyr pre-cum I think the average reader wants exposure to. Keene presents loving relationships that counter the way he dances on the edge of presenting women as props and victims. Rather than reading as insulting, it works here, though - it's rather the point of the thing. The satyr kinky parts are pretty well done - although there is an indisputable thread of stereotyping and caricaturizing of male insecurities and playing off of the fear of 'the other' being more sexually appealing, what with his bigger penis and swarthy earthy primacy and all. I live in the region that the book takes place, which made it more fun and boosted my rating from 3 to 3.5(rounded up to 4).

Very little happens in the first 100 pages - aside from an event with a one(ish) page description in the first or second chapter, and character development (did the author mention that the character is an author, with an author life, author thoughts, and author quasi-celebrity status?). It manages to be a page-turner despite itself. He also closes better than a lot of other authors in the genre. The book's biggest achievements are Keene's clever disarming of predictable tropes, pacing, and some really keen scenes set well.

Dark Hollow by Brian Keene