Title: Dead of Night
Author: Victor J. Banis
Publisher: MLR Press
Genre: Paranormal/Horror/Ghost Story
Length: Novel (206 PDF pages)
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
A Guest Review by Aunt Lynn
One Sentence Review: If you are a fan of scary ghost stories, you should not miss this one.
***This review contains what could be considered spoilers***
THE BLURB
“Doctor,” he said before he said anything else, “I am haunted. By ghosts.”
His parents are brutally murdered in a Manson-like intrusion and Calvin narrowly escapes the same fate. He spends time in an expensive private mental hospital, but when he returns home, he senses the presence of evil in the shadowy old mansion. Someone seems to follow him along the halls, and whispers just beyond his hearing. Gradually the terror escalates. A hand shakes him awake at night, just as it did on that fatal night. Cringing in his bed, he hears his father being murdered all over again, and then his mother. But is the mansion haunted—or is it Calvin?
THE REVIEW
The story opens the day twenty-five-year-old Calvin is leaving a private mental facility where he has stayed voluntarily for three years following the horrific murders of his parents in a home invasion, an event from which he was the only survivor. He is returning to the same house where it all occurred, even though his brother, Bobbie, thinks it’s a bad idea; Calvin is still fragile, and he would be mostly alone in the huge, creepy house as Bobbie lives with his lover not too far away in New York City, and the housekeeper can’t do overnights. Calvin feels it’s necessary, though, to face what happened. He questions his decision, however, when he begins to see and hear things that shake him to the core and make him believe the house is haunted by his dead parents. When other people don’t notice what he experiences, he starts to wonder if maybe he is truly mentally unhinged, suffering lasting effects from the events of that night. As even further bad things happen, he wonders if he will ever find peace, or will it all be his undoing?
Alfred Hitchcock said something along line lines of “there is nothing more frightening than an unopened door,” and that is certainly true here. Victor Banis’s newest title, Dead of Night, is a deliciously creepy, dark, disturbing tale and not for the faint of heart. While I may not claim this as my favorite book by this prolific author, it may be the one of best that I’ve read from him. It’s wonderful and tragic, but scary. It’s very well-written, but scary. Calvin is a fascinating, repressed, troubled character, and it’s scary. Did I mention it’s scary? 🙂 I admit that my threshold for this kind of stuff is pretty low, so it is possible other readers won’t find it as frightening as I did, but it scared the crap out of me. There were times when my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest at the tension the author created, and if I had to experience what Calvin did, I would have perished from fright. Dead of Night is not something I would normally pick up as I don’t like paranormals as a whole and scary stories in particular (damn, you Wave!), but I agreed to do it and I think I’m glad I did. 🙂 I made the mistake of starting this one evening and I found that I didn’t want to turn out the light when it was time to turn in — a time much later than normal as I was completely absorbed in the story.
You need to be aware of several things before picking this one up:
First, it is not a m/m romance in any possible meaning. There is nothing romantic about it, period, and there is barely anything m/m about it. Though his brother, Bobbie, is gay, the main character, Calvin, is what I would consider asexual (probably homosexual if he had been permitted to achieve his potential, but more on Calvin later). There is no smexxin, though a few bare, erect members are present in a few scenes.
Second, some warnings: it is fairly gruesome in parts, especially with the description of Calvin’s father’s murder, and there is a scene of what could have ended in rape if it had been permitted to play out. Additionally, there is the (off-screen) death of an animal. If any of those things bother you, this may not be the story for you.
That said, it is very well- and tightly-written tale told mostly from Calvin’s third-person point of view with themes of slavery, freedom and escape amidst the terror. Though a contemporary, the book has an old-time feel to it, like it is set in a different era. Atmospherically it feels old; much of it takes place in a huge, old, often dark house seemingly lacking many modern-day electronics (though there is a telephone, I don’t remember seeing a television, computer or even radio). Additionally, Calvin speaks quite properly with no slang and has old-fashioned attitudes, which also lends to the antique feeling.
I found Calvin to be a tortured, fascinating and complex character, and I mourned the loss of what this young man could have been had if he had been raised elsewhere. Though he’s very intelligent, he seems detached from many of his emotions and often apathetic. He is also very guarded of showing complete honesty to anyone for fear of what would happen if they knew the truth. At twenty-five, he is a virgin and sexually (experience-wise) immature; he has only the vaguest of ideas of what goes on between two people. His thoughts on the subject of sex, when it is brought up, and his reaction to what the intruders had in store for him are almost as disturbing as the tale as a whole. Due to his strict, overbearing and tyrannical father, he has been extremely sheltered and as a result, very innocent and naïve. This is not just about smexxin, either; he has barely ventured from the house, and only in the presence of his father. He was raised in isolation of almost anyone outside of the immediate family and house staff, and is relatively uncomfortable around people. Although it seems he attended school at some point, his recent learning has come from books. He does not drive. He reminded me of a highly intelligent, but serious child — with perhaps basic knowledge of things, but no first-hand experience to back it up — and he is very self-aware in this respect. He dreams of times where it will be different, but he knows it never will.
He knew that he was different from other people. He had lived all his life in this wretched isolation, and though he had dreamed of what it would be like to have friends, as other people did, he knew that the gap between those dreams and their fulfillment was unbridgeable. He would never know what others knew, about friendship, about love, about ordinary human relations.
There are a good number of secondary cast members — doctors, house staff, his Aunt Willa — but by far the one with that largest role is flawed brother Bobbie, who escaped their father, but the cost of that freedom was Calvin’s enslavement. I loved how he was with Calvin, even though they are very much opposites. And I cannot forget Calvin’s dead parents, who, even though not onscreen, were very much present.
OVERALL
If you are a fan of scary ghost stories and are in the mood for a good one, you should not miss Dead of Night.
Wow. I’m so very intrigued by your review, but I’m not sure if I’ll read this–I don’t regularly indulge in the “scary.” Still, you make me want to consider it. Great review.
Andy, I DO NOT indulge in the scary, either, but Wave asked and I couldn’t say no. 🙂 It was worth it in this case, as Victor has penned an engrossing, tragic tale that happened to scare the pants off me. If you do decide to pick it up, let us know what you think after.
Wow, Lynn, what a great review, thanks. To tell the truth, the story scared me too. The scene when Bobbie finally goes into the bedroom…oh oh, don’t want to give too much away, but you know which one I mean…but, no, this isn’t for everybody, I know that, just for those who like a good scare…
You are welcome Victor. This was such a great book, and even though I won’t now be gobbling up the fright fests from now on, I am glad I read this one.
I wasn’t going to mention specifics, but since you — the author — did :), that whole sequence had me backed into the corner with Calvin and Tiger simply terrified. For me, it was probably the scariest part of all. It’s the “closed door” thing in action; the closed door of that particular bedroom, the closed door of his bedroom. I can see how this could have even scared you.
Now, I like scary here and there and I don’t mind that there is no romance in the book (when I’m warned), but you used the word tragic several times and I have to ask – does the story end on a positive note? Because, scary I can do, I can do scary and depressing as well – I just don’t want to. XD
I agree with Victor, LadyM; the ending is ambiguous. There are several things that could have happened and each of them would leave the reader feeling a certain way.
I would describe the ending as ambiguous. Not all of the questions are answered.
Thanks for the great review Lynn. I already have this in my TBR file but it’s good to know more about it before reading. Scary is fine, but for disturbing and tragic I will need to be in the right mood! Calvin sounds like a fascinating character.
You’re welcome, Dianne. Yes, the right mood is definitely needed here, and I don’t suggest it being at night. 🙂
Oh, I love scary and can handle ambiguous. But is it gory, Lynn? Gory I’m not too fond of.
Great review, to have me this intrigued!
It is a little bit gory in just one place, KZ (description of what happened to the father). It’s the remembrance of the event in one scene and I don’t think it was mentioned again.
I actually won this book here on Wave’s site about a month ago. I’m not a horror fan at all, but since it was a Victor Banis book, I just HAD to read it. I slept with the light on for about a week after finishing it. 🙂
See Wave!! It’s not just me! 😉
Hope, Wave asked if it was so scary because I was the “C” word — chicken. 🙂 I said it was, indeed, scary.
Very thoughtful review, Aunt Lynne. I’m glad you were intrigued by the story and the rhythms.
Thanks Kris, and thanks to MLR to expand beyond romance.
Oh, this sounds very interesting! It sounds like the main character has had a very tough life and is kind of trapped in the aftermath of his tragic history. Is there any hope for a better life for him or is the story depressing in that sense?
Hi Saga. Calvin has had a difficult life in that he is totally repressed by his tyrannical father. He lived a life of luxury, but of enslavement as well. The ending is ambiguous; it could go in a few directions, and one of them could be freedom, but we don’t know.
Thanks, I’ll give it a try. Do you think the ending is intentionally left ambigious or might this story have a sequel?
Lynn
I laughed out loud at the number of times you mentioned “scary” 🙂 Even though I used to read a lot of horrors I haven’t read them in a few years and I admit this book would scare the crap out of me.
Did you damn me in your review? Shame on you. I sent you a wonderful book and while maybe you didn’t enjoy the content, I know you admired the writing.
Calvin seems to be underdeveloped or he is a killer. hmmm…. I wonder which? I guess I’ll have to read the book since Victor says the ending is ambiguous.
Thanks so much Lynn I really appreciate you coming out of your comfort zone to review Dead of Night (just reading the review is scary) lol – a horror AND a paranormal. What’s next I wonder?
I did say I was try to see how many times I could mention the word “scary,” didn’t I. 🙂
My damning you was pulling me out of my comfort zone — and no, don’t be thinking you can throw all these paranormals at me — and I was teasing. 😉 I lost sleep over this one.
I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that no, he not a killer, just a victim. It is almost as if he has arrested development, and I wonder what he would have been like if he could have lived his life like a normal person.
Oi, give me some time before giving me something else I normally don’t like to read. 🙂
I promise – no more surprises, for a while anyway. But isn’t it nice to go out of your comfort zone occasionally? Reading is supposed to be an adventure not the same path every day. Where’s the fun in that?
I should send a couple of ‘different’ books to Buda and Tj since you have more than done your share. lol
*whistling and thinking about how to make their lives miserable* 🙂
Wave,
“I should send a couple of ‘different’ books to Buda and Tj since you have more than done your share. lol”
People have no idea how you enjoy torturing us poor reviewers. Don’t get any ideas about sending me some of your freakish twincest! Yeesh! Even typing the word gives me the creeps!
Hi Lynn, I love mysteries and I like this writer’s stuff, but you describing it as scary, well scared me 🙂
I have VERY low threshold for scary, you think I should avoid it? Thanks.
Hi Sirius. I can say I survived it and my threshold is very low (I didn’t like ghost stories as a kid, either). Like Hope, I slept with my lights on for a while. 🙂 It’s an excellent read if you can live with the terrifying tension.
Thanks Lynn, my threshold of scary is so low that I avoid reading and watching pure horror movies and books. I think I have to think about this one.
Me, too. This was a definitely a bit outside of my comfort level for scary, so it may not be for you.
Wonderful review Lynn! I’ve wanted to read this for a while now because I LOVE scary stories 🙂 Thanks for letting me know what I’m getting myself into!
If you’re a fan of the scaries, then this one is for you. Victor penned a wonderful story as well as terrifying the pants off the reader. Let us know what you think after.
Lynn – I’m a little scared just reading your review! You did a great job. I have no problem with paranormal or scary, but I’m not such a big an of gory. Luckily I have excellent skimming powers to get past those parts! Thanks for taking one for the team!
Thanks TJ. Like I told KZ, there is really just one gory part and you could easily skim over it. You’ll probably see it coming when Calvin starts talking about “that night.”
Testing
Oh, I hate this. I tried twice earlier to post, and it wouldn’t accept it – which is why you got that funny “testing” post above.
And now, having made a fool of myself – what I wanted to say earlier is, I understand about people not wanting scary or gory. I skim a lot when I read too – believe it or not, most sex, and especially b & d or s & m. But I also like to break the rules. There is even a brief spanking episode in one of the Deadly Mysteries, and those who read a lot of my work know that I often paint outside the lines.
Thanks to all for the comments
Sounds like you have a winner here Victor and the best with the sales.