Christopher Golden

It's many years since I watched Buffy though I enjoyed it at the time so the constant references in this to events in the series may have sometimes gone over my head. It's clear though that this is set after Angel has gone bad and then been redeemed, but not before killing Giles' girlfriend, the teacher Jenny Calendar. Willow is still with Oz and Xander and Cordelia are an item. Buffy has returned after running away - I do recall something about her working as a waitress maybe in LA - but although her mother now knows she is the Chosen One/Slayer, things at home haven't got much easier. Buffy also seems to be at odds with Giles quite a bit of the time and there was a lot of internal monologues of people expressing their general angst. Although Xander attempted to crack jokes they fell a lot flatter than I recall them doing in the TV show, and the book was generally dark, with not much light and shade. It picked up in pace once the various characters finally have to battle the real baddies - there are two different sets of them - and that was more interesting, but I think I'd prefer to go back and watch the programme, hence 2 stars only.… (mere)

When an American producer who was eager to score a big hit, travels to Siberia to film a reality series along the desolate Kolyma Highway, he gets more thrills than he bargained for. At first, the only obstacle for Felix Teigland and Prentiss, his British cameraman, friend, and investor, is the 40-below temperatures. A young guide's introduction to the legendary "Road of Bones", beneath which hundreds of thousands of gulag prisoners are buried, gives Teig a great subject as well as a great title for his series. But no sooner have they arrived than the filmmakers are threatened, and worse...by shadowy wolf creatures and a screaming humanoid spirit who had something to do with the sudden abandonment of a town by everyone except a strangely possessed 9-year-old girl that Teig becomes determined to save. When he was a child, his younger sister was abducted and murdered, and this young girl stirs all those tormented memories for him. Meanwhile, a frail but determined old woman, Ludmilla, travels the frigid Kolyma Highway to bless those buried there. This is a task that she has taken on herself and as a result has cost her several fingers and toes. The air around the road is said to be "murderous". It immobilizes people that come in contact with the area. The description of the forest animals is like something from a Disney cartoon. I kept expecting to see Bambi gathering flowers. Our Ludmilla, in addition to her desire to offer blessings also has an over-the-top devotion to Bruce Springsteen which quickly becomes way, way too much. I do have to give Christopher Golden his due credit for being great at atmosphere. The desolate surroundings are "a stark reminder of how small we humans are in the entire scope of nature." And I ask you...how can you resist the charms of a 50-foot-tall reindeer woman? Overall... I was entertained...but not as much by the story itself but what this author was going to bring out next to "play" with Bambi and the 50-ft reindeer woman. :) It did have some chilling things happening but, also some really silly ones you wouldn't expect in a horror/supernatural novel. Am I glad I read it? You bet!

side note: This novel had to have been born from a bit of truth, most like this one, and legends are...so I asked Mr. Google for more info. This is interesting, and I now think that there may really be a 50-ft reindeer woman out there. Here is the website if you are like me and want to search it out.

https://www.rbth.com/history/333033-road-bones-kolyma-gulag… (mere)