Snowblind by Christopher GoldenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
It's funny to me that one of the buzz quotes on the book jacket is from Stephen King, because this is the most Stephen King book not written by Stephen King I've ever read. New England town? Check. Mysterious circumstances coming out of the mundane? Check. A sprawling cast of characters including a group of kids who become adults and have to deal with the horrors of their past? Check and check. Golden's story is just as uneven as some of King's books, too; the beginning is gripping but the middle, after the time jump, feels like it drags as it takes forever to heat back up. He focuses on what's become of the characters since the traumas of the opening section instead of ratcheting things up. I was prepared to rip on him for that until I realized the effect it had. You see, that slow burn worked wonders without me even realizing it because, by the time the breakneck climax hit, I was actually left in tears over the fate of one of the characters. So all that characterization Golden did during the slow burn really paid of for me, and made me end up giving the book a whole star more than I had expected to. And the chilling ending didn't hurt, either...
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