I can't wait for sequels. One of the best horror novels I've ever read. From beginning to end it was a non-stop scarefest. Jonathan Janz knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat! ( )

I’m not super into creature features, but I did enjoy the small town with a dark secret vibe. ( )

I can say that I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It captures the essence of young people trying to grow up through some hardships. The story revolves around Will Burgess and his friends as they try to cope with life in general, plus deal with other things stirring in the town. They seem to have plenty of worries especially when legends become all too real for their town of Shadeland as creatures that live in the caverns surrounding the town start making their presence known. On top of that, a serial killer has escaped and he is also making his way toward the town.

This book was an intense, horror, and gory ride through the town of Shadeland and the deeper I delved into the story, the harder it was to put the book down. Giving it five stars. ( )

Over the years, I've built my To Be Read list into a pretty large list. Right now, it's at 555 unread books and it keeps growing. As such, I've been trying to shrink my list lately by, in part, not finding new authors to follow. Unfortunately, Janz is not helping me here. I keep enjoying his books and wanting more. CHILDREN OF THE DARK continues his streak of solidly entertaining books.

Will Burgess has some of the usual problems of a teenage boy: bullies, a crush he hasn't pursued, and doing well on his baseball team. But then he also has a unique set of problems: a dad he's never seen, a mother with drug problems, and an escaped serial killer loose in his town. Plus, there's something else loose. Something more monstrous and dangerous. Will finds himself trapped between the serial killer and the monsters with only a few people willing to help him.

One of the great things about the book was how much Janz got across the feel of being a teenager. The mindset and view of the world was 100% right in my mind. I very much felt like I was young again and experiencing the same feelings. In fact, right in the middle of one of those scenes where I was sucked into the drama of being a teenager, the abduction occurred. It was a total shock to me and gave me chills. The rest of the book wasn't as shocking, but it was still engaging. There were a few characters (the local police) who were a bit cliche but not overly so; the character also developed by the end of the story, so the change was a welcome event. There was also one plot element that was very easy to predict; I'm not going to say what but if you read the book, you'll probably figure it out too. None of that detracted me from my enjoyment of the story. The only unfortunate part is that I must admit that I am addicted: Janz is now a new favorite author to follow. ( )

In a recent blog post, Jonathan Janz spoke of Stephen King being his favorite author. Not only that, he credited King with making him a reader. Well, all that reading paid off because Janz is showing his stuff as an author, and in this book, I was very much reminded of Stephen King's work. Now mind you, I'm not saying that this book is a copycat of anything King has written. Far from it. This is a unique, page turner of a book. What reminds me of King in this book is the small town feel, the camaraderie between Will and his friends, the palpable feeling of being bullied, and the underlying feeling of dread. I'm reminded of King's The Body (off which the film, Stand By Me was based). I could easily see this book being made into a movie. It's that good.

Janz thoroughly impressed me with his werewolf novel, Wolf Land. He has gone even further with Children of the Dark. The prose is smart and engaging. The real winner though...the characters. These are characters we really care about. Even the supporting characters are written so we care what happens to them as well. Throw in some pretty scary monsters and quite an interesting plot twist and we have one hell of a horror novel here. Hell, even non-horror fans can get something from this book. Because it's not just about the horrors of what might be lurking in the dark. It's about growing up and learning the hard lesson that the world is not always a very nice place, whether it may be because of cruel, ignorant people, sadistic murderers, or primeval monsters.

If you have not read Jonathan Janz yet, I suggest you get busy reading. I can't wait to see what he has in store for us next.

(I received an eBook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review) ( )