The Sound of Midnight by Charles L. Grant

A few weeks ago I posted a review for the novel The Hour of the Oxrun Dead by Charles L. Grant that wasn’t very positive, but also not exactly negative. The reason for this was simple; I liked the story within the book and thought the writing was solid, but didn’t care for the way things would always abruptly end after a steady buildup -- usually with the main character passing out and waking a few hours later. It just didn’t work for me. I wanted more, especially when it came to the novels conclusion. More was not given, however, and I eventually had to set the book aside and admit disappointment. Not defeat though. Too many authors and reviewers that I admire have said great things about Charles L Grant and his Oxrun Station novels for me to be put off by one unremarkable experience. In fact, so many good things have been said about these tales that I found myself haunting the mailbox once again after ordering the next two -- The Sound of Midnight and The Last Call of Mourning -- my desire to read them growing with each passing day. Of course the mailman was not my friend during this time and while I probably can’t prove it, I’m pretty sure he purposely kept my books from me for a few extra days. I never made a scene, however, and then one day there they were, two cardboard like envelopes sticking up from the box, each containing a long out of print Tor Horror edition of the novels I so desperately wanted to experience.

The Sound of Midnight is the story of Dale Bartlett and the horrifying events that begin to unfold around her as summer turns to fall and Halloween draws near. It all begins one morning in June while out for a walk around the towns quiet lake. Willy Campbell, a young boy who had actually just finished purchasing a model in Dale’s toy store minutes earlier, mysteriously drowns while playing with friends. Hearing the screams as the event unfolds Dale races to the scene and tries to revive the boy but fails. Two months later another tragedy strikes. It happens right outside Dale’s toy store and involves Willy’s father David Campbell who crashes his car into a pole and dies. Not long after that Dale and her friend Vic, who was a high school teacher until he was mysterious fired for answering questions that some elementary school kids were asking him, attend a party at a wealthy woman’s home. One of the activities is a treasure hunt that takes the two all over the place in search of various items, one item being an apple that they plan on grabbing from an abandoned orchard on the edge of town -- the town’s grocery store is already closed for the night and even if it weren’t the rules state they can’t purchase the items on their lists. Without warning flaming arrows land around the two as they seek out the apple which sparks a fire in the field and orchard, one that mysteriously tries to surround them. Fortunately the two manage escape. Their relief is short lived, however, because they soon come to understand that someone or some group is trying to kill them. Even more frightening, it appears that the town’s children are involved. The question is why? Also, how many more deaths will follow before that question is answered?

I must say, I enjoyed The Sound of Midnight much more than I did The Hour of the Oxrun Dead, yet at the same time still found myself wishing the novel had been longer by a hundred pages or so. My reason for this is simple; I wanted more details on the horrors that were unfolding throughout the book, especially when it came to its ability to contaminate the town’s children. Thankfully that is my only complaint (no abrupt endings this time around), and I believe it is one that the author probably wouldn’t mind hearing if he were still alive today. After all, how many authors grow upset when someone who enjoys their work wishes there had been more? I know I wouldn’t be. My only other ‘issue’ with the book occurred while reading the first chapter. The name Dale threw me off because I didn’t associate it with the main female character that was narrating the story -- Dale automatically became a guys name in my head -- thus I thought there was a third unnamed character in the room. Once this confusion passed, however, I was able to read the book straight through with very little interruption, the text creating a movie within my head that was enjoyable to watch and better than anything that would have been playing on my real TV screen. Unfortunately my enjoyment of this book has caused a bit of a problem, one that I should have foreseen and made preparations for, that being the ordering of the forth and fifth book before starting the third book. I didn’t, and now once again I am at the mercy of a sadistic mailman, one who enjoys the torments he inflicts upon me whenever I am eagerly awaiting a package.