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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780843959741
ISBN number: 0843959746
Label: Leisure Books
Manufacturer: Leisure Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 308
Printing Date: August 28, 2007
Publishing house: Leisure Books
Sale Popularity Level: 639912
Studio: Leisure Books
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Rated by buyers 
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In the introduction to Mary SanGiovanni's debut horror novel The Hollower, author Brian Keene poses the question to the reader: What is fear? Is it truly the gore-streaked movies that we flock to night after night, the shock-factor exposés of gruesome torture and brutal dissection which we have all but become numb to and abuse as idle amusement? Or does true fear quicken from the anticipation of what we cannot see or control, that liquid darkness spawned of our own subconscious that seeps into our lives, striking us when we are at our weakest and least suspecting? Could it be the kind of terror that can shatter the fragile human psyche leaving us far worse off than dead? Mary SanGiovanni would have you believe this to be true. However, I am not sure entirely if her novel expresses the depth of this more deviant and sinister nature of emotional and psychological fear.
Set in the sleepy little New Jersey town of Lakehaven, The Hollower follows the lives of six individuals (a reporter, the reporter's mentally unstable sister, a detective, a bartender, a recovering coke addict, and an eleven year-old kid) as they wage battle with a faceless, paranormal creature that taps into their deepest subconscious demons and uses them to create terrifying hallucinations to drive them, one by one, into madness and eventual death. In concept, this sounds like the making of a truly horrific and psychologically thrilling novel, but in reality the story fell a little short of dragging you across the threshold into the pitch-black darkness this creature was capable of.
The human psyche is the ultimate dungeon of twisted psychosis and in a novel about using that subconscious against a person the ability to make the reader cringe with the subtle understanding and fear of what is possible is crucial. Each time I felt myself being drawn into a new scene build, expecting to be scared or disturbed, the scene ended with an anticlimactic fizzle, as if SanGiovanni could take you to the hazy edge of insanity, but could not allow it to grab you by the throat and shake you till you squirmed. While SanGiovanni attempted to tap into the inner demons of her characters, too little in-depth character background development was done for the read to really sink their teeth into them and form a solid understanding of how dark and unstable these individuals are. At times, I found myself wondering, out of all of the people in Lakehaven, why did The Hollower choose these people since their demons did not seem anymore sinister than the demons of most people, perhaps even less?
However, the breakneck pace of the book kept me from focusing too much on those details. While I am one of those readers who usually has to make a connection to the characters in a book for it to hold my attention span for more than a few chapters, the The Hollower launched so quickly into the action that the lack of character development became more of a minor personal irritation, than a true flaw. In fact, the novel has the feel of being written specifically with the purpose of being adapted to a screenplay later on. Because of this, the story, at times, feels a bit predictable with cliché settings and dialogue typical of most mainstream horror movies. The bar, the lakeside town, the sleepy little suburban neighborhood; the setting felt cozy and comfortable, something I've seen or read many times before. The Hollower also felt rushed due to this movie script momentum and left me wondering if there were crucial parts of the story which had been left out for the sake of pace. It scrambles quickly towards a confusingly psychedelic ending that, unfortunately, does not deliver the earth-shaking blow I know it was meant to deal the reader. I feel that this anticlimactic ending is in part due to the lack of substantial build-up and suspenseful tension in the preceding chapters. It's almost as if I were watching the TV version of a feature movie where important scenes, that might make it Oscar-worthy, were deleted in order to make it fit into a primetime slot.
With all of the above commentary said, while I found quite a bit of fault with The Hollower for its tame growl about the nature of fear and hasty development, I did actually enjoy reading it. It's a light read, a good book to relax on the weekend with or take on an airplane with you. Mary SanGiovanni has the beginnings of a solid literary voice and a quick pace, which keeps you moving nonstop through the story. I'll be interested to see what her subsequent novel consists of and I get the sense that there is a sequel in the works. The Hollower is not going scare you senseless, though, if you're looking for that kind of novel. It won't make you curl up in your chair, unable to put your feet on the ground for fear of what lurks beneath, or leave you sleeping with the lights on. It will, however, quite possibly, cause you to sit back and wonder just what your ... Read More
Rated by buyers 
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Got this book a while ago and wish I'd read it sooner. I'd read a few of her short stories and was anxious to dive into her novel. Was a great debut novel from Mary SanGiovanni. I love her style of writing; her descriptive narrative is fresh, vivid, and intense. The characters are fleshed out nicely.
The story had sort of a Twilight Zone feel to it, which I enjoy very much. The ending reminded me of either a Clive Barker or Stephen King novel; not one in particular, but the action, the description, was (as Barker and King) extremely intense and visual.
My only gripe is that, though it had suspense and action throughout, it didn't really take off "full speed" until about halfway through the book. From there on, it was hard to put down.
SanGiovanni is a ripe talent in the writing world. Am so looking forward to reading more from here. Can't wait for her subsequent book to come out!!
Rated by buyers -
The Hollower is a monster novel that I wasn't expecting. After reading Brian Keene's introduction to the book, I expected nothing short of amazing. Mary SanGiovani crafts an amazing tale with her novel The Hollower. It all begins with the suicide of Max Feinstein, after a creature called `The Hollower' tortures him to death with its mind games. We soon learn that Mr. Feinstein wasn't the only man tortured by the hollower; there's several.
One of these men is Dave Kohlar, who has enough problems without having to deal with the Hollower. Another of these men is Erik, a drug user, and a woman who runs a bar, Cheryl, is also afflicted. Even a young boy is haunted by the Hollower. There seems to be no reason for the Hollower preying on these people, but all they know is that the Hollower lives to torture them.
The Hollower is a novel that I hadn't expected. Usually when I read a monster novel, I see lots of gore and violence. The Hollower is different, because it doesn't have to resort to the most primal things to make it scary. It's a novel that will remain amongst my favorites, and Mary SanGiovani is an author you need to check out.
Rated by buyers 
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Considering that this is the author's very first novel I was very impressed with the quickness of the action and professional tone of the book. However the more I read it the more the action felt like a movie on TV, it would fit perfectly on the Sci-fi network as a late night flick. Fast and to the point no time was wasted to introduce all the troubled characters who by a miracle find each other, they all have a problem and don't now how to solve it, what it will cost them will be their lives and they have no weapons, scarce information and they rely on sheer luck to bring them to victory. Random as they are, the characters are stalked by a man in a grey coat, hat and gloves and with no face. The bogeyman as it appeared to me, tortures his prey through their personal fears, failures, addictions and problems. Faced with nothing much but a video tape made by the very first victim the reader is introduced to, they decide to come together and fight this Freddy Kruger like creature who slips in and out of their consciousness. They don't have to be sleeping to hear voices and see faces of their friends and family members melt into ugly caricatures pushing them to brinks of sanity. One by one they are attacked in ways that scares them the most and together they must find a way to end the madness and destroy the mysterious faceless man.
I would have loved some more history and introduction about the people I was supposed to care about and fear for. It was a little hard to connect when they seems to be written as a backdrop to this mysterious man who selected them at random. I would think they whole town would have been infested with people who had similar problems but that was not so. The writing was very good and read as if it came from a seasoned author but it lacked just a little more wit and charm. I know this is a horror novel but the jokes were a little bit cookie cutter and the few gems of the story happened at the end, where this fantastic deadly landscape was described, then each line was golden, but overall the book was missing little sensitivity and charm that in my opinion makes the book a five star read The biggest problem to me were the fears of the individuals attacked, they were not frightening and seemed to be more crazy and fantastic than bone chilling. And those who want to find out more about the Hollower better not hold their breath; the ending doesn't seem to shine too much light on what this whole book is about. Why were these people chosen and pushed to limits of their sanity? It would make sense to go deep and really dig in their souls about what made them targets. Also the intro by Brain Keene was a bit much, he left me expecting a stellar novel and instead I am now questioning his taste in ideas.
Overall a fast read, but it felt a little plastic and contrived. I will read SanGiovanni's subsequent novel but if it doesn't improve on her fill in the words on the page technique I will not be reading any more. Books don't have to read like a movie, they can be drawn out and loved with verbs and adjectives making them rich and delightful, this felt less like a book and more like a film on paper.
- Kasia S.
Rated by buyers -
Mary SanGiovanni's debut novel was a real treat to read. Technically well written and written more skillfully than many other debut novels in this regard. The story flows well and was a realtively fast read. Critics may be quick to point out that at the surface the characters are not developed well-enough or that there is little back story. For readers who want dropped right into the action this is the kind of novel for you. I do believe Sangiovanni gave adequete backstory and enough qualities to make these characters "real" and people I care about. Critics will also make the claim that the body count is too low, but horror is more than blood and gore, and this book does have its share. The opening scene is superb in its description of all five senses. The plot runs like a roller coaster, slowly building...building...building until finally sending readers on a thrill ride that ends with satisfaction. This books didn't "scare" me, but horror fiction really doesn't. I did sense the character's fear though and the feeling of impending dread. What impressed me most was how often Sangiovanni was able to "get me." Everytime I thought I knew who/where the Hollower was, it turned out I was wrong. Her ability to build suspense and mystery is uncanny.
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