Night, Winter, and Death was originally published in 1990, and it’s important to keep that in mind when listening to this book. It is a typical 90s monster horror story with lots gory deaths (including pets), vividly described sex scenes (two attempted rape scenes included), and the overt sexual objectification of women. If this had been a book written in the last decade, I would have stopped listening after the second chapter. With all that being said, I found this book surprisingly engaging and enjoyable if viewed from the perspective that it was written almost 30 years ago.
I have high standards for narration, and I thought Jon Oak’s voice was pleasant to listen to and a great fit for this story. I would happily listen to other books by this narrator. Both the pace of the writing and the narration kept me absorbed in the novel. While I wasn’t terribly invested in any particular character, and I found every single female portrayed in the book to be wholly unlikable (hysterical, senseless, and weak female characters being another common 1990s horror trope), I still felt a sense of satisfaction when the worst of the characters were killed off. As far as the monster is concerned, I appreciate the different approach to the typical werewolf. The transformation from nice guy to bloodthirsty fiend was well executed, and the “curse” being passed down from one generation of small town decedents to the next was an interesting twist.
On a funny side note, almost every character in this novel wets their pants when frightened. I understand that this can be a natural response to fear in some people, but when by the time the third or fourth person peed themselves, I couldn’t help but laugh. While this book certainly wasn’t scary enough to induce pants-wetting, I did find it entertaining, fun, and reminiscent of the 90s horror books I devoured as a teen.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.