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Strangewood
The young son of a popular children's book author vanishes into the dangerous fictional world his father created. And it's going to take more than a vivid imagination to get him back alive.
First time in trade--the acclaimed contemporary horror classic by Bram Stoker Award-winner Christopher Golden. With a new introduction by the author.
First time in trade--the acclaimed contemporary horror classic by Bram Stoker Award-winner Christopher Golden. With a new introduction by the author.
306 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1999
44 people are currently reading
468 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Golden
798 books2,959 followersCHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of such novels as Road of Bones, Ararat, Snowblind, Of Saints and Shadows, and Red Hands. With Mike Mignola, he is the co-creator of the Outerverse comic book universe, including such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, Dark Cities, and The New Dead, among others, and he has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden co-hosts the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. In 2015 he founded the popular Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. For the Bram Stoker Awards, Golden has been nominated ten times in eight different categories. His original novels have been published in more than fifteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
March 26, 2017
Strangewood, you are a strange one. You sounded so exciting. Blending fantasy with writing and writer lifestyle, making a written world in a book come to life. Instead I was lost and downright bored half the time. The shame of it all. I almost felt annoyed after reading this book because of the letdown I felt after being so excited about the promised adventure that sounded so unique.
We all crave uniqueness after we've read so many books - some genres start blending together since they share and embrace tropes and cliches that readers come to know and expect. You've read one serial killer story, you recognize twists in others. You've read horror with a particular creature, you're basically an expert on ways to try and make that creature stand out next. You've read so many mysteries, it becomes easier to solve the riddles through spotting red herrings and eyeing the least suspected culprits. Strangewood seemed like a potential breath of fresh air because it seemed like it would be so different from the get-go.
Pacing is a hindrance. The beginning takes too long to start up the demented storyline with drawn out foreshadowing. During this slow buildup I should have warmed to the main characters, but it felt disjointed. The situation with the child custody situation is a personal pet peeve and tugged on my heartstrings, in a bad and distracting way. When the fantasy came into play, it was slow paced and rather humdrum. The invented characters were so unique they were awkward. It felt like childhood characters - demented ones - trying to make themselves work into an adult story where they just didn't.
Christopher Golden is a new-to-me author, and fortunately I did enjoy his writing style. It's direct and evenly flowing. He has imagination for sure, but the pacing needs work, some of the scenes felt awkward, and characters didn't come across as anything more than plot devices with suitable personality quirks just suited to get a plot point of the story started. The biggest letdown was definitely the invented creatures for the story, though. They just don't work.
While I did like a twist at the end, this was a chore to read. I hope I find more success with another Golden book.
We all crave uniqueness after we've read so many books - some genres start blending together since they share and embrace tropes and cliches that readers come to know and expect. You've read one serial killer story, you recognize twists in others. You've read horror with a particular creature, you're basically an expert on ways to try and make that creature stand out next. You've read so many mysteries, it becomes easier to solve the riddles through spotting red herrings and eyeing the least suspected culprits. Strangewood seemed like a potential breath of fresh air because it seemed like it would be so different from the get-go.
Pacing is a hindrance. The beginning takes too long to start up the demented storyline with drawn out foreshadowing. During this slow buildup I should have warmed to the main characters, but it felt disjointed. The situation with the child custody situation is a personal pet peeve and tugged on my heartstrings, in a bad and distracting way. When the fantasy came into play, it was slow paced and rather humdrum. The invented characters were so unique they were awkward. It felt like childhood characters - demented ones - trying to make themselves work into an adult story where they just didn't.
Christopher Golden is a new-to-me author, and fortunately I did enjoy his writing style. It's direct and evenly flowing. He has imagination for sure, but the pacing needs work, some of the scenes felt awkward, and characters didn't come across as anything more than plot devices with suitable personality quirks just suited to get a plot point of the story started. The biggest letdown was definitely the invented creatures for the story, though. They just don't work.
While I did like a twist at the end, this was a chore to read. I hope I find more success with another Golden book.
Want to read
July 6, 2016This is number 124 of 250 of the leather bound slipcased edition signed and numbered by Christopher Golden.
Forward by Graham Joyce
Introduction by Bentley Little
Illustrations by Richard Kirk
Afterword by Christopher Golden
Forward by Graham Joyce
Introduction by Bentley Little
Illustrations by Richard Kirk
Afterword by Christopher Golden
November 5, 2025
3.75🌟
January 24, 2013
Picture with me if you will, a trip that sounded exciting the minute you saw the brochure. You gather with you all the necessary provisions to hold you over for a few hours, and you’re off. Except that as soon as you get on the highway you hit traffic. Then it finally lets up and you cruise without problems straight on until you come to your destination, only to find out it closed down. You know that feeling of anger, frustration and utter disappointment you have right now? Well, welcome to my world!
More dark fantasy than horror, the plot reads like a mix between The Neverending Story and a Barker-like rendition of Winnie The Pooh. Although this particular brand of tale has been told a jillion times, golden does add his, albeit unusual, touch to it. With a comic book feel to it, Golden often strays from the plot and delves a little too close for comfort into the often distracted parents. The pace in the book is rambunctious and disorderly. The introduction is painfully slow to only pick up speed just after the beginning of chapter four. Afterwards the pace maintains a rapid flow only to fizzle out at the climax.
The atmosphere is constantly changing and morphing into another mood entirely. It would have even worked if the transitioning had been a little smoother and a lot less obvious. The style of writing is Golden’s most endearing and lasting talent. The man can weave a sentence with untouchable finesse. He writes as if he were talking directly to you without presumption or arrogance.
Okay now here is where Golden completely lost me, the characters. The parents come off as self-involved adults who spend more time in their own heads and less focusing on their immediate concern- their son. The characters in Strangeland reminded me so much of Cap’n Crunch, Puff the Magic Dragon and Beauty and The Beast that I spent half the time laughing. The only authentic player in the story was the boy. Although Golden does seem to have trouble writing adults, he can put on the skin of a child with skillful ease.
My rating? I give it a 2 . Next time you’re at the library, pick this book up. If nothing else, you’ll get a kick out of re-visiting old childhood pals.
-As reviewed for Horror-Web.com
More dark fantasy than horror, the plot reads like a mix between The Neverending Story and a Barker-like rendition of Winnie The Pooh. Although this particular brand of tale has been told a jillion times, golden does add his, albeit unusual, touch to it. With a comic book feel to it, Golden often strays from the plot and delves a little too close for comfort into the often distracted parents. The pace in the book is rambunctious and disorderly. The introduction is painfully slow to only pick up speed just after the beginning of chapter four. Afterwards the pace maintains a rapid flow only to fizzle out at the climax.
The atmosphere is constantly changing and morphing into another mood entirely. It would have even worked if the transitioning had been a little smoother and a lot less obvious. The style of writing is Golden’s most endearing and lasting talent. The man can weave a sentence with untouchable finesse. He writes as if he were talking directly to you without presumption or arrogance.
Okay now here is where Golden completely lost me, the characters. The parents come off as self-involved adults who spend more time in their own heads and less focusing on their immediate concern- their son. The characters in Strangeland reminded me so much of Cap’n Crunch, Puff the Magic Dragon and Beauty and The Beast that I spent half the time laughing. The only authentic player in the story was the boy. Although Golden does seem to have trouble writing adults, he can put on the skin of a child with skillful ease.
My rating? I give it a 2 . Next time you’re at the library, pick this book up. If nothing else, you’ll get a kick out of re-visiting old childhood pals.
-As reviewed for Horror-Web.com
April 27, 2022
I REALLY loved this. It's apparently a very divisive book, and I get that. It's a little bizarre. But it's supposed to be. It's honing in on fantasy and horror tropes *just* self aware enough that you realize it was purposeful, and it plays on those in a very unique way. It's almost hypocritical to think this book is too weird or strange to read and then say you love CS Lewis or Terry Pratchett or something. If you keep going, the weird feels more normal and you start getting where the author is taking you. It's SUPPOSED to be strange. That's part of the horror part.
The characters here are amazing and well fleshed out, and the way they're written never get boring or old, even though sometimes we're in spaces with them somewhat repetitively. When I tell you I was INVESTED with where this was going, like, I cried at the end.
All the professional authors who have forewords and epilogues in this book (especially Bentley Little's) say and explain these things much more eloquently. But if you stick it out and read through it and finish, this book is truly amazing and beautiful for exactly what it is. And it's a perfect example of a REALLY well crafted fantasy horror, the devices used here are on point.
I just realized the other day I also have Christopher Golden's newest book on my TBR for this year and didn't really know who he was when I added it, but now I know. And apparently I started with what may be his most divisive and least popular book. But it worked so well for me and I'm sold. I just wish we had a whole series about this wonderful land, but I understand why he wrote this and what prompted it to pop into his head. To take that idea and run with it and create this is just amazing. Thank you for taking me to Strangewood, Mr. Golden.
The characters here are amazing and well fleshed out, and the way they're written never get boring or old, even though sometimes we're in spaces with them somewhat repetitively. When I tell you I was INVESTED with where this was going, like, I cried at the end.
All the professional authors who have forewords and epilogues in this book (especially Bentley Little's) say and explain these things much more eloquently. But if you stick it out and read through it and finish, this book is truly amazing and beautiful for exactly what it is. And it's a perfect example of a REALLY well crafted fantasy horror, the devices used here are on point.
I just realized the other day I also have Christopher Golden's newest book on my TBR for this year and didn't really know who he was when I added it, but now I know. And apparently I started with what may be his most divisive and least popular book. But it worked so well for me and I'm sold. I just wish we had a whole series about this wonderful land, but I understand why he wrote this and what prompted it to pop into his head. To take that idea and run with it and create this is just amazing. Thank you for taking me to Strangewood, Mr. Golden.
September 28, 2013
To be honest, I couldn't get through this book. I stopped around Chapter 7 and handed the book to my roommate. I told him that if he read it and it got better to let me know. I am not to impressed. First of all, it is way too Winnie the pooh for me. I mean the main character, T.J Randall aka Thomas Randall is an author who writes a children's series called Strangewood. The characters are a boy, his best friend, who just happens to be a bear, a grumpy midget , etc. I never understood the hype of Winnie but if you like him maybe you can get through this. I mean instead of bees and their honey you will get bees and their peanut butter but same concept. Okay back to the story, you have Thomas, his ex wife, and their son, Nathan. First couple of chapters is introducing you to the characters and what exactly is going on between them, the divorced couple still trying to cope and their son who they feel they have failed. The ex who is moving on with her life and the husband who still wishes there was a relationship. I can tell you that the book stopped holding my attention when, after Nathan has fallen into a comatose state, which the doctors have no cure or a clue as to why, the author spends three pages in describing the mother, ex wife's, ordeal with her boyfriend and how she feels that even though her son is laying in a bed in a coma she has to have a life. Ummm, okay. Your son is in a coma. Who cares about your life? This is when I shut the book, looked at my roommate and said HERE. If it gets any better let me know but I still doubt I will finish it. I know that others probably enjoyed this book but it was just NOT for me.
April 24, 2012
I feel like this book accomplished what Lev Grossman was *trying* to do in The Magicians.
With the post-Potter resurgence of fantasy, it is natural that adult readers ask what's in the genre for those of us too old and jaded to completely swallow the idealized universe fantasy often offers us? Golden's answer to the question is a picaresque novel in which our adult protagonist returns to the Oz-like fantasy world he thought he had simply imagined when young, this time searching for a real-world, pragmatic purpose to all the spells, magic, and talking animals.
Emotionally, the narrative works a lot better than most takes on the question. The story drags a bit at times, and we tire of our hero's constant questioning of his own mind. Give up and go with it for a while, won't you? You're harshing my suspension of disbelief! Still, the inhabitants of Strangewood are fascinating in a post-Freudian sort of way, and if the ending is a bit melancholy, it's ambiguous enough that we can hope a sequel might offer an optimistic resolution.
With the post-Potter resurgence of fantasy, it is natural that adult readers ask what's in the genre for those of us too old and jaded to completely swallow the idealized universe fantasy often offers us? Golden's answer to the question is a picaresque novel in which our adult protagonist returns to the Oz-like fantasy world he thought he had simply imagined when young, this time searching for a real-world, pragmatic purpose to all the spells, magic, and talking animals.
Emotionally, the narrative works a lot better than most takes on the question. The story drags a bit at times, and we tire of our hero's constant questioning of his own mind. Give up and go with it for a while, won't you? You're harshing my suspension of disbelief! Still, the inhabitants of Strangewood are fascinating in a post-Freudian sort of way, and if the ending is a bit melancholy, it's ambiguous enough that we can hope a sequel might offer an optimistic resolution.
May 6, 2013
Wow! I read Myth Hunters by this author a few years ago and liked it so much I had to try some of his other books, but hadn't bought another one until now and I was not disappointed in the least. Wonderful characters to root for and against, a fantastical other world, and clean, crisp writing. Not too mention an involving storyline that had me crying at the end. Well done, Mr. Golden.
November 30, 2020
I cannot say enough good things about this book. Imaginative and creative on a different level. This should be the next level of reading after someone enjoys Harry Potter but now wants something a little darker and challenging. How this was not made into a movie, I will never know. Read this fun, adventurous book if you want to be transported into another world of dark imagination.
December 10, 2020
This is the best book I have ever read! I absolutely love the mix of horror and fantasy. I will read it again and I normally don't do that. I wish Strangewood was real or places like it. That's how much I immersed myself into the book. The characters were fantastic! A very imaginative story!
November 22, 2021
What a fantastic story of the strange and horrible things we do to our family members, as authors....
😂😅😅😂😂
I loved this.
😂😅😅😂😂
I loved this.
October 1, 2025
Once upon a time, Strangewood had been a happy home. Now…
it was hell.
Well… meh. Like much less than 3 stars meh. This reading … experience started as I made my way bravely through the pages upon pages of fawning adoration from other writers that the publishers decided was somehow necessary - not to mention a rather unremarkable introduction by the author himself. And after that things got really really slow. Like "oh dear, I might ALSO fall into an inexplicable coma" slow. Oh well, at least I had some non-medicinal assistance I could count on for the past days in terms of falling asleep faster.
Nothing in this place was safe. Not anymore. Nothing could be trusted.
Oh sorry, where are my manners? I've been trying my best to slog through Christopher Golden's "Strangewood", a book that I would not call horror at all unless it had also involved some physical and even psychological harassment in the "real world". I should note that I went into this with high hopes, noting I have only experienced Golden's work before through his work on "Hellboy", obviously in conjunction with Mike Mignola and the usual gang of suspects. I am somewhat relieved to find through other reviews that it's "not just me" as they say and that others have also had trouble with this story.
I don't know what lies beyond the wood for one who is damned. Do you?
There are really two aspects that really, really turned me off, well, beyond just the herky jerky pacing. First and perhaps foremost, the forced "gosh I have such a tough job" or, to quote, "it (is) a hell of a way to make a living" that Golden seems to be trying to convey just gets so old and so tired so quickly. That truly and utterly had me rolling my eyes so hard I thought they were going to tinkle tankle trop a la la out of my head and fall into the Candy Drop Valley or whatever the hell the area was called. Perhaps that's why so many other authors lined up for the prologue, simply because they wanted to commiserate about this as well.
As a writer, Thomas had felt quite alone at various times over the years. It was a solitary profession.
But to me, it was dull and far too self-serving to be of even mild interest. Plus, let's be honest: the more time we spent watching Thomas and his agent worry about making money ("For God's sake, why the hell not? It's the most popular series of children's books in decades."), the more he became a variant of J.K.Rowling in my mind. And no, that's not a compliment, not even a slight one (I like neither she nor her boring books!). Yes, readers are aware that writers have a tough job and that in the case of Thomas, "Strangewood was his baby, and he was extremely protective of that world and its characters". No, I cannot even begin to fathom what it would be like to invent in my empty pumpkin head a world like Strangewood, this "wonderful and yet scary place". But good golly, get over yourself already. As a result - along with watching others stumble about in this world - that with the exclusion of Nathan, I really found it hard to find any sympathy for any of the characters, real or imagined.
It was like Strangewood was dead. As though somebody had killed it.
The second aspect I didn't enjoy was that this was a truly questionable collection of characters, scenarios, and more for what we were led to believe is a children's series of books? I mean, this seemed to be more like a bad acid trip than anything that would ever be released for a younger audience, being neither suitable nor really even interesting in any way! I mean, did no one else find that having a character armed with two guns went a bit far? I know that saying that makes me out to be the old grumpy Gus but I'll tell you this: I survived the age of H.R.Pufnstuf AND McDonaldland. And if some of those images don't send you screaming out into the night in Tarrytown (a place I've been to far too many times, that is, more than once!), then quite frankly, you weren't paying attention. At least Scooby-Doo and Land of the Lost helped keep me grounded and somewhat sane as disco began to crawl into our reality…
The imaginary friends of his dreams wanted his blood and the blood of his son.
So overall, I was really disappointed in "Strangewood". In terms of the 'dark fantasy' angle, well, I will say that it reminded me somewhat of Neil Gaiman's work. You gotta admire the creativity yada yada but the execution? Yeah, I'm not a Gaiman fan either. It just struck me as odd that the only part of the book that I truly found entertaining was the big battle scene that included lots of characters dying. No, I don't think it's just me. Hang on, I'll check again with other reviews… no I think I'm safe. Well, I assume I am until I go to sleep… or brush my teeth…
it was hell.
Well… meh. Like much less than 3 stars meh. This reading … experience started as I made my way bravely through the pages upon pages of fawning adoration from other writers that the publishers decided was somehow necessary - not to mention a rather unremarkable introduction by the author himself. And after that things got really really slow. Like "oh dear, I might ALSO fall into an inexplicable coma" slow. Oh well, at least I had some non-medicinal assistance I could count on for the past days in terms of falling asleep faster.
Nothing in this place was safe. Not anymore. Nothing could be trusted.
Oh sorry, where are my manners? I've been trying my best to slog through Christopher Golden's "Strangewood", a book that I would not call horror at all unless it had also involved some physical and even psychological harassment in the "real world". I should note that I went into this with high hopes, noting I have only experienced Golden's work before through his work on "Hellboy", obviously in conjunction with Mike Mignola and the usual gang of suspects. I am somewhat relieved to find through other reviews that it's "not just me" as they say and that others have also had trouble with this story.
I don't know what lies beyond the wood for one who is damned. Do you?
There are really two aspects that really, really turned me off, well, beyond just the herky jerky pacing. First and perhaps foremost, the forced "gosh I have such a tough job" or, to quote, "it (is) a hell of a way to make a living" that Golden seems to be trying to convey just gets so old and so tired so quickly. That truly and utterly had me rolling my eyes so hard I thought they were going to tinkle tankle trop a la la out of my head and fall into the Candy Drop Valley or whatever the hell the area was called. Perhaps that's why so many other authors lined up for the prologue, simply because they wanted to commiserate about this as well.
As a writer, Thomas had felt quite alone at various times over the years. It was a solitary profession.
But to me, it was dull and far too self-serving to be of even mild interest. Plus, let's be honest: the more time we spent watching Thomas and his agent worry about making money ("For God's sake, why the hell not? It's the most popular series of children's books in decades."), the more he became a variant of J.K.Rowling in my mind. And no, that's not a compliment, not even a slight one (I like neither she nor her boring books!). Yes, readers are aware that writers have a tough job and that in the case of Thomas, "Strangewood was his baby, and he was extremely protective of that world and its characters". No, I cannot even begin to fathom what it would be like to invent in my empty pumpkin head a world like Strangewood, this "wonderful and yet scary place". But good golly, get over yourself already. As a result - along with watching others stumble about in this world - that with the exclusion of Nathan, I really found it hard to find any sympathy for any of the characters, real or imagined.
It was like Strangewood was dead. As though somebody had killed it.
The second aspect I didn't enjoy was that this was a truly questionable collection of characters, scenarios, and more for what we were led to believe is a children's series of books? I mean, this seemed to be more like a bad acid trip than anything that would ever be released for a younger audience, being neither suitable nor really even interesting in any way! I mean, did no one else find that having a character armed with two guns went a bit far? I know that saying that makes me out to be the old grumpy Gus but I'll tell you this: I survived the age of H.R.Pufnstuf AND McDonaldland. And if some of those images don't send you screaming out into the night in Tarrytown (a place I've been to far too many times, that is, more than once!), then quite frankly, you weren't paying attention. At least Scooby-Doo and Land of the Lost helped keep me grounded and somewhat sane as disco began to crawl into our reality…
The imaginary friends of his dreams wanted his blood and the blood of his son.
So overall, I was really disappointed in "Strangewood". In terms of the 'dark fantasy' angle, well, I will say that it reminded me somewhat of Neil Gaiman's work. You gotta admire the creativity yada yada but the execution? Yeah, I'm not a Gaiman fan either. It just struck me as odd that the only part of the book that I truly found entertaining was the big battle scene that included lots of characters dying. No, I don't think it's just me. Hang on, I'll check again with other reviews… no I think I'm safe. Well, I assume I am until I go to sleep… or brush my teeth…
October 6, 2019
I loved this book. I read the prologue, where Mr. Golden explained where he got the idea for this book, which helped prepare me for type of story I would be reading- a fairy tale for adults. I would have given this a five star rating but there was just one thing that popped up out of nowhere, which kind of made all of the reasons TJ, (the author of the "Strangeland" series) gave of not having his heart in the writing of the books, seem a bit vague, but that little thing, still didn't take away from the story itself.
For the most part, I'm not a fan of fairy tales, but this one was exciting, and there were some tense moments, as well.
And I've often wondered, what happens to characters in a book when that book is finished? Where do they go? Does their life keep going even when no one is around to write about it, or to give them direction to help in their existence?
I would recommend this book to anyone with a vivid imagination (and sometimes, a strong stomach).
For the most part, I'm not a fan of fairy tales, but this one was exciting, and there were some tense moments, as well.
And I've often wondered, what happens to characters in a book when that book is finished? Where do they go? Does their life keep going even when no one is around to write about it, or to give them direction to help in their existence?
I would recommend this book to anyone with a vivid imagination (and sometimes, a strong stomach).
December 24, 2017
The forward to this book intrigued me, and it really did live up to the expectation set by that. I've read several books from Christopher Golden but this one really seemed to show the full extent of his imagination and ability to blend fantasy and real life together into one seamless story.
I would have maybe made the boy a couple years older... it felt really odd at first that the understood Strangewood so well that he knew Y place came after X in Strangewood, yet he wasn't even old enough to read yet... there's a limit to how well a 5 year old could understand the topographical context of what his father was telling him.
It was also a bit of a sad book, more so than other ones. But still, enjoyable. I'm interested now in seeing why a lot of people on here rated it lower than I did.
I would have maybe made the boy a couple years older... it felt really odd at first that the understood Strangewood so well that he knew Y place came after X in Strangewood, yet he wasn't even old enough to read yet... there's a limit to how well a 5 year old could understand the topographical context of what his father was telling him.
It was also a bit of a sad book, more so than other ones. But still, enjoyable. I'm interested now in seeing why a lot of people on here rated it lower than I did.
January 15, 2024
A story about an author’s fantastical story that actually exists! At first, I was unsure because it felt weird and confusing but I ended up getting engrossed and enjoying it. The multiple viewpoints between all the characters was fun. I think the author wasted a lot of time with the character Joe, because he provided nothing to the story except for causing a reader to wonder about what the author was foreshadowing. There is no foreshadowing involved in this one. It’s definitely a different type of read from what we typically get nowadays, but in a good way. The author is very creative.
August 23, 2025
That was AMAZING!!!!!
I couldn't stop reading. The world that was created is mind-blowing. The characters are the best. I couldn't put the book down for anything. Read it on the toilet and listened to it at the grocery store. If you buy this book be prepared to spend lots of time reading and imagining this scary world that TJ has created and shares with his son....for better or worse. Peanut Butter General was my personal favorite but there are many to choose from so get your own.
I couldn't stop reading. The world that was created is mind-blowing. The characters are the best. I couldn't put the book down for anything. Read it on the toilet and listened to it at the grocery store. If you buy this book be prepared to spend lots of time reading and imagining this scary world that TJ has created and shares with his son....for better or worse. Peanut Butter General was my personal favorite but there are many to choose from so get your own.
October 30, 2018
Awesome adult fantase
I literally couldn't out it down. It was like someone (Golden) mixed Labyrinth and Winnie the Pooh, added cursing and made it for adults. It's fast paced and enthralling. For most of the novel, I kept thinking to myself, "I can't believe this is a book. It's so wonderfully bizarre." That thought would occur simultaneously with, "I can't believe how much I'm enjoying this. I've read a few of Golden's works and this is by far my favorite.
I literally couldn't out it down. It was like someone (Golden) mixed Labyrinth and Winnie the Pooh, added cursing and made it for adults. It's fast paced and enthralling. For most of the novel, I kept thinking to myself, "I can't believe this is a book. It's so wonderfully bizarre." That thought would occur simultaneously with, "I can't believe how much I'm enjoying this. I've read a few of Golden's works and this is by far my favorite.
November 26, 2023
Overall, not a bad story. It doesn’t really have much of a horror element to it, but certainly a mildly dark fantasy. It kind of reminds me of Chronicles of Narnia and Hook, whereas there’s this fantasy world that has kind of gone to shit and it’s up to the long-awaited returning proprietor to save it, all while trying to save his young son. And all that only really starts to come into play in the last 4-5 chapters.
January 22, 2024
This is in my top 5 favorite books of all time. A writer of kids books about an OZ like place, decides he doesn't want to write them anymore. This upsets the characters in the books and they come out of the stories and kidnap his son to force him to keep writing. He travels into the land of Strangewood to save his son and finds the world he has created us in shambles. Heros are now villains and vice versa. This is definitely not a kids book. Gets a little dark and twisted.
January 26, 2018
Quando a mágica realmente existe... o livro é bem legal é um pouco triste também. Maa cheio de aventura e prende um pouco o leitor. Em algumas horas fica bem cansativo, mas depois já começa adrenalina de novo. Recomendo!
August 17, 2020
It was really interesting and had a great tone. But the ending was so rushed and so forced and the actual character growth ended up being completely useless.
I enjoyed it so I do recommend it. Just don't expect much from the ending
I enjoyed it so I do recommend it. Just don't expect much from the ending
August 16, 2022
I was raised on Enid Blyton books, like The Enchanted Wood and The Magic Faraway Tree, and this book reminded me of those books, only much darker and obviously written for adults. I really enjoyed this book - very different to the other books I've read lately.
October 8, 2025
If I could give it 6. I would. It manages to exceed the Pooh acre wood story come to life narrative. I wish it spent more time in strange wood. The amount of time spent at the hospital and on the wife’s relationship is wasted pages.
December 6, 2023
2.5 stars
November 29, 2025
I like the overall premise, and I liked our main cast, but I sadly didn't enjoy the execution of the fantasy elements most of the time.
August 22, 2009
Strangewood is another dark fantasy by Christopher Golden that positively oozes imagination. In a genre that is cluttered with cookie cutter plots, cardboard characters and recycled stories, his editors and publishers must kick up their heels with joy every time he pitches a new story. Because no one is going to accuse Golden of unoriginality.
The fundamental question posed in Strangewood is: do authors create the fantastic worlds and characters they write about, or are they merely borrowing things that already existed?
Thomas is a wildly successful children's fantasy writer, author of the colorful Strangewood series and likened to AA Milne and Frank Baum. But the characters in the real Strangewood -- the land that exists outside the pages of Thomas' books -- is filled with much more malevolent creatures than the Hundred Acre Wood or the Land of Oz. Even worse, Strangewood has fallen into disrepair since Thomas stopped writing about it, and its once friendly creatures are at war.
Thomas is less worried about Strangewood and more worried about his personal life. He's recently divorced and the father of a five-year-old son, Nathan. Unfortunately, the problems in his two worlds collide -- and escalate -- when creatures from his books seem to be stalking him and Nathan. First, Nathan claims his imaginary friend Crabapple has been murdered. Then, Nathan suddenly slips into a coma for which doctors have no explanation -- and awakens in Strangewood. Of course, Thomas is charged with the task of finding his way to Strangewood to save his son from the products of his own imagination. While there, he has to figure out a way to save Strangewood, too.
Much like other books by Golden that I've read recently (The Myth Hunters and The Boys Are Back In Town) I absolutely loved Strangewood. Golden writes children very convincingly -- so convincingly, in fact, I was at times bothered by the pain and emotional distress suffered by Nathan in this book. However, as a mom of a similar five-year-old boy, it probably hit a bit too close to home for me. The Strangewood residents were all fantastically colorful and inventive, and the land itself was just as magical as anything Lewis Carroll dreamed up for his own Wonderland. The only part of the book that fell a bit flat for me was Nathan's mother, Emily, and her awkward love interest, Joe. Ugh. I didn't feel sympathetic about her and didn't find her very relatable as a mother, or believable as a person faced with the situations she encounters. She grated on me so much it was tempting to skim over her plot sections toward the end.
Every book I've read by Golden has been a wonderful journey. I would recommend him to anyone looking for something "different" to read; anyone that loves horror or fantasy but is burned out on fairies and vampires; or anyone that loves the old, classic childhood tales of our youth. You won't be disappointed.
The fundamental question posed in Strangewood is: do authors create the fantastic worlds and characters they write about, or are they merely borrowing things that already existed?
Thomas is a wildly successful children's fantasy writer, author of the colorful Strangewood series and likened to AA Milne and Frank Baum. But the characters in the real Strangewood -- the land that exists outside the pages of Thomas' books -- is filled with much more malevolent creatures than the Hundred Acre Wood or the Land of Oz. Even worse, Strangewood has fallen into disrepair since Thomas stopped writing about it, and its once friendly creatures are at war.
Thomas is less worried about Strangewood and more worried about his personal life. He's recently divorced and the father of a five-year-old son, Nathan. Unfortunately, the problems in his two worlds collide -- and escalate -- when creatures from his books seem to be stalking him and Nathan. First, Nathan claims his imaginary friend Crabapple has been murdered. Then, Nathan suddenly slips into a coma for which doctors have no explanation -- and awakens in Strangewood. Of course, Thomas is charged with the task of finding his way to Strangewood to save his son from the products of his own imagination. While there, he has to figure out a way to save Strangewood, too.
Much like other books by Golden that I've read recently (The Myth Hunters and The Boys Are Back In Town) I absolutely loved Strangewood. Golden writes children very convincingly -- so convincingly, in fact, I was at times bothered by the pain and emotional distress suffered by Nathan in this book. However, as a mom of a similar five-year-old boy, it probably hit a bit too close to home for me. The Strangewood residents were all fantastically colorful and inventive, and the land itself was just as magical as anything Lewis Carroll dreamed up for his own Wonderland. The only part of the book that fell a bit flat for me was Nathan's mother, Emily, and her awkward love interest, Joe. Ugh. I didn't feel sympathetic about her and didn't find her very relatable as a mother, or believable as a person faced with the situations she encounters. She grated on me so much it was tempting to skim over her plot sections toward the end.
Every book I've read by Golden has been a wonderful journey. I would recommend him to anyone looking for something "different" to read; anyone that loves horror or fantasy but is burned out on fairies and vampires; or anyone that loves the old, classic childhood tales of our youth. You won't be disappointed.
October 10, 2011
Gave up on this one about 50 or 60 pages in. Usually I'm not so quick to judge, but I don't have time or energy to waste reading a book that I don't like.
From what I read, the characters are unfortunately very lacking. The plot reminds me of Widdershins by Charles de Lint, in that both novels are about people who find that worlds or characters they thought were only parts of their imagination are suddenly coming alive (or were always alive though the creator didn't know it) and giving them hell. I enjoyed Widdershins, but there's not enough that I like either about the writing style or characters in Golden's novel to keep me reading something that's even superficially a similar story to de Lint's.
I may give it a try another time, though I doubt it. This is probably one that will get traded in to my favorite used book store.
From what I read, the characters are unfortunately very lacking. The plot reminds me of Widdershins by Charles de Lint, in that both novels are about people who find that worlds or characters they thought were only parts of their imagination are suddenly coming alive (or were always alive though the creator didn't know it) and giving them hell. I enjoyed Widdershins, but there's not enough that I like either about the writing style or characters in Golden's novel to keep me reading something that's even superficially a similar story to de Lint's.
I may give it a try another time, though I doubt it. This is probably one that will get traded in to my favorite used book store.
October 29, 2014
This is my second time reading this book, it's been ages since the first but I enjoyed it just as much as I remembered. It's another one of those books that captures the way fairy tales originally were. The characters that populate Stragewood are as fanciful and imaginative as anything out of Oz but with a blackness to them.
Blurring the lines between what is imagination and what is real, this book alternates between the real world and that of Strangewood. Neither realm is doing too good. In the real world Thomas Randall's son is in a coma with no medical reason. In Strangewood he's been kidnapped by the evil Jackel Lantern in order to lure Thomas back to Strangewood, a world he didn't create, but which he has molded over the years even though he'd forgotten the truth of it.
Greatly imaginative, dark, wonderful. I still love this book.
Blurring the lines between what is imagination and what is real, this book alternates between the real world and that of Strangewood. Neither realm is doing too good. In the real world Thomas Randall's son is in a coma with no medical reason. In Strangewood he's been kidnapped by the evil Jackel Lantern in order to lure Thomas back to Strangewood, a world he didn't create, but which he has molded over the years even though he'd forgotten the truth of it.
Greatly imaginative, dark, wonderful. I still love this book.
June 9, 2013
A S T O N I S H I N G, both the concept and characters are fully developed in this amazing book, I often found myself either sympathizing or disagreeing with characters and their actions, no one is completely good or bad here, they all have reasons for he things they are doing and although sometimes horrific you find yourself justifying their actions, this makes them very real. Do yourself a favor pick this book up NOW!
A word about my edition: This masterpiece is currently out of print in common form, I’m lucky enough to have gotten a Limited Edition published by Earthling (earthlingpub.com), I have to say it’s a thing of beauty; they still have copies so if you are even remotely interested order one up today, you will not regret it.
A word about my edition: This masterpiece is currently out of print in common form, I’m lucky enough to have gotten a Limited Edition published by Earthling (earthlingpub.com), I have to say it’s a thing of beauty; they still have copies so if you are even remotely interested order one up today, you will not regret it.
May 4, 2015
Many authors have played with the idea of literary imaginary worlds interacting with the reality of their author/creators, some with limited or lackluster results, and some with really good stories... Hubbard's Typewriter in the Sky for example. Golden's Strangewood is one of the best; it's an experimental and eerie novel, a very thought-provoking and worthwhile piece, certainly one of his best. I recommend it highly. One interesting little side-note to it is that the main character is Thomas Randall, a writer of children's books, and a few years after it was published Golden used that name as a pseudonym on a series of spooky y.a. novels that he wrote.
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