Review: The Mouth of the Dark - by Tim Waggoner

5 of 5 Stars     Review copy

This is my sixth and final review of the initial batch of releases from Flame Tree Press.  The Bad Neighbor  by David Tallerman, Creature by Hunter Shea, Thirteen Days at Sunset Beach by Ramsey Campbell, The Sky Woman: From Ringworlds to Earth, an Epic Struggle of Love and Survival by J.D. Moyer,  The Siren and the Specter by Jonathan Janz, and now The Mouth of the Dark by Tim Waggoner.  A terrific mix of genre reads from a publisher showing great promise.

On with today's review...

Jayce Lewis' daughter Emily has gone missing and Jayce is doing all he can to find her.  The more he seeks the more he learns about her life and his own.  From the strange concoctions sold at the Crazyqwik, to the dog-eaters who think he's a meat thief, to the Harvest Man, and just wait until you encounter the pink devil.  It's all like his mother told him time and again...

"The world is a dangerous place."

At its heart, The Mouth of the Dark is about The Shadowers—people who can see—and interact with the darker aspects of existence.

I can always count on Waggoner to find the weird in a story and there's plenty of that in The Mouth of the Dark.  As is the case with most of his original work.  Tim has an original voice in the horror community and is a genuine wordsmith...

"Their ages ranged from early twenties to a foot-and-a-half in the grave."

The book is filled with truly horrible images, yet I found myself smiling more often than not.  Sex, violence, and an all-around crazy good time.

Totally recommended.

The Mouth of the Dark is published by Flame Tree Press and is available in all formats.

From the author's bio - Tim Waggoner's first novel came out in 2001  Since then he's published over forty novels and five collections of short stories.  He writes original fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins.  He's won the Bram Stoker Award, been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and the Scribe Award.  In addition to writing, Tim is also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College.