Book Review: In the Valley of the Sun: A Novel by Andy Davidson

In the Valley of the Sun: A Novel by Andy Davidson

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published June 2017 by Skyhorse Publishing

I went to into this novel cold. My editor at Monster librarian thought it sounded like something I would like and I decided to trust her. One thing is for sure this is literary horror. It is well written with a host of influences just below the surface. If I didn't already know this was a debut novel I probably would have never guessed this novel was written by a first timer.

I will avoid major spoilers however, I think I benefited going in as cold as possible and if you trust me go ahead and read this southern Gothic that I feel is like the movie Near Dark if it was written by Cormac McCarthy. The official statements by the publisher makes that Macarthy comparison as well as Joe Hill and Anne Rice. Hill sure, but Anne Rice not so much for me. Hell I see more in common with True Detective writer Nic Pizzalto's books that any of those three. I like his books by the way.

OK last warning before I into the book, nothing you couldn't figure out by reading the dust jacket. While this novel walks a thin line between the gothic of southern and western feel it is 100% a monster novel. It is not the kind of horror novel that would benefit from any marketing department blasting out it's nature. There is plenty of grim settings balanced by beautiful prose to make this book for horror and non-horror literature folks.

The writing is gorgeous, at times the west Texas drips off the page and you almost feel the humid air. You can picture the rust on the trucks, the stress of the sheriff's belt and many things that make this world vivid. The word vampire is never mentioned, but 60 pages in there was doubt. Had I read the dust jacket I probably would have had a clue sooner, but as such when the story kicks off with the main character Travis waking up covered in blood my mind didn't go there. Once it was clear the novel took on a dangerous edge, this was not Anne Rice's sexy vampires at all. Travis is in trouble, even if he doesn't come to grips with it.

Travis wants to maintain, he doesn't have the money to pay to park his truck and camper at the campgrounds run by Annabelle Gaskin and her ten year old son who I don't recall being called anything but boy. So he works odd jobs and transitions to undead life. Many of the best moments of the novel are conversations between Travis and the boy. These moments are both tense and emotional. It added an important emotional depth to the story that held the room together like the Big Labowski's carpet.

The narrative is excellent jumping between third person point of views, and different time periods with easy. We watch the investigation unfold into the murders tied to Travis. It all works and is not jarring at all. In the Valley of the Sun is a good spiritual cousin to the Stephen Graham Jones novel Mongrels. Different monster and different cultural backgrounds but the same off-color look at the American south.

Enough with the comparisons, it is hard not to do but the reality is this is fine debut of a strong new voice in horror fiction. The better a book is the harder critics will compare to the greats. In the Valley of the Sun is a first novel, so it is too soon to ask "is Andy Davidson one of the greats?" That remains to be seen but in the Valley of the Sun is a great book. It should be in every library collection, and if librarians check it out it will likely ended up in the staff picks.

I suspect we will revisit this title in December when I compile my top ten reads of the year, and I know I will revisit Davidson next time he drops a novel on us.