Brian Keene, End of the Road. Baltimore, MD: Cemetery Dance, 2020. ISBN: 9781587676581. (I am not sure why WorldCat lists a different ISBN than the number in the actual book, which I am providing. Cataloging error maybe, who knows?).
I saw this book mentioned on social media, probably on Bluesky. It caught my eye, and I decided to read it. I am glad I did.
In 2016, Brian Keene embarks on what is to be, but not really, his last book tour to promote two of his titles new at the time. The two books he was promoting were Pressure and The Complex. He is feeling his age. He wants to spend more time with his son who was 8 years old at the time. He is mourning the deaths of close friends, especially the passing of fellow author and friend J.F. Gonzalez. Despite these burdens, Keene does what a professional does, keeps his promise and commitment, and hits the road. Much like the Johnny Cash song, Keene goes everywhere, or at least to a lot of places in the United States from sea to shining sea. As he travels, he is writing a column, a series of essays on the tour. He is writing the column for Cemetery Dance Press in exchange for them covering a part of the travel expenses. This book collects those column essays, and it is a great read.
This is how he describes the trip:
"It's a long trip. We'll be visiting big cities and small towns, seedy bars and posh restaurants, big chain stores and little independent shops, and we'll get lost in the desert at one point. There will be laughter and tears, romance and thrills, altered states and even a few ghosts.
And eventually, we'll reach the end" (21).
And he delivers on that. There were parts in the book I laughed, and parts that were moving and. . . hey, that's just a sudden speck of dust in my eyes. It is quite a journey.
This is not just a memoir and travel book. Along the way, Keene reflects on his long journey as a writer. He gives us an overview and history of the horror genre a history where he has shaped a good part of it. He discusses the book publishing trade and how it has changed over 20 years. Keene has seen the genre and writing business go up, down, back up again, and he writes about it clearly with a bit of humor here or there and with the experience of an elder sharing life lessons, lessons often learned the hard way. The book does all that plus more:
". . .but it is also a love letter to a genre that has given me so much enjoyment throughout my life, and equally a love letter to the dear friends I've made along the way. . . " (21).
I have read some of Keene's horror fiction; his nonfiction is new to me, but based on this book I will look for more of his nonfiction down the road.
Keene's writing can be serious, blunt, straight shooting, and no nonsense. He also shows humor, and at times his writing can also be very moving. He can make you feel the sad moments, and at times the writing is very evocative. He covers a lot of ground, yet he draws you in, and you keep reading. When he writes about his writer friends and the horror community, you wish you were there in such good company.
I really enjoyed the writing, and as aspiring writer I felt I learned a thing or two in terms of how to write. If anything, he is inspiring me to keep writing, to persevere.
This is a great book. If you are already a fan of his fiction, you should read this. If you are like me and enjoy reading and learning about books, about writing, and about the publishing trade among other things, this book is a good option. Keene is one of those popular authors who is good a demystifying his trade and craft for the rest of us. As a librarian, I can relate a bit as I try to demystify things like research for my students. Anyhow, if you want to see where horror has been, where it is, and where it may be going, Keene shows you the path. That part at the end of the book where he looks at the waves (stages) of horror was very useful for me. As he listed names, I either nodded, "yes, I read that person" or made a note to go find works by a person Keene mentioned. I'll be adding a few more books to my TBR list, and I am grateful for that.
I will add that you don't have to be a horror fan to read this. If you enjoy memoirs and travelogues, and you enjoy reading about writers, travel, bookstores, and a bit of American, this book is a solid choice.
I definitely recommend this for public libraries. I would suggest shelving it next to his fiction and let readers find it. With its cover and road trip theme, this can also be a great book for displays on travel and road trips. For academic libraries, good choice for collections in writing and creative writing, pop culture, and horror. If you already have works like Danse Macabre (link to my review), you need this one too. This is one I would get for my personal collection.
5 out of 5 stars
Additional reading notes. There were many lines and ideas from the book I wanted to remember. Here are a few:
There are many paths to in writing but only one way to make it Keene tells us:
"There are many paths to success as a writer, and then only thing those paths have in common is sitting your ass down in a chair and actually writing rather than Tweeting about writing or Facebooking about writing or all the other things we do to distract us from actually writing" (44).
Adding to my TBR list, Joe R. Lansdale's The Drive-In, which by now best I can tell is a series of three books. There is an omnibus edition (link to WorldCat), so I may try to get that. I tend to like omnibus editions for series where I can get them. In the book, Keene mentions meeting Lansdale the first time and as many fans meeting their heroes often do, got a bit of a fan boy moment but was able to tell him he liked The Drive-In, so I am curious and would like to read it.
In his book, Keene defines the concept of Eternal Return, an essential part of his work including this book:
"Eternal Return proposes that the universe and all existence and energy has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form an infinite number of times across infinite time and space" (53).
Keene adds "time is a flat circle" as another way to view the concept.
Three books on writing that Keene mentions in his book that I am adding to my TBR list. Links to WorldCat:
- Richard Laymon, A Writer's Tale.
- Stephen King, On Writing. This one I have read previously in audiobook edition, and King reads it. Anyhow, it may be time to reread it.
- David Morrell, Lessons from a lifetime of writing. It seems there is an updated edition, The Successful Novelist. I will try to find the updated edition. By the way, Morrell is the author of, among other books, First Blood, which became the basis for the Stallone film that launched what became the Rambo franchise. I have read First Blood.
Keene giving advice to beginning authors emphasizes who is the most important person in the beginning writer's career. He says it is not your editor, not your publisher, not your reviewers, not even your readers. Yes, he states readers are important, just not the most important. On reviewers, he writes:
""In 2016, thanks to the internet, every halfwit with a keyboard can call themselves a book reviewer and there is zero quality control or room for critical insight" (78).
I am an online book reviewer, and I hear you sir. I have read a lot of halfwits playing at being reviewers. Social media has made it worse since Keene's time. As for me, while I am not, well, not very likely, going to be featured in places like the New York Times and Washington Post review pages (it's OK to laugh), I do try to bring in my skills as an English and literature scholar, teacher, and now librarian to my reviews. It is a continuous learning experience for me, and I hope my four readers enjoy it and find it useful.
In the end, Keene tells us who the most important person is for a beginning writer:
"That role is reserved for booksellers and librarians. A good relationship with booksellers and librarians can make your career. A bad relationship with them can end it. They are your advocates. They are the people BUYING your book. They are the people SELLING it to readers. And you find an exceptional, passionate, enthusiastic bookseller or librarian, hold on to that person for life" (79).
Another reason I am happy and proud to be a librarian: I strive to bring books and readers together. I strive to put good books in their hands, and also steer them away from bad ones. It does keep me off the streets.
Keene does write a bit on politics. By his own admission, he is a man who walks in the middle, but he does have some good observations on what was at the time the upcoming 2016 election in the United States. His point on unfocused anger in the United States was spot on, and it is worth reading in full. It is in Chapter 12. I found some of it comparable to George Carlin's "American Dream" speech, another text worth looking up (widely available on YouTube at the moment, just look it up).
In a small trivia bit, Keene is a certified wedding officiant and a good one. The text he wrote and presents in Chapter 29 for the wedding of some close friends is beautiful, sincere, and loving. I should see if he is available for then the Better Half and I renew our vows.
Keene on small town America:
"Small town America is a thing that exists in the memories of people of a certain age, and it's a nice setting or plot device for movies and novels and comic books, but it is no longer the norm in this country. I suspect it hasn't been for a very long time" (257).
Never underestimate the American voter nor their stubbornness:
"Never underestimate the lure and empowerment that the ability to say 'Fuck you' has on the average American-- even if they know it might be detrimental to them" (265).
Having lived in the U.S. for most of my adult life, I have come to know that stubbornness very well, and I knew that idea intuitively, but Keene here spells it out. Also, the idea is resonating now as we enter the 2020 national elections.
Finally, for my reference, here is the list from the book of the horror waves and writers Keene mentions. Some of these I will be adding to my TBR list. A few I have read, but I may want to read more of those authors too.
1st wave: 1900-1920s:
- M.P. Shiel, The Purple Cloud.
- Lord Dunsany. (I remember mentions of this author when I was reading H.P. Lovecraft's fiction a while back. Early Lovecraft tales are described as influenced by Dunsany.)
- William Hope Hodgson.
- M.R. James. (I may have read a tale here or there, but probably should read some more.)
- Algernon Blackwood.
- Note: 1923 saw the birth of Weird Tales magazine.
2nd wave: mid-1920s to late 1940s.
- H.P. Lovecraft (I've read, see link above.)
- Frank Belknap.
- Robert E. Howard (have read some of the Conan tales, but would be nice to read some of his other works too.)
- Clark Ashton Smith.
- Shirley Jackson (I've read "The Lottery," like every other kid in high school is forced to read. For me, once I learned the punchline of the tale, it seemed like a one trick pony, so I never developed an interest for reading more of her work. Maybe now that I am a bit older and wiser should take a chance. She did write "The Haunting of Hill House," which I have seen in film, so that can be start.)
- Seabury Quinn.
- early Fritz Leiber.
3rd wave: 1950s and 1960s.
- mature Fritz Leiber.
- Anthony Boucher (I have read some of his short fiction.)
- Theodore Sturgeon (have read one or two tales, need to read some more.)
- John Farris.
- Ira Levin (I read The Boys from Brazil. Probably should read Rosemary's Baby sometime.)
- Robert Bloch.
- Richard Matheson.
- Ray Bradbury (I have read a bit of Bradbury. The Martian Chronicles is a favorite for me.)
- Rod Serling.
- early Ramsey Campbell.
4th wave: 1970s and 1980s. This is where horror as a category to sell books emerges. Before this time, it was usually published and sold under fiction, science fiction, or mystery. This time period is where Brian Keene enters the scene as a reader.
- Stephen King (I've read some of this works. I remember really liking Needful Things. I have also read his Bachman books.)
- Dean Koontz (amazingly, I've managed not to read Koontz. I need to remedy that.)
- F. Paul Wilson.
- Thomas Monteleone.
- Karl Edward Wagner.
- Peter Straub (another big writer I amazingly have managed not to read. Not intentional, just never got around to it. Need to fill this gap sometime.)
- Clive Barker (I have read some including The Hellbound Heart, basis of Hellraiser.)
- Charles L. Grant.
- James Herbert.
- T.E.D. Klein.
- Robert R. McCammon.
- Joe R. Lansdale.
- Jack Ketchum.
- Richard Laymon.
- Rick Hautala.
- Ronald Kelly.
- The Splatterpunks.
- Brian Hodge.
- Poppy Z. Brite.
5th wave: first decade of the 2000s, after the 1990s transition. This is Keene's writing time and his generation.
6th wave: This is now, which Keene tells us are good times for horror again. Yay!
Book qualifies for the following 2024 Reading Challenge:
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