Talk about starting out with the best of the best: "The Keep" was my first jump into F. Paul Wilson's world. "Keep" and its three successors is one of the top five reading experiences I'd most like being stranded on a desert island with (Tolkein's "Rings" trilogy, and some of H. P. Lovecraft's works are right up there, too).
Rasalom makes one hell of an antagonist. A person can't help but loathe and despise him.
Talk about the ultimate three-way between antagonists - - a free-for-all between Sauron, Great Cthulhu, and Rasalom. We'd still be in deep doo-doo regardless of WHO won
"Keep" is one of those rare reading experiences that stands alone. In my mind, it is the benchmark against which the rest of Mr. Wilson's fine writings are compared. I've read "Keep" four times now, and it is still as unnerving as the first time, despite knowing what is coming.
Later in the "Keep" series with the novel "Reprisal", Mr. Wilson wrote one of the creepiest horror scenes ever conceived, involving his characters Mr. Lom and Danny. Won't say more: you'll have to read it. Hats off for leaving me with a nasty, queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach; it's what horror-lovers live for.
And now, this from the "Have You Ever" Dept: Have you ever had a passion for a song, book, or anything else, but due to any of a number of life's reasons, put off purchasing it only to find that you no longer remember its name?
I managed to do that with the last book in the "Keep" series, "Dark World". Only last week did I read it for the first time (we're talkin' Sept 2009, here). I was utterly shocked to see that "Dark" had been out since the '90's. I had a lot going on back then, including savoring Clive Barker's "Books of Blood", etc. But it's ironic that after reading "Reprisal" and itching for more, I somehow not only missed the boat but the friggin' dock!
Yea, verily. T'was worth the wait.
If you have not read "The Keep", do it. Mr. Wilson definitely had his "groove on".